Apatite

A mineral for hungry people? Apatite is a phosphate mineral with the composition Ca₅[PO₄]₃(OH,F,Cl). It has been used extensively as a phosphorus fertilizer and is still mined for that purpose today. The mineral called “asparagus stone” is a appropriately a type of green apatite. Ironically, apatite is the mineral that makes up the teeth in all vertebrate animals as well as their bones.

The gem material makes a great faceted stone.

Thanks to ‘Sparkly’ Sally Ewen for suggesting this molecule and to Sean and to Kay Dekker for some info about it.

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 18th October 2009

Angelic Acid

Angelic acid isn’t very angelic at all – it’s a defence substance for certain beetles. It gets its name from the Swedish plant Garden Angelica (Archangelica officinalis) from whose roots it was first obtained in the 1840s. Its proper name is (Z)-2-methyl-2-butenoic acid. The other isomer (E) goes by the equally silly name of tiglic acid (from the plant Croton tiglium, the source of croton oil) and is also a beetle defence substance.

Thanks to Andrew Walden for suggesting these molecules and to Florian Raab and Bo Ohlson for providing some of the information about them.

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 18th October 2009

SILKWORM INTERESTING FACT

More than 5,000 years ago, the Chinese discovered how
to make silk from silkworm cocoons. For about 3,000 years,
the Chinese kept this discoverya secret.
Because poor people could not afford real silk,
they tried to make other cloth look silky.
Women would beat on cotton with sticks to
soften the fibres.
Then they rubbed it against a big stone to make it shiny.
The shiny cotton was called "chintz."
Because chintz was a cheaper copy of silk, calling something
"chintzy" means it is cheap and not of good quality.

Silkworm Information

Phylum, Arthropoda; Class, Insecta; Order, Lepidoptera

Identifying Features Appearance (Morphology) Larvae are worm-like with a short anal horn. Three distinct body parts: head, thorax, abdomen Adult has four wings covered with scales Adult Males and Females Adult moths have creamy white wings with brownish patterns across the front wings. The body is very hairy and the wingspan is about 50 mm. Adult females are larger and less active than males. Male moths actively crawl around looking for females. They will copulate for several hours. Immatures (different stages) Lepidoptera are holometabolous, therefore they have three distinct morphological stages; larva, pupa and adult. After hatching from the egg, larvae go through four molts as they grow. During each molt, the old skin is cast off and a new, larger one is produced. The silk worm larval life is divided into five instars, separated by four molts. Three pair of short, jointed legs with a single claw at the tip are located on the three body segments immediately behind the head. Five pair of fleshy protuberances (prolegs) ending in a series of hooks called crockets are located posteriorly and ventrally on the abdomen and aid the larva’s clinging a climbing abilities on plants. Natural History Food Silkworms natural food plant is the mulberry tree (Morus sp.). An artificial diet has been developed to facilitate cultivation of silkworms. If you do not have a mulberry tree available, you must purchase the artificial diet. Habitat Today, the silkworm moth lives only in captivity. Silkworms have been domesticated so that they an no longer survive independently in nature, particularly since they have lost the ability to fly. All wild populations are extinct, although presumably old relatives exist in Asia. Interesting Behaviors Silkworms have been used by researchers to study pheromones or sexual attractant substances. The pheromones are released by female moths and the males detect the chemicals with olfactory hairs on their antennae. This allows the male to find the female for mating. The male antennae are made of many small hairs to increase the chances of picking up small amounts of the pheromones over long distances. Collecting Live Insects Where to find Silkworm eggs and artificial diet can be purchased from Carolina Biological Supply Company and Ward’s Biology. Check with other teachers and your district to see if there is a resource person in your community with eggs. Silk Industry History The coveted secret of silkworm cultivation began 5000 years ago in China. Sericulture (the production of raw silk by raising silkworms) spread to Korea and later to Japan and southern Asia. During the eleventh century European traders stole several eggs and seeds of the mulberry tree and began rearing silkworms in Europe. Sericulture was introduced into the Southern United States in colonial times, but the climate was not compatible with cultivation. Today Today, silk is cultivated in Japan, China, Spain, France, and Italy, although artificial fibers have replaced the use of silk in much of the textile industry. The silk industry has a commercial value of $200-$500 million annually. One cocoon is made of a single thread about 914 meters long. About 3000 cocoons are needed to make a pound of silk. To gather silk from cocoons, boil intact cocoons for five minutes in water turning them gently. Remove from the water and using a dissecting needle or similar tool, begin to pick up strands. When you find a single strand that comes off easily, wind the silk onto a pencil. Several of these strands are combined to make a thread.

