WITHOUT a doubt, one of the most precious gifts humankind has been given is the power to communicate. With it we pass vital information to one another either verbally or by nonvocal methods, such as gestures. Freedom of speech is, in fact, a widely contested issue throughout the earth. Some have therefore assumed that communication is only the preserve of humans.
Yet, research shows that animals exchange information in intricate ways that often baffle humans. Yes, they “speak,” not with words, but through visual signals such as wagging tails, twitching ears, or flapping wings. Other forms of communication may involve the use of voice, such as a bark, a roar, a snarl, or the song of a bird. Some of the “languages” are obvious to humans, while others require much scientific study to detect.
Predators!
It is mid-July. In the sprawling Serengeti National Park in Tanzania, thousands upon thousands of wildebeests are heading northward toward the Masai Mara Game Reserve in Kenya in search of greener pastures. The plains resonate with the sound of hooves during this annual migration. However, dangers lurk along the way. The route is lined with predatory animals, such as lions, cheetahs, hyenas, and leopards. The wildebeests will also take their chances by crossing the crocodile-infested Mara River. How do wildebeests ward off predators? To confuse the enemy, the wildebeest, or gnu, will run fast over a short distance and then turn around to face the enemy, all the while tossing its head from side to side. It will throw its legs about in a freakish manner, creating a rather ludicrous show. Even a hardened predator will not fail to stop in amazement on seeing this erratic dance. Should the predator insist on approaching, the wildebeest will do a repeat performance. This so confuses the intruder that the hunt may be abandoned after the concert. Thus,the ungainly dance has earned the wildebeest the dubious distinction of being the clown of the plains.
The wildebeest’s smaller cousins, impalas, are known for their gigantic leaps. To many, these high jumps could signify gracefulness and speed. In times of trouble, though, this antelope uses its soaring techniques to make it difficult for a predator to trap it by the legs. The leaps, up to 30 feet [9 m] in length, give the attacker a clear message, “Follow if you can keep up with me.” Few animals of prey are willing to do so just to bring down the unwilling impala!
A Time to Eat
In the wild many predatory animals have to develop their hunting skills in order to become good hunters. Young ones must pay keen attention as their parents take them through the paces. In an African animal sanctuary, a cheetah named Saba was observed giving vital lessons of survival to her cubs. After stalking a grazing Thomson’s gazelle for over an hour, she made a giant leap forward and then trapped and choked the hapless antelope—but without killing it. Moments later, Saba dropped the dazed animal in front of her cubs, which were strangely reluctant to throw themselves at the prey. These young cheetahs understood why Mother had brought a live animal to them. She wanted them to learn how to kill the gazelle. Each time the prey tried to get up and run, the overexcited cubs brought it down. Exhausted, the gazelle gave up the fight for survival. Watching from a distance, Saba approved their actions.
Some animals specialize in making as much noise as possible while searching for food. A pack of spotted hyenas will grunt, snort, and giggle while running after prey. Once the kill is made, other hyenas will be invited to the feast by the hyenas’ infamous “laugh.” However, hyenas do not always hunt for food. In the wild they are among the worst of the food pirates—using all methods of harassing other predators to get their kill. Why, they have been known to scare away lions from their meal! How do they accomplish this? Boisterous animals, they will work themselves into a frenzy in a bid to disturb the feeding lions. Should the cats ignore the noise, the hyenas will become more excited and bolder. Their peace disrupted, the felines often abandon the carcass and move away from the area.
Among bees the search for food is a complicated ritual. Complex scientific studies have revealed that by dancing, a honeybee informs others in the hive of the location, type, and even quality of the food found. On its body a bee carries samples of the food, such as nectar or pollen, back to the other bees in the hive. Doing a figure-eight dance, it is able not only to direct others to the food source but also to indicate the distance to be covered. Watch out! That bee hovering around you might be collecting some vital information to take back home. Your scented perfume could be mistaken for its next meal!
Keeping in Touch
Few sounds are as spectacular as the roar of a lion during a quiet night. Several reasons have been advanced for this communication. A male’s mighty roar is a warning to all that he is in the territory; intrude at your own risk. However, being a social cat, the lion will also roar to keep in touch with other members of the pride. This is usually a softer, less assertive roar. During one night a lion was heard to roar every 15 minutes until a cousin answered from a distance. They kept “talking” for another 15 minutes until they finally met. The roars ceased.
