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BIOLOGY: CELL AS LIVING FORM

Cells as Living Unit-Forms in which living things exit
The cell is the basic unit of organization for the majority of living things. Living things can be classified as multicellular ie organisms that are made up of varieties of cells, or unicellular-organisms that are made up of only a single cell.

Cells are the fundamental or basic unit of life both in plants and in animal. Cell can exist as a living unit as opposed to being part of a larger or multicellular organism. Thus cell can exist in various forms. The following are forms in which living cell exists:

Group of cells that form tissue are part of a living multicellular organism and cannot survive on their own. They would normally require the functions of other cells in the body to remain alive while the groups of cells that form colonies or filament are individual organism capable of carrying out all the body processes on their own.

Their existence as a colony or as a filament is for the sake of mutual and symbiotic relationship. These free living or colonial organisms that are single celled with different modes of nutrition, locomotion and reproduction is referred to as protista.

A group of cells that perform same or similar function are joined together to make tissue. A number of tissues joined together to perform a specific function join together to make up an organ like the the heart, the stomach, or the lungs.

A lot of organ that functions together to achieve one common purpose are referred to as System- Examples the cardiovascular system, which is made up of the heart, arteries, veins, capillaries, and blood, and the respiratory system, that is made up of the lungs.

Dissimilar organ systems that provide unlike purposes for the same effect, normally described as good health, are called an organism, like the human being. Therefore cell is in the lowest level, the most widespread denominator in this pecking order of cell structure and organization.

In unicellular organisms, all the processes of life are being carried out by a single cell while in multicellular organisms, the life processes are being carried out by the five various levels of organization-cell-organ-tissue-system-organism. The human body for an example is made up of contains 11 organ systems.

Single and free-living:
Single celled organisms are organisms that are consist of only a single cell. They are as well referred to as unicellular organisms. Examples of single celled organisms are amoebas, paramecium, volvox, protozoa, spirogyra, euglena, animalcule, diatoms, prokaryotes, bacteria (or bacterium), yeast, and archaea.

Again, xenophyophores are the largest single celled organism ever found. They were discovered in October 2011 in the Mariana Trench, 6 miles under the surface of the ocean. Another big single celled organism is the syringammina fragilissim .

These single celled organisms have the tendency to reach a diameter of up to 20 centimeters. Examples of organisms that exist as a single cell and are free living are Amoeba, Paramecium, Euglena and Chlamydomas.

Many life forms are composed of a single cell. In addition to simple bacteria, there are more composite organisms, referred to as protoctists. Dissimilar to bacteria, they have composite internal structures, like nuclei which contain organized strands of genetic material known as chromosomes.

The majority of them are single-celled, but some form colonies, with every one of the cell remaining independent.

Euglena is a single-celled organism that uses flagellum for locomotion. The single-celled organism that uses cilia or hair like projections for locomotion is Paramecium. Amoeba is a single-celled organism that makes use of pseudopods to surround and engulf their food.

A single-celled organism that is made up of a colony of ciliates with some containing chlorophyll is Volvox. Euglena is a single-celled organism that has a unique feature of an eye spot. Amoeba is a single-celled organism that moves by cytoplasmic streaming. The two types of single-celled organisms that have chlorophyll are Euglena and Volvox

Amoeba: This is a single-celled predator that does not possess a definite shape. It can make a projection of parts of its cell to form a gelatinous tentacle referred to as pseudopodia.

The amoeba makes use of the pseudopodia for locomotion for touching and grabbing a prey. They live in water and are found creeping along decaying vegetation. They prey on smaller cells like bacteria.

Algae are currently classified as protoctists, even though scientists formally classified them under plant kingdom. Algae can manufacture their own food through the process of photosynthesis since they contain green chloroplasts.

Euglena and algae live in ponds. When they are placed in the dark, they lose their chloroplasts and then feed like animals. Seaweeds are good examples of popular algae. They are composed of enormous communities of algae cells.

A few protoctists obtain their food by invading other organisms and living on them as parasites. Example is the malaria parasite which first enters its human host through the bite of the Anopheles mosquito.

As soon as it gets into the human system, it multiplies inside the blood and may cause liver infection. The parasite causes a fatal disease known as malaria fever.

Slime moulds begin like amoeba-like cells that searches for food in damp habitats. Eventually, the cells combine together to form spore-producing feature.

As a colony:
Example of single celled organism that exists as a colony is Volvox. In biology, a colony refers to a number of individual organisms of similar species existing together for mutual benefit.

Examples of such benefits they could get from each other include the strength or the ability to attack a bigger prey. Some insects like ants and bees live in colonies.

Colonial organisms are organisms that live intimately together, in a colony. For instance bacteria, Volvox, Pandorina, Sponges, algae and Salps are also examples of colonial organisms. Each organism/cell in the colony can exist on its own and may or may not benefit from other cells in the colony.

In biology, a colony refers to individual organisms of the same species living closely together, more often than not for mutual benefit, like stronger defense or the capacity to assault bigger prey. A few insects like ants and honey bees live only in colonies.

A colony of single-cell organisms is referred to as a colonial organism. Colonial organisms were almost certainly the first step toward multicellular organisms through natural selection.

A bacterial colony is defined as a observable cluster of bacteria that grows on the surface of or within a solid medium, most probably cultured from a single cell.

Due to the fact that every organism inside the colony descends from a single antecedent, they are genetically the same apart from mutations that usually take place at a small frequency, in addition to a possibility for them to be contaminated.

Getting hold of that type of genetically matching organisms or pure strains can be useful in loads of cases. It can be done by dispersing bacteria on a culture plate and starting a fresh stock of bacteria from a single colony.

A biofilm is a colony of microorganisms over and over again made up of a lot of species, with properties and abilities greater than the combinations of abilities of the individual organisms.

Types of cell colonies
In the process of evolution unicellular organisms began to co-exist in three different ways:

1. A colony is a group of related living organisms that are linked to each other through their own secretions, or cytoplasmic strands, but there isn't any suitable transportation system between the cells.

Colonies are formed due to daughter cells that stay together instead of separating apart from each other after the cell division. Any member of the colony has the capability to exist on its own.

2. Symbiosis is an inter-relationship between two or more different organisms which usually benefit from the relationship.

3. Endosymbiosis is a form of symbiosis where a colony member known as a microsymbiote lives within the other. Nowadays, scientists are of the opinion that the cell organelles mitochondria are, in reality, microsymbiotres that formally lived as free living bacteria cells. Ultimately these bacteria developed into a part, or organelle, of the host cell. This type of relationship is referred to as endosymbiotic.

As a filament:
Cell can as well exist as a filament. Example of single celled organism which exists as a filament is the Spirogyra. A few organisms exist as filaments with related cells are joined end to end to form unbranched filaments.

