Part 1: Yes, you can be a poet! Start writing verses. Here are ten five-liners.

Part 1: Yes, you can be a poet! Start writing verses. Here are ten five-liners.
Abe V Rotor

Get out and write.

1. Foot Bridge

I walked the bridge to its far end and beyond,
And down the river to the sea I cast my pole.
It was a fight I fought, it was no longer game,
And it was neither fish nor dream I caught.

2. Mayon Volcano

Tranquility reigns on her face, rage in her breast,
If beauty exudes best from a spring of force,
I do not wonder at the shyness of a crest,
And the power of a single rose.

3. Artisan

I touched the towering figure and I was touched,
Transported to Gulliver’s land for a moment;
To meet the maker, a simple man from the hills,
Unschooled, yet his burin sings of glorious Greece.

4. Gulliver

Pygmies make giants, for the little man dreams of what he misses.
Humble is he, painstakingly working on his stead,
Until a Genie rises from his hands, mirror of a great soul.
Lo, a pupil I am, doubting my skill, my goal.

5. Children of Nature

Summer’s short, rainy days are long,
And so brief is this imagery;
The young can’t wait, and all along
The scene a blissful memory.

6. A happy lot

For just once the world is mine
With rowdy friends and I,
Happily with a jug of wine,
Words come easy, ‘Aye, Aye!’ ”

7.The other side of progress

Through time, humanity has changed through use
Of its environment for man’s needs through abuse,
From adaptation to modernization,
All in the name of civilization.

8. Youth

Pleasance to you youth, bright as the sun;
The world be at war or be at peace.
Ask not where have all the flowers gone;
Seasons come, and seasons go at ease.

9. Rage

Rage and break, rage and break,
On the cold wall and be free;
Make the sky and the river meet
Under a rainbow by the sea.

10. Drink from my little cup

Rise up from the sea and come down as rain;
rise, rise up and be weaned, to be free;
and if one day the water of the sea is not enough,
drink, drink deep from my little cup.

(Continued)

Part 2: Yes, you can be a poet. Ten verses to study theme, medium and style.

Abe V Rotor

What has this photo do with the verse, Creation?

Develop the verse into a poem. What is your
advocacy or message to your reader?

Creation

How wonderful is creation
when we realize in a minuscule
the universality of the simple
linked to the complex,
where every living thing is part
of life’s interrelating;
like a chain, its strength
shared by each link cooperating.

2. Old Man and Waterfall

He is old now and the cataract is but a spring,
He touches the spring. Where have all the waters gone?
Yes, he sighs with relief, his gaze takes him far away,
And there the last drops of his waterfall meet the sea;
And the sea roars in gladness, roars in a thousand cheers.

3. What makes a man?

What makes a man? Ask not someone who had gone to war,
Chores backbreaking he endured out of childhood sorrow,
Ever patient with the passing and coming of seasons;
Seasoned timber, mind steeled, only to time he yields,
To the young, to the ideal, to a beautiful world.

4. Wisdom comes with age

He who nods when old is wise and deep
Save he by the fireside asleep;
How can the sun reach the hadal depth,
Where the world is cold, where love is dearth?
Hasn’t someone a bit of sun long kept?
Come, come and save the hearth.

5. Freedom

Where the sky and the rivers flow
Under the rainbow by the sea.
Let me flow with thee;
A song I sing along with you
To where the world is free.

6. Learning outside school

Lessons you teach, they don’t find in school,
No words, nor chalk, no talking tall;
Patience, patience, who waits is not a fool,
For his fish whether big or small.
When the sun is up and down -
and up again another time.

7. Brotherhood

Now I know why there is a magic carpet that flies,
For I am witness to a basin with a child,
He made himself a boat, everything he supplied.
Then there are two, three boats, and more,
Filling the pond, the ocean, the world -
Happy children, who, remembering this tale,
Call each other brethren.

8. The man who slept for 20 years

Old Rip van Winkle I’m today,
And longer did I sleep than he;
For too long had I failed to pay
Respect to this land by the sea,
And the treaty of time and me.

9. Seed

Wake up sleeping one;
The soil is fertile, the rain has come,
The fields shall bloom To feed mankind.
Wake up, stir my life, All my intellect, my faith,
That they shall blossom for love as I serve mankind.

10. Ecology Prayer

When my days are done, let me lay down to sleep
on sweet breeze and earth in the shade of trees
I planted in youth and old; and if this were my last,
make, make others live that they carry on the torch,
while my dust falls to where new life begins –
even an atom let me be with you dear Mother Earth. ~

Call of Childhood

Abe V. Rotor

A beautiful world, this scene to the young,
Faces on clouds, kites flying high,
Gleaming proud, resting on the setting sun.
While the trees sing, nests sweetly cry.

If for all the fish and Amihan breeze,
Fields aglow, the call of a songbird -
The clock should come down to hammock’s ease -
Comes a call urging to be heard.

Summer's not enough, transient is the game;
Starts with glee and ends with sigh.
Childhood soon ends, but never its aim,
Not the sky to make the li'l ones cry.

Guardians and mentors - they all before saw
The man, the child of years ago,
Sitting by the pond or climbing a bough,
His kite rising to heaven’s glow. ~

We Can Re-Create the Garden of Eden

We Can Re-Create the Garden of Eden

Dr Abe V Rotor

Arch of the Centuries and Fountain of Knowledge, University of Santo Tomas, Manila

What really make gardens beautiful may draw two schools of thought – Romanticism and Functionalism. But a typical Philippine garden for one does not take side on the issue – it portrays both schools in an integrated, harmonious design patterned after the richest and the most enviable biome on earth – the Tropical Rainforest.

And here are gardens to see - the Sunken Garden of UP Diliman QC at the back of the Oblation, and the UST Botanical Garden along España in downtown Manila. And for more extensive gardens, go to San Fernando La Union Botanical Garden in Cadaclan at the foothills of Cordillera. When picnicking at the Ninoy Aquino Parks and Wildlife Center visit the vegetation along the lakeshore.

There are striking features of a garden. For example at UST, there are man-made waterfalls.  Trace the flow on a meandering rocky stream that ducks under a footbridge before plunging into the depth of a pond, its bottom murky and cool and rich in detritus. Here clams and snails, and other bottom dwellers, mostly decomposers reside, shy from the sun and ensconced in the very food source that settles down. Such is the niche of these sessile, benthos creatures.

