Plasticity Lab Conclusion! (:

Recently I participated in a plasticity lab. It was pretty swell. Corn starch was added to water to make this mixture that was solid but acted like a liquid sometimes. When we closed our hand tight with the mixture, it was like a solid and then we opened our hand the corn starch and water ran down our arms and made a mess. It felt kind of like plastic, which I guess is why it's called plasticity. The experiment was controlled because we put a certain amount of corn starch and water. If we put more of one thing and less of another it could have affected the outcome of the plasticity lab. It might not have worked like it was supposed to. The whole point of this lab was to show us how the earth's mantle works. The mantle flows like a liquid but acts like a solid because it supports the crust. This lab was super splendid and taught me more about the earth. Honestly, I don't really know how to apply my new knowledge of plasticity to the real world though. :[

October Sky! =)

Not too long ago we watched the movie October Sky. It was a very splendid movie and had so many connections to math, science and character education. First of all, it connected to math and science with the fact that the teenagers built a rocket! They had to figure out the right type and amount of chemicals to use to make the rocket fly. They also had to figure out the right way to shape the rocket so it would go up. This took a lot of determination to keep trying new ideas when one of them didn't work. Along with that, the boys had been blamed for causing a forest fire with their rocket so they had to prove they were innocent. So, Homer used a lot of math to figure out his trajectory rate and on his paper you could see he used a parabola to help him figure out the course of the rocket. This took persaverence because Homer had to keep trying to get the right coordinates of where his rocket landed and he had to learn a lot of math skills to do this. There was also science in the coal mines where Homer's father worked. The different types of rock they were mining has to do with science and some of the hazards they dealed with, such as the dust they could inhale had to do with science too.
Along with determination and persaverance, cooperation, respect and assertion were exhibited in the movie too. All of Homer's friends cooperated with him when he said that he wanted to win that science fair and get a college scholarship. They thought it was ridiculous at first but they went along with it anyway. Assertion was also shown. Homer's father was assertive when he found out about Homer's plan to launch a rocket. He said no rockets on company ground. He figured rockets would get him nowhere in life. Homer respected his dad's wishes and walked a few miles out of town to some open land where he could experiment with the launches without disobeying his dad.
This movie was super swell and taught me so much! After seeing how hard Homer worked, I now realize that if I really want something, I need to work hard for it.

Response Blog- Down Syndrome =/

Today I read a blog (http://ponderingbacon.blogspot.com/) about the genetic disorder Down Syndrome. Down Syndrome occurs when someone has an extra chromosome. Older women with children are more likely to have a child with down syndrome than younger women. People with Down Syndrome tend to have a flat face, small hands and feet, have eye problems and loose ligaments. As of now there is no cure for it. However, people with this condition receive speech therapy, special education, occupational therapy and special exercises. I am glad to hear that they have treatment for the unlucky people who have this disorder. It must be so hard to live with it. I hope they eventually find a cure for the genetic disorder so that the humans who have it have the opportunity to live a normal life like us.

Breast Cancer :[

A mutation in the BRCA1 and BRCA2 gene is the cause of breast cancer. This disease, discovered in 2002, is when cells divide and multiply at an uncontrolled rate. The amount of women diagnosed with this cancer is ridiculous. I find it very sad to know that by age 50, 60 out of 100 women who inherit the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes will develop breast cancer. By age 70, 80 out of 100 women will have it! Those aren't great odds for women. And it's not just women who can develop it; men can get it too. Obviously it is not as common for them, but it is possible. Unfortunately for African American women, they are more likely to have this genetic disorder. Their mortality rate in African Americans is twice that of Caucasians. That is crazy! I feel so bad for them. The odds are bad enough as it is for Caucasians. Imagine having twice the risk of it. Sadly, about 1.3 million women are diagnosed with breast cancer in one year. About 465,000 of them will die from it. However the good news is, is that the death rate is dropping steadily every year. There is hope for them and there are quite a few treatments for it. Some of them include to treat the main tumor with surgery or to have masectomy. This is where you have one or both breasts removed. You could also have radiation therapy or take a special medicine that is believed to help protect against breast cancer. The earlier breast cancer is detected, the better. Some symptoms that you might have that can help detect breast cancer are unusual lumps in breast or armpit, sometimes a rash, nipple discharge, pain in nipple, inverted nipple, scaly or pitted skin on nipple and some more sever cases can result in bone pain, shortness of breath, drop in appetite, unintentional weight loss and headaches. Luckily, people are working every day to find new cures and treatments. Maybe one day there won’t even be any breast cancer. I think that would be super swell!

I got this information from: http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/content/disorders/whataregd/
and http://www.cancer.org/docroot/home/index.asp

4 People Killed In Bombing (S.S- international)

On Tuesday in southern Afghanistan, four coalition members were killed when their vehicle hit an improvised bomb. It happened when the coalition members were on patrol with the Afghan National Security Forces. In addition to the coalition members dying, a civilian that was working with them was also killed. Also, on the same day, Afghan National Army soldiers, who were with coalition members, killed sixteen militants. The troops were on patrol and came under fire from various positions. The militants started firing rocket propelled grenades and mortars so the troops used precision strikes to kill the militants. After the incident, the troops cleared a compound from which the militants had been firing and found materials to make improvised bombs. It's so sad that so many people are dying. Some of the people were just using self defense but ended up being killed.

Mammoth Found..in LA! :] (Science)

"Zed", the mammoth found in Los Angeles, was found by an earth mover on a construction site. They were making an underground garage and found a mammoth from at least 10,000 years ago! "It's very exciting for us because each one of these ... could be different ages in the past 10,000 to 45,000 years," project director Chris Shaw said. The workers found pretty much the whole entire skeleton. So in the crates where they put all the bones, there were vertabrae, ribs, a pelvis, the lower jaw and two tusks. In the past when people have found mammoth tusks, they were poorly preserved so it is a real treat for them to have two beautifully preserved tusks. It will take about six to twelve months to open all of the rest of the crates with the skeleton parts. But once they do have everything opened and cleaned, it will be on display at a museum.

I think it's so cool that people are still finding remains of extinct animals from thousands of years ago today! It can tell us so much about our past which can help us with the future. It must be a great feeling finding a whole mammoth! It was hard enough finding all the parts to a little rodent in an owl pellet!

I got this info from: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/02/19/california.fossil.discovery/index.html

My Roller Coaster Website

Dudette's and Dude's

Facebook turns 5, but Can It Survive? =o

The well known social networking set, Facebook, created by Mark Zuckerberg when he was 19 years old, turned five. Facebook has allowed many young people to keep in touch with friends they haven't seen in awhile and safely share information about themselves. Facebook has made Zuckerberg the youngest billionaire and has also had celebrities and politicians use it. But the internet and websites have changed dramatically in the past five years and it will continue to change. The fact