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Each cell in the filament works independently from the other. These types of organisms that exist as filament are multicellular. Other examples of filamentous organisms are the Zygnema, Oscillateria and Oedogonium.

Lastly a cell can as well exist as part of a living organism both in plant and in animal. Example of cases where the cell exists as part of a living organism is cheek cell, onion root tip cells and the epidermis of fleshy leaves.

A single cell can be the smallest possible unit and has the potential to grow into an entire colony.

Multicellular organisms are made up of many cells and in the majority of cases many organs where every cell that make up the organism cannot function as a whole organism and cannot as well exist independently of other cells.

The variation between a multicellular organism and a colonial organism is that individual organisms from a colony can, if alienated, survive on their own, while cells from a multicellular life form like cells from a brain cannot. Volvox which is technically referred to as a coenobium is an example of the boundary between the two states.

If onion epidermal tissue is engrossed into a solution of calcium nitrate, cells speedily lose water by osmosis and the protoplasm of the cells shrinks.

This happens due to the fact that the calcium and nitrate ions generously leak into the cell wall and come across the selectively permeable plasma membrane.

The large vacuole in the center of the cell at first contains a dilute solution which has a much lower osmotic pressure than that of the calcium nitrate solution on the other side of the membrane. The vacuole in this manner loses water and becomes smaller.

The space between the cell membrane and the cell wall then gets bigger and the plasma membrane together with the protoplasm inside it contract to the center of the cell.

Strands of cytoplasm expand to the cell wall due to the attachment points between the cell wall and the plasma membrane. Plasmolysed cells easily die except they are transferred fast from the salt or sugar solution to water.

Comparisons of Single-celled Organisms
Euglena
• Moves by flagellum

• It is known for a unique feature—eye spot

• Some Euglena contain chlorophyll

• A few of them are commonly found in fresh water

Amoeba
• They move through cytoplasmic streaming

• They surrounds food and engulfs it with the use of pseudopods

Paramecium
• Paramecium is the most complex and specialized of the protists

• They use their hairlike projections known as cilia for movement.

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Volvox
• Volvox is a colony of ciliates

• A few Volvox contain chlorophyll

BIOLOGY: CELL STRUCTURE

Cell Structure And Functions Of Cell Components
The cell is the basic functional and structural unit of life. Human beings are multi-cellular animals. What this means is that we humans are made of many cells of cells as opposed to unicellular organisms which are composed of only one cell. The cells in a lot of multi-cellular animals and plants are specialized.

This means that each of them carries out a specific function and when all the cells combine together with their functions, they can share out the processes of life. Each cell is dependent on the other and all of them function collaboratively to support the diverse processes in an organism.

The tables below show examples of some specialized animal and plant cells, together with their functions and special features.

Table illustrating the different types of animal and plant cells with their specific features and functions
Type of animal cell Function Special features
1. Red blood cells To transport oxygen round the body It has large surface area, for oxygen to pass through. The red blood cell contains haemoglobin, which reacts with oxygen to form oxyhaemaglobin
2. Nerve cells Nerve cells transports nervous impulses to various parts of the body It has a long connections at each end and has the capacity to carry electrical signals
3. Female reproductive cell also known as the egg cell The egg cell's function is to combine with the male cell, and subsequently to make food available for the new cell that was formed The egg cell is large and contains a lot of cytoplasm
Male reproductive cell which is also known as the sperm cell. The sperm cell function is to travel up and meet with egg cell for a fusion to form a zygote. The sperm cell has an elongated tail for swimming as well as a head which enables it to get attached with the female egg cell for a fusion.

Type of plant cell Function Special features
1. Root hair cell The root hair cell absorbs water and minerals from the soil. It has a large surface area
2. Leaf cell The leaf cell absorbs sunlight for the process of photosynthesis It has large surface area and lots of chloroplasts
Plant and animal cells have quite a few differences and similarities. For instance, animal cells do not have a cell wall or chloroplasts but plant cells have them. Animal cells are round and irregular in shape whereas plant cells have fixed rectangular shapes.

Comparison chart between plant and animal cell
Animal cells and plant cells
• Animal cells are more often than not irregular in shape, and plant cells normally have a regular shape.

• Cells are made up of various parts which can be easily explained through the use of diagrams as illustrated below:

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Both the animal cells and plant cells contain:

• Cell membrane

• Cytoplasm

• Nucleus

Plant cells in addition to possessing these features also found in animal cell has:

• Chloroplasts

• Vacuole

• Cell wall

The table below summarizes the Differences and Similarities of plant and animal cells in terms of the features they contain.

Features              Animal Cell                                                                              Plant Cell
Cell wall               Absent                                                                               Present. It is formed from cellulose and is known as cellulose                                                                                                                                    cell wall
Shape         It has a round or irregular shape                                              It has a rectangular or fixed shape
Vacuole      It contains one or more small vacuoles                                  It has one central vacuole that occupies about 90% of cell                                                                                                                                        volume
Centrioles It is present in all animal cells                                                    It is only present in lower plant forms.
Chloroplast Animal cells don't have chloroplasts and chlorophyll          Plant cells have chloroplasts and chlorophyll because they are                                                                                                                                     autotrophs which manufacture their own food
Cytoplasm        Present                                                                                    Present
Endoplasmic Reticulum (Smooth and Rough) Present                              Present
Ribosomes       Present                                                                                    Present
Mitochondria    Present                                                                                    Present
Plastids               Absent                                                                                    Present
Golgi Apparatus      Present                                                                              Present
Plasma Membrane   They have only cell membrane                                    They have a cell wall and a cell membrane
Microtubules/ Microfilaments   Present                                                          Present
Flagella    Flagella may be found in some animal cells                                 Flagella may also be found in some plant cells
Lysosomes    Lysosomes occur in cytoplasm.                                               Lysosomes usually not present.
Nucleus           Present                                                                                        Present
Cilia                PreseIt                                                                                           It is very rare.

A Summary Table OF Cell Organelles and their Functions

Part Function Found in
Cell membrane The cell membrane is selectively permeable. What this means is that it allows the passage of some substances through it while inhibiting the passage of others. Oxygen, food molecules, and waste products all ought to pass through the cell membrane. It controls what substances can move into and outside of the cell Plant and animal cells
Cytoplasm This is a jelly-like substance, upon which chemical reactions takes place in the cell. In plant cells the cytoplasm is a thin lining, while in animal cells the majority of the cell is cytoplasm. Plant and animal cells
Nucleus This takes charge and controls what takes place in the cell. It carries genetic information Plant and animal cells
Chloroplast The chloroplast is the place where photosynthesis occurs. It contains a green pigment known as chlorophyll. Plant cells only
Vacuole This is made up of a liquid known as cell sap, which keeps the cell rigid. Plant cells only
Cell wall The cell wall is made of a tough material known as cellulose, which supports the cell Plant cells only
Here, what we are looking at is the eukaryotic cells of plants and animals. Eukaryotic cells are differentiated from the more primitive prokaryotic cells by the presence of:

• Cytoplasmic membranous organelles

• A nuclear membrane or true nucleus

• Chromosomal proteins.

