Lung Fish is very special

Lung Fish is very special. A fish that can hibernate for years without food or water could help scientists one day figure out how to put people into suspended animation to buy extra time during life saving operations.

The African lungfish can sleep out of water for three to five years without any sustenance, only to wake up when freshwater surroundings become available.

A study showing what happens on the cellular level to the fish could help scientists one day induce a similar state in humans, making long distance space travel and more advanced forms of medicine possible.

African lungfish is hand-fed shrimp whilst awake in tank. During suspended animation, genes related to detoxifying waste were 'up-regulated', stopping the build-up of harmful products in the liver. It has a prominent snout and small eyes. Its body is long and eel-like, some 9-15 times the length of the head. It has two pairs of long, filamentous fins.  

Lungfish have a highly specialized respiratory system. They have a distinct feature that their lungs are connected to the larynx and pharynx without a trachea.

Simultaneously, the expression of genes related to blood coagulation and iron and copper metabolism were 'down-regulated', which the researchers say could be strategies to conserve energy.

The African lungfish is one of the closest relatives of tetrapods, the first group of four-limbed vertebrates to live outside of water.

Their anatomy offers clues as to how animals first evolved to breathe air, as they have adapted a lung that can sustain them in periods when their environment dries up.

In addition to being able to gulp air to breathe, they are able to pump oxygenated blood separately to deoxygenated blood, similar to mammals.

They pass the long stretches of the dry season holed up in burrows in the mud, and they can use their long appendages to crawl and move outside of the water.

Today there are only six known species of lungfish, living only in Africa, South America and Australia.

The mystery behind Mritha Sanjeevani

In Hindu mythology, Sanjeevani is a magical herb which has the power to cure any problem. It was believed that medicines prepared from this herb could restore life in a dead person. While some references in scientific literature list Selaginella bryopteris as the Sanjeevani mentioned in Hindu mythology, a search of ancient texts has so far not revealed any plant that can be definitively confirmed as Sanjeevani. In certain texts it is written that Sanjeevani glows in the dark.

What is Sanjeevani ?

All of us know that plants with medicinal properties exist in nature. From Holy Basil (Tulsi) to coriander, a lot of plants have amazing remedial effects. A quick search over the Internet will tell you that Sanjeevani is commonly known as Selaginella bryopteris. Since ages, people have been talking about the magical effects of this plant. Truly, it is a plant of great importance to the society as a whole and it should be studied thoroughly.

Has Sanjeevani been rediscovered in 21st Century?

Some people have claimed that they were able to locate two groups of plants in the Dronagiri Hills that could be the ancient miracle plant. This hill is in Joshimath, Garhwal and it reaches up to a height of 15,000 feet. The truth behind the discovery still needs to be verified. Agricultural scientists at Indian National Botanical Research Institute are working rigorously on Sanjeevani to unearth more hidden facts about it.

Is Selaginella bryopteris the renowned Sanjeevani?

It is a very important question for the biologists, medical practitioners, enthusiasts and research scholars as to which medicinal plant is Mritha Sanjeevani. The name suggests that this plant has the capacity to bring back life in a dead person. There is hardly any plant that has been determined to be of this rank among various medicinal plants – Not even Selaginella bryopteris. And wasn’t it supposed to emit light?

Latest news around Sanjeevani

Various studies conducted on this plant revealed a special feature of resistance to drought in this plant. This feature makes Sanjeevani capable of standing drought conditions for long years. Agricultural scientists are planning to insert this gene from the plant to various other crops. As a result, the crops would become resistant to drought conditions. Such transgenic plants would help in preventing loss of crops even when sufficient water is not present.

As per a parallel research

The botanical names of the medicinal plants which were recognized as Mritha Sanjeevani is Saussurea Ggossypiphora, which are known as ‘Phena Kamal’ and ‘Kasturi Kamal’ in the local language.

What makes Mritha Sanjeevani

Saussurea Ggossypiphora grows at a height of 4300 – 5600 meters in different parts of Himalayas. It is full of cotton fiber and looks like a snowball and is around 10- 20 cm long and has white flowers and Pleurospermum candollei is 30- 40 cm long and these two collectively make ‘Mritha Sanjeevani’

As per the Locals of Dronagiri

The local beliefs related to botanical fields of Himalaya have been made the basis to determine the plant as Mrita Sanjeevani along with mythological references. The tribal people of Dhouladhar hilly areas living in western Himalayan areas used to call it Bana or Shiva. They used to bring both the plants to their homes and pray it as they believed it to be life saving.

