Chapter Six : Hormonal co-ordination in living organism

Chapter 1

 

 

ARCHAEOLOGISTS IN THE WESTERN DESERT
In the western desert, after midnight, a team of six archaeologists were asleep in their tents in a valley with high hills of sand on both sides.

FOUR MEN MOVING STEALTHILY
Two Land Cruisers were moving slowly down the hill towards the tents. They were making no engine noise and with no lights. They stopped 200 metres from the tents. Four foreigners got out and walked 50 metres. Then they climbed down into a big underground passage. There, they switched on their torches and saw paintings on the walls.

WHO THE FOUR MEN ARE
The four men were robbers. The oldest man was their leader. He was followed by a small thin man with glasses carrying a machine. Two other men were strong-looking. The taller was carrying a computer while the other was carrying a large bag.

SEARCHING FOR ROOMS NOT DISCOVERED YET
The four men walked into an underground room where they found five mummies. Then, they moved to an empty room. The oldest man said the two rooms were discovered by the archaeologists the week before. The treasures in the second room had been sent to the Museum in Cairo the day before. He also added that he believed there were other rooms which were not discovered yet. He was planning to find them that night and take the treasures in them. Thus, they would become rich.

GPR DETECTS A ROOM
They had got the Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR). It could transmit radio waves that would penetrate the wall. When they hit something, they would be sent back. The computer attached to it would change them into pictures. The small man connected a wire between the GPR and the computer. Using the GPR, they saw a dark shape on the screen which meant a room on the other side of the wall.

THE MEN REACH THE ROOM
The big man broke through the wall with a pickaxe and a hammer. He destroyed the ancient paintings on it. A doorway appeared filled with stones. Knocking the stones away, they went through a hole to another passage. Spiders' webs were hanging from the ceiling. At the end of the passage, there were two gold doors which they broke down.

THE TREASURES IN THE ROOM
The oldest man was the first to enter. A huge spider's web covered his face and body. He broke through it to get inside. The room's walls were covered with paintings and writing. They found boxes, pots, large gold objects and two mummies with gold masks. They took the treasures out into the passage.

THE ATTACK OF THE SPIDERS
Near the door, the big man cried with pain when he was attacked by spiders and was bitten by their long fangs. The tall man took off his jacket and hit the spiders. Another spider bit the small man three times before he could kill it. Seeing spiders all around them, they hurried out with the treasures to their cars. By the time they drove away, the four men had been bitten by the spiders.

THE SPIDERS' BITES
The oldest man said that the bites were not dangerous as the Egyptian spiders are not deadly. The small man said they might be an unknown species like the fish which was found in an underground lake in South America. However, they felt pain and seated heavily. They were thirsty though they drank all the water they had. Then, their limbs and face muscles made sudden violent movements. They could no longer drive. In the early morning, the big man saw four spiders on the boxes in the back of the car. The tall man couldn't move and fell beside the car. The four men died.

A HELICOPTER FINDS THE DEAD MEN
At midday, a helicopter was on its way to a transmitter that needed repair. It was carrying a telecom engineer and a technician. The pilot saw the two vehicles and the tall man's body on the sand. He brought the helicopter down and the three men ran carrying bottles of water for help. When they found the four men dead, the pilot believed they died of thirst when they lost their way.

A NARROW ESCAPE
The three men did not see the spiders. The pilot's hands were getting nearer toward the spiders. He escaped death when he moved to the helicopter as the engineer asked him to get on the radio.

THE BIGGEST SPIDER ALIVE
The police arrived in a few hours. The great heat of the sun had killed the small spiders in the cars. The two Land Cruisers were taken to a new town south-west of Cairo called Hamdayya. The biggest spider was still alive in one of them.

 

 

Chapter 2

 

 

THE DEADLY SPIDER ESCAPES
Later, when a police officer discovered the treasures in the cars, he ran to tell his superior. Meanwhile, the deadly spider at the back of the car found its way out and escaped. It looked for a dark and safe place.

AYMAN'S FAMILY
The Hassan Family lived in the house next to the police station. Ayman was the eldest brother. He was 20. His brother, Mohamed, was 16. His two sisters were Lamia, 12 and Najat, 10

AYMAN'S COMPUTER AND INTERNET FRIENDS
Ayman's room was on the top floor. When his uncle bought a new computer, he gave his old one to him. Ayman's hobby was the internet. He used it both for his university studies and for making internet friends from different countries. On the screen, conversations including more than two people could be read.

A CONVERSATION ABOUT GETTING JOBS
That day, Ayman had a conversation with his two Internet friends Ed and Jill about getting jobs after graduation. Finding a good job was a problem. Jill believed they would be flexible as any job was better than none.

THE SPIDER'S JOURNEY IN HAMDAYYA
When the deadly spider escaped, it went to Hassan's house. Their mother called the two sisters and they were leaving the room. Najat's foot landed near the spider. Her foot moved away when the spider was about to attack her. Thus Najat was saved. The house was full of light and noise, so the spider left it. It climbed out of the window and went to the garden.

AYMAN WITNESSES THE SPIDER
Ayman was going to the shops when he saw the deadly spider. He got interested in it. It was black and had two yellow lines on its back. The spider was big in the size of a small apple. It had eight eyes, two of them were about a centimetre each. The eight legs were like a pencil in length. When it opened its mouth, he saw two long fangs 1 cm each. The spider ran away and disappeared.

A ZOOLOGY STUDENT CONSULTS A SPIDER'S BOOK
Ayman phoned a zoology student and described the spider he had seen to him. The student consulted a book about Spiders of North Africa. He didn't find the big black spiders with two yellow lines in that book.

AYMAN RESORTS TO THE INTERNET
Ayman resorted to his computer. He turned to the World Wide Web the internet. The communication lines between thousands of computers would provide any information he needed. So, he typed "Spider black and yellow" in the search box and clicked on the "Search Button". He got information and pictures about thin small spiders in different parts of the world but nothing about the spider he saw.