Our primary discussion here is on eukaryotic organelles, their functions inside the cell and the way they differ between plant and animal cells.

1. The Nucleus:
The nucleus is a home for the majority of genetic material of a cell. The nucleus is the "brain" of the cell and controls all activity that takes place inside the cell with the help of DNA as a outline to direct the production of proteins in the cell.

2. The Ribosomes:
The ribosomes function is to synthesize protein for the entire nucleus. They transport together all the raw ingredients like the RNA which are the replicas of the original DNA and amino acids to manufacture proteins. The proteins manufactured are very vital to cell and the optimum function of the organism.

Think of proteins as machinery for cell functions much like electricity and plumbing are essential in a real city. For example, enzymes are a type of protein without which life could not exist. The big and small subunits of ribosomal RNA translate an mRNA strand into a polypeptide chain.

3. The Endoplasmic Reticulum:
There are two types of endoplasmic reticulum (ER). The first on is the smooth endoplasmic reticulum and the second rough endoplasmic reticulum. This broad network of endoplasmic reticulum comprises about one half of all membranous tissue of the cell.

It is the site for membrane and protein synthesis. The Endoplasmic Reticulum system is very much like a road system that leads to an industry. Goods are produced in the factory and are transported to where it is needed through the same transport system

The Rough Endoplasmic Reticulum is thus named because of the presence of ribosomes along its membrane which is the source of proteins. Smooth Endoplasmic Reticulum does not have ribosomes and is in charge of lipid synthesis and processes a multiplicity of metabolic processes like the detoxification of drug.

4. Cell Membrane and Cell Wall
The cell membranes are present in animal cells while cell walls are present in plant cells. Cell walls and cell membranes have related functions. Just akin to a city outer limit, cell membranes enclose the cell and have the capability to control what enters in and out of the cell and by so doing, it regulates internal balance.

These membranes as well protect the inner cell from exterior forces. Cell walls, just like our city analogy, are much stronger than cell membranes and their function is to protect the cells from exploding in exceptionally hypotonic or diluted solutions.

5. Cytoskeleton:
The cytoskeleton is composed of an internal framework, which makes available to each one of the cell its distinctive shape and high level of organization that it contains. It is very significant for the movement of the and also for mitotic cell division or mitosis.

6. Cytoplasm:
Cytoplasm is a semi-fluid or gelatinous substance located inside the cell. The cytoplasm covers moderates and protects the inner organelles.

It is the cell background or surface area and is available anywhere in the cell where there are no organelles present. It is therefore very similar to the lawns and parks of our city which are normally cited where there are no residential or commercial houses.

7. Golgi Apparatus:
Golgi apparatus functions as a post office which is used for the transportation of the manufactured food by the endoplasmic reticulum and ribosomes to the rest of cell.

8. Chloroplasts:
Chloroplasts are organelles that are visible in the plant cells alone. They contain pigment known as chlorophyll which traps the energy of the sun to manufacture food for the plant during the process of photosynthesis.

Just similar to solar energy plant they make use of sunlight to manufacture energy for the plant. Chloroplasts are the place where photosynthesis- occurs in plants.

Photosynthesis is the process in which the plant makes use of carbon dioxide, water and sunlight to manufacture energy in the form of glucose for the plant cell as well as heterotrophs-animals that depends on plant for their food production.

9. Mitochondria:
Mitochondrion is present in both plant and animal cells and is the site where cellular respiration occurs. Through cellular respiration which would be covered in detail when explaining the process of photosynthesis and Respiration, a substance known as ATP is formed this is used for energy by the cell.

10. Lysosomes:
The lysosomes are digestive sacs that possess the tendency to be broken down into macromolecules in the cell through the process of hydrolysis. The digestion is carried out through the lysosomal enzymes located in the lysosome.

Lysosome is responsible with the disposal of excessive or bulky macromolecules in the same way the waste disposal in a city does. Lysosomes help to keep unnecessary or bulky macromolecules from mounting up in the cell.

11. The Cell Vacuoles and Vesicles:
These are similar in nature and function as membrane sacs that perform a lot of functions as control units for whatever thing that is in surplus in a city. They can contain a lot of substances starting from complex organic molecules to simple surplus water.

Plant cells possess a central vacuole that is very essential in keeping up and sustaining the turgidity of plants.

BIOLOGY: CELL AND IT'S ENVIRONMENT

The Cell in Its Environment-Physical and Biophysical Processes
Substances can move into and out of a cell through its semi-permeable cell membrane. There are three different processes through which materials can move in and out of a cell. They are:

• Through the process of diffusion,

• Through the process of osmosis and

• Through the process of active transport.

Diffusion is the major process through which small molecules move in and out across the cell membrane region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration.

The concentration of a substance is the amount of that particular substance in a given volume of liquid. Diffusion results as a result of movement and collision of molecules. The collisions of the molecules are what caused the molecules to thrust away from one another and spread out.

Molecules would normally diffuse through the cell membrane into a cell when the contents of the cell are of a lower concentration than the surrounding solution. The diffusion of water molecules through a semi permeable membrane is known as osmosis.

Due to the fact that cell function effectively without sufficient water, the majority of cellular processes depend on osmosis.

In osmosis, the molecules of water travel through the process of diffusion from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration.

The movement of dissolved substances through a cell membrane without the use of cellular energy is referred to as passive transport. Diffusion and osmosis are two types of passive transport.

When there is a need for the cell to assimilate materials that are in higher concentration inside the cell than outside the cell, the movement of the materials requires energy.

On the contrary, active transport is the movement of materials through a cell membrane with the use of cellular energy. The major variation between passive transport and active transport is that active transport necessitates the use of cell's own energy while passive transport does not.

Cells have many ways of transporting materials through active transport. In one method, especially in the transportation of protein molecules, the cell membrane "lift up" molecules outside the cell and transport them inside the cell.

Another method of active transport is through engulfing. In this case, the cell membrane envelops or engulfs a particle and forms a vacuole inside the cell.

The majority of the cells are highly small. This is because the all particles have to move in and out of the cell through the cell membrane. On entering inside the cell, it is transported to its target through a stream of moving cytoplasm.

