My Science School

These are plants with many tricks up their sleeve. These are plants that consume meat. In short, these are called carnivorous plants. They lure unsuspecting prey into their traps. They indulge in carnivorous behaviour to obtain much-needed nutrients that are not found in the soil. Insects, spiders, lizards, mice, rats, and other small vertebrates become their prey. Let's take a look at some of these meat eaters.

VENUS FLYTRAP

Here we have hinged traps built into each leaf of the plant. These hinged lobes have spiny tooth-like structures attached to them. There are hair-like projections called trichomes in the insides of the lobe and if a prey were to get into contact with these hairy structures, snap shut the lobes and the prey has been caught! The tooth-like structures that edge the lobes ensure that the prey cannot get out of the trap.

NEPENTHES RAJAH

The Nepenthes rajah is the largest carnivorous plant in the world. Its trap can grow up to 41 centimetres tall. Vertebrates and small mammals have fallen prey to this genus of camivorous pitcher plant. This plant is endemic to Borneo. Insects get attracted by the odour of the nectar and once inside the pitcher, they cannot escape as they fail to get a grip on the sticky walls of the pitcher. They then fall into the water in the pitcher and as they struggle, the digestive glands get stimulated and digestive acids are released. The Nepenthes rajah can even digest mice!

PITCHER PLANT

For the pitcher plant, its pitcher-shaped leaves form the trap. These pitfall traps are filled with digestive juices. The animals are lured by the nectar. The rims of the pitcher are slippery and the prey falls in and drowns in the digestive fluids. They are often seen growing in a range of habitats viz. from pine barrens to sandy coastal swamps. They normally grow in poor soil conditions and it is through their carnivorous behaviour that they get the much-needed nutrients such as phosphorus and nitrogen.

COBRA LILY

With its hooded pitcher-like leaves, this pitcher plant resembles a cobra. Even the purple-red appendages that the plant has resembles a set of fangs. The nectar glands attract insects and small animals to the mouth of the pitcher. The large tubular leaves of the plant trap water. This is the only species of its genus that do not produce its own digestive enzymes. Rather, it depends on bacteria to break down its prey. Once inside, there is no escape. The slippery walls and the downward-pointing hairs ensure this and the prey falls into the fluid at the bottom of the pitcher. The prey gets decomposed by microorganisms in the fluid. The plant is native to swamps in the mountainous regions of the USA.

BUTTERWORT

Butterwort is a carnivorous flowering plant that uses its sticky leaves to lure in insects and eventually trap and digest them. This plant releases its enzymes for digesting the prey whilst it holds the prey in its place with its sticky mucous.

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As much as 98% of colonies of this penguin species is at risk of extinction by 2100. So, the U.S. has listed the bird as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act. There's still hope to save them.

Where do emperor penguins live?

Different species of penguins are found in different parts of the Southern Hemisphere. The emperor penguins are found only in Antarctica, where they live and breed. Emperor penguins thrive on Antarctica's coastlines in icy conditions any human would find extreme. The penguins breed on fast ice, which is sea ice attached to land But they hunt for food within the pack ice-sea ice floes that move with the wind or ocean currents and may merge. Sea ice is also important for resting, during their annual moult, and to escape from predators.  

The U.S. lists them as "threatened".

If current global warming trends and government policies continue, Antarctica's sea ice will decline at a rate that would dramatically reduce emperor penguin numbers to the point that 98% of all their colonies would become quasi-extinct by 2100, with little chance of recovering, a new study has shown. That's why the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service finalised a rule listing the emperor penguin as "threatened" under the Endangered Species Act, effective November 25, 2022. The director of the service said the listing "reflects the growing extinction crisis". The U.S. Endangered Species Act has been used before to protect other species that are primarily at risk from climate change, including the polar bear, ringed seal, and several species of coral, which are all listed as threatened.

But, these penguins don't even live in the U.S.!

Sure, these penguins don't live on US. territory, so some of the Endangered Species Act's measures meant to protect species habitats and prevent hunting them don't directly apply. Being listed under the Endangered Species Act could still bring benefits, though. It could provide a way to reduce harm from U.S. fishing fleets that might operate in the region. And, with expected actions from the current administration, the listing could eventually pressure U.S. agencies to take actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions. However, the Bureau of Land Management has never acknowledged that emissions from oil and gas extraction on public lands and waters could harm climate-imperiled species. It issued more than 3.500 oil and gas drilling permits in New Mexico and Wyoming on public land during the first 16 months of the Joe Biden administration.

What's harming the birds?

