Zombie ants have fungus on the brain

Zombie ants have fungus on the brain Tropical carpenter ants (Camponotus leonardi) live high up in the rainforest canopy. When infected by a parasitic fungus (Ophiocordyceps unilateralis) the behaviour of the ants is dramatically changed. They become erratic and zombie-like, and are manipulated by the fungus into dying at a spot that provides optimal conditions for fungal reproduction. New research, published in BioMed Central's open access journal BMC Ecology, looks at altered behaviour patterns in Zombie ants in Thailand and shows how the fungus manipulates ant behaviour. A multinational team of scientists investigated O. unilateralis infected carpenter ants in Thailand's rainforest. The growing fungus fills the ant's body and head causing muscles to atrophy and forcing muscle fibres apart. The fungus also affects the ant's central nervous system and while normal worker ants rarely left the trail, zombie ants walked in a random manner, unable to find their way home. The ants also suffered convulsions which caused them to fall to the ground. Once on the ground the ants were unable to find their way back to the canopy and remained at a lower, leafy, 'understory' which, at about 25cm above the soil was cooler and moister than the canopy, provided ideal conditions for the fungus to thrive. At solar noon (when the sun is at its strongest) the fungus synchronised ant behaviour, forcing infected ants to bite the main vein on the underside of a leaf. The multiplying fungal cells in the ant's head cause fibres within the muscles that open and close the ant's mandibles to become detached. This results in 'lock jaw' which means that an infected ant is unable to release the leaf even after death. A few days later the fungus generates a fruiting body (stroma) from the ant's head which releases spores to be picked up by another wandering ant. Dr David Hughes, from Penn State University, said, "The fungus attacks the ants on two fronts. Firstly by using the ant as a walking food source, and secondly by damaging muscle and the ant's central nervous system, resulting in zombie walking and the death bite, which place the ant in the cool damp understory. Together these provide the perfect environment for fungal growth and reproduction. This behaviour of infected ants is essentially an extended phenotype of the fungus (fungal behaviour through the ant's body) as non-infected ants never behave in this way".

Ias Exam , amazing answers

Awesome Answers In IAS Examination

Q. How can you drop a raw egg onto a concrete floor without cracking it?
A. Concrete floors are very hard to crack! (UPSC Topper)

Q. If it took eight men ten hours to build a wall, how long would it take four men to build it?
A. No time at all it is already built. (UPSC 23rd Rank Opted for IFS)

Q. If you had three apples and four oranges in one hand and four apples and three oranges in the other hand, what would you have?
A. Very large hands. (Good one) (UPSC 11 Rank Opted for IPS)

Q. How can you lift an elephant with one hand?
A. you will never find an elephant with one hand. (UPSC Rank 14 Opted for IES)

Q. How can a man go eight days without sleep?
A. No Probs, He sleeps at night. (UPSC IAS Rank 98)

Q. If you throw a red stone into the blue sea what it will become?
A. It will Wet or Sink as simple as that. (UPSC IAS Rank 2)

Q. What looks like half apple ?
A: The other half. (UPSC - IAS Topper )

Q. What can you never eat for breakfast?
A: Dinner.

Q. Bay of Bengal is in which state?
A: Liquid (UPSC 33 Rank)

Interviewer said"I shall either ask you ten easy questions or one really difficult question. Think well before you make up your mind!"The boy thought for a while and said,"my choice is one really difficult question.""Well, good luck to you, you have made your own choice! Now tell me this.
"What comes first, Day or Night?"
The boy was jolted into reality as his admission depends on the correctness of his answer, but he thought for a while and said,"It's the DAY sir!"
"How"the interviewer asked.
"Sorry sir, you promised me that you will not ask me a SECOND difficult question!"
He was selected for IIM!

Technical Skill is the mastery of complexity, while Creativity is the master of presence of mind.
This is a famous paper written for an Oxford philosophy exam, normally requiring an eight page essay answer and expected to be backed up with source material, quotes and analytical reasoning. This guy wrote the below answer and topped the exam!

