- 29/3 (cell biology) because cellular membranes' phospholipids are similar in all membranes, the phospholipids molecules are often targets of venoms. for example, a rattlesnake's venom is a set of enzymes, phospholipases, that break phospholipids. among other effects, the enzymes destroy the matrix in the cell membranes of a victim's skeletal muscle cells, exposing the inside of the cells, causing chaos in all of the cell structure. then, the cell will most likely colapse and die.
- 29/3 (cell biology) when phospholipid molecules are placed simply in an aqueous solution, they spontaneously assemble into bilayers, adopting the same bilayer conformation they take in cell membranes and intracellular membranes
- 30/3 (metabolism) cells orchestrate their own chemistry. the cellular orchestration of metabolism is directed by genes and mediated, in major part, by enzymes!! now if that isn't the most romantic thing in the entire world (after neutrophiles sacrificing themselves for us), i have no idea what is.
- 31/3 (plants) there's this tree, called Pycnandra acuminata from the Sapotaceae family. she's adapted to nickel-rich ultramafic soils from New Caledonia (it's endemic)!!! this means she accumulates nickel, the literal metal, and her sap is a green blueish like color??? it's really pretty. maybe she's doing it to keep predators away. or to make it harder for other plants to live around her, because as the leaves fall, the nickel material goes with it, and impregnates the soil. and we all know most plants hate metal rich soils. but not her :')
- 31/3 (mammals) tiny mammal fact, a primate one actually: muriqui monkeys talk to each other through ultra sound!!! it's a sound we would never be able to hear. maybe they do this to keep predators away. i think it's cute to think they look like they're yawning, but actually, they're TALKING!!! sweet. national muriqui day is celebrated in aug 27th!!!
- 11/7 (Chlorobionta) recent data imply that chloroplasts found in the green plants today were modified from those that evolved via endosymbiosis!!!
- 13/7 (plants) lotus leaves are really water-repellent! they are known to be superhydrophobic. according to this article "the structure of a lotus leaf has a clever design that discourages surface wetting both through a waxy nonpolar coating and a rough structure which both make surface interactions less favorable, allowing water to bead up into spheres and easily roll off the leaf" :")
jul 19 2020 ∞
aug 30 2024 +