Category: Biology

Giorgio Vasari; The Person Accredited with Creating the Term “Renaissance”

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The person who is accredited with creating the term “renaissance” is Giorgio Vasari. Vasari published a book entitled “Le Vite de’ più eccellenti pittori, scultori, e architettori” which means “The Lives of the Most Excellent Painters, Sculptors, and Architects” in Italian. The book is often shortened in its title and called “The Lives of Artists”. This book has over the centuries become the most influential art book of all time. Within the preface of the book, Vasari uses the term “rinascita” which means “rebirth” in Italian, to describe what was going on around him. Vasari stated that under the ancient Greeks and ancient Roman’s, art and civilization reached it’s highest levels of perfection, and that when the barbarians which are modern day Germans, arrived in Italy, the arts as a whole fell to ruins. The Renaissance is considered to have occurred between 1400 A.D. – 1600, with the beginning and end dates being slightly vague on each end

The Commonality Between Herbivores and Size

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The largest land animals on Earth today are all herbivores, but this was also true during the age of the dinosaurs. In descending order, the 5 largest living herbivores are the African elephant, the African bush elephant, the Asian elephant, the white rhinoceros, and the hippopotamus. The only living animals which are larger in size than these creatures are whales. Whales are not herbivores, but being a herbivore within the ocean is actually quite uncommon. The only reason whales are able to become larger than the largest land-dwelling mammals is because of the way that the ocean displaces gravity, therefore providing resistance to the pull which would under normal circumstances cause whales to collapse under their own weight. The primary reason the largest land animals are herbivores is because of food resources. There are a staggering amount of plant resources made abundant for herbivores in comparison to the relatively small amount of protein rich resources available to carnivores. Plant resources are also quickly renewable unlike protein resources. Herbivores are apt to survive predation as they increase in size whilst carnivores actually become hindered as they increase in size due to the fact that they become slower and less agile making their ability to catch prey severely reduced

The Cause, Diagnosis, and Treatment of Hydrocephalus

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Hydrocephalus affects over 500,000 children worldwide. Hydrocephalus can be caused by infection, genetic anomalies, or head injuries. The reason hydrocephalus causes the heads of infants to grow so incredibly large is because all babies are born with soft, mailable skulls which are capable of expanding over 3x its typical size within the first 12 – 18 months after birth. Hydrocephalus is caused because the valve located between the left and right brain hemispheres which drains cerebrospinal fluid down the spine and into the abdomen, becomes blocked. When medical examinations are available, hydrocephalus can be diagnosed in utero allowing for immediate intervention. When the severity of hydrocephalus is diagnosed via computed tomography scan, the brain does not show up, as the water present takes up so much volume that the cavity where the brain would normally be, shows up as black, as water obstructs the ability of the scanner to take a complete image. The most common intervention of hydrocephalus is the installation of a shunt, but shunts have an 80% failure rate causing future uncertainty for those who have experienced hydrocephalus. Uganda has an unusually high occurrence rate of hydrocephalus primarily due to high rates of infant infection and lack of medical facilities and care

The Effects of a Western Diet Upon Health

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Overall health and quality of life typically are reduced dramatically after the age of 65 for people who subscribe to consuming a typical western diet. The average American may live to be 79 on paper, but in practice a wide bell curve must be observed which states that the majority of people, or at the very least 50% of people in this range die between the ages of 60 and 79. Those who adopt a nutritarian diet can typically expect 15 – 20 more years than a person who consumed a typical western diet, but what’s more is that those years are spent in good health not poor or deteriorating health, observing a vastly reduced, thin bell curve which sees a peak of 98 years of age with death occurring between 80 – 120 with virtually all living past 85

The Early Formation of Earth 

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During the early days of the solar system, dozens of planets orbited the sun. It is thought that these planets collided and with this collision came intense heat which melted and welded rocks and minerals together. It is theorized that Mercury was only hit once hence it’s small size, Mars not at all, Venus 8x, and Earth 10x primarily because Earth it is the largest of the rocky planets. The last impact towards Earth is thought to have occurred 4,500,000,000 (4.5 billion) years ago which gave Earth its iron core; the lighter debris floated back above Earth and rotated around it which gave Earth rings similar to Saturn. Scientists now know that Earth was hit by rocks which came from Mars. It is thought that primitive microbial life would be able to withstand the journey from Mars to Earth. Earth had enough gravity to hold its oceans which allowed for constant changes in weather. It is thought that life began on Earth 4,300,000,000 (4.3 billion) years ago and that life became sophisticated 2,800,000,000 (2.8 billion) years ago. Despite the Earth being hit 6x catastrophically which was once thought to have sterilized all life, primitive life forms lay dormant in suspended animation within the salt rock which was produced from the immense heat during each catastrophic event. The microbes lay waiting until conditions became more favorable at which time they started reproducing and thriving. Scientists tested this first hand by drilling into salt rock which was created during a catastrophic event to release 200,000,000 (200 million) year old sea water which held tiny microbes called asilospermians which were reanimated when left within a nutrient rich solution for 4 months

The Regeneration of the Human Body Annually 

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98% of the atoms within the human body are replaced each year, meaning that everything within the human body from the largest organs down to smallest particles are replaced in a continuous cycle annually

The Symbiotic Relationship of Bacteria and the Human Body 

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The human body is an ecosystem and in it is 10,000,000,000,000 (10 trillion) cells and 100,000,000,000,000 (100 trillion) microbes. It’s a ratio of 10:1 meaning that human beings are 90% microbial and only 10% mammalian. There are approximately 7000 different species of microbe within the intestine, approximately 700 different species within the mouth, approximately 300 – 400 different species within the vagina, and approximately 700 different species within and found upon the skin. Bacteria perform a myriad of tasks which includes regulating metabolic rates and regulating the immune system, among other various tasks

Preventable Death Caused by Poor Life Choices

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The World Health Organization has declared that over 60% of deaths worldwide are caused by non-communicable, preventable disease. These diseases include asthma, diabetes, celiac disease, obesity, cardiovascular disease, some cancers, and select mental disorders. These specific illnesses have continued to rise on an upward trajectory throughout the 21st century with no current sign of leveling off. The World Health Organization estimates that these particular disease processes will increase by a rate of 17% within the next decade and that the cost of treatment has the potential ability to bankrupt the entire global healthcare system by the year 2030, a cost which could topple over $47,000,000,000,000 ($47 trillion). To provide frame of reference, most countries have a total output of less than $1,000,000,000,000 ($1 trillion) per year, a measurement which includes every citizen, business, and system designed to stimulate trade and generate income. The main causative factors for the above mentioned diseases are smoking, consumption of alcohol, adherence to a poor diet, and lack of exercise

The Abhorrent Theory of Eugenics 

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Eugenics, the abhorrent idea that the most desirable people with the best traits should breed more and the least desirable people with the worst traits bred less, was created and propagated by Charles Darwin’s cousin Sir Francis Galton

Firearm and Biological Warfare During the Medieval Period 

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Crossbows during the Medieval period were primarily made out of yew wood as it contains both sapwood which is ideal for tension and heartwood which is ideal for compression. Crossbows were reviled by knights as it made them vulnerable to common fighters who up until that point would never have a chance to face off because of the code of chivalry and military warfare. Crossbow bolts were often dipped in animal dung to create a biological weapon which would infect the target enemy as a backup plan in case the blow did not kill or disable them immediately