* OXFORD EXAMINATION BOARD 1987* *ESSAY QUESTION*
Question: What is courage? (50 Marks)
Answer (After 7 blank pages, at the end of the last page…): This is courage

IJSO stage 1 results are wrong

I don't know what is going on to India , Since there is corruption in India in politics
In India corruption is increasing day by day faster and faster and here is another example out of 314 selections from all over India in NSEJS 286 are selected from Andhra Pradesh which is very strange as it seems like all the sharp brains of India belong to Andhra Pradesh only.
As we can see in the result list 94 students are from 1 center
AP014
Ratna Junior College
3-4-634/1, Narayanaguda
Hyderabad
Andhra Pradesh PIN 500029
Attn:G. Srinivas
which is quite impossible
At last I want to say that IAPT officials should analyse the OMRs and past acaedmic record of those students and should take a strict action against the student and the center and the invigilators

ANDHRA PARDESH

286

Madhya PARDESH

8

DELHI

7

RAJASTHAN

4

MAHARASHTRA

2

JHARKHAND

2

UTTAR PRADESH

1

WEST BENGAL

1

TAMILNADU

1

KARNATAKA

1

PUNJAB

1

TOTAL

314

NSEJS SOLUTION

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If you had noticed from centre ap014 , there are 94 selection , and from state rajasthan there are just 4 selection
Acoording to my experience from 1centre where 100 students have given the paper out of which there are 94 selection , whereas   from various 27 states of india , mostly 10000 students have given paper there are no selection . it is not possible to have so much students from 1 centre , I agree that andhra pardesh students are brilliant , but Rajasthan - Kerala - Delhi , these states are also have brilliant and outstanding students
I think that this can only be possible if there is mass cheating or paper leak or teacher being telling the answer
Now you will say , result is being displayed now what can we do ?
But this is not the point , these students will represent the country , outside the India , now if the team has 6 players and no one can battle then their is no chance of winning the game , so i want that their should be fair result , or recheck of the omr shoould be done

What if that omr are correct ?
yes omr can be correct , If thire is mass cheating or paper leak

so what

what we can do is that we can see the post paper results of the student , weather he has qualified in any other olympiad , ntse , or has scored very good marks in school




what i want from you ?

share this post to facebook and mail here


the email id of iapt officials are 

mdm@hbcse.tifr.res.in; nbhm@math.tifr.res.in; sharadsane@gmail.com; iapt@vsnl.net; rdharkar@vsnl.com; hcp@hbcse.tifr.res.in; nc_olympiad@hbcse.tifr.res.in



Hint , you can post these thinks

"This is to bring in your notice that as the NSEJS results are out IN total there are 314 students selected and 286 let me repeat 286 selections are from Andhra pradesh(which is absolute rubbish). Alright we agree that they are brilliant and they got selected in NSEJS but if we check out their past record - no one ,NO ONE out of those 286 students were qualified for NTSE and the CBSE record is also not good. So what do you think that their soul wake up and they are able to score more than 150 in such a tough compitition.
The team that is going to represent India is not good (as per many of the other person too) because A WORLDCUP TEAM IS NOTHING WITHOUT A WORLDCUP TEAM.
At last I would like to say that there should be something done by the authorized people who should investigate in this issue.


In India corruption is increasing day by day faster and faster and here is another example out of 314 selections from all over India in NSEJS 286 are selected from Andhra Pradesh which is very strange as it seems like all the sharp brains of India belong to Andhra Pradesh only.
As we can see in the result list 94 students are from 1 center
AP014
Ratna Junior College
3-4-634/1, Narayanaguda
Hyderabad
Andhra Pradesh PIN 500029
Attn:G. Srinivas
which is quite impossible
At last I want to say that IAPT officials should analyse the OMRs and past acaedmic record of those students and should take a strict action against the student and the center and the invigilators


IAPT has declared the NSEJS stage 1 result. A total of 314 students are selected from India out of which 286 selections ( more than 91 percent ) from a single state Andhra Pradesh, which clearly highlights the abnormality in the conduction of this examination. These stats are enough indication how ill managed system this is. Either the questions were leaked to students before the exam (the papers reach to schools a week back and schools conduct the paper itself with out any supervision) or mass cheating could be other possibility. We have never seen such a skewed ratio in any other examination conducted across India. Last year the the cut off for this examination was around 120, however this year the students of other states who were scoring 150 around are not getting selected. 
IAPT should spend some time on introspection where they are going wrong in the conduction of the exam. People selected only in stage 1 are going to represent India, if we are going to have inferior lot selected in stage1 examination; this is going tarnish the image of the Country.





thanks for your support
thanks a lot

Trignometry notes

i am inserting trigonometry  notes which you can read and download , these are the core concepts of trignometry
it starts from very simple pythogaras theorem to the sum and difference formula

