What is the summary of ‘The Total Tragedy of a Girl Named Hamlet’?



No teenage girl, no matter how devoted her parents are to Shakespeare, deserves to be named, Hamlet. It’s so unfair. To their credit, her parents did consider naming her Ophelia, but desisted because they thought she was too tragic a character! Hamlet’s younger sister is Desdemona, a math and science prodigy at age seven, is in Hamlet's grade 8 class. She was actually supposed to go to college but wasn't allowed to pick a major because they had not taken art and music classes. The ultimate tragedy, however, is that whenever their parents visit them in school, they dress in 16th Century Elizabethan finery!



Hamlet Kennedy thought she had nothing in common with her weird family. But the perfect recitation of a Shakespearean, passage wins her the part of Puck in the school’s staging of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream". Through, the rehearsals and various other experiences involving her family and classmates, she realises she is every bit as special as her family is. She was struggling to ‘fit in' when all she needed to do was be herself.



 



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Which forest is home to the largest number of wild Asiatic lions?



One of the very few places in the world for spotting lions in the wild, the Gir forest is home to the largest number of wild Asiatic lions. Located in southern Gujarat, the region was first declared a reserve forest, and eventually granted the status of a sanctuary in 1965. The Gir National Park and Wildlife Sanctuary is a dry scrubland spanning 1,400 sq.km. Around half of the forested area of the park is teak. The other half mostly has broad leaf and evergreen trees. The entire region is covered with dry deciduous forests, acacia scrub and grassland, and fed by rivers and reservoirs. Dominated by vegetation ideal for fauna, it is no surprise that over 250 species of birds are found in and around the area. This includes a whole variety from teals, kingfishers, nightjars and swifts to eagles, vultures, harriers, ibises and the oriental white-eye. While the lion is the most popular inhabitant of the Gir forest, the region also hosts the leopard, hyena, wild boar, spotted deer, nilgai, jackal, jungle cat, honey badger, porcupine etc. and reptiles such as Indian cobra and the marsh crocodile.



An unusual journey



The last time a tiger roamed Gujarat’s forest was in 1992. However, that changed in February 2019 when a school teacher saw a tiger crossing a road and took a photo on a phone. Having a big cat back in Gujarat was a huge moment of ecological victory. While the image went viral, the forest department got into action – camera traps were set up. Within a week, the tiger was spotted again; it was a young male. The same one that had started its journey from Ratapani Wildlife Sanctuary in neighbouring State Madhya Pradesh back in 2017. When it reached Gujarat, it had travelled about 300 km, one of the longest journeys for tiger. The hope was that the tiger could eventually reach Gir forest, where it would settle in a conductive environment full of prey. However, the tiger died within weeks – of starvation. When it roamed the forests in Gujarat, the State became the only one to host the lion, the tiger and the leopard. That joy turned out to be short-lived. However, the tiger also left behind hope that someday someone else from his species would follow him and perhaps ensure that the joy lasts forever.



Lion deaths



On June 10, 2020 Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted that “Population of the majestic Asiatic Lion, living in Gujarat’s Gir forest, is up by almost 29% Geographically, distribution area is up by 36%.” While this was comforting news, a report released by the government around the same time wasn’t. it said that as many as 92 lions had died in Gujarat’s Asiatic Lion Landscape (ALL) since January 2020. ALL includes Gir National Park and Sanctuary, among a few other regions. These numbers are worrying, especially due to the canine distemper virus (CDV) outbreak that occurred in 2018. The virus infection had claimed the lives of more than 20 lions in Gir forest division in a matter of weeks. While the 92 lions “reportedly died of unnatural causes” this year, the State government has denied the presence of CDV.



 



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According to the latest report from the government, which tiger reserve has recorded the highest tiger density in the country?



Uttarakhand’s Corbett Tiger Reserve (CTR) has reported the highest tiger density among India’s 50 reserves with 14 tigers per 100 sq km, followed by Kaziranga, Nagarhole and Orang tiger reserves, according to the 656-page report ‘Status of Tigers Co-predators and Prey in India’, released by Union environment minister Prakash Javadekar on Tuesday on the eve of Global Tiger Day.



