STUDY SMART NOT HARD: 7 Proven Tips and Tricks to excel in Biology

Biology is a mandatory course that every high school student needs to take up. Even though biology is a challenging subject, understanding the basics of biology can help you a lot. You can easily deal with these challenges by following these proven tips and tricks. You can pick up some of the strategies that best suits you

1.     READ

Reading the text is extremely important before you attend the class. Engage in active reading i.e., read out loud from your textbook and they try to repeat out aloud the main concepts that you have read. While reading the chapter highlight the main concepts within the book using colored pencils. Even if you don't have time to read the entire chapter, look at the diagrams within the chapter which will help to clear the main concepts of the chapter. While reading also notes down the important keywords and definitions related to the chapter. It is a well-known fact that those students who attend biology class score higher than the students who don't.

 

2.     GENERAL TO SPECIFIC

Master general concepts so that you can tackle the specific ones. For example, to understand Kreb's cycle you need to have a basic understanding of animal cell structure.

 

3.     LEARNING TERMINOLOGY

To understand biology better you need to familiarize yourself with different terms. Breakdown complex words to identify the root. For example, the term Endoplasmic reticulum can be broken down into:

Endo (within), Plasmic (cytoplasm), and Reti (Net), thus the term Endoplasmic reticulum means net-like structure found inside the cytoplasm.

 

4.     PRACTICE DIAGRAMS

Biology is a visual subject; thus, the diagrams help you to understand the concept and remember information that is difficult to retain. You also need to practice diagrams as much as possible and a well-presented diagram can help you to fetch more marks.

 5.     PAST EXAM QUESTIONS

Practicing previous year's exam questions is equally important as it provides an insight into how well prepared you are for the biology exam. This will also help them to improve their time management skills.

 

6.     MAKE FLASHCARDS

You can prepare flashcards for the important vocabulary or keywords of the chapter. Write the key term on onside of the flashcard in bold letters and a short concise note on the backside of the flashcard.

7.     MAKE USE OF MNEMONIC DEVICES.

A mnemonic device is a memory aid and helps you to remember an idea or it helps to recall a piece of information. For example, I Prefer Milk And Tea as a mnemonic to remember the different phases of mitosis i.e, Interphase, Prophase, Metaphase, Anaphase, Telophase.

 

 

Introduction to Kingdom Fungi and how to grow Bread Mold at Home

Fungi (singular fungus) is a group of multicellular or unicellular eukaryotic organisms that exhibits a heterotrophic mode of nutrition and includes yeasts, molds, toadstools, and mushrooms. This kingdom includes about 100,000 species and is further classified based on their structure and mode of reproduction.

Basic characteristics of Fungi

Eukaryotic (presence of well-defined nucleus and have membrane-bound organelles).

The vegetative body is made up of long, branching filamentous structures called hyphae that help them to absorb nutrients. Network or a group of hyphae are called mycelium (Exception: Yeast is unicellular and do not produce hyphae)

Achlorophyllous (chlorophyll is absent), thus they cannot make their food.

Fungi exhibit a heterotrophic mode of nutrition, they feed themselves by the absorption of nutrients. Fungi are either saprophytic (obtain food from the dead and decaying matter), parasitic (depend on another living host), or symbiotic (live in a mutually beneficial relationship with other organisms)

Non-Vascular (conducting tissues xylem and phloem is absent).

The cell wall is presently made up of complex polysaccharide chitin and glucans. The cell wall prevents desiccation and protects it from predators.

The most common method of reproduction in fungi is by producing spores. Fungi produce two main types of asexual spores, sporangiospores, and conidia. Sexual spores produced in fungi are ascospores, basidiospores, and Zoospores.

Fungi exhibit alternation of generation and thus have both haploid and diploid stages during their life cycle.

 HOW TO GROW BREAD MOLD

Mold is a fungus that is multinucleated, filamentous, and composed of hyphae. These thrive in warm and moist conditions, reproduce employing spores, and can be black, green, orange, or purple. The spores of the mold are carried by the wind and when they land on a suitable surface, they begin to grow. To grow mold, the following materials are required:

1.     Bread slice.

2.     Transparent sealable bag or container.

3.     A spray bottle.

Procedure

Take a slice of bread and with the help of a spray bottle, lightly spray the bread with a coat of mist or place the bread in the sealable bag along-with a wet paper towel. Seal the plastic bag and place the bread in a warm and moist condition. The mold is heterotrophic and gets its food from the starch of the bread (breaks down starch into simple sugars). After 3-4 days, you will observe mold growth on the bread.