Trignometry notes notes

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thanks

Classification of algae

We will read about these in detail with pictures and lots of knowledge

• BACILLARIOPHYTA (diatoms)
• CHAROPHYTA (stoneworts)
• CHLOROPHYTA (green algae)
• CHRYSOPHYTA (golden algae)
• CYANOBACTERIA (blue-green algae)
• DINOPHYTA (dinoflagellates)
• PHAEOPHYTA (brown algae)
• RHODOPHYTA (red algae)

            BACILLARIOPHYTA(DIATOMS)

Bacillariophyta are unicellular organisms that are important components of phytoplankton as primary sources of food for zooplankton in both marine and freshwater habitats. Most diatoms are planktonic, but some are bottom dwellers or grow on other algae or plants. 

Except for their male gametes, diatoms lack flagella. Instead many diatoms 

achieve locomotion from controlled secretions in response to outside physical and chemical stimuli. Diatoms have unique shells, which serve as their cell wall. The overlapping shells, or frustules that surround the diatom protoplasm are made of polymerized, opaline silica. Identification of diatom species is based on the delicate markings on their frustules, comprising a large number of tiny, intricately-shaped depressions, pores and passageways that bring the diatom’s cell membrane in contact with the environment. Diatom frustules have accumulated over millions of years to form the fine, crumbly substance known as diatomaceous earth, which has a variety of uses (e.g. for filtration and insulation). Diatom remains in both marine and freshwater sediments are also important as indicators of paleo-environmental conditions at the time the sediments were formed. 

Bacillariophytes have brownish plastids containing chlorophylls a and c and fucoxanthin. The primary means of reproduction is asexual, by cell division. Most diatoms are autotrophic, but a few are obligate heterotrophs (they must absorb organic carbon) because they lack chlorophyll altogether. Some diatoms even lack their distinctive frustules and live symbiotically in large marine protozoa, providing organic carbon for their hosts.

A diatom.  Numbered graduations are 10 micrometres apart

CHAROPHYTA (STONEWORTS)

Charophyta
Scientific classification
Domain: Eukaryota (unranked) Archaeplastida Kingdom: Plantae Division: Charophyta

Charophyta are freshwater plants and generally grow anchored to the substratum by rhizoids with a shoot extending upward. The shoot then divides and forms nodes from which a whorl of side filaments projects. Charophyta reproductive structures develop at these nodes and are, along with the biflagellate sperm produced in the male gametangium, quite similar to those of mosses. These similarities have led some scientists to identify the charophytes as ancestors of the mosses. Their green color comes from chlorphylls a and b.

CHLOROPHYTA (GREEN ALGAE)

Most chlorophytes are aquatic, but some green algae can live on the surface of snow, on tree trunks, in soils, or symbiotically with protozoans, hydras or lichen-forming fungi. Numbering about 8,000 species, the chlorophytes range in size from microscopic to quite large. The typical color of plants in the Chlorophyta, resulting from the dominant chlorophyll pigments, is some shade of apple or grass green, although certain species may appear yellow-green or blackish-green due to the presence of carotenoid pigments or high concentrations of chlorophyll. Chlorophytes appear more than a billion years ago in the fossil record.

Calcified green algae, particularly Halimeda spp., are especially important as major contributors of marine sediments. The sparkling white sand beaches of the Caribbean and many other areas in the world are largely the sun-bleached and eroded calcium-carbonate remains of green algae. The deepest occurring, fleshy, erect alga Johnson-sea-linkia profunda, (Littler et al., 1985)was found attached to bedrock at a depth of 157 meters off the Bahamas and is a member of this group.

Green algae have chlorophylls a and b and store starch as a food reserve inside their plastids. Most green algae have firm cell walls composed of cellulose along with other polysaccharides and proteins.

CHRYSOPHYTA (golden algae)

Chrysophytes are photosynthetic, unicellular organisms that are abundant in freshwater and marine environments. Chrysophytes contain chlorophylls a and c, which are masked by the accessory pigment fucoxanthin, a carotenoid. In many ways, golden algae are, biochemically and structurally similar to brown algae. Both golden algae and brown algae store food outside of the chloroplast in the form of polysaccharide laminarin, or chrysolaminarin. In both groups, motile cells have unequal flagella of similar structure.

