Why are plants so important?

The role of plants if frequently overlooked as we tend to take them for granted often forgetting that they play key role for our survival. Plants are primary source of food because all of our food is produced by plants, either directly or indirectly via animals that consume them.

Plants are not only an important source of food but also a very important source of energy and their role will no doubt grow as the world's hunger for energy is constantly increasing. The photosynthesis done by land plants is the ultimate source of energy and organic material in nearly all ecosystems.

Plants help protect our planet from environmental degradation and therefore keep our environment healthy (they play key role in soil development and prevent soil erosion). Plants are also key components of the water cycle and several other biogeochemical cycles.

Plants also play essential role in development of many different medicines used to treat different diseases and also help people relax (gardening and other horticultural therapies).

Plants are also used for many different aesthetic purposes (flowering plants).

There are many environmental issues that threaten plants across the globe, most notably climate change issue. The biodiversity of plants is something our planet can't survive without and therefore we have to try to protect many plant species from being destroyed by climate change.

Climate change is the biggest environmental threat plants have to face today but sadly not the only one as plants are also experiencing huge threat from pollution and deforestation.

The science of botany (as well as other related sub-sciences) is bound to face difficult challenges in years to come and is certainly in need of new research in order to tackle different environmental issues that threaten many plant species all across the globe.

Plant research needs a big step forward and this can be done only by using the most advanced technologies available to study the life of the plants.

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Interesting facts about water

1. Water is the most precious resource on our planet.

2. One molecule of water has a chemical formula of H2O, which means it contains one oxygen and two hydrogen atoms.

3. Almost 71% of Earth's surface is covered with water (70,9%).

3. The largest amount of water on our planet is found in oceans with 96.5% while the 3,5% refers to groundwater and glaciers.

4. Despite the fact that our planet is rich with water only 2.5% of the Earth's water is freshwater.

5. Approximately one billion people in the world still lack access to safe drinking water.

6. Water shortages will become much bigger issue in years to come because human population continues to grow rapidly.

7. Climate change could also contribute to future water shortages.

8. Water is present in all three common states of matter in our planet.

9. Water is always in liquid state at standard temperature and pressure.

10. Water is tasteless and odorless.

11. Pure water is transparent.

12. Water is not excellent but good solvent.

13. Water is frequently referred to as universal solvent.

14. Pure water has low electrical conductivity.

15. Water has the maximum density at 3.98 °C (39.16 °F).

16. The scientists say that the largest amount of water in our universe occurred as a byproduct of star formations.

17. Water belongs to the weirdest substances on our planet, showing more than 80 unusual properties.

18. Some scientists say that water when chilled below the freezing point, can even shift into a new type of liquid.

19. Water can flow even at extremely low temperatures if the pressure is high. Ove Andersson, a physicist at Umeå University, has been able to produce sluggishly flowing water at 130 degree below zero under very high pressure - 10,000 times higher than normal pressure.

20. The scientists believe that water is very frequent substance in other galaxies, if not for anything else than because hydrogen and oxygen belong to the most abundant elements that can be found in space.

21. The scientists estimate that the largest reservoirs of water on our planet, the oceans, were formed more than 4.6 billion years ago.

22. The scientists still don't know the answer why there is a lot more water on the Earth than on the other planets of the Solar System.

23. Water plays key role in in many different geological processes, especially groundwater.

24. Water plays key role in photosynthesis.

25. Sea water freezes at lower temperatures than freshwater.

26. Water is an essential part of many metabolic processes within the body of all living organisms.

27. The earliest life forms on our planet appeared in water.

28. Water pollution is one of the major environmental issues of the modern world.

29. Each human body contains from 55% to 78% water, depending on the body size.

30. Sustainable water policy on global level is the only thing that can help avoid future global water crisis.

31. It is estimated that about 20% of water intake comes from food with the rest coming from drinking the water and different other beverages.

32. The UN statement from 2006 said that "there is enough water for everyone but access to it has been hampered by mismanagement and corruption."

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Interesting facts about pearls

Pearls are hard crystalline objects produced in the mantle of a living shelled mollusk.

Pearls are made of calcium carbonate just like this is the case with the shell of the mollusk.

Not all pearls have ideally round shape and smooth surface because there are many other shapes of pearls. In fact, pearls come in eight basic shapes: round, semi-round, button, drop, pear, oval, baroque, and circled.

A very large number of shelled mollusks are capable of producing pearls though most of these pearls don't have a gemological value and are not used for jewelry purposes. Term gem-quality pearls only refers to nacreous and iridescent pearls.

The largest pearl in the world is the Pearl of Lao Tzu, sometimes also referred to as The Pearl of Allah. This gigantic pearl measures 24 centimeters in diameter (9.45 inches) and weighs 6.4 kilograms (14.1 lb). It was discovered in 1934 from the Island of Palawan in the Philippines and has an estimated value of $60 million despite not being the gem-quality pearl.

The ocean acidification is a huge threat to future pearl production because ocean are becoming more acidic and since they are made of calcium carbonate they are under threat for even the small rise of acidity in oceans.

Pearls can be also divided to freshwater and saltwater pearls. China is the world's largest producer of freshwater pearls.

The creation of pearl doesn't happen overnight. This is a rather long and slow process, because the material first must be extracted from sea water and then processed by special cells in the mollusk's body. Sometimes it takes up to 20 years for the creation of precious natural gem-quality pearls.

Pearl oysters very rarely produce naturally black pearls and this is the reason for their expensive price tag. The black pearls are also called Tahitian pearls because the oyster and pearl are indigenous to the pure blue lagoons of French Polynesia. The cultured Tahitian pearl farms are located in the blue lagoons of the Tuamotu-Gambier Archipelago, which belongs to the five archipelagos that make up French Polynesia. Tahiti is the main archipelago.

The pearls produced by Pinctada maxima pearl oyster are called South Sea Pearls. Among the most valuable South Sea Pearls are the white pearls from Broome area of Australia and golden ones that come from the Philippines.

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