Sugar Atoms

poliokitty:

look at glutamine synthetase
isn’t it magical
glutamate and ammonia to glutamine
this is the kind of bizarre thing they adorn lunchboxes with

So I drink like 3 glasses of milk a day, I love cream and I love icecream, but sadly, I am developing lactose intolerance. Naturally, I googled it.

The technical term for lactose intolerance is hypolactasia. So we know that when we eat food, it travels through our oesophagus, stomach and intenstines. The enzymes found in the stomach and the intestine (e.g. amylase) break down different molecules so that they are smaller and are able to be absorbed through the intenstinal wall. Well a specific enzyme known as lactase, catalyses the reaction for the break down of lactose which is found in dairy. Lactose is a dissacharide sugar (relatively small). The breakdown is a hydrolisis reaction and results in galactose.

In mammals, infants usually produce lactase untill they are weaned from their mothers, however due to extended consumption of dairy, over time the human population has developed lactose persistence, meaning it is continued to be produced after weaning. Despite this, approximately 75% of adults show a decrease in lactase at some point.

Cultures that have favoured dairy for hundreds of years are more likely to have individuals who are lactase persistent (e.g. european countries).

There are multiple independant mutations which allow lactase persistence (different mutations are found in different cultures). 

THE GREAT BARRIER REEF is one of the planet’s most famous natural wonders, stretching across 348,000sq.km and comprised of more than 2900 separate reefs. But disturbing new research reveals it has lost half its coral cover since 1985.

The study from the Australian Institute of Marine Science (AIMS), published today in the US journal theProceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, provides a dim view of the reef’s future.

“Coral cover on the GBR is consistently declining, and without intervention, it will likely fall to 5 to 10 per cent within the next 10 years,” say the authors of the report. “Without intervention, the GBR may lose the biodiversity and ecological integrity for which it was listed as a World Heritage Area.”

Photo and caption by Joe Quinn

Tiny caterpillars consume a leaf. As they grow they slowly take on the color of the leaf.

Location: Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, USA

Whale Shark

Photograph by Brian Skerry

The sweeping color of sea and sky, blue is a common thread in nature, seen in the cerulean of a whale shark (pictured here), the indigo of a stormy night, and the cobalt of a peacock’s feathers. Over the centuries, the hue has come to represent calm, cold, mysticism, and sadness.

Sandstone Patterns

Photograph by Frans Lanting

A balance of playful yellow and passionate red, orange commands attention without overwhelming. This often flamboyant color brings to mind citrus and sunsets, fall leaves, and jack-o’-lanterns. Orange has even been found to stimulate appetite and creativity in humans.

Here, patterns etched in sandstone appear like an artist’s rendering of the Utah landscape. Dramatic sandstone formations are the main attraction at the state’s Arches National Park.

Palm Trees, Brazil

Photograph by Bobby Haas, National Geographic

Palm trees peek out of an early morning mist in Brazil’s Pantanal. Covering an area of 74,000 square miles—more than a third the size of France—the Pantanal is one of the world’s largest wetlands.

Limestone Towers, Madagascar

Photograph by Stephen Alvarez, National Geographic

A city of limestone towers rises in western Madagascar. Sharp, steep, and brittle, the maze of rock in Tsingy de Bemaraha national park and reserve has repelled all but a few explorers and scientists, leaving large parts of the region—and countless resident creatures—unknown to humans.

(For more pictures of the amazing colors of our world, buy the National Geographic book Life in Color.)

COLONY OF HEALTHY Tasmanian devils is about to get a new island refuge as part of an attempt to beat the deadly facial tumour depleting the species.

Fourteen devils will this week be the first to move to Maria Island, off the east coast of Tasmania, in the hope they will be quarantined from the disease.

The aim is to establish a self-sustaining population of healthy devils on the island, listed as a national park, where the species is not found naturally.

The move is part of the joint state and federal Save the Tasmanian Devil Program funded with $10 million over five years by Canberra.

“We are leaving no stone unturned when it comes to protecting the Tasmanian devil,” federal Environment Minister Tony Burke said in a statement. “Translocation is one of the methods of last resort and it has to be done carefully with good scientific oversight. It’s part of making sure the Tasmanian devil never goes the way of theTasmanian tiger.”