Antitranspirants are substances applied to the plants for the purpose of reducing transpiration (water loss) without causing a significant effect on other plant processes, such as photosynthesis & growth. They have been used with some success in horticulture, especially in the ornamental industry. Continue reading What are Antitranspirants? How do they Reduce Water Loss in Plants?
What are Explants?
Explants are small pieces of plant parts or tissues that are aseptically cut and used to initiate a culture in nutrient medium. Explants can be taken from different parts of a plant such as shoots, leaves, stems, flowers, roots, and from many types of mature cells provided they are able to de-differentiate into totipotent cells. Continue reading What are Explants?
What is meant by Cellular Totipotency?
Cellular Totipotency is the ability of a single cell to produce all cell types and to organise them into an entire organism when cultured in a suitable culture medium at appropriate temperature and aeration conditions. Spores and Zygote are examples of totipotent cells. Continue reading What is meant by Cellular Totipotency?
What is Plant Tissue Culture?
Plant Tissue Culture is a technique of growing cells, tissues or organs in sterilised nutrient media under controlled aseptic conditions. The plant material to be cultured may be cells, tissues or plant organs such as excised root tip, shoot tip, shoot bud, leaf petiole, inflorescence, anther, embryo, ovule or ovary. Continue reading What is Plant Tissue Culture?
Free Radicals: What is their role in making us old?
From the beginning of time, people have tried to understand aging and processes associated with the biology of aging. Many scientists believe that aging results from the repetitive damage caused to our body cells. The everyday metabolic activities that usually sustain our life but also create “metabolic stress”, which over time, results in damage to our bodies. Some of these metabolic activities result in the production of radicals and which may cause harmful damage to our body cells. Continue reading Free Radicals: What is their role in making us old?
What are SNPs? Why are Scientists interested in them?
A most common and important source of genetic variability is known to be present uniformly throughout the genome is termed Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms or SNPs. Interest in SNPs lies in the fact that these polymorphisms may be responsible for the differences in disease susceptibility, drug metabolism and response to environmental factors between individuals. Even, if they are not directly responsible for the disease, they serve as genetic markers for a nearby locus that might be responsible. Continue reading What are SNPs? Why are Scientists interested in them?
How a 2 meters long DNA is fitted into a 2 micrometers Nucleus?
An average Human cell (diploid) contains about 6.4 billion base pairs of DNA divided among 46 chromosomes. The length of each base pair is about 0.34 nm. Therefore, if the DNA molecule in a diploid cell were laid out end to end, the total length of DNA would be approximately 2 meters. Continue reading How a 2 meters long DNA is fitted into a 2 micrometers Nucleus?
How can we fight against Antibiotic Resistance?
Several strategies can be used to prevent the emergence of Antibiotic Resistance.
- We can use antibiotics in reasonably high concentrations to destroy susceptible bacteria and most spontaneous mutants, which may arise during the treatment period. Continue reading How can we fight against Antibiotic Resistance?