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 18th October 2009

Fukiic Acid

Fuki is the Japanese word for the butterbur flower, and Fukiic acid is the hydrolysis product from this plant, Petasites japonicus. Interestingly, further oxidation of this produces the wonderfully named Fukinolic acid. (I wonder if fukanolic is anything like alcoholic…) Anyway, since the conjugate base of fukinolic acid is fukinolate, it’s probably about time we stopped!

Thanks to Anton Sherwood for info on fukiic acid, and to Andrew Reinders for suggesting fukinolate.

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 13th Oct 2009

What is it?

Terminalia catappa is a species of tropical tree that grows in Asia. It is widely believed that placing the dried leaves of this tree in your aquarium (especially with Betta fish) causes the animals better health and therefore longer life.

Alternative Names

Indian Almond leaf, Ketapang, Wild Almond, Badamier, Java Almond, Amandier de Cayenne, Tropical Almond, Myrobalan, Malabar Almond, Singapore Almond, Ketapang, Huu Kwang, Sea Almond, Kobateishi, West Indian Almond, Umbrella Tree, Amandel Huu Kwang, Kottamba

Benefits

Unsubstantiated claims of a reduced presence of fungus, boosted immune system and helping skin problems in fish are also reported.

The leaves do contain several flavonoids (like kamferol or quercetin), several tannins (such as punicalin, punicalagin or tercatin), saponines and phytosterols. Due to this chemical richness, the leaves (and also the bark) have long been used in different traditional medicines for various purposes.

It is also thought that the large leaves (7-10″ long) contain agents for prevention of cancers (although they have no demonstrated anticarcinogenic properties) and antioxidant as well as anticlastogenic characteristics.

In fishkeeping the leaves are also used to lower the ph and heavy metals of the water. It has been utilized in this way by Betta Breeders in Thailand for many years. Hobbyists across the world also use them for conditioning the betta’s water for breeding and harding of the scales.

Studies of rotting plant material (see bogwood) have shown that the organic material releases minerals as beneficial fungi and bacteria decompose it. This provides food for infusoria which in turn shrimps and fry enjoy eating as a natural diet.

Does it work?

Scientific sources of the benefits of Indian almond leaves to humans are few and far between. Certainly chemical analysis of these leaves show a high degree of variety of chemicals. We can find no similar scientific studies on the benefits of this leaf in aquariums.

Perhaps similar benefits may also be seen if you were to use standard bogwood in your aquarium. Bogwood is well known at lowering pH and reduces the toxicity of metals. Which is an aid to lowering the presence of fungus and certain species of bacteria. The organic matter is also as a food source for catfish like Plecos and is a natural food for infusoria which invertebrates like shrimp and other small fish feed off.

The tannins and other chemicals which are dissolved in the water by the decomposition of organic material is called Blackwater. There are many companies selling Amazon and African blackwater bottles. So Indian almond leaves may simply be Asia’s equivalent.

Certainly aquatic animals evolved alongside trees growing next to them. Tree leaves falling in and decomposing will have released dozens of trace minerals that the animals will have naturally absorbed. In an aquarium these chemicals will be missing so it seems sensible to assume that adding these chemicals via blackwater or bogwood will potentially restore this imbalance. The trick is to obtain the same species of plants that grow in the wild animals locale.

Failing that, other plants like Green tea, Tree spinach, Dock leaves, Cranberrys, etc. are all well known for their health benefits. Oak leaves are often used in aquariums as an alternative.

Purchasing the leaves

The leaves are not generally sold commercially in aquarium shops, though there is one product we’ve came across – Bio-Leaf by Degen Discus. eBay and AquaBid often have sellers of these items. So we recommend you look there. The leaves are not expensive.

• The leaves should be evenly brown on both sides with no signs of fungus mould (light grey patches). Give the leaf a rinse in tap water to remove any possible lingering pesticides, etc. before you add it to an aquarium is a prudent move.

• Keep any unused leaves in an air and watertight container away from light and heat will ensure that any unused leaves will keep for at least 4-6 months.

Indian almond leaves and Betta fish

There appears to be word-of-mouth speculation of this leaf being used by far eastern aquarists for hundreds of years to harden the skin and increase the health of this fighting fish after bouts of fights.

Dosage

Assuming an average 6-10″ (15.2-25.4cm) long leaf, you use one quarter of this for every 4L (1.1 US G.) litres for Bettas or 1-2 leaves per 50L (13.2 US G.) for other species. Leave them in the tank for around 15 days in a filter bag or let them lie loose, they will sink after 2-3 days. Expect the water to tint slightly brown with the tannins.

