Category Science

How did the Earth look in ancient times?

                        The Earth’s surface looked similar to its appearance today, although the continents did not exist because they were still joined together in one supercontinent called Pangaea. When Pangaea broke up, the continents were formed and they drifted about on the Earth’s crust to their present positions. Ancient plants were very different, and flowering plants and modern trees have developed comparatively recently (about 100 million years ago). Plant-eating animals would have fed on ferns, horsetails and primitive trees called cycads.

                       Swamp and bogs covered large areas, and mountains were much higher than they are today, because they had not yet been worn down by erosion. Volcanic activity was greater too, and this would have caused earthquakes and eruptions, which may have influenced the extinction of some animals.

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Who first studied genetics?

                     Gregor Mendel (1822 – 1884) was a botanist and monk who lived in what is now called the Czech Republic. He was interested in finding out how changes took place in an organism as it reproduced. He studied the garden pea plant, breeding plants with different coloured flowers, different shapes of seed pod, and other characteristics. Recording the effects, Mendel formulated simple rules that allowed him to predict how many plants would resemble one or both parents, and how many would combine characteristics of each parent.

                    Mendel’s studies formed the basis of modern genetics. Although he altered some findings to fit with his ideas, his theories are still important to the study of biology.

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How was the first rubber produced?

                    Rubber is produced from white milky liquid called latex, which oozes from cuts made in the trunk of the rubber tree. This tree originally grew in the jungles of Central and South America but although rubber was in great demand, it was in short supply because the trees grew wild. Eventually some rubber tree seeds were brought back and grown at the Botanical Gardens in Kew, England.

                   The young trees were distributed around the British Empire, and large plantations were established in countries such as India, Malaya and Sri Lanka. A huge international rubber trade quickly developed, and there is still a great demand for natural rubber even though synthetic substitutes are now widely used almost everywhere.

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Where did potatoes, maize and tomatoes come from?

                          These familiar plants were cultivated in America for centuries before being found by the early European explorers. Potatoes were brought to Europe in the 16th century, and were a great curiosity. They originated in the Andes, in South America, where they had been cultivated for 1,800 years.

                          Tomatoes were brought to Europe at about the same time, and were quickly adopted as a basic food by the Spanish and Italians. In northern Europe, it was a long time before tomatoes were accepted as a safe food because they are close relatives of the poisonous nightshade plants. Maize was also introduced by the early explorers, and is now grown widely.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Where do tea and coffee come from?

 

 

            Tea is made from the leaves of a species of camellia plant. It is widely grown in cool regions of China and India. Coffee was originally grown in Ethiopia, but it is now grown throughout the world. The coffee plant is a small evergreen shrub, and the coffee bean is the seed at the heart of a fleshy red berry.

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How have we changed animals and plants?

                      Most of the farmed animals and crops that we use today are extremely different from their wild ancestors. Wild wheat is only a large form of grass, while maize produced small, hard kernels instead of the juicy  cobs we like to eat today.

                    The wild boar is also very different from the friendly pigs we see on modern day farms. Cattle were once long-legged, lean and dangerous to approach — unlike today’s slow, placid animals.

                     All dogs, however, are still exactly the same species despite the many differences in their shape and size, In 12,000 years of constant breeding, humans have still not succeeded in producing a new species of dog, in other words, one that cannot breed with its ancient ancestors. Modern dogs are still able to breed successfully with wild wolves and dingoes.

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