Corbett Tiger Park was the first to come under the Project Tiger initiative and also the oldest national park in India. As per the current tiger counting Jim Corbett Tiger Reserve sheltering a healthy population of tigers and other rare species of plants and a diverse variety of fauna including crested serpent eagle,Himalayan black bear and great Indian elephants.



According to All India Tiger Estimation Report 2018 released by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in July last year in July, there are 442 tigers in Uttarakhand. 



The population of India's national animal in the hill state has registered an increase from 178 in the year 2006, 227 in 2010, 340 in 2014 and 442 in 2018.



 



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What is cliffhanger?



A cliffhanger is a literacy device used to create an element of suspense in the story. When the plotline ends suddenly or is left unresolved. It leaves unanswered questions that make the reader or viewer want to come back to learn what will happen.



Origin



The phrase comes from the idea of “hanging off a cliff”. Cliffhangers were first popularized in the serials of the 1920s and 30s, and were often accompanied by the text “To be continued.”



Binge watching



Today, cliffhangers are widely used in television, web, and book series. They encourage people to come back for each new segment or episode. Usually, a cliffhanger doesn’t lend itself well to standalone films. But with the popularity of franchises and sequels, the use of cliffhanger endings in films has increased over the years.



The suspense maker



A cliffhanger is a great technique to use in a thriller because it builds up the action and then leaves the audience on the edge of their seat. Authors frequently build suspense throughout their stories to keep their reader’s attention and increase anticipation for what is to come.



Popular cliffhangers




  • ‘Harry Potter’ series: Author J.K. Rowling is a master of cliffhangers, and she has employed them cleverly throughout all seven books in the “Harry Potter” series. One of the biggest cliffhangers in the series is the ending of the fourth book, “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” – in the graveyard, Voldemort rises again with the help of peter Pettigrew, and summons his fearsome Death’s Eaters.

  • “Avengers: Infinity War” (2018): The penultimate “Avengers” film packed quite a punch towards the end. Having acquired all six infinity Stones, Thanos uses his newfound powers to snap his fingers and wipe out half of all life in the universe. Half of their team turns to dust and vanishes from existence, including fan-favourite characters such as Drax, Black Panther, and Spider-Man. The last scene shows Thanos sitting peacefully on a rock with a satisfying look on his face as he has fulfilled his dream.

  • “The Dark Knight” (2008): Though Batman defeats the Joker, he is unable to save Harvey Dent, who dies in the aftermath of his kidnapping of James Gordon’s family. Seeking to spare the people of Gotham City from learning the horrible truth about Dent’s crimes, Batman takes the fall for Dent and becomes a wanted fugitive, with the film’s final scene showing him on run from the police.



 



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Do you know what makes a chameleon change?



Chameleons are reptiles found predominantly in Madagascar, and some parts of Africa, Europe and Asia. There are over 150 species, in varying sizes and inhabiting rainforests, deserts, etc. While some reside close to the ground, many of them live in trees. And that would explain their grouped toes for climbing and prehensile tails curled around branches for balance. But what sets chameleons apart from most creatures is their colour-changing ability.



Myriad colours, but…



Yes, chameleons do change colour and this may help in camouflage. But most of them already have skin colour that help them blend well with their surroundings. For instance, it is said that tree-dwelling chameleons are in shades of green while their cousins in deserts are more in shades of brown. So it’s a misconception that they can match the colours of their background. Reports say these reptiles predominately change colour for defence, to communicate. Attract mates, display anger, fear, threat, etc., and as a response to changes such as light or humidity in their surroundings.



Here’s how it’s done. The chameleon skin has a few layers. The outermost is said to be transparent. The layer beneath this has special iridescent cells with different colour pigments that also reflect light. The reptile has the ability to change the arrangement of these cells – “by relaxing or exciting the skin”.