• Remove any active carbon before adding them. Afterwards carbon may be used to remove the tannins but this may impact on their benefit.
• Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 5th Oct 2009
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INDIA’S NEW TATA NANO MOTOR CAR

PEOPLE MOVERS FOR THE MASSESS @ $2,000US

After getting official over a year ago, missing its original production plan and eventually hitting a wall with respect to production, Tata’s long-awaited Nano vehicle is all set to take to the streets this July. According to a fresh report over at Reuters, the world’s cheapest car (100,000 rupee, or $1,980) is expected to be the hottest thing around when it ships in India in a matter of months. In fact, there are so many orders waiting to be filled, initial owners will be “randomly selected from bookings made between April 9 and 25.” We’re also told that a European variant will be launched by 2011, and while a US model is still a possibility, no firm launch date has been given there. Good luck getting your rear into one, and be sure and shoot us a few hands-on shots if you do.

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 29th Sept 2009

TATTOO YOUR CELL PHONE ONTO YOUR SKIN

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 8th Sept 2009

E – BANDS FOR OLD HEART PATIENTS

REMOTELY REPORTS THEIR CONDITION TO HOSPITALS

This idea aims to provide medical attention to old incapacitated people who cannot intimate the hospitals about their health in case of a serious heart attack.

All such old peoples would be provided with an E-Band which would consist of  pulse rate detecting equipment.

This equipment would consist of a pulse rate detecting sensor and a microprocessor. The sensor would constantly monitor the pulse rate of the patient and at regular intervals send the pulse rate as input to the microprocessor.

The microprocessor would be so programmed so that it generates a high output if appreciable fall or rise in the pulse rate is observed.

This output would be in turn connected to the transmitter attached to the walking stick used by the patient. As soon as the transmitter receives a high signal, it would transmit data signals consisting of a certain bit combination which would be unique for each patient, to the nearest hospital.

The hospital would be provided with the receiver in order to receive the signals and depending bit pattern in the signal, the location of the victim can be easily identified and in this way immediate medical attention can be given to the patient.

For power supply, Batteries and a switch connection is provided in the walking stick. Whenever the switch is switched on the entire circuitry would perform the above mentioned functionality. The market acquiring capacity of this product would be immense as this only requires a normal pulse detecting sensor and a microprocessor which are quite easily available and a small interface circuit between them.

Again the transmitter also is an easily available component and connection also does not require a lot of hardware. Apart from this the idea involves the usage of some minor hardware such as wiring to provide dc power and to send the microprocessor output to the transmitter and a battery and switch connection.

In the hospital a receiver is required in order to receive the transmitted signals and determine the location of the patient depending on bit pattern. And the cost involved surely is worth saving a life.

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 8th Sept 2009

One of the greatest challenges for humanity has always been the inevitability of deteriorating health, the aging process and of death being the final outcome. Many have searched for the proverbial fountain of youth and all have failed, until now.

Forever is a process by which the physical age of living animals can be reversed.

It makes death as a result of aging a thing of the past and is a breakthrough in health a million times more effective than most any other treatment.

Forever makes sustained life possible and opens up the reality of extended space exploration and colonization.

Fifty per cent of the solution is capturing the real problem.

Upon observation, new cells get created through two means, mitosis and through the actions of the pituitary gland.

Mitosis involves existing cells and cell division.

The pituitary secretes hormones that actually create new living cells.

Upon obeservation cells die through two means, due to a limit on the number of times a cell can divide called Hayflicks Limit and they also die due to environmental means such as physical damage, toxins, and disease.

Since the pituitary becomes less active in producing new cells as we age and since more and more cells reach their cell reproduction limit it can be observed that the cell population of living cells decreases over time.

It can also be observed that we age over time.

Three questions arise from this:

1…Is there a correlation between a decrease in cell population and the fact that we age?

2…Can we test it or prove that such a correlation exists?

3…If it proves that there is a correlation can we produce a product or process to reverse aging that is doable and practical?

If you wanted to test the above hypothesis, if you could inhibit or stop new cell growth in some way where the result was an increased aging rate then you could say this hypotheseis was accurate.

God has already done the test; See photo below. The picture is of John Tacket, 15, of Bay City,Michegan. The disease he has is called Progeria which is rapid aging.

Most children who have it do not live past thirteen years and have bodies that are phsically in their 90’s.

It has been identified that progeria is caused by a particular gene. Doctors know to look for that gene when a child is born because the baby is underweight as this gene inhibits cell growth!

We are alive because of living cells. No living cells, no life.

When we are born we are being turned into corpses as the amount of living cells decrease.

The soltion is to increase the living cell population and is as follows:

a) Take out healthy living cells

b) Extend the length of tails(telomeres) on these cells.(Hayflicks Limit only exists due to the shortening of these

c) Make thousands of copies

d) Reintroduce these new cells back into the doner

e)Repeat a-c on other cells. See diagram #2 for outline.

Sourced and published by Henry Sapiecha 8th Sept 2009