CYANOBACTERIA (blue-green algae)

Even though the Cyanobacteria are classified as bacteria (lacking a membrane-bounded nucleus) they are photosynthetic and are included among our algal collections. Cyanobacteria played a decisive role in elevating the level of free oxygen in the atmosphere of the early Earth. Cyanobacteria can change remarkably in appearance, depending on the environmental conditions. Blue-green algae are common in soil, in both salt and fresh water, and can grow over a wide range of temperatures. They have been found to form mats in Antarctic lakes under several meters of ice and are responsible for the beautiful colors of the hot springs at Yellowstone and elsewhere. Cyanobacteria can also occur as symbionts of protozoans, diatoms and lichen-forming fungi, and vascular plants. Some blue-greens can fix nitrogen as well as photosynthesize, allowing them to grow with only light, water, a few minerals, and the nitrogen and carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. 

Cyanobacteria lecture

Cyanobacteria are different in many important ways from other photosynthetic prokaryotes. Instead of the bacteriochlorophylls found in purple and green bacteria, blue-greens contain chlorophyll a, as in eucaryotic phototrophs, and, produce free oxygen as a byproduct of photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria, however, lack the organized chloroplasts of eukaryotes and have their photosynthetic apparatus distributed peripherally in the cytoplasm.

The variety of striking colors exhibited by Cyanobacteria are a result of their major light-gathering pigments, the phycobilins, that are bound to protein granules, (phycobilisomes), that are attached to the photosynthetic membranes.

Large blooms of freshwater Cyanobacteria may produce toxins that can kill livestock. Other forms (Spirulina) are grown commercially and marketed as a high-protein dietary supplement.

PYRROPHYTA/DINOPHYTA (dinoflagellates)

[Dinoflagellata - Pyrrophyta - Pyrrhophyta] * (Current names in use by various authorities)

The division Pyrrophyta (from the Greek "pyrrhos" meaning flame-colored) comprises a large number of unusual algal species of many shapes and sizes. There are about 130 genera in this group of unicellular microorganims, with about 2000 living and 2000 fossil species described so far.

The name "dinoflagellate" refers to the forward- spiraling swimming motion of these organisms. They are free-swimming protists (unicellular eukaryotic microorganisms) with two flagella, a nucleus with condensed chromosomes, chloroplasts, mitochondria, and Golgi bodies. Biochemically, photosynthetic species possess green pigments, chlorophylls a and c, and golden brown pigments, including peridinin. Dinoflagellates primarily exhibit asexual cell division, some species reproduce sexually, while others have unusual life cycles. Their nutrition varies from autotrophy (photosynthesis; in-nearly 50% of the known species) to heterotrophy (absorption of organic matter) to mixotrophy (autotrophic cells engulf other organisms, including other dinoflagellates).

Free-living dinoflagellates are an ancient and successful group of aquatic organisms. They have adapted to pelagic (free-floating) and benthic (attached) habitats from arctic to tropical seas, and to salinities ranging from freshwater, to estuaries, to hypersaline waters. Many species are found in numerous habitats, living in the plankton or attached to sediments, sand, corals, or to macroalgal surfaces or to other aquatic plants. Some species are present as parasites in marine invertebrates and fish. Some even serve as symbionts, known as zooxanthellae, providing organic carbon to their hosts: reef-building corals, sponges, clams, jellyfish, anemones and squid.

Dinoflagellates exhibit a wide variety in morphology and size (from 0.01 to 2.0 mm). They commonly have a cell covering structure (theca) that differentiates them from other algal groups. Cells are either armored or unarmored. Armored species have thecae divided into plates composed of cellulose or polysaccharides which are key features used in their identification. The cell covering of unarmored species is comprised of a membrane complex. The theca can be smooth and simple or laced with spines, pores and/or grooves and can be highly ornamented.

In systematics, dinoflagellates have been claimed by both botanists and zoologists. Dinoflagellates share features common to both plants and animals: they can swim, many have cell walls, and both photosynthetic and nonphotosynthetic species are known. Botanists have grouped them with the "microalgae" and zoologists have grouped them with the protozoa, and both have produced classification schemes for this diverse and confusing group.

Dinoflagellates have attracted a lot of negative attention from the general public in recent times. For example, blooms (population explosions) of dinoflagellates can cause the water to turn a reddish-brown color known as "red tide". Red tides can have harmful effects on the surrounding sea-life and their consumers. Additionally, certain species of dinoflagellates produce neurotoxins. These toxins are carried up the food chain, ultimately to humans and can, sometimes result in permanent neurological damage or even death. Yet dinoflagellates are important members of the phytoplankton in marine and freshwater ecosystems.