In an extremely large cell, streams of cytoplasm ought to travel farther to transport materials from the cell membrane to every part of the cell.

In a nutshell, Osmosis can be defined as:
• Diffusion of a solvent (frequently water molecules) through a semi permeable membrane from an area of low solute concentration to an area of high solute concentration.

• Net movement of water molecules through a semi-permeable membrane from an area of higher water concentration to an area of lower water concentration.

• The tendency of water to move from a hypotonic solution (lower concentration of dissolved substances) to hypertonic solution (higher concentration of dissolved substances) through a semi-permeable membrane

In biological processes, osmosis is very significant since a lot of biological membranes are semi permeable in nature, and it leads to diverse physiological effects.

For instance, when an animal cell is placed into a hypertonic surrounding- a surrounding with lower water concentration- the water will depart from the cell resulting to a shrinking of the cell.

When an animal cell is placed in a hypotonic environment, or an environment that is of higher water concentration, the water molecules will move into the cell causing the cell to swell. If osmosis continues and becomes extreme the cell will finally burst.

In a plant cell, extreme osmosis is barred as a result of the osmotic pressure exerted by the cell wall which stabilizes the cell. In fact, osmotic pressure is the major cause of support in plants.

On the other hand, if a plant cell is placed in a hypertonic surrounding, the cell wall cannot prevent the cell from losing water. This normally leads to a condition known as flaccidity or the shrinking of the cell.

Plasmolysis
This can be defined as the shrinking of protoplasm away from the cell wall of a plant or bacterium as a result of water loss from osmosis and in so doing leading to gaps between the cell wall and cell membrane.

When a plant cell is immersed into a highly concentrated solution, water diffuses out of the cell, and turgor pressure of the cell is lost. This makes the cell to become flaccid. Additional loss of water will lead to plasmolysis, and finally to cytorrhysis which means the total collapse of cell wall.

Plasmolysis only occurs in severe situations and seldom happens in nature. It is induced in the laboratory by immersing cells in strong saline or sugar solutions to give rise to exosmosis, frequently with the use of Elodea plants or onion epidermal cells.

Wilting and Plasmolysis
Plasmolysis is the separation of plant cell cytoplasm from the cell wall due to excessive loss of water. It is unlikely to happen naturally except in rigorous situations. Plasmolysis is induced in the laboratory by immersing a plant cell in a powerfully saline or sugary solution, so that the plant losses water through the process of osmosis.

Diffusion and Osmosis
Diffusion
Diffusion is the process by which molecules move from areas of high concentration, to areas of low concentration. When the molecules are even throughout a space - it is referred to as equilibrium state.

Concentration gradient: This is the difference between concentrations in a given environment.

Molecules will always travel down the concentration gradient, toward areas of smaller concentration. Example: food coloring that disperses out in a glass of water the dispersal of the fume from an air freshener sprayed in a room.

Semi Permeable membranes: These are membranes that allow the passage of some things while at the same time disallowing the passage of other things through it. Example of a semi-permeable membrane is the cell wall. It allows water and oxygen to pass freely through the cell's membrane, by diffusion

Osmosis means the diffusion of water across a membrane. Water will normally travel in the direction where there is a high concentration of solute. In other words where there is a lower concentration of water.

Salt is a solute and when it is concentrated inside or outside the cell, it will pull the water up to its direction. This is also the reason why we are thirsty after eating salty food.

Type of Solutions:
1. Isotonic Solutions: Iso means the same

When the concentration of solute (salt) is the same on both sides, the water will travel back and forth but it won't have any effect on the overall amount of water on the two sides.

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2. Hypotonic Solutions

"HYPO" means less. Therefore a hypotonic solution is a solution that contains less solute (salt) molecules outside the cell which leads to intake of water from the outside into the cell.

This leads to the cell gaining water and growing bigger. In plant cells, the central vacuoles will get filled up and the plant turns firmer and more rigid. Thus the plant's cell wall prevents the plant from bursting.

In animal cells however when this happens, the cell possibly will be in risk of bursting. Animal cell organelles known as the contractile vacuoles would normally pump water outside of the cell to avert this danger.

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3. Hypertonic Solution:

HYPER means more. Thus A hypertonic solution is a solution that contains more solute or salt molecules outside the cell than inside the cell. This would normally result to water being taking outside of the cell.

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In plant cells, the central vacuole loses water to the surrounding leading to the shrinkage of the cells and wilting of the plant.

In animal cells, this also results to the shrinkage of the cell. The situation could lead to death both in plant and animal cell.

This is why it is unsafe to drink sea water . Dehydration would normally be hastened up by intake of salty water. This is also why "salting farm lands is a common war practice with the aim of causing the death of crops in the farm to create famine.

Diffusion and Osmosis are both types of passive transport. What this means is that to transport materials in and out of the cell through either osmosis or diffusion, there is no energy requirement.

Occasionally, big molecules are unable to pass through the plasma membrane, and are assisted to pass across by carrier proteins. This process is referred to as a facilitated diffusion.

Diffusion is which is the net movement of a substance like an atom, ion or molecule from a region of high concentration to a region of low concentration can as well be defined as the movement of a substance down a concentration gradient.

A gradient is an alteration in the value of a quantity like concentration, pressure and temperature with the change in another variable like distance.

For instance, an alteration in a concentration across a distance is referred to as a concentration gradient. An alteration in the pressure across a distance is referred to as a pressure gradient while an alteration in temperature through a distance is referred to as a temperature gradient.

The word diffusion is obtained from the Latin word, "diffundere", which means "to disperse". If a substance is being dispersed, it is being transported from a region of high concentration to a region of low concentration.

A distinctive characteristic of diffusion is that it leads to mixing or mass transport, without needing bulk motion or bulk flow. Therefore, diffusion ought not to be mistaken for convection, or advections, which are other transport phenomena that make use of bulk flow to transport particles from one place to another.

Osmosis on the other hand is the spontaneous net movement of solvent molecules via partly permeable membrane into a region of higher solute concentration, in the direction that have the tendency of equalizing the solute concentrations on the either sides.

The osmotic pressure is used to explain the pressure needed to sustain equilibrium without any net movement of solvent. Osmotic pressure is a colligative property. This means that the osmotic pressure depends on the molar of the solute but not on its characteristics.

In biological systems generally, biological membranes are semipermeable and are not permeable to bigger and polar molecules, like ions, proteins, and polysaccharides. They are only permeable to non-polar and/or hydrophobic molecules such as lipids and small molecules such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, nitrogen, and nitric oxide.

Permeability of materials across the cell membrane depends on solubility, charge, or chemistry, in addition to the size of the solute. Water molecules pass through the plasma membrane, tonoplast membrane (vacuole) or protoplast by diffusing across the phospholipid bilayer throough aquaporins.