The greatest threat emperor penguins face is climate change. It will disrupt the sea ice cover they rely on unless governments adopt policies that reduce the greenhouse gases driving global warming. If there's too much sea ice, trips to bring food from the ocean become long and arduous, and their chicks may starve. With too little sea ice, the chicks are at risk of drowning. Climate change is now putting that delicate balance and potentially the entire species at risk. Emperor penguins are adapted to their current environment, but the species has not evolved to survive the rapid effects of climate change that threaten to reshape its world. Major environmental shifts, such as the late formation and early loss of sea ice on which colonies are located, are already raising the risk.

How can we save them?

Decades of data since the 1960s are now helping scientists gauge the effects of anthropogenic climate change on the penguins, their sea ice habitat and their food sources. Meeting the Paris Agreement goal could still save the penguins. The results of the new study showed that if the world meets the Paris climate agreement targets, keeping warming to under 1.5 degrees Celsius (2.7 F) compared with pre-industrial temperatures, it could protect sufficient habitat to halt the emperor penguins decline. But the world isn't on track to meet the Paris Agreement goals. The future of emperor penguins, and much of life on Earth, including humanity, ultimately depends upon the decisions made today.

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It occurs when a person is sleep deprived, tired, or suffering from a sleep disorder. Microsleep is a common cause of car accidents when an exhausted driver falls asleep at the wheel while driving.

It is a brief, involuntary episode of sleep lasting from a fraction of a second to several seconds. Microsleep occurs when a person is sleep deprived, mentally fatigued, depressed or suffering from a sleep disorder.

Microsleep can happen anytime, anywhere. Often, the person is so tired that he does not even realise that he has missed a few seconds of wakefulness. He may feel temporarily spaced out and not react to external factors like a traffic light.

Though it is a matter of a few seconds, microsleep is very dangerous if it occurs insituations when the person has to be constantly alert such as while driving, flying an aeroplane, or operating heavy machinery. Microsleep is a common cause of car accidents when an exhausted driver falls asleep at the wheel while driving and wakes up too late to avoid a collision or negotiate a curve on the road. Microsleep can affect your performance in school too. If you are sleep deprived, it is possible that microsleep could spell trouble while writing the exam paper.

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Barcodes- those simple labels with black stripes-have revolutionised the retail industry. The stripes printed on product packaging contain important information regarding the product. Each barcode is made of varying widths of bars and spaces between them. The barcodes can be decoded only through special devices such as a laser or optical scanner, the kind used at supermarkets. Barcodes enable easy and fast transaction as well as analysis of sales data stored in the computer.

The information contained in barcodes is called Symbology. As soon as a barcode is passed through a scanner, all information pertaining to the product is shown on a computer screen. Shopkeepers love this system because it enables easy and fast transaction as well as analysis of sales data (stored in the computer). This system has a very low margin of error during sale. Barcodes are also useful for manufacturers since a unique identity can be inserted for each box of products to help in packaging and transportation

These days other geometric patterns are used in place of the original parallel bars but they are all generally referred to as barcodes.

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Influencers are those who regularly post their views on social media for their target audiences. Influencers are bloggers and users of social media (e.g. Facebook, Twitter and Instagram) who regularly post their views and have a large number of followers with whom they have established a relationship of trust. So if they recommend a particular product, their followers may purchase it or at least explore it. As a result, many advertisers and marketing professionals take their help to increase the sales of a product. This kind of marketing, in which the advertisers focus on a few influencers for the promotion of a brand, rather than a large group of consumers as a whole, is called influencer marketing'.

Many influencers today make a living sharing products on their social media handles. They are divided into four main types - mega, macro, micro and nano influencers (in descending order in terms of their followers.) Mega influencers are celebrities. Macro influencers may be everyday bloggers or vloggers (video loggers) whose content is very relatable to their target audiences.

Micro influencers are topic experts or topic fans such as fitness experts and gourmets. Nano influencers are ordinary digital citizens with less than 1000 followers. They have a strong influence on their followers, most of whom they know personally.

If a company wants more people to have a real connection with its brand as opposed to more people knowing about it, it will probably hire a nano influencer. After all, people are more likely to purchase a product on the recommendation of a discerning friend than some celebrity.

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Interactive theatre is where the performers encourage members of the audience to discuss pertinent issues with them.

Interactive theatre is a form of theatre which seeks to blur the traditional distinction between the performers and the audience. In traditional theatre, the performance is limited to a stage area and the audience passively observes the action of the play as it unfolds. But in interactive theatre, the actors engage audience members directly, making them active participants.