A Garden of Algae and Mosses

The running stream at the UP Sunken Garden keeps the environment fresh and cool, lapping on the rocks and sending spray on its banks. Small waterfalls and boulders lay along its path.  Here thick algae and mosses layer after layer form a carpet on which another niche is found - the domain of bryophytes in Lilliputian imagery, or one depicted in the movie, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids.

But the ultimate source of water is the sky, from clouds that gather and grow atop the forest.  Transpiration from trees on one hand and evaporation on the other attract clouds, pulling them down in shower or downpour at anytime of the day or night. It is for this phenomenon that this biome got its name - rainforest.

The garden’s design simulates this condition. The waterfall, streams, a large fountain and a series of ponds maintain high humidity in their environs. High humidity and continuous supply of water are crucial in the formation of multi-storey vegetation and subsequently the presence of a myriad of resident organisms.

An Evolving Ecosystem

It may take years for a new garden to approximate the structure of a typical rainforest. In the process visitors may not be aware of the slow transformation, one sere after another until a climax community is formed, a true measure of it is homeostasis or dynamic balance. The scientific and aesthetic aspects are interesting to study. Inference can be drawn on the viewpoint of ethico-morals that governs man of his role in God’s creation – and the transformation of man himself as one good and faithful steward of the environment.

A botanical garden is thus transforming deliberately like an evolving ecosystem. It is Nature’s laboratory and a playing field of biological diversity.

Drynaria fern on a tree in acrylic AVR

Biological Diversity

1. As a field laboratory the garden demonstrates ecological cycles – invasion, colonization, competition, and emergence of dominant species, as well as seasonal and long-term succession patterns. We may not have the four distinct seasons, but there are tropical trees that demonstrate some temperate characteristics carried by their ancestral genes, such as the deciduousness of narra (Pterocarpus indicus) and talisay (Terminalia catappa) simulating trees in the temperate region that completely lose their leaves at the onset of winter.

2. The garden is a living manifestation of dynamic balance in a changing environment with the organisms constantly adjusting to the demands of the latter, but at the end they also change the environment itself. The transformation process or seres always leads towards homeostasis and the result is the formation of a climax ecological system.

3. As a showcase of natural habitats, the garden adjusts to the development of niches and diversity indices. The garden never sleeps, so to speak. It is an arena and the drama of life goes on and on.

Energy Flow

4. When we look at life, we look at it in the realm of physics and chemistry – the flow of energy through the food chain, food web and their hierarchic order, the food pyramid. The light energy of the sun is transformed into chemical energy by plants through photosynthesis, and is passed on one after another through the links of a chain until the remaining energy reaches the ultimate member – the decomposers that transform organic substances back into inorganic forms so that the next generation of organisms can start all over again. We can  witness this among the residents in the pond, and among insects, arachnids, birds, reptiles, and others that inhabit the garden.

Plant Physiology and Animal Behavior

5. The garden demonstrates physiologic responses of plants - tropisms or reactions to light, touch, and the other elements on one hand, and animal behavior on the other. Why do plants grow tall, while others do not - even if they belong to the same species? Where do toads and frogs hide in summer? How do they survive without food and extreme hot and arid condition?

Dragonflies hover low before a rain. A preying mantis resembles the leaf or flower on which it waits for its prey. These and many more demonstrate intelligence among animals.

6. There are biological indicators of the state of the environment. The garden has a host of these indicators such as lichens and fireflies. The presence of both attest to the pristine condition of the environment and clean of air around. The garden itself is a barometer of El Niño. There are bamboo species that produce flowers at the onset of the cyclical phenomenon.

Balete trees atop a church ruin, Magsingal Museum, Ilocos Sur.

Gene Bank

7. The garden is a sanctuary of wildlife. In spite of the crowded environment and high-rise buildings around, a garden is always with butterflies. Some people say, if you see butterflies there must be a garden nearby. It is because the garden is their natural abode with plants they feed on and rear their young. The ponds and streams are a sanctuary of dragonflies as well, and their waters teem with both phytoplankton and zooplankton that students in biology can study with the use of microscope.

8. As a gene bank, the garden is a depository of biological diversity, providing access to genetic studies, propagation and exchange with other institutions. A garden must aim at expanding its collection of species, even those that are thought to be weeds and volunteer plants. In many ways nature is the principal architect of biodiversity. Birds, water and wind carry seeds into the garden. When we design the garden we follow Nature rules. For example, plants are classified according to water regime, type of growth, sunlight requirement, seasonality, etc.

9. In another article I wrote, I mentioned about the garden as a microcosm of the biosphere, the pond a minuscule of a lake – and now, the new the garden is a replica of the Tropical Rainforest.

10. This miniature replica of a Tropical Rainforest, where living organisms – macroscopic and microscopic – live in a state of unity and harmony is man’s way of redeeming a lost Paradise. There is more than just romanticism and functionalism, not even human imagination can describe it. Indeed we can re-create a Garden of Eden is some little corner of the Earth, the greatest offering we can make to the Creator who gave us the capacity to build it. ~

Environment: Bacteria are getting more and more resistant to antibiotics

Structure of a typical bacterial cell. Photo credit: Biology of Microorganisms Prentice-Hall

Dr Abe V Rotor

When Alexander Fleming discovered antibiotics in the early 19th century, the world rejoiced on this wonder drug that was to become the most effective cure against infection – from skin inflammation to tuberculosis.

What is this wonder drug, antibiotics? Antibiotics refers to any material that destroys or inhibits the growth of pathogens. It may be derived from fungi such as Pennicillin notatum, the mold Fleming accidentally found, to natural substances present in plants such as allicin and aliin in garlic, Allium sativum. Today antibiotics are available in many kinds and brands, many of which have the ending “mycin” like streptomycin and erythromycin.

Antibiotics saved countless lives during the Second World War. It brought hope to patients suffering of then incurable diseases such as venereal diseases, small pox and leprosy.

When antibiotics were first used as chemotherapy following successful experiments against infectious diseases, the problem of creating antibiotic-resistant bacteria was never considered seriously. The fact is that bacteria, like other organisms, have the ability to develop resistance against certain substances, especially if these are repeatedly used. This is the same principle to explain the buildup of immunity of insects to insecticide, thus next time you spray mosquitoes or cockroaches, you `need a higher concentration – or a more potent pesticide.

Biological Specialization

Imagine a population of bacteria crowding an injured tissue. Ideally the application of an antibiotic will wipe out the entire population. But this is not so. In the process there are survivors. These survivors pass on their acquired resistance to their progeny. To eradicate them you need to apply a dose higher that the previous one - or shift to another kind that is more potent. As this is repeated over and over, one can imagine the amount of resistance gained by the bacteria.