This means small trans-membrane proteins comparable to those in charge of facilitated diffusion and ion channels. Osmosis makes available the key way through which water is transported in and out of cells.

The turgor pressure of a cell is principally maintained by osmosis crosswise the cell membrane stuck between the cell center and its comparatively hypotonic environment.

BIOLOGY: ORGANISATION OF LIFE

Organization of Life: Levels of Organization of Life:
1. Cell-Single celled organisms: In these organisms, a single cell usually carries out all the body processes. Examples of organisms that exist as single cell are Amoeba, Euglena and Paramecium.

2. Tissue: Some organisms exist as a tissue which performs all the life functions example is the Hydra. Details about hydra are explained further down in the tutorial.

3. Organ: Some organisms exist as an organ like the organ of storage in the onion bulb,. Another example of plant organ can be found in rhizome. Heart is an animal organ which is part of a system in the body of multicellular organisms.

4. System: Mammalian system and system in flowing plants, reproductive system, excretory system etc.

5. Complexity of organization in higher organisms, the advantages and disadvantages

In unicellular or single-celled organisms, the cell carries out the whole of the life functions on its own while in multicellular or many celled organisms, there are various levels of organization that exist among them.

Individual cell in addition to performing a particular function as well work jointly with other cells for the wellbeing of the entire organism. Thus there is division of labour among all the cells that the organism is composed of and each of the cells is dependent on the other to function effectively.

The five levels of organization in multicellular organisms are:
1. The Cells: The cell is the basic unit of life. It is the fundamental unit of structure and function of life. It may perform a specific function in the body of a living organism. Examples of cells are- blood cells, nerve cells, bone cells, etc.

Cells are made up of organelles which take care of everything starting from housing the cell's DNA, to the manufacture of energy. Processes that take place inside the body are carried out on a cellular level.

For instance during the movement of the leg, it is the function of the nerve cells to transmit this signal from your brain to the muscle cells in your leg.

2. Tissues: The tissue is composed of cells that have similar structure and function and which work together to carry out a particular function. Examples of tissues are blood, nervous, bone, etc.

Human beings have 4 fundamental tissues: connective tissue, epithelial tissue, muscle tissue, and nerve tissue. Animal tissue can be subdivided into 4: epithelial tissue, connective tissue, muscle tissue, and nervous tissue.

3. Organs: Organs are composed of tissues that work together to perform a specific function. Examples of organs are the heart, brain, skin and so on. For instance, the brain is made up of a lot of different types of tissues which include the nervous and connective tissues.

4. Systems: The system is a group of tissues to work together to achieve a particular function in an organism. Examples of systems are the circulatory system, nervous system, skeletal system, etc.

The Human body is made up of 11 systems which include- circulatory, digestive, endocrine, excretory or urinary, immune or lymphatic, integumentary, muscular, nervous, reproductive, respiratory, and skeletal system.

All these systems work together to keep the body functioning optimally. For example nutrients gotten through the digestive system are transported throughout the body by the circulatory system. In the same way, the circulatory system circulates the oxygen that is assimilated by the respiratory system.

5. Organisms: This is the entire living things that can perform all basic life processes. This means that such living thing can take in materials, discharge energy from food, free wastes, grow, respond to the stimuli in the surroundings, and reproduce.

The are normally made up of systems which combine together to form the organism but an organism can as well be composed of only a single cell like in the case of bacteria or protists such as bacteria, amoeba, mushroom, sunflower.

Living organisms are extremely ordered and possesses the ability to grow, develop, and reproduce. Multi-cellular organisms in addition to human beings depend on the collaboration between organs, tissues, cells, and system to exist.

The levels of organization of life in the right order is therefore

cells - tissues - organs - organ systems - organisms.

The pyramid of life is a hierarchical structure for the organization of life.

Examples of Plant and animal Cells
Cells are extremely small. They are the basic building blocks of every animal and plant. The pictures below show example of plant and animal cell as seen from a microscope.

Animal cell: The Cheek cells

These are cheek cells, seen through a microscope:

Plant cells: Onion cells

Onion cells as seen through a microscope:

biology
The Kingdom Protista are made up of single-celled organisms that posses a true nucleus. This means that they are eukaryotic. Protista may be either autotrophic or heterotrophic.

This means that some of them manufacture their own food while the rest depend on already manufactured food. The mode of movement by protists is depends on their physical features

A few protozoa have pseudopodia which has the ability to extend the cell membrane and thrust forward to surround a particle of food like you would obtain in amoeba. A protist that has one tail-like structure is refered to as a flagellate.

Such an organism would use its flagellum to beat back and forth and push itself through the water like you would obtain in trypanosome and trichosomes. Some Protozoa are enclosed with minute hair-like structures known as cilia which move back and forth swiftly pushing the organisms through the water.

A paramecium is an example of a ciliated organism. Some Protozoa have axopodia, or pencil-like structures, that assist them to be planktonic or floaters in the water. Radiolaria are marine examples of protozoa bearing this structure

There are a lot of debates regarding if protozoa are all one-celled organisms or if they are all one-celled organisms that are heterotrophs. Scientists, who researched on these groups, argue on how to classify a few of these like euglena and dinoflagellate.

The majority of protozoa are useful in that they are significant in lower levels of the food chain. They make available food for living things like snails, clams, and sponges. A few protozoa have the ability of causing diseases in humans and other animals.

Some diseases caused by protozoa in human beings are malaria, black fever, sleeping sickness, and a number of forms of diarrhea.

Hydra is a genus of small, plain, fresh-water animals that is radial symmetrical. They are predators and belong to the phylum Cnidaria and the class Hydrozoa.

They are mostly found in the majority of unpolluted fresh-water ponds, lakes, and streams in the temperate and tropical climates and can be seen by softly sweeping an assembling net through weedy areas.

They are multicellular organisms which are frequently a few millimetres long and can be studied effectively through the help of a microscope. Biologists are particularly interested in Hydra as a result of their ability to regenerate. They also seem not to be old or die out of age.

Hydra
Scientific classification
Kingdom - Animalia

Subkingdom - Eumetazoa

Phylum - Cnidaria

Subphylum - Medusozoa

Class - Hydrozoa

Subclass - Leptolinae

Order - Anthomedusae

Suborder - Capitata

Family - Hydridae

Genus - Hydra Linnaeus

Motion and locomotion of Hydra
Whenever Hydra are startled or attacked, they retract their tentacles to form small buds. They can as well retract their entire body column into a small gelatinous sphere. Hydra usually reacts in the same manner irrespective of the direction of the stimulus, and this might be as a result of the simplicity of the nerve net.