 

 

 

 

 

 

How to Test Soil pH Using Natural Indicators at Home.

How to Test Soil pH Using Natural Indicators at Home.

Soil pH in simple terms is the measure of the alkalinity or the acidity of the soil. A pH value measures the hydrogen ion concentration in the soil. Acidic soils have low pH and have high hydrogen ion concentration, while a high pH value shows the soil is alkaline with low pH concentration.


Soil pH mostly ranges between 3.5-10; in areas that receive high rainfall, the pH of the soil is in the range 5-7, in drier areas, it ranges from 6.5-9. We classify soil as either neutral, acidic, or alkaline depending upon their pH value:


Neutral-6.5-7.5

Acidic- less than 6.5, soils with a pH value below 5.5 are highly acidic

Alkaline-above 7.5


Why measuring soil pH is important.

A desirable pH range is important for the optimal growth of the plants, some crop plants grow best at pH values ranging between 6-7, while others prefer slightly acidic soils. When elements like Ca (calcium), Mg (magnesium), Na (Sodium), and K (potassium) gets replaced by hydrogen ions, the soil becomes acidic. Areas that receive high annual rainfall are characterized by acidic soils in compared to arid regions.

Measuring pH

Materials required for soil testing

1) Soil samples: Two soil samples were collected from two different sites. The soil samples were collected in a clear transparent bag and were labeled as A and B, respectively. Stones and clumps of soils were discarded during the collection of the sample to get better results.

2) Turmeric indicator (prepared by dissolving a pinch of turmeric in an alcohol-based sanitizer)

3) Deionized water and dropper.

Procedure:

1. An equal amount of soil was taken with the help of a spoon (or if you have a weighing balance, weigh 5g of soil sample) in a glass.

2. About 20 ml of deionized water was added to each glass and the soil sample was stirred continuously for about 2-3 minutes to form soil suspension.

3. Let it stand for about 5 minutes.

4. With a help of a dropper, the supernatant was collected for the experiment.

5. Add 5-6 drops of the supernatant to a bowl and add 2-3 drops of the turmeric indicator.

6. Turmeric is yellow with acidic soils while turns bright red with alkaline soil.

Knowledge About Colors Of Blood In Different Animals That You Can't Learn From Books

What is the color of blood? Your answer will be red, it isn’t since we have red blood and so are familiar with it. Besides human beings, vertebrates and mammals to have red blood cells due to the heme group (iron) of hemoglobin. However, there are some animals out there that have different blood colors like blue, green, yellow, orange, violet or even colorless blood. These different colors of blood results from plasma proteins in their blood.

Animals with blue blood.

Animals like cephalopods mollusks (e.g., squids and octopus) and arthropods like horseshoe crabs and spiders possess blue blood. Unlike hemoglobin found in the vertebrates, these animals have copper-containing respiratory pigments that help in the transportation of blood. Hemocyanin (Hc) is blue when it binds to oxygen, while pale yellow when it is not combined with oxygen. Hemocyanin occurs freely, dissolved in the hemolymph.

Interestingly, hemocyanin in octopus helps it to survive at extreme temperatures ranging from -1.8 degrees celsius to super-heated temperatures of thermal vents. Hemocyanin thus allows it to get a steady supply of oxygen.

Animals with green blood color.

We find it in worm-like animals, like Tobacco Hornworm, leeches, and skinks of the lizard family. Biliverdin is the dark green bile pigment responsible for this green blood color. Like humans, reptiles to have red blood cells rich in hemoglobin. When red blood cells break down, biliverdin, green-pigmented waste is made. This pigment is densely concentrated in lizards, making their blood appear green. We humans also have some biliverdin in our blood, but these lizards have about 40 times higher biliverdin levels in their blood. Leeches, however, have oxygen-binding protein chlorocruorin, making their blood green.

Animals with yellow blood color.

Yellow color blood for example in sea cucumbers is caused because of a high concentration of metal vanadium found in vanabin pigment. Ten percent of the blood cell pigment of the sea cucumber is vanadium. The exact role of vanabin is not known as like hemoglobin and hemocyanin, it does not have any role in oxygen transport. Indeed, sea cucumbers have hemocyanin to meet their oxygen requirements.

