ArtsyRaptor95

Some women with psychotic disorders are more vulnerable around the time of menstruation

Charcoal Properties 

What makes charcoal so amazing is the carbonisation process which creates a product with an enormous surface area to mass ratio, which has high ability to attract and hold (adsorption) a wide range of materials, chemicals, minerals, radio-waves, humidity, odours and harmful substances. As you can see from these images under a microscope, they have a number of pores. The porosity of activated carbon, as defined by IUPAC (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry), is divided in three families:

Macropores (> 250 Å);

Mesopores (10 ÷ 250 Å);

Micropores (< 10 Å).

Short answer: not really

Long answer: they can “bond” in the sense that they can be accustomed to tolerate people, or even a specific person. Bees and wasps (which are pretty smart as far as bugs go) for instance can recognize human faces and distinguish people- beekeepers can often walk among their beehives with impunity while strangers are attacked.

My oldest Eurycantha calcarata, Thorben, belongs to a species that’s notorious for aggression- when disturbed, the males often rear up, release a noxious smell, and pinch with their spiky hind legs (which can draw blood or even pierce down to the bone). But Thorben has never done that.

He was first of his species that I kept- I raised him from an egg alongside 4 others that hatched soon after, and since he was the largest I handled him often. Many sources will say that you should never handle adult male E. calcarata, but he’s never so much as put up a threat display and he’s been handled by 20+ people by now.

(Thorben on 8/26/17 vs. 8/5/19)

Meanwhile, I now have other males who rarely handled when they were babies, and they try to pinch me if I even open up their cage. I would never let anyone else hold those ones.

A more extreme example of this is handling giant centipedes of the genus Scolopendra. Those things are fast, aggressive, and highly venomous, to the point that when keeping them as pets it’s recommended to use extra long tweezers to so much as change their water bowl. But some people have found that by using certain techniques to get them accustomed to being touched, they can gradually become used to human contact to the point that they can be picked up with no signs of aggression.

I tried that once, with a Scolopendra longipes that later died for unknown reasons, but I was a little too hasty with handling and chickened out when I accidentally squeezed it between my fingers and got bitten. Still, the thing acted like a devil incarnate when I first got it and after a few months I could do this:

(bad picture but I’d like to see you take a better one with a giant centipede on your arm….)

Hook-Billed Kite by Hector Bottai, CC BY-SA 3.0 

Etymology: Coarse Hawk

First Described By: Lesson, 1843

Classification: Dinosauromorpha, Dinosauriformes, Dracohors, Dinosauria, Saurischia, Eusaurischia, Theropoda, Neotheropoda, Averostra, Tetanurae, Orionides, Avetheropoda, Coelurosauria, Tyrannoraptora, Maniraptoromorpha, Maniraptoriformes, Maniraptora, Pennaraptora, Paraves, Eumaniraptora, Averaptora, Avialae, Euavialae, Avebrevicauda, Pygostaylia, Ornithothoraces, Euornithes, Ornithuromorpha, Ornithurae, Neornithes, Neognathae, Neoaves, Inopinaves, Telluraves, Afroaves, Accipitrimorphae, Accipitriformes, Accipitridae, 

Referred Species: C. uncinatus (Hook-Billed Kite), C. wilsonii (Cuban Kite) 

Status: Extant, Critically Endangered - Least Concern 

Time and Place: Within the last 10,000 years, in the Holocene of the Quaternary 

The Hook-billed Kites are known from Cuba, Central, and South America, primarily in more humid habitats such as the Amazon basin 

Physical Description: These kites range from 38 to 51 centimeters in length, making them fairly large for flighted birds (but not the largest amongst birds of prey by any means, in that respect they’re middle-of-the-road). They are named for their most distinctive feature - a large, heavy, hooked bill. This bill goes well over the underbill, though it varies extensively across individuals in this genus. The birds have strong feet with sharply curved claws, and somewhat short tails. Their wings are ovular in shape, and interestingly enough the females have more interesting color schemes than the males - while all have grey heads with yellow eye patches, the females have brown backs and reddish-brown stripes across their white bellies, while males continue to be grey, with grey stripes. Some morphs of this genus are very dark in color all over. The juveniles are typically dark brown on top and white underneath, with very few stripes. 

