30th June 2016
We can taste food because the salivary glands in the mouth secrete saliva that mix with the food. Without saliva, we would not know the taste of any kind of food. The chemoreceptors or taste buds need a liquid medium that makes flavours bind into the receptor molecules. For example, if a pinch of salt is put on a dry tongue, it can’t be tasted. The moment it dissolves in saliva, the sensation of taste occurs.
30th June 2016
Tea (Camellia sinensis) is one of the most popular beverages in the world. Tea originated in China, and the modern form of tea taken with milk was developed by the British in India. The British started tea plantations in Assam and Darjeeling in the nineteenth century. Today, India is the second largest tea producer in the world after China.
28th June 2016
‘Fire rainbows’, technically known as circumhorizontal arcs, occur from a spectacular phenomenon in the sky. They are formed by the refraction of sunlight or moonlight on plate-shaped ice crystals in the clouds high up in the sky. They are neither fire nor rainbow, yet are called so because of the vibrant colours that spill out in different directions making them appear like flames.
28th June 2016
Rafflesia arnoldii is a rare flower found in the rainforests of Indonesia. When it blossoms, it produces an extremely unpleasant odour of decaying flesh, earning it the nickname ‘corpse flower’. The foul smell of the flower attracts the carrion fly, its main pollinator.
24th June 2016
Lake Baikal, situated in the south-east Siberia in Russia, is the deepest lake in the world. Known as the Galapagos of Russia, it is one of the richest and diverse repositories of flora and fauna. The depth of Lake Baikal is 1700 metre, making it the deepest lake in the world.
24th June 2016
Heterochromia iridium is a condition in which a person has two differently coloured eyes. This usually occurs due to excess or lack of the pigment melanin in the iris. Heterochromia can be genetic or caused from injury. It is primarily of three kinds depending upon the area of the eye affected.
