Another one of the series is here. I have been off Steemit this week probably because I have been lazy, I know it's a phase and it'll pass. I had to force myself to make sure this post comes up today because I've been dropping the posts late in the last few weeks. So, let's get started...

Monday: Dying salmon fertilize waters for their offsprings

_{A Salmon in the water}

The spawning process of salmons is something wonderful and this is the major reason it is featured in a lot of documentaries. I can tell you the sight is really wonderful, you might need to watch a documentary on salmon to see for yourself.

Salmons are wonderful travelers, they travel in the ocean which I think should be fun- err... maybe because I like traveling. One surprising habit of the salmons is that they try to spawn in the except place they were born even though it means traveling thousands of miles, even though it'll cost their life-very sacrificial creatures.

Have you ever traveled a very long distance? If you have, I think you should be able to relate how exhausting it can be to travel a long distance in meters let alone miles- 1 mile equals 1609 meters. Let me say again, the salmons go as far as thousands of miles to spawn in the exact place they were born- Sorry, I have been repeating the word "spawn." It is simply the act of depositing eggs in water or the act of reproducing in large numbers. There are a lot more ways to explain spawning but I think am comfortable with these ones.

The travel is so exhausting that they never make it back. Most or all of them die after spawning. After their death, they decay! Now here's what brought about the topic. Scientists at the University of Glasgow found those decays as a means of fertilization for the water where they die. Their death and the fertilization of water is of huge benefits for the younger salmons and it helps them maintain their genetic diversity. In the case of lesser decaying bodies, only a little number of salmons will benefit from the fertilization of the water and they are not able to maintain their genetic diversity which gives them a lower chance at survival.

You can read more

Tuesday: Eggs improve biomarkers related to infant brain development

_Eggs

What most people know is that breast milk is important for their children but they do not know that eggs are also important for a good brain in babies. There's a lot more obtainable from feeding your baby eggs like providing them with key nutrients.

A study done by the Washington University in St. Louis revealed the effect of eggs on infants. Their study showed the difference between children that were introduced to eggs after their first 6months and those that weren't given eggs at all. The children introduced to eggs had a "significantly higher blood concentrations of choline, other biomarkers in choline pathways, and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA)".

Choline (a nutrient that acts like vitamin B) and DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid that serves as a structural component of the brain) play vital roles in infant brain development and function.

So, I just discovered eggs are just as important as the breast milk to the early growth and development of our infants. They provide lots of nutrients to Infants-fatty acids, proteins, vitamins A and B12, selenium and of course, choline. Let me give you a few reasons you should give eggs to your baby:

• Eggs contain cholesterol just like the breast milk and it is important to know that the cholesterol is very important for the development of the brain.
• Eggs have a high content of the fat-soluble vitamins- Vitamin A, D, E, K. These vitamins are essential for a good bone formation and formation of the face of babies. Beautiful Babies
• Eggs digest easily-an important feature of a baby food as their digestive systems are not fully developed.

You can read more

Wednesday: Scientists identified genes linked to depression

_Wikimedia

The level of happiness in humans vary as from one person to another due to variation in genes. Depression is a weakening disease that makes life boring and tiring for people. At times, depression doesn't make people see reasons they should live, most times they see the end of the line and just commit suicide.

Scientists studied depression over a long time and noticed that the number of people suffering from depression increases during a tough economic crisis. This could mean depression is caused by environmental factors but this study identified the genes related to depression.

The reason it has not been properly treated in this modern age should not be too much of a concern as depression itself has not been fully understood. We look up to this study to give us a better understanding of depression and help us properly treat the condition to avoid the end results of it.

In the analysis done by the scientists of this study, a lot of genetic information from people of ages 39 to 73 were analyzed. Their study featured over 300,000 people-they paid attention to their neuroticism and they measured it by a personality check using a questionnaire. Err... "Neuroticism is one of the big five higher-order personality traits in psychology." People can score high in Neuroticism and this means they are more likely to be moody, depressed, worried, afraid, jealous et cetera.

