giraffe-standing

giraffe-standingGiraffes are the tallest land mammals on the earth. Their average height is around 5 meters (16 feet). Giraffes are characterized by their long neck and legs with a nice pattern of spots on their body. People of Africa once called them camel-leopard because their body shape resembles with camel and their pattern resembles with leopard.

Appearance

giraffeGiraffes are the tallest and one of the heaviest land mammals on Earth. They have 4 legs that slim but longer in height. Giraffes can run at a top speed of 55 km/h. they run similar to other mammals do, by swinging their front and rear legs.

They a very long neck and good eyesight which allows them to get a good view of distant territories around them. Moreover, they have sleep time around two hours and they sleep in small periods of 5 minutes instead of taking a long sleep.

Giraffe Babies

Giraffe’s babies are called calves and at the time of birth, their height is around 2 meters and weighs 70 kg. Newborn babies are very vulnerable so their mothers try everything to protect them from predators. Their growth rate is fast, they can grow 2 inches in a day.

Diet

They can eat leaves of trees at extreme heights where other animals can’t reach. They have a long tongue which helps them in pulling leaves from trees. A full-grown giraffe can eat up to 45 kg of food a day, leaving them spending most of their day eating. Their favorite food is the acacia tree. Giraffes don’t need much amount of water, because they get most of the water from the leaves they eat. This is good for them because giraffes have to bend down to drink water which makes them vulnerable to attacks from lions and other hunters.

Habitat

giraffe-familyGiraffes are found in the savanna areas of the African continent. They prefer to live in open areas, as it helps them in pointing their predators. Also, their height is quite large and living in thick forests will make it difficult for them to move.

Conservation Status

In the latest report of 2019 from IUCN, Giraffes have placed in the list of endangered species. There are around 100,000 giraffes living in the wild. Their number is dropping due to various reasons, such as loss of habitat as a result of deforestation and illegal hunting.

Interesting Facts

  • Giraffe’s legs measure about 6 feet tall – longer than the height of most people.
  • Giraffes live most part of their life in standing position – even during sleep. Because it saves them from predators’ attacks that mostly target their neck.
  • Every giraffe has its own pattern design and doesn’t matches with other giraffes – much like human fingerprints. This fact helps in distinguishing one giraffe from others.
Marie-Curie

Marie-CurieMarie Curie is one of the most famous lady scientists who became the first lady to earn a Nobel Prize. She also won a 2nd Nobel Prize for discovering two new elements and also became the first person for getting two Nobel Prizes.

Early Life

young-marie-curieMarie Curie was born in 1867 in Poland that was the part Russian Empire at that time. Her parents were teachers and she was their fifth and youngest child. She became a very bright student due to her parents’ efforts that were both teachers.

When Marie was young, her parents involved in a patriotic movement for independence of Poland from Russia. Due to this reason, they lost their jobs, property, and faced a very tough time along with their children. Due to the loss of fortune, Marie had to struggle a lot in his life; especially for getting education.

Marie successfully graduated from a college in Poland and earned a gold medal while struggling financially. She wanted to study further but was unable to get admission in universities of Poland. So, she tried to get admission at Sorbonne University in Paris, France with the help of his elder sister.

She continued his higher education in France and successfully got a Physics degree because she wanted to be a scientist in physics. While studying at the university, Marie got married to Pierre Curie who was also a scientist.

Marie worked a lot on radioactive elements and was exposed to high energy radiation much longer. Due to overexposure to radiation, she felt ill and died at the age of 67 years in 1934.

Scientific Discoveries and Contributions

marie-curie-in-laboratoryWilliam Roentgen has discovered X-rays and in the same period, Henry Becquerel discovered radioactivity of elements. When Marie Curie discovered the phenomenon of radioactivity, she became very interested in working on radioactivity further. While studying and working on the radioactivity phenomenon, she discovered new elements.

Discovering New Elements

Marie along with his husband Pierre Curie began working on the mineral of Uranium, pitchblende, from which Henry Becquerel discovered radioactivity.  Marie and Pierre Curie did a lot of experiments on pitchblende and found that the pitchblende was giving more radiations than the amount of Uranium present in it. So they doubted that maybe there is another radioactive element yet unknown but present in the pitchblende along with Uranium.