The sessile or sedentary behavior of Hydra
Hydra is usually sedentary or sessile but can on occasional basis transport itself swiftly particularly when hunting for food. They normally do this by bending over and fastening themselves to the substrate with the mouth and tentacles and after that let go of their feet, which makes available the typical attachment.

This process in hydra is referred to as looping. The body subsequently bends over and makes a fresh position of attachment with the foot.

Through this process of "looping" or "somersaulting", a Hydra can be in motion quite a lot of inches (c. 100 mm) on a daily basis. Hydra may also move about through amoeboid movement of their bases or by merely coming off the substrate and hovering away through the water current.

Reproduction and life cycle of Hydra
When there is a lot of food, are plentiful, loads of Hydra reproduce asexually by generating buds in the body wall. These buds grow to be small adults and merely breaking away when they are full-grown.

When conditions are unsympathetic, habitually before winter or in poor feeding and nutritional situations, some Hydra undergo sexual reproduction. Inflammations in the body wall expand into either a straightforward ovary testes.

The testes discharge free-swimming gametes into the water, and these possibly may fertilize the egg in the ovary of another individual hydra.

The fertilized eggs ooze a hard outer coating, and, as the fully developed hydra dies, these dormant eggs get discharged to the bottom of the lake or pond to wait for favorable conditions, at which point they hatch into nymph Hydra. Some type of Hydra like Hydra circumcincta and Hydra viridissima, are hermaphrodites and may at the same time bring into being both testes and an ovary.

Various members of the Hydrozoa pass through a body alteration from a polyp to an adult form known as a medusa. Nevertheless, all Hydra, regardless of being hydrozoans, hang about as polyps all the way through their lives.

Feeding of Hydra
The feeding in Hydra is majorly on minute aquatic invertebrates like as Daphnia and Cyclops.

When feeding, Hydra extends their body to their highest length and after that little by little extends their tentacles. In spite of their plain construction, the tentacles of Hydra are amazingly extensible and can be extended up to four to five times the length of the entire body.

Just immediately they are completely extended, the tentacles are bit by bit maneuvered more or less waiting to make contact with an appropriate prey animal. Once they come in contact, nematocysts on the tentacle shoot into the prey, and the tentacle then coils over the prey.

Just within a space of 30 seconds, the majority of the rest tentacles would have already united in the attack to suppress and hold back the besieged prey. Just about two minutes, the tentacles will have bordered the prey and stirred it into the opened mouth opening.

In a space of about ten minutes, the prey will have been completely engulfed into the body cavity, and digestion will have been on track. Hydra is able to elongate its body wall by a long way in order to digest prey that is two times its size.

After two or three days, the hard to digest parts of the prey will be released through the contractions of the aperture in the mouth.

The feeding attitude of Hydra illustrates the cleverness of what seem to be just a mere nervous system.

A few species of Hydra occur in a joint relationship with a combination of types of unicellular algae. The algae are sheltered from predators by Hydra and, in return, photosynthetic products from the algae are valuable as a source of food to Hydra.

BIOLOGY: CONCEPT OF LIVING THINGS

Concept of Living things
Living things are vibrant as their inner chemistries make use of resources, transfer energies, and manufacture wastes. These alterations cannot be persistent in a protected chamber with no relationship to the world around them.

Organisms ought to absorb materials, discharge materials, and make efforts to keep away from things that would take their life away, either from instant threats things wanting eat them up, or a toxin, or potentially destructive germs or long-term needs like discovering required resources, or ensuring that it doesn't get harmed by its own waste.

This necessitates the capability of picking up signals from the surroundings and acting in response to them. This can be easily achieved as a few molecule-based "switches" are, or as intricate as the information to take in and process and enable you to elicit responses every.

The degree of communication depends upon the "size" of the environment being considered. Every one of the cell exists in a direct environment of atoms and molecules, typically in a water-based broth.

Individuals live in minute environments that are merely their direct surroundings and fit into ecosystems that comprise, in assumption at the very least, all the global factors that influence them and which they in turn influence.

Not surprisingly, this is why any practical discussion requires limits to be enforced when during the study of every particular ecosystem.

Ecosystems have niches. Niches are sort of functional "slots" into which different types of organisms fit. Take for instance the majority of possible ecosystems possesses a niche or niches for top Predator(s), distinct by factors like the availability of prey but also land and water availability.

This is one more locale where biology is reductionist, making assumptions that that the functions of any ecosystem can be tacit and foreseen by awareness of all the "relevant" niches; this is as well one more area where embryonic properties can be exceptionally in convenient.

Classification of Living Things
Classification of living things is called "Taxonomy." This is when scientists put organisms into groups when they have things in common. The first groups they use are the Kingdoms. There are five kingdoms:

• Animal Kingdom

• Plant Kingdom

• Fungi Kingdom

• Protist Kingdom

• Moneran Kingdom

Every Kingdom is further sub-divided into minor groups, known as Phyla. Every Phylum is divided into slighter groups known as Classes, every Class is subdivided into Orders, every Order is divided into Families, every Family is further divided into Genera, and every Genus divided into Species.

A Species is a particular organism, not a group. A few examples of species are Southern Leopard Frog, Honey Mushroom, or White Oak. Every one of the seven types of groups exit in order from biggest to least, in this manner:

• Kingdom

• Phylum

• Class

• Order

• Family

• Genus

• Species

biology
As every group got divided into minor groups, the organisms look more and more identical. For example, a White-tailed Deer, an Eastern Gray Squirrel, and an Eastern Chipmunk are examples of Mammal n the same Class.

This is due to the fact of the things they have in common with each other more than with other animals, like the turtles, birds, or insects. Nevertheless, it is simple to observe that there are several huge differences between a deer, squirrels and chipmunks.

The White-tailed Deer is in the Aritiodactyla Order together with toed Hoofed Mammals, while squirrels and chipmunks are together in the Rodentia Order (Rodents).

In reality, squirrels and chipmunks have a lot in common. They are also in the same Family, the Sciuridae Family. Nevertheless, despite the fact that squirrels and chipmunks look alike, they still possess some differences.

The Eastern Gray Squirrel is classified among the Sciurus Genus, while the Eastern Chipmunk is classified among the Tamias Genus.

You would observe that each one of these groups have names which are funny. This is so because Scientists globally consented to making use of the ancient language of Latin to name organisms, and their groups.

Occasionally a group will possess a "Common Name" and a scientific Latin name. For instance a Family of frogs that are given Scientific Latin name "Ranidae" is commonly known as "True Frogs in English.

Also, the entire organism's Species have scientific Latin name. A Bullfrog for example is as well referred to as "Rana catesbeiana." A White-tailed Deer is referred to as "Odocoileus virginianus." A Monarch butterfly is referred to as "Danaus plexipus."