Such contacts not only enhance good relationships but also offer protection against harsh weather elements. A hen will utter several vocalizations that convey different messages to her chicks. The most distinct, however, is the long, low purring sound made in the evening, indicating that she has come home to roost. Heeding Mother’s call, the scattered young ones gather under her wings and retire for the night..
Finding a Partner
Have you ever been stopped in your tracks by the melody of songbirds? Are you not fascinated by their ability to sing the notes? Yet, did you know that entertaining you is the least they intend to do? Their songs are methods of passing important messages. Although at times singing is a means of establishing territory, it is also used in a large way to attract potential mates. According to The New Book of Knowledge, “the amount of singing drops by 90 per cent” once the male and the female have found each other.Sometimes, however, it takes more than just a good song to win a partner. Some female birds require that a “bride-price” be paid before they are won over by a male. Thus, a male weaverbird will have to demonstrate his nest-building skills before making further moves. Other male species will prove their ability to provide by literally feeding the female.
No doubt,the intricate ways in which animals communicate not only serve their physical needs but also reduce fights and promote peace in the wild. With more research being done on animal communication, we have yet to hear the last of this “wild talk.” Although we may not comprehend it fully, it does make us to wonder on this question: were they designed?
Showing posts with label What Is Designed. Show all posts
Showing posts with label What Is Designed. Show all posts
Friday, December 10, 2010
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Who Did It First?
Like one biologist once said, “I HAVE the suspicion,”“that we’re not the innovators we think we are; we’re merely the repeaters.”Many times, human inventors only repeat what plants and animals have been doing for thousands of years. This copying from living things is so prevalent that it has been given its own name—bionics. Another scientist says that practically all the fundamental areas of human technology “have been opened up and utilized to advantage by living things . . . before the human mind learned to understand and master their functions.” Interestingly, he adds: “In many areas, human technology is still lagging far behind nature.”2
As you reflect on these complex abilities of living creatures that human inventors have attempted to copy, does it seem reasonable to believe that they happened by chance alone? And happened, not just once, but many times in unrelated creatures? Are these not the kind of intricate designs that experience teaches can only be the product of a brilliant designer? Do you really think that chance alone could create what it later took gifted men to copy? Bear in mind such questions as you consider the following examples:
AIR CONDITIONING. Modern technology cools many homes. But long before, termites also cooled theirs, and they still do. Their nest is in the center of a large mound. From it, warm air rises into a network of air ducts near the surface. There stale air diffuses out the porous sides, and fresh cool air seeps in and descends into an air chamber at the bottom of the mound. From there it circulates into the nest. Some mounds have openings at the bottom where fresh air comes in, and in hot weather, water brought up from underground evaporates, thus cooling the air. How do millions of blind workers coordinate their efforts to build such ingeniously designed structures? Biologist Lewis Thomas answers: “The plain fact that they exhibit something like a collective intelligence is a mystery.”3
AIRPLANES. The design of airplane wings has benefited over the years from the study of the wings of birds. The curvature of the bird’s wing gives the lift needed to overcome the downward pull of gravity. But when the wing is tilted up too much, there is the danger of stalling. To avoid a stall, the bird has on the leading edges of its wings rows, or flaps, of feathers that pop up as wing tilt increases (1, 2). These flaps maintain lift by keeping the main airstream from separating from the wing surface.
Still another feature for controlling turbulence and preventing “stalling out” is the alula (3), a small bunch of feathers that the bird can raise up like a thumb.
At the tips of the wings of both birds and airplanes, eddies form and they produce drag. Birds minimize this in two ways. Some, like swifts and albatross, have long, slender wings with small tips, and this design eliminates most of the eddies. Others, like big hawks and vultures, have broad wings that would make big eddies, but this is avoided when the birds spread out, like fingers, the pinions at the ends of their wings. This changes these blunt ends into several narrow tips that reduce eddies and drag (4).
8 Airplane designers have adopted many of these features. The curvature of wings gives lift. Various flaps and projections serve to control airflow or to act as braking devices. Some small planes lessen wing-tip drag by the mounting of flat plates at right angles to the wing surface. Airplane wings, however, still fall short of the engineering marvels found in the wings of birds.
