Osmosis

Osmosis. The word that haunts GCSE biology. But what actually is it?

Osmosis

It's the movement of water from a high concentration to a low concentration through a partially permeable membrane. It happens in all living cells. It is used when plants are absorbing water through their roots. Inside the root cells before water has been taken in there should be a high concentration. So the process of Osmosis brings in water until there is a lower concentration than on the other side of the membrane. When it is used up the process begins again.

5 Years Time (Noah and the Whale) Lyrics

Oh well in 5 years time,
We could be walking round the zoo,
With the sun shining down over me and you, 
And there will be love in the bodies of the elephants too,

And I'll put my hands over your eyes but you'll peek through. 


And there will be sun, sun, sun, all over our bodies,
And sun, sun, sun, all down our necks,
And there will be sun, sun, sun, all over our faces,
And sun, sun, sun, so what the heck.


'Cos I'll be laughing at all your silly little jokes,
And we'll be laughing about how we used to smoke,

All those stupid little cigarettes and drink stupid wine,

'Cos it's what we needed to have a good time,

But it was fun, fun, fun, when we were drinking,

And it was fun, fun, fun, when we were drunk,

And it was fun, fun, fun, when we were laughing,

And it was fun, fun, fun, oh it was fun.

Oh, well I'll look at you and say it's the happiest I've ever been,

And I'll say I know how you feel, I have to be James Dean,

And she'll say yeah well I feel oh pretty happy too,
And I'm always pretty happy when I'm just kicking back with you

And it'll be love love love all through our bodies
And it'll be love love love all through our minds
And it'll be love love love all over her face
And love love love all over mine

And though really all these moments are just in my head
I'll be thinking about them as I'm lying in bed
And I know that really it might not even come true
But in my mind I'm having a pretty good time with you

Oh in 5 years time I might not know you
In 5 years time we might not speak
In 5 years time we might not get along
In 5 years time you might just prove me wrong

Oh there will be love love love wherever you go

The 0.006mph champion - Snail Racing

A possible athlete and champion

Following the recent World Snail Racing championships we discuss this rather strange past-time.

Last month, in Norfolk, Zoomer the snail broke the world record at the World Snail Racing Championships. He completed the 13 inch course in 2:00, obliterating the previous record. It's 6 year old owner revealed to the telegraph that it was 'lovely he had won' and 'he would set Zoomer free in the woods'. 
        The World Snail Racing championships            
        While the whole thing seems rather ridiculous we can enjoy this amusing sport on a smaller level. Many a small child has bounded outside, clutching their mother's marker pen, then crouched in the mud eagerly watching which of the slimy creatures will cross the finishing twig first and carefully placing wanderers back on the right path. On joining in on one such event I discovered how entertaining it actually is! I have to say it's rather more enjoyable than horse racing!
          Some have questioned whether the sport is actually cruel to the snails; so I spoke to a spokesmen of wildlife enthusiasts. He said: "It brings people closer to nature. It doesn't affect the snails in a very large way at all. As long as people avoid tippex as this makes them more visible to birds, it's really quite harmless." 
          So go on organise your own snail race!!!

How do salmon breed and the project that is giving them a helping hand

Can you imagine having to journey for thousands of miles in order to lay thousands of eggs and then just.. dying? That is what a female salmon goes through at the end of their life. Pretty awful - huh? 

          Salmon grow and mature in the ocean, but when they are ready to breed they enter fresh water in order to spawn, travelling to a stream or a pond high in oxygen. The female digs a redd (a hole) in the gravel with her tail. She lays thousands and thousands of eggs into it, many of which will not reach adulthood. It is then that the male fertilizes the eggs. Most of these salmon die after reproducing - their organs just give up. The newly emerged salmon which are called alevins have a food sac in them when they hatch and they stay in the nest. When the food sac is used up the salmon fry. When they emerge they eat mostly insects. As it grows it becomes camouflaged, called parr, and then turns silver into a smolt. After that it swims downstream to the wide, wide ocean. In the estury the fish adapts so that it can survive in the sea. Depending on the species the salmon live for one to seven years before swimming up stream to their place of birth and repeating the cycle. The salmon do not eat at all on the journey back. 

          One thing stands in the way of this incredible quest. The weir. This dreaded construction completely blocks the salmon's path on its voyage. If you're lucky, and you get the time of year right, you can sometimes see salmon leap out of the air and over the weir. However some salmon cannot get across that easily. Other threats to the journey are abandoned coppices causing collapse of many trees. 

          The Wye Habitat Improvement Project aims to make changes that allow the salmon to safely make the journey up the tributaries. Large areas will be improved to create a smooth ride for these slippery friends. It will work with farmers who own tributaries. The project aims to show the farmers that they can use the improvements for their own benefits such as fishing. After getting through a mountain of paperwork they have now received permission for the project from higher authority. 

La Rambla, Barcelona

The capital of pickpocketing? 

