Amorphophallus is a genus of herbaceous plants of the aroid family (Araceae) consisting of about 170 species - including the impressive Tian arum - found mainly in lowland secondary forests in the tropics from west Africa eastwards into Polynesia. Plants of the genus have a single leaf that emerges from an underground tuber. This leaf consists of a vertical petiole (stalk) and a horizontal leaf-blade that is dissected into few or numerous small leaflets. Plants of the genusflower rarely, some as infrequently as once every seven years, the flower emerging at night and dying within 24 hours. Most species give off a foul odour of decaying flesh, and attract flying insects that feed upon rotting flesh so as to effect pollination. As the female and male flowers are not receptive at the same time, the plants need to retain visiting insects over night, and achieve this by providing food in the form of protein-rich fleshy warts at the base of the spathe, or in special organs developed on the spadix. Research Amorphophallus
Emmer (Triticum dicoccum) is an early species of wheat produced around 7500 BC through the crossing of Einkorn with a wild goatgrass, and formed the basis of the agricultural revolution when man turned to sedentary farming. It has a usually high yield even under poor conditions and produces a high proteinflour. Research Emmer
Something which is insectivorous feeds predominantly upon insects.
Insectivorous plants and animals both occur.
Insectivorous plants are unique in their ability to digestanimalprotein as a source of nitrogen and are common to marshy ground where there is a shortage of nitrogen. Examples of insectivorous plants are the sundews, the butterwort, the bladderworts and the venus fly trap. Research Insectivorous
Mantodea is the praying mantis order of insects. They have three striking characteristics: a large triangular head with large eyes which can judge distance very accurately; a long prothorax to which the arms used for catching prey are attached; substantial spiky arms for catching prey. The animals are called praying mantis because when awaiting prey, they adopt a pose which resembles that of a person praying. Praying mantis vary in size with species (of which there are about 2500 distributed through over 400 genera) ranging from 15 mm to 250 mm long. Members of the order are to be found in warmer moderate climates, the sub-tropics and tropics and even in southern Europe. Most praying mantis lie in wait for their prey, and then strike at it with the enlarged front legs, then eating it alive. Desert dwelling species may actively hunt their prey, however. Often during mating the female rips the head off her partner, and eats it while still copulating with him, the thorax and abdomen continuing to be impelled by nerve endings. In this way the male
provides protein to his own offspring. However, a well-fed female will very often not eat her mate. Research Mantodea
Nutrition is the strategy adopted by an organism to obtain the chemicals it needs to live, grow, and reproduce. The term is also applied to the science of food, and its effect on human and animal life, health, and disease.
Nutrition involves the study of the basic nutrients required to sustain life, their bio-availability in foods and overall diet, and the effects upon them of cooking and storage. It is also concerned with dietary deficiency diseases. There are six classes of nutrients: water, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, vitamins, and minerals. Water is involved in nearly every body process. Animals and humans will succumb to water deprivation sooner than to starvation. Carbohydrates are composed of carbon, hydrogen and oxygen. The major groups are starches, sugars, and cellulose and related material (or ' roughage'). The prime function of the carbohydrates is to provide energy for the body; they also serve as efficient sources of glucose, which the body requires for brain functioning, utilisation of foods, maintenance of body temperature. Roughage includes the stiff structural materials of vegetables, fruits, and cereal products. Proteins are made up of smaller units, amino acids. The primary function of dietary protein is to provide the amino acids
required for growth and maintenance of body tissues. Both vegetable and animal foods are protein sources. Fats serve as concentrated sources of energy, and protect vital organs such as the kidneys and skeleton. Saturated fats derive primarily from animal sources; unsaturated fats from vegetable sources such as nuts and seeds. Vitamins are essential for normal growth, and are either fat-soluble or water-soluble. Fat-soluble vitamins include A, essential to the maintenance of mucous membranes, particularly the conjunctiva of the eyes; D, important to the absorption of calcium; E, an antioxidant; and K, which aids blood clotting. Water-soluble vitamins are the B complex, essential to metabolic reactions, and C, for maintaining connective tissue and cell functioning. Minerals are vital to normal development; calcium and iron are particularly important as they are required in relatively large amounts. Minerals required by the body in trace amounts include chromium, copper, fluoride, iodine, iron, magnesium, manganese, molybdenum, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, sodium, and zinc. Research Nutrition