Thus we hear doctors prescribing higher dosages, say from 200 to 400 mg per dose, or extending the treatment of the disease. In many occasions doctors prescribe different antibiotics that are purposely more potent. Today we know of “second generation” antibiotics that offer the solution to bacteria, which can no longer be treated, by the antibiotics in the first generation or penicillin group.

Self- Medication Creates Resistant Bacteria

The emergence of resistant microbes is exacerbated by self-medication since many antibiotics are available over the counter. Any symptom of infection, whether viral or bacterial, is immediately confronted with antibiotics.

Wrong. Antibiotics are not effective against viruses. They are designed principally against bacteria. Therefore, influenza cannot be treated with antibiotics; it is the secondary infection by bacteria that the doctor targets when administering antibiotics. And there is a prescribed dosage for it and period of treatment. The condition of the patient at this time makes him prone to bacterial infection that principally attacks the respiratory system.

Media is part to blame for the overuse and misuse of antibiotics.

Imagine an advertisement showing the helplessness of patients who are not attended immediately with antibiotics. A scratch needs antibiotics. Sore eye for whatever is the cause must be treated with antibiotics. Zealousness over sanitation in the office, home, hospitals, includes the use of many kinds of germ-killing compounds and materials. Antibiotics are part of our every life. I overhead some guys taking antibiotics before spending a night in the red district. It is as if the prefix, anti, is an assurance of protection.

Mechanics of Resistance Acquisition

The rapidly increasing incidence of drug resistance is now recognized worldwide as a serious threat to the treatment of life-threatening infections in both humans and animals. Antibiotic resistance can emerge as a result of genetic change and subsequent selection process through the use of anti-microbial drugs. The initial appearance of a resistant bacterium in a susceptible population is often caused by mutation in a single bacterial gene. The frequency of such initial mutation may be low, occurring at a rate of one mutation in a population of several millions.

However, other bacteria can become antibiotic resistant at a much higher frequency merely by acquiring a gene from a bacterium that is already resistant. The genes for resistance can be transmitted or passed on from one organism to another by transformation, conjugation and transduction.

To illustrate, here are the three phases of development of resistant bacteria.

(A)

Mutation of a single gene in one member

of a population of millions of bacteria

(B)

A bacterium can acquire the mutant gene

(C)

The gene for resistance can be transmitted pr passed on from one

organism to another by transformation, conjugation or transduction

By all means let's maintain good health because good health is the most effective and practical assurance against disease. Let us not resort to self-medication, and this includes all kinds of medicine. The necessity of taking antibiotics is determined only by a medical doctor.

Resistant Bacteria in Gastro-intestinal Tract of Meat Eaters

If you are a meat eater, chances are you are harboring bacteria that are resistant to antibiotics.

In her doctoral dissertation at the University of Santo Tomas, Vicky Concepcion Mergal found out that drug-resistant strains of Enterobacter and Escherichia coli found in the gastrointestinal tract is related indirectly to ingestion of meat conditioned to antibiotics, or its combined effect with exposure to medication in cases of infectious diseases. How do we explain this findings?

The respondents in the study of Dr. Mergal are of two categories. One group consists of vegetarians and the other group of non-vegetarians or regular meat eaters. For the first group, the incidence of finding drug-resistant bacteria is very little. But in the second group – the meat eaters – the existence of drug resistant Enterobacter and E. coli is high.

The root cause: overuse of antibiotics in poultry and sivestock

Dr. Mergal’s adviser, Dr. Irineo Dogma, has the explanation why there is higher incidence of bacteria in the gastrointestinal tract of non-vegetarians because of their intake of meat. As a background to this contention, poultry, hogs and livestock are given consistently high ration of antibiotics in their feeds. This is to safeguard the animals from possible outbreak of diseases, which are a threat to business. Imagine a whole ranch wiped out by foot-and-mouth disease, or a battery of chicken with corriza, or a commercial piggery with scouring. Huge investments must therefore be protected with antibiotics even if the animals do not actually need it. It is because they have their own defense mechanism - natural immunity.

Resistance to antibiotics among bacteria is built this way. Repeatedly, more and more of these resistant strains develop, thus necessitating further increase in antibiotic dosage, or change to more potent antibiotics. What happens to the residue of the antibiotics in the body of the animal, or in eggs and milk?

Residual Antibiotics in Bad to Our Health

When we eat the meat, eggs and milk we are introducing into our body the antibiotic residues that our body does not need. In fact, its presence makes our immune system idle, so to speak. In the event that the supply of antibiotic residues stops, we become predisposed to infection and related kinds of disease because of the presence of resistant bacteria in our body. This explains the findings of Dr. Mergal, as well as the puzzling high rate of death due to infection – in spite of antibiotic treatment.

This leads us to recall the term, superbacteria and superbugs. These are the doings of man, his interference with nature, and abuses often in the guise of progress. I have the inkling that nature has its own ways of dealing with the folly and abuses of man, and one of them is the emergence of resistant organisms that threatens man himself. ~

Environment and Health: Perk Up Your Love Life

Environment and Health: 

Perk Up Your Love Life

Dr Abe V Rotor 

Keep tradition alive - it adds quaintness to love life

1. A natural clock governs every person in his system. This is often referred to as biological rhythm. Although there is a general plan on how this internal clocks works, no two persons are tuned in to the same pattern - not even husband and wife. Try to live by your own biorhythms and learn to adjust with those of our partner.

2. Recognize your moods and energies that change with the time of the day and night, with months and seasons.

3. Lovemaking is mutually fulfilling when both partners have synchronized biorhythms. Generally human body is dynamic that it can reset itself daily and adapt to the changes in the environment.

4. The foundation of a full and sustained sex life is made up of proper diet, avoidance of toxic materials and vices, a regular physical exercise regime, positive attitude, adherence to morals and culture norms. Love and sex is a celebration on top of a pyramid built on this foundation.

5. Food, Rest, Exercise and sunlight = Health (FRESH). This formula is easy to remember. Watch out for the food that you take. Eat health foods, and avoid those in the list of Don’t Eat which your family doctor gave you. A vegetarian is healthier and lives longer.

6. There is no substitute to adequate sleep. Maintain a healthy sleeping habit. Take a rest between heavy schedules, and avoid buildup of tension. Relax. Exercise regularly within your natural capacity. Do not over exercise. .

7. Sunlight perks you up, breaks monotony, and takes out the blues in your life. It makes us closer to nature, and takes us to outdoor adventure. All these make a happy love life with your partner.

