🧪The Sodium-potassium Pump🧬

Have you ever seen a venus flytrap anemone? Members of the genus Actinoscyphia, these critters resemble their namesake plant but are actually marine invertebrates related to jellyfish. They can be found on the seafloor at depths of up to about 7,000 ft (2,133 m), where they lie in wait for passing food. These anemones use their tentacles to catch and consume detritus (decomposing organic waste) that's carried by the current. Growing as much as 1 ft (0.3 m) in length, their tentacles are lined with stinging nematocysts. 

Photo: NOAA Photo Library, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons

Conifer tufts

Monday december 13

hello my lovelies! sorry for being so absent, the ib has been crushing me haha (laughing to avoid crying) so I have not been able to be active on social media. you know, the future doctor agenda is not quite fun if you ignored biology for three years so I hope you understand <3

school ends in 2 days (thank the gods) so I need to doooo a lot of things.

🎧 - indiana (hombres g)

📚 - chemistry textbook

THINGS I NEED TO DO FOR TOMORROW

finish my presentation of gender roles for spanish

study for my chem final

send emails to my glopol teacher

prepare my microbiology lab

Lamproderma scintillans on the edge of a leaf via andysandsphotography

Pause and ponder the periodic parapodia paddling from this pterrifically ptiny pteropod!

Sea angels (Clione sp.) recently returned to Into the Deep/En lo Profundo. Be shore to stay tuned for animal updates as you never know who you’ll meet in this ever-evolving exhibit!

Want to learn more about sea angels? Check out our video collab with SciShow!

Photos from my friend who is a vet tech

These pictures show PAS (purple/pink) and GMS (brown/blue) staining of a lymph node biopsy from a canine patient with lymphadenopathy and weight loss. Histology was suggestive of likely a fungal organism (bright pink in the PAS stain and dark brown/black in the GMS stain), however a mixed infection with an algal species could not be definitively ruled out without microbiology.

Our microbiologist cultured an Aspergillus species from this dog, and is in the process of ruling out any other possibilities.

What's especially cool is in one of the PAS pictures, you can see an organism trapped within an actively dividing macrophage!

Root of Osmunda cinnamomea. The anatomy of woody plants. 1917.

Internet Archive

Watch what happens to Germs when you wash your hands with Soap at microscopic level. 🔬 The Soap molecules surround germ cells and disrupt their cell walls, causing them to burst.

Germ cells are surrounded by a cell wall that protects them from the environment. This cell wall is made up of a layer of peptidoglycan, which is a polymer of amino acids and sugars. Soap molecules are made up of two parts: a hydrophobic (water-fearing) tail and a hydrophilic (water-loving) head. When soap is added to water, the hydrophobic tails group together and the hydrophilic heads face outward, forming micelles. These micelles can surround germ cells and the hydrophobic tails can then disrupt the cell walls, causing the cells to burst.

The hydrophobic tails of the soap molecules can disrupt the cell wall in two ways. First, they can bind to the peptidoglycan molecules and weaken the bonds between them. Second, they can create holes in the cell wall. Once the cell wall is disrupted, the germ cells lose their internal contents and die.

It is important to note that soap only works to kill germ cells that are surrounded by a cell wall. Germ cells that do not have a cell wall, such as viruses, are not affected by soap.

The size of the soap micelles is important. Micelles that are too small will not be able to surround the germ cells. Micelles that are too large will not be able to penetrate the cell walls.

The concentration of soap is also important. A higher concentration of soap will be more effective at killing germ cells.

The temperature of the water can also affect the effectiveness of soap. Soap is more effective at killing germ cells in warm water than in cold water.

I hope this post has helped you understand the importance of handwashing and why doctors always ask you to do it regularly. Washing your hands with soap and water for at least 20 seconds is one of the best ways to prevent the spread of germs and stay healthy. So please, wash your hands often and help keep yourself and others safe!

Thank you for reading this post. I hope you found it informative and helpful. Please share it with your friends and family so they can learn about the importance of handwashing too. 😊🙏