All-seeing eyes and long tongues



In addition to a colour-changing skin, they have another rare ability – eyes that move independently of each other, giving these reptiles the chance to look in two different directions simultaneously. When they want to look at something specific, both eyes focus on that object together. Not just that, their cone-shaped eyes rotate, giving them a 360-degree view of their surroundings. Another interesting aspect of the chameleon is its tongue. The sticky tongue is said to be almost twice the length of its body. When it spots its prey, the tongue shoots out with incredible speed, acts as a suction cup and pulls the prey in before the unsuspecting victim has any time to react!



 



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What is a landslide?



A landslide is the movement of a mass of rock, debris, or earth down a slope. Events such as heavy rainfall, earthquake and volcanic eruption can trigger a landslide, but they are not the only causes. More often than not, it is a combination of factors that lead to landslides. Geologists call landslides a type of “mass wasting,” which means any slope movement of soil and rock. The surface gets worn away as a result. Landslides could pose major hazards to people and property.



Underwater landslides resulting from factors such as earthquake are common too. These are called submarine landslides, which in turn can lead to tsunamis.



Geological factors



Landslides occur when the slope undergoes some processes that change its condition from stable to unstable. These could be due to geology and human activity. The geological factor concerns the material that forms the slope and the land. Some material with a loose, open sediment structure will weaken if they are disturbed or flooded with water. Absence of vegetation (or loss of it due to fire or drought), erosion and physical and chemical weathering are some of the geological factors that lead to landslides.



Human activities



Human activities such as deforestation (removal of deep-rooted vegetation), cultivation, building of roads and structures (without adequate grading of slopes), mining and blasting can destabilise or weaken a slope. Irrigation and vibration from machinery or traffic can also increase the risk of landslides.



Hazards can be mitigated by restricting or even removing populations from areas with a history of landslides and by restricting certain types of land use.



 



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What is Article 370?



It’s been a year since the BJP-led government in India revoked Article 370 on august 5, 2019, stripping the erstwhile State of Jammu and Kashmir of autonomy which it had enjoyed for seven decades. Do you know what Article 370 means?



Its significance



Article 370 accorded special status to the then State of J&K in accordance with the terms spelt out by Hari Singh, the ruler of the princely state with a majority Muslim population, following its accession to the Indian Union. Included in the Indian Constitution on October 17, 1949, Article 370 was meant to be temporary in nature. It allowed the State autonomy to draft its own Constitution, make laws and enjoy special rights. In other words, J&K citizens lived under a separate set of laws, including those related to citizenship, ownership of property and fundamental rights. So, Indians from outside the state were barred from purchasing property or settling there.



Why was it revoked?



Article 370 was revoked with the objective of boosting the development of the region and maintaining law and order. Revoking Article 370 was in the BJP’s 2019 election manifesto. So, when the party returned to power in the 2019 general elections, the Article was revoked and the Central government bifurcated the State into two Union Territories of J&K and Ladakh. The Union Territory of J&K has a legislature where key subjects such as law and order are with the Centre, while that of Ladakh has no legislature. Following the scrapping of Article 370, an uneasy calm prevailed in the Valley with restrictions on public movement and communication network. Several Kashmiri leaders, including former Chief Ministers, were put under house arrest. The restrictions triggered unprecedented international response. Though there are arguments for and against the abrogation of article 370, it is the people of the region who continue to suffer.



Dispute over Kashmir



Kashmir is a region of contention between India and Pakistan. Once a princely state called Jammu and Kashmir, it joined India in 1947 following the Partition (when the subcontinent was divided up) at the end of British rule. India and Pakistan waged was over it in 1965 with both ending up controlling different parts of the territory. There had been violence in J&K for over three decades due to a separatist insurgency against Indian rule.



One year on…



On August 5 this year, the one question that remained unanswered was whether the abrogation of article 370 has benefited the region or not. While the Ministry of Home Affairs has said that several developmental projects are underway, terror-related activities have dipped and job opportunities for youth have opened up, the crumbling economy, the deep social and psychological impact of curbs imposed on civilians, crackdown against any form of dissent and looming questions about human right violations paint a contrary picture.



 



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Why does moon has thousands of craters?



