When bitten by a tick

Relapsing fever is bacterial infection characterized by recurring episodes of fever, headache, muscle and joint aches, and nausea. It is caused by certain species of Borrelia spirochetes. which are transmitted through the bites of lice or soft-bodied ticks.

Quick microscope setup guide for Life Sciences inverted microscopes

SWITCH ON THE MICROSCOPE

Plug-in the microscope to the power supply (1). Switch it on (2) and gradually increase the light intensity up to the desired level (black wheel on the right side of the microscope) (3).

Cladonia coccifera

This cup lichen is common in forests, sand dunes and heathland. It grows between moss and grass and is about half a centimeter tall. It has a red-colored spore forming fruiting or apothecia.

Lichens are tough organisms which can survive on the most unlikely places, where plants cannot grow. For example, in the desert, in the Antarctic, in high mountains.

Pear rust and Junipers

Pear Rust is an increasingly common fungal disease in pear trees. This disease can significantly slow the growth of a pear tree, and the tree will also give less fruits. Pear Rust is a fungus that cannot stay the whole year on the pear: in winter the tree has no leaves and the fungus is only present there. In winter, the fungus needs a Juniper to overwinter. After the winter the fungus makes spores, which are spread through the air. The spores fall on the pear tree, causing the fungal disease.

Micro skeletons from the sea

Silicoflagellates belong to a small group of marine planktonic organisms with siliceous skeletons composed of opaline rods. Silicoflagellates are both photosynthetic and heterotrophic. The cell size ranges from 20 to 80 μm.

Their internal silica skeletons are composed of a network of bars, and resemble those of radiolarians but are generally much less complex. Silicoflagellate skeletons usually comprise 1-2% of the siliceous component of marine sediments; they are

Eating corn smut?

Common smut of corn, caused by Ustilago zeae (now known as U. maydis), is easily identified by tumor-like galls that form on actively growing host tissues and contain masses of dark, sooty teliospores.

How insects breath

The basic insect respiratory system consists of a series of rigid tubes, called tracheae, connected to the outside via pairs of pores called spiracles (typically one pair per segment on the sides of the thorax and abdomen, lacking on certain segments). Air enters the system via the spiracles and the tracheae are air-filled. The spiracles can often be opened and closed and lead into short tracheae that enter a pair of longitudinal tracheal trunks, which are the main tracheal tubes. From these lateral tracheae branch smaller tracheae that supply the tissues with air. This supply is especially rich in the more active tissues, such as muscles, nervous tissues and the gut. Tracheae also extend into the wings, running inside the wing veins.

Escherichia coli are usually blamed

Cystitis, or bladder infection, is the most common urinary tract infection. It occurs in the lower urinary tract (the bladder and urethra) and nearly always in women. In most cases, the infection is brief and acute and only the surface of the bladder is infected. Deeper layers of the bladder may be harmed if the infection becomes persistent, or chronic, or if the urinary tract is structurally abnormal. Uncomplicated urinary tract infections (UTI’s) are due to a bacterial infection, most often E. coli. Microscopic examination of the urine sample shows e.g. the presence of white blood cells and bacteria.

Symptoms of lower urinary tract infections usually begin suddenly and may include

Diatoms - Jewels of the Sea

Diatoms are unicellular algae that are found wherever there is water and sufficient light to stimulate photosynthesis. The cells may be free floating (planktonic) or attached to a substratum (sessile). The diatom cell possesses the property of being able to surround itself with a more or less rigid box-like (like a covered petri dish) skeleton of hydrated silica called a frustule. The classification of diatoms is largely based on frustule form and sculpture. Diatoms range greatly in size from 5 – 2000 μm in length, although most species encountered are in the size range 20 – 200μm. 

Medicine in roots and tubers

Around 1600, Dahlia seeds from Mexico were transported for the first time to try them in Europe. In the beginning, there has been little note. Around 1800 there was more life in the brewery and the plant was pulled into bloom in the Botanical Gardens of Madrid. Later, the plant was seeded and grown in the Botanical Gardens of Berlin.