Diet: These birds feed primarily on tree snails, interestingly enough, which they break apart with their strong beaks. They also will eat some reptiles, frogs, salamanders, craps, and insects, depending on where they live and the food available in that local. 

Hook-Billed Kite by Cláudio Dias Timm

Behavior: These are fairly sluggish raptors, all things considered, spending most of their time in the leafy canopy when not flying around. They do fly extensively, though, and are often seen soaring above the rainforest. They will fly until they find a suitable patch of rainforest, go down into the undergrowth, find a snail in its shell, and break the inner whorls of the shell by cracking it with its beak towards the apex of the spire. It will also swallow some smaller snails whole. It will also sit in a perch in the lower canopy to look for snails, or hop between trees. It usually hunts throughout the day, especially during the nesting season. Fairly silent birds, they only tend to make musical chuckling calls to their mate while perched and flying together. They will also make shrill alarm screams in response to danger, and chattering noises to their babies. 

When it comes to breeding, they tend to breed whenever the rainy season starts, based on their individual locations. The two birds will circle each other in courtship, low above the canopy, making those noticeable laughing calls. They then build a flimsy stick nest together, between five and seven meters up in the trees or close to the top of the trees - usually precariously placed on thin branches away from the trunk. They lay up to three eggs, usually two, which are incubated for a little over a month. The male will bring food to the female while she incubates, but when the eggs hatch both parents will feed the young. The chicks then fledge in the early to middle rainy season to take advantage of more plentiful snails. These birds are fairly nomadic - with no distinct migratory pattern, they will move in response to availability of food. 

Hook-Billed Kites by Mike Ostrowski, CC BY-SA 2.0 

Ecosystem: Hook-Billed Kites will live primarily in rainforests, especially in lower canopies and dense understory, as well as in more temperate zones in the Andes mountains. They can also be found in forest edges and clearings, and while they can get up to higher elevations in the Amazon, they are found in lower elevations in more northern locals. The Cuban Kite will be found in more montane gallery forest with extremely tall trees. The young tend to be preyed upon by jays, but the adults don’t have many predators. 

Other: These birds are usually very common, but the Cuban species is very much threatened with extinction due to a limited habitat and excessive human hunting. The mainland species may be rarer in some regions, but overall very common and extending its range northward in response to climate change. 

Species Differences: The Hook-Billed Kites, as opposed to the Cuban Kites, have dark bills with only slight yellow patches on the lower bill. Meanwhile, the beaks of Cuban Kites are entirely yellow. The Cuban Kite has a much more limited range (in Cuba only), while Hook-Billed Kites are found all over Central and South America. This limited range, in addition to persecution by humans, has led to the critical endangerment of the Cuban Kites. 

~ By Meig Dickson

Sources under the Cut 

DNA has not always been the accepted building block of genes and inherited material. Until the 1950′s, this role was believed to be filled by proteins.

The Search For Inheritable Material

In 1927, Griffith discovered bacterial transformation, which is the ability of bacteria to change their genetic makeup by absorbing foreign DNA molecules from other bacterial cells and incorporating the DNA into their own.

Then, in 1944, Avery, MacLeod, and McCarty published their findings that the molecule that Griffith’s bacteria was transferring was DNA. 

In 1952, Hershey and Chase proved that it was DNA and not proteins that were the molecules of inheritance. They tagged bacteriophages (viruses that target bacteria) with radioactive isotopes, tagging the protein coat and DNA with different materials. They discovered that when the bacteria were infected with the virus, it was only the radioactive isotope they had tagged the DNA with that showed up.

Rosalind Franklin continued work started by Maurice Wilkins, and by carrying out X-ray crystallography analysis of DNA, found that DNA was a helix. Unfortunately, although her work was the essential backbone to Watson and Crick’s later discovery that DNA is a double helix, she didn’t get credit and was not named in the Nobel Prize.

Meselson and Stahl proved Watson and Crick’s hypothesis that DNA replicates in a semiconservative fashion. In order to prove this, they cultured bacteria in containing heavy nitrogen. They then moved them into a container with light nitrogen. The bacteria could replicate and divide once, and the new bacterial DNA had one heavy strand and one light strand, proving their hypothesis correct.

Structure of DNA

DNA is a double helix and looks like a twisted ladder

DNA has two complementary strands running in opposite sides from each other.

It’s a polymer with repeating units called nucleotides.