A crater is formed when a small space body such as an asteroid or a meteor collides with the surface of a planet or a moon. The Earth and the Moon both have many craters but the chances of Earth being hit by a space body is far more than the Moon due to its large size. However, despite its size, the moon has thousands of craters while we know of only 180 on Earth. Why?



Both Earth and Moon have been hit many, many times by small space bodies throughout their existence. However, the Earth has processes that can erase almost all evidence of a crater, unlike the Moon. The three processes are:



Erosion



The Earth has water (rain, floods), plants (break up earthen materials) and weather (wind, etc.) which can act together and erode over a period of time erosion can break a crater down to almost nothing.



The Moon on the other hand has no erosion because it has no atmosphere. This means it has no wind, no water and definitely no plants that can erode its surface and remove marks off its surface.



Tectonics



Tectonics are processes that cause Earth’s surface to form new rocks and get rid of old ones due to their shifting around over millions of years. Because of this, Earth’s surface is recycled many times throughout its existence, leaving it with very few rocks that are as old as those on the Moon. Since the Moon has not had tectonics for billions of years, it has a lot of time to stay put.



Volcanism



Volcanic flows on Earth can cover up impact craters. This is also the way may impact craters get covered in other parts of the solar system. While the Moon had large volcanic flows in the past that covered up most of its craters, it hasn’t had volcanism in nearly three billion years!



 



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Who are Earle and Wisdom?



The Midway Atoll is a territory of the U.S. that is roughly equidistant from both North America and Asia. The Papahanaumokuakea Marine National Monument includes 10 islands and atolls and is a World Heritage-listed U.S. National Monument.



Sylvia Earle is an American oceanographer whose work concerns marine biology mainly. (Oceanographers, as the name suggests, study oceans. The science of oceanography, however, covers a wide range of topics, which includes, but is not limited to, marine life and ecosystems, plate tectonics and geology of the sea floor, ocean circulation, and physical and chemical properties of the ocean.)



Her 2012 photos show her talking to a Laysan albatross amidst marine debris that has drifted into the Midway Atoll and observing another Laysan albatross named Wisdom.



Why are they important?



Earle, who was born on August 30, 1935, was the first woman to become chief scientist of the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Her first oceanographic expedition was in 1964 and there’s been no turning back ever since.



Wisdom, the albatross, is not just the oldest confirmed wild bird in the world, but is also the oldest banded bird in the world. According to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, she is “a world renowned symbol of hope for all species that depend upon the health of the ocean to survive”. While it is impossible to know precisely, we can say for certain that she has laid nearly 40 eggs during the course of her lifetime, which around 70 years now.



 



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A comet that grazed the sun



You might know about comets – cosmic snowballs of frozen gases, dust and rock that orbit the sun. But have you heard about sungrazing comets? A class of celestial objects, sungrazing comets are comets that pass extremely close to the sun at its perihelion or point of closest approach. When we say extremely close, we refer to a few thousand kilometres from the sun’s surface – a small distance on a cosmological scale.



These sungrazing comets have been observed for many hundred years and there is reason to believe that ancient Greeks – philosopher Aristotle and historian Ephorus amongst them – might well have spotted these during their times. sungrazing comets, however, do not lend themselves exactly to be easily observed.



Space-based approach



It is for this reason that only a few sungrazing comets had ever been spotted from ground-based observatories. It was a whole new snowball game altogether from 1979, however, when satellites and space-based observatories started doing our bidding.



The P78-1 satellite, which carried a white-light coronagraph known as SOLWIND, was launched in February 1979 by the U.S. Air Force. Out there to observe and give us insights into solar physics and operational for about five years, SOLWIND’s most important discovery turned out to be a comet.



Masks for corona



While certainly not the first space-based coronagraph, SOLWIND was surely an update on its predecessors. Designed to look at the solar atmosphere and thus monitor activity in the sun’s outer corona, the SOLWIND had a mask or occulting disk. Using this mask, it was able to create the effect of an eclipse artificially, hiding the bright disk of the sun to better observe its corona.



On August 30, 1979, SOLWIND spotted a comet approaching the sun – rather closely than usual – and recorded the data. Delay in analysing the spacecraft data, however, meant that these images were actually seen only a couple of years later.



