Wednesday 16 January 2013

DNA COMPUTER


Think of DNA  as software, enzymes as hardware and put them together in a test tube. The way in which these molecules undergo chemical reactions with each other allows simple operations to be performed as a byproduct of the reactions. 
                                              
                         This idea of using DNA  to store and process information took off in 1994 when a California scientist first used DNA  in a test tube to solve a simple mathematical problem.  Later Israeli scientists devised a computer composed of enzymes and DNA molecules instead of silicon microchips. Now they have gone one step further. The single DNA molecule that provides the computer with the input data also provides all the necessary fuel.
                                               

  • In general, the DNA computer looks like water solution in a test tube. DNA computing is in its infancy, and its implications are only beginning to be explored. But it could transform the future of computers, especially in pharmaceutical and biomedical applications .
  • While a desktop PC is designed to perform one calculation very fast, DNA strands produce billions of potential answers simultaneously.
                                                 
  • In speed and size, DNA computers surpass conventinal computers. This makes the DNA computer suitable for sloving "Fuzzy logic" problems.
  • DNA computing research is going so fast that its potential is still emerging. Some scientists predict a future where our bodies are patrolled by tiny DNA computers that monitor our well being and release the right drugs to repair damaged or unhealthy tissue.  

Monday 14 January 2013

THE WONDROUS WORLD OF HONEYBEES

  • A honeybee a tiny insects represent a highly organized system of division of labour, as distinct members of the colony.
  • A honeybee colony comprises distinct members that exhibit an astounding division of labour among them. These busy, social insects provide us honey --- the sweet, health- promoting gift of nature.
  • Basically , there are three distinct castes found in a colony. In a  normal beehive, there is one queen(Functional female), 10000 to 20000 workers(sterile females) and few hundred drones(males).
                                                           
  • The queen comes out of the hive only once in her lifetime for just 10-15 minutes . It can mate with one or more males. After mating , the male genital organ gets attached to the female genital organ, and eventually the drone dies. 
  • During mating the queen stores about two crore spermatozoa in her spermatheca where they can survive for over three years.
  • Female are produced from fertilized eggs while the unfertillized ones produce males.
  • A queen can lay up to 15,000 eggs per day and can live for three years.
  • The drones are heavily built as compared to the workers and queen. Their only function is to mate with the queen. 
  • There is no wax gland, scent gland or sting apparatus in a drone. They are dependent on workers for food.
  • About 3-6 workers are required to feed a single drone. Their life span is 57 days.
  • At the termination of breeding season and before the onset of monsoon, drones are driven out of the hive to die of starvation or move to neighbouring nests that have virgin queens.
  • Workers(females) are actually rsponsible for the welfare and maintenance of the colony. They possess a proboscis or tongue for collection of nectar and a pollen basket in their hind leg for collecting pollen.
  • There is divisio of labour among the workers also.        

Sunday 13 January 2013

CHROLOPHYLL - THE WONDER PIGMENT

  •  
  • Chrolophyll is the most important plant pigment and a "real life force" that nature uses to explode plants into greenery.
                        It is not a single compound, but made up of two classical components - the bluish black chlorophyll-a, and dark green chlorophyll-b.

  • Chrolophyll is photoreceptive, absorbs blue and red spectrum of the visilble light and reflects the unabsored spectrum in the green region. It is the green reflection that makes plant parts look green. The colours in flowers and fruits are due to other pigments.
  • Chlorophyll is quite delicate, it cannot work alone.  It is also not very stable under bright sunlight. If there is too much ultraviolet, the process of photo synthesis begins to release an excess of damaging molecules called free radicals.
  • Chrolophyll is present in the membrane of disc-like structures called chrloroplasts which are like chemical factories powered by the sun to synthesize carbohydrates.
  • A leaf has about 500,000 chloroplasts per square millimeter.
  •                                              
  • Chlorophyll is often described as the "blood of plants" and chlorophyll- rich foods have been linked with increasig hemoglobin.
  • While all green plants contain chlorophyll a, and most vegetables that we eat contain both chlorophyll a and b, some vegetables contain particularly high amount of total chlorophyll.
  • Members of the cabbage family such as Broccoli, Brussels, Cabbage, Cauliflower and Collards green, Mustard greens, Radish, Turnip /and the member of Carrot family such as Celery, Cilantro , Parsley, Beet ,Parsnips, possess several cancer-fighting Phytochemicals.