There are different types of interactive theatre. In immersive theatre, for instance, the audience is invited to the same stage area or playing space as the performers. They may be asked to hold props or become characters in the play. In improvisational theatre, viewers are asked to give performance suggestions.

In interactive therapeutic or educational plays, the audience is encouraged to discuss pertinent issues with the performers.

In some interactive plays, the audience is asked to determine the ending of a play by participating in a collective vote. For example, in "Night of January 16th," a 1934 courtroom drama by famed Russian-American writer Ayn Rand, the audience decides whether the defendant is guilty or not, thus playing the role of the jury.

 Many practitioners of interactive theatre use the black box format. In such a format, the play is staged in a room with black walls, movable seating, lighting and a stage that is devised to create an immersive experience. Space is used in an innovative manner the audience may be seated in the centre, on revolving chairs and the stage surrounds them.

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Methane is a very potent greenhouse gas that gets released into the atmosphere due to anthropological activities. It is responsible for about 30% of the Earth's warming.

Methane clouds have been in the news recently with large plumes of methane being spotted over countries such as China, India, Jordan, Pakistan, Turkmenistan, and so on. The recent methane hotspots were attributed to waste sectors in these countries. And the scenario is alarming.

Methane is the primary component of natural gas and is responsible for about 30% of the Earth's warming. According to scientists, the potent greenhouse gas has 84 times the warming power of carbon dioxide during its first two decades in the atmosphere. As such, reducing emissions of methane is one of the fastest ways to cool the planet.

Waste sector triggering methane clouds

A cloud of methane near a waste site in India was observed earlier this month. According to the satellite images taken, the methane plume is the result of the landfill in the country. The estimated emissions rate was 1.328 kg per hour of methane. These clouds of methane can cover vast areas and sometimes stretch for even 200 miles. All these observations were made through the satellite images released by the GHGSat, which is involved in high-resolution remote-sensing of greenhouse gas from space. Garbage and landfills can generate the potent greenhouse gas. This happens when organic material such as food waste breaks down in the absence of oxygen Landfills and wastewater are responsible for about 20% of the methane emissions generated from human activity. Not doing enough to stop these emissions can affect the global climate goals.

Sources of methane leak

Methane gets released into the atmosphere due to anthropological activities. It is also generated as a byproduct of oil and coal production and as part of agricultural activities. If not properly sealed, closed or abandoned coal mines can leak methane. This can go on for years.

Monitoring methane from space

Satellites can identify and track methane from anywhere, thereby aiding in tracking the methane footprint. This helps in climate transparency, bringing in accountability for countries and companies releasing methane. Greenhouse gases can be quantified and attributed in real-time. A total of 120 countries are part of the global methane pledge, which aims to cut the release of the gas by 30% by the end of this decade from the 2020 levels.

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Do you know what literary masterpieces like Jane Austen's Sense and Sensibility and Mark Twain's The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn have in common? Both of them were self-published by the respective authors.

The rising number of people opting for self-publishing has created a narrative around the topic that directly links its popularity to online book production methods. Today, authors can produce an ebook with a few strokes of the keyboard and curate content for a global audience. However, publishing one's work independently is not a novel phenomenon. Many prominent authors of the 18th and 19th Centuries like Edgar Allan Poe, Virginia Woolf and e.e cummings began their careers by adopting this practice. They used different distributing methods to gain a readership.

Self-Publishing books

Self-publishing simply means publishing one's work in the public domain without the involvement of an established publisher.

Self-publishing is about creating your own opportunity instead of submitting a book proposal and waiting to hear back from a publisher. While traditional publishers manage and cover the costs of the entire publishing process, from editing to illustrations to cover design and more, a person who is self-publishing must use his or her own resources and set aside a budget that will be used to hire the team that will bring the vision of the book to life.

Copyright & royalty

Copyright is a legal right of the owner of an original work which in our case is the book. It allows the author to copy, distribute, perform, broadcast or adapt their work in any which way they want. A book royalty is the amount that a publisher pays an author in exchange for the rights to publish their book. According to the general publishing standards, an author who publishes through a traditional publishing house is paid about 5-15% of the print price of the book for each edition whereas this can hover around 60% if he or she self-publishes. Although going the traditional way will save a lot of time and money, the creative freedom that comes with self-publishing is one of the major reasons why it is gaining a lot of support and attention from aspiring writers.

Some best-selling self-published books include:

• The Tale of Peter Rabbit by Beatrix Potter
• The Martian by Andy Weir
• The Secret Lake by Karen Inglis
• Eragon by Christopher Paolini

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Several species of agricultural crops depend on bats for pollination. In addition, fruits bats help in the dispersion of seeds, keeping several species of fruit-bearing trees alive. Some species of bats consume insects, considered agricultural pests. This not only prevents the use of billions of dollars worth of pesticides annually but also allows the soil to remain free from harmful chemicals.