ANTIFREEZE. Humans use glycol in car radiators as antifreeze. But certain microscopic plants use chemically similar glycerol to keep from freezing in Antarctic lakes. It is also found in insects that survive in temperatures of 4 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. There are fish that produce their own antifreeze, enabling them to live in the frigid waters of Antarctica. Some trees survive temperatures of 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit because they contain “very pure water, without dust or dirt particles upon which ice crystals can form.”4
UNDERWATER BREATHING. People strap tanks of air to their backs and remain under water for up to an hour. Certain water beetles do it more simply and stay under longer. They grab a bubble of air and submerge. The bubble serves as a lung. It takes carbon dioxide from the beetle and diffuses it into the water, and takes oxygen dissolved in the water for the beetle to use.
CLOCKS. Long before people used sundials, clocks in living organisms were keeping accurate time. When the tide is out microscopic plants called diatoms come to the surface of wet beach sand. When the tide comes in the diatoms go down into the sand again. Yet in sand in the laboratory, without any tidal ebb and flow, their clocks still make them come up and go down in time with the tides. Fiddler crabs turn a darker color and come out during low tide, turn pale and retreat to their burrows during high tide. In the laboratory away from the ocean, they still keep time with the changing tide, turning dark and light as the tide ebbs and flows. Birds can navigate by sun and stars, which change position as time passes. They must have internal clocks to compensate for these changes. (Jeremiah 8:7) From microscopic plants to people, millions of internal clocks are ticking away.COMPASSES. About the 13th century C.E. men began to use a magnetic needle floating in a bowl of water—a crude compass. But it was nothing new. Bacteria contain strings of magnetite particles just the right size to make a compass. These guide them to their preferred environments. Magnetite has been found in many other organisms —birds, bees, butterflies, dolphins, mollusks and others. Experiments indicate that homing pigeons can return home by sensing the earth’s magnetic field. It is now generally accepted that one of the ways migrating birds find their way is by the magnetic compasses in their heads.
DESALINATION. Men build huge factories to remove salt from seawater. Mangrove trees have roots that suck up seawater, but filter it through membranes that remove the salt. One species of mangrove, Avicennia, using glands on the underside of its leaves, gets rid of the excess salt. Sea birds, such as gulls, pelicans, cormorants, albatross and petrels, drink seawater and by means of glands in their heads remove the excess salt that gets into their blood. Also penguins, sea turtles and sea iguanas drink salt water, removing the excess salt. Are all these designed?
As you reflect on these complex abilities of living creatures that human inventors have attempted to copy, does it seem reasonable to believe that they happened by chance alone? And happened, not just once, but many times in unrelated creatures? Are these not the kind of intricate designs that experience teaches can only be the product of a brilliant designer? Do you really think that chance alone could create what it later took gifted men to copy? Bear in mind such questions as you consider the following examples:
AIR CONDITIONING. Modern technology cools many homes. But long before, termites also cooled theirs, and they still do. Their nest is in the center of a large mound. From it, warm air rises into a network of air ducts near the surface. There stale air diffuses out the porous sides, and fresh cool air seeps in and descends into an air chamber at the bottom of the mound. From there it circulates into the nest. Some mounds have openings at the bottom where fresh air comes in, and in hot weather, water brought up from underground evaporates, thus cooling the air. How do millions of blind workers coordinate their efforts to build such ingeniously designed structures? Biologist Lewis Thomas answers: “The plain fact that they exhibit something like a collective intelligence is a mystery.”3
AIRPLANES. The design of airplane wings has benefited over the years from the study of the wings of birds. The curvature of the bird’s wing gives the lift needed to overcome the downward pull of gravity. But when the wing is tilted up too much, there is the danger of stalling. To avoid a stall, the bird has on the leading edges of its wings rows, or flaps, of feathers that pop up as wing tilt increases (1, 2). These flaps maintain lift by keeping the main airstream from separating from the wing surface.
Still another feature for controlling turbulence and preventing “stalling out” is the alula (3), a small bunch of feathers that the bird can raise up like a thumb.
