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!!!