Mesoamerican Long Count calendar 20, 2012 (Gregorian Calendar), followed by the start of the 14th b'ak'tun, 13.0.0.0.0, on December 21, 2012. There are only two references to the current creation's 13th b'ak'tun in the fragmentary Mayan corpus: Tortuguero Monument 6, part of a ruler's inscription and the recently discovered La Corona Hieroglyphic Stairway 2, Block V. Maya inscriptions occasionally reference future predicted events or commemorations that would occur on dates that lie beyond 2012 (that is, beyond the completion of the 13th "b'ak'tun" of the current era). Most of these are in the form of "distance dates" where some Long Count date is given,
Nitrogen fixation Nitrogen fixation Nitrogen fixation is a process by which nitrogen in the Earth's atmosphere is converted into ammonia (NH) or related nitrogenous compounds. Atmospheric nitrogen, which is molecular dinitrogen (N), is relatively nonreactive and is metabolically useless to all but a few microorganisms. The fixation process converts N into ammonia, which is metabolized by most organisms. Nitrogen fixation is essential to life because fixed inorganic nitrogen compounds are required for the biosynthesis of all nitrogen-containing compounds. Therefore, as part of the nitrogen cycle, it is essential for agriculture and the manufacture of fertilizer. It is also, indirectly, relevant to the