Tag Archives: Questions

Questions includes all the interesting and fully explained answers to some very common yet lesser known questions of science.

Biology, Health

What is Carbon monoxide poisoning?

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Carbon monoxide is one of the most serious air pollutants. It is highly poisonous to humans because of its ability to block the delivery of oxygen to organs and tissues. Carbon monoxide poisoning mostly occurs in winters, when we use coal, wood, and other carbon-based fuel to produce heat in our homes. So in this article, we will learn what is carbon monoxide and why it is poisonous?

What is Carbon monoxide?

Carbon monoxide (CO) is a colorless and odorless gas. Automobile exhausts and cigarettes are the major sources of CO production. Other sources such as incomplete burning of coal, petrol, firewood, etc. also produce carbon monoxide.

carbon monoxideAutomobiles are a major source of CO.

What is Carbon monoxide poisoning?

Carbon monoxide poisoning occurs when we breathe an excessive amount of carbon monoxide into our lungs. In the lungs, it mixes with our blood. When too much carbon monoxide gets mixed up with blood, it starts replacing the oxygen present in our red blood cells. This can cause serious damage to our brain, heart and can even cause death.

Why Carbon monoxide is poisonous?

Human blood contains hemoglobin in red blood cells. Hemoglobin is an iron-containing protein that gives a characteristic red color to our blood cells. Iron in hemoglobin binds to oxygen and then carries it around in our bloodstream.

But, when the concentration of carbon monoxide builds up in our blood, it binds to hemoglobin to form carboxyhemoglobin. It does so by binding to iron atoms in hemoglobin. Carboxyhemoglobin is about 300 times more stable than the oxygen-hemoglobin complex. That means once carbon monoxide attaches, it is difficult to release.

In our blood, when the concentration of carboxyhemoglobin reaches about 3-4 percent, the oxygen-transporting capacity of blood is greatly reduced. This oxygen deficiency in our blood can cause headaches, dizziness, nervousness, and vomiting.

Moreover, large exposure to carbon monoxide can cause loss of consciousness, seizures, cardiovascular disorder, or death. In pregnant women, CO poisoning can induce premature birth.

So, now you know What is Carbon monoxide? And, Why carbon monoxide is poisonous?  So that is all for now, meet you in my next article. Keep Reading, Keep Exploring, and Keep Sharing your Knowledge, and above all BE CURIOUS. 🙂

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Animals, Biology

How do lipids maintain the fluidity of the plasma membrane?

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The plasma membrane is an outer, thin, semi-permeable membrane that surrounds the cytoplasm and the other constituents of the cell. The Fluid Mosaic model proposed by Singer and Nicholson in 1976, describes the plasma membrane as a structure in which a mosaic of proteins is discontinuously embedded in or attached to a fluid lipid bilayer (membrane).

Continue reading How do lipids maintain the fluidity of the plasma membrane? →

Biology, Plants

What are different factors that affect the growth of plants?

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All the developmental processes occurring in plants involve growth. The growth of plants involves various changes such as the addition of new cells through cell division, an increase in its size and weight, and an irreversible increase in the volume. Therefore, we can define the term growth as a permanent and irreversible change in the size of a cell, organ or whole organism usually accompanied by an increase in its dry weight.  Continue reading What are different factors that affect the growth of plants? →

Plants

How do Auxins affect Plant growth?

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Auxins include all those chemical substances which promote the growth of stems or coleoptiles sections and decapitated coleoptiles, but in same concentrations are incapable of causing the growth of a whole, undamaged plant. They occur naturally in the plant parts and are also chemically synthesized. The principal naturally occurring auxin is Indole-3-Acetic Acid (IAA) and Indole-3-Butyric Acid (IBA) is a synthetic auxin. Continue reading How do Auxins affect Plant growth? →

Microbes

​Why are some fungi grouped under “fungi imperfecti”?

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There are over 100,000 species of fungi. Some of them are one-celled like the yeasts; others are complex like mushrooms and some of them are called imperfect fungi. Fungi are the major decomposers (besides bacteria) and some parasitic forms of fungi may also cause diseases in plants and animals. Continue reading ​Why are some fungi grouped under “fungi imperfecti”? →

Microbes

Why Blue Green Algae are not included in Plantae Kingdom?

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Blue Green Algae also called as Cyanobacteria are one of the most successful organisms on this planet. They are gram-negative (do not take up gram stain) and photosynthetic microorganism. They have successfully survived for over 3 billion years on our planet earth. Initially, they were classified Plantae due to their ability to photosynthesis, but later they were moved to the Monera Kingdom. Continue reading Why Blue Green Algae are not included in Plantae Kingdom? →

Animals, Plants

Why is the Two-Kingdom Classification System Inadequate?

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We can easily distinguish a living animal from a living plant in our surroundings. We do not find any difficulty in identifying an animal as long as we see it moving, eating and alive. When it comes to plants, we have an image of a structure having spread out appearance with green parts like leaves in our mind. So, to keep it as simple as it was, Carolus Linnaeus classified all the organisms of the world into two Kingdoms i.e. Plantae and Animalia. Continue reading Why is the Two-Kingdom Classification System Inadequate? →

Environment

What is Eutrophication? What are its Causes & Effects?

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With the use of high–yielding varieties of crops, the use of fertilizers and pesticides has increased a lot. Excess fertilizers may mix with surface water and may get drained into water bodies (surface runoff). These fertilizers overstimulate the growth of algae, causing eutrophication, and robbing the water of dissolved oxygen vital to other aquatic life. During the past century, lakes in many parts of the earth have been severely eutrophied by sewage and agricultural and industrial wastes. Continue reading What is Eutrophication? What are its Causes & Effects? →

Biology

How do cells in Embryo get their Roles to Play?

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The cells of an embryo get their roles when they are capable of differentiating autonomously in a neutral environment such as a petri dish or test tube. (the environment is neutral with respect to the development pathway.) This process of giving different roles to embryonic cells is called Cell Specification. Continue reading How do cells in Embryo get their Roles to Play? →

Biology

What is the physical basis of life? 

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In 1868, T. H. Huxley described protoplasm as the “physical basis of life”. Protoplasm is a clear, colorless and jelly-like substance which seemed to make up the contents of the cell. It was also described as “substance of life” or “living material”. Continue reading What is the physical basis of life?  →