tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-25326777681801258992024-08-28T10:08:43.102+05:30A unique ONLINE BIOLOGY PORTAL for Secondary school students in India!!ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-64573566334321682872010-08-19T11:43:00.000+05:302010-08-19T11:43:35.247+05:30

Mothers infected with HIV, the AIDS virus, face a dilemma when it comes to feeding baby: Because some of their virus can be shed in breast milk, babies risk becoming infected as they drink it. Two research teams are now investigating a germ-warfare strategy to treat such vulnerable infants. They would supplement breast milk with HIV-quashing bacteria. These beneficial microbes can’t

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-7722973110033445122010-08-19T11:26:00.000+05:302010-08-19T11:26:53.803+05:30

The worst thing about getting a vaccination is the big, scary hypodermic needle. So researchers have invented a new vaccine-delivery system that replaces the large single needle with 100 tiny dissolvable ones embedded in a Band-Aid–like patch.  Once the microneedles pierce the skin, they dissolve into the surrounding bodily fluid, releasing the vaccine in the process. The whole thing

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-72656759335814816172010-07-04T11:36:00.001+05:302010-07-04T11:38:40.905+05:30

Pseudogenes, are defective copies of protein-encoding genes. Many pseudogenes can make RNA copies of the instructions contained within their DNA, but have flaws that prevent the next step in the process, making proteins. Because pseudogenes don’t make proteins, most biologists have thought of these genes as vestigial copies of functioning genes. But a new study, published in the June 24

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-8091335449182586802010-07-04T11:28:00.000+05:302010-07-04T11:28:53.027+05:30

British mathematician Alan Turing was one of the first scientists to explain how color patterns might form. Biologists are beginning to pinpoint the molecular mechanisms animals use to deck themselves out with colorful swirls, stripes, spots and dots. A team led by Sean B. Carroll, a developmental and evolutionary biologist at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, recently found molecular

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-72589145988680472132010-05-07T16:30:00.002+05:302010-05-07T16:34:41.466+05:30

Bacterial infections are a serious problem for patients with burns and other wounds. While many wound dressings today contain silver to thwart microbial activity, the metal can hurt human cells that are trying to regrow. The silver may also cull out weaker bacteria, leaving the survivors even more of a threat than before.Scientists from the University of Bath, England have set out to build a

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-38632614496200167332010-04-14T08:45:00.000+05:302010-04-14T08:45:44.474+05:30

The discovery may explain why dark roasted brews are gentler on the stomach than their lighter peers, and could lead to a new generation of tummy-friendly coffees. Roasting coffee beans doesn’t just impart bold, rich flavor. It also creates a compound that helps dial down production of stomach acid, according to research presented on March 21. To explore the science behind these gentler

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-25016751719917059452010-04-14T08:35:00.000+05:302010-04-14T08:35:01.159+05:30

Ozone is a chemical that can be both friend and foe to human beings — depending on where it is. In the atmosphere, high overhead, ozone protects Earth from harmful radiation that comes from the sun. But at Earth’s surface, ozone is better known as air pollution, and breathing it can be dangerous. Inside a building, levels are much lower than outside because ozone changes when it runs into

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-52016385807139503222010-04-11T20:20:00.002+05:302010-07-04T11:08:32.669+05:30

Until now, biologists had expected only one-celled organisms such as bacteria to thrive in oxygen-depleted places. Multicellular animals were known to pass through or hunker down temporarily in environments without oxygen, but in all cases needed to have it in some way at some time. But marine biologists seem open to the idea that multicellular animals can live without oxygen though

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-73394870703489328372010-04-06T19:55:00.001+05:302010-04-06T19:58:52.701+05:30

Researchers from the University of Geneva in Switzerland have published a report in Nature on April 4 saying that Alpha cells in the pancreas can spontaneously transform into insulin-producing beta cells. The study, done in mice, is the first to reveal the pancreas’s ability to regenerate missing cells. Scientists were surprised to find that new beta cells arose from alpha cells in the

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-63722783869582384852010-04-06T19:38:00.001+05:302010-04-06T19:40:22.396+05:30

What are leguminous crops? Explain and Exemplify.BIOBASICS Solution: The term 'Legume' is derived from the Latin word legumen (with the same meaning as the English term), which is in turn believed to come from the verb legere "to gather." A legume in botanical writing is a plant in the family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), or a fruit of these specific plants.A common name for this type of

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-23834804382022136822010-03-29T10:46:00.000+05:302010-03-29T10:46:17.744+05:30

BIOBASICS Question of the week:Why do the nitrogen fixing bacteria form nodules only on the roots of leguminous plants? BIOBASICS Solution: The roots of leguminous plants like Pea secrete compounds called Flavanoids which attract nitrogen fixing bacteria and activate the genes which cause nodule formation in the roots.

