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Carbon dioxide

It is Green All Around

The effect of Spring season is different on different species of trees. Some are in great hurry and begin to change their habits at the earliest. Some are very patient and wait on and begin to sprout the beautiful transparent light colored leaves when the leaves of the early starters have already become dull and dark green. Banyan trees are different. I saw them shed copious quantities of the dry leaves daily with the help of strong breeze. When they became almost skeletons, new copper colored leaves come out all over the tree. The trees look to be made of… Read More »It is Green All Around

Stomatal Index and Level of Carbondioxide in Atmosphere

There was a time when things started rolling on with advent of photosynthesis by cyano-bacteria or green algae which began preparing its food from carbon dioxide and water which were the only substances available in plenty. They paved the way for introduction of oxygen into the atmosphere and for beginning of life dependent on oxygen. In fact, both the products made by photosynthesis namely sugar and oxygen are used by animals including humans for sustaining their life. We animals are thus the species who learned to make use of the leg work of others to our own advantage. Of course,… Read More »Stomatal Index and Level of Carbondioxide in Atmosphere

Algae: A machine to make energy

In the beginning there was carbon dioxide, water and sunlight on our Earth and its environment. The same carbon dioxide which is the end product of today’s industrial processes. The factories spew carbon dioxide. Scientists are finding ways to fix this carbon dioxide which is the major cause of greenhouse effect and results in trapping the heat and disallows it dissipate and result in Global warming. Whereas in the present climate living beings mostly use oxygen to breakup the food and convert it to glucose and energy, in the beginning only organism that thrived on carbon dioxide was called green… Read More »Algae: A machine to make energy

Is there life on Mars? Again Microbes hold the key

Earliest life of single cell evolved into 3 branches having distinct traits. The branches further subdivide into more branches on the evolutionary tree of life called Phylogenetic tree of life. The first three branches are called Bacteria, archaea and Eucaryota. As we can see in this tree, there is a member of archaea family with the name Methanogen. This microbe holds the answer for presence of vast quantities of methane which is trapped inside the ice cages called methane hydrates. These hydrates are found in Earth’s in permafrost regions having very low temperatures or under the deep sea floor. Water… Read More »Is there life on Mars? Again Microbes hold the key

Bacteria in Oilfields

Bacteria can thrive on almost anything and adapt themselves to very diverse environments. They can subsist on substances like cellulose which we humans cannot assimilate. They can breakdown poisonous gases like hydrogen sulfide and absorb nitrogen from atmosphere and fix them into the roots of many plants which plants use as fertilizer. Bacteria can even breakdown crude oil. Crude oil consists of millions of hydrocarbons which are composed from carbon and hydrogen. These compounds range from the simplest molecule called methane made from 1 carbon atom to giant molecules containing even more than 50 carbon atoms. Many of these bacteria… Read More »Bacteria in Oilfields

Simply Mind Boggling

Scientists speculate that all the fundamental particles were created from the energy immediately after the Big Bang event in which Universe was formed. Then these atoms combined in different permutations and combinations and molecules were born. Context of immediately in the cosmic events is not similar to the usual terms with which define our world. It may be millions of years. Earth was formed but its climate was not like the present day. There was no life except one algae namely “Blue Algae” known in the scientific language as “Cyanobacteria” where “Cyano” stands for blue color. It thrived in the… Read More »Simply Mind Boggling

Bread: Most Basic Necessity

One’s “Bread and Butter” means the major occupation which provides him the sustenance for life. “Breaking bread” refers to a community custom which is sharing the food and sitting together. It is thus more than eating but a way to bring the members of a community closer to one another. The importance of bread cannot be overemphasized. Primitive man was a nomad and it was the wheat grass for which womenfolk are credited to have grown, which gave the man a reason to stay put at a place and bring the stability in the life which was almost akin to… Read More »Bread: Most Basic Necessity

Eggs: A concoction of Chemicals

Eggs are a convenient food item. It is easy to make a number of recipes. They can be scrambled, boiled, fried, or poached. In fact eggs are used in a variety of recipes. Eggs are used in custards and cakes and so many other confectioneries. The versatility of eggs is a reflection of their intricate chemical makeup. Eggs contain a number of chemicals including proteins, fats, vitamins, minerals, and water. Seemingly eggshells look impervious. Eggs do have micro holes. A single eggshell is perforated by 9,000 pores, on average. The shell forms the egg’s container, protecting it and acting as… Read More »Eggs: A concoction of Chemicals

Artificial Leaf

Research to harness the clean and renewable energy of the Sun is going on around the Globe. Artificial leaf made by a professor and his team at MIT is a step in this direction. Nature is so complex that even the structure of a leaf which is a basic unit for converting absorbed Carbon dioxide (CO2 ) and water (H2O) into glucose is beyond full comprehension. Human beings try to break down every phenomena in nature into smaller manageable parts and understand it and then integrate the results. This is due to the evolution of our brain in such a… Read More »Artificial Leaf

Plants are very Smart Indeed

Plants are very smart, efficient and unforgiving in the energy management. Unlike the animals, who cannot regrow their limbs, plants see to it that inefficient leaves are cast off and replaced by new efficient one’s so that the food making machine continue to run smoothly. The leaves make the food by combining carbon dioxide and water in the presence of chlorophyll which shepherds the energy from sun and store it in the plant. Animals make use of this energy by eating the plant parts. This pigment imparts green color to the leaves and masks the faint colors of other chemicals… Read More »Plants are very Smart Indeed

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