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Cycas Male plant bears single male cone terminally but here you see two

Cycas Male plant bears single male cone terminally but here you see two

Apr 03 2010 | comment(s)

The botanical garden of Justus Liebig Universitat where I visited with my daughter when she was less than two years old in 1976 for the first time has attracted me again and again.



Some of the widest collections of plants are there




Plants which do no produce flowers bear seeds on their modified leaves.

Plants which do no produce flowers bear seeds on their modified leaves.

Apr 03 2010 | comment(s)

During course of evolution (  if you believe in theory of evolution ) cycads were once called as living fossil . Most of the plants of this group became extinct and fossil. However when Cycas was discovered from China where it is found on places of worship as in Japan also, it was named a living fossil.
The plant belong to group Gymnosperms or  naked seeded plants. The seeds are not enclosed inside the ovary and are borne on tips of highly reduced leaves known as megasporophylls on the female plants . The sexes are separate. Male cones and female megasporophylls are borne on different plants.
It gives a wonderful look to see the seeds directly borne on the leaves ( see below)



The Supurb Lyrebird (and skepticism!)

The Supurb Lyrebird (and skepticism!)

Apr 03 2010 | comment(s)

Birds in general are impressive creatures, but the Supurb lyrebird takes the cake for its ability to mimic sounds. Here's a video demonstrating its ability to mimic construction sounds. You can listen while you read the rest of this post:


The Say Of The Week

The Say Of The Week

Apr 03 2010 | comment(s)

"I love work, it fascinates me; I can sit and watch it for hours".

J. K. Jerome
Zeeya Merali on The Large Human Collider

Zeeya Merali on The Large Human Collider

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

I just read a very nice article by Nature's Zeeya Merali, and I thought I would link it from this blog. It discusses in detail several aspects of the sociology of the very large communities of particle physics experiments taking place at CERN.
Faint Young Sun - No Paradox

Faint Young Sun - No Paradox

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

Faint Young Sun - No Paradox


The faint young sun paradox is no paradox, according to a recent paper in Nature.


The faint young sun paradox is that the earth didn't freeze over when the sun was weaker at the time when the oceans formed.  Earth's climate has been fairly constant during the approx. 4.6 billion years of earth's existence, despite the fact that radiation from the Sun is believed to have increased by 25-30 percent over that time.

Professor Minik Rosing, from the Natural History Museum of Denmark, and Christian Bjerrum, from the Department of Geography and Geology at University of Copenhagen, together with American colleagues from Stanford University in California claim that there is no paradox.
Dr. Pepper Throwdown

Dr. Pepper Throwdown

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

We defied expectations in last week's Pepsi Throwback Challenge. We found the unusual result that our bodies, against our wills, preferred high fructose corn syrup to ordinary sugar.  Our comparison of Pepsi[TM] soda products, particularly their corn syrup 'regular formulation' against their all-sugar 'Throwback', defied our expectations.
SPB TV: The Easiest To Use Mobile TV Comes To IPhone

SPB TV: The Easiest To Use Mobile TV Comes To IPhone

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

InXile's Sparkworkz(TM) Announces Line Rider Racing(TM) Launch Title For IPad(TM)

InXile's Sparkworkz(TM) Announces Line Rider Racing(TM) Launch Title For IPad(TM)

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

Temple Grandin

Temple Grandin

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

For any of those that have not yet had the opportunity to see it (and have HBO), HBO will presenting its made-for-TV biopic on Temple Grandin this evening.  It's a very well-done piece, and superbly acted by Claire Danes.
Fossilized Weather

Fossilized Weather

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

Fossilized Weather


If you want to know what the weather is doing you can do as the candlelight fisherman in the song did, and "open the pane and pop out the flame and see how the winds do blow".  Or you could look at the nearest weathervane.  They come in all sort of designs, shapes and sizes. 
Is earth a Global living entity

Is earth a Global living entity

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

The behaviour of inhabitants of the earth on the whole has followed a pattern of war and peace. There was an eara of tensions, then came era of freedom of thoughts, and now global warming.