8. Sexual expression is not restricted to estrus periods or seasons of the year. Humans have the ability to match their sexual desires with their moods and feelings. Hormones influence, but not dictate, sex life.

9. Meaningful spiritual love and emotional feelings multiply the ecstasy of physical pleasure.

10. A woman’s menstrual cycle dictates her sexual moods. They feel sexiest at the midpoint of their menstrual cycle.

11. There are people who are sexier in the morning than at night. There are also those who feel sexier in summer than during cool months, or vice versa.

12. There are times when men become sexier and this is indicated by rapid growth of their beard.

13. Studies show that the most active time for sexual activity is in the evening, but lovemaking at this time is poor since the androgens (love hormones) are low. (They are highest between 8 to 12 a.m., and lowest at 6p.m.) Evening is convenient to most working people. If this is not enough, make up for it during weekends.

14. Reduce meal size as the day progresses and avoid high calorie snacks in the evening. But do not skip breakfast or lunch. Carbohydrates help calm and focus the mind. Protein food boosts mental energy, but avoid fatty foods when you want to be mentally alert.

15. When planning out an active evening, like going to a concert, holding a party, or having a date, reduce your dinner, with protein food preferred over fatty and carbohydrates food. Coffee makes you awake, and drinking may delay your regular bedtime or makes you fall asleep. If you want to wake up refreshed and alert do not take alcohol in the evening before.

16. An enduring and fulfilling love life is one that is shared together by husband and wife. Here are the basic elements essential to a lifelong relationship: trust and confidence, empathy (feeling with the other person), marriage (sex outside marriage cannot remain meaningful and does not usually last).

17. Stay in touch with your creative side. Use your right brain – the seat of creativity – more often. Let your left brain – the seat of reason – rest for a while. Paint, draw, write verses, sing.

18. Sex can become monotonous especially with modern life. Many people find little time to express tender love with sex. They employ a number of ways to vary their sexual expression as not merely satisfying a desire, feeling relieved and exhausted afterward - or just for the sake of giving in to their partner. Many more miss the spiritual element of lovemaking, whereby the act is a means to sustain a passionate emotion from which follow exhilaration, and a great feeling of satisfaction.

19. Share your jokes. Laughing together is a great bonding experience. Start a casual conversation or talk with a joke. Diffuse the electric atmosphere. Break the ice, so to speak with humor.

20. Laugh together. Light up the years. Reinvigorate. You can be young again. It is in the heart. Make up for the lost time you should have been together as a couple. Have a date, perhaps a second honeymoon, now that the children are at their own.

Living with Nature 3, AVR. Reference, Love, Life and Nutrition by B Jensen

Lesson on former Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid with Ms Melly C Tenorio
738 DZRB KHz AM Band 8 to 9 evening Monday to Friday

Cockroaches eat on anything - almost.

Abe V Rotor

American cockroach (Periplaneta americana)

Being omnivorous, cockroaches voraciously consume all kinds of materials that are rich in carbohydrates, proteins, fats and oils.

But when these are not available they turn to unlikely food sources like soap, photographic film, clothes, wood and even drugs. In fact they even turn into predators, devouring other insects, and sometimes biting people in their sleep. Their bite often gets swollen and infected. Cockroaches are found in all places where humans live and conduct his trade, commerce and industry. Only rats can be compared with the tenacity of the cockroach.

The cockroach has very powerful digestive enzymes: proteases digest protein, invertase breaks complex sugar, and amylase breaks starches. Its saliva contains powerful enzymes coming from the gastric caeca, while the Malphigian tubules secrete an enzyme that is equally disgusting. It is no wonder that just a single drop of frass (feces) can spoil a whole pot of rice by its obnoxious smell.

By the way there are three most common species that we encounter in the home and public places.

• American cockroach or Periplaneta americana (large, rust red with a yellow band across its thorax),
• German cockroach or Blatta germanica (pale yellow, only one-third the size of the American species) and
• Oriental cockroach or Blatta orientalis (dark brown to black, the biggest and filthiest of all cockroaches.)

Meticulous sanitation is the best way to get rid of cockroaches. To keep their population down, sprinkle carbamate (Sevin) on the kitchen floor, pathways and possible hideout of the pest, preferably before retiring at night. Keep doors and screens properly closed to prevent entry of the insect.

Sweep the dead cockroaches, and leave the powder for another day or two - or until you don't find any dead cockroach in the morning.

Cockroaches are eco-indicators. Their presence speaks of untidy condition of the place. ~

Environment and Biology : Part 1 - The Criteria of Life (When do we say a thing is living?)

Dr Abe V Rotor

The Coral Reef is sanctuary of "living fossils" Painting in acrylic by AVR

All of us may have witnessed in one or many occasions the transformation of the landscape when the first monsoon rains finally put an end to a long, hot summer.

The hills and the mountains begin to turn green; the fields come to life with frogs croaking, mudfish or dalag emerging from their encrusted abode, and herons hovering over the paddies. It is a moment of rejoice, a new beginning of life.

Let us analyze the scenario in the context of biology.

As the landscape turns from brown to green let us examine the germinating seeds, the young plants and the new shoots of shrubs and trees. What brought them suddenly to life? What broke the dormancy of buds of stems and tubers and made them sprung to life? What loosened the soil and made the sleeping seeds germinate'? Where did the mushrooms come from? And mosses carpeting the rocks? This scenario depicts one most appropriate to call “a celebration to life."

Here we see that the monsoon brought in the life giving substance that no other planet within our knowledge possesses - water. With water, the nutrient in the soil are released and made available to plants and animals. Water feeds the brooks and rivers and on its way down to the sea, wakes up the aestivating organisms, releasing them from their prison of mud crust.

Animals respond to the favorable change in season, and now they have food to eat. They emerge from their lair and soon move to new places, mate and multiply. Among the first organisms to dominate the fields are insects that will soon become food of birds, and fishes. Food chains are restored and new ones are built which in turn will form food webs and food pyramids.

This is a microcosm of a web of life simultaneously taking place in many parts of the world at a particular time. It is the essence of changing seasons that influences the living world. The elements of the physical world determine the kind of life that exists in a place, and how its diverse forms interact among themselves and with their immediate environment.

Biology, the Science of Living Things

We are studying biology, from the Greek word bios meaning "life", and logus, meaning study or "science of”. The scenarios we presented could well be traced to early man visioning his environment, and not only to students and scientists. But more than mere curiosity to know what was happening, our ancestors were more interested on plants and animals that relate to his survival. We can then say that biology to early man was an applied form as he searched for food and shelter, sought for cure from plants, and later, as he domesticated plants and animals he found useful to him and the settlement he built.