Each nucleotide has a 5 carbon sugar (deoxyribose), a phosphate molecule, and a nitrogenous base

There are four possible nitrogenous bases: The purines adenine, and guanine, and the pyrimidines thymine and cytosine. A goes with T and C goes with G.

The nucleotides of opposite chains are bound by hydrogen bonds.

DNA Replication in Eukaryotes

DNA replication is the process of making a perfect replica of the original DNA strand. Semi-conservative replication shows that the two new molecules of DNA have one old strand and one new strand. 

Replication occurs during interphase

DNA polymerase catalyzes the replication of new DNA. It also proofreads each new DNA strand, fixing errors to minimise mutations.

DNA unzips at the hydrogen bonds connecting its two strands.

Each strand of DNA serves as a template for the new strand, based on the base-pairing rules.

Every time DNA replicates, some nucleotides on the end are lost. To prevent this from causing a problem, their DNA has nonsense repeating nucleotide sequences called telomeres.

Structure of RNA

RNA is a single-stranded helix.

It is a polymer, like DNA made of repeating units of nucleotides

It has ribose, a phosphate and a nitrogenous base

RNA does not have Thymine. Instead, it has Uracil. A pairs with U, C pairs with G.

There are 3 kinds: mRNA (messenger RNA) tRNA (transfer RNA) and rRNA (ribosomal RNA)

mRNA: Carries messages from DNA in the nucleus to the cytoplasm during protein synthesis. The nucleotides on mRNA are called codons.

tRNA: Carries amino acids to the mRNA to form a polypeptide. They have triplet nucleotides that are complementary to those of mRNA. These are called anticodons.

mRNA: Is structural. Makes up the ribosome, along with proteins

Protein Synthesis

There are 3 main steps to protein synthesis: transcription, RNA processing, and translation.

Transcription

Transcription is the process where DNA makes RNA. It is facilitated by RNA polymerase and takes place in the nucleus. The triplet codes on DNA are transcribed into codon sequences in the mRNA. 

If the sequences in DNA triplets is: AAA TAA CCG GAC

The codons will look like this: UUU AUU GGC CUG  (remember RNA does not have Thymine)

RNA Processing

After transcription, the initial transcript is processed and edited by enzymes, who remove introns (noncoding sequences of RNA). The remaining exons are pieced back together to form the final transcript. The now shorter mRNA leaves the nucleus

Translation of mRNA Into Protein

Translation is the conversion of mRNA into an amino acid sequence. 

It occurs in the ribosome. Amino acids in the cytoplasm are carried by tRNA to the codons of the mRNA strand according to the base-pairing rules (think of it as trying to put a puzzle together.)

Some tRNA molecules can bind to two or more codons. For example, there are 4 separate sequences who code for the single amino acid: Serine.

Gene Regulation

Cells are not constantly synthesizing all the peptides it can make, as otherwise, the excess proteins would harm the bodies homeostasis. What this means is that the cells need to be able to turn their genes off sometimes. While this process is not well understood in humans, in bacteria it is a much more simple process, and much better understood. 

The operon is the key to gene regulation. It is a cluster of functional genes, along with the “switches” that turn them on and off. There are two kinds. The Lac or inducible operon is normally turned off until it is actively triggered by something in the environment. The other is the repressible operon, which is always turned on unless it is actively turned off.

On the operon, there is the promoter. This is the binding site of RNA polymerase. RNA polymerase always needs to bind to DNA before transcription happens, so the promoter is the equivalent of an on the switch. There is also the operator, which is the binding site for the repressor, which turns of the Lac operon. The TATA box helps RNA polymerase bind to the promoter

Mutations

Mutations are changes in genetic material. They are spontaneous and random. They can be caused by mutagenic agents, toxic chemicals, and radiation. They are often given a bad name, however, they are essential for natural selection.

Point Mutation

A point mutation is the most simple form of a mutation. It is a base pair substitution, where one nucleotide becomes another. The effects of this can be seen when trying to read a sentence.

THE FAT CAT SAW THE DOG —— THE FAT CAT SAW THE HOG

The change isn’t too dramatic, and the sentence is still legible, albeit having a different meaning

Insertion and Deletion

Insertion and deletion cause much more dramatic changes. They occur when one nucleotide is lost, or an extra nucleotide is added to the sequence. These are also known as frameshift mutations.

