Bioinformatics is a field of Science where Biology, Computer Science and Information Technology merge. A concern of Bioinformatics is the ability to quickly retrieve data, so that researchers can use each other’s information to work towards a common goal. A…
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Blood Agar is a bacterial growth medium that can distinguish normal from pathogenic bacteria based on the effect of bacterial hemolytic enzymes on red blood cells. * What Is a Growth Medium? * A growth medium (plural: media) is a…
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Charles Darwin (1809-1882) started out his career studying medicine and later on theology at Edinburgh University. His father had hoped that he would become a clergyman, but this was not to be. Darwin had developed an interest in beetles, through…
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Ever had fruit that tastes like chocolate but without the guilt, high calories and with absolutely no caffeine? The Black Sapote tree has just such a fruit. It is often used in smoothies, which enhance the smooth, soft, almost pudding-like texture,…
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Ever since humans realized what a wonderful planet this can be countless attempts have been made to keep us on it for as long as possible. For generations scientists, seers and sages would create lotions, potions and formulas they believed…
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If you ask a person what elephants, pigs, elk, deer, hippos, giraffes, tapirs, horses, zebras, manatees, goats, sheep, antelope and camels all have in common, there is a pretty good chance that the person would only be able to say…
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The interesting subject of biology and all of its many subtopics is rich with information that many books have been written and more than just the classroom textbook. From studying the smallest microscopic organism to the mating habits of whale…
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Bacteria are unicellular microorganisms found in every habitat on Earth. Nearly all have cell walls composed of peptidoglycan and reproduce by binary fission (cloning of cells). Although many of these microbes are harmless or beneficial to humans, others are pathogenic,…
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Somehow two species of palm, neither looking anything like the other, acquired the appellation Umbrella. One needs to ferret out the Latin or botanical name for each of these palms to begin the differentiation process. The Umbrella Palm tree, botanists…
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One of the most common dessert cacti of North and Central America is the Opuntia basilaris or the beavertail cactus. This bushy cactus is characterized by its teardrop-shaped flat pads, resembling the tail of a beaver, thus giving it its…
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