Shock to surprise



When Naval Research Lab (NRL) scientists Russ Howard, Marty Koomen and Don Michels first looked at the images taken on August 30-31 1979, they were first horrified. On seeing the huge bright streak appear in the data, they first thought that something had happened to the camera, leading to a reflection inside it. Only on further study did they realise that they were actually staring at a feature that was moving and that it was indeed a comet.



It wasn’t long before they figured out that the satellite had captured a sungrazing comet. The Howard-Koomen-Michels comet was the first comet to be discovered by a space-based observatory – a satellite in this case.



Once the floodgates had been opened, it happened repeatedly as observatories in space made discoveries on a regular basis. In fact, they spot new asteroids and comets almost every week! SOLWIND itself was able to discover a number of other comets before it was eventually destroyed by a ground-based missile in 1985 during a planned Air Force exercise.



Naming convention changes



The flurry of discoveries also led to a change in the naming convention as the International Astronomical Union caught up with the fact that satellite discoveries were the norm and not the exceptions. So rather than naming it after the person who identified objects in the image, it is now named after the satellite or survey that found it in the first place. And this meant that comet Howard-Koomen-Michels officially became C/1979 Q1 (SOLWIND). Space observatories that came later have hundreds and thousands of comets named after them.



The Kreutz sungrazers



German astronomer Heinrich Kreutz studied comets that had been observed until then in the 1880s and 1890s.



Apart from figuring out that some of these were sungrazers and some were not, Kreutz was also able to deduce that many of the sungrazers actually follow the same path or orbit.



It was as if these comets were all broken up fragments of a much larger comet from the past. The original comet and its fragments likely broke up repeatedly as they orbited the Sun and approached it closely.



To honour Kreutz’s work, this group of comets was named as the Kreutz sungrazers.



The Kreutz sungrazers get to within about 50,000 km of the sun’s surface, meaning that they reach the lower layers of the solar atmosphere, or the corona.



All the comets discovered by Solwind, including comet Howard-Koomen-Michels, belong to the Kreutz group.



 



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What’s the EIA draft 2020?



Seeking ti replace the 2006-version of the law, the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change unveiled the draft to the public in March 2020, a day before the COVID-19 lockdown was put in the place. The new draft has drawn criticism from environmentalists and experts across the country. They allege that many provisions in it are ‘anti-environment’ and ‘pro-industries’ and is diluting the very purpose of the EIA. While the government has denied their claims, it has assured to take into consideration the feedback submitted by the public to the Ministry on August 11. Here, we list four of the main contentions identified in the new draft.



Post-facto clearance



The EIA new draft 2020 allows post-facto clearance, which means that even if a project has come up without environment clearances, it could carry out operation and the developers can choose to obtain a clearance after the project is initiated. For instance, national highways expansion are exempted from obtaining prior environmental clearance. Critics say even if the environmental clearance for such project is rejected ultimately, the damage done to the environment would be irreplaceable.



Further, those units that have been already operating illegally without environmental clearance can now get clearance and become legal units by simply submitting a remedial plan and paying the prescribed penalty, though hefty.



Expemtion from EC



The draft has exempted almost 40 types of projects such as clay and sand extraction or digging wells or foundations of building, solar thermal power plants and common effluent treatment plants from prior EC.



Further, a mining project can now get environmental clearance for a period of up to 50 years in the beginning itself, which, in the 2006 version up to 30 years only.



The public consultation process will be weakened



The draft said public consultation is exempted for many projects, including modernisation of irrigation; building, construction and area development projects; inland waterways; expansion or widening of national highways and all projects concerning national defence and security or involving “other strategic considerations” as determined by the central government.



The new draft also suggests reducing the number of days within which the members of the public can submit their concerns. From 30 days, it has now been reduced to 20 days.



Reporting of violations



According to the new draft, the violations of environmental laws by any project can be reported by a government authority or the developer of the project themselves.



This means that the members of the general public (who are usually the affected) or environmental activists cannot flag a project for violating the norms.



