On Utricularia

Utricularia species are aquatic plants native to Ireland that live in bogs and Nitrogen-poor areas. Most plants subject to Nitrogen poor conditions experience poor photosynthesizing processes; Nitrogen is key in the synthesis of proteins and nucleotides, and so plants with Nitrogen deficiencies begin bleaching and eventually die from being unable to photosynthesize. There are plenty of plants that have developed the ability to fix nitrogen themselves - but Utricularia spp. opted for the carnivorous path.

Utricularia have fine leaves and small ~3mm long "bladders". On one side, the bladders have an aperture from which stiff bristles extend in a funnel-like shape. The aperture has a hinged valve which can open inward, and when small insects (worms, larvae) or zooplankton swim by and brush the bristles the valve opens creating a change in pressure and sucking the surrounding water and animals into the bladder. There is no escape for the animals, and they decompose and are digested - providing the plant with its much needed Nitrogen.

On Plasmodesmata, A Highly Interesting Science Topic

So I'm in hydrology - which, by the way, is starting out extremely slowly (we all know what the water cycle is.. we all know what a catchment is..) - when the professor asks the class "someone, give me a science topic, any topic. It should be something you're interested in or doing research on." Naturally no one says anything. So he goes "how about the girl in the front?" (I was sitting in the front because it's a flat classroom and if I sit several rows back like last time I can't see over tall peoples' heads). So I just stare at him. Then, I blurt out the only thing I can think of off hand that I'm significantly interested in - plasmodesmata. And he, being a hydrologist in a geography department, just kind of looks at me. So I have to repeat it. And it's one of those words that is spoken slightly differently here, so I was trying really hard to pronounce it the Irish way, making the repetition quite painful. And again he just looks at me. Then he goes "what..?" and I have to explain and finally he decides "okay, we'll look up 'plants' and 'cell walls' ". Highly embarrassing I tell you. And having read this if you aren't familiar with plasmodesmata, you should look them up. They're really cool.