Why do fruits become soft when ripe?

The cells of the raw fruit or vegetable are tightly packed and are held rigidly together by a carbohydrate called pectin which forms a strong bond with the walls of the coils and cements the cells together. As the fruit ripens, enzymes in the cells dissolve the pectin. When this happens the cells are no longer lightly bound to each other and the fruit becomes soft to the touch. Healing also dissolves the pectin. This is why vegetables and fruit become soft when cooked.

Taking the Temperature -thermometer

When you have a fever, the temperature is taken with the help of a thermometer. The bulb of the thermometer is normally placed under the tongue or in the armpit or groin. What's the reason? For a correct reading of body temperature, the bulb of the thermometer (which contains mercury) has to be in direct contact with the body's surface. If the thermometer is placed simply inside the mouth, it may not give a correct reading, as the bulb may not be in contact with the tongue. In such a case the temperature recorded will be that of the air and saliva in the mouth. 

S. RAMANUJAN

Ramanujan was one of the greatest Indian mathematician after Bhaskar and Bramhagupta. He is known for the Ramanujan prime and Ramanujan theta function. He made substantial contributions to number theory, infinite series and continued fractions .The number 1729 is called the Ramanujan number . His mathematical invention of -Rieman Zeta function finds applications in building high powered quality nuclear reactors. His mathematical formulae have applications in crystallography and string theory. The year 2012 is celebrated in India as the National Mathematical year to commemorate 125th birth anniversary of S. Ramanujan. A postal stamp was issued by the Government of India in his honour.

S.N.BOSE – Satyendra Nath Bose

The announcement of the discovery of God particle i.e-Higgs boson has brought the name Indian scientist— Satyendra Nath into global fame. The Higgs boson has been  a focus of ,great scientific speculation since long time. Recently .a British physicist, Dr Sharon Ann Holgate termed Prof. S.N.Bose as the 'particle Man', and declared that he should have been awarded the Nobel prize in physics. The S.N.Bose National Center for Basic sciences, an autonomous research institute. under  the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India was established in 1986 in his honor . The Government  of India issued a postal stamp to pay a tribute to Dr. S. N. Bose.

JAGADISH CHANDRA BOSE

Apart. from being a great physicist. Sir J.C.Bosc was  also a great botanist, archaeologist and early writer of science fiction stories. He was the first Indian scientist who proved experimentally that both animals and plants are sensitive to heat, light, cold, noise and other external stimuli. He designed a very sensitive in strum ent—Creseo graph. capable of recording and detecting the minute responses of the plants due to external stimulants. He wanted that Indians should cultivate scientific culture .J.C.Bose was honoured in India as well as abroad. He was elected as a Fellow of the Royal Society London in 1920. He  founded the Bose institute in 1917. which is a premier research institute in the field of physics, chemistry. Botany. Microbiology. plant molecular and cellular Genetics. immunotechnology and Environmental science etc• The  Government of India honored him by issuing a postal Stamp in his name. 

C.V. RAMAN (1888-1970)

C.V. RAMAN  (1888-1970) Chandrasekhar Venkat Raman discovered Raman effect i.e the concept of molecular diffraction of light and won Nobel prize in physics in 1930. Every year on 28th February the National Science Day is celebrated in India to commemorate the discovery of the Raman effect. Raman effect has been proved of utmost importance in understanding the molecular structure of chemical compounds. C.V.Raman was awarded Bharat Ratna and the Lenin Peace prize. His remarkable  achievements brought international  recognition and glory to Indian science . The Government of  India released a postal stamp in his  honor. 

PRAFULLA CHANDRA RAY

PRAFULLA CHANDRA RAY (1861 – 1944)   Dr P.C.Ray was the legendary  Indian Chemist, academiclan , and an entrepreneurs.. He was the founder  of The Bengal Chemical Works India’s  first pharmaceutical  company. He discovered mercurous nitrite and Indian Calcium tonic. Apart from o great scientist, he was also a staunch freedom fighter and a great science popularizer. His book  the Life  and Experience of A Bengali Chemist was popular during British rule in India. He had a strong faith in Indian culture and Mahatma Gandhi. Acharya Prafulla Chandra ray  was a con-temporary Indian scientist and a close friend of Sir J.C.Bose. The Government of India paid a fit tribute by releasing a postal stamp in his honor. 

BIGGEST EVER CREATURE The brachiosaurus

BIGGEST EVER CREATURE The brachiosaurus, which belonged to the family of dinosaurs, is known to have grown to be 12 metres tall, which is the height that could be reached by seven tall men standing on each other's shoulders. Every adult brachiosaurus was about 75 tonnes heavy. This is for bigger than any land animal before or is since known to have been. 

Interesting facts

Interesting facts

• Vanilla is the world's most favourite Ice Cream flavour.

• The flattest country in the world is Maldives with a maximum natural ground of just 2.3 meters.

• It has remained unsolved but a duck’s quack does not echo.

• Bingham Canyon Mine is the largest excavation in the world.

