Baltic Amber Fossil, Tertiary Age, Russia

Amber is fossilized plant resin. As the name implies, Baltic Amber is abundant along the shores of the Baltic Sea, particularly around the Samland Promontory of Russia.

In the early Tertiary age, forests of the estinct tree pinus succinifera flourished on a land mass south of the Samland region. During the middle Tertiary age the area was flooded and the resin from the trees was washed out and redeposited in marine sediments in the Samland area. These sediments have been reworked and the Amber was subsequently redeposited in areas along the shores of the Baltic Sea.

As Amber has a low density, it can be carried by water in suspension and is generally deposited in low energy environments such as lakes, submarine basins, and estuaries.

Around 98 percent of the Baltic Amber biota were flying insects (as the image above - a butterfly species). Diptera, two-winged flying insects, dominated the fauna of the Baltic Amber, accounting for approximately half of the organisms. Extremely rare mammal hairs, an almost complete lizard, snails, and bird feathers account for the remaining 2 percent.

The Baltic Amber fossils are important as they show the morphology and Paleontology in extremely fine detail and also provide information, development and climate conditions of ancient organisms in which they once lived.

Lapis Lazuli

Lapis Lazuli is a stone of the kind that might have come straight out of the Arabian Nights: a deep blue with golden inclusions of pyrites which shimmer like starts.

This opaque, deep blue gemstone has a grand past. It was among the first gemstones to be worn as jewelry and worked on. At excavations in the ancient centers of culture around the Mediterranean, archaeologists have again and again found among the grave furnishings, decorative chains and figures made of Lapis Lazuli ~ clear indications that the deep blue stone was already popular thousands of years ago among the people of Mesopotamia, Egypt, Persia, Greece and Rome.

It is said that the legendary city of Ur on the Euphrates plied a keen Lapis Lazuli trade as long ago as the fourth millennium B.C., the material coming to the land of the two great rivers from the famous deposits in Afghanistan. In other cultures, Lapis Lazuli was regarded as a holy stone. Particularly in the Middle East, it was thought to have healing powers. Countless signet rings, scarabs and figures were wrought from the blue stone which Alexander the Great brought to Europe. There, the color was referred to as 'ultramarine', which means something like "from beyond the sea".

Metal & Mineral Warning

Aluminum ~

Aluminum, the most widespread metal in the earth's crust., It is a trace mineral that is also found in food and natural food supplements. However, it is liable to cause harm and toxicity in the body.

Large quantities of Aluminum have been found in the brain of people who died from Altzeimer's and Parkinson's diseases, and researchers believe that this is directly linked to the diseases (as other toxicities),  as a result of the absorption of Aluminum into the tissue.

Aluminum is found in antacids, which also cause a shortage of vitamins A and B1, and other medications (alumina/magnesia), which also cause a shortage of Iron and Phosphates. When you take these medications (and you should always avoid doing so), you should also take Brewer's Yeast, (live) yogurt, and acidophilus with digestive enzymes.

Aluminum is also found in aluminum salts of Fluorine, which are enemies of Fluorine itself! It is found in processed cheese, in aluminum pots and pans, and products such as foil. The use of these objects causes Aluminum to penetrate into the body. The use of cooking utensils and others made of Aluminum should be avoided entirely, especially in heating or cooking. Use stainless steel, glass, etc., instead. Consider this a warning!


Cadmium ~

Cadmium is a soft, gray-white metal. In nature, it is linked to minerals with Zinc. In industry, it regulates the operation of atomic reactors. Cadmium salts are used for manufacturing yellow paints. this metal is a toxic substance that is found in pesticides and enamel coating. It reaches human beings by means of vegetables and grains, mainly, as well as water that has been softened by chemicals, or mulluscs and oysters.

The signs of Cadmium toxicity include: ateroschlorosis, emphysemia, and chronic bronchitis, high blood pressure; heart disease; and anemia due to a shortage of  Iron.