We have been mentioning the term life. What really is life? When do we say a thing is alive? It is possible that there are non- living things that exhibit certain properties attributed to living things. For example, there are rocks and stones that "grow," but their increase in size is by accretion and not by any biological means. Even those that exhibit life-like functions like viruses, according to scientists, are not living things even if they possess fragments of genetic materials that enable them to stay inside living cells.

The best way to determine whether a thing is alive or not is to follow these criteria which are fundamental properties shared by all living things. They are the following:

1. Molecular organization
2. Hierarchical organization
3. Metabolism
4. Reproduction
5. Development
6. Heredity

Let us take up these criteria one by one. Living things, without exception, are made up of large, complex organic molecules which are of four kinds, namely, carbohydrates, protein, lipids and nucleic acids.

Molecular Organization Based on
Four Basic Organic Compounds

Let us imagine the scenario after the first heavy rain and relate how these compounds became products of the newly germinated plants. The first product of photosynthesis is simple sugars which are then assembled into carbohydrates, calorie-rich food passed on through the food chain. Thus it is called "go" food.

Proteins, on the other hand, are built from amino acids produced through a series of chemical reactions in the cells. They are the building blocks of the cells and tissues, and equally important is their role as enzymes. We eat protein-rich food often referred to as "grow" food.

Lipids on the other hand, are components of fat and oil which are actually reserve food, and chief material that makes up the cell membranes. If we look under a special microscope the inside of a nucleus of every living cell, be it plant or animal - or protist for that matter - we find chromosomes which contain the genes. The genes in turn contain nucleic acids that constitute the code in transmitting hereditary characters from one generation to the next.

These four types of molecules are found all living things and are basically the same in both plants and animals, except in certain molecules which differ in form and configuration such as the case of enzymes. It is no wonder then to see plants and animals, and unicellular organisms, sharing with one another these compounds through the food chain and food web in which they are a part. We recall the second scenario after the first heavy rain when plants and animals have established themselves ecologically. The key to renewal of life is in the universality of these four organic substances in the living world. (Continued)

Part 2: The Criteria of Life (When do we say a thing is living?)

Dr Abe V Rotor
Living with Nature - School on Air

Binding of virus with host cell, initial step

Adenovirus, Obesity is suspected to be caused by this type of virus (Ad-36), lower photo. The virus is not considered by biologists as a living organism because it cannot meet all the criteria of life.

Hierarchical Organization: Organelles to Organ- System

Let us imagine a ladder with four rungs. Cells make up the bottommost rung, tissues occupy the second, while the third is made up of organs, and finally the topmost rung comprises of the organ-systems. Since many cells make up a tissue, and tissues make up an organ, and several organs make an organ-system. The ladder in our mind has a broad base tapering at the top.

At the top are the "higher" plants such as the mango and "higher" animals such a Philippine eagle - or man, himself. The more complex an organism is, the more developed are its organs and organ-systems. The circulatory system in man, for example, consists of a pumping organ - the heart, and a network of blood vessels with specialized functions, locations, size and structure, through which blood flows. Whereas the circulatory system of an insect consists merely of a simple pumping organ and blood that openly circulates in the body cavity.

But what about the unicellular organisms - the protists and monerans? Do the paramecium and euglena for example, also have organs?

We do not call their body parts organs, but rather organelles, since these parts are confined in their single-cell body structure. They are "organs" of the cell.

To illustrate, the amoeba ingests food with its pseudopodia (false feet), and is stored and consequently digested in food vacuoles. Here the pseudopodia are organelles for locomotion and ingestion, while the food vacuoles are the organelles that function like a digestive system.

Community to Ecosystem

Another hierarchical organization in the biological world maybe similar imagined as another ladder, but in this case, the lowest rung consist of the organism, followed on the next rung by the population of that organism, which together with the population of other organisms form a community. Communities form ecosystems, and ecosystems make up the biosphere which constitutes all parts of the earth where life exists.

In the physical world we also realize the existence of a hierarchy of atoms of an element, which join to produce molecules of a compound which resulted in the combination of a compatible element. These molecules combine to produce macromolecule, which brings us back to our study of carbohydrates, proteins lipids and nucleic acids.

We wonder if the course of evolution, looking at the hierarchical organization of organisms, a cell might have "deviated" and "emerged" from its own organization, hence became an independent unicellular organism, a protist or a moneran. On the other hand, could it be that a group of independent cells united and "emerged" into an organ, which became the precursor of a prototype multicellular organism? Evolutionists believe in both. This is true to certain facultative bacteria to demonstrate the first case, and to the Poriferans - the sponges- for the second.

And yet we know that certain protozoans have developed affinity to their host, and vice versa, that together they are almost integral as one. This is the case of the termite and its protozoan-symbionts living in its digestive system. Could we consider another case whereby certain cells or tissues "deviate" from their structure and function, if and when the conditions of their existence and well-being are threatened? If such a deviation is dictated by a primitive evolutionary archetype, then we are looking into a new field of research about cancer.

Metabolism: Acquisition and Expenditure of energy

All organisms, with no exception, needs energy. How they acquire it distinguishes four groups of organisms, namely:

1. Photosynthesizers - Plants, algae and Eubacteria or BGAs, formerly known as blue- green algae.

2. Chemosynthesizers - Sulfur bacteria

3. Herbivores and carnivores - predators, foragers, parasites, and most animals, including man.

4. Saprophytes - carcass feeders and decomposers, mainly fungi and archaeobacteria, and many protists.

The distinction of each kind is not well defined. We know that there are organisms which obtain their energy by not only one means. The Euglena for example, obtains energy in three ways, namely, by photosynthesis (it has chloroplasts), by feeding on microscopic algae (herbivore), and by ingesting dead organic matter: (saprophyte). Man is both herbivore and carnivore, or in short, omnivore. There are bacteria that are parasitic; they cause diseases, at the same time decomposers.

Thermodynamics in Biology

Organisms expend energy to carry out various life processes. We call this respiration or catabolism (destructive metabolism) as distinguished from anabolism (constructive metabolism, or energy acquisition). All organisms are governed by the law of thermodynamics, which principally explains the transformation of energy from one form to another, as it is passed on from one organism to another through the food chain. Solar energy is transformed into chemical energy (sugar), and the organism that feeds on this sugar releases it into mechanical energy, heat energy, or a kind of electrical energy which makes nerve cells and brain cells function. In all organisms, energy is stored, transformed, and converted through a complex bio- chemical process involving the compound adenosine tri-phosphate or ATP which releases the energy, while its counterpart, adenosine di-phosphate (ADP) absorbs energy, both compounds working in a synchronized cycle.

