The Pinnawala Elephant Orphanage

The pinnawala Elephant orphanage is in the kegalle District(Sri Lanka). The road that leads to the orphanage is about two kilo metres from Kegalla town, on the Kandy road.

                It was started in 1975. There are baby and adult elephants in the orphanage. They are all rescued elephants. Farmers shoot at elephants when they come to their villages. Sometimes they throw fire brands to scare them away. Some elephants fall into pits, well and water-holes, when come in search of water in the dry season. Some injured elephants fall on the way. They cannot get up because of pain, hunger and thirst. Such elephants are rescued and brought to the orphanage.

Discovery of Antiseptic

                Joseph Lister was born in Upton, Essex, in England in 1827. He was educated at the universities of London and Edinburgh, 1852. In 1856 he became a surgeon in the Edinburgh royal Infirmary or hospital. In 1861 he was appointed surgeon of the Glasgow royal Infirmary in the new surgery unit designed to reduce gangrene and other infections. At that time, it was more dangerous to go to hospitals for surgery. One famous doctor said that it was very dangerous to to go to hospitals for surgery than to be a soldier in a war. This was because many died from infection. Despite his efforts to keep surgical instruments and rooms clean, the mortality rate remained closed to 50 percent.

Speed and Grace of the Cheetah

All children are sure to know about the cheetah. You would know that fastest land animal on Earth with the ability to run at speeds of 112 to 120 km/h (70 to 75 mph), accelerating from 0 to over 100 km/h (62 mph) in just three seconds. The speed and grace of this member of cat family have astonished humans and the sight of a stop us in our tracks.

                             Scientists think that about 10,000-12,000 years ago, at least 99 percent of the world king cheetah population may have died within a short period, resulting in the population getting as low as one pregnant female. The main difference between the king cheetah and the normal spotted cheetah is in the cat pattern. The standard cheetah’s fur coat is usually yellow, tawny or golden in color with a circular spotted pattern of small black markings, 0.75 to 1.5 inches in diameter, distributed fairly evenly across its body. The animal also displays the famous black ‘tear streaks’ down either cheek.

How Cruel the man on earth..?

              According to a wild life magazine, the total number of insects so far is in between one and two million.

               And….about ten thousand new species are identified annually.

     It could take another of that magazine, who is a conservationist, birdwatcher and active and dedicated supporter of wildlife conservation organizations… insects are the most abundant and successful animals on earth.

              Do you know the total number of other species living in this world today…?

                               The same wildlife magazine reveals that also …., But…, the total number of species living in this world today…, is staggering.

             These species are broadly categorized into Mammals, reptiles, Fish, Crustaceans, (shellfish like crabs and lobsters) amphibians, birds, insects and plants.

               Accordingly, there are nearly 4,600 species of mammals, 6400 species of amphibians, 8250 species of reptiles, 9700 species of birds, 26000 species of crustaceans, 20000 species of fish, 310000 species  of plants, and estimated four to six million insects living today.

       The variety of species in the forests of the world tigers, wolves, elephants, serpents, eagles, painted storks, caterpillars, luminous beetles. Insects, plants with leaves that close upon touch and pitches trap insects, was amazing. Don’t you think so…?

                                     The world’s largest mammal is the Blue whale, which can grow over 33 metres, long, and the smallest is the tiny bat from Thailand. Its size is about the size of a bumblebee and weighs just two grams.

                    The highest number of amphibians of any country on the earth is reported from Brazil. That is 751 species.

                           The largest living bird is, without doubt – the Ostrich. That magnificent bird stands a 2.7 metres high and weighs as much a 160 kg.  

                  The smallest bird in the world, is the ‘Hummingbird’ from Cuba, which weighs a mere 1.6 grams.

               However large number of animal species may be, many are under the threat of extinction, owing to poaching of wildlife, over fishing of the oceans, destruction of wildlife habit and climate change. 

          All of which have been brought by the most successful species on this earth-‘The man’. The number of species under threat is alarming..!

                              One fifth (1/5) of the mammalian species, one tenth(1/10) of birds, one third(1/3) of fish, one half(1/2) of plants, are under the threat of extinction, unless… immediate action is taken, to save them.

OUR FOOD

      What we are eat decide how we grow. If you eat good, wholesome, nutritious food you will grow up healthy and strong.

           You must have healthy food that has all the main nutrients. You need carbohydrates like rice, potatoes or bread. There is starch in these types of food. Your body can turn the starch into energy to give you brain power for you work and muscle power for sport.

Proteins are necessary to build strong muscles and firm flesh. These are found mainly in fish, egg, nuts, green vegetables and meat. We also need a smaller amount of fat as in margarine, butter and cooking oil. Calcium in milk builds strong bones and teeth. Iron in spinach and other dark green vegetables is good for our blood.