At the tips of the wings of both birds and airplanes, eddies form and they produce drag. Birds minimize this in two ways. Some, like swifts and albatross, have long, slender wings with small tips, and this design eliminates most of the eddies. Others, like big hawks and vultures, have broad wings that would make big eddies, but this is avoided when the birds spread out, like fingers, the pinions at the ends of their wings. This changes these blunt ends into several narrow tips that reduce eddies and drag (4).
8 Airplane designers have adopted many of these features. The curvature of wings gives lift. Various flaps and projections serve to control airflow or to act as braking devices. Some small planes lessen wing-tip drag by the mounting of flat plates at right angles to the wing surface. Airplane wings, however, still fall short of the engineering marvels found in the wings of birds.
ANTIFREEZE. Humans use glycol in car radiators as antifreeze. But certain microscopic plants use chemically similar glycerol to keep from freezing in Antarctic lakes. It is also found in insects that survive in temperatures of 4 degrees below zero Fahrenheit. There are fish that produce their own antifreeze, enabling them to live in the frigid waters of Antarctica. Some trees survive temperatures of 40 degrees below zero Fahrenheit because they contain “very pure water, without dust or dirt particles upon which ice crystals can form.”4
UNDERWATER BREATHING. People strap tanks of air to their backs and remain under water for up to an hour. Certain water beetles do it more simply and stay under longer. They grab a bubble of air and submerge. The bubble serves as a lung. It takes carbon dioxide from the beetle and diffuses it into the water, and takes oxygen dissolved in the water for the beetle to use.
CLOCKS. Long before people used sundials, clocks in living organisms were keeping accurate time. When the tide is out microscopic plants called diatoms come to the surface of wet beach sand. When the tide comes in the diatoms go down into the sand again. Yet in sand in the laboratory, without any tidal ebb and flow, their clocks still make them come up and go down in time with the tides. Fiddler crabs turn a darker color and come out during low tide, turn pale and retreat to their burrows during high tide. In the laboratory away from the ocean, they still keep time with the changing tide, turning dark and light as the tide ebbs and flows. Birds can navigate by sun and stars, which change position as time passes. They must have internal clocks to compensate for these changes. (Jeremiah 8:7) From microscopic plants to people, millions of internal clocks are ticking away.COMPASSES. About the 13th century C.E. men began to use a magnetic needle floating in a bowl of water—a crude compass. But it was nothing new. Bacteria contain strings of magnetite particles just the right size to make a compass. These guide them to their preferred environments. Magnetite has been found in many other organisms —birds, bees, butterflies, dolphins, mollusks and others. Experiments indicate that homing pigeons can return home by sensing the earth’s magnetic field. It is now generally accepted that one of the ways migrating birds find their way is by the magnetic compasses in their heads.
DESALINATION. Men build huge factories to remove salt from seawater. Mangrove trees have roots that suck up seawater, but filter it through membranes that remove the salt. One species of mangrove, Avicennia, using glands on the underside of its leaves, gets rid of the excess salt. Sea birds, such as gulls, pelicans, cormorants, albatross and petrels, drink seawater and by means of glands in their heads remove the excess salt that gets into their blood. Also penguins, sea turtles and sea iguanas drink salt water, removing the excess salt. Are all these designed?
Thursday, September 17, 2009
The Tree That Sings!..
In the most unexpected part of Africa stands a tree that often sings. The tree is of the acacia species and is known as the whistling thorn. Why? Because when the wind rushes through the delicate branches, the tree seemingly lifts its voice.
A lovely, lilting sound is produced when the tree’s unusually long and slender thorns vibrate in the wind. Adding to the melody of the thorns, the tree’s hollow galls produce a sound much like that of an empty bottle when air is blown across its mouth. These “instruments” are formed by ants, who are said to hollow out the galls, the ants’ spherical homes, and carve tiny entrance and exit holes in them. Because the galls and holes are of differing sizes, they produce sounds of differing pitch. These sounds add to the uniqueness and beauty of the whistling thorn.
This tree no doubt reminds us of the wonders designed in nature. Indeed, when the wind flows over the thorns and the flutelike galls, it produces sounds that are a lovely, emotive song of Africa.What do you think? Was it designed?
