EVER HEARD OF ELECTROPHORUS ELECTRICUS?

I came across this amazing creature on TV.It might as well be used as a torturing tool for hardened criminals LOL! THE ELECTRIC EEL! Ever heard of it?

The electric eel (Electrophorus electricus) is an electric fish, and the only species in its genus.Despite their serpentine appearance, electric eels are not actually eels. Their scientific classification is closer to carp and catfish. These famous freshwater predators get their name from the enormous electrical charge they can generate to stun prey and dissuade predators. Their bodies contain electric organs with about 6,000 specialized cells called electrocytes that store power like tiny batteries. When threatened or attacking prey, these cells will discharge simultaneously, emitting a burst of at least 600 volts, five times the power of a standard U.S. wall socket!!!
HOW DO ELECTRIC EELS GENERATE VOLTAGE?
The source of their power is a battery-like array of cells known as electrocytes, which make up around 80 per cent of the eel's metre-long body. Disc-like in shape, these cells each acquire a small potential difference of around 1/10th of a volt by controlling the flow of sodium and potassium ions (charged atoms) across the cell membranes. Linked together in arrays of thousands of individual cells, the result is a kind of natural car battery, which releases its charge when the eel spots predators or prey. Up to 0.5kW of electric power is released per shock - enough to inflict significant injury on a human.

They live in the murky streams and ponds of the Amazon and Orinoco basins of South America, feeding mainly on fish, but also amphibians and even birds and small mammals. As air-breathers, they must come to the surface frequently. They also have poor eyesight, but can emit a low-level charge, less than 10 volts, which they use like radar to navigate and locate prey.
Electric eels can reach huge proportions, exceeding 8 feet (2.5 meters) in length and 44 pounds (20 kilograms) in weight. They have long, cylindrical bodies and flattened heads and are generally dark green or grayish on top with yellowish coloring underneath.
Human deaths from electric eels are extremely rare. However, multiple shocks can cause respiratory or heart failure!!! People have been known to drown in shallow water after a stunning jolt.
The shock of an electric eel has been known to knock a mighty horse off its feet!!!! Wow such a little devil!!

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Photo of the day

Came across this online! How about putting yourself in the shoes of the lady over there!!!!

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Photo of the weekend

Reminds me of the old movie "MR BONES"

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A LITTLE ABOUT EBOLA 'THE WARRIOR'

I was caught up in a discussion with a friend of mine few days ago and in the process EBOLA surfaced in our talk. She refered to EBOLA as ALOBAM!!! I wanted to tear my ribs with laughter!!!LOL. I do not blame her because of the way she explained herself...she said Ebola is gotten from body contact which is true, and as we all know,#ALOBAM is a phrase used by a nigerian singer PHYNO. It means a friend that is always there for you at all times. When friends relate its always done with body greetings (if you know what i mean) think about how greetings are done in the 'street'...i guess u understand now!!!well it links with EBOLA!! Touch body! Yours is a story to be told!! LoL!!! Well some of us dont really know what this EBOLA is about...I NO BLAME YOU SHA!!! I guess it might be laziness to know! 

WHAT IS THIS EBOLA WE HEAR ALL DAY?

Ebola virus disease (EVD) or Ebola hemorrhagic fever (EHF) is the human disease caused by the Ebola virus. Symptoms typically start two days to three weeks after contracting the virus, with a fever, sore throat, muscle pains, and headaches. Typically nausea, vomiting, and diarrhea follow, along with decreased functioning of the liver and kidneys. At this point, some people begin to have bleeding problems.!!!! Kaai!! Guess you now know abi?

HOW IS IT CONTACTED?

It is not entirely clear how Ebola is spread.EVD is believed to occur after an ebola virus is transmitted to an initial human by contact with an infected animal's body fluids. Human-to-human transmission can occur via direct contact with blood or bodily fluids from an infected person (including embalming of an infected dead person) or by contact with contaminated medical equipment, particularly needles and syringes.Semen is infectious in survivors for up to 50 days. Transmission through oral exposure and through conjunctiva exposure is likely and has been confirmed in non-human primates.The potential for widespread EVD infections is considered low as the disease is only spread by direct contact with the secretions from someone who is showing signs of infection.The quick onset of symptoms makes it easier to identify sick individuals and limits a person's ability to spread the disease by traveling. Because dead bodies are still infectious, some doctors disposed of them in a safe manner, despite local traditional burial rituals.