Animals with purple blood.

Marine animals like peanut worms have dark purple blood color and hence appear almost black. Hemerythrin is responsible for purple blood and helps to transport oxygen in marine invertebrates, however, it is only 1/4 as efficient as hemoglobin in binding oxygen. Blood appears purple when it gets oxygenated when oxygen is not bound it is colorless.

Are there any animals with colorless blood?

Yes, there are animals out there whose blood is colorless, one such is Antarctic ice-fish, the only vertebrate that lacks RBC’s, thus their capacity to transport oxygen is about 90% less than organisms having red blood. Still, they can survive as Antarctic water is oxygen-rich and have a very huge heart that ensures a sufficient supply of oxygen. Its blood also has antifreeze proteins circulating in their body, preventing ice crystals to form in their blood.

Animals that lack blood.

There are certain animals that lack blood for example flatworms, nematodes, and cnidarians like jellyfish, sea anemones and corals. These all lack a circulatory system and hence the blood. They meet their oxygen requirements by diffusion of gases by their body surface.

Thus, variation in the blood color of the terrestrial animals is because of the differences in the metallic component of the blood.

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Eliminate Your Fears And Doubts About Hantavirus.

The world is already facing challenges to knock down coronavirus amidst that death due to hantavirus in China has added up worries. Hantavirus is associated with rodents, unlike COVID-19 which is betacoronavirus, associated with bats. Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome (HPS) is a severe respiratory disease in humans known to be caused by infection with hantaviruses. It may sometime prove to be fatal, however, it is rare and the chance of getting the diseases is 1 in 13,000,000. A person who is exposed to rodents carrying hantavirus is at the risk of developing the disease. Only some kinds of mice and rats can give people hantaviruses that can cause HPS. In North America, they are the deer mouse, the white-footed mouse, the rice rat, and the cotton rat. Hantavirus spreads to humans through contact (inhalation or ingestion) with rodent droppings, urine and saliva as well. We can even get the infection if we touch their eyes, mouth, and eyes.

 Discovery of Hantavirus.

 Hantavirus is not a newly discovered virus and was first recognized in the early 1950s. Nearly about 3,000 United Nations troops stationed in Korea were infected by this virus. It was formerly known as Korean hemorrhagic fever; it got its name Hanta after the Haantan river of Korea. HPS, Hantavirus Pulmonary Syndrome became nationally notified disease in 1995 and about 20-40 cases of HPS are reported each year in the US.

 Different types of illnesses caused by Hantavirus. 

 Hantavirus is known to cause three different illnesses.

 1 HFRS (Hemorrhagic fever with Renal syndrome).

 2 NE (Nephropathia epidemica)

 3 Pulmonary syndrome.

 HFRS and NE primarily affect kidneys while pulmonary syndrome affects the lungs. Pulmonary syndrome is more common in Americans, while HFRS and NE are common among European and Asian countries. HFRS and NE last from 3days to 3 months. Symptoms include fever, headache, chills, nausea and abdominal pain, HFRS can also cause late symptoms like leaking blood vessels and failure of the kidney.

 HPS is more severe and generally, 4/10 people infected die, its symptoms include fever, headache, muscle pain, nausea, diarrhea, stomach pain. Late symptom developed after 4-10 days of illness includes coughing, trouble in breathing and inability to breathe since the lungs are filled with fluid. 

Transmission of hantavirus. 

 Rodents shed virus via their urine, feces or saliva and when a healthy person inhales air contaminated with the virus (airborne transmission) they get infected. A person may also get infected if a rodent with hantavirus bites someone or eats food contaminated by droppings, urine or saliva from an infected rodent. However, person-to-person contact occurred in the case of the Andes virus in Argentina and Chile. Unlike COVID-19 it is not spread through social contact, caring for someone infected by Hantavirus and use of communal utensils. So, hantavirus does not spread from person to person.

Hantavirus prevention and control. 

 To date, there is no reliable cure for hantavirus, however, early treatment in the intensive care unit can help a person recover. Some preventive measures to control hantavirus includes:

 1. Stay away from all those places where droppings of rodents are found.

 2. Always wear gloves and masks to avoid exposure to mouse droppings.

 3. Areas with mouse droppings should be sanitized using disinfectants so that the infected dust does not spread in the air.