When you step out onto the street of la Rambla is the first thing you notice the crowds of people that swarm the streets, the people clutching their bags in fear or the brightly coloured stalls lined up informally along the streets? Or is it the illegal salesman that approaches you confidently, waving his product and trumpeting the childish toy in your ear. The street is buzzing with activity. It is the type of place that would look rather like an ant's nest from above. The mixture of tourists and slightly poverished locals mingle together, browsing the stalls. The stalls are piled high with souvenirs and memorabilia with olive coloured Spaniards slumped behind. Each one is practically the same and a person is likely to make just one purchase as they walk up and down; yet despite that the sellers must get a fair few buys throughout the day with the sheer enormous amount of people. 
          Everything seems rather relaxed as people gaze up at the towering department stores that line the outside beyond the road and sip icy, fruit enriched drinks. Until the phantom pick pocketer strikes. No one ever sees it: or notices it. Not until it's happened. Only then do you realise the necessity of the armed, pacing policemen that eye the crowds suspiciously. A woman reaches to pay, realising she no longer can. Frantically she raises the alarm. Like a tidal wave the panic spreads from one person to another. But it is no good. Somewhere, distant in the gaggle, a young man is proudly fingering a designer purse. 

           In the market I casually conversed with a retired tour guide, back because she couldn't stay away, to the place she has visited thousands of times. I spoke to her with enthusiasm about my experiences of the day. Nodding with wisdom of the place in her eye she revealed in a strong Spanish accent "not once in my 45 year career did I bring a group here without something being taken." I felt quite taken aback by this statement, realising the scale of the theft that goes on here. Or do they just target the naive looking tourist? 

Word: Jovial - Where does it come from?

Jovial adj [jo-vi-al] endowed with or characterised by a hearty joyous humour or spirit of good-fellowship. 

The word can be first observed in the 1580's meaning love for the God Jupiter, who is also known as Jove and is the Roman God of the sky. The modern meaning is derived from it being believed that being born under the sign of Jupiter would give you such dispositions.

Can a candle burn in zero gravity?

Here you can see the difference between a
normal flame and a micro gravity one.

Yes it can; but the flame looks very different. It behaves as it would in space, which is quite different to how it would behave on Earth. A micro gravity flame creates a kind of sphere around the wick. Oxygen feeds the flame and carbon dioxide moves away from it. It is almost invisible and cannot be detected by ordinary cameras. There is relatively no soot or smoke due to the lack of air flow which would ordinarily create a gas exchange. 

Mars God of War

How the planet brought about much literary inspiration?

You can see the baron, rocky surface that
seems as if it could harbour no life.

Cultures across the globe have for years depicted the planet Mars as violent. There born was its reputation of being association with war. This association was so real it inspired award winning author, H. G Wells to write his majourly successful science-fiction novel about it in 1898. In those days science-fiction barely existed. So the fact that when it did the alien villains were Martians says something significant about the way we saw Mars, even then. Since that first appearance there have been many similar books, films and plays that's plot revolved similarly around the planet's evil.

        For astronomers the planet may symbolise something else. It symbolises a step we may be able to make within our lifetimes. Mars may be the first planet, other than our home, that humans will ever set foot on. So do astronomers see it as more of a friendly, hopeful figure or do they see deeper into this mythical name? Where does this association arouse from? Is it the harsh temperatures of up to 200 degrees Farenheit? The landscape is baron and dry showing the scars of old volcanoes. Much like an old battlefield, in a way. Scientists can observe how the planet was once alive with volcanic activity. Is Mars a dead hero? Scientists believe that one day in the future we could alter the conditions on the planet in order for it to harbour life. 

          And what exactly is the legend that is the namesake? Mars is from Roman mythology, often equated with the Greek god Ares. He was the second most important God (after Jupiter) and the most prominent of all the military Gods. Roman legionaries often worshipped him. Whereas the Greeks saw him as a dangerous, loathsome characters. He is often depicted in battle with Fuga and Timor the personifications of flight and fear.  His twin sons Romulus and Remus were the founders of Rome. It is said that earlier on he was associated with farming, agriculture and protection of cattle; but this soon dissipated into his new image. 

Touch Typing

What is touch typing? Definition.

Being able to type on a keyboard without looking. Typing using touch. Each finger has multiple keys that it is used to type and both hands are spread across the keyboard.

Why should you learn to touch type? Reasons.

On average a person who can touch type types 7 times faster than a normal typist. It saves loads of time. Some would object saying that they don't have the time to learn. Well, it really isn't all that hard. You end up saving so much time that it is well worth it. Typing becomes less of a chore and more of something you do quite naturally.

How can I learn? Info.

There are plenty of games on the internet and courses you can go to but in my opinion the best way is just to get a program for your computer which you can learn on. They include games as well as lessons so it ends up being really fun. I recommend the program 'Mavis Beacon'.

Don't be scared! Go on try it!