Cloud ear fungus?

Black fungus seen at Fountains Abbey. Sent to me by a friend. Could be one of the jelly fungus know as ear fungus. Auricularia polytricha
Love how people send me pictures of fungi! Keep them coming.

Insects on the wing, birds a-courting

Beautiful day yesterday and what a lot of wild life I saw! Not just the spring flowers, the animal kingdom is feeling it now.  First Comma butterfly was out sunning itself in the garden, as well as a few ladybirds and large solitary bees. The blackbirds are being territorial and one pair is courting on my garden shed roof. He stands in the apex and fans his tail grandly, and she watches from lower down, skirting him in a semi circular movement but never taking her eyes off him.

Strychnine, and effect at the synspse

Strychnine: the notorious but rare poison at the heart of a modern mystery http://gu.com/p/4hj4m?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Blogger

Tinder fungus carried by Otzi for lighting fire

Seen today in Burleigh Woods, the Tinder Fungus.  Apparently good for lighting fire, it was found on Otzi the Ice man (see earlier post).  It is otherwise known as the Hoof fungus for obvious reasons.  The fruiting body has annual rings.  This one was seen on a Silver Birch. Fomes  fomentarius 

This looks like a Turkeytail, but a very pretty colour.  Trametes versicolor

Although this looks like Trametes, I think it might be Daedaleopsis confragosa 

I have no idea what this pitch black Barack fungi is.  Suggestions welcome.

Spring sunshine breaks through woodland

The trees are not in leaf yet so there is plenty of light falling on the woodland floor.

The Bluebells are growing rapidly, their leaves making the most of the light to carry out photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process by which simple inorganic molecules are converted into organic molecules.  Overall, Carbon dioxide plus water is turned into glucose and oxygen.  Glucose is  required for cellular respiration 24/7 but any extra can be converted into other carbohydrates ( such as the storage molecule, Starch) or lipids or proteins.  The Bluebell makes the most of the spring sunshine to photosynthesise as much as possible before the leaves on the trees deprive them of light.

A play about a legend of Evolutionary Biology

https://www.cptheatre.co.uk/production/calculating-kindness/

Pulling at the Heart Strings

We have been looking at the chambers of the heart this morning.  This is a bi section of the Left side of the heart. Clearly on display is the atrio-ventricular valve that separates the two chambers.  The valve only allows blood to flow in one direction, thus enabling the heart to act as a pump, moving blood from atrium to ventricle to vessel.   The chordinae tendinae (heart strings) prevent it turning inside out. In the ventricle we can see the muscle wall is thick to contract strongly, reducing the volume and increasing the pressure in the chamber.  The blood is forced past the semi lunar valves and into the aorta, shown here.

Eurasian partridge on Ringroad

Alectoris chukar

Who would have thought that you would see Chukar partridge walking along the Ringroad? Lovely striped markings on the flank and a very pretty head.  Keep your eyes open people!

Chicken leg dissection

L

First we looked as smooth muscle as in the oesophagus, also know as involuntary muscle because not under conscious control.  The oespophagus carries out peristalsis to push the bolus of food along to the stomach.

Then we skinned the thigh and leg to find the Skeletal muscle (voluntary).  The contraction of the muscle generates a force which pulls on a bone to move it.  We looked for the fasiculi ( bundles of muscle fibres enclosed in a membranous sheath)

Then we dissected out individual bundles and pulled on the tendons to make the toes move