Chlorophyll,s other Benefits
  • Chlorophyll has been used in folk medicine as a deodorizer.
  • It is effective for those suffering from halitosis(bed breadth) and can be used for a freshening gargle.
  • It is used in treating diabetic foot ulcer, constipation and hemorrhoids , used to neutralize the acidifying and stimulating effect of excess protein, sugars and starch.
  • Chlorophyll is used as a colouring agent in products such as soaps, candy and in formulations for skin health an glow.
  • Carotene associated with chlorophyll is converted into vitamin A, which is essential for normal growth, good eye-sight and healthy skin.  
                                                                 

SPECIALTY OF SPROUTS


Sprouts of many seeds have been used as food since ancient times. They grow in any climate, and mature in 3 to 5 days without requiring soil or sunshine. Having a very high nutritive value, sprouts are free of waste in preparation and can be cooked very easily.

  • They are rich in natural vitamins, minerals , proteins and enzymes. The increaseof vitamin content in sprouts during the sprouting period is tremendous.
  •  The maximum vitamin C levels are reached during the second day of germination. After sprouts reach their peak, they immediately begin to loose their vitamin C.
  • Sprouts also contain aspartic acid, which stimulates the production of natural hormones in the body.  
  • In the sprouting process , starches are converted to simple sugars that make sprouts easily digestible.
  • Some sprouts contain hemogglutinins, which should be avoided because they inhibit the absorption of proteins and fats.
  • Sprouts of tomato and potato must not be consumed , as they are poisonous due to the presence of a substance that yields hydrocyainic acid.  

Thursday 10 January 2013

COMPUTER - VON NEUMANN ARCHITECTURE

VON NEUMANN ARCHITECTURE
                                                       
  • An instruction is a form of control code, which supplies the information about an operation and the data on which the operation is to be performed.
  • The control unit(CU) interprets each of these instructions and generates respective control signals.
  • REGISTERS :- Resisters is a special storage area where data is held.
                              Register size refers to the amount of information that can be held in a register at a time for processing.
  • The Arithmetic Logic Unit(ALU) performs the arithmetic and logical operations in Registers.
  • An Input/Output system allows data input and reportinng of the results in proper format and form.
  • For transfer of information, computer needs a internal system Interconnection. One such is BUS Interconnection.
  • Main memory is needed in a comp8ter to store instructions an the data at the time of program execution.
  • The memory unit stores all the information in a group of memory cells, called memory location , as binary digits.
  • The contents of the desired memory locations are provided to the central processing unit by referring to the address of the memory location.
      

KEY FEATURES OF VON NEUMANN MACHINE :--  
  1. The Von Neumann machine uses stored pogram concept that is program and data are stored in same memory.
  2. Each location of the memory unit can be addressed independtly.
  3.  Execution of Instruction is in sequential order, from one instruction to the next.

MENOPAUSE - TAKE IT EASY


Menopause simply means the end of menstruation. With few exceptions, this generally occurs between the ages 45 and 55. After menopause, a woman no longer ovualtes or produces eggs.
  • Menopause is not a disease to be dreaded. It is only a stage in the natural biological process of ageing which has to be manages with understanding and adjustments. Each  age has its attraction, magic and beauty.
  •                                                
  • Menopause is the last stage of a biological pocess in which the ovaries reduce their production of female hormones, estrogen and progesterone.
  • The process actually begins about 3 to 5 years before the final cessation of menstruation. This transition phase is called the climacteric, or peri-menopause.
  • Most women notice some changes in their menstrual pattern such as, shortening of cycle length, skipped menstrual periods and occasional heavy periods before menstruation finally ceases. 
  • Some women experience hot flushes, night-sweats, decreased memory, disturbed sleep and vaginal dryness.
  • Most women dread the onset of menopause because of the distressing physical symptoms associated with it, and more importantly, women feel that they, will lose their charm after menopause. It is indeed rare to find a woman growing old gracefully and still rare to find one who believes that life begins at forty.

