HEALTH AND WELLNESS

              Diatoms, microscopic algae that encase themselves in ornate, exquisitely patterned glass shells, are found in prolific numbers in every ocean on earth. They have fascinated scientists for centuries –in fact, ever since the microscope was first invented and men could sketch their beauty. Justifiably, the diatom is called the jewel of the sea.              Alfred Nobel, inventor of dynamite in the 1860’s, used silica from diatoms to stabilize nitroglycerin, which enabled him to form portable sticks of the explosive . Fossilized diatom shells are used commercially in many ways today –for example, to illuminate road paint, purify wine, and filter swimming pool water.            Far more important, though, is the fact that these tiny one-celled plants account for one fourth of the photosynthesis on our planet. Researchers Allen Milligan and Francois Morel, of Princeton University, U.S.A., have found that silica in the diatom’s glass shell causes chemical changes

                                               One can survive for several weeks without food but only about five days without water! Up to three quarters of our body weight is water. For example, the brain is 75 to 85 percent water, and the muscles are 70 percent water. Among other things, water helps us to digest and absorb food, carrying nutrients to the cells. It removes toxins and other waste, lubricates joints and the colon, and regulates body temperature. But did you know that drinking enough water is also a factor in weight loss?                                                      DRINKING WATER TO LOSE WEIGHT               First of all, water has no calories, is fat free and cholesterol-free, and is low in sodium. Second, it is an appetite suppressant. Third, water helps the body to metabolize stored fat. How? Well, when the kidneys do not have enough water, they cannot function properly. The liver steps in as a backup, but doing so hinders its ability to metaboliz

         Like barnacles, marine mussels attach themselves to rocks, wood, or ship hulls. However, unlike barnacles, which fasten themselves tightly to a surface, marine mussels dangle by a network of thin filaments called BYSSUS THREADS . While this method increases the mussel’s flexibility for feeding and migration, the threads seem too flimsy to withstand the impact of ocean waves. How does the byssus allow the mussel to hang on and not be swept out to sea?        Byssus threads are stiff on one end, yet soft and stretchy on the other. Researchers have found that the precise ratio used by mussel- 80 percent stiff material to 20 percent soft –is critical for providing the strongest attachment. Hence, the byssus can handle the force of dramatic pulling and pushing by marine waters.       Professor Guy Genin calls the results of this research stunning, adding that the magic of this organism lies in the structurally clever integration of this compliant region. Scientists beli

                                          Cuttlefish can change their color and camouflage themselves, becoming almost invisible to the human eye. According to one report, cuttlefish “are known to have a diverse range of body patterns and they can switch between them almost instantaneously.” How do cuttlefish do it?            The cuttlefish changes color by using the CHROMATOPHORE , a special kind of cell found under its skin. Chromatophores contain sacs that are full of colored pigment and that are surrounded by tiny muscles. When the cuttlefish needs to camouflage itself, its brain sends a signal to contract the muscles around the sacs. Then the sacs and the pigment within them expand, and the cuttlefish quickly changes its color and pattern. The cuttlefish may use this skill not only for camouflage but also to impress potential mates and perhaps communicate.           Engineers at the University of Bristol, England, built an artificial cuttlefish skin . They sandwiched

         Astronomers have discovered that they do not know what makes up over 90 percent of the universe. What is more, the discoveries that led to question their understanding of the fundamentals of physics itself. Of course, such questions are nothing new.           Toward the end of the 19 th century, physicists observed something odd about the speed of light. They found that relative to an observer, light always traveled at the same speed no matter how fast the observer was moving. But that seemed to defy natural law! The problem was addressed in 1905 in Albert Einstein’s special theory of relativity, which showed that distance [length], time, and mass are not absolutes. Then, after a flash of intuition that he termed “the happiest thought of my life,” Einstein began to develop his general theory of relativity, which he published in 1916. In this revolutionary work, Einstein wove gravity , space, and time together and refined the physics of Isaac Newton.           

                                    In the hands of a trained craftsman, a lump of soft clay can be formed into practical any shape. Embryonic stem cells are the living equivalent of that piece of moist clay; they have the prospective to give rise to virtually all of the over 200 cell types making up the human body. How do they do this? Consider what happens to a newly fertilized egg cell.           Soon after fertilization an egg cell begins to divide. In humans about five days of cell division results in a minute ball of cells called a BLASTOCYST . It is essentially a hollow sphere that is composed of a shell-like outer cell layer and a small cluster of about 30 cells called the inner cell mass, which is attached to the inside wall of the sphere. The outer cell layer becomes the PLACENTA ; the inner cell mass, the human embryo.          At the blastocyst stage, though, the cells of the inner cell mass have not yet begun to specialize into specific cell types, such as nerve