A Look at the World Explains 90 Percent of Changes in Vegetation

photo courtesy of nasa.gov Human kind runs this world, building, expanding and surfacing as much of mother earth as they can. Some say this is our way of flourishing in our environment and taking advantage of things earth has to offer but we must take a step back and look at the damage being done. “In the last thirty years, vegetation has changed significantly the world over (Schaepman).” Climate is the main thing that control vegetation,...

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Future of organs? Synthetic tissue built with 3-D printer

photo courtesy of trbimg.com On April 4th, 2013, Amina Khan wrote an article in the Los Angeles Times describing some new developments in the scientific and medical world. The article, entitled, “Future of organs? Synthetic tissue built with 3-D printer,” describes how scientists have developed a 3-D printer that creates materials that very closely resemble human tissues. The substances used to make this material are actually quite simple....

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Tissue engineering: Growing new organs, and more

photo courtesy of mit.edu Tissue engineering research has progressed from using tissue for replacement organs and transplants to focusing on creating tissue that can be used to study diseases and develop new drugs for treatments. Scientists at MIT are especially focused on this research. Sangeeta Bhatia, a professor at MIT, has developed a liver tissue, which has allowed her to study malaria and hepatitis c. She has used thin pieces of this liver...

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Paradox Worm' Xenoturbella Bocki Lacks Brain & Sex Organs, But Could Be Mankind's 'Progenito

Photo courtesy of sciencedaily.com The article “’Paradox Worm' Xenoturbella Bocki Lacks Brain & Sex Organs, But Could Be Mankind's 'Progenitor'” by Andres Jauregui of Huffington Post, describes the high possibility that a paradox worm can be more related to humans that many other more advanced organisms. This organism might belong to a branch of the animal family tree called deuterostomes. “Deuterostome development in animals, is a developmental...

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Jawless Vertebrae Had the World's Sharpest Teeth

Photo courtesy of rhyniechert.com  This article was about a vertebra named a Conodont. It is recorded to have the sharpest teeth of any animal that ever lived. Its teeth are barely thicker than a human hair; however their strength can compete with the strength of our human jaw. This vertebra evolved 500 million years ago and went extinct about 200 million years ago. This vertebra roamed the earth for longer than any other vertebra...

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Some Echinoderms Will Never Grow Up

photo courtesy of deepseanews.com In life, people think of being “immature” or not growing up as a bad thing. But in this case, for species like echinoderms, it can be advantageous. Xyloplax is an example of an Echinoderm that has adapted to its preferred environment. The article goes on to name list the five living examples of Echinoderms and some examples of each. When Xyloplax was first discovered, it apparently did not fit into any of the...

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Ancient Creature was a miniature monster

Photo courtesy of http://palaeos.com A 500 million year old monster looking predator was discovered in the deposits of Canada. The first clues of the monster fossil were described 100 years ago and scientists thought it to be a crustacean animal, however, now its clear that Hurdia is a large predatory animal, half a meter in length with a segmented body and a head with spiny claws and a circular jaw with teeth. It is extremely rare to...

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