•  The Fraser Island in Australia is also known as the largest sand island.

 • Astronaut Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon with his left foot.

 • Any clue about shortest complete sentence in the English language? Its. "I Am."

• How hard you try, you cannot fold any piece of paper more than 7 times.

• Bermuda Triangle houses the most notorious sea in the world known as Sargasso Sea.

 • Only one planet rotates clockwise and that's Venus.

• Refrain from using shades of blue colour because mosquitoes are attracted to this colour twice as much as any other colour.

• No less than 25.000 islands are situated in the Pacific Ocean.

• The actual function of mosquito repellents is of blocking the mosquito's sensors and that way they wouldn't be able to know your whereabouts. 

MAKING ICE FASTER - Is it true that hot water pine d in a freezer freezes faster than cold water ?

It appears to be true but the reasons given are varied. Here is one explanation: When the container, lets  say, an ice tray, holding the water, is placed on a  surface of frost or ice In the freezer. the higher temperature slightly melts the icy surface on which the tray rests. This improves the contact between the container and the cold surface, and the heat from the water and container is transferred at a faster rate than would have occurred if the water were at a lower temperature. So the temperature of he water falls faster and you obtain ice faster .

Why do some detergents contain enzymes?

Soaps and ordinary detergents work well on grease but are not very efficient in removing things like dried blood, cooked egg stains, milk stains or other proteins that have SOLIDIFIED on the fabric. When we eat. digestive enzymes break down the food into simpler substances that will dissolve in water, The enzymes in detergents do the Same thing: they turn the proteins into substances, which dissolve in water. Enzymes used in detergents are manufactured on a large  scale using - microorganisms found in soil. 

HELLEN KELLER - LADY WITH THE RADICAL VISION

Helen Keller was born in Tusumbia, Alabama in USA in 1880. She lost her hearing and sight due to a illness when she was less than two years old. She was plunged into a  dark silent world , from which  she was rescued by the perseverance and love of a woman called Anne Sullivan. An educator for the blind. she became Helen Keller's teacher and life-long companion. Anne made ! Helen hold a doll in one hand and spelt the word on to her other hand. Soon Helen mastered her first word DOLL. Helen willed herself to learn to speak and write, She completed her-college education with distinction. Thereafter, she devoted her tile to the cause of the blind, becoming an inspiration to the disabled the world over Her first book, an autobiography, The Story of My Life  was published in 1902. This was followed by other books, The World I Live In, Out Of the Dark , Hellen keller’s Journal and Let Us Have faith. Keller lived to the old age of 88.

The waterwheel plant is a free-floating aquatic plant. It is carnivorous and traps its prey with the help of clam-like  lobes present on the tip of each whorl of the leaf. The loblis Ira lined with trigger hairs. When small aquatic invertebrates floating In the water come Into contact with these hairs, the lobes snap shut. This process of trapping the  prey takes less than half  a second, one of the fastest examples of plant movement ever recorded. The waterwheel plant is So called because its leaves are arranged in 5-9 wheels around the stem. The floating stems of the plant reach a length  of  6-10  cm and air sacks in the petioles of the leaves help it to float rapidly. 

Long-horned Grasshopper -katydids

KATYCHOS are insects related to the cricket family. They are sometimes called long-horned grasshoppers due to their unusually long antennae winch may sometimes exceed their body length. The Insects live In bushes and trees and are powerful jumpers. Although many species do not fly. they Butter their wings while taking long leaps. Many katydids have wings that look like leaves. Others that are pink or brown too display remarkable camouflage skills to  avoid predators. Katydids are known to reproduce frequently and some species are considered agricultural pests. The name katydid is believed to have originated from its calls which sound like the words 'katy did'. The insect is found in tropical regions of the world.

Fiddler crabs

SOME years ago a scientist studying the courtship of Fiddler crabs observed that there was one particular female that seemed to attract all the males the moment she came out of her burrow. At about the same time another scientist in another part of the world who was studying cuttlefishes noticed that whenever a certain female cuttlefish swam by, all the males in the area gravitated towards her, even those who were already courting other females. Glamorous females,  it appears, come in all shapes, sizes and species!

The Secretary Bird

 

THE Secretary bird is so called because its crest of black feathers resembles a quill-pen which European clerks in the last century used to stick in their wigs. The bird has to run to launch itself into the air but once air-borne it flies well. The Secretary bird, however, spends most of its time on the ground striding up and down in grassy areas looking for food which consists of insects, rodents and snakes which it tramples to death with its powerful feet. The Secretary bird is an inhabitant of Africa.

Proboscis Monkey

Proboscis Monkey

 

 

 

 

The Proboscis Monkey AT around the seventh year of its life a strange thing starts happening to the nose of the male proboscis monkey: it changes colour and starts growing longer. The nose might eventually grow to about 7 inches and hang below the mouth like a trunk. Sometimes, the monkey has to hold his nose aside while feeding! The nose development occurs only in the males and the purpose of the long nose has still not been determined.