Marie analyzed the pitchblende further and found that there are actually two new elements in the sample of mineral. She named the two elements; Polonium and Radium. Due to the discovery of the two new elements, Marie Curie and Pierre Curie both got Nobel Prize in 1911. Marie and Pierre also got Nobel Prize in 1903 before the discovery of new elements due to their work on radiation.

Facts

  • Marie helped in World War I by suggesting that, X-rays can be used to take inside-image of injured soldiers’ bodies.
  • Irene was the eldest child of Marie and Pierre Curie. She has won a Nobel Prize for his work on radiations and aluminum metal.
  • In 1921, Marie Curie has founded a facility for research on cancer. This research facility is also one of the major facilities in Paris today.
ozone-layer

ozone-layerThe ozone layer is one of the most important parts of our Earth that helps in sustaining life on the Earth. It is the layer of gas, called ozone, in the upper atmosphere which helps in protecting the living things from the deadly strong ultraviolet radiation of the Sun.

What is Ozone?

Ozone is a gas whose molecules are made of three oxygen atoms, instead of two oxygen atoms that we breathe. The chemical formula for ozone is O3, whereas for the oxygen gas that we breathe is O2. The ozone gas contains one extra atom which it gets in several ways. The ozone is the upper atmosphere is formed when strong rays of the Sun breaks the oxygen molecule (O2) into two individual oxygen atoms. When an individual oxygen atom (O) joins with the oxygen molecule (O2), the ozone molecule (O3) is formed.

How Ozone Layer Protects Us From UV Rays?

Cycle-of-Ozone
Ozone cycle

Ultraviolet radiations, or UV rays for short, are short wave radiations that are the part of sunlight. These radiations are considered harmful for living things on the Earth. UV rays can cause cancer, sunburns, damage to the immune system and DNA, early aging of the skin, and various other health harms. So, without protection from strong UV rays, life on the surface of the Earth is impossible.

Our Earth’s surface is protected from strong ultraviolet radiation due to the presence of the ozone layer in the upper atmosphere. The ozone layer absorbs the short-wave UV rays which have the great potential to cause harm to living things. However, long-wave UV rays are not blocked and are also not harmful enough. Furthermore, long-wave UV rays are needed for many life forms e.g. we humans need UV rays exposure from sunlight because our skin produces vitamin D when exposed to sunlight.

Ozone Depletion

ozone-hole
The blue colored region is considered as hole in the ozone layer that is above the poles.

Ozone depletion is defined as the reduction in ozone gas from the ozone layer. It is another disaster that the world is facing today. Our Earth’s shield, the ozone layer, is depleting which results in increased penetration of short-wave ultraviolet radiation which is very harmful to living things.

There are many ways in which ozone depletion occurs but the major contributor to this disaster is human activities. For many decades, human activities have caused the release of CFC (Chlorofluorocarbons). CFCs are a number of gases that reach the upper atmosphere and destroy the ozone molecules. CFCs are mostly used as refrigerants in our air-conditioners and refrigerators. The gases from these machines leak over time and reach the upper atmosphere and cause damage to the ozone layer. But in 1987, a global agreement was made to ban CFCs for the protection of the ozone layer. After the agreement, CFC emissions dropped from many developed countries. Today, nitrous oxide emitted by industrial processes and other human activities is the main destroyer of the ozone layer.

Facts

  • It is estimated that one molecule from CFC on average destroys over 100,000 molecules of ozone.
  • The ozone layer around Antarctica becomes so thin in the months of September to November that it is considered as a hole in the ozone layer.
  • It is believed by researchers that, life from the ocean moved to surface when strong UV rays were blocked by the ozone layer.
Ibn-al-Nafis

Ibn-al-NafisIbn Al-Nafis is one of the greatest scientists during the period of the Golden Era of Muslims. He was a famous physician and researcher. He has discovered cures of several diseases and described the blood circulation in the human body in detail.

Early Life

Ibn Al-Nafis belonged to an Arab family and was born in the year 1213 near Damascus, Syria. He got his early education in literature and philosophy. After getting his early education, he became interested in studying medicine. He studied medicine for more than 10 years in the Nuri Hospital at Damascus, Syria.

After studying and practicing medicine, Ibn Al-Nafis became very expert and famous in this field. Due to his expertise, he was called by the king of Egypt who made him the chief physician in the Al-Naseri Hospital in Egypt. He practiced in this hospital for many years and also taught in other colleges of Egypt.