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-3401849510694285632010-03-27T17:02:00.000+05:302010-03-27T17:02:26.838+05:30

In most people, HIV can be controlled with a drug combination called HAART, short for highly active antiretroviral therapy. But HAART doesn’t wipe out the virus, and stresses on the immune system such as an infection can reactivate the latent virus and trigger its spread. An inexpensive antibiotic might complement standard drugs in fighting the AIDS virus, a new study shows. The drug, called

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-9946957098143157012010-03-27T16:45:00.003+05:302010-03-29T10:30:39.345+05:30

Terrestrial moths evolved new lifestyle in the islands - They don’t surf, but caterpillars found only in Hawaii are the first insects known to feed and grow as readily in water as on land. Evolutionary biologist Daniel Rubinoff of the University of Hawaii at Manoa and his colleagues have described amphibious habits of larvae in 12 new species in the moth genus Hyposmocoma (Adult insect is

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-85764902118490764472010-03-24T15:47:00.001+05:302010-03-24T19:51:25.903+05:30

BIOBASICS QUESTION OF THE WEEK?What is DANDRUFF & how is it formed?A fungus is at least partly to blame for the presence of Dandruff on your scalp. Dandruff is related to the presence of certain species of Malassezia—ubiquitous, hard-to-eradicate fungi that live on humans and other mammals.Malassezia live on your scalp--whether or not you have dandruff—and dine on the oil that your scalp

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-54325374977199524212010-03-24T15:30:00.002+05:302010-03-25T20:55:52.390+05:30

Unique bacterial profiles give criminals another reason to wear gloves. Bacteria may one day help crime scene investigators catch criminals dirty-handed. Having found previously that everyone’s hands carry a unique bacterial population, researchers at the University of Colorado in Boulder have now shown that the mix of microbes left on a computer keyboard can be used to tell if a particular

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-19847341524102271972010-03-24T15:18:00.000+05:302010-03-24T15:18:36.164+05:30

BIOBASICS QUESTION OF THE WEEK? Which of the following structures is specialized to perform Nitrogen Fixation in Cyanobacteria? a. Akinetes b. Zoosporesc. Heterocystsd. Tetraspores BIOBASICS Solution: C. Heterosysts are thick walled structures which provide anaerobic environment necessary for the activity of Nitrogenase enzyme which fixes nitrogen.

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-76218404905550917492010-03-21T18:46:00.002+05:302010-03-21T18:49:00.917+05:30

Throughout history, scientists, too, have wondered about structures that don’t seem to do anything useful. The appendix is a popular example. This little, worm-like pouch is about four inches long and less than half an inch wide.The organ grows near where the long intestine meets the short intestine. The intestines are essential for digestion, but the appendix appears to just sit there.“It’s

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-57415234452465043072010-03-21T18:30:00.003+05:302010-03-21T18:49:34.683+05:30

Everything on Earth that scientists can see, measure or study is made of atoms — and atoms are named by what type of element they are. You probably know the name of many elements, such as oxygen, gold or hydrogen. Others, such as cadmium or xenon, may sound strange and exotic. In any case, elements are everywhere: You, your shoes, your desk, cars, water, air — all made of elements.Now,

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-59156501581805414992010-03-21T18:18:00.005+05:302010-03-21T18:30:31.290+05:30

Scientists are discovering that TASTE is a whole-body sensation. There are taste cells in the stomach, intestine and, evidence suggests, the pancreas, colon and esophagus. These sensory cells are part of an ancient battalion tasked with guiding food choices since long before nutrition labels, Rachael Ray or even agriculture existed. While taste cells in the mouth make snap judgments about

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-10912107214747097162010-03-21T18:18:00.000+05:302010-03-21T18:18:04.133+05:30

Paleontologists in China Saturday claimed to have found the skeleton of a new species of carnivorous dinosaur that believed to have lived about 80 million years ago. Experts have found an intact and complete skeleton fossil of a previously undiscovered dinosaur species in north China, the team's leading scientist Xu Xing said. The fossil was one of the world's most well-preserved specimen

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-80124009484109729652010-03-11T09:28:00.001+05:302010-03-29T10:47:54.755+05:30

The 8th Annual Orchid Show at the Botanical Garden in New York started on Thursday, March 4, 2010.The exhibition will run till April 11 and it is expected to showcase some 7,000 orchids. The New York Botanical Garden was founded in 1891 and it draws over 800,000 visitors annually. This Orchid Show is titled ‘Cuba in Flower’ and it is the largest one of its kind in the world.

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-80921271517670943422010-03-10T21:32:00.003+05:302010-03-10T21:38:10.435+05:30

This is a poignant year for anyone who cares about the rich diversity of life on planet Earth. 2010 was supposed to be a milestone. The 193 nations participating in a treaty called the Convention on Biological Diversity had agreed to “achieve by 2010 a significant reduction of the current rate of biodiversity loss at the global, regional and national level as a contribution to poverty

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-86895456061905914152010-03-10T21:23:00.003+05:302010-03-10T21:30:03.800+05:30

People do love their pets. Some people bring dogs into their families and others prefer cats. And then there are the people who love their spiders. Many spider-lovers have a soft spot for tarantulas, big, hairy creatures that don’t have venom. And because tarantulas are usually docile — which means they’re calm and not mean — some people even buy them for children.If you’re contemplating

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-10553426528110117372010-03-10T21:10:00.004+05:302010-03-10T21:20:06.612+05:30

Maybe this has happened to you: In the middle of class, while you pretended to be paying attention to the teacher’s lecture, your eyelids started to droop. You began having second thoughts about staying up late on Facebook the night before.Don’t be too hard on yourself. Your computer screen may be to blame. And your clock may be too. Not the clock on your nightstand, but the one in your head

ਇੰਦਰਜੀਤ ਕੌਰhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00487164792677654698noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2532677768180125899.post-18741741803440606262010-02-18T15:20:00.004+05:302010-02-18T15:51:10.532+05:30

Supersonic means faster than the speed of sound, which is about 760 miles per hour in air. That’s a speed limit that can be broken — by jets and bullets, for example, or by the space shuttle as it returns to Earth.Now, a scientist named Stephan Gekle has found that you can make air move faster than the speed of sound by doing a simple little trick: throw a rock in a pond.In a recent study,

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