 4. Keep the population of rodents under control by using traps.

 5. Never leave your food unattended and should always be kept properly covered.

 6. Eliminate any sort of contact with rodents at homes and workplaces.

 So, we don’t need to worry about as there is no indication of global public health threat by the hantavirus as it spreads only due to close contact with rodent urine, droppings or saliva.

Things Nobody Told You About Covid-19.

COVID-19 stands for the virus responsible for the coronavirus disease. The word coronavirus refers to spikes seen (under a microscope) on the surface of the virus (corona is the Latin word for crown). It is also called a severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) as the virus is genetically related to the coronavirus responsible for the SARS outbreak that occurred in 2003. SARS-CoV-2 is a betacoronavirus, which means it had its origins in bats. It is also known as Wuhan pneumonia. It was first identified in 2019 from Wuhan, China in late November or early December from where it spread globally. The World Health Organization declared it a pandemic as it is likely to spread globally.

Symptoms associated with the disease.

The most common symptom observed among patients who got infected with the virus is fever. Besides high temperature, the person may also experience fatigue, runny rose, and dry cough. Abdominal pain and diarrhea have also been reported sometimes. Muscle pain and difficulty in breathing was also noticed in 1/3rd persons suffering from this disease. A person on day 1 has a fever, experience fatigue, muscle pain, and dry cough. By day 5th the patient experiences difficulty in breathing, and by day 8th they develop acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS). It takes about 17 days for a person to recover fully from the disease. Thus young and healthy people may not get the disease, but they may still spread the disease.

Age groups at risk.

Elderly people above 60 years of age are most at risk according to the data collected by the World Health Organisation. The highest death rate was observed in the people who were above 80 years old. Besides elderly people suffering from chronic conditions like high blood pressure, kidney disease, cancer is more susceptible than others. Only a few children in China developed the disease, probably because they have a strong immune system, although they might act as a carrier of the disease.

Know the different stages of the spread of the virus.

Stage 1 (Imported Cases): these include all those people who have traveled abroad to virus-hit foreign countries and are tested positive. There is no local transmission in this case.

Stage 2 (Local Transmission): this stage includes the local transmission of the virus from the infected person. At present India is in the second stage of coronavirus transmission. In this stage, very few people are infected, we know thus a source of the virus transmission.

Stage 3 (Community Transmission): It is the stage of community transmission and it is difficult to identify the source of virus transmission and thus large areas of the country gets affected. It occurs when a patient who is not exposed to any infected person or has not traveled to any affected country is tested positive.

Stage 4 (Epidemic): This is the last and the worst stage where the disease takes the form of an epidemic and many people become get infected at this stage.

Protective measures against the disease, as suggested by WHO.

1.Frequent washing of hands either with soap and water or with alcohol-based hand rub. It helps to kill the viruses on the hands.

2.Social distancing: A distance of about 1metre or 3 feet needs to be maintained between two persons, this prevents the transmission of the virus. When a person coughs or sneezes the small liquid droplets released in the air contain a virus, a person can inhale that thus social distancing is essential.

3. Avoid contact with mouth, nose, and eyes. When we touch any surface with our hands, we may pick up the virus and hence we may get infected by the virus via our mouth, nose or eyes.

4.The practice of good respiratory hygiene: always cover your mouth or nose by means of bent elbow or tissue to prevent the transmission of the virus. The used tissue should be disposed of immediately. Also, clean your hands by using either alcohol-based hand rub or using soap and water.

5. Seek medical advice if you are suffering from fever, dry cough and have difficulty breathing.

6. Any person who has recently visited any place where COVID-19 is spreading should remain in isolation and avoid contact with others and should seek medical advice immediately if symptoms like fever, cough, and difficulty in breathing happen.

A disinfectant can also be used to disinfect doorknobs, light switches, desks, keyboards, sinks, toilets and cell phones which are most frequently touched. CDC recommends the use of a face mask for people suffering from COVID-19 and for health care workers and other people in direct contact with them. The masks only provide moderate protection against the virus as they provide some filtration of the air. Voluntary social distancing is also important, and we should avoid large crowds.

Remember, “PREVENTION IS BETTER THAN CURE”.