THE TRANSLATION OF AN OLD EGYPTIAN TEXT
A page with no pictures appeared on the screen. It was an English translation of an Egyptian text. The translation was made by Dr Shereen Fakhry who worked on the Department of Egyptology, Oxford University. It told the story of hundreds of people killed by black and yellow spiders in an Egyptian town. To get rid of these dangerous deadly spiders, the people burnt down the town for six days and nights. Nothing remained in that town and they wanted to rebuild it. However, many spiders found their way into underground tombs and passages. Those tombs were unknown to the townspeople as their dead were buried for a thousand years. The spiders were safe in them and the people had to leave the town.

AN E-MAIL TO DR SHEREEN
Ayman sent an e-mail to Dr Shereen asking if the story about the black and yellow spiders in the Egyptian text was true. He had seen a big black and yellow spider himself and could not identify it.

DR SHEREEN'S REPLY
Ayman received Dr Shereen's reply. She believed the town was real. No one knew its place as many towns and villages in Egypt disappeared because of the dry climate 2000 years ago. However, the story might be just a story.

THE DEADLY SPIDER LAYS ITS EGGS
The big Spider succeeded in finding a home in a secret place in the house next to Hassan's. It was a safe place with nobody to disturb it and with plenty of food. The Spider was a female. It laid 2000 eggs and enclosed them in sacs of white silk. It began its long wait.

 

 

 

Chapter 3

 

 

A DEADLY SPIDER IN ANCIENT EGYPT
A week after receiving Ayman's e-mail, Dr Shereen had an e-mail message from an archaeologist in Egypt. In reply to her request about deadly spiders in ancient Egypt, he sent a very old picture that was found in a tomb near Bawiti. The picture was of a black and yellow spider like the one in her text. She had a shiver of fear when she remembered Ayman's description of the spider he saw. She forwarded that message to Ayman. A minute later, she received a chat request from Ayman.

A CHAT ABOUT THE SPIDER
In their conversation, Ayman said the picture of the spider was the same as the one he had seen. Dr Shereen mentioned the spider might have come from Bawiti. Ayman believed the spider might have come to their town in the boxes brought from the archaeological site to the police station. As there were no killer spiders in modern Egypt, he thought it was not possible to have killer spiders. She hoped he was right and advised him to tell the police and to photograph the spider if he saw it again.

THE SPIDER IN A MEDICAL ANCIENT EGYPTIAN TEXT
Dr Shereen received an e-mail from a German Egyptologist stating that he had translated a 2000 year old text about an ancient Egyptian medicine for the bite of the black and yellow spider that killed. It was made from the root of a certain plant. This meant that the spiders were real as they were mentioned in a medical text.

MEETING A ZOOLOGIST
The next morning Dr Shereen went to a friend who was a zoologist. Her name was Susan Bennett. She could not identify the spider in the picture of the ancient Egyptian text. Susan tried to find that spider on the database. Into her computer she put a CD that contained a list of all the known species of spider in the world. She said there were thirty thousand ones and the number went up as new species were discovered. Six names and pictures came onto the screen but didn't match the description of the spider they wanted. Susan decided to discuss the matter with the Head of their department, Professor Malcolm Jones.

THE OPINION OF THE HEAD OF THE ZOOLOGY DEPARTMENT
Susan took Dr Fakhry and met Professor Malcolm Jones. He welcomed the two women. Then, he had a telephone call in another room that angered him. He had to cancel the trip he was going to make to South America the next day. The aim of that trip was to find unknown species of arachnids there. He noticed that Dr Fakhry was not keen on spiders. He believed they are useful because they eat insects.

PROFESSOR JONES IS INTERESTED IN THE SPIDER'S STORY
When the Professor was told about the Spider seen by Ayman, he got interested. He became sure Ayman described the spider before seeing that picture. Dr Fakhry wondered why nobody else saw any of these spiders. He said they possibly lived in cool places in the hot desert. When people disturbed them, they came into our world. They lived under the desert for thousands of years. They were the only survivors when the climate changed two thousand years ago.

THAT SPIDER IS A GREAT DANGER
That spider was a great danger to Ayman and his family. Dr Fakhry said hospitals could treat spider bites. The professor agreed that a doctor could give an antivenom to treat their bites. However, there was no antivenom for that species of spider because it was unknown and a new antivenom would take years to be a safe one. The Hamdayya was also in danger. The whole country was in danger. Egypt is the meeting point of three continents, so they were in danger. The spider was a female. So its family would develop quickly. Within a few weeks, there would be millions of them.

THE PROFESSOR'S DICISION TO GO TO EGYPT
The professor decided to go to Egypt and find that unknown species of the spider. He travelled by plane the next morning. He wrote an e-mail to Ayman which he forgot to send.

 

 

 

Chapter 4

 

 

THE SPIDER AND ITS YOUNG ONES
The spider was in its secret place. It was guarding its young ones.

A CHAT
Ayman was chatting with an internet friend. He told the friend about his uncle who was a successful businessman.

A PROFESSOR ON HIS WAY TO HAMDAYYA
Ayman noticed an e-mail sent the evening before. It was from Dr Fakhry in Oxford. She said she had discussed the Spider's affair with Professor Malcolm Jones, a well-known arachnologist. He was interested in the matter and believed the spider was an unknown species and might be dangerous. He was on his way to Hamdayya and would arrive there the next morning. Thus, he was about to arrive at any moment. He printed out the e-mail and hurried downstairs.

SHOULD AYMAN TELL THE POLICE?
Ayman went downstairs and met his Uncle Walid. He heard the story of the spider and that Dr Shereen wanted Ayman to tell the police. He looked serious and said he had better not tell the police if he was not completely sure of the matter. It was no good for business in the town. Hotels, restaurants, food products would lose money as this story would worry people. He advised Ayman not to tell anyone outside the family.

AYMAN'S REGRET
Ayman understood his uncle's point of view. He regretted what he had done. However, it was too late. A professor was about to arrive. The spider's story would get into newspapers and business would be harmed. He believed he was a fool.

THE ARRIVAL OF THE PROFESSOR
Ayman showed his family Dr Fakhry's e-mail. They were shocked. At that moment the Professor arrived. They welcomed him. Ayman didn't know what to do.

A SUDDEN CHANGE
Two lorries carrying ten armed police officers in each stopped near the police station. Mohamed came out from the police station and told the family that the two lorries were going to an archaeological site in the desert to stop anyone going near it. It was a dangerous place as the archaeologists at the site were killed by spiders early that morning.

