Uncle Biology

Hello everyone!!!

Its really a great pleasure to be part of this community. My name is bilqees, you can call me "Queen of Sheba" . Lol. I'm 25 years of age and mom is a best friend

This is my first post on readcash. Lovely family, I'm not a perfect writer but I firmly believe that with your support and guide, I would develop immensely, God willing.

So, when I was still in high school, my favorite subject was biology. I love the subject so much that I was reading it for pleasure, just like how you would read short stories and novels. And how beautiful it was when you read a particular course just because you enjoy reading it and not for the sake of some boring exam or test.

I became interested in biology when I was in junior high. Then it was taught as basic science ( a rudimentary of biology, physics and chemistry). Here , we were taught about the human body and its various metabolism and functions.

I would never forget our vibrant biology teacher who was a genius in the subject. He simplified and made plain every biological concept and terms in the most comprehensible manner, thereby making each topic uncomplicated and unambiguous. He was so good that we nicknamed him " Uncle Biology".

Since when I was a little child, I have always been told about a very important table manner which is "Don't talk while eating ( dont talk while you have food in your mouth)". if you do, you might choke.

I have always wondered the reason for this occurrence. Why would we feel a peppery sensation at back of our throat during choking. I mean, the morsels of food have always been passing through thesame direction, so why would there be a problem that makes me feel pains at the throat whenever i choked and what causes this ?

I have never had anybody that would explain this strange phenomenon to me. Mom and dad would always advised that its bad habit to talk while eating and left it at that.

During a lesson on the digestive system of man, I asked uncle biology about this. He explained that there are two tubes( passages) in our neck region. The one at the front is called the trachea which is a passage for air( it is used in breathing), while the one behind is called the oesophagus and it is for food. During swallowing, a soft muscle called epiglottis which is in the form of a towel or blanket flips downward and covers the trachea in front so that food would only enter the oesophagus at the back. So,when you are talking while eating, you would be disrupting the function of the epiglottis as you would be moving your mouth and voice box(larynx) at the same time. Then, there would come to a point where the epiglottis would miss covering the trachea, and food would go into the trachea which is the wrong way. At this point, you would feel a sharp pain at this region( choking has occurred), as food is not meant to go into the trachea .

I found this piece of information I had just learned very fascinating. By the time I got home, I explained to my mum and friends the reason why choking occurs and they were amazed.

The nervous system is also a very awesome topic that I would never forget. I was taught about how the CNS cordinates all the activities of the body. I remember when I was in senior secondary school 2, I and mom went to visit a a neighbor who was involved in an accident and afterwards, couldn't speak even though he didn't sustain any injury to his mouth and tongue. This was very strange to me and I needed an explanation.

The following day at school, I told uncle biology about this and asked him why was the man unable to talk. Uncle explained to me that when the accident happened, there had been a damage to the part of the man's brain called the "Broca's area". This part of the brain was responsible for speech and formation of words, in addition to learning of languages.

He further explained to me that there was also a part of the brain that controls hearing, vision, respiration, digestion and also movement. He also explained what causes stroke and why a person who had stroke would be paralyzed and unable to speak. Uncle biology went to his office and came back with a comprehensive chart of the human brain. In here, he pointed out the areas that were responsible for these functions.

I was really impressed and intrigued yet again. I went home and explained to my mum this interesting fact in biology and the reason why our neighbor lost his ability to speak. She found this really amazing

Growing up, I have always loathed snakes. There was a time I fainted when a snake-charmer brought a snake very close to my face. But when we started having lessons in ecology, uncle biology made us realized that snakes are not as bad as we imagined. He said that there was absolutely no reason for me to dislike these slimy reptiles. As a matter of fact, they play a very important role in the ecosystem. Uncle biology told us that without snakes, the human population would be overwhelmed by pests, such as rats and mice. No need to mention that these little animals are can be very annoying and can cause great damages. Rats and mice are capable of raiding our homes and feed on everything they see, from food items to any other thing they could lay their mouths on. Uncle told me that if not for the snakes that help us control the rat population, they would have eaten all my books and bags, probably my hair too. Then and there, I realised the benefits of snakes in my world.

Again I ran home after school and informed mom about this exciting discovery about snakes i learned in biology class. Mom was convinced and satisfied about what uncle biology said about snakes. I further asked mom wether we could get a pet snake at home since they were not bad after all, but mom yelled at me and said that she would never do that.

Evolution was another branch of biology that really opened my eyes and expanded my horizon. I have always wondered the reason why we bear so much similarities with the monkeys especially in physical behaviors. Uncle biology told me that we share the same ancestors with them. He said that we were also in the same order and family as the monkeys and other primates. He referred to the monkeys as our "cousins".

He said that primates are 95% identical to each other in terms of DNA . He further told us about the origin of man. That all living organisms come from a common ancestor.

In evolution, Uncle biology taught us about different theories of life: Darwin theory, larmack theory and others. I must say, evolution was quite a controversial topic.

I went home and told mom about the interesting stuffs uncle biology told us inevolution. mom was not comfortable at all with my explanations. This was because Mom was very religious and she believed only in divine creation and nothing else. She was not happy at all that uncle biology taught me about other theories of life contrary to divine creation. She feared that I had believed him and might begin to doubt our faith. Then and there, she made up her mind to go along with me to school the next day and have a word with uncle biology.

To be continued.........

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Thank you so much for taking your time to read through. I really appreciate itand it means a lot to me. God bless you. ☺☺☺