How Leech Therapy is quite effective in treating patients

The word ‘unique’ denotes ‘one of its kind’ or something very special. Some animals are quite unique in this sense. For instance, the blue whale is unique for its giant size and so also glow worms “Luciferae” that emit greenish glow at night. Likewise, there are a few more creatures which are unique.

Leech the parasite doctor, is a very special physician. Dr Andreas Michalsen and colleagues from Essen, Germany reported that Leech therapy is quite effective in treating patients with osteoarthritis. Twenty-four patients with this wear and tear of the ageing knee problem were given one-shot leech therapy. They allowed four to six leeches to attach themselves to each knee and drink blood for about an hour. They found leech therapy was far more effective than drug therapy.

Leech therapy which benefits those with other causes of pain, was used by the ancient Egyptians, Greek and Indian medicine men. They used the leech to help maintain the humoral balance in the body. They attached leech to the body for the cure, and detached it by sprinkling some slat water.

How it acts as a physician: The leech which is used in medicine is called Hirudo

 Medicinalis. It has five pair of eyes and two sucker both on its front and back side.     .

The head sucker searches and penetrates while the back sucker holds fast to the host. The

Bite of hirudo is painless because it has an anaesthetic that makes the host feel nothing. This substance is under atudy.

The effect of its saliva:  The leech saliva has many other molecules of great medicinal interest. One of the molecules is a vaso-dilator and a histamine that increases the diameter of blood vessels, helping to promote blood flow. Another is an enzyme called hyaluronidase. It breaks down hyaluronic acid, the bonding material of the connective tissue, thus fostering the flow of blood and fluids from affected areas. Another substance in leech saliva is hirudin. It is the most potent inhibitor of blood clotting known to date. Hirudin in leech helps continued blood flow by breaking off the aggregated fibrin plugs that clot and seal blood leaks. Hirudin also shuts off the mechanisms of Factor VIII mediated blood coagulation. Genetic engineers in England are successful in cloning the gene for hirudin and manufacture it through recombinant DNA technology. We have to be thankful to the leech for the benefits it has opened up for modern medicine. Hirudin made it possible to have its cousins balellin and eglin.

How much blood it drinks: Leech drinks hardly 15ml our of the 3000-5000 ml of the human blood. And having drunk, the parasite doctor moves on to chew the cud for six months.

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Test your knowledge about Cell Biology

1.  Citric acid cycle takes place in the    

a. Mitochondria                  b. Lysosome

c. Endoplasmic reticulum   d. All the above. 

2. Prokaryotic ribosomes are

a. 10 S           b. 20 S         c. 70S         d. 80S

3. The organelle that lacks a double membrane is

a. Mitochondria                  b. Lysosome

c. Ribosome                       d.  Nucleus

4. Cell wall is rigid because of

a. Pectin                      b. Lignin

c. Hemicellulose         d. Cellulose

5. Major function of mitochondria in a cell is

a. Secretion                      b. Osmoregulation

            c. Excreation                    d. Fat synthesis

6. Energy currency of cell is

a. ATP                    b. NAD           c. FAD          d. FMN

7. Autolysis is a function of

a. Peroxisomes                 b.Glyoxisomes

c. Lysosomes                   d. Kinetosomes

8. An octamer of four histones complexed with DNA is called

a. Centrosome                  b. Nucleosomes

c. Mesosomes                  d. Endosomes

9. Most of the hydrolytic enzymes of lysosomes fuction at

a. Acidic pH                          b. Basic pH

c. Neutral pH                        d. Any pH

10. Ribosomes were discovered by

a. Palade              b. de Roberits           c. Golgi            d. Porter

11. Chloroplasts contain

a. 50s ribosomes          b. 80s ribosomes

c. 70s ribosomes          d. No ribosomes

12. Lysosomes are discovered by

a. Robert Hook               b. Purkyne

c. Hertwig                      d. Christian de Duve

13. Which is the smallest cell organelle?

a. Lysosomes                       b. Ribosomes

c. Sphaerosomes                 d. Glyoxisomes

14. The organelle not bound by a membrane is

a. Nucleus                          b. Mitchondria

c. Centriode                       c. Chloroplast

15. Lysosomes are generally found in
1. Animal cells
2. Both animal and plant cells
3. Planet cells
4. Bacterial cells

16. Silicified cell wall is unique to

a. Blue Green Algae           b. Green bacteria

c. Diatoms                          d. Dinoflagellates

17. The term protoplast was coined was coined by
1. Robert Hooke
2. Antony Von Leeuwenhoek
3. Purkinje
4. Hertwig

18. Ribosomes can be seen within

a. Endoplasmic reticulum         b. Lysosomes

c. Golgi complex                      d. Mitochondria

19. Acrosome of human sperm is made up of

a. Endoplasmic reticulum            b. Golgi complex

c. Lysosomes                               d. Centroids

20. Glycolysis pathway was discovered by

a. Calvin                          b. Krebs

c. J.C. Bose                     d. None of the above

21. Both respiration and photosynthesis require

a. Magnesium                      b. Cytochrome

c. Energy                             d. All of above

22. DNA replication takes place in

a. S phase                     b. Go phase

c. G2 phase                  d. M phase

     ANSWERS:

    

     1.a        2.c      3.b      4.b        5.d       6.a       7.c

     8.b        9.a     10.a     11.c      12.d     13.a     14.c

     15.b      16.c   17.c     18.d      19.b     20.b     21.d

     22.a

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How to prolong the life of your cell phone rechargeable battery

I know my this post helps you that how you conserve your battery power if you reach in any remote areas and you have no charger of your phone. It will shows you how to keep your battery well. Ok, so these are the steps for prolong the life of your rechargeable battery.

How to prolong the life of your cell phone rechargeable battery

• If you are in an area with no reception, e.g a basement or remote area, turn the cell phone off since constantly searching for service depletes the battery fairly quickly.
• The vibrate function uses up a lot of battery power. So, switch it off when not needed and use only the ring tone.
• The back light of the phone uses up power- either turn it off or set it reduce the time for which it is on.
• Turn off Bluetooth, WiFi, GPS and infrared capability when not in use- they drain the battery pretty fast.
• High temperature is an enemy of the battery. Keep the battery cool- avoid leaving your phone in a hot car or in direct sunlight.
• Initialize a new battery by charging it fully before its first use to obtain maximum capacity. Nickel-based batteries should be charged for 16 hours initially and run through 2-4 full charge/full discharge cycles. Lithium ion batteries should be charged for about 5-6 hours.
• Charge your battery correctly, in accordance with its type. Most new cell phones have lithium-ion batteries, while older ones generally have nickel-based batteries. A good rule to follow for nickel-battery cell phones is to discharge them completely once every two to three weeks, and then charge them fully. This is not necessary for lithium-ion batteries.
• A battery which is not being used should be stored in a cool place- put it in a ‘zip lock’ bag and store in a refrigerator. Do not store a battery fully charged- charge it about 40% before storage.
• Similar batteries are used in laptops and cameras, so the same rules apply for charging and storage.

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How To Measure Distances In The Universe

The distances between heavenly bodies in space are very, very large. Measuring these distances in kilometers would mean dealing with very large numbers. The Sun, which is the star nearest to us, is 15,00,00,000 km away. The next star nearest to us is Proxima Centauri, which is 4,00,00,00,00,oo,ooo km away. This, you will realize, is very inconvenient to write or to make calculations with.

    Astronomers, therefore, use special units to measure distances in space. Instead of a kilometer, they use a unit called light year. A light year is the distance that light travels in one year.

       Light travels at an incredible speed of about 3,00,000 km/s. If a spaceship could travel at this speed, it would reach the Moon in just over 1 second!

    So, 1 light year = Speed of light in km/s * number of seconds in a year

     = 3,00,000 * 365* 24* 60* 60 km

     = 95,00,00,00,00,00 km (approximately)

                   12

     = 9.5 * 10

In this respect, Proxima Centauri is 4.3 light years away from us. Light from this star takes over four whole years to reach us. This also means that when you look at Proxima Centauri today, you see it as it was 4.3 years ago!

      

   Time taken for light to reach Earth from Sun

= distance of arth from sun

       Speed of light

=15,00,00,000 km  = 500 s = 8.3 min            

   3,00,000 km/s         

So we can say distance of Earth from Sun is 8.3 light minutes.

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Know more about Lobster

One of the most curious creatures to be found in the sea is the lobster. It is a crustacean, which means a hard-shelled animal. It is related to the crawlfish, the shrimp and the prawn. There are three species of lobsters. American lobsters which live all along the Atlantic Coast from Labrador to the North Carolina, are the biggest members of the family. Next in size is the European lobster, which is found on the shores of the Atlantic. The smallest lobster is the African species found off the Cape of Good Hope.

      Lobster is encased in the suit of armour made of hard shell. This is usually dark green in colour but turns red when the lobster is boiled. The shell covering the front of the body is practically solid. The rest of the shell is divided into seven segments, the last of which forms the tail.

     Lobsters have four pairs of walking legs, two pairs of which have small pincers for feet, with claws in the front. They serve as hands rather than as feet. One of them, the club, is very thick and heavy. It is used for crushing tender objects. The other, the fish claw, is more slender, curved and provided with many sharp teeth. It is used to catch prey and defend from enemies.

     Lobsters usually walk about at the bottom of the sea balanced on the tips of their walking legs. When they are alarmed they make huge backward leaps through the water covering as much as 25 feet at a time.