A PHONE TO THE POLICE HEAD
Uncle Walid phoned his friend, Colonel Mikhail, the police chief and became sure of the news. He told the Colonel that there might be danger in their town. He asked him to listen to Ayman who told him everything about the spider. An expert from Oxford University was with him. The Colonel asked to meet Ayman and the expert in his office at the police station.

PROTECTION CLOTHING
The police got protection clothing from the Fire Department. They were used when firemen fought chemical fires. The police would wear them to keep out spiders until the right antivenom could be found.

MEETING THE COLONEL
An officer took Ayman and the Professor to the Colonel's office. With his quick intelligent eyes, the Colonel was judging the usefulness of the two men. He asked if the professor could try to find one of these spiders and identify it, as sending for an expert would take time. The Colonel asked Ayman to go with them to tell if the spider the Professor would find was the same as the one he had seen. They would leave in thirty minutes.

GOING TO THE SITE
When Ayman went home, he found an e-mail from Dr Shereen. As he was in a hurry, he printed it out and took it with him. Three vehicles left the town and were on their way to the archaeological site. Ayman, the Professor, Captain Ahmed and another officer were in the first car. Behind it were the two lorries carrying twenty officers each. Captain Ahmed asked the Professor to tell him everything about spiders.

 

 

Chapter 5

 

 

HOW TO MAKE AN ANTIVENOM
During their journey to the site, Captain Ahmed listened carefully to the Professor who spoke about the spiders, the new enemy. Concerning the antivenom, making a new one was a difficult task. Venom was put into animals then antibodies were to be extracted. This might take years as it had to be made safe to use. Unknown species of spiders needed a new antivenom.

A MEDICINE FOR THE BITE OF THAT SPIDER
Ayman read the e-mail he had received before leaving his house. It was from Dr Fakhry. She stated that the ancient medical text described a medicine for the bite of the black and yellow deadly spider. The ancient Egyptians made it form the roots of a plant called "Echinacea Negra" which was almost extinct but was found now in Sinai. It was studied by a researcher in the Department of Botanical Science at Cairo University, called Wafaa Sultan.

A DECISION TO GET THE PLANT
Captain Ahmed called the Colonel on the radio to tell him about that plant. The Colonel decided to contact Wafaa to get that plant from Sinai.

THE THREE VEHICLES ON THE SITE
When the three vehicles reached the site, they came to a high wire fence and a gate guarded by two policemen. They stopped near some wooden buildings the archaeologists had used. The man unloaded the equipment, the protective clothing, the insecticides and the things they brought.

GOING WELL-PROTECTED INTO THE TOMB
Ayman, the Professor, Captain Ahmed and three officers went down into the tomb. For protection, they were all covered completely by black suits with no openings They had thick transparent windows over the face. They breathed through a filter like a gas mask. They switched on the torch that each man wore on his head. They reached the wide passage by following the same route the robbers had taken.

SETTING UP THE EQUIPMENT
The Professor set up his equipment in the place where a lot of webs were hanging from the ceiling. He also spread a white sheet and fitted it over a frame he made by four metal tubes. The sheet became a few centimetres above the ground.

SMOKE AND THE SPIDERS
The Professor started the engine on a machine like a gun. He switched on a smoker. Smoke poured out and went up to the ceiling. Dead things fell on the sheet. When he switched off, twenty small insects and spiders were on the sheet. The professor picked up three spiders of the same kind of the spider Ayman had seen but half as big. With a magnifying glass, he examined them and found they were adult males.

A BIG SPIDER ATTACKS A YOUNG OFFICER
A black and yellow spider twice as big as the dead ones suddenly fell on the sheet. It was not dead. It jumped and attacked a young officer with its fangs on his face mask. The other two officers used the insecticide sprays and the spider fell to the ground. The Professor examined it. It was a female. Then it moved again, ran into the darkness and disappeared.

LEAVING THE TOMB
The officer fell down. The spider had broken through the face mask. The Captain decided to leave immediately. The injured man was carried. The Professor carried the bag with the three spiders. In the fresh air they took off the officer's suit. There was no blood on his face. The Professor said he just breathed in some insecticide, but he would be OK.

THE CAPTAIN DECIDES TO DESTROY THE SPIDERS
The Professor said the spiders were an unknown species. He hadn't found one like it on the database. The Professor did not like the Captain's decision to destroy the spiders as they were a great discovery. The Captain said ten people were killed by them and they did not want others to be killed.

COULD THEY DESTROY THE SPIDERS?
The Professor agreed, but believed it was impossible to destroy them all. They lived in underground rooms and the area was not known. In addition, the archaeological site would be destroyed.

THE COLONEL'S INSTRUCTIONS
Captain Ahmed spoke to the Colonel on the radio. The Colonel wanted him, the Professor and Ayman to return to the town and to bring the dead spiders to send their venom sacs to an antivenom lab. Wafaa Sultan, the Botanist Researcher would go to Sinai by helicopter to get the plant from there. The spider seen by Ayman had to be found. The professor hoped it hadn't produced its young yet.

 

 

 

Chapter 6

 

 

NO CARS IN OR OUT OF THE TOWN
Driving back to Hamdayya, they found a barrier at the edge of the town. No cars were allowed in or out. So they walked, then took another car waiting for them into the town.

THE SEARCH IN THE MORNING
They met the Colonel. The streets were empty because people had left that part of the town. The next morning, Captain Ahmed would start the search. Stronger protective suits would be used. The Colonel thanked the Professor and asked to join them in the search. He asked Ayman to tell them about the place where he saw the spider.

ONE OR MORE SPIDERS
In the morning, Captain Ahmed led the search. He asked the Professor whether they would search for one or more spiders. The Professor was of opinion that there was one female spider. It was unlikely there were more spiders as no one had been bitten.

THE DANGER OF THE FEMALE SPIDER
The Professor said that the female spider was more dangerous. In addition to its stronger bite, it had a nest and usually produced two thousand young. Perhaps the spider seen by Ayman produced such a number and were then spreading through the town.

THE PLACE OF THE SPIDER'S NEST
The Professor pointed out that spiders usually had their nests in dark quiet cool places, in an empty building or below the ground level. Ayman said that he saw the spider going to the empty house near his home. In fact, the spider was there and its eggs hatched and it had got a family of about 2000 young spiders.