Reproduction

When does reproduction start? Let us look at it this way. On the part of unicellular organisms, a simple fission or budding is itself reproduction. In higher organisms, reproduction means the birth of one or more individuals. The union of gametes or fertilization precedes this. In plants, reproduction may be by cutting, grafting and other vegetative means. And in a very rare case like in certain insects, an immature individual may produce young even without reaching maturity, which is called paedogenesis, a rare phenomenon in the living world which demonstrates the possibility of "virgin" birth.

On the cellular level, cells divide as the organism grows develops, and reproduces. For somatic or body cells, cell division is called mitosis, while in the reproductive organs or gonads, cell division which results in the production of male or female gametes is called meiosis.

Growth and Development

When we talk of growth and development, which are two biological processes intertwined, we have in mind the illustration of a life cycle. That illustration maybe a circle divided into parts, each part representing a phase.

It may be a square to emphasize the four-stage development of say, a butterfly or a triangle, which is represented by organisms undergoing simple metamorphosis. Arthropods like shrimps and spiders have only three stages in their life cycle - egg, young, and adult.

In plants, algae and other protists, we encounter the term, alternation of generation. It is worth to mention that algae and the lower plants, for example, are dimorphic - sporophyte and gametophyte - so that their life cycle is made up of two parts. A living thing, no matter how simple, changes throughout its life span, growing in size, duplicating its parts as this is necessary in duplication.

Heredity and Genetics

All living organisms, modem and primitive, carry a genetic code, which is passed on from one generation to the next, the DNA. The DNA is the plantilla of organisms so that their offspring will carry the characteristics of the parents. The vehicle of this genetic code is the gene. The genes on the other hand, are built in larger structures called chromosomes. The science that deals with the study of heredity is genetics. Today's genetics encompasses such revolutionary techniques as genetic engineering and cloning.

Response and Adaptation

All living organisms respond to the conditions of the environment in which they live in two ways. First, is day-to-day response as the organism undergoes through its life cycle, as influenced by weather, biological rhythms, and the like. The second is a long-term response called adaptation. Harsh changes of the environment may force organisms to adopt to such conditions, otherwise they perish. The survivors carry the acquired characters and pass them on their offspring. Over time these characters may be accumulated, ultimately setting the conditions of evolution in which case new species may arise, a process called speciation. This is the basis of the Darwinian principle of evolution summarized in a very simple phrase, “survival of the fittest".

Re-creating Life through DNA

While we look at these criteria to guide us in differentiating living and nonliving things, we cannot help picture in our mind "Jurassic Park" which showed the possibility of re- creating a long dead if not extinct organisms from its DNA imprints. If this will be true in the future, then life would assume a new dimension, and therefore a new definition. We would think of the day when organisms or tissues "sleeping" in cryonics laboratories would be brought to life, in a similar way the DNA of a dinosaur was reconstructed to life.

But whatever breakthroughs about life that science and technology shall bring, we do recognize that there is but one and only source - an Omnipotent Being – who is the Author of life, the Creator of all living things, and the Maker of the whole universe. ~

NOTE: This lesson provides a framework for further studies in biology and related studies. On the other hand, it can be simplified for basic instruction.

Hantik - Green Tree Ant: A Classical Case of Social Behavior

Nest of Green Tree Ants

Abe V Rotor

“Go to the ant sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise.” (Proverbs, Chapter 6, 6-8)

“Hantik!” my friend cried in panic and pain as he hurriedly abandoned the fruit laden mango tree fighting off dozens of golden brown ants clinging on his skin and clothes. He had trespassed into a nest of green tree ants, Oecophylla smaragdina, and now the colony had broken into a swarm. I had my share of the bites and stings as I helped my friend repel the insects. Well, boys are boys, but this gave us a lasting lesson, and for me it opened a door to my career as an entomologist.

Years after when I put up residence in a middle-class subdivision in Quezon City I came across the world of this enigmatic organism once more. This time it came to live with my family. It built nests on two towering trees, ilang-ilang (Cananga odorata) and talisay (Terminalia catappa) which stand on the front yard and across the fence on the sidewalk, their long and thick branches virtually forming one huge crown. There is no escape from the ants; not the garden, the pond, clotheslines and pathways.

No one likes to live with a pest anyway. So I hired a woodcutter who claimed to have been responsible for cutting down some of the oldest balete trees (Ficus benjamina) on ghostly Balete Drive. (Remember the white lady stories?) Armed with bolo and salt allegedly to drive evil spirits, he climbed the talisay tree. Hardly had he began cutting the main branches when the colony of ants broke loose. It was exactly a repeat performance of that incident which happened forty years ago. My plan was abandoned, and I realized my intention was carrying a residue of prejudice.

In the study of insects (entomology), insects are classified into beneficial and destructive species. Honeybees and silkworm are classical examples of the good insects, while the plant-eating and parasitic ones are considered as bad ones. But to ecologists without insects there can be no true balance in the biosphere. What that suggests is the universal idea that every living thing has a place and purpose in this planet. But where does the hantik belong?

It is difficult to pass judgment unless the facts about this insect are presented. Ants are among the most successful evolutionary creatures. They did not only survive millions of years as groups but have, in fact, together with bees, reached the highest evolutionary level - Order Hymenoptera of the largest phylum of animals (Arthropoda). The secret of this success is closely linked with their social life which has fascinated man. Insects inspired autocratic societies, such as those founded on feudalism and dictatorship. Definitely, the caste system where members are categorized according to function, was structured following that of ants, bees and termites.

Basis of Social Behavior

Social scientists and biologists believe that social behavior among living things have a biological basis. The genes which carry the double helix deoxyribose nucleic acid (DNA) control social behavior. That is why social life models somehow follow that of other species. To sociobiologists, led by EO Wilson of Harvard, this is also true with humans. A proof of this is that our history is rich with autocratic cultures and civilizations, among which are the great Egyptian civilization, Roman Empire, Chinese Civilization and other civilizations of the Aztecs, Mayans, and American Indians.

In our age of biotechnology, scientists are looking at the possibility of isolating the gene that controls social behavior in insects which can be spliced into the genes of other organisms in order to make them socially cohesive or adaptable to specific cultural conditions. The same gene may be responsible for dictating the sex of individual organisms and even populations. The basis of this thesis is that worker ants and bees are infertile females, predetermined in their immature stage. With this knowledge, genetic engineering may be able to develop techniques of mass extermination of destructive insects by modifying their sex. Already, in the case of tilapia (plapla), sex reversal (hormonal change) has been the key for preventing overpopulation and competition, and in improving weight gain.