To me earth is global living entity with its own identity in the solar system. Man made political boundaries apart the human behaviour globally has followed a pattern of war and peace, happiness and sorrow, plentiful to droughts, haves to have nots in a cyclic manner. According to Japanese proverb things come in pair, joy will always be followed by sadnes .




Veteran's Charity Combat Stress Welcomes New GBP2 Million For Veterans' Mental Health Services

Veteran's Charity Combat Stress Welcomes New GBP2 Million For Veterans' Mental Health Services

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

Mobile Virus 'MMS Bomber' Rampant, Millions Of Mobile Phones In China Impacted

Mobile Virus 'MMS Bomber' Rampant, Millions Of Mobile Phones In China Impacted

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

Early Autism Diagnosis: The Infant Sibling Study

Early Autism Diagnosis: The Infant Sibling Study

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

A cutting-edge UC Davis M.I.N.D. Institute research project, the Infant Sibling Study, is leading the way in seeking clues to the earliest behavioral manifestations of autism. This project studies the younger siblings of children already diagnosed with autism. For reasons that are not entirely clear, these children are among the most likely to be subsequently diagnosed with the condition. While the chance that a first child will have autism is about 1 in 100, the chance that a sibling of a child with autism will also have autism is as high as 1 in 5.
DAF-16: Aging Gene Governs Lifespan In Humans?

DAF-16: Aging Gene Governs Lifespan In Humans?

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

University of Birmingham scientists have discovered that the gene DAF-16 plays an important part in determining the rate of aging and average lifespan of the laboratory worm Caenorhabditis elegans (C. elegans) and its close evolutionary cousins.

DAF-16 is found in many other animals, including humans, and it is possible that this knowledge could open up new avenues for altering ageing, immunity and resistance to stresses in humans. The research was published this week in PLoS One
Sunflowers Show How Gene Duplication Generates Diversity

Sunflowers Show How Gene Duplication Generates Diversity

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

The authors of a new paper in Current Biology say they have found the first concrete evidence that shows how gene duplications can lead to functional diversity in organisms.

In the study, researchers examined how duplications of a gene called FLOWERING LOCUS T, or FT, could have evolved and interacted to prolong a sunflower's time to grow. A longer flower growth period means a bigger flower -- presumably an attribute of great value to the plant's first breeders.
Engineers Turn Noise Into Vision With Stochastic Resonance

Engineers Turn Noise Into Vision With Stochastic Resonance

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

Princeton Electrical Engineers have developed a new technique for revealing images of hidden objects. The method, a new type of stochastic resonance, relies on the ability to clarify an image using rays of light that would typically make the image unrecognizable, such as those scattered by clouds, human tissue or murky water.

The discovery may one day help pilots navigate through fog and doctors peer into the human body without surgery. The findings were reported online in Nature Photonics.
Researchers Study Disease During Spaceflight

Researchers Study Disease During Spaceflight

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

ASU Biodesign Institute researchers are using the unique conditions of spaceflight to examine how cells remain healthy or succumb to disease, particularly in the face of stress or damage. Their experiment will be launched into low earth orbit on April 5 aboard the space shuttle Discovery on mission STS-131.

The team hopes to provide fundamental new insight into the infectious disease process, and further undestanding of other progressive diseases, including immune disorders and cancer. The Results of the current study will also be used to help mitigate infectious disease risks to the crew, who are particularly vulnerable to infection, due to reduced immune function during spaceflight missions.
Neurons Stick Together To Get Their Message Heard

Neurons Stick Together To Get Their Message Heard

Apr 02 2010 | comment(s)

Although they only account for a fraction of the synapses in the visual cortex, neurons in the thalamus get their message across loud and clear by coordination -- simultaneously hitting the "send" button—according to a computer simulation developed by researchers at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies.

Their findings may hold important clues to how the brain encodes and processes information, which can be applied to a wide variety of applications, from understanding psychiatric disorders to the development of novel pharmaceuticals and new ways of handling information by computers or communication networks. The results are published in Science.