Uses of this herb

Both the above-mentioned herbs were used to cure unconsciousness, cerebral disorders, respiratory problems, bodily pains and other problems. The tribal people, villages, ascetics having knowledge of Himalayan traditions, never revealed about these plants with the fear of exploitation and extinction.

The divine herb

The most interesting fact is that the plant is worshipped like god and is an important aspect from research point of view. Secondly, when these herbal plant grow, it has the maximum aroma when compared to other medicinal plants growing in that region.It is also surprising to note that the plant lose all their fragrance in dry state.

Lovable Pearls

Pearls are among the world's oldest gems, and from the time they were first discovered, they have remained some of the world’s most sought-after and most revered gems. Throughout time, there have occasionally been a few pearls discovered that stand out among even these rare gems. Many of these famous pearls, some of them thousands of years old, are still around to be admired today. These pearls are remarkable reminders of the rich pearl history.

A pearl is a hard object produced within the soft tissue (specifically the mantle) of a living shelled mollusk or another animal, such as a conulariid. Just like the shell of a mollusk, a pearl is composed of calcium carbonate (mainly aragonite or a mixture of aragonite and calcite) in minute crystalline form, which has been deposited in concentric layers. The ideal pearl is perfectly round and smooth, but many other shapes, known as baroque pearls, can occur.

The Abernathy Pearl

This 44-grain, natural freshwater pearl, is the most perfect pearl ever found in the rivers of Scotland. A 44-grain natural pearl is a rare find, and even rarer still is to find a pearl of such outstanding quality as the Abernathy. This famous specimen is nicknamed `The Little Willie Pearl`.

The Abernathy pearl was discovered in the River Tay in1967 by a professional pearl diver by the name of Bill Abernathy (hence its name and nickname). The pearl was found in an odd-shaped mussel, common to the River Tay.

The Scottish have searched their abundant rivers for centuries seeking prized pearls. Freshwater pearls were indeed found in abundance until the Industrial Revolution polluted the waterways and wreaked havoc on the pearl producing mussel populations. The Abernathy was displayed for nearly 30 years in a jewelry store in the city of Cairncross until it was sold for undisclosed sum in 1992.

The Arco Valley Pearl

Reportedly given to Khubilai Khan, the emperor of China, by Marco Polo, the Arco Valley Pearl is a baroque pearl weighing 575 carats, or 2301 grains, and is a white pearl with overtones of pink and brown.

The Big Pink Pearl

Valued in 1991 at $4.7 million US dollars, the Big Pink Pearl is listed in the Guiness book of World Records as being the largest natural abalone pearl ever found. This baroque gem weighs a full 470 carats.

The purported owner of this gem is Wesley Rankin, who found the pearl while diving at California's Salt Point State Park in Petaluma California in 1990.

The Gogibus Pearl

This pear-shaped pearl was the largest know pearl discovered during the early 17th Century off the coast of the West Indies. The gem weighs a hefty 126 carats. It is said that King Philip IV purchased this pearl from a merchant name Gogibus who wore the pearl as a button in his cap in 1620.

The Hope Pearl

Most likely the largest and most famous natural saltwater pearl ever discovered, the Hope Pearl, is an astonishing gem. The pearl weighs 1,800 grains (450 carats), or approximately 4 ounces! The Hope is a white, drop-shaped blister pearl, measuring approximately 2 x 4 inches, and ranging in color from greenish-gold on one end to white on the other.

Currently residing in the British Museum of Natural History, the Hope Pearl was once owned my Henry Philip Hope, the one-time owner of the Hope Diamond.

The Huerfana (Spanish: The Orphan)

The Huerfana was one of the most splendid gems of the Spanish Crown Jewels. Remarkably, it has been reported that this large pearl was not discovered within an oyster, but found in a shell bed in the Gulf of Panama.

The Huerfana was a remarkable pearl because of its perfect shape, large size, and brilliant luster, and was once owned by Doña Isabel de Bobadilla, the first female governor of Cuba. The Huerfana was reported to have been destroyed, when the Spanish palace burned in the 18th century.