What makes it simpler to know all the names is the knowledge that a Species always bear a first and a last name; and that the first name is as well the name of the Genus group that Species belongs to.

So the Monarch butterfly is referred to as Danaus plexipus and it is in the Danaus genus. Take note that the first name of a Species is constantly written in cap lock whereas the second name is written in lower case.

The classification of a Bullfrog enable you know the groups it belongs to:
• Bullfrog (Rana catesbeiana)

• Kingdom: Animal

• Phylum: Chordate

• Class: Amphibians

• Order: Salientia

• Family: Ranidae

• Genus: Rana

• Species: Rana catesbeiana (Bullfrog)

See below two examples of classifications. Take note that in plants, Phyla are known as "Divisions."

Animal-Eastern Gray Squirrel:

Scientific Classification
KINGDOM - Animal

PHYLUM - Chordate

CLASS - Mammal

ORDER - Rodentia

FAMILY - Sciuridae

GENUS - Sciurus

SPECIES - Sciurus, carolinensis

Plant-White Oak:
Scientific Classification
KINGDOM - Plant

DIVISION - Magnoliophyta

CLASS - Magnoliopsida

ORDER - Fagales

FAMILY - Fagaceae

GENUS - Quercus

SPECIES - Quercus alba

Immediately you have mastered the way classification works, you would found it simple to learn and compare a group of organisms.

Explanations of Classification Group
Every organism is divided into five Kingdoms:

• Animal Kingdom: These are organisms that typically move around and get their own food.

• Plant Kingdom: These are organisms that produce their own food and do not vigorously move about.

• Fungi Kingdom: These are organisms that suck up food from living and non-living things.

• Protist Kingdom: These are organisms that possess single but composite cells.

• Moneran Kingdom: These are organisms that contain single, uncomplicated cells.

Animal Kingdom
The Animal Kingdom is divided into many Phyla. Every one of the Phylum group have organisms that have similar features or characteristics. See below examples of Phyla:

1. Chordate Phylum:
This phylum comprises all the animals which posses a backbone. Examples are: Fish, Reptiles, Birds, Amphibians, and Mammals.

2. Arthropod Phylum:
This phylum is composed of animals with "jointed appendages. All animals that belong to this phylum possess an exoskeleton which means a skeleton that it on the exterior part of the body. Examples are: Insects, Arachnids, and Crustaceans.

3. Mollusk Phylum:
This phylum is soft-bodied animals that occasionally have a tough shell. Examples are Snails, Slugs, Octopus, Squid, Clams, Oysters, and Mussels.

Annelid Phylum: These organisms are segmented worms. They are: Earthworms and Leeches.

Rotifer Phylum: This is minute, microscopic animals that have wheel-shaped mouth and miniature hairs.

Nematode Phylum: These are extremely minute worms that have no segments in their bodies. They are also known as Roundworms.

Tardigrade Phylum: This phylum is sluggish-moving animals with four body segments and eight legs. Example is the Water Bears.

Cnidarian Phylum: This is tender- bodied, wobbly animals with tentacles and venom glands. Examples are: Hydra, Jellyfish, Sea Anemones, and Coral.

Echinoderm Phylum: These are regularly spiky animals, with quite a few "arms" shooting out from the middle of its body. Examples are: Starfish and Sea Urchins.

Platyhelminthes Phylum: These are tender and flat-bodied worms. They are Planarians and Tapeworms for instance.

Chordate Phylum Arthropod Phylum Mollusk Phylum
Annelid Phylum Rotifer Phylum Nematode Phylum
Cnidarian Phylum Tardigrade Phylum Platyhelminthes Phylum
Plant Kingdom
In place of Phyla, the Plant Kingdom is divided into Divisions. Every Division group embraces organisms that possess things in common. See below a list of few plant Divisions:

1. Magnoliophyta Division:
This comprises every flowering plant. These plants possess leaves, stems, and roots. After blossoming, they develop fruits with seeds. Examples are the majority of crops, trees, shrubs, grasses, garden plants, and weeds.

2. Coniferophyta Divsion:
These are plants that bear cones. Examples are Pine Trees and Cedars.

3. Pteridophyta Division:
These are plants that possess roots and stems, but which are lacking flowers or seeds. In its place, they multiply through the process of spore formation. Examples are Ferns.

4. Bryophyta Division:
These are plants that have very minute sized leaves and stems. They also do not have roots and flowers. They normally grow extremely near to the ground Example is Mosses.

5. Lycopodiophyta Division:
biology
These comprise small plants that have green, branched stems, scale-like leaves but no flowers. They as well normally grow significantly stumpy to the ground. They include such plants like Club Mosses, Quillworts, and Spike mosses.

Magnoliophyta Division Coniferophyta Division
Pteridophyta Division Bryophyta Division
Lycopodiophyta Division
biology
Fungi Kingdom
Similar to the plant kingdom, the Fungi Kingdom is divided into Divisions as an alternative to Phyla. The entire Division group has organisms that have similar characteristics See a list of a few fungi Divisions below:

Basidiomycota Division:
These consist of a lot of dissimilar forms, the majority of which assist putrefy and break down wood, waste, and animal dung.

Protist Kingdom
The Protist Kingdom is divided into a number of Phyla. Every Phylum group consists of organisms with similar characteristics. Some examples of a list of protist Phyla are shown below:

Protozoa Phylum:
These are very small, minute organisms which replicate by dividing into half to turn into two new organisms. Examples are Amoeba, Paramecium, and Sporozoa.

Euglenophyta Phylum:
These are minute, infinitesimal organisms which possesses flagella. Flagella are small hair-like features that assist them to move about water. A number of them feed on algae and carry them inside their bodies, as their food. Example is the Euglena.

Moneran Kingdom
The kingdom Monera is divided into a lot of Phyla. Every one of the Phylum group have organisms with similar characteristics. See below a few moneran Phyla:

Bacteria Phylum: These organisms are exceptionally significant and can as well be awfully hazardous. They live everywhere there is humidity, together with inside animal's bodies. A number of them are diseases carriers.

Cyanobacteria Phylum: These organisms are as well referred to as Blue-green Algae. These algae vary from the Green Algae originated in the Plant Kingdom.

Viruses
Scientists have not been able to come into conclusion of where to place viruses. Presently they are not classified into any of the five Kingdoms.

Differences between Plants and Animals
1. Plants belong to the kingdom plantae while animals belong to the kingdom animalia.

2. Plants do not move from one place to the next while animals move from one place to the other.

3. Plant cells have cell walls while animal cells don't have a cell wall.

4. Animals have more developed sensory and nervous system. Animals have intelligence to evaluate situations and make decisions while plants don't.

5. On basis of cell structure, plant cell has a cell wall and a coloring pigment referred to as chlorophyll but this is lacking in animal cell.

6. Plants manufacture their own food through the process of photosynthesis while animals cannot manufacture their own food but only depend on plants for their feeding.

Did You Know... Science and Tech

Thomas Edison, the inventor of the lightbulb, was actually afraid of the dark?!

-AdminT

A Review of the Misinformation Circulating in Africa about Covid-19

As coronavirus cases spread through African countries, misleading information continues to be shared on social media and online.

Here are some of the stories that have been widely recently sent and their reviews:

1. The 'plot' to stop Africa developing its own cures.
 
We start with a baseless conspiracy revolving around Madagascar's President Andry Rajoelina, and the unproven herbal tonic, Covid-Organics, which he's promoting to treat coronavirus.

Social media posts have been circulating that claim he's being offered large amounts of money by the World Health Organization (WHO) to secretly poison the drink.

The baseless theory suggests that the WHO wants to prove that African countries can't be self-reliant and find their own cure for Covid-19.

It appears to have first appeared in a French-language post on a Facebook account that was operating from Angola and DR Congo on 23 April.

The claims were later published by two newspapers in Tanzania on 14 May. One of these reports alleges President Rajoelina had admitted - during an interview with France24 - that he'd been offered money.

The story has been picked up and widely shared on social media across Africa.

Mr Rajoelina was indeed interviewed by France24 on 11 May, but at no point does he say he'd been offered any money by the WHO.

The WHO has told the BBC the story is fake, and the Madagascar government has dismissed the allegations.

"Since the launch of the Covid-Organics remedy, many words have been falsely attributed to President Andry Rajoelina", government spokesperson Lova Ranoramoro has said.

The herbal drink Covid-Organics continues to be produced in Madagascar and has been exported for use in other African countries, but there's no evidence it works against the virus.

The WHO says it welcomes innovations based on traditional remedies but has also warned against untested treatments.

2. Tanzania's health minister didn't test positive
An online article claiming Tanzania's Health Minister, Ummy Mwalimu, had tested positive for coronavirus, was shared on Twitter by, among others, a prominent journalist.  

But this story is not true.

The basis of the story was a screenshot of a tweet, which the author claimed was posted by the minister.

The translation for the Swahili-language tweet reads: "It is unfortunate that I have tested positive for coronavirus. But I'll continue to serve my nation remotely as if I was on the frontline until things get better".

But the tweet doesn't appear in the minister's Twitter feed. The minister and the ministry of health have both dismissed the report as fake.

3. South Sudan's bogus badges against the virus


South Sudan President Salva Kiir and other senior officials have used so-called "protective" badges that claim to repel viruses, but which don't work.

Photos posted on Facebook by the president's press unit show him and other officials wearing what look very similar to two kinds of badges that can be bought online - called "Air Doctor" and "Virus Shut Out ".

But there's no evidence that these can ward off viruses and bacteria.

When contacted by the BBC, a South Sudan government spokesperson said they'd been supplied to them by someone who said they were working on behalf of the Japanese government.

But they added they'd stopped wearing them "as they are not approved by the WHO". The Japanese Embassy in South Sudan has denied any link to them.

Similar devices are being sold around the world and have been spotted being used by members of the Russian parliament.

The substance released by such cards or badges - the bleaching agent chlorine dioxide - is potentially harmful, and the subject of a warning from the US drug regulator, the FDA.

4. President Magufuli didn't ban wearing masks in public
Misleading messages have been spreading on social media claiming that Tanzania's President John Magufuli has banned the wearing of masks in public.


These posts claim the president had said wearing masks would spread fear, and send the wrong message to foreign visitors once international travel and tourism resume.

They use a screenshot of a tweet purportedly posted by the president, but it is fake.

There is also a fabricated press statement circulating, which is dated and signed from his hometown, Chato,

However, when we checked, we found that President Magufuli was in the city of Dodoma at that time.

The president's spokesperson has called on people to disregard the claim.

The Tanzanian government encourages citizens to wear masks in public, and to practice social distancing.

-AdminT

Sad! Aubameyang Unveils Why He Almost Let Go Of His Football Career

Arsenal striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has Unveiled Why He thought of quitting football while he was growing up. living off football as one of European football's top strikers, his story could have been extremely different.

Speaking to Arsenal FC, the Gunners star confessed that he fell out of love with the game as a youngster but revealed that, with his father's support, he soon got back on track.

" Growing up as a child we were moving around quite a lot, and I played youth football for Nice, Laval, and Rouen. Sure, it was difficult to move around a lot, but now I can see that it's been a massive benefit as it's helped me settle into new environments very quickly," he said.

"I'd had some problems with my knees and I couldn't run as fast as I had been able to, so I fell out of love with the game i so loved. I didn't have a club, I wasn't at school, I was just at home trying to think positively.

"I don't know why, but I thought that I had to train very hard because you never know in life, something can happen.

"Then after about six months of consistent hard work, my father called me and said, 'Are you ready to train with a team?' and I said, 'Yes of course!' because I had prepared hard for six months for that opportunity. That was when I started to train with Bastia and from there, that was the start of my professional career."

Wow! Frank Lampard Says He Would Be Chelsea's New Coach If.....

Derby County manager and Possible Sarri Replacement Frank Lampard, says he will leave for Chelsea if he gets the right offer, according to sources from UK Mirror reports.

The former Chelsea midfielder is favourite to take over from Maurizio Sarri, who left to join Juventus last weekend.

Talks between the Rams and the Premier League giants are said to be ongoing, but the Sky Bet Championship side are yet to receive a formal offer for their boss.

Derby County Has Said they want £4million in compensation for Lampard, who is ready to be offered a three-year deal by Roman Abramovich.

Frank Lampard's Ex-Chelsea colleague, John Terry, has also extended his deal as Aston Villa assistant manager.

Nigeria vs Burundi: Coach Rohr Sends A Warning Message To Alex Iwobi.

Super Eagles Head Coach, Gernot Rohr, has strongly urged Arsenal forward, Alex Iwobi, to better his scoring ability as they play debutants Burundi on Saturday in the Africa Cup of Nations Group B opener in Egypt.

"Just 23, Alex is an experienced international and I want to see him scoring more regularly for the national team.

"He, Odion (Ighalo) and Ahmed (Musa) can cause a lot of threat to opposing defences if they click at this Cup of Nations," Rohr told reporters.

Rohr has cause for concern, as Nigeria failed to score in two warm-up matches against fellow qualifiers, drawing 0-0 at home to Zimbabwe and losing 1-0 to Senegal in Egypt.