Wonderful Peacock Flower Tree!

As a school going boy I know about a tree that bears beautiful flowers. This tree that was present in my school had its ground all strewn with its reddish yellow flowers. We used to chew these flower petals to get the sour taste out of them! ...

Sleeping Rhythm set by Biological Clock!

Every day we maintain our body and mind to stay fresh, alert and healthy by subjecting or submitting ourselves to this activity (of inactivity)! I mean here our Sleeping! We sleep in about one third of our lifetime – to do our best and clever activities, when we are awake. This wonderful sleeping mechanism is essential to all animals including birds, reptiles and fish. Sleep deprivation makes both the body and mind activities dull and makes all susceptible to accidents, and also to illnesses.

This sleeping time is set by the Biological Clock present inside the brain (Hypothalamus). It is maintained by the Circadian Rhythm that is governed by the light and darkness cycles found in the Earth. But the subtle mechanism of this clock is altered by our activities, desires, excitement and drugs! But even after these alterations this clock reminds (warns) us always about sleeping, and succeeds in making us fall asleep in the next possible instant. If we ignore it repeatedly and put this clock in ‘Snooze,’ we will surely land up in problems such as memory loss, irritability, tremors, headache, mental illnesses, Diabetes and Heart diseases.

There are two types of stages in a sleeping time: Non-Rapid Eye Movement and Rapid Eye Movement stages (NREM & REM). These two stages follow one another and are repeated in about five cycles. The NREM sleep lasts for about 90 minutes and the REM for 20 minutes. NREM sleep is the deeper sleep in which all the systems slow down, and bed-wetting and sleep talking also occur! But in REM, there are rapid movements of eyeballs from side to side and dreams that we remember at morning!
Mechanical engines perform well when given maintenance such as dust removing, giving rest and oiling. Similarly, our body and mind are also maintained daily by the sleep by itself: we need not take any effort in it ourselves!
This wonderful sleeping must be desired and undergone by each one of us, and should not be ignored by each one of us for the health of all of us! 
 

The inspiring Joey of Kangaroo!

Usually we see a big baby delivered from a huge animal. But in 1980s I read about an animal of six feet height, that delivers its bean like baby having only two inches as length! ...

Killifish eggs adapt to environment!

We see many adaptations in animals to their environment . Do you know that the eggs of a fish adapt to its environment? This fish is the Killifish (Cynolebias constanciae). It lives in rivers and streams in Brazil, South America. When there is a dry season, the pond in which it lives dries up and so, it dies in it. But its eggs escape from the season's effects, as they are preserved inside the moist mud of the pond. When the rainy season starts, these eggs sense the change in the environment and hatch out into fry (young fish)!

This Killifish is also kept as pet in aquarium. It is five centimeter in length. In aquarium, to breed this fish a dry season and a rainy season are mimicked to trick its eggs into hatching out! The life span of this fish is about two years and it is also used in controlling mosquito breeding, as it feeds on mosquito larvae also.

We have seen earlier in one of my older posts about the Lung Fish that estivates inside the mud. Here we have now seen the intelligent and wonderful adaptation of these eggs of Killifish too!

Keep cool yourself with Refrigerator!

Being in the tropical region the 'ice' has been a wonder matter since my childhood. Then I tasted the sweetness and the coldness of the 'ice fruit' purchased from cart man . We used to peep into the ice factory with much enthusiasm how this wonder is being made. Then came the 'ice-making chest' in the medical shops. I had placed the water inside the ice tray of its freezer compartment and later opened the freezer with amazement to see the water frozen into ice cubes. This 'ice chest' was nothing but our Refrigerator! It works on the principle of compressed gas on being released out, produces coolness at the site of its release. At school we were explained this with an example: 'while releasing the air from the bicycle tube by taking out the tube valve, place your finger tip on the mouth of the air releasing tube. You shall now feel the coolness!' Yet another example was also given: 'a drop of spirit put on the skin produces coolness by its evaporation into the air!' Similarly, inside the refrigerator (fridge) a gas like Hydrochlorofluorocarbon (HCFC) is used. It is first compressed to its liquid state and then released into in its gaseous state, when it cools down our food kept in the fridge, taking out the heat from them!

Every place we go, we see this fridge being used. It preserves food preventing wastage by decay and enables us to store our food purchased in bulk quantity. It also gives us cool drinks that are inevitably preferred in summer to keep ourselves cool. Can we now imagine a life without this wonderful refrigerator?!

Sandgrouse has special care!

Sometimes, even at rain fed areas farmers have to bear with patience, and adapt to the lesser rainfall in their area. It is needless to say then about the desert-like 'no rain area.' Out of many adaptations made by animals in such areas, a wonderful parental care is noteworthy here. Sandgrouse (Pteroclididae) flies miles to find out a water hole, dips in it, and flies back with its water-soaked feathers. The thirsty and waiting chicks suck water from its feathers and quench their thirst! For this activity the sand grouse has feathers in its belly that are specially adapted to absorb water and retain it. It has also got its legs feathered!

This sand grouse that has a pigeon-like small head, is a seed eater. It is monogamous. Both the male and the female share incubating duties. Chicks that hatch out from the eggs begin to feed for themselves at once.

This sand grouse is a wonder bird with its wonder and special parental care!

Burns cured by cool water magic!

Burns cause damage to the skin and disfigure the person if it is severe. But in a milder degree of burns I achieved quickly the restoration of my skin to its normalcy without taking any medicine or applying any ointment! I had a small burns on the outer skin of my index finger giving me much pain and burning sensation. I immediately inserted the finger in the cool water falling down from a water tap. I did this for more than fifteen minutes ( I adjusted the water flow to a thin stream). When I removed the finger and examined it, I found that there was no sign of a burn or the pain! Yes, it is a cool water magic to cure or prevent any skin damage that could be sustained due to burns!

Phyllanthus niruri - Treating fruit under leaf!

We see that flowers and fruits are usually found on a separate stalk (peduncle) of a plant. There is a plant that bears its flowers and fruits underneath its leaves! This plant is also a renowned medicinal plant used in Indian Medicine. It is the Carry Me Seed (Phyllanthus niruri, 'Keezhl vaa nelli' in Tamil). It bears green flowers and fruits (tiny capsules with seeds) under its compound leaves in rows - and hence its Tamil name. This tropical plant is seen in Southern India almost at all its plains. Whenever a person has the disease, Jaundice ('Manja Kaamaalai' in Tamil), people collect this plant and give its extract to cure it. This type of treatment (Siddha) is also given with the allopathic treatment for a speedy recovery from the illness. The plant is also said to possess anti -hepatotoxic (removing liver toxins) and many other medicinal properties.

A wonder medicinal plant that is within the reach of hand - in backyard waiting to treat human illnesses!

Migrating Wonder, the Dragonfly!

I find each year that the flying wonder, the Dragonfly (Pantala flavescens, 'Tattam Poochi' in Tamil) appears just before the North East monsoon, when dark clouds are here (in South India) on the sky, masking the sun.It heralds the onset of monsoon. I wonder how this insect can migrate from South India to South East Africa via Maldives, and then return back to South India! It is said that the dragonflies cover up a distance of about 12000 miles in this sojourn! You can read about this wonderful feat clicking on here -> Dragonfly could be greatest migrator.
In this ensuing autumn I think I will attend a 'Send Off' for greeting the dragonflies "Bon voyage!" and 'Receive' them back after their cruise on the seas!

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Flying Wonder since the ages!