The core of the sun is

home to billions and billions of atoms of hydrogen, the lightest element in the universe. The immense pressure and heat pushes these atoms so close to one another that they squish together to create new, heavier atoms. This is called nuclear fusion.

carbon is found in all living things. carbon atoms move constantly through

living organisms, the oceans, the atmosphere, and the earth’s crust in what is

known as the carbon cycle. the directions taken by carbon atoms through this

cycle are very complicated and can take millions of years to make a full circle.

all animals, from humans to the dinosaurs are part of the carbon cycle. when

animals eat food, they get carbon in the form of carbohydrates and proteins.

in animals, oxygen combines with food in the cells to produce energy for daily

activity and then gives off carbon. the carbon combines with oxygen to form

carbon dioxide (co2) and is released back into the atmosphere as a waste

product when animals breathe and exhale.

from 145-65 million years ago, earth was much

hotter than today and covered with dense,

tropical swamp forests. the trees and other

plants were immense and

provided an endless supply of

food for the giant animals that

roamed the land. somewhere in

the air above one of these

forests, a lone carbon atom has joined

up with two oxygen atoms to form a molecule of co2.

the co2 molecule was sucked into the tiny holes (stomata) on the leaf of a

fern plant and joined with sunlight, chlorophyll and water to make food and

energy in the plant’s cells through photosynthesis. the oxygen (o2) from the

co2 molecule was sent back into the atmosphere; the carbon atom (c) was

detached and used to make a molecule of sugar.

if that carbon atom had been eaten instead, a totally

different situation would have developed. let’s say

that a giant plant-eating dinosaur (herbivore) ate the

fern for breakfast, and swallowed the carbon in the

fern in the form of carbohydrates and proteins. in

the process of respiration, oxygen combined with

the carbohydrates and proteins in the dinosaur’s cells

to provide energy for its daily activity.  

sleep paralysis is a parasomnia, events associated with sleep.

sleep paralysis happens when you are in the middle of waking up or falling asleep. it is the feeling of being conscious but unable to move. it definitely involves hallucinations.

i had a friend that had sleep paralysis and he told me a story one time where he was laying in bed and he couldn't move his body no matter how hard he tried and there was someone standing in the corner of his room coming towards him. he couldn't move and you can't "wake up" because you are already conscious. sometimes sleep paralysis can be triggered by frequent waking up during the night based off of multiple trips to the bathroom, or if you had ever been abused, sleep paralysis can start happening from things like that.