    The female lobster lays from 5000 to 100000 eggs. She carries them about for some ten months, glued to the swimmerets under her tail. As soon as they hatch, the mother lobster fans the babies away to be on their own. The little lobster swims at the surface for six to eight weeks, during which period it can easily become a meal for some other animal. If it lives, it finally sinks down and makes its home on the bottom, in shallow water.

    One wonders how a lobster grows when it has a hard shell around. All through its life, the lobster moults. This means it sheds its armour, whenever it outgrows it. During its first year it moults fourteen to seventeen times, but when it grows older it moults not more than once a year. 

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Insects Of The World and how they work

Insects Of The World

Spiders are the most abundant arachnids, totaling about 30,000 species. They play an important role in the balance of nature by eating insects. Spiders have the ability to produce silk, a strong, elastic protein of many uses. They use it to make webs for trapping prey, to provide shelter, to protect the eggs, and for the tiny young to “balloon” along on wind currents on a delicate strand of web. The silk is produced as a liquid in abdominal glands, spun out of tiny spinnerets below the back end of the body, and hardens as it comes into the contact with the air.

The spiders have eight legs and eight simple eyes. Few spiders have poison dangerous to humans.

Black Widow is a dangerously poisonous spider that lives in warm parts of the world, but other widow spiders are found in colder climates. Female black widows are about half an inch long; the male is smaller. In most parts of the United States the red hourglass on the underside of its abdomen is the recognition mark of this species, but in other places marking vary from irregular strips to dots. The female black widow builds her irregular web in dark niches under objects near buildings or dumps.

Tarantula belongs to Theraphosidae family. These largest spiders are often called bird spiders in other places, and monkey spiders in South Africa. The tarantula of the Mediterranean area is not in this group, but belong to the wolf spider family. The largest, a South American species has a body 31/2 inches long and a 10-inch leg spa. Most of these spiders live on ground and a few in trees. The tarantulas are nocturnals. They hunt prey by sensing their vibrations. Though insects are their usual diet, occasionally large tarantulas captures a small snake, lizard, or nesting bird. Tarantulas, except for a few kind in Australia, are not dangerously poisonous to humans.

Sowbugs  are also called woodlice or pillbugs. They are sometimes mistaken for insects or millipedes. But they are crustaceans like lobsters, shrimp, and crayfish. Sowbugs differ from insects in having 14 instead of just six legs. Sowbugs are medium-sized, usually flattened animals with a shiny, hard covering over the back. The covering is divided into about 10 flexible plates, and some sowbugs, like armadillos, can roll up into a ball when disturbed. We find them usually under stones, boards, and other debris. They feed on decaying matter and fungi. They are usually harmless, but sometimes they damage the roots of cultivated plants.

Millipedes : None of the “thousand-leggers” – as millipedes are sometimes called – really has thousand legs. Most have fewer than 200. The newly hatched young ones may have six legs, and more are added each time they mould until they mature. There are two pairs of legs on most segments of the long, cylindrical body. Inspite of many legs, millipedes move slowly. Some species roll up when disturbed. These animals cannot bite or sting. Rarely, they become pests in localized areas by feeding on living plants. Millipedes live outdoors in damp, dark places such as leaf mould, and rotting logs, and they feed on decaying plant matter.

Centipedes, or Hundred-leggers are fast, active, nocturnal predators of insects and spiders. The house centipede is found in buildings in temperate climates and frequents damp places under sinks or tubs or around water pipes. It is harmless to humans and is probably beneficial in eating pest insects, but it startles people because of its unusually long legs. Tropical centipedes can inflict painful bites.

Springtails are tiny arthropods with a forked spring on the underside of the abdomen. It enables them to flip into the air when disturbed. They are often abundant on the surface of fresh water or sometimes on snow, when they are commonly called “snowfleas”. Others live on shores of oceans, lakes and ponds, but most are in moist humus or soil. They are common on the soil of house plants, where they are quite harmless, but they can become minor pests of agricultural crops by feeding on germinating seeds or living plants, and they sometimes infest mushroom cultures. Usually they eat moulds and decaying organic matter. Springtails are wingless.  

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Constipation­­­-A Common Problem,how we prevent us from constipation

Constipation­­­-A Common Problem

What goes up must come down. Sir Isaac Newton proved that, sitting under an apple tree. What goes in must come out. We prove that, sitting on the toilet every morning. But for some, it is not so regular as we think. When it is not so, it is constipation, and constipation is no fun. Sometimes it can be painful. But the cause of your sluggish bowels is not often easy to find. It may include a lack of fibre in the diet, insufficient liquid intake, stress, medications, lack of exercise, and bad bowel habits. However, in reality, the need to defecate varies greatly from individual. For some, a bowel movement three times a day may be considered normal, for others three to four times a week may suffice.

