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Nature

all that is zoology, botanica, ethology, which is not about medicine

How plants defend themselves

2023-10-02T11:51:47+02:0028 July 2023|Categories: Curiosity, Nature|Tags: , , , , , , , |

How plants defend themselves? If there is a way plants can't defend themselves, that's running away. Plants, indeed, they are immobile (although not that much). But then how do they defend themselves from the attack of various parasites, like microorganisms, virus, mushrooms, insects, hungry predators and competition from other plants? Not only, they must also be able to protect themselves from various physical factors and critical conditions, such as a shortage or excess of water, or from excessive sun exposure. Plants have various physical barriers at their disposal, che insieme alla produzione di metaboliti tossici costituiscono dei meccanismi di [...]

How to unplug a lake: the Peigneur lake accident

2023-06-24T18:32:09+02:0024 June 2023|Categories: Nature|Tags: , , , |

Peigneur Lake is a small reservoir located in Louisiana, United States, a few tens of kilometers from the Gulf of Mexico. The whole region is rich in lakes and bodies of water, due to proximity to the large Mississippi Delta, and the fact that this is the deepest lake in Louisiana shouldn't be as shocking as how it has come to be in recent times. Going back in time, At the end of the nineteenth century, a wealthy former actor settled on the shores of the lake, and needing water to irrigate the estate, he decided to dig a well on his property. [...]

The use of plants by prehistoric men: help from sediment palaeogenetics

2024-07-26T23:13:48+02:0016 June 2023|Categories: Curiosity, Medicine and Research, Nature, Technology|Tags: , , |

Le nostre attuali conoscenze sull'utilizzo delle piante da parte della nostra specie durante il Paleolitico (2,5 mln - 12000 Years ago) are documented thanks to fragments of plants, phytoliths and microfossils, as well as biomarkers from food preparation tools and dental calculus, but are quite limited due to the poor preservation of identifiable plant remains and the lack of adequate methods for their detection and identification. However, uno studio internazionale abbastanza recente ci mostra come, grazie all'analisi del DNA conservato nei sedimenti delle grotte (ambienti unici in cui l'effetto completo degli elementi sui materiali [...]

Ticks (and what suits us)

2023-05-31T15:56:17+02:0031 May 2023|Categories: Environment, Nature|Tags: , , |

Certain areas of our country, and of the world at large, every summer they deal with the tick alarm! For a few years though, the spread of these dangerous arthropods is also affecting environments other than those known, the Alpine regions are a sad example of this. Once again, therefore, we find ourselves having to deal with the negative consequences of climate change and the increase in global temperature. But what about climate change with ticks?? And why they are so feared?

Drought: between fiction and sad reality

2023-06-10T17:04:44+02:0027 April 2023|Categories: Environment, Curiosity, Nature|Tags: , , |

"Day 367 of the water crisis in Rome”: It's now been three years since it rained on the capital and, like the sepia background of an exhausted city, even the people who populate it are now drained and enraged. Running water is a luxury of the past, the streets and houses are swarming with cockroaches, the Tiber is completely dry. The emergency situation forced the city to change its rhythms and habits: Water rations are imposed per capita and it is forbidden to attempt to purchase more than is permitted; any type of waste is prohibited, how to wash it [...]

The Great Green Wall: story of a rebirth

2022-06-10T11:41:57+02:006 June 2022|Categories: Nature|Tags: , , , , |

Recent climate change does not have the same impact anywhere in the world. In fact, there are regions that are most affected by its effects., both from a social and economic point of view. In general, we talk about an increase of heat waves, sea level rise and soil aridity, and an increase in diseases transmissible to humans. All of this could get worse in the future and the scenarios are certainly not positive. If we weren't talking about global warming, you could say it doesn't rain but it pours. The worst effects of climate change are in fact seen in developing countries [...]

Are organic products better for the environment?

2022-05-05T09:20:34+02:005 May 2022|Categories: Nature|Tags: , , , |

The increase in awareness of the environment has contributed to the spread of organic products in the last decade, that is, those products grown with organic farming methods that ensure a sustainable choice in the food sector. What is organic? In simple terms: organic practices prohibit the cultivation of genetically modified organisms, both for direct consumption and as animal feed, and the use of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides, or made industrially through chemical reactions. This is an important point: there are fertilizers and pesticides allowed in organic farming, but these are not produced by chemical synthesis ... while remaining full-fledged chemicals. [...]

Workers of death

2021-11-02T18:01:31+01:002 November 2021|Categories: Curiosity, Medicine and Research, Nature|

What happens after death, has always been an object of curiosity for man! The different religions, beliefs and traditions, handed down over the millennia, they tried to imagine an unearthly destiny. But on Earth, instead, what remains? Even scientifically speaking, it can be said that there is life after death! The life in question, however, is not ours, but that of a large corpse fauna. Fear, eh? After death, the decomposition process begins immediately, as the cells no longer receive oxygen and other nutrients that allow them to survive. It follows a process called "autolysis": [...]

The genetics of roses

2021-07-09T17:40:23+02:008 July 2021|Categories: Nature|Tags: , , |

Roses are the most widely grown ornamental plants in the world, also important from an economic point of view in the cosmetic industry. The ornamental features, the therapeutic and cosmetic value have contributed to its domestication but the evolution of the Rosa genus is very complex. The genus Rosa, belonging to the Rosaceae family, contains approximately 200 species, many of which are polyploid, that is, they have multiple chromosomal sets, but only from 8 all 20 species are involved in the cultivation of hybrid roses (Rosa hybrida), among these there is a very important Chinese species known as "Rosa chinensis". These crossings gave birth to the "Rosa tea", [...]

Roommates and quarantine companions

2021-07-02T16:56:46+02:002 July 2021|Categories: Nature|Tags: , , , |

One of the aspects that we miss most in this quarantine is certainly the social one. Video calls partially compensate for this lack, but presence and physical contact are essential. For example for whom, come me, he was two weeks in self-isolation, as returning from abroad, the amazement for the three-dimensionality of loved ones was certainly impressive. A small consolation is that, in addition to our family members, companions and pets, at home we are never alone. There are so many critters! Many of you would probably prefer solitude to the above. Unfortunately, however, you have to be realistic and learn [...]

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