THE ATTACK OF THE SPIDERS
When light entered the place where the female spider hid, two thousand small spiders moved. The men filled the room with clouds of poisonous insecticides and the small spiders jumped as a stormy sea, some died and others escaped through the door. They climbed into the men outside, covering their face masks and blinding them.

THE FEMALE SPIDER APPEARS
The big female spider appeared and attacked a man in the doorway. It couldn't bite him. The captain knocked it down. It fell at the foot of another officer who lifted his insecticide tank and brought it down on the spider. A leg was caught. The spider cut its own leg with its fangs. Then it jumped with its seven legs on Ayman's face. He lost his balance and fell to the ground.

AYMAN BITTEN BY SPIDERS
Small spiders ran over Ayman. His suit was torn and he was bitten by the spiders several times. An ambulance took Ayman to hospital. All the spiders were at last killed by the insecticide. The captain ordered his men to search for the dead body of the female spider.

AYMAN WAS IN DANGER
Ayman had a few hours to live. The plant which the ancient Egyptians used as antivenom had to be brought in time. Wafaa found the plant in Sinai. She would arrive in Hamdayya in two hours by helicopter to give the plant to Ayman and save him.

A BAD STORM
A telephone call came. A bad storm blew in Sinai and the helicopter could not get to the cars. They had to drive through the storm and would take a longer time.

 

 

 

Chapter 7

 

 

THE JOURNEY DOWN THE MOUNTAIN
Three cars started their journey down the mountain. The first car was a big powerful 4 - wheel drive vehicle. Wafaa, Farouk another botanist and Captain Osama were in it. The second car was a light jeep and had two officers in it. The third car was similar to the first one. It contained two officers and in the back the plants that were collected.

THE ROAD DOWN THE MOUNTAIN
The road was a steep narrow track. A wall of rock was on one side and nothing but a valley below on the other side. The cars went slowly in order not to slide and go over the edge.

BAD WEATHER
Half way down, heavy rain started with thunder and lightning. The road became a river. They had to get to the wadis before they flooded so that they could cross them. Thirty minutes later they reached flat ground and had to cross three wadis.

THE FIRST WADI
In the first Wadi, Captain Osama moved slowly. The water was about half way up the wheels. The two other cars did the same.

THE SECOND WADI
After twenty minutes they reached the second Wadi. It was wider and the water was higher. Captain Osama had to go dangerously fast and to race over the stony ground in order to be able to cross the third wadi before the water became too high.

THE THIRD WADI
In fifteen minutes they came to the third Wadi. It was about 40 metres across. The water was fast and deep. They saw a dead palm tree carried in the water. It crashed into a rock then continued on. The Captain had no choice but to go on. He put the car into a low gear and moved into the water. At the deepest part, water poured in under the doors. Finally, they managed to get out safely.

THE JEEP
The jeep followed. At the deepest part, it was too light, the water took it and it was carried fast on its side. It crashed into rocks then it got stuck between two rocks. Captain Osama, Farouk and Wafaa jumped out of their car and ran to the edge of the wadi. Captain Osama was about to swim to the two officers in the jeep. But they were able to climb out of the water onto a rocky island. The water around them was too deep and too fast to enable them to swim. They asked the Captain to go on. So the three returned to their car.

THE THIRD CAR
As the third car was heavy and the plants were in it, the driver had to get across. He waited for a while then began to move in a low gear. Half way, the engine stopped and the driver couldn't start it again. Suddenly, a palm tree smashed into it. It rolled up on one side and sank heavily down.

THE TOWROPE
The Captain took the towrope from the back of the first car. He attached it to its towbar, then he and Farouk swam to the third car and asked Wafaa to press the horn if a tree came towards them. When they reached the car, he asked the two officers to stay in the car to make it heavy, They couldn't attach the rope to the car. So, the two officers got out and the four men were able to attach the rope.

A TREE HITS THE CAR
They heard the car's horn and had only time to move before a tree came and hit the car, which went over and knocked the two men. The Captain and Farouk were hit by the rope. The four men managed to climb onto the rocky island and joined the two men from the jeep.

WAFAA PULLS THE THIRD CAR
As Wafaa was alone, she had to get into the first car and used the lowest gear to pull the third car. It moved out of the water and reached the land but came no further.

WAFAA TAKES THE PLANTS AND DRIVES OFF
Wafaa climbed onto the third car, opened the door and took the plants and put them in the first car. She drove off fast. She had a young man's life in her hands. She fought her fear and drove through the storm with the terror of the noise of rain beating on the metal roof and crashing against the glass of the windscreen.

 

 

 

Chapter 8

 

 

AYMAN IN INTENSIVE CARE
Nurse Mona who was starting her morning shift asked Hoda of the night shift about Ayman. He was in intensive care and his breathing stopped at one a.m. He was kept alive by the ventilator. When the plants were brought by Wafaa, a medicine was made from them and was given to Ayman about midnight. They also got the news that two cars were damaged in Sinai and six men were washed down a wadi. They were OK.

AYMAN REGAINS HIS HEALTH
Ayman began to improve. His breathing became normal. He felt well when he got up a few hours later. He walked around the ward. Then, in the afternoon he and his family sat in the roof terrace enjoying the fresh air. He was still weak and his brother helped him. He asked about the female spider but it was not found yet.
AYMAN THE RESCUER
His mother said his adventure was finished. His picture was in the papers and on TV. He was the one who saved hundreds of lives. Professor Malcolm said he saved the world from the black and yellow deadly spiders. The Professor said Ayman could study at Oxford University if the wanted. His father said he needn't worry about getting a good job. His uncle said the best employers would want a man like him. Ayman felt like a new person with a new future. The Professor presented him a new camera as a "Thank you" with lots of attachments kept in an aluminium case.

WHAT ABOUT THE BALCK AND YELLOW SPIDERS?
Asking about the female spider, Ayman was told it was not found yet. The spiders in the desert would be left, as they did not hurt unless they were disturbed. Mohamed said archaeologists and tourists would like to visit the place. Ayman answered that science would find an answer.