SURGICAL MENOPAUSE
Whenever there is a hormonal imbalance resulting in excessive menstrual bleeding, hormones are prescribed for a few months. If the problem is not resolved within a reasonable period gynaecologists recommend removal of the uterus along with the ovaries that produce female hormones.

SOME MEASURE
  • A well balanced nutritious diet and regular exercise coupled with a positive attitude can help counter the distressing symptoms of hormonal imbalance at menopause.
  • Exercise regularly keeps the metabolism at a higher rate and is often helpful to counter depression anxiety, stress and weight gain.
  • Women living in rural areas are less prone to pre and post menopausal problems as compared to their urban counterparts as they accept changes that occur with advancing age more gracefully.          

Monday 7 January 2013

FREE RADICALS

FREE RADICALS
                                                     
A free radical is a molecule having an unpaired electron that is capable of independent existence. All free radicals are extremely reactive and short lived. The longest half-life is 1-10 seconds for NO radical and the shortest is only one nanosecond for hydroxyl radicals.
                 Free radicals try to get an electron, and in the process of acquiring the electron attach themselves to another molecule, thereby modifying it biochemically. 
 Free radicals are capable of damaging any biomolecule including proteins, sugars, fatty acids and nucleic acid.
                                              
  • Free radicals include superoxide radical(SOR), hydroxyl radical(OHR), hydroperoxyl radical(HPR), alkoxyl radical(AR), peroxyl radical(PR), an nitric oxide radical(NOR).
  • Other molecules that act like free raicals are singlet oxygen, hydrogen peroxide, and hypochlorous acid.  Collectively FRs and non-FRs are called "oxidants" or "reactive oxygen species(ROS)".
    

Sunday 6 January 2013

CONSTRUCTORS IN JAVA

CONSTRUCTORS
Constructors define what occur or should be done when object is created. It can be used for automatic initialization.
               Constructor have same name as of class name and syntactically similer to a method. After defining constructor is called immediately automatically after creating of object before job of new operator is done.
                        Constructor have no return type even "void" , because implicit return type constructor is class type in which it reside. Constructor can be of three types :-
  1. Default constructor
  2. Parameterized constructor
  3. Overloading Constructor

 NOW we take a example to define constructor more precisely :-
consider the given JAVA program :-
                              /*start program*/
                              class rectangle 
                                  {
                               int len;
                               int bre;
                               //default constructor start
                               rectangle()
                               {
                                 len=10;
                                 bre=10;
                                }                              
                              //Parametrized constructor start
                                 rectangle(int x, int y)
                                 {
                                   len=x; 
                                   bre=y;
                                   }

                                   }                //rectangle class end here;

                               class constructor_demo {
                               Public static void main(String s[])
                               {
                                  rectangle r1 = new rectangle(5,10);
                                   rectangle r2 = new rectangle();
              
                                 }
                                  }
                              /*end of program*/  

  • In this program we use two constructor . One of them is default constructor and other is parametrized constructor  which takes parameter list. Since there are two constructor with same name so they are overloaded constructor also.
  • In statement :- "rectangle r1= new rectangle(5,10); "
is execute it immediately call constructor. Since we pass argument so parameterized constructor is called and initialize object.  It sets length to 5 and bredth to 10;
 
  • In statement :- " rectangle r2= new rectangle(); "
on execution lead to call default construtor. This will set length to 10 and breadth to 10.
 
  • When there is no constructor , JAVA call implicit constructor which set all instance variable to zero.