A lovely, lilting sound is produced when the tree’s unusually long and slender thorns vibrate in the wind. Adding to the melody of the thorns, the tree’s hollow galls produce a sound much like that of an empty bottle when air is blown across its mouth. These “instruments” are formed by ants, who are said to hollow out the galls, the ants’ spherical homes, and carve tiny entrance and exit holes in them. Because the galls and holes are of differing sizes, they produce sounds of differing pitch. These sounds add to the uniqueness and beauty of the whistling thorn.
This tree no doubt reminds us of the wonders designed in nature. Indeed, when the wind flows over the thorns and the flutelike galls, it produces sounds that are a lovely, emotive song of Africa.What do you think? Was it designed?
Bee-eaters! Multicolored Acrobats of the Sky...
Imagine a family of birds whose feathers reflect practically every color of the rainbow. In flight, they can outmaneuver some of the fastest insects. And some of them are among the few species of birds that can form family clans in which relatives help one another to rear the young. These are just three of the many fascinating traits of bee-eaters.
It is the colorful appearance of these birds, however, that first attracts the attention of bird-watchers. Many insect-eating birds have drab colors and pass unnoticed. But bee-eaters provide an unrivaled display of color and aerial artistry that few bird-watchers will ever forget. Their plumage comes in bright greens, blues, reds, and yellows. Some species, such as the European bee-eater, have all these colors and more! And an Australian species has been aptly named the rainbow bee-eater or the rainbow bird.
Bee-eaters perform their show in many parts of Africa, Asia, Australia, and southern Europe. Since they are rarely seen in captivity, this is a spectacle that must be enjoyed in the wild. “Watching these bold and energetic birds is hugely entertaining,” notes the online publication Wildwatch. “Because many species are quite relaxed in the presence of man, photographic opportunities come readily.”
Bee-eaters specialize in catching insects on the wing. And since they prefer large, fast-flying insects, such as bees, wasps, and hornets, they have to be both quick and agile. Keen eyesight also helps. The European bee-eater can spot a bee or a wasp a hundred yards [100 m] away.
To catch their prey, some bee-eaters use a dive-bombing technique, swooping down on the insect from above. Or more commonly, they perch on a prominent branch and dart out to snatch a passing insect. Other species employ an even more demanding technique. First they fly down behind and below the insect on its blind side—often almost touching the ground. Then they accelerate slightly, raise their head, and pluck the insect out of the air with their long beak.
What do you think? The bee-eaters, were they designed?
It is the colorful appearance of these birds, however, that first attracts the attention of bird-watchers. Many insect-eating birds have drab colors and pass unnoticed. But bee-eaters provide an unrivaled display of color and aerial artistry that few bird-watchers will ever forget. Their plumage comes in bright greens, blues, reds, and yellows. Some species, such as the European bee-eater, have all these colors and more! And an Australian species has been aptly named the rainbow bee-eater or the rainbow bird.
Bee-eaters perform their show in many parts of Africa, Asia, Australia, and southern Europe. Since they are rarely seen in captivity, this is a spectacle that must be enjoyed in the wild. “Watching these bold and energetic birds is hugely entertaining,” notes the online publication Wildwatch. “Because many species are quite relaxed in the presence of man, photographic opportunities come readily.”
Bee-eaters specialize in catching insects on the wing. And since they prefer large, fast-flying insects, such as bees, wasps, and hornets, they have to be both quick and agile. Keen eyesight also helps. The European bee-eater can spot a bee or a wasp a hundred yards [100 m] away.
To catch their prey, some bee-eaters use a dive-bombing technique, swooping down on the insect from above. Or more commonly, they perch on a prominent branch and dart out to snatch a passing insect. Other species employ an even more demanding technique. First they fly down behind and below the insect on its blind side—often almost touching the ground. Then they accelerate slightly, raise their head, and pluck the insect out of the air with their long beak.
What do you think? The bee-eaters, were they designed?
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Fossils, What Are They?..