You can protect yourself against Cadmium toxicity by eating foods that are rich in Zinc (such as: pumpkin seeds, nuts, etc.), because Zinc is a Cadmium antagonist; taking vitamin C, which is the specific defense; by avoiding using utensils with enamel coatings (use glass or stainless steel instead); by avoiding white flour products from which Zinc has been extracted (during the whitening process), and only the Cadmium remains; if possible, by drinking filtered water or mineral/natural water, and not water from the faucet; by decreasing your consumption of coffee and black tea, as Cadmium is found in both of them; and by totally avoiding decaf coffee!


Stronium ~

This element is metallic where proportions resemble those of Calcium. It is found in the earth and in spring water. Stratium salts are used for fireworks (they produce a red fire). Nuclear experiments around the world caused the spread of the radioactive substance, Stronium-90, and scientists claim that every human being has already absorbed quantites of it. This dangerous radioactive substance accumulates in bones during the person's lifetime, and operates like an x-ray in the body.

Stronium-90 has the following signs of toxicity: anemia and lukemia, bone cancer, and other forms of cancer.

You can protect yourself against toxicity by consuming the following: seawead and fruit pectin. - Which binds to the toxins in the intestines and prevents them from being absorbed; Calcium and Magnesium; yogurt and other fermented dairy products; vitamin B complex; lecithin; and other anti-oxidant vitamins.


Sulphur ~

Sulphur is used for the production of Sulphuric acid. The chemical and pharmaceutical industries, the rubber and paper industries consume large quantities of Sulphuric acid. Native Sulphur frequently occurs in volcanic areas originating from gases and thermal springs.

Sulphur is the raw material for the production of Sulphuric acid and is the basic material for the manufacture of insecticides.


Arsenic ~

Arsenic is an ore mineral that is used for pest control, in tanning, in pharmaceuticals, and in cosmetics. Some Arsenic compounds are very poisonous.

Mineralogy of Mars Soil is Similar to Soils of Volcanic Origin in Hawaii

This graphic shows results of the first analysis of Martian soil by the Chemistry and Mineralogy (CheMin) experiment on NASA’s Curiosity rover. The image reveals the presence of crystalline feldspar, pyroxenes and olivine mixed with some amorphous (non-crystalline) material. The soil sample, taken from a wind-blown deposit within Gale Crater, where the rover landed, is similar to volcanic soils in Hawaii. Curiosity scooped the soil on Oct. 15, 2012, the 69th sol, or Martian day, of operations. It was delivered to CheMin for X-ray diffraction analysis on October 17, 2012, the 71st sol. By directing an X-ray beam at a sample and recording how X-rays are scattered by the sample at an atomic level, the instrument can definitively identify and quantify minerals on Mars for the first time. Each mineral has a unique pattern of rings, or “fingerprint,” revealing its presence. The colors in the graphic represent the intensity of the X-rays, with red being the most intense. Image credit: NASA/JPL-Caltech/Ames

The minerals were identified in the first sample of Martian soil ingested recently by the rover. Curiosity used its Chemistry and Mineralogy instrument (CheMin) to obtain the results, which are filling gaps and adding confidence to earlier estimates of the mineralogical makeup of the dust and fine soil widespread on the Red Planet.

The identification of minerals in rocks and soil is crucial for the mission’s goal to assess past environmental conditions. Each mineral records the conditions under which it formed. The chemical composition of a rock provides only ambiguous mineralogical information, as in the textbook example of the minerals diamond and graphite, which have the same chemical composition, but strikingly different structures and properties.
CheMin uses X-ray diffraction, the standard practice for geologists on Earth using much larger laboratory instruments. This method provides more accurate identifications of minerals than any method previously used on Mars. X-ray diffraction reads minerals’ internal structure by recording how their crystals distinctively interact with X-rays.

These NASA technological advances have resulted in other applications on Earth, including compact and portable X-ray diffraction equipment for oil and gas exploration, analysis of archaeological objects and screening of counterfeit pharmaceuticals, among other uses.


Source:
SciTechDaily

Light Source

Understanding light..  made it possible to understand why the shadow edge from a beam of light is slightly blurred. It made it possible to understand that the colors of a beam split by a prism, or by a diffraction grating, are the result of waves being bent more than others. It made it possible to understand other phenomena.

Light at a shorter "wavelength" (depending on the thickness) is set at its reflectance from the surface. Expamples of such include the scales of butterfly wings, the layered feathers of bird wings, and even the oily film on the surface of a rain puddle.

