18th Novemeber 2008

11 seps Biology class-  are task was to research the pros and cons of kidney transplant and kidney dialysis. We had to work individually or in groups of twos and threes. After finding our information we created powerpoints to show our ideas.

below is my groups ( Catherine, Damian and Aaron) Presentation

kidney-transplant 

(btw you do not need powerpoint or powerpoint viewer to view this document(!))

Enzymes for Brewing Traditionally production of beer is by mixing crushed barley malt and hot water in large vessel known as mash copper. This process is known as ‘mashing’. Apart from malt, other starch-based cereals such as maize (corn), sorghum, rice and barley, or pure starch itself, are added to the mash. These are known as adjuncts. After mashing, the mash is filtered in a lauter tun and the liquid, known as ’sweet wort’, is then run off to the copper, where it is boiled with hops. The ‘hopped wort’ is cooled and transferred to the fermentation vessels where yeast is added. After the fermentation, the so-called ‘green beer’ is matured before the final filtration and bottling.

Liquefying Adjuncts

Adjuncts are used as an extra source of starch in brewing and usually consist of cereals. Protein also plays a vital role in fermentation by providing soluble nitrogen compounds that the yeast needs. Since the protein proportion in some types of adjunct is very small, it may be necessary to provide extra protein in the wort. This can be done by utilising the protein in the malt more efficiently. By adding a protein splitting (protease) enzyme, more protein can be solubilised and made available to the yeast.

In their natural form, starch­based cereals such as maize grits and rice are boiled before being added to the malt mash. The boiled (gelatinised) cereals are very viscous and need to be thinned (liquefied) before they can be pumped into the mash copper. This is done using an alpha amylase. Heat-stable alpha amylases are also available that are effective even at 100?C to ensure full liquefaction of the starch

Filtration

Slow rate of filtration is generally a problem when the mash is run off in the lauter tun and also during the final filtration of the beer. This is due to the presence of certain polysaccharides, mainly beta­glucans and pentosans, which are found in barley and poorly modified barley malt. The solution is to break down the beta­glucans using a beta­glucanase added during mashing or at the start of the fermentation process.

Maps offers a range of amylases, glucoamylase, proteases for distilling depending on the processes and applications.

WRAP ( Don’t Ask What It Stands For!) and The Composting Association will be encouraging everyone to ‘Green up their Environment’ this Compost Awareness Week, Sunday 4th May to Saturday 10th May. Gardening Celebs such as Charlie Dimmock and Matt James are enthusiastic about supporting WRAP and Compost Awareness Week.

In the next couple of weeks think about what YOU can do to help the planet become a greener place. Liturally! 

When we catch a disease naturally, we usually produce antibodies to the organism that causes it. Antibodies are proteins in the blood which remember the organism which caused the disease, can recognise it and inactivate it when we come into contact with it again. Without us actually experiencing the disease, vaccines teach our body’s immune system to produce antibodies and identify certain potentially infective organisms even though we have never come into contact with them.

Vaccines take various forms:

• Killed or inactivated vaccines are produced by chemically killing or inactivating bacteria or viruses. The now harmless bacteria or viruses, when injected, stimulate the body to produce antibodies, without the individual having to suffer the disease.
• Live vaccines are produced by weakening the ability of the organism to produce disease while retaining its ability to produce immunity.
• Vaccines may be made by identifying and purifying those fragments of the disease-producing organisms that are most import in stimulating antibodies. These fragments may be substances found on the surface of the organism which the immune system recognises or others such as the toxins produced by some bacteria.
• These fragments can also be produced by modifying the genetic material of a totally different cell so that this cell produces copies of these fragments, which can then be purified and used to make a vaccine.

Once adminstered the user is usually protected for life or until a new strain comesabout.

It is hard to say which animal would get this prize. A poisonous animal carries harmful chemicals called toxins. Usually, these toxins are used for defense, and are stored in the skin or in special glands. Compare these creatures to venomous animals, which deliver their toxins by stinging, stabbing, or biting.

Poisonous creatures don’t intend to hurt other creatures, which is why they have bright colors and markings that send a clear message: “Don’t touch!” If a predator ignores that warning, he might not get a second chance. One swallow, or even a little taste testing, and it’s all over. The toxin will stop the heart or lungs from working, and death will follow.

The poison arrow frog and certain salamanders would have to top most people’s list of “The World’s Most Poisonous Animals.” Just two micrograms of toxin from the poison arrow frog is enough to kill a human. A “microgram” is a very small amount. The ink in the period at the end of this sentence will weigh around six micrograms.

What about venomous animals? A good example of defense can be found in stonefish. They store their toxin in gruesome-looking spines that are designed to hurt would-be predators. This homely creature will win no beauty prize, but deserves honor and respect for being “The World’s Most Venomous Fish.”

Toxins also are designed to kill prey or, at least, slow them down. This is the tactic used by many snakes. The prize for “The World’s Most Venomous Snake” goes to the inland taipan of Australia. But the top prize, “The World Most Venomous Animal,” should go to the box jellyfish, which is found in the waters around Asia and Australia. They have long tentacles with stings at the very ends.

Hospitals often carry medicines that work against venom, but treatment has to be very fast to counteract the toxins of these prize-winning creatures.