At first glance a fossil might look like a common bone. In fact, it is the result of a chemical transformation-fossilization-that takes place before the remains of dead animals can decompose. One common form of fossilization is mineralization. In this process the original organic material is replaced, either totally or partially, by minerals present in wet sedimentary deposits. Thus, for fossilization to occur, specific environmental conditions are necessary. They include an abundant deposit of sediment and rapid burial of the remains, as well as their resistance to disintegration. Under normal circumstances, animal remains that are left uneaten are finished off by bacteria as well mechanical and chemical agents, such as wind and water. Fossilazation, therefore, is very rare. What do you think?
Monday, July 20, 2009
Serengeti, Africa's Garden of Eden!..
The Seengeti is a wild land. Located in the countries of Tanzania and Kenya, it is an immense, rolling grassland encompassing an area of some 30,000 square kilometers. Here the earth is covered wiith a layer of rich volcanic soil, creating ideal conditions for the lush grasses that carpet the land. There are areas of acacia woodland and thorn tree savanna that supply foliage for browsing families of elephants.Herds of giraffes graduallymove across the savanna in long, slow strides.
In some areas granite outcrops,worn smooth by wind and rain, rise up from the plains and provide ideal lookouts for lions and leopards. Swiftflowing rivers that wind their way through the land are teeming with hippos and crocodiles. aout on the open plains herds of wildbeasts,hartebeast, topis, and many other types of antelopes can be seen grazing. Thirsty zebras gather at water holes, circling them like necklace of white-and-black beads. Gazelles and impalas bound effortlessly across the plains in great arching leaps. Large herd of cape buffalo, with their massive horns and muscular bodies, graze slowly, polling up tufts of grass with their wide muzzles.
Pride of lions are abundant in the Serengeti.During the heat of the day, they laze in the shade of trees and bushes, waiting for the cool of evening to hunt. Spotted leopards are nearly invisible where the lie, draped elegantly over the upper boughs o f trees, camouflaged by the dappled light under the foliage. The cheetah finds the open grassland ideal footing for its lightning-quick sprints. Its lean body blurs as it races across the plains in pursuit of prey.
Indeed, the Serengeti ecosystem provides a paradise of animal life that is a marve to behold. What do you think? Was it designed?
In some areas granite outcrops,worn smooth by wind and rain, rise up from the plains and provide ideal lookouts for lions and leopards. Swiftflowing rivers that wind their way through the land are teeming with hippos and crocodiles. aout on the open plains herds of wildbeasts,hartebeast, topis, and many other types of antelopes can be seen grazing. Thirsty zebras gather at water holes, circling them like necklace of white-and-black beads. Gazelles and impalas bound effortlessly across the plains in great arching leaps. Large herd of cape buffalo, with their massive horns and muscular bodies, graze slowly, polling up tufts of grass with their wide muzzles.
Pride of lions are abundant in the Serengeti.During the heat of the day, they laze in the shade of trees and bushes, waiting for the cool of evening to hunt. Spotted leopards are nearly invisible where the lie, draped elegantly over the upper boughs o f trees, camouflaged by the dappled light under the foliage. The cheetah finds the open grassland ideal footing for its lightning-quick sprints. Its lean body blurs as it races across the plains in pursuit of prey.
Indeed, the Serengeti ecosystem provides a paradise of animal life that is a marve to behold. What do you think? Was it designed?
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Breadfruit, A Tree That Bear Many Gifts!..
The breadfruit tree is no doubt a spectacular evergreen. It originated in the forests of Malaysia. As a member of the family Moraceae, it is a relative of the fig, mulberry, and jack-fruit trees. When mature, it may grow to a height of 12 meters, and it puts out suckers that can be cut and planted. The breadfruit tree produces distinct male and female flowers in separate clusters. These flowers, which in the wild depend small fruit-eating bats for their pollination and seed dissemination, develop into large round or oval fruits, about the small size of a mellon, green outside and cream to golden yellow inside.
The breadfruit tree also produces very large, glossy, dark-green leaves, which provide welcome shade from the hot tropical sun. Its softy, lightweight wood is used for making furniture and canoes, while the inner bark is sometimes used to make a kind of cloth known throughout the Pacific as tapa. The milky sap is used as a waterproofing compound, and in some places the latex has been used to plaster bone fractures and even as a glue to capture birds.
Did the breadfruit get here by chance or designed?