Phylum Arthropoda is the arthropod group of invertebrate animals which includes; crayfish, lobsters, spiders, insects etc. They are metamerically segmented and bilaterally symmetrical animals. Typically, each segment has a pair of jointed appendages and at least one pair is modified as jaws. Arthropods are covered in a strong external exoskeleton produced from protein and chitin that is strengthened in places by phenol to form sclerotin. These external skeleton needs to be shed from time to time to allow the animal to grow. The animal crawls out of its old shell revealing the new shell in place. Air is then pumped into the body to expand it and stretch the new shell which then hardens and the muscles attach themselves to the new plates. While this process is taking place the animal is very vulnerable to predators. Research Phylum Arthropoda
Budding yeasts are true fungi of the phylum Ascomycetes, class Hemiascomycetes. The true yeasts comprise the family Saccharomycetes, which has but one genusSaccharomyces, but includes at least ten species. The classification of yeasts is a specialized field using cell, ascospore, and colony characteristics for distinguishing genera, and physiological characteristics - particularly the ability to ferment individual sugars - to identify species. Yeasts are heterotrophic, lack chlorophyll, and are characterized by a wide dispersion of natural habitats. Common on plant leaves and flowers, yeasts are also found on the skin surfaces and in the intestinal tracts of warm-blooded animals, where they may live symbiotically or as parasites. In women, who are pregnant or taking antibiotics, an infection of the vagina and vulva caused by a yeast like fungus Candida albicans, is common. Yeasts are also found in soil and saltwater, where they contribute to the decomposition of plant and algal matter.
Yeasts multiply as single cells that divide by budding or direct division, or they may grow as simple irregular filaments. In sexual reproduction most yeasts form asci, which contain up to eight haploid ascospores. These ascospores may fuse with adjoining nuclei and multiply through vegetative division or, as with certain yeasts, fuse with other ascospores. The most well-known and commercially significant yeasts are the related species and strains of Saccharomyces cerevisiae. These organisms have long been utilized to ferment the sugars of rice, wheat, barley, and corn to produce alcoholic beverages and in the baking industry to expand, or raise, dough. Saccharomyces cerevisiae is commonly used as baker's yeast and for some types of fermentation. Yeast is often taken as a vitamin supplement because it is 50 percent protein and is a rich source of B vitamins, niacin, and folic acid. The yeast's function in baking is to ferment sugarspresent in the flour or added to the dough. This fermentation gives off carbon dioxide and ethanol. The carbon dioxide is trapped within tiny bubbles and results in the dough expanding, or rising. Research Yeast
In medicine, A68 is the symbol for a protein which is found in the brains of foetuses and infants but begins to disappear by the age of two years, but is once more found in the brains of patients with Alzheimer's disease. Research A68
The adrenal glands are a pair of glands above the kidneys which secrete adrenaline and other hormones. Each adrenal gland consists of an inner part called the medulla and an outer part called the cortex. The adrenal medulla is the source of epinephrine, also called adrenaline, and norepinephrine, which affect a number of body functions; for example, they stimulate cardiac action, increase the blood pressure, and affect constriction and dilation of blood vessels and musculature. All these actions help the organism deal with acute emergencies more effectively and efficiently. The adrenal cortex elaborates a group of hormones known as glucocorticoids, which include cortisone and hydrocortisone, and the mineralocorticoids, which include aldosterone and other hormonal substances that are essential to the maintenance of life and to adaptation to stress. Adrenal secretions regulate the salt and water balance of the body, influence the blood pressure, affect lymphatic tissue, influence the mechanisms of the immune system, and regulate carbohydrate and protein metabolism. In addition to these functions, the adrenal glands also elaborate male and female hormones. Research Adrenal Glands
Abbreviations
Research Amorphophallus