On the practical side, ants are natural predators. They kill other insects, even those much bigger than themselves, as food. Their presence in our yard has caused the disappearance of most garden pest: caterpillars, termites and even other kinds of ants like the red fire ants (Solenopsis geminata rufa) which herd and milk aphids and mealybugs. No, the hantik is not a symbiont of destructive insects of any kind. They are nature’s sweepers and janitors. They carry off morsels and leftovers which would otherwise attract flies and other vermin.

What triggers swarming other than perceived assault? I have seen members coming to the rescue of wounded members, or to carry their dead while the rest is alerted for defense or assault. I have observed advance parties exploring new territories, ants that tap the nest to warn the colony of danger, and those which weave nests by clamping the edges of leaves together, and fastened with a sticky secretion of larvae.

When the prey is big, an army is set in place to tear it down in due time. In peaceful times members form a column toward a food source, each carrying a bit to their granary. But always, there is the courteous “kissing”, their antennae tapping and touching, mandible-to-mandible, or head-to-hind, and all in some kind of frenzy and spontaneity. Pheromone, the chemical that binds members and the royalty (queen) together, is transferred and shared this way.

According to Klaus Dumpart of JW Goethe University, several substances work together in raising alarm. One alarm triggering secretion comes from the mandible gland which includes hexanol. Just the scent of this complex substance can be picked up and interpreted by the members. Apart from this secretion, formic acid is secreted by the Dufour gland found at the posterior part of the abdomen. It serves both as pheromone and poison. The ant injects this poison into the victim when it stings. To paralyze a prey or fight an enemy, an ant bites tenaciously with a pair of huge mandibles, while at the same time, injecting poison with a retractable needle at its posterior end.

Extracts from the glands of ants and bees are useful in medicine for the cure of arthritis and rheumatism. Although induced stinging on affected area of the skin and joints of people suffering of acute arthritis is not new, the growing popularity of alternative medicine has even made the practice available in a number of US hospitals and clinics.

It is interesting to know that the eggs and larvae of hantik are gathered for food (it is cooked adobo style), and it is claimed to be an aphrodisiac, according to barrio folk in Abra. This is also a common practice in tropical rainforests in Asia and in the savannahs of Africa where these ants abound.

I look back the nest of the hantik ants without culinary designs nor a residue of a past painful experience, and I think of them now as good neighbors. If, for any reason I receive a sting or two, I complain not, for I believe that sting is good for the heart. Hantik ants prove to be very friendly and cooperative. Pavlov is right after all. ~

Energy, A Self-Administered Test (Modified True or False, 50 Items)

Dr. Abe V Rotor and Ms Melly Tenorio
Paaralang Bayan sa Himpapawid (School-of-Air) DZRB 738 KHzAM 8-9pm Monday to Friday
Linked with Living with Nature - School on Blog avrotor.blogspot.com

Wind is the second most abundant energy on earth. Wind turbine in Bangui, Ilocos Norte.
One turbine can generate enough electricity

Here is a practical set of questions to guide you in teaching general science, in helping you answer some of the most common queries about energy. You may download this lesson, print, share with your family and friends. You may come up with a term paper based on this lesson. The answers are provided at the end of the lesson.

1. You need less energy to boil water on the lowland (sea level) than on the highland (mountaintop).

2. When water boils at sea level, and you want to increase the temperature, all you need to do is burn more fuel, and even prolong it.

3. The temperature of boiling water inside a pressure cooker can be raised above 100ºCelsius.

4. It is cooler on the mountain top than on the lowland, because the air is thinner.

5. One-half of the fossil fuels we use for heating, in generating electricity, and running our machines is actually lost; it’s really a waste of energy.

6. All over the world, the contribution of each of these main energy sources is as follows: oil and gas 35 %, coal 60%, nuclear 5%.

7. Worldwide, eighty (80) percent of energy used for cooking comes from firewood.

8. Under normal condition, firewood smoke is generally harmless to health and the environment. If fact smoke from firewood drives pest and other vermin, induces flowering and fruiting of fruit trees.

9. The most popular local firewood comes from madre de cacao (Gliricida sepium) and ipil-ipil (Leucaena glauca).

10. Firewood farming can be integrated into the forestry program, mixed tree farming, strip and contour farming. It helps reduce erosion and siltation.

11. SALT means Sloping Agricultural Land Technology, a program of the DA and DENR to protect our hillsides and uplands.

12. Forests, irrespective of its kind and location, increase supply of O², absorb CO² from the air, create a mini-climate, attract cloud and increase rainfall.

13. Biofuel refers to energy derived from farm wastes, oil from plants such as Jatropha, consuelda, castor bean, lumbang, bitaog, and the like.

14. Gasohol or alcogas is a mixture of ethanol and kerosene.

15. Proper car maintenance includes observing "carless day," planned route, and car pool.

16. There will be one billion cars in the world by 2018. There are some 600 million cars in the world today which consume 20 million barrels of oil a day.

17. Driving at a speed of 100 kph on NLEX is more economical than driving at 80 kph.

18. New sails for sea vessels are being developed – but this is not significant to reduce energy consumption of sea vessels which would rather run on fuel.

19. House plan and design should be environment friendly, low in energy consumption, and easily and economical maintenance.

20. Surging energy of the sea - waves, tides, differential heat and salt content, ocean currents – are just dreams as alternative energy sources.

21. Practice recycling not only to reduce waste, but energy consumption as well.

22. Austerity in electric energy consumption is necessary. The cost of electric energy in the Philippines is one of the highest the world. Ironically our GDP per capita is among the lowest.

23. The world continues to build new nuclear power plants, in spite of the Chernobyl (Kiev) and Fukushima (Japan) nuclear accidents. US and Sweden have recently built new ones.

24. The next generation of cars will be powered by electricity. Just plug battery to charge overnight for next day's use of the car.

25. Energy of falling water is also called gravitational energy. Hydroelectric plants make use of this principle.

26. SWIP means Small Water Impounding Project is self contained for small communities which provide electricity, recreation and irrigation.

27. Energy efficiency in agriculture and industry is crucial in attaining sustainable productivity.

28. Green movement includes greening of city lawns and rooftops, installation of portable solar panels and wind mills, using green charcoal, designing buildings and houses with low-energy requirement.

29. Some 1 million cars are manufactured everyday, 80 percent are sold in developed countries.

30. The old Dutch windmills are coming back in the form of wind power farms. (Remember the windmill Don Quijote fought in Miguel de Cervantes’ novel – Don Quijote?)