THE FEMALE SPIDER APPEARS AGAIN
Just then, Ayman saw the female spider near Lamia's shoulders. If she moved, she would be bitten. So, he quickly told her to keep still to take her a photo. The camera's flashlight blinded the spider for a moment. At the same time Ayman had knocked it into the aluminium box which he quickly shut.

AYMAN BITTEN FOR THE SECOND TIME
Everyone congratulated Ayman. Soon, a look of horror appeared on everyone's face. Ayman had two red marks where the spider had bitten him again. Ayman fell to the floor with closed eyes.

A TV PROGRAMME ABOUT AYMAN
Many hours later, Ayman began to hear voices around him. He heard his name and saw his face on TV screen. A reporter was saying that the minister described Ayman as a brave young man who was ready to give his life to save others. His intelligence and bravery saved thousands of people from certain death. The reporter said people also celebrated because Ayman was still alive.

WHY THE BITE DOESN'T KILL AYMAN?
The reporter asked Dr Salah why Ayman didn't die of the second bite. The doctor said his body made antivenom when he was bitten the first time. So he had produced a lot of antivenom that made the second bite of little effect on him. In the end, the reporter thanked the doctor and gave a special "Thank you" to Ayman the most popular young man in Egypt that day.

 

 

 

Chapter Two : Transport

 

 

The main concepts of Chapter Two:
Transport in living organisms

1- In primitive plants raw materials and products of photosynthesis move from one cell to another by osmosis, diffusion and active transport.

2- In higher plants gases move by diffusion, mineral salts and soluble products of photosynthesis are transported through vascular tissues "xylem and phloem".

3- Xylem and phloem extend from the root, through the stem to the leaves.

4- Xylem transports water and mineral salts from the root to the leaves as well as it supports the plant.

5- The young dicot stem consists of the following tissues:
- epidermis
- cortex
- vascular cylinder which consists of
1- Pericycle 2- pith
3- Medullary rays 4- vascular bundels
Each vascular bundel consists of phloem - xylem - cambium

6- Stem cortex consists of collenchyma and parenchyma.

7- The Xylem tissue consists of cylindrical elongated cells called vessels and pentagonal or hexagonal tubes called trachieds.

8- Pith are unlignified sites found on the primary cellulose wall.

9- Xylem vessels and tracheids have lignin deposits which take the form of annular - spiral - reticulate and scalari form.

10- There are many different theories which explain the ascent of water in the plant; these theories are:
a- The root pressure theory.
b - Imbibition theory
c- Capillary theory
d- Cohesion - adhesion transpiration pull.

11- Exudation it is the natural phenomenon through which the water comes out if the stem is cut near the soil (root).

12- The embibition theory states that the colloidal nature of cellulose and lignin helps the walls of xylem to imbibe the water, this theory has a limited effect on the ascent of sap.

13- Water rises up through tiny tubes against gravity by capillarity, it has a limited effect on the ascent of sap.

14- Cohesion - adhesion and transpiration pull was explained by Dixon and Joly in 1895 it states that the ascent of water through xylem vessels depends upon three forces, cohesive force which is the strong mutual attraction between water molecules, adhesive force which is the attraction between water molecules and xylem molecules, which holds the water column against gravity; transpiration pull of the leaf which is the continuous process of transpiration in the leaves attracts or pulls the water column upwards.

15- The conditions that are necessary for the ascent of sap in xylem are:
- free of any gas babbles
- capillary tubes
- the wall should be of colloidal nature.

16- The phloem consists of sieve tubes, companion cell, and phloem parenchyma.

17- Cytoplasmic streaming is the circular movement of the cytoplasm inside the sieve tubes and the companion cells. It is affected by the amount of oxygen and the temperature.

18- The process of transport takes place in the human body through two systems which are:
a- The circulatory system.
b - The lymphatic system.

19- The circulatory system in man consists of the heart, the blood vessels and the blood.

20- The heart is a hollow muscular organ, it lies nearly in the middle of the chest cavity, it is enclosed by a pericardium membrane.

21- The heart consist of two thin walled upper chambers called atria and two thick walled lower chambers called ventricles.

22- The tricuspid valve between right atrium and right ventricle is made up of three flaps.

23- The Bicuspid valve (mitral) between left atrium and left ventricle made up of two flaps.

24- Blood vessels consists of:
a- Artries , b- veins, c- capillaries

25- Both artries and veins consists of three layers:
a- outer connective tissue
b - middle unstriated muscle fibers.
c- inner endothelium

26- Artries are more elastic than veins, they pulsate and buried deep in muscles.

27- Veins have internal valves to prevent the back flow of the blood.

28- The human blood is about 5.6 litre, it consists of plasma 54%, red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets.

29- Red blood cells are about 5 millions/mm³. They have the haemoglobin which combines with oxygen and carbon dioxide.

30- White blood cells which are about 7000/ mm³, they protect the body against infections diseases.

31- The red blood cells are produced from the bone marrow (every 120 days.)

32- The white blood cells are produced from the bone marrow and lymphatic nodes.

33- The blood plasma consists mainly of water, inorganic salts, proteins and other components.

34- Blood has many functions:
a- Transports digested food, oxygen, CO₂ , nitrogenous compounds, hormones and enzymes.
b - It controls the metabolism process and keeps body temp. at 37 ^oC.
c- It regulates the internal environment.
d- It protects the body against microbes.
e- It stops bleeding by clot formation.

35- The rhythmic heart beats are spontaneous i.e. they originate from the cardiac tissue itself.

36- The sino - atrial node acts are pace - maker, it is joined to two nerves:
a- vagus nerve which slows down heart beats.
b - Sympathetic nerve which accelerates heart beats.

37- The number of heart beats is affected by some factors that it decreases during sleeping and increases during physical effort and in case of Joy.

38- Two sounds in the heart beats are distinguished:
1- long and low pitched due to the closure of the tricuspid and bicuspid valves.
2- Short and high pitched due to the closure of aortic and pulmonary valves.

39- There are three blood circulations:
A- pulmonary circulation which starts from right ventricle and ends at the left atrium.
B - systematic circulation which starts at the left ventricle and ends at the right atrium.
C - Hepatic portal circulation: when glucose and amino acids are absorbed by the villi and pour their contents into the liver cells.