The fungus Pseudogymnoascus destructans causes white-nose syndrome in bats, and "is responsible for the deaths of over six million bats in North America". This is one of the reasons for the decline in the population of bats globally. And, scientists say that this decline is of concern. What causes the plunge in their numbers, and why should we be worried? Come, let's find out. Often labelled blood suckers and disease carriers, bats seem to get short shrift. Pop culture portayals of vampires and the endless speculation over the origins (often pointing to bats, albeit scientifically unproven) of the ongoing pandemic make it even worse for the world's only flying mammals. Add to the fact that these nocturnal creatures usually do their work under the cover of darkness, their role in healthy ecosystems may not be appreciated by laypeople. Several species of agricultural crops such as banana, mangoes, avocadoes, and figs are said to depend on bats for pollination. In addition, fruit bats help in the dispersion of seeds, keeping several species of fruit-bearing trees alive. Some species of bats consume insects, considered agricultural pests. This not only prevents the use of billions of dollars worth of pesticides annually but also allows the soil to remain free from harmful chemicals. In fact, guano - the excrement of bats - makes for excellent manure. Found in all continents except Antarctica, bats are a part of different types of ecosystems - from rainforests to deserts. Irrespective of the region they inhabit, they play crucial ecological roles, keeping alive the biodiversity and the health of their ecosystems.

While the population of bats in North America has taken a huge hit due to the white-nose syndrome, there's a general decline in their population in other parts of the world too. The reasons for this include climate change, invasive species, loss of habitat due to urbanisation and agriculture, lack of food, especially when pesticide is used to kill the insects they feed on, etc. There's still a lot to be studied about bats. But an aspect of concem in studying bats is that they "roost in lots of different places, from caves to barns to attics, and scientists can't monitor bats in all places at all times".

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You must have read the comments by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on the global economic environment. But have you wondered what it is?

IMF, a United Nations specialised agency, was created to secure international monetary cooperation, stabilise currency exchange rates, and expand international liquidity, which means getting access to hard currencies. Its headquarters is in Washington D.C.

Origin

The first half of the 20th Century saw two world wars that caused enormous impact on European economy and a Great Depression that brought economic devastation in both Europe and the U.S. These events led to the need for a new international monetary system while preserving each country's ability to pursue independent economic policies.

In July 1944, the UN Monetary and Financial Conference was held in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, the U.S. There delegates from 44 countries drafted the Articles of Agreement for a proposed International Monetary Fund that would supervise the new international monetary system.

After ratification by 29 countries, the Articles of Agreement entered into force on December 27, 1945.

The first meeting at the IMF headquarters was held in May 1946 and its financial operations began the following year.

Organisation

The IMF is headed by a board of governors and accountable to its 190 member-countries. The governors, who are usually their countries' finance ministers or central bank directors, attend annual meetings on IMF issues. The day-to-day work is overseen by its 24-member Executive Board who meet at least three times a week. The Managing Director is the head of the IMF staff and Chair of the Executive Board. S/he is assisted by four Deputy Managing Directors. Kristalina Georgieva is the current Chairperson of the organisation.

Role

The IMF has three critical goals: furthering international monetary cooperation, encouraging the expansion of trade and economic growth, and discouraging policies that would harm prosperity.

One of its roles is to provide loans, including emergency loans, to member countries facing actual or potential balance of payments problems. It is to help the countries rebuild their international reserves, stabilise currencies, continue paying for imports, and restore conditions for economic growth, while correcting underlying problems.

It also monitors international monetary system and global economic developments to identify risks and recommend policies for growth and financial stability.

It provides technical assistance and training to governments, central banks, finance ministries, revenue administrations, and financial sector supervisory agencies. These training help countries tackle cross-cutting issues such as income inequality.

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It's been six years since demonetisation happened. Was the ban on certain denominations of currency notes a good thing? Let's find out.

Recently, a Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court was hearing petitions challenging the Union government's policy of demonetisation in 2016. But what is demonetisation? Let's find out....

Demonetisation is withdrawal of a particular form of currency from circulation which means it is no longer legal tender for any kind of transaction. In other words, the demonetised currency notes are rendered useless. It can cause unrest in an economy or can help stabilise it. Demonetisation is usually undertaken by a country for various reasons.