31. Ethanol comes from sugarcane, sugar beets and root crops (cassava). One objection to biofuels is direct competition between food and fuel, thus affecting food supply and nutrition, particularly to poor countries.

32. Home biogas generators are mostly found in China and India. We have in the Philippine a commercial biogas model at the Madamba Maya Farms in Rizal.

33. These are some uses of solar energy: reflected light (mirror concentrator) to generate electricity, desalination for potable and irrigation water, direct drying, solar panels, solar battery/cell.

34. Among the alternative sources of oil which are being investigated in the light of spiraling oil price, are the following species of Family Euphorbiaceae, to which the rubber tree belongs.
• Soro-soro (Euphorbia neriifolia),
• Gatas-gatas (E. pilulifera),
• Consuelda (E. tirucalli),
• Physic nut (Jatropha curcas),
• Castor-oil plant or tangantangan (Ricinus communis)

35. The ultimate source of energy is the sun, either directly or indirectly.

36. Starlight (other than our sun, of course) can be harnessed as source of power.

37. We have succeeded in inventing the “Perpetual Machine,” a long dream of mankind. Eliminating friction means tremendous energy saving.

38. The human body is a perfect machine in terms of energy conservation and utilization, which no human invention can compare.

39. There are now hydrogen powered car running on the streets – the promise to replace fossil fuels.

40. Magnetic shield protects the earth from deleterious radiation from space.

41. Living organisms do not use energy during dormancy – aestivation and hibernation.

42. Hydrogen bomb works on the principle of fusion, while the atomic bomb works on the principle of fission.

43. Polysaccharides or complex sugars directly release energy in the body.

44. Prisoners become emaciated when, due to prolonged and extreme lack of food, the body converts adipose and muscle tissues into energy.

45. The nemesis of moving parts that reduce fuel efficiency is friction.

46. Synergy means there is "more energy than the sum of its parts."

47. The ultimate end result when energy is transformed from one form to another is low level heat.

48. Energy is neither created nor destroyed.

49. A single lightning bolt, if only it can be stored, is enough to light a community for days.

50. Overall conclusion and recommendation in conserving energy can be summarized into
“Less is More”

ANSWERS
1. False, at sea level water boils at 100ºC; 3,000m – 90ºC; 6,000m – 81ºC; 9,000m – 75ºC)
2. False, Water boils at 100ºC, and remains at this temperature, water will simply change from liquid to gaseous form – steam.
3. True, usually at 120ºC for typical pressure cookers.
4. True. Air absorbs and conserves heat. There is less air at higher elevation.
5. True. 50% is wasted
6. False. Oil and gas 60%, coal 35% nuclear 5%
7. True. In rural communities firewood is the main cooking fuel.
8. True. Environment-friendly. Too much exposure is harmful though. It could lead to resource depletion.
9. True. in the Philippines, or where these trees grow in abundance.
10. True
11. True
12. True. Forests provide food, energy, shelter and serve as wildlife sanctuary. They also “catch” smog (suspended layer of fog and smoke).
13. True
14. False. Alcohol and gasoline
15. True
16. False, computation is based on 1 billion cars.
17. False
18. False. New sails can replace engine power.
19. True
20. False. There are pioneer projects such as gully wave generator, wave power, OTEC Ocean Thermal Energy Conversion, CLAM – British wave pressure system, Japanese osmosis system at estuaries.
21. True. Recycle water, wood waste, scrap metal, used tires, plastics. Of all recycled metals, aluminum has the highest recovery.
22. False, exaggerated data. But practice energy conservation, such as fewer and more efficient light bulbs, limit laundry (ex. sun dry, bulk washing and ironing), limit using electricity in bath, pressurized water system)
23. True. There are 500 nuclear plants all over the world – now there is a slowdown for new ones. France, Germany, Belgium and Japan will produce more electricity from nuclear reactors
24. True
25. True
26. True. It is also important in the development of fisheries and forestry in the area.
27. True
28. True
29. False
30. True. But there are only 20,000 wind turbine generators (WTGs) in the world with 15,000 located in California. Total production is only 5,000 MW.
31. True
32. True
33. True
34. True. Anglo-French link – the Old Red Sandstone – produces 76 ºcentigrade, hot enough to heat buildings. We tap volcanic heat at Los Baños, Laguna, and in Tiwi, Albay.
34. True. However, many of these potential energy sources are in the pioneering stage of development.
35. True. Including fossil fuels, wind and water energy.
36. True, potentially, that is. Imagine how dark the night is without stars.
37. False. The rule is, “energy in, energy out.” We still have to solve friction, decay, imprecision, etc.
38. True
39. False. By and large, the Hydrogen engine is still on experimental stage.
40. True. Magnetic lines run from South Pole to North Pole, creating beautiful aurora borealis and aurora austalis
41. False. Energy consumption takes place at very low rate.
42. True
43. False. Hydrolysis before respiration/oxidation.
44. True
45. True
46. True, say the maximum weight the left hand can lift is 20 kg and the right hand is 20 kg, both hands can lift not only 40 kg, but more - perhaps 50 kg. This does not follow the laws of physics.
47. True
48. True
49. True. But we don’t have yet the technology to harness the energy of lightning.
50. True. Conserve so that there will be enough energy for everyone.

Enigmatic "Tainga ng Daga" (Auricularia Mushroom)

Dr Abe V Rotor

Native Auricularia species. Note white spores and velvety external surface. Stem is very short, almost unrecognizable.

Cultured Auricularia may grow extensively, the thalli converging into one fleshy mass. Mushroom Burger, Tagaytay City.

Dried up specimen from natural habitat such as dead tree. Spores have been disseminated and the remaining ones wait for the next growing season, usually during the rainy season. Surprisingly the dried thalli (fleshy biomass) become rehydrated and continue to function biologically, which is one of the mysteries of life. When is a living thing considered dead? Can a dead organism resurrect to life? What is the true meaning of aestivation? To what extent can an organism remain dormant?

Tainga ng daga is the popular name of this favorite mushroom which makes chopsuey truly a complete recipe. It belongs to Class Phragmobasidiomycetes, Order Auriculares, Family Auriculiaceae. Although it belongs to the class of mushrooms, it has deviated from the mushroom's typical structure. Its general shape is thin, lobed and veined like an ear, hence its name. This mushroom is sold fresh or dehydrated. Dehydrated Auricularia is first soaked in water before it is cooked with other ingredients of chopsuey. ~