 



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What is the Environment Impact Assessment?



Setting up of an industry (or any other development project) usually involves clearing of land by felling of trees and displacement of human settlement. Most industries emit some kind of pollutant. It could be smoke or (toxic) chemicals let out into the atmosphere or water bodies. Many projects also create noise and soil pollution. Habitat destruction and threat to the local ecosystem are some of the other impacts of development projects on the environment.



It is essential to strike a balance between economic development and environment. Countries around the world have their own set of laws to regulate development projects and to minimise their impact on the environment. India’s Environment Impact Assessment is one such regulation measure.



After the Bhopal gas tragedy, India enacted the Environment (Protection) Act in 1986. Under this Act, India notified its first Environment Impact Assessment norms in 1994, setting in place a legal framework for regulating activities that utilize and affect natural resources. By these norms, every development project should obtain prior environmental clearance before being set up. The EIA 1994 was later replaced by a modified draft in 2006.



EIA covers projects such as mining of coal or other minerals, infrastructure development, thermal, nuclear and hydropower projects, real estate and other industrial projects. The projects are assessed based on their potential impact on the environment. Based on the assessments, they are granted or denied environment clearance by a panel of experts. Through a process called public consultation, people’s views are taken into consideration before approving any project or activity.



 



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Who was the Tollund Man?



In 1950, the well-preserved body of a man was found in a peat bog in the Jutland Peninsula in Denmark. The police were clueless about its identity, till an archaeologist was called in. He realized that it was someone who had lived during the Iron Age, in around 400 BCE.



A peat bog is formed when moss, grass and other plant debris accumulate in a marshy piece of land. If the climate is cold, the damp acidic setting slows down the decay of this material which becomes carbonized over many years. Eventually it turns into peat, one of the stages in coal formation. Peat not only mummifies anything buried in it, it is also a good fuel and has been used for centuries in Europe. The bogs probably had mystic significance for early man and were popular places for ceremonial sacrifices.



The Tollund Man appears to have been a sacrificial victim. He was clad only in a cap and leather belt and a leather rope was found twisted around his neck. His stomach was miraculously intact and his last meal was a grain porridge contaminated with ergot a fungus that causes hallucinations.



Tollund Man remains one of the best-preserved ‘bog bodies’ ever found. Because methods to preserve the bodies were not known in the fifties, only the original head can be seen at the Silkebord Museum Denmark.



 



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What are the blood types?



There are four main types of blood group – A, B, AB, and O. The group mostly depends on special makers on the surface of red blood cells, called antigens. These help the body to identify blood cells that do not belong to you. Patients who need a blood transfusion must receive the right blood group, or the body will reject the donated blood, making them even more unwell.



Type A



This can be donated to those with type A or AB blood groups. The surface of the red blood cells contains A antigen, and the plasma has anti-B antibody. Anti-B antibody would attack blood cells that contain B antigen.



Type B



This can be donated to those with type B or AB blood. The surface of the red blood cells contains B antigen, and the plasma has anti-A antibody. Anti-A antibody would attack blood cells that contain A antigen.



Type AB



This blood can only be donated to other people with the AB blood type. The red blood cells have both A and B antigens, but the plasma does not contain anti-A or anti-B antibodies. Individuals with type AB can receive any ABO blood type.



Type O



These blood cells have no antigens so can be donated to people of any blood group. The plasma contains both anti-A and anti-B antibodies, but the surface of the red blood cells does not contain any A or B antigens. Since these antigens are not present, a person with any ABO blood type can receive this type of blood.



 



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What is the life cycle of red blood cells?



All blood cells are made in red bone marrow. Almost all the bones of young people contain red bone marrow. For adults, it is only found in the skull, ribs, shoulder blades, hips, and the ends of long bones.



Cell cycle



A red blood cell lives for up to 120 days before being swallowed by a type of white blood cell, called a macrophage, in the liver or spleen.



New blood cells are made by red bone marrow. A new red blood cell is released into the blood stream. The worn-out red cell is digested by a macrophage. Waste from the blood cell is removed. Useful parts of the old blood cell are recycled.



 



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