THE NITROGEN CYCLE

What advantage do symbiotic nitrogen-fixing bacteria provide legumes?

Nitrogen is most commonly the limiting factor for plants. They have to make many enzymes to perform the process of photosynthesis. Each protein has quite a bit of Nitrogen in it. The only way for plants to get the necessary Nitrogen to make all of their enzymes is in the form of NH3 or Ammonia. Nitrogen fixing bacteria in the soil and attached to the roots of some plants will take atmospheric Nitrogen and change it into Ammonia so the plants can use it. -The ability to use inorganic nitrogen, which is something very few living things can do. This allows such plants to easily live in low-nitrogen environments, since they can take it from the atmosphere and fix it into nitrates (which are biologically useful). Most living things cannot colonize such locations until nitrogen fixers have been there a while, and organic forms of nitrate have accumulated a bit.

What other biogeochemical cycles are being altered by many man today?How?
All of them. Too bad you didn't list any. 1. Carbon cycle. We dig up "old" carbon (e.g. petroleum, coal) and burn it, putting additional carbon dioxide into the abiotic reservoirs (mostly the atmosphere). 2. Hydrologic cycle. We pump water out of aquifers, and also using dams and pipes move water from one place to another. But these pale in comparison to changing rainfall patterns due to anthropogenic global warming, caused by what we're doing to the carbon cycle (see #1 above). 3. Nitrogen, phosphate, potassium, iron, calcium, and a few others. We fix nitrogen using artificial processes, and put it, along with the other listed stuff, into fertilizers which we distribute inland in ways that aren't natural. So, we're moving a lot of this stuff around to places where it wouldn't naturally go in these amounts.

What is the global abiotic source of nitrogen? what organisms use this nitrogen source? Atmospheric nitrogen fixed by lightning. Organisms using the nitrogen source, the plants with nodules( makahiya or leguminous plants-peanut,beans,peas,soy and clover) and other some animals.

makahiya roots with nodules

Good Bacteria: Rhizobium bacteria from the roots of 'Makahiya' as seen in the microscope.

Anonymous Creatures: I really do not know what are these creatures inside the nodules of Makahiya root. Can somebody uncover this?

Nitrogen Fixing Rhizobia Bacteria Nodules on Peanut plant roots.

Developmental Changes in Peanut Root Structure during Root Growth and Rootstructure Modification by Nodulation

FIG. 4.

Root nodule and peanut root modified by nodule formation for plants grown in vermiculite. (A) Cross-section of a nodule and first-order lateral root at low magnification without staining. (B) Cross-section of nodules and first-order lateral root at low magnification with red phloroglucinol staining, showing lignification of the root xylem and peridermal layers of the nodules. (C, D) Spurr-embedded semi-thin sections stained with toluidine blue and basic fuchsin. (C) Cross-section of a first-order lateral root modified by a second-order lateral root and nodule formation. (D) Longitudinal section of a first-order lateral root and nodule formation. (EG)

Technovit-embedded sections stained with toluidine blue. (E) Magnified view of a vascular bundle connection. (F) Peripheral structure of a root nodule. (G) Vascular bundle in peripheral tissue of the root nodule. (H) UVfluorescent view of a hand-section of a nodule vascular bundle stained by berberin, showing Casparian bands. 1st, first-order lateral root; CCB, cork cambium; CO, cortex; EN, endodermis; IA, Rhizobia-infected area; ND, root nodule; PC, pericycle; PD, peridermal layers of a nodule impregnated with lignin and suberin; PH, phloem; ST, stele; VB1, vascular bundle of the first-order lateral root; VB2, vascular bundle of the secondorder lateral root; VBN, vascular bundle of the root nodule; VE, vessel; XY, xylem; arrow, Casparian band. Scale bars: (A, B) = 1 mm; (CF) = 100 mm; (G, H) = 10 mm.

THE COMPOUND MICROSCOPE

What is the Functions of the Compound Microscope?

- Compound microscopes are key tools for scientific research and education around the
world and in many fields. They vary widely in price, allowing students, scientists and hobbyists of all income levels to all utilize various models. It is a tool used to examine small organisms. This includes any organism from bacteria, to small animals and plant life. The idea is that the compound microscope will magnify the organism, making it visible to the human eye. - Microscopes are devices used to magnify small objects, allowing them to be seen by the naked eye.
Most microscopes have several different powerful lenses attached to them, allowing the viewer to inspect the content at more than 100 times its actual size. However, microscopes are extremely expensive, so you want to make sure you handle the device properly.

Parts of functions of the compound microscope.? Eyepiece Lens: the lens at the top that you look through. They are usually 10X or 15X power. Tube: Connects the eyepiece to the objective lenses Arm: Supports the tube and connects it to the base Base: The bottom of the microscope, used for support Illuminator: A steady light source (110 volts) used in place of a mirror. If your microscope has a mirror, it is used to reflect light from an external light source up through the bottom of the stage. Stage: The flat platform where you place your slides. Stage clips hold the slides in place. If your microscope has a mechanical stage, you will be able to move the slide around by turning two knobs. One moves it left and right, the other moves it up and down.
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Revolving Nosepiece or Turret: This is the part that holds two or more objective lenses and can be rotated to easily change power. Objective Lenses: Usually you will find 3 or 4 objective lenses on a microscope. They almost always consist of 4X, 10X, 40X and 100X powers. When coupled with a 10X (most common) eyepiece lens, we get total magnifications of 40X (4X times 10X), 100X , 400X and 1000X. To have good resolution at 1000X, you will need a relatively sophisticated microscope with an Abbe condenser. The shortest lens is the lowest power, the longest one is the lens with the greatest power. Lenses are color coded and if built to DIN standards are interchangeable between microscopes. The high power objective lenses are retractable (i.e. 40XR). This means that if they hit a slide, the end of the lens will push in (spring loaded) thereby protecting the lens and the slide. All quality microscopes have achromatic, parcentered, parfocal lenses. Rack Stop: This is an adjustment that determines how close the objective lens can get to the slide. It is set at the factory and keeps students from cranking the high power objective lens down into the slide and breaking things. You would only need to adjust this if you were using very thin slides and you weren't able to focus on the specimen at high power. (Tip: If you are using thin slides and can't focus, rather than adjust the rack stop, place a clear glass slide under the original slide to raise it a bit higher) Condenser Lens: The purpose of the condenser lens is to focus the light onto the specimen. Condenser lenses are most useful at the highest powers (400X and above). Microscopes with in stage condenser lenses render a sharper image than those with no lens (at 400X). If your microscope has a maximum power of 400X, you will get the maximum benefit by using a condenser lenses rated at 0.65 NA or greater. 0.65 NA condenser lenses may be mounted in the stage and work quite well. A big advantage to a stage mounted lens is that there is one less focusing item to deal with. If you go to 1000X then you should have a focusable condenser lens with an N.A. of 1.25 or greater. Most 1000X microscopes use 1.25 Abbe condenser lens systems. The Abbe condenser lens can be moved up and down. It is set very close to the slide at 1000X and moved further away at the lower powers. Diaphragm or Iris: Many microscopes have a rotating disk under the stage. This diaphragm has different sized holes and is used to vary the intensity and size of the cone of light that is projected upward into the slide. There is no set rule regarding which setting to use for a particular power. Rather, the setting is a function of the transparency of the specimen, the degree of contrast you desire and the particular objective lens in use.
Why does the letter e under the microscope appeared inverted?
Not only the letter e but everything is inverted under many microscope constructions because the straightforward optical magnification inverts the virtual image. There are however some constructions that "rectify" the image and so up is away from you, down is towards you, left is left and right is right.

- There are mirrors in the microscope, which cause images to appear upside down and backwards. So a letter e would appear as a letter through the microscope eyepiece.

Why does the letter "e" when looked into the microscope becomes upside down?
the complex microscope uses lenses called convex lenses. Now convex lenses converge light to meet at one focal point . they create an =()X like figure where = is straight beams of light () is the convex and X is the converged light. - The letter "e" is upside down because images under a compound microscope are always reversed and inverted. So when you go to move something to the right, it will be moving to the left. When you go to move something up, it will move down. Its the internal workings of the microscope (lens and mirror) that do this. - its because a microscope has a mirror in it. and when you look into it you see the reflection of the item on the slide.

This is a picture of a letter e shown at 40X. This slide was set up with the letter in the correct orientation. Notice that it appears upside down when viewed under the microscope.

This is a picture of the letter "e" shown at 100X. Notice, that as you increase the power of the lens, your field of view gets smaller.

What are the proper ways in handling a compound microscope?

- Hold it with both hands so it doesn't drop or accidentally hit something. - You have to hold the neck (the bendable part) and the base, the bottom. Just be careful with it.

- you must place your palm under the microscope and hold the arm properly,..
When you pick up the microscope and walk with it, grab the arm with one hand and place your other hand on the bottom of the base. Dont swing the microscope Never touch the lenses with your fingers. Your body produces an oil that smudges the glass. This oil can even etch the glass if left on too long. Use only LENS PAPER to clean the glass. TOILET PAPER, KLEENEX, AND PAPER TOWELS HAVE FIBERS THAT CAN SCRATCH THE LENSES.

What is the function of high power objective? -When you use a high power objective lens you rotate the fine adjustment knob to bring the magnification to a sharp focus. - HPO: 40x magnification in microscopes; used to view cells