Scientists at the University of Edinburgh were able to identify 116 genes variations linked to neuroticism of which about 58 of these variations are in the brain -that's even half.

Interestingly, further analysis showed that these genes associated with neuroticism actually overlap with genes linked to a susceptibility to depression and some other psychiatric conditions.

This could mean that depression has already been encoded in our genes... I don't know but this could be the reason some people don't stand a chance. I expect this study to broaden our understanding of depression and therefore lead to the treatment of depression as it is deeply eating into people's minds.

You can read more

Thursday: Volvo solved the problem of dead batteries in long-haul trucks

_{Volvo Truck}

The Volvo company saw the weakness of the other trucks in terms of battery and thought of bringing a solution to it. After considering how hectic it was for trucker during the day, they thought they should have at least have some fun with the mobiles or gadgets and cook themselves something before getting some rest in a cabin of their truck. This has been a little bit difficult because after the entire day, your mobile could have gone off and charging with the truck might drain their truck's battery. Volvo took their inspiration from this and made a solution.

The dual battery system? Yes, the dual battery system is the solution Volvo found. One exclusively for the engine and the other will used for personal needs like powering the refrigerator, media system, mobile phones, tablets, laptops et cetera.

Most importantly, the Volvo company used the gel battery to serve the personal needs due to high energy requirements for powering and charging equipment. This is usually because gel batteries have the capacity to maintain energy in high concentration for a long time, unlike the lead-acid batteries. This new system has been featured in the new Volvo trucks FH and FM.

in conclusion, the Volvo company made it known that the gel batteries last about 10-15 times more than the usual batteries.

Friday: Scientists say that polar snow is not actually sterile – there is actually life there

_Wikimedia

Most people don't know the reason they put fresh meat in the freezer-they probably think it's just to make it cold but no, it's because bacteria don't like cold. This is the reason scientists think polar ice and snow are sterile environments but now, scientists have observed living bacteria polar ice and snow.

This discovery was unexpected and as it is, I think it will have great impacts on science. It is said that "just by researching tiny compressed gas bubbles in the snow, scientists will be able to look back on Earth's history"-that's one. It can also change our views on planets by letting us know other planets in the universe that might be able to host life.

Tiny gas bubbles get trapped in the mixture and compress together with snow. Respiration of bacteria increases CO2 levels in these tiny pockets of air. Not only this is very interesting, but also alters the way scientists predict climate change.

A lot of planets have been considered uninhabitable by our scientists, some because of their low temperatures and some because of their high temperatures. We don't even think of the possibility of having life there but this new discovery has shown that microbacteria can be found in planets where water is ice.

Dr. Kelly Redeker, the lead author of the research, said: “We know that bacteria have the potential to remain viable and metabolically active at low temperatures for hundreds to thousands of years.

The next thing is to search for the possibility of finding an active bacteria deep in the ice caps and after that, the observation of the bacteria.

The study also shows we really don't know much about put home-earth. Some places we consider lifeless have some element of life if properly studied.

Thank you for coming around!!

...and today I am happy to announce my nomination, it's not a contest but it is definitely a challenge - a weekly challenge. I nominate @melanie00 to join this weekly challenge of "WHAT I LEARNT THIS WEEK" this week - you can look out for her. Anyone is free to join, you don't have to join by nomination alone. Have Fun this Christmas! Merry Christmas!!

That little boy, @pearlumie.

Proud Member of @steemstem

Proud Member of @genesis-project

Proud Member of @air-clinic

Join air-clinic's discord server. Medical practitioners needed. Anybody from the field of medical science is free to join.

Contact @nairadaddy for more info.

Sources

• University of Glassgow
• Eggs
• University of Edinburgh
• Volvo trucks
• University of New York

References

• Salmon
• Eggs
• Depression
• Polar Ice Cap