Notes withdrawn

On November 8, 2016, the biggest-ever demonetisation exercise was announced in India. Notes of *500 and 1,000 denomination were scrapped. The move was undertaken by the Union government with the objective of cracking down on black money and curbing terror funding. Following the withdrawal of the then prevailing *500 and 1,000 notes, the government introduced new *2,000 currency notes. It also introduced a new series of *500 notes, and later, a new denomination of *200 notes. The demonetisation exercise in 2016 resulted in cash shortages, causing extreme hardship to citizens. However, opinion is still divided on its impact on India's economy among trade circles, economists and the public.

Benefits

According to the government, the demonetisation exercise has enhanced digitisation and formalisation in the economy, reduced tax evasion, and contributed to a rise in tax collections.

This was not the first time demonetisation took place in the country. Earlier in 1946 and 1978, the country had been witness to demonetisation. Then it was implemented through an ordinance promulgated in Parliament. In 1946, notes in the denomination of Rs.1,000 and Rs. 10,000 were removed from circulation. This had a low impact as the common people did not have higher denomination notes. In 1978, notes in the denomination of Rs 1,000, Rs 5,000 and Rs 10,000 were phased out.

However, in 2016, demonetisation was done through a notification issued under the provisions of the Reserve Bank of India Act, 1934. The massive exercise was announced by PM Modi on television following the Cabinet's decision to withdraw the notes.

OBJECTIVES

The purpose of demonetisation of currency notes is...

• to check the circulation of black money in the country.
• to help create a cashless economy.
• to remove counterfeit notes.
• to help curb anti-social and terror activities and their financing.

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Population-wide stressful events can alter the trajectory of personality, especially in young adults.

The COVID-19 pandemic affected the entire world. Most of us now alive had never experienced anything like it before it happened, and probably might not experience anything like it ever again either. Every aspect of life as we knew it changed. And that might include a part of ourselves too, according to a recent study.

Even as most of the world continues to bounce back to some level of normalcy, this research, whose results were published in the open-access journal PLOS ONE in September, seems to suggest that the pandemic might have even changed our personalities. The study conducted by researchers at the Florida State University College of Medicine states that the pandemic may have altered the trajectory of personality, especially in young adults.

Impact of stressful events

 There is a long-standing hypothesis that states that personality traits are impervious to environmental pressures. Previous studies have shown that there no associations between collective stressful events such as earthquakes and hurricanes, and personality change. The researchers of this study set out to find out how it was with the COVID-19 pandemic.

For this, they used longitudinal assessments of personality from over 7,000 people enrolled in the online Understanding America Study. While the age group of the participants ranged up to 109, nearly 60% of the participants were female.

Five traits compared

The researchers compared five-factor model personality traits between pre-pandemic measurements (May 2014- February 2020) and those taken early (March- December 2020) and later (2021-22) in the pandemic. The five traits included neuroticism (trait disposition to experience negative effects such as anger, anxiety, irritability, etc.), extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness. Over 18,000 assessments were analysed. While there were relatively few changes between the pre-pandemic and early pandemic traits, there was a marked difference in the measurements. The researchers noticed declines in extraversion, openness, agreeableness, and conscientiousness that were statistically equivalent to a decade of personality change.

When the results were moderated by age, it was clear that the oldest group showed no statistically significant changes in traits, while the youngest were most affected. The researchers conclude that if these changes endure, then it implies that population-wide stressful events can alter the trajectory of personality, especially in young adults.
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Meaning: This noun refers to an island consisting of a strip or ring of coral around a central lagoon.

Origin: In use since the 1620s, atoll is said to have been derived from the Malayalam word atolu, meaning reef, which, in turn, is said to be from adal, meaning closing, uniting, etc. The original use was in reference to the Maldives, and the word was popularised in its present form by naturalist Charles Darwin's writings.

Usage:  She's exploring the atoll and taking samples of the marine life there.

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Meaning: A verb, brandish means to wave or shake something aggressively in a threatening manner.

Origin: The earliest usage dates back to the 14th century. The word has a Germanic origin. It is a descendant of the Middle English word 'braundisshen' which traces its root to the Anglo-French 'brant, a Germanic word meaning 'sword'.

Usage: The crowd went silent as the Prince brandished his sword.

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Meaning: The word "privy" can be used as an adjective and a noun. When used as an adjective, it means sharing in the knowledge of something private or secret. It is usually followed by the preposition "to". As a noun, it means a toilet located in a shed outside a house or building.

Origin: The term entered Middle English in the early 13th Century from Old French prive meaning "intimate or private place" which in turn came from Latin privatus meaning "private or personal."

Usage: Ram is not privy to the discussions of the top management.

The farm house is a privy place for the writer to relax and think about his next plot.

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