                The important vitamins, vitamin A, B, C, D and E we find mainly in fresh fruit, vegetables, brown rice, brown bread and fish oil. Vitamins help us fight diseases. They keep our eyes, hair, skin and teeth in good condition.

            Yet vitamins and other important things in food can often be destroyed if the food is boiled or fried too much. Vegetables must be washed carefully. Then they should be cooked only for a very short time. Fruit, again carefully washed with clean water, is best eaten raw.

                             Many people nowadays eat too many sweet things. Biscuits, cakes, sweets, chocolates and ice-cream all contain too much sugar. Sugar is a carbohydrate and some of it can be turned into energy, but too much sugar is ban for your skin, makes your body fat and gives you toothache. If you have too much sugar over a long time, you may even lose all your teeth

Vitamins

• We need vitamins for healthy growth of our body.
• They are best taken by the way of food.
• If you are healthy you are not in need of vitamin tablets or syrups.
• Vitamin preparations are needed only when you are in a vitamin deficiency.
• If you take vitamin tablets unnecessarily there is a risk of overload of vitamins.
• Vitamin overload can cause symptoms like headache, hair-loss and skin rashes.

Michael Faraday

              Michael Faraday was born in Newington in England. He was the son of a blacksmith. During his early years, he worked as an apprentice in bookbinding. He attended lectures given by Sir Humphrey Davy in 1812 and developed interest in science. Later, Faraday sent his study notes to Davy with a request for a job and as are result he started to work as Davy’s assistant at the Royal institution in 1813. A year later, he went with Davy on a European tour from which he gained much experience.

Sri Daladamaligawa

Kandy (Ancient Senkadagala) is the last capital of the Sinhala Monarchy the History of which goes back to at least five centuries before the beginning of the Common Era. The city is surrounded by a ring of mountain ranges and Sri Lanka’s largest river Mahaweli Ganga.Kandy enjoys a salubrious climate and still breathes the ancient lifestyle of the people.The heritage of Kandy, Architecture, Sculpture, painting, Dance and Music, all such cultural traditions are endemic to Sri Lanka.Kandy remains the home for all denominations of major world religions. 

SIGIRIYA

                                You have all heard about Sigiriya and perhaps you have visited it. It is a small village ten miles off Dambulla in the district of Matale in Sri Lanka. Visitors go there nearly every day to climb its huge Rock of ancient fane and see the beautiful paintings on a part of its walls as well as the interesting ruins found there. This Rock id very steep and is about 600 feet in height. It was once the “fortress” of king of eighteen years. Here is the story of this king.

ALEXANDER FLEMING

                     Alexander Fleming, who was born on the 6^th of August 1881 in Litchfield, was a Scottish bacteriologist. This scientist invented penicillin in 1928. Penicillin is a substance which can be used for preventing the growth of bacteria.

                                         The story of the discovery of penicillin is very interesting.

                            One day while Fleming was using a dish for his antibacterial experiments, be noticed that some strange flecks of fungus had grown in that uncovered dish containing mucus from infected wounds. He also noticed that this fungus had killed the bacteria, on that dish. The fungus had been caused by a spore which had flown in through a window and settled on the dish. In his further experiments be found that it was penicillium which was a rare fungus in the mould family

SIR ISAAC NEWTON

                Sir Isaac Newton was born on the 25^th of December, 1642 in Lincolnshire. While in school he did not do well, but possessed greater talents in drawing and mechanical inventions. Fortunately one of his uncles saw his talents and made the way for him to enter Trinity College. There he graduated in mathematics in 1669. He worked closely with his professor Isaac Barrow who gave him every help to improve his talents. Later Isaac Newton succeeded his professor and became professor of mathematics at Trinity at the age of twenty seven.

THE CEYLON ELEPHANT

The elephant is the king of the Ceylon jungle. No other animal dares to challenge his kingship. In their wild state, elephant live in small herds, about twenty-five in each. A full-grown male is usually the leader of the herd. Such a leader, in all his majesty and dignity, roams the jungle with his followers. Some elephants have tusks from which we obtain ivory; but “tuskers” are now rare in Ceylon.

Natural ecosystems in Sri lanka

Tropical Rain Forests                  -  Sinharaja
Dry Misxed Evergreen forests  -
Montane Foreses                        -
Thorn Forests, Scrub lands        - 

Bird's Paradise                            - Kumana
Elephants                                   - Ceylon elephants
                                                   -Elephant Orphanage

Coral Reef                                -Hikkaduwa beach

IN PARADISE OF KUMANA

Boarding the yala National park to the east is the well- known bird sanctuary, Kumana. As you approach Kumana you hear a rather noisy invitation – the sound of thousands of birds calling one another. Here a large variety of indigenous acquatic birds gather from April to July marking Kumana a birdwatcher’s paradise. There are herons, Storks, egrets and spoonbills nesting in the trees above, Water hens, Purple coot and jacana build their nests in the swamp below.