The breadfruit tree also produces very large, glossy, dark-green leaves, which provide welcome shade from the hot tropical sun. Its softy, lightweight wood is used for making furniture and canoes, while the inner bark is sometimes used to make a kind of cloth known throughout the Pacific as tapa. The milky sap is used as a waterproofing compound, and in some places the latex has been used to plaster bone fractures and even as a glue to capture birds.
Did the breadfruit get here by chance or designed?
Thursday, July 16, 2009
The Seagull's Leg...
A seagull does not freeze even while standing on ice with bare feet .How does this creature conserve its body heat? Part of the secret is in what are called countercurrent heat exchangers.
A countercurrent heat exchanger consists of a tube carrying a warm fluid that runs in close proximity to a tube carrying a cool fluid. If the fluids run in the same direction, only half of the heat is transmitted, at best. But if the fluids run in oppoosite directions, nearly 100 percent of the heat is transmitted.
The heat exchanger in a seagull's legs cool the blood on its way to the feet to near freezing and then rewarm the blood as it returns. Concerning birds in cold environment, ornithologist Gary Ritchison writes: "The principle of countercurrent heat exchange is so effective and ingenious that it has also been adapted in human engineering projects to avoid energy waste.
What do you think? Did the countercurrent heat exchange system in the seagull's legs get there by chance or designed?
A countercurrent heat exchanger consists of a tube carrying a warm fluid that runs in close proximity to a tube carrying a cool fluid. If the fluids run in the same direction, only half of the heat is transmitted, at best. But if the fluids run in oppoosite directions, nearly 100 percent of the heat is transmitted.
The heat exchanger in a seagull's legs cool the blood on its way to the feet to near freezing and then rewarm the blood as it returns. Concerning birds in cold environment, ornithologist Gary Ritchison writes: "The principle of countercurrent heat exchange is so effective and ingenious that it has also been adapted in human engineering projects to avoid energy waste.
What do you think? Did the countercurrent heat exchange system in the seagull's legs get there by chance or designed?
FIREFLY, "Perfect Light"!..
If you have touched an electric light bulb that has been on for a while, you will know that it can get very hot. The heat produced by the bulb results from wasted energy. Atypical light bulb gives off only 10 percent of its energy as light, while 90 percent of its energy as heat. In comparison, the tiny light producing insect called the firefly is nearly 100 percent efficient.
Fireflies waste so little energy as heat that the light they produce has been term "perfect light". How do they do it? The abdomen of a fie fly contains an organic substance known as luciferin. When oxygen is drawn into the abdomen through a tube called the abdominal trachea,it mixes with luciferin, and the resulting chemical reaction gives off a pale-yellow to reddish-green glow.
The cell that produce the firefly's light also contain uric-acid crystals, which help to reflect the light away from the insect's abdomen. Scientists say that the fireflies use their light to attract mates and that different species of fireflies flash different patterns and rhythms.
Would you not agree that the way in which these tiny but wonderful creatures are made gives praise to the designer?
Fireflies waste so little energy as heat that the light they produce has been term "perfect light". How do they do it? The abdomen of a fie fly contains an organic substance known as luciferin. When oxygen is drawn into the abdomen through a tube called the abdominal trachea,it mixes with luciferin, and the resulting chemical reaction gives off a pale-yellow to reddish-green glow.
The cell that produce the firefly's light also contain uric-acid crystals, which help to reflect the light away from the insect's abdomen. Scientists say that the fireflies use their light to attract mates and that different species of fireflies flash different patterns and rhythms.
Would you not agree that the way in which these tiny but wonderful creatures are made gives praise to the designer?
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
The Fascinating World of Worms...
QUEEN CLEOPATRA of Egypt declared them sacred. Aristotle called them the intestine of the earth. Charles Darwin felt that they played an important part in the history of the world. What animal earned the admiration of such famous people? The humble earthworm.
Worms deserve to be admired. True, they are slimy and they wriggle. But even these qualities, which we might consider unattractive, can inspire a sense of awe once you get to know the worm a little better. All you need to do is bend down and upturn a clod of leaf litter, and you have entered the fascinating world of worms.
Take a closer look at an earthworm, and you notice that its body is constructed of ringed segments that look like a row of miniature dough nuts bunched tightly together. Each segment is powered by two groups of muscles. One group, just below the skin, forms a ring around the worm. Beneath this layer, this second group stretches along the worm. The worm moves by expanding and contracting these opposing muscle groups, flexing segment in a rhythmic pulse that ripples down the body.
