Venus Flytrap

The Venus Flytrap, Dionaea muscipula, is a carnivorous plant that catches and digests animal prey—mostly insects and arachnids. Its trapping structure is formed by the terminal portion of each of the plant's leaves and is triggered by tiny hairs on their inner surfaces. When an insect or spider crawling along the leaves contacts a hair, the trap closes if a different hair is contacted within twenty seconds of the first strike. The requirement of redundant triggering in this mechanism serves as a safeguard against a waste of energy in trapping objects with no nutritional value.

The plant's common name refers to Venus, the Roman goddess of love, whereas the genus name refers to Dione.^[2] Dionaea is a monotypic genus closely related to the waterwheel plant and sundews.

Chocolate and the Heart-Healthy Diet

Chocolate and the Heart-Healthy Diet

Dark chocolate and cocoa are rich in antioxidants called flavonoids. Research suggests that eating flavonoid-rich chocolate helps to keep blood vessels healthier by improving their ability to expand.

One small study showed that eating high-flavonoid dark chocolate daily helped high blood pressure patients lower their blood pressure and reduce LDL. Patients who ate white chocolate got no beneficial effects.

Eating chocolate in moderation is fine, Lichtenstein says. But be aware that flavonoid levels differ in various chocolate products, so there's no guarantee that you'll get a dose large enough for health benefits. Also, too much chocolate has no place in a heart-healthy diet because the extra calories can lead to weight gain. 

 http://www.webmd.com/diet/delicious-diet-heart-health-8/heart-healthy-diet

میوه های عجیب

 

لیچیlychee

Tea in Britain

Tea is the most quintessential of English drinks. It was not until the mid 17th century that beverage first appeared in England. The use of tea spread slowly from its Asian homeland and reached Europe around 1560. Dutch and Portuguese traders imported tea to Europe with regular shipments by 1610.

Thomas Garway who owned one of the first London coffee (!) houses sold tea both liquid and dry to the public as early as 1657.

Tea gained popularity quickly in coffee houses. By 1700 over 500 houses sold it and 50 years later this drink had become the favoured one of Britain’s lower classes also.

In the early 1800’s Anna, 7th Duchess of Bedford, launched the idea of having tea in the late afternoon. Afternoon tea is said to have originated with one person.

Today you find tea shops all over Britain. 

http://www.englisch-hilfen.de/en/texte/tea.htm

اسکلت انسان

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The 7 Missing Nutrients in Your Diet

Potassium: Lower Blood Pressure

The USDA says American adults don't get enough of seven essential nutrients. Potassium is a key one. Studies show that potassium can help keep blood pressure healthy. Potassium also supports fertility and muscle and nerve function. But while potassium is in lots of foods naturally -- like potatoes, sweet potatoes, and bananas -- many Americans still aren't getting enough. 

Magnesium: Prevent Disease

Low magnesium levels have been linked with health problems like osteoporosis, high blood pressure, diabetes, muscle cramps, and heart disease. Some people, such as the elderly, people with stomach or intestinal problems, or those who regularly drink alcohol, are at risk for having low magnesium levels. So eat your spinach -- and your beans, peas, and nuts (especially almonds). They could do a lot for your health.

Dragon fruit (میوه عجیب)

  

What a beautiful specimen this thing called the dragon fruit is! Its skin looks like the feathers of an exotic bird or the petals of a tropical flower. Cut it in half and you get the most simple black-and-white interior imaginable. It's so... interesting. I have to admit that I didn't know anything about it until I got a serving of crappy fruit salad on my Hong Kong-Tokyo flight earlier this week. Maybe it was just the airplane food thing, but I found it to be pretty plain-tasting.

Many of us associate dragon fruit with Southeast Asia because of its prevalence in the region and the use of dragon fruit in some Thai recipes, but it actually has its origins in South America. The fruit is mostly made of water and makes for a great low-calorie snack; it's also a great source of fiber and vitamin C.  

http://www.boingboing.net/2010/01/29/taste-test-dragon-fr.html

octopus هشت پا

 

The octopus is a cephalopod mollusc of the order Octopoda. Octopuses have two eyes and four pairs of arms, and like other cephalopods they are bilaterally symmetric. An octopus has a hard beak, with its mouth at the center point of the arms. Octopuses have no internal or external skeleton (although some species have a vestigial remnant of a shell inside their mantle), allowing them to squeeze through tight places. Octopuses are among the most intelligent and behaviorally flexible of all invertebrates.

The octopus inhabits many diverse regions of the ocean, including coral reefs, pelagic waters, and the ocean floor. They have numerous strategies for defending themselves against predators, including the expulsion of ink, the use of camouflage and deimatic displays, their ability to jet quickly through the water, and their ability to hide. An octopus trails its eight arms behind it as it swims. All octopuses are venomous, but only one group, the blue-ringed octopuses, is known to be deadly to humans.^[3]

In the larger sense, there are around 300 recognized octopus species, which is over one-third of the total number of known cephalopod species. The term octopus may also be used to refer only to those creatures in the genus Octopus.