Insertion:

THE FAT CAT SAW THE DOG — TTH EFA TCA TSA WTH EDO G

Deletion:

THE FAT CAT SAW THE DOG— HEF ATC ATS AWT HED OG

Chromosome Mutations

I went over chromosome mutations more in detail in my classical genetics post, so I’ll do a brief overview of some terms here. 

Aneuploidy is a condition where someone has an abnormal number of chromosomes. Someone who is intersex is an aneuploid because of a chromosomal mutation that gave them an abnormal number of sex chromosomes. 

The condition of having more chromosomes than average is called polyploidy. People with down syndrome are polyploids. More specifically, they have trisomy-21, meaning instead of 2 chromosome 21′s, they have 3.

These mutations are caused by nondisjunction when homologous pairs do not separate properly during meiosis.

It is important to know that chromosomal mutations do not always have disastrous effects. People with aneuploidy still live extremely fulfilled lives, and some don’t just learn to live, become happy with how they were born. 

The Human Genome

A genome is an organism’s genetic material. The human genome contains around 3 billion base pairs of DNA and 20,000 genes. 97% of that DNA does not code for protein production. Some of this DNA are regulatory sequences controlling gene expression, some are pseudogenes, which are former genes which accumulate over time. DNA is still very elusive, and scientists learn new things about it every day. Maybe one day, a scientist will read this blog, shaking his head at how wrong we were today.

Genetic Engineering and Recombinant DNA

Recombinant DNA is the act of taking DNA from two sources and combining them into one cell. This is the foundation of genetic engineering and biotechnology. Two pieces of this massive subject are gene therapy and environmental cleanup. The hope with gene therapy is that scientists may figure out how to insert functioning genes into humans to replace their nonfunctioning ones. Success could mean a cure for cystic fibrosis and sickle cell anaemia. Along with this, microbes could be engineered to decontaminate harmful chemicals at mining sites. GMO’s could be modified 

However, the safety of genetic engineering. GMO’s, in particular, have become a major talking point. One major concern is that GMO’s will accidentally be introduced to the wild which could have major impacts on the ecosystems surrounding farmland.

Restriction Enzymes

Restriction enzymes are essential for scientists who work with DNA. They cut DNA at recognition sequences or sites. They are referred to as molecular scissors. The pieces of DNA that result from the cuts are called restriction fragments.

Gel Electrophoresis

Gel electrophoresis is the act of separating large molecules of DNA based on their rate of movement through an agarose gel in an electric field. The smaller the molecule of DNA, the faster it travels. Before being placed in the gel, the DNA is prepared with restriction enzymes, providing small enough molecules for the scientists to work with.

Polymerase Chain Reaction

for the last 2+ weeks, the Amazon has been catching fire. Yes, it’s the season where that’s normal but because of the sayings (aka incentive) of our new president, some farmers are taking advantage of that and intentionally setting the trees on fire. Yesterday, because of this, the sky of São Paulo looked like this. AT THREE IN THE AFTERNOON.

Hospitals of the northern states are filling up with people (especially children and seniors) claiming they can’t breathe properly. ALREADY ENDANGERED ANIMALS ARE DYING. THIS IS SERIOUS.

Germany and Norway, huge donators to the Amazon cause will stop sending money because they don’t see results (that can also be credited to our president, who has been tweeting angrily ever since - not because he cares about the environment, btw). That money gives this guy and his team equipment to save little guys like these:

THIS AFFECTS EVERYONE, NOT JUST BRAZILIANS. The Amazon is the largest rainforest in the world, and it’s being destroyed. WE HAVE TO DO SOMETHING.

If your country is holding elections, vote for someone who cares about this. Don’t let another Bolsonaro or another Trump have the power to do something and then do nothing. This is going to shape our future — if we have one.

PLEASE REBLOG, EVERYONE NEEDS TO SEE THIS!!

R+ As seasons.

Till : Summer.

Flake: Winter.

Olli & Reesh: Autumn.

So, our Lung is on fire.

It is already threatened by huge deforestation, to the point it lost 20% of its wildth in less than 30 years.

It’s been burning for around two weeks and almost no word has been uttered about it. I, sincerely, have come to find out about it just now. I’m shooketh ™️ because we’re really burning away this planet.