Possible factors and ways to remedy the situation :

The first thing a constipated individual should do is to check his diet. The foremost menu items for batting constipation are dietary fibre and liquids. Both fibre and liquids are equally important to keep the stool soft and to help it pass through the colon.

A minimum of 6 to 8 glasses of liquid should be part of every adult’s diet along with fibre, Where does the fibre comes from? It comes mainly from complex carbohydrates-such as those in whole grains, fruits and vegetables.

Fibre helps with constipation:

Fill up your plate with food like cherries, grapes, crunchy bell peppers, beans, whole grains and nuts. Fibre-rich foods like these help digestion, and keep you regular. Your body needs a recommended 20-35 grams of fibre daily. It can also keep weight gain, hart disease, blood sugar fluctuations, and haemorrhoids at bay.

Drinking fluids helps your body get rid of waste and prevent constipation.

Fluids can not only be found in drinks like water and juices, but also in our foodstuff.

Good exercises : Good exercises is not only good for heart but also good for your bowels. Regular exercise tends to combat constipation by moving food through the bowels faster. Any form of regular exercise will tend to alleviate constipation. But most experts recommend walking which is particularly helpful to pregnant women.

Toilet train yourself/your child: Throughout our lives, many of us condition ourselves to go to the bathroom not when nature calls but when it is convenient. Ignoring the urge to defecate, however, can lead progressively to constipation. But it is never too late to improve your bowel habits. Sit on the toilet for 10 minutes every day. You will condition your colon to act as nature intended.

Stress factor: When we are frightened or tense, or when mother scolds, our bowels stop as well or we ignore the call temporarily. If you suspect tension is at the bottom of your constipation, take time to relax. A good belly laugh can help with constipation in two ways. It has a massaging effect on the intestines, which helps to foster digestion and it’s a great reliever of stress. Some medications also can bring on or exacerbate constipation. So go for a review with your doctor who can find an alternative. Some people tend to use laxatives which may be natural or vegetable laxatives or chemical laxatives. We must see that our bowel doesn’t get used to them. Sometimes certain foods also trigger constipation. For instance, milk can be extremely constipating to some, while it gives others diarrhea. Have a close witch on your diet, and try to avoid such food stuff.

Do not strain: Everyone wants to puff our way out of constipation. It is not wise to do so. We may risk giving ourselves haemorrhoids and anal fissures, which are not only painful, but can also aggravate our constipation by narrowing the anal opening. If you are really miserable, nothing will work faster to move your bowels than an enema or a suppository. But if you use them too often, you risk creating a lazy colon.

Though constipation by itself is not very serious, you should consult a doctor when symptoms are severe, lasts longer than a few weeks, or if you find blood in your stool. It may be a signal for a serious underlying disorder. 

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Know More About Animals

• Poorwill is the only bird known to hibernate.
• The fish showing phenomenon of ‘Male pregnancy’ is Seahorse.
• Ostrich buries its head in the sand to protect itself from its enemy.
• Humming bird is capable of backward flight.
• King cobra is the largest poisonous snake in the world.
• The only known poisonous lizard is Heloderma.
• Sloth Bear from South America is the slowest moving mammal.
• Axolotl Larva exhibits “Neoteny or Paedogenesis”(the Larva starts reproduction) without changing into Adult.
• The common name of amphibian ‘Rhacophorus’ is flying frog.
• Stone fish is the most poisonous fish in the world.
• Cheetah is the fastest running mammal.
• Royal Albatross is the largest seabird.
• Duck Bill Platypus is an egg laying ‘Oviparous’ mammal.
• The most poisonous snake in the world is Peninsular Tiger Snake.
• Bat is the only mammal that can actually/truly fly.

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How sand is formed in the earth

When the solid rock is exposed to the action of wind, rain, and frost, and broken up into smaller particles, if the particles are small enough

(Between one five-hundredth of an inch in diameter and one-tenth of an inch in diameter), these particles are called sand.

Sand is formed of small grains of the minerals that make up the rocks. Hence these minerals may be found in sand. The main mineral found

found in sand is quartz which is very hard and is quite abundant. Sometimes as much as 99 per cent pure quartz may also be found. Other

minerals sometimes found in sand are feldspar, calcite, mica, iron ores, and small amounts of garnet, tourmaline, and topaz.

Where sand is found: Sand is found wherever rocks have been exposed to the weather. One of the principal sand-forming regions is the beach of

a sea. There the action of the tide upon the rocks, the action of wind-blown sand rubbing against the rocks, and the dissolving of some of the minerals

in the rocks by the salt water, all combine to make sand.

Sand in desert: Most of the loose sand in deserts has been brought to this place by wind. In some cases, the desert sands may have

been formed by the decay of rocks. In still other cases, the desert was once really a sea bottom and the water retreated thousands of years ago, leaving

the sand. Sand is a very useful substance. It is used in making concrete, in making glass, sandpaper, and a filter in helping to keep water pure.

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