40- The mechanism of blood clot.






41- Blood does not clot inside blood vessels because the liver secretes heparin which prevents the conversion of prothrombin to thrombin.

 

 

Chapter Three : Respiration

 

 

The main concepts of Chapter three:
Concept of Respiration



1- A T P molecule is built up of three subunits which are Adenine, Ribose and three phosphate groups.

2- One A T P molecule is hydrolyzed into A D P and about 7 - 12 k cal.

3- Oxidation of glucose can be summarized by the following equation:


4- Oxidation of glucose takes place into two stages:
A- Glycolysis in the Cytosol
B - Respiration which divided into:
- krebs cycle, - electron transport.

5- The mitochondria are the centers of respiration in the cell.

6- Oxidation is loss of electrons and reduction is the gain of electrons.

7- NAD⁺ is a co-enzyme which can receive a proton and two electrons to be reduced to NADH₂ .

8- Co-enzyme FAD⁺ can receive two protons and two electrons to be FADH₂

9- Cytochromes are electron acceptors which are similar in structure and carry electrons at different energy levels.

10- Through krebs cycle acetyl COA joins krebs cycle where its coA-enzyme splits off to repeat its role, at the same time the acetyl group combines with oxaloacetic acid to form citric acid.

11- Krebs cycle does not need oxygen because all the electrons and protons are received by NAD⁺ and FAD⁺

12- Oxidative phosphorylation is a conversion process from ADP and phosphorus into ATP.

13- Through electron transport, 3 molecules of ATP are formed every time a pair of electrons is transferred through the entire carrier system.

14- Anaerobic respiration or fermentation is a process through which living organisms break down food molecule to release energy in the absence of oxygen or in low quantity.

15- Anaerobic respiration starts with glycolysis to form pyruvic acid which may be changed into ethyl alcohol in case of yeast fungus or lactic acid in case of animal muscles or several kinds of bacteria.

16- The released energy from aerobic respiration is 38 ATP while that of anaerobic respiration is only 2 ATP.

17- The respiration system in man consists of:
- Nose
- Pharynx
- Larynx
- Trachea
- Bronchi
- Bronchioli
- Air sacs.

18- It is better to breath through the nose because it contains hairs, blood capillaries and secretes mucus.

19- Alveoli have very thin walls surrounded with a network of blood capillaries to make gas exchange easier.

20- Alveoli bronchioli and capillaries together form the lung.

21- Diaphragm is a respiratory muscle that participates in the mechanism of respiration.

22- During inspiration, the rib muscles and diaphragm muscle contract, so the size of the chest cavity increases and the internal air pressure decreases so the outside air flows into the lungs.

23- During expiration, the rib muscles and diaphragm relax decreasing the chest cavity and increasing the internal pressure so the air is forced outside the lungs.

24- A part of air is always left inside the lung to warm the new coming air to make adhesion of the alveoli membranes with the walls of blood capillaries to ease gas exchange.

25- During each respiratory cycle the aeration of lungs not usually exceed 10% of its capacity, this ratio varies according to the rate of individual activity and depth of inspiration.

26- The respiratory system in man plays an important role in the excretion of water in the form of water vapour.

27- Man usually loses daily about 500 mL of water through his lungs out of 2500 mL of water that he lost daily.

28- Water inside alveoli helps to moisten the alveoli membrane and also necessary for dissolving oxygen and carbon dioxide , so the gas exchange occurs easily.

29- Respiration in plants may be aerobic respiration or anaerobic respiration.

30- In case of vascular plants, oxygen reaches the cell through various passage ways such as:
A- stomata of the leaf.
B- Through the phloem.
C_ Oxygen may enter the plant through the root.
D- green plant stem has stomata so oxygen may enter through them.
E - woody plant stem has lenticels or cracks through which oxygen may pass.

31- CO₂ which is resulted from respiration of the plant may be expelled out through:
A- Diffusion if plant cells are directly in contact with air.
B - Deep cells pass CO₂ to xylem and phloem to carry it to stomata
C- A part of CO₂ is used in photosynthesis.

 

 

 

Chapter Four : Excretion

 

 

The main concepts of chapter (4)
Excretion in living organisms

1- Excretion is getting rid of waste products of metabolism through the plasma membrane.

2- The main metabolic wastes are, CO₂ water vapour, volatile food substances salts and nitrogenous wastes.

3- Getting rid of nitrogen and defecation are not excretion processes.

4- The main excretory organs in animals are, the skin, the liver, the lungs and the kidneys.

5- The excretory organs in animals can regulate the body content of minerals.

6- The skin consists of the outer epidermis and the inner dermis.

7- The epidermis consists of epithelial cells, the surface cells have keratin and the melanin granules are found at the pigment cells.

8- The dermis has the sweat glands, the hair follicles, nerve endings and blood capillaries.
9- In lower vertebrates kidneys are long, thin extend along the two sides of the vertebral column.
10- Each human kidney is a bean shaped 12 cm long, 7 cm wide, 2.5 cm thick, the outer part is convex while the inner one is concave.

11- The renal artery and renal vein are on the inner side of each kidney.

12- Each kidney consists of thin outer cortex and inner broad medulla.

13- The functional unit of the kidney is the nephron.

14- Each kidney has almost one million nephron.

15- The nephron consists of Bowmman's capsule, first coiled tube , loop of Henel, second coiled tube and the collecting duct which opens in the pelvis from which the ureter emerges.
16- The urinary bladder is closed by a sphincter muscle.

17- Extraction of urine takes place in two main stages:
A- Ultra filtration
B- Selective reabsorption.

18- The total amount of blood which passes daily through the kidney is about 1600 litres.

19- The blood plasma is examined or filtered about 560 time per day.

20- Excretion in plants does not pose a serious problem Because:
a- The rate of catabolism is low.
b- green plants re-use their catabolic wastes.
c- Plant metabolism depends on carbohydrate which reproduce less toxic wastes.
d- some catabolic salts and acids are stored in the form of insoluble crystals.
e- excess calcium is accumulated in green leaves then they shed down.
f- excess water is removed by transpiration and guttation

21- There are three types of transpiration:
a- stomatal (about 90%)
b- cuticular (about 5%)
c- Lenticular (small quantity)

22- The most important functions of transpiration are:
a- decrease the plant temperature
b- ascent of water and salts.