PHAEOPHYTA (brown algae)

The Phaeophyta are almost entirely marine, frequently dominating rocky shores in cold and temperate waters throughout the world. The giant kelp, Macrocystis pyrifera , forms expansive seaweed forests off the west coast of North America and provides habitat and shelter for many other organisms. Tropical waters have fewer species of brown algae, although genera such as Sargassum and Turbinaria can dominate in some areas to form small-scale forests. Sargassum is also unique among macroalgal genera in that it contains totally free-floating species with no requirement for attachment to the bottom, as in the Sargasso Sea.

The colors of brown algae (predominantly due to the brown accessory pigment fucoxanthin) cover a spectrum from pale beige to yellow-brown to almost black. In tropical seas, they range in size from microscopic filaments to several meters in length.

The large kelps are harvested for use as an emulsion stabilizer, in products such as ice cream. They are also used as fertilizer and as a vitamin rich food source

RHODOPHYTA (red algae)

Of the approximately 6000 species, most red algae are marine; only a few occur in freshwater. Rhodophytes are usually multicellular and grow attached to rocks or other algae, but there are some unicellular or colonial forms. They do not have flagellated cells, are structurally complex, and have complex life cycles divided into three phases. Many red algae feature pit connections between the cells, and their cell walls include a rigid component composed of microfibrils and a mucilaginous matrix. Agar and carrageenin are two red algal mucilages that are widely used for gelling and thickening purposes in the food and pharmaceutical industries.

Rhodophytes contain chlorophyll a which is masked by phycobilin pigments bound to proteins. The chloroplasts in red algae resemble Cyanobacteria both biochemically and structurally. Food reserves are stored outside of the chloroplasts as Floridean starch.

The coralline red algae deposit calcium carbonate in their cell walls, making them particularly tough and stony. They are often abundant, ecologically important, and widespread from the arctic regions to the tropics and play an important role in building tropical reef communities. Coralline red algae can form an algal ridge that absorbs wave energy and thereby protects the more delicate organisms that inhabit the sheltered lagoons and back-reef habitats.

Research scientist and curator Dr. Walter H. Adey has extensively collected the crustose corallines throughout the world since the 1960's, most notably in the North Atlantic, Caribbean and Hawaii. The specimens from the northwest Atlantic, north Norway and Iceland have been curated and inventoried during 2000-2001 with the assistance of Sue Lutz (Research and Curatorial Assistant). The specimens from Japanese regions, as well as the remaining European collections, are currently being curated and inventoried.

Some red algae are of economic importance, either as food (Porphyra) or as producers of secondary products (Gelidium, Gracilaria, Chondrus, etc.) used in the food and drug industries

Algae - an Introduction

ALGAE


As we have already read about bacteria , now we will focus deeply on algae so lets start studying about algae

what is algae ?

   Algae are photosynthetic organisms that occur in most habitats. They vary from small, single-celled forms to complex multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps that grow to 65 meters in length.. The US Algal Collection is represented by almost 300,000 accessioned and inventoried herbarium specimens



Introduction

Algae are photosynthetic organisms that occur in most habitats, ranging from marine and freshwater to desert sands and from hot boiling springs to snow and ice. They vary from small, single-celled forms to complex multicellular forms, such as the giant kelps of the eastern Pacific that grow to more than 60 meters in length and form dense marine forests. Algae are found in the fossil record dating back to approximately 3 billion years in the Precambrian. They exhibit a wide range of reproductive strategies, from simple, asexual cell division to complex forms of sexual reproduction. 

Algae are important as primary producers of organic matter at the base of the food chain. They also provide oxygen for other aquatic life. Algae may contribute to mass mortality of other organisms, in cases of algal blooms, but they also contribute to economic well- being in the form of food, medicine and other products. In tropical regions, coralline algae can be as important as corals in the formation of reefs. 

Seaweeds are larger algae that live in the marine (salt or brackish water) environment. Kelps are large brown seaweeds in the genera Pelagophycus, Laminaria, Macrocystis, etc. In the Pacific, individual kelp plants may reach 65 meters in length.








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Trignometry questions set 1

Simple questions
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