Department of Botany, Thakur College of Science & Commerce ( Autonomous)

  CAN MITOCHONDRIA COMMUNICATE? MITOCHONDRIAL SOCIALIZATION AND ITS IMPLICATIONS Sociality or social behavior refers to the interactions that take place amongst individuals of the same species living together in a society. Sociality acts as a catalyst to the functionality and development of any social group by allowing individuals to overcome their limitations. This can be seen in the development of human civilization. It hasn't come this far because of an individual but is the result of the combined efforts of a lot of people coming together. All kinds of organisms starting from unicellular bacteria to complex animals like humans realize that the pros of establishing a social setup and working as a whole outweigh the cons by a significant margin. Socialism is believed to have evolved as adaptive behavior; being social increases fitness, survival rate, reproductive success, capacity, and productivity. What are Mitochondria? Popularly referred to as the powerhouse of the cel...

CYANIDE IN APPLES You’re highly unlikely to manage to eat enough apple seeds to poison yourself, so you can rest easy if you occasionally swallow one. Apples contain a compound called amygdalin in their seeds , which is a cyanide-and-sugar based molecule . If the seed is chewed or otherwise broken, human or animal enzymes come into contact with the amygdalin and effectively cut off the sugar part of the molecule. The remainder can then decompose to produce the poisonous gas hydrogen cyanide. What are symptoms of Cyanide toxicity? Cyanide toxicity is experienced by humans at doses of around 0.5–3.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight. Symptoms of cyanide poisoning include stomach cramps, headache, nausea and vomiting, and can culminate in cardiac arrest, respiratory failure, coma and death. A fatal dose for humans can be as low as 1.5 milligrams per kilogram of body weight . In a recent study, the amygdalin content of apple seeds was found to be approximately 3 milligrams p...