After migration to Egypt, Ibn Al-Nafis spent the rest of his life there practicing and teaching medicine. He was also appointed as a personal physician for the famous king of Egypt Sultan Baibars. Later, he became a chief physician of several other hospitals and worked rest of life as a physician. At the age of 74, Ibn Al-Nafis became very ill and died in Egypt.

Discoveries and Contributions

Ibn Al-Nafis spent most of his time as a physician, but he also wrote several papers on cosmology, natural philosophy, and futurology. He has discovered and contributed many things in the field of physiology. Some of his most important contributions are:

Pulmonary Circulation

Before the theory of pulmonary circulation that was given by Ibn al-Nafis, there was a theory of Galen on cardiac function. The theory stated that blood goes from the right side of the heart to the left side through tiny pores. The blood mixes with air and spirit on the left side of the heart and then it flows to other parts of the body. Galen also said that the arterial system and venous system are totally separate.

Ibn Al-Nafis rejected the above-described points in Galen’s theory and stated that the right side and left side of the heart don’t have unseen pores, and don’t allow the blood to go through it. He said that blood from the left ventricle of the heart reaches to the right ventricle with the help of pulmonary circulation. Furthermore, he said that pulsation in the human body is directly linked with the beating of the heart.

Other Contributions

  • Urology – Ibn al-Nafis wrote in his book, Al-Mujaz, that kidney stone and bladder stones are different from each other. He also discussed the infections of kidneys and bladder.
  • Surgery – Ibn al-Nafis proposed three important stages in surgery with great He said that in the 1st stage, the patient needs to be informed about how the surgery will be performed. In the 2nd stage, the surgery is performed as described to the patient. In the 3rd stage, the patient needs to visit the surgeon for regular check-ups after the surgery.

Facts

  • The very famous book that Ibn Al-Nafis wrote is Mujaz Al-Qanun. This books explains and compliments on one of the most famous books on medicine, Al-Qanun, written by Avicenna.
Louis-Pasteur

Louis-PasteurLouis Pasteur, also known as the father of germ theory, is among the greatest scientists whose discoveries changed our world. Louis Pasteur is famous for developing vaccines to save humans and animals from deadly diseases. Also, he discovered that many diseases in humans and animals are due to germs.

Early Life

Louis Pasteur was born in Dole, France in the year 1822. He belonged to a poor family and was among the average students during his early education. During his childhood, he was mostly interested in fishing and sketching figures. When he was 17 years old, he went to Besancon and got admission in the College Royal to study Philosophy. After completing his bachelors, he became a tutor in the same college and also continued his study in general science. Later on, in 1843, Pasteur applied for the admission in Ecole Normale Superieure – but got admission in 2nd attempt. He successfully received his master’s degree in science in 1845 and became a professor in a college.

Louis Pasteur was offered the position of laboratory assistant by a chemist from Ecole Normale Superieure from where he got his master degree. Pasteur accepted his offer and joined him, where he also continued his own research work. Later, he became a professor of physics and chemistry in other colleges. In one of the colleges where he was a professor, he also married a woman from which he got 5 children. Unfortunately, his three children died due to severe typhoid fever, which made the Pasteur study on the causes of diseases and discover vaccines.

Discoveries and Contributions

Louis Pasteur made several discoveries and contribution to medical science and chemistry. Some of the most important are:

Germ Theory

At the time of Louis Pasteur, most scientists believed that major deadly diseases are caused due to the body’s weakness and imbalance. They didn’t relate the disease with germs and said that germs merely come from nowhere. But Louis Pasteur and a handful of other researchers didn’t agree with that idea. Louis Pasteur conducted many experiments and found that germs are living things that also reproduce. Pasteur also found that many deadly diseases are also caused by these tiny creatures.

Vaccination

When Louis Pasteur investigated further in diseases and germs, he found that when a disease is weak enough, the immune system in humans and animals could build a defense against that disease. He tried to prepare weak forms of diseases and experimented on animals to see the effects. When those animals who have got a shot of the vaccine, received a strong dose of the killer disease, didn’t get infected. Louis Pasteur called this weak form of the disease as a vaccine.

Facts

  • The first human to receive a dose of the vaccine was a nine-year-old boy who received a vaccine of rabies in 1885.
  • Louis Pasteur had a brain stroke which made some of his body parts paralyzed when he was 45 years old.