 

 

Chapter Five : Sensitivity

 

 

The main concepts of chapter six: Sensitivity

1- Sensitivity is one of the biological functions of the lliving organism that mentain its life.
2- Senstivity is the coordination between the body and the environment.
3- Forms of sensitivity in plants are:
A- Response to touch and darkness.
B- Tropisms. [phototropism - Geotropism - Hydrotropism]
4- Mimosa plant and some leguminous plants are hold in a horizontal position, but at night the leaflets hang down ward and fold their upper surfaces upward, i.e undergo sleeping movement.
5- The sleeping movement can be explained due to cell turgidity.
6- At the base of each mimosa leaf there is a swallen structure called pulivinus, when the leaf is touched the water in the lower side of pulvinus escape to the neighboring tissues and after the removal of the stimulus these cell regain their turgidity so pulvini act as joints.
7- The cell walls of the lower half of pulvini are more senstive than those of the upper half.
8- Boysen johnson found that oat coleoptile loses its ability to bend towards light if 1 - 2 cm of its tip is cut off but it regains this ability if the cut part is fixed again to the tip with gelatin.
9- Unequal distribution of light around the plant leads to unequal in the distribution in aucxins which in turn leads to unequal in plant growth that the side away of light has more auxins concentration so it is stimulated to grow more than the other side that leads to be bend towards light which we call the plant stem is positive phototropic.
10- The high concentration of auxins in plant root (in one side) leads to the inhibition (decrease) of its growth.
11- Plant hormones (Auxins) can diffuse through gelatin but not through mica.
12- The plant root is negative phototropic.
13- Herman's exp. Proved that the total amount of auxins in the tip of oat coleoptile does not change but change their position that:
A- In vertical position equal amount of auxins move into the two halves of the tip.
B- In horizontal postion more auxins diffuse or accumulate into the lower half. So the plant stem is negative geotropic and plant root is positive geotropic.
14- The plant root is positively Hydrotoropic if the water is not equally distributed around its two sides, the side facing water has more concentration of auxins and this inhibits its growth, while the other side grows faster and it has less auxins, so it bends towards water.
15- Sensitivity, coordination and response to a stimulus are called irritability.
16- In animals receptors and effectors are linked together and their action is coordinated by the nervous system.
17- Man can not feel all the stimuli like X- rays. Polarized rays - ultraviolet and infera red because man has no nerve cells which are affected by these stimuli.
18- The animal can not preceive all stimuli picked up by its sense organs, but it can preceive changes in them.
19- The external stimuli that most of the animals respond to are:
Heat - gravity - pressure - chemicals - sound - water - light.
20- The nerve cell is the building unit of the nervous system.
21- The nerve cell consists of a cell body or cyton and long axon which is surrounded by two fatty layers [Myelin and schwann] these layers accelerate the speed of nerve impulses that reaches 120 m/sec.
22- The nerve cells are neither divide nor renewed.
23- Myelin and schwann's layer are interrupted at regular intervlas by the nodes of ranvier.
24- According to the function there are three types of nerve cells:
A - sensory neurons: which transmit nerve impulses from receptors to the central nervous system.
B - Motor neurons: which transmit the motor impulses to the effectors from central nervous system.
C- Connector neurons: which carry impulses from one neuron to another.
25- The nerve cord: It is a bundel of axons which is surrounded by a sheath of fatty material [myelin and schwann] in addition to the outer nerve sheath.
26- The nerve: It is a long nerve cord.
27- The nerve impulse is a sequence of electro - chemical changes propagated along a nerve fiber and transmitted across synapses .
28- The nerve fiber is surrounded by a plasma membrane which is semipermeable so positive ions are accumulated at the outer surface while negative ions are accumulated at the inner side i.e the membrane has two poles or polarized; this is at rest.
29- When the nerve fiber is stimulated at a certain point, it loses it selective permeability at this point and becomes fully permeable, as a result of that the positive ions move to the inside and the membrane is said to be depolarized.
30- The time needed for the entry of sodium ions and the exit of potassium ions is from 0.002 to 0.005 seconds.
31- A period of about 0.001 - 0.003 sec. elapses between the end of impulse transmission through a certain point and the beginning of a new impulse this period is the refracotry period.
32- Synapse can be defined by two ways:
A: Anatomically it is the site at which the terminal arborization of a neuron axon lie very close to the dendrites of a neighboring neuron.
B: Physiologically: It is the functional connection between neurons.
33- The synaptic knob or cleft is formed for transmission of nerve impulses.
34- The synaptic knob contains many transmitting substances like nor-adrenaline- acetyl choline - and sympathin.
35- The nervous system in vertebrates consists of highly developed structures these are:
A- Sensory receptors [sense organs]
B- Nerve fibers [transmit impulses]
C- Nerve centres. [in brain]
36- The nervous system in vertebrates and also in man consists of:
A- The central nervous system which includes the brain and the spinal cord.
B- The peripheral nervous system which includes 31 pairs of spinal nerves and 12 pairs of cranial nerves.
37- Physiologically the nervous system includes:
Somatic nervous system (central and peripheral) : which controls the voluntary actions.
B- Autonomic nervous system: which controls the involuntary actions.
38- The human brain weights about 1300 - 1400 grams, protected by the cranium bones, and surrounded by three membranes:
A: Dura matter:
a strong fibrous tissue adhering to the cranium.
B: Pia matter:
a transparent one adhering to the brain and contains blood vessels.
C: Archnoid membranse:
intermediate delicate layer of connective tissue, a transparent fluid passes through it, it contains proteins, glucose, sodium and potassium salts, it is used to feed and protect the brain.
39- Meningitis leads to the inflammation of the three membranes around the brain.
40- The human brain consists of:
A: The cerebrum [the two cerebral hemispheres.]
B: The cerebellum
C- pons varolii
D- Medulla oblongata.
41- The two cerebral hemispheres are the ceutre of high mental activities thought - memory - and reasoning.
42- Lab animals, car victims, brain tumor patients are used to make a map for the centres on the cerebral hemispheres that:
The thinking and memory centres lie at the anterior part followed by voluntary movements centres, followed by the skin sensation, at the back the centre of vision hearing, smell, and taste lie at the two sides.
43- The nerve centres in the right hemisphere control the left sided organs and vice versa.
44- The nerve centres exist in identical locations in both of the two hemispheres except speech and writing centres.
45- The cerebellum coordinates the different voluntary muscle movements, also maintains the balance and posture of the body.
46- Pons varolii transmits impulses from the hemispheres and cerebellum to the medulla oblongata and vice versa.
47- The medulla oblongata transmits the impulses from the hemispheres to the spinal cord also controls the main involuntary actions.
48- The spinal cord transmits both sensory and motor impulses from the body to the brain and vice versa, it also contains the nerve centres which control the reflex actions.
49- The peripheral nervous system consists of 12 pairs of cranial nerves and 31 pairs of spinal nerves.
50- The ability of nerves to transmit the impulses is affected by the amount of oxygen and decreases by the effect of some chemicals such as alcohol ether and other drugs.
51- The reflex action is the unit of the nervous activity.
52- Reflex actions include, constriction of the iris, blinking of the eyes, secretion of digestive juice and jerking of the leg if it is struck below the knee cap.
53- Reflex action is involuntary rapid response to a stimulus threatening the body with danger without brain involvement.
54- Reflex actions may take place during sleep or mild anesthesia.
55- The intensity of reflex action depends upon the general state of the body, it is affected by durgs.
56- Reflex actions may stop completely under the effect of strong anaesthetic substances; certain reflex actions may decrease the effect of another reflex actions.