If you place an earthworm in your hand, no doubt it will writhe and wriggle. The worm reacts this way because its body is bristling with sense organs - as many as 1,900 on just one segment.
While worms may never become the most popular animals in the world, the world would certainly be a different place without them. So the next time you admire a tranquil country scene, spare a thought for the army of earthworms that are beneath your feet, busily plowing, fertilizing, and maintaining that beautiful view
Worms deserve to be admired. True, they are slimy and they wriggle. But even these qualities, which we might consider unattractive, can inspire a sense of awe once you get to know the worm a little better. All you need to do is bend down and upturn a clod of leaf litter, and you have entered the fascinating world of worms.
Take a closer look at an earthworm, and you notice that its body is constructed of ringed segments that look like a row of miniature dough nuts bunched tightly together. Each segment is powered by two groups of muscles. One group, just below the skin, forms a ring around the worm. Beneath this layer, this second group stretches along the worm. The worm moves by expanding and contracting these opposing muscle groups, flexing segment in a rhythmic pulse that ripples down the body.
If you place an earthworm in your hand, no doubt it will writhe and wriggle. The worm reacts this way because its body is bristling with sense organs - as many as 1,900 on just one segment.
While worms may never become the most popular animals in the world, the world would certainly be a different place without them. So the next time you admire a tranquil country scene, spare a thought for the army of earthworms that are beneath your feet, busily plowing, fertilizing, and maintaining that beautiful view
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Crowned Cranes, Colorful Dancers...
The crowned crane is one of the most beautiful birds in the world. It is a stately bird with subtle colors and an exquisite shape. More than a meter long, it has a huge wing span and a delicate, long neck, also chararteristic of other types cranes. Male and female crowned cranes look alike. The dark back feathers attractively frame the pure white wing feathers that run down both sides of thn bird and turn golden near the tail. Other wing feathers are a rich chestnut brown. The trumpeting call of the crowned crane is one of the unforgettable sounds of Africa: O-wahng! O-wahng! This loud cry can be heard for great distances. They are enthusiastic and entertaining dancers too. Flapping their large colorful wings, they lift themselves into the air vertically and then float gently back to the earth as if attached to a parachute. Gracefully bounding about, they run and spring into the air, circling their mates and bobbing their heads with quick, clownish jerks. Holding their large wings open, they stand erect and display the beautiful colors of their feathers. No doubt, it would be sad if the day were to come when the sight and sound of the spectacular crowned crane disappeared.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Sandy Fascination...
Sand in your eyes causes pain, but how soothing it is under your toes! Vast amounts of it are suspended in seawater, but it also abounds in bone-dry deserts. Hordes of creatures flee its encroachment, but for others, it is home. it is oftten considered a nuisance, but without it, modern living would be nearly impossible.
Sand is composed of particles of minerals, rocks, or soil, with quartz being the most common constituent.It comes in a variety of colors. in different lands, you can find sand that are pitch-black, snow--white, purple, gray, red, orange, yellow, and many hues in between.No doubt, the array of color and texture in sand fascinates o some people to the point that they have taken up collecting sand. Many find themselves trading sand, traveling to find it,and stooping to gather samples of it in small glass bottles, new additions to their collections. They call themselves arenophiles, meaning "lovers of sand".
Granted,sand can be irritating when it collects in your shoes as you stroll near the shore. Do not get annoyed though. The fact is, we depend on those humble grains of sands!
Sand is composed of particles of minerals, rocks, or soil, with quartz being the most common constituent.It comes in a variety of colors. in different lands, you can find sand that are pitch-black, snow--white, purple, gray, red, orange, yellow, and many hues in between.No doubt, the array of color and texture in sand fascinates o some people to the point that they have taken up collecting sand. Many find themselves trading sand, traveling to find it,and stooping to gather samples of it in small glass bottles, new additions to their collections. They call themselves arenophiles, meaning "lovers of sand".
Granted,sand can be irritating when it collects in your shoes as you stroll near the shore. Do not get annoyed though. The fact is, we depend on those humble grains of sands!
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