Bloth plants and animals use light to orient themselves in a spatial environment. Single-cell algae with eyespots swim toward the light. Various plant parts respond, to the direction of light, and growing toward it.

Even color in minerals is the result of the selective absorption of parts of the spectrum of white light. The optical properties depend on the interaction of light with minerals. The most obvious property is whether it is transparent, translucent or opaque. This is a function of the structure of the mineral and the kind of bonds that bind atom to atom. It is a measure of the amount of light absorbed by the mineral. And the amount of light reflected also produces different intensities.

What is named Earthy Luster in minerology is in effect a lack of luster produced by surfaces that scatter the light. The observed color being due to the reflections of light that are absorbed. There is no single cause of color. Sometimes it is a direct result of the presence of certain elements.


As sedentary creatures of light, plants have evolved their amazing biochemistry. The foliage surface supplies the light energy that they use to fix carbon dioxide and make sugars. The root surfaces provide a comparable surface for absorbing elements and water.

The dietary needs of plants are quite simple and have some similarities to ours. Althought they may not need any vitamins, only a few elements. They obtain carbon (C) and oxygen (O) from carbon dioxide in the atmosphere when the tiny pores in their leaves, the stomata, are open.

They obtain hydrogen (H) from the water that they split apart in photosynthesis. In lesser amounts, they assimilate nitrogen (N) from the dissolved ions of ammonium or nitrate in the soil water, or from backteria in their roots. They also obtain smaller amounts of phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) as ions in the soil water solution, and they assimilate sulfur (S) as sulfate from the soin water as well.

The rest of their nutrition requirements are metallic elements dissolved at low concentrations in the soil water (iron, magnesium, calcium, manganese, zinc, and molybdenum), as well as a bit of chlorine. Being creatures of light with their biochemical capabilities makes them sophisticated in their own natural environment for complete contro of their development.

Because of the similar elements are essential to the maintenance of such living systems, to ensure the constant supply and the understanding of such energy source is needed.

Nature Synthesis

Most of a plant's surface area contributing to the photosynthetic process occurs in the leaves. Hundreds of millions of years of natural selection have shaped leaves into efficient structures that maximize their exposure to light, control their gas exchange, minimize water loss, and help move water, minerals, and carbohydrates up from the roots and to other parts of the plant.

About 10 percent of all the photosynthesis that occurs is the product of higher plants, those that we regularly see around us, and the other 90 percent is the product of algae, most of which occur ini the ocean.


Homeostasis - Environment of the Earliest Cell

All life forms are thought to share a marine origin because the fluids found in cells have a salt concentration comparable to that of salt water. The majority of freshwater environments, the ocean presents a stable environment with regard to salt concentration, pH, and temperature.


Most organisms are very sensitive to even slight changes in their external environment, and are unable to survive seemingly minor changes in their surrounding medium.

Chemistry of Minerals

Nearly all rocks are composed of minerals, but fine specimens are rare and tend to occur in what is called fissures and other cavities where the crystals have been unobstructed during their growth.

Many are obtained from the mineral veins. High temperature fluids deposit minerals in cracks and fissures in rocks and many of these veins, often called hydrothermal veins, are worked as sorces of ore. They frequently contain colorful specimens and good crystals, not only of the commercially valuable ore minerals, but also of the accompanying and economically valueless gangue minerals as well.

It is not always necessary to examine or collect from the veins themselves - in many instances, it is dangerous or impossible to do so - for mining activity usually results in dumps of discarded material which, if carefully searched, will often yield good specimens.

Good crystals can often be found lining cavities in rocks of virtually every kind, though particular minerals tend to occur in certain environments. Sometimes wearthered-out cavity linings, called geodes, are lined with well shaped crystals, and many fine crystals of amethyst occur in such associations.

Pegmatites, which crystallize from relatively low temperature, volatile rich magma (fluids), are another source of crystals and rare minerals that frequently grow to large sizes.

Collectors will find some crystals and minerals that are difficult to identify. They are urged to become acquainted with minerals that are displayed in many national and other museums. Time spent in this way will be amply repaid, not only in terms of identification of specimens, but also in becoming more deeply involved in the study of natural history.