 

 

 

 

 

Main concepts of chapter 7

Hormonal coordination in Living organisms

1- Starling gave the name hormones for these chemicals that coordinate between body organs.
2- Auxins are plant hormones which regulate plant growth because they act as catalysts for important growth enzymes.
3- Endocrine glands are those that secrete their hormones directly into the blood current.
4- Endocrine glands are chracterized by:
A- ductless
B- Provided with plenty of blood
C- Each gland has a specific secretion which contain one or more hormones.

5- The most important endocrine glands in man are:
a- pituitary gland or the master gland.
b- Thyroid gland or the activity gland
c- Parathyroid gland
d- Adrenal gland
e- Pancrease.
f- gonads [ovaries - testes]
7- The pituitary gland is a small oval shaped body 12 mm long, half gram in mass. It consists of two lobes.
8- The anterior lobe is more important than the posterior lobe because it produces more than nine hormones some of them act as activating hormones for other glands.
9- From the hormones of the anterior lobe are growth hormone, TSH, ACTH, FSH, LH, and lactoginic hormone.
10- From the hormones secreted by the posterior lobe are oxytocin hormone which is responsible for controlling involuntary muscles like uterine muscles during delivary and antidiuretic hormone which regulates urine formation and excretion.
11- The deficiency of the growth hormone before puberty leads to dwarfism but after puberty it causes impotence.
12- The excessive secretion of the growth hormone in early childhood causes gigantism but if it happens in adults it causes acromegaly.
13- The thyroid gland lies infront of and on both sides of trachea at the base of the neck; it consists of two small lobes joined together by an isthmus, it is about 6 cm long and weighs 30 - 60 grams.
14- The enlargement of the thyroid gland is called goitre.
15- In case of simple goitre, the enlargement is accompanied by dificiency of the secretion which leads to the decrease of body activities, body temp. and heart beats.
16- In adults, dificiency leads to myxedema, but in infancy it leads to cretinism.
17- The exophthalmic goitre, the enlargement is accompanied by an excessive secretion of the hormone which leads to the increase in the body activities, increase the rate of stored food combustion.
18- Deficiency in the secretion of thyroxine is treated by adding iodine to food, or using the extract of cettle thyroid, excessive secretion is treated by the surgical removal of the enlarged part.
18- The parathyroid glands are 4 small bodies each is as big as wheat grain.
19- Each two bodies are located on one side of the trachea and behind the thyroid gland.
20- Parathyroid gland secretes parathormone hormone.
21- Parathormone hormone regulates caclium and phosphorus levels and keep them constant in the blood.
22- Both calcium and phosphorus are essential for bone, teeth and blood formation.
23- Deficiency of parathormone leads to excitability.
24- Excessive secretion leads to a rise in the calcium and phosphorus level in the blood and they are excreted in large amounts in the urine, this is due to the withdrawal of these elements from the bones which become fragile and more exposed to fractures.
25- The adrenal gland is called emotional galnd or supra renal glands.
26- There are two adrenal glands, each one is completely attached to each kidney.
27- The adrenal gland is yellow, pyramid shaped body about 3 cm long and about 6 - 12 gm.
28- The person will die if the adrenal glands are infected with a disease or removed.
29- Each gland consists of an outer certex and inner medulla.
30- The medulla part secretes adrenaline and the cortex secretes a group of hormones the most important one is the cortisone.
31- The adrenaline causes:
a- Constriction of skin and visceral blood vessels.
b- increase the heart beats causing rise in blood pressure.
c- Muscle blood vessels become wider
d- An increase in breathing movements.
e- conversion of stored glycogen into sugar.
f- secondary symptoms appear like white skin, widening of iris, mouth muscles contract, and fingers tremble.
32- The cortisone hormone has some functions:
a- It keeps sodium and potassium constant in the body.
b- Regulates the fats and carbohydrated metabolism.
c- Increase the ability of the body to resist climatic and psychic disturbances.
33- The increase in the activity of the cortex leads to early sexual maturity in males and appearance of musculine characteristics on females.
34- Pancreas an exocrine gland which secretes the pancreatic juice through the pancreatic duct.
35- Pancreas is also endocrine because there are patches of cells scatterd in the pancreatic tissue which secrete insulin directly into the blood.
36- The scientist langerhans discovered some patches of cells in the pancreatic tissue.
37- The role of insuline is:
a- Keep the percentage of of sugar in the blood constant 0.1% i.e. 100 m.gm of glucose in 100 gm of blood.
b- help the body cells to use glucose for energy production.
c- Stimulate the hepatic cells to absorb the glucose and convert it to glycogen to be stored till needed.
38- In 1922 Banting siolate insuline from the pancreas.