Human Blood Circulation

Imagine being smaller than the period at the end of the sentence. Imagine being microscopic! Suppose you are almost as tiny as a red blood cell. Picture your self inside a human heart. You are about to take a guided tour of a human circulatory system.

                Your tour being in the right at rium of the heart. It is a dark chamber with thin walls. Wow……..Is it crowded! Millions of blood cells are in the right atrium with you. Most of the cells are about your size. The guide says that, they are red blood cells “Each one is shaped like a doughnut with no hole. Most have no nucleus. Every red blood cell carries a load of carbon dioxide”

                The large cell with nuclei are white blood cell “the guide continues” what are the disk shapes?” you ask “They are platelets,” the guide answers, “and the yellowish, watery substance around you is plasma.”

Renal diseases are on the rise

What is kidney failure?

               Kidney is the organ that purifies the blood and is responsible for filtering blood, removing waste and making urine to keep the body’s water and salt balance in check. When the kidney stops functioning this process can not go on.

 

What is the role of the dialysis machine?   

                              When the patient’s kidney ceases to function, the machine will play the role of kidneys. The machine will take the blood in and send it through an artificial kidney which the blood, and send it to the patient.

Natural Photos

Date      :-2010-07-26
Photo     :-Kandiyan dance flower
Camera :-Canon, Digital,IXUS 975IS
Photographer:-Shamitha Shane

Cell (The fundamental unit of life)

Latin world for cell is "cellula" which means 'a little room'.The word 'cell' has derived from the above Latin word 'cellula'.The British botanist Robert hooke while examining a bottle cork under the microscope made by himself, observed room like structutes as in a honey comb. He named the little rooms of the honey comb as cells. Actually he has  seen only the cell wall.
                              All the living organisms are made up of cells. There are some organisms of which the body is made up of only one cell. They are called unicellular organisms. Organisms with more than one cell are multi cellular organisms.

                            It was MATTAIAS SCHLEIDEN in 1838 who first proposed the idea that all plants consist of calls.

The Beauty of Sri Lanka

 

Once they called her the “Glittering petal of the Indian ocean". And again as  "The Living paradise on earth".  Further  they went on to say "The Isle of virtue";"The barn of far east". Now it is the Sri Lanka; 

our motherland. Endowed with natural & cultural beauty, she marches through 21st century.

                 With wide diversity of nature, she host most of living beings of animals & plants, prevail on earth. Travelling through the country, experiencing the typical tropical conditions of sandy breathtaking beaches, wetty & watery  feeling of rainy forests and cool, breezy, misty secludes of mountains  , are a matter of few hours. Populated by a nation; nourished by the teachings of Great Buddha, she inherits a rich culture, which runs over 2500 years of written history and her  warm, welcoming holspitality has largely spread all over the globe too.
 

Virus

Viruses are not actually cells. They do not need food as a source of energy. The only living process occurs in virus is reproduction; but they can not reproduce independently.

                                          Virus have a coat of protein enclosing a strand of nucleic acid. Only one nucleic acid is found in a virus. That can be either DNA or RAN. DNA is Deoxyribo Nucleic Acid. And RNA is Ribo nucleic Acid. Viruses infect and take over the biological machinery of cells to reproduce new viruses. Viruses are totally parasitic. Chicken pox, measles, aids, common cold, influenza are some diseases caused by viruses.                                                  

Protozoa

Amoeba

Protozoa are unicellular organisms. Protozoa can be subdivided in to Rhizopods, Ciliates, flagellates and sporozoans.

                  Rhizopods can move by means of pseudopodia. They also catch their prey by means of these catch their prey by means of these pseudopodia.

  

eg. Amoeba.

 

Microscopic hairs called cilia are present around the cell in ciliates. They use these cilia for feeding and movement. Paramecium is an example for ciliates.

FUNGI

Most fungi are multi cellular. Yeast is an exception and it is a unicellular fungus. Multi cellular fungi are made up of hyphae. Hyphae are fine thread like structures.

                          No chlorophyll is present in fungi. Fungi are saprophytic, parasitic or symbiotic. Saprophytic means living on dead organic matter.                                 

                     Parasitic means grows feeds and shattered on or in a different organism while contributing nothing, to the survival of its host. Symbiotic means helping each other for nutrition.(mutually advantageous) eg. Lichens are a symbiotic partnership between algae and fungi.

                                     Yeast feed by changing sugars into alcohol, a process known as fermentation.