Pygmy groundcherry (Physalis minima)

Ceplukan or pygmy groundcherry (Physalis minima) is a plant species in the Solanaceae, a pantropical perennial herb, 50 cm high, green in color, grows in wet or semi-wet areas, the fruit is edible and has a pleasant taste, is often used as an anti-cancer, analgesic and anti-inflammatory.

P. minima has an erect trunk with many branches, is square with sharp angles, 20-50 cm high, bright green and juicy. The branching produces two or three new stems and becomes the point for producing leaves and fruit.

The leaves have a smooth surface, hairless, plain or serrated edges, 2.5-12 cm long, light green color and pointed tips. The stalk is long and continues to be a bone in the center of the leaf with some lateral veins.

Bell-shaped flowers with five corners, cream to yellow in color with brown plots on the inside and white pistils. The fruit is yellowish green and packed in a thin covering that turns brown and falls to the ground when ripe.

Pygmy groundcherry grows wild in forest edges, marshes, along waterways, rice fields and disturbed lands that are lots of sun, humid or semi-wet. Fresh fruit contains a lot of water, is eaten immediately and has a sweet taste.

All parts of the plant are used to treat cancer, detox and antioxidants. Root for treating smallpox. Fruit and leaves to relieve pain and anti-inflammatory, cure bleeding gums and ulcers.

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Subphylum: Angiospermae
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Solanales
Family: Solanaceae
Subfamily: Solanoideae
Tribe: Physaleae
Genus: Physalis
Species: Physalis minima

Elephant bell gourd (Trichosanthes tricuspidata)

Elephant bell gourd ( Trichosanthes tricuspidata ) is a plant species in the Cucurbitaceae, stems grow elongated to propagate or climb, many branches, cylindrical in shape and green in color. T. cochinchinensis has stem tips or branches that twist to attach themselves to a support or other plant. It grows to climb to cover a support, usually on another plant, up to several meters and creeps along the ground to reach another support. Arrow-shaped leaves, split base, sharp apex and two wings at an acute angle, have many veins ending at a sharp edge, green and have a long petiole. Single flower is white. The fruit is round to oval, ends with a tail, young green and turns red with maturity, thin skin, thick flesh and reddish yellow, has a short stalk and hangs. The seeds are in the middle of the fruit. Seeds are white, oval and flat. Black coated seeds. Elephant bell gourd grows wild in primary and secondary forests, agricultural land, roadsides, watersheds, especially on slopes, damp a

Yellow fever mosquito (Aedes aegypti) use thermal infrared to navigate hosts

NEWS - Aedes aegypti transmits the viruses that cause dengue, yellow fever, Zika and other diseases every year, while Anopheles gambiae transmits the parasite that causes malaria. Their capacity to transmit disease has made mosquitoes the deadliest animals. Moreover, climate change and global travel have expanded the range of A. aegypti beyond tropical geography. The mosquitoes are now present in subtropical climates that were previously unheard of just a few years ago. Male mosquitoes are harmless, but females need blood for egg development. There is no single cue that these insects rely on to feed; they integrate information from many different senses across a wide range of distances. " A. aegypti very adept at finding human hosts. This work provides a new insight into how they achieve this. Once we got all the right parameters, the results were clear and undeniable," says Nicolas DeBeaubien of the University of California at Santa Barbara UCSB. The researchers added

Banded dragonfish (Akarotaxis gouldae) diverged from Akarotaxis nudiceps 780,000 years ago

NEWS - A new species of dragonfish, Akarotaxis gouldae or banded dragonfish, off the western Antarctic Peninsula by researchers at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science at Gloucester Point, the University of Oregon at Eugene, and the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, highlights the unknown biodiversity and fragile ecosystems of the Antarctic. A. gouldae was named in honor of the Antarctic Research and Supply Vessel (ARSV) Laurence M. Gould and crew. The larval specimen was collected while trawling for zooplankton and was initially thought to be the closely related Akarotaxis nudiceps hundreds of thousands of years ago. DNA comparisons with A. nudiceps specimens held in collections at the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, Yale University, and the Muséum national d’Histoire naturelle in Paris showed significant variation in mitochondrial genes that suggested the larval sample was a distinct species. Andrew Corso of the Virginia Institute of Marine Science and colle

A deep-sea isopod Bathyopsurus nybelini adapted to feed submerged Sargassum algae

NEWS - Incredible footage shows a marine species, Bathyopsurus nybelini , feeding on something that sinks from the ocean’s surface. Researchers using the submersible Alvin found the isopod swimming 3.7 miles down using its paddle-like legs to catch an unexpected food source: Sargassum. Researchers from Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI), the University of Montana, SUNY Geneseo, Willamette University and the University of Rhode Island found the algae sinking, while the isopod waited and adapted specifically to find and feed on the sinking nutrient source. The Sargassum lives on the surface for photosynthesis. The discovery of a deep-sea animal that relies on food that sinks from the waters miles above underscores the close relationship between the surface and the deep. “It’s fascinating to see this beautiful animal actively interacting with sargassum, so deep in the ocean. This isopod is extremely rare; only a handful of specimens were collected during the groundbreaking Swedis

Dlium