Medical workers who do not wear appropriate protective clothing may also contract the disease.In the past, hospital-acquired transmission has occurred in African hospitals due to the reuse of needles and lack of universal precautions

Airborne transmission has not been documented during previous EVD outbreaks.They are, however, infectious as breathable 0.8–1.2 micrometre laboratory generated droplets; because of this potential route of infection, these viruses have been classified as Category A biological weapons.Recently the virus has been shown to travel without contact from pigs to non-human primates.

Bats drop partially eaten fruits and pulp, then land mammals such as gorillas and duikers feed on these fallen fruits. This chain of events forms a possible indirect means of transmission from the natural host to animal populations, which has led to research towards viral shedding in the saliva of bats. Fruit production, animal behavior, and other factors vary at different times and places that may trigger outbreaks among animal populations.[Guess its time to be more careful!!!!]

HOW DO YOU PREVENT IT FROM VISITING YOU?

Ebola viruses are contagious, with prevention predominantly involving behavior changes, proper full-body personal protective equipment, and disinfection. Techniques to avoid infection involve not contacting infected blood or secretions, including from those who are dead.This involves suspecting and diagnosing the disease early and using standard precautions for all patients in the healthcare setting. Recommended measures when caring for those who are infected include isolating them, sterilizing equipment, and wearing protective clothing including masks, gloves, gowns and goggles.Hand washing is important but can be difficult in areas where there is not even enough water for drinking.

Due to lack of proper equipment and hygienic practices, large-scale epidemics have occurred mostly in poor, isolated areas without modern hospitals or well-educated medical staff. Traditional burial rituals, especially those requiring embalming of bodies, should be discouraged or modified.Airline crews who fly to these areas of the world are taught to identify Ebola and isolate anyone who has symptoms. Quarantine, also known as enforced isolation, is usually effective in decreasing spread.Governments often quarantine areas where the disease is occurring or individuals who may be infected.In the United States the law allows quarantine of those infected with Ebola.The lack of roads and transportation may help slow the disease in Africa. During the 2014 outbreak Liberia closed schools.

No vaccine is currently available for humans.The most promising candidates are DNA vaccines or vaccines derived from adenoviruses,vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus (VSIV)or filovirus-like particles (VLPs)because these candidates could protect nonhuman primates from ebola virus-induced disease. DNA vaccines, adenovirus-based vaccines, and VSIV-based vaccines have entered clinical trials.

Vaccines have protected nonhuman primates. Immunization takes six months, which impedes the counter-epidemic use of the vaccines. Searching for a quicker onset of effectiveness, in 2003 a vaccine using an adenoviral (ADV) vector carrying the Ebola spike protein was tested on crab-eating macaques. Twenty-eight days later they were challenged with the virus and remained resistant.A vaccine based on attenuated recombinant vesicular stomatitis virus (VSV) vector carrying either the Ebola glycoprotein or the Marburg glycoprotein in 2005 protected nonhuman primates,opening clinical trials in humans.The study by October completed the first human trial, over three months giving three vaccinations safely inducing an immune response. Individuals for a year were followed, and, in 2006, a study testing a faster-acting, single-shot vaccine began; this new study was completed in 2008.Trying the vaccine on a strain of Ebola that more resembles one that infects humans is the next step.

On 6 December 2011, the development of a successful vaccine against Ebola for mice was reported. Unlike the predecessors, it can be freeze-dried and thus stored for long periods in wait for an outbreak.An experimental vaccine made by researchers at Canada's national laboratory in Winnipeg was used in 2009 to pre-emptively treat a German scientist who might have been infected during a lab accident.However, actual EBOV infection could never be demonstrated without a doubt.Experimentally, recombinant vesicular stomatitis Indiana virus (VSIV) expressing the glycoprotein of EBOV or SUDV has been used successfully in nonhuman primate models as post-exposure prophylaxis.

IF YOU HAVE CONTACTED IT NKO?

There is no specific treatment for the disease; efforts to help persons who are infected include giving either oral rehydration therapy (slightly sweet and salty water to drink) or intravenous fluids.The disease has high mortality rate: often killing between 50% and 90% of those infected with the virus.EVD was first identified in Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The disease typically occurs in outbreaks in tropical regions of Sub-Saharan Africa.From 1976 (when it was first identified) through 2013, fewer than 1,000 people per year have been infected.The largest outbreak to date is the ongoing 2014 West Africa Ebola virus outbreak, which is affecting Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Nigeria.As of August 2014 more than 1750 suspected cases have been reported.Efforts are ongoing to develop a vaccine; however, none yet exists.!! If your in Nigeria for more info you can also visit ebolainfo@heallth.gov.ng or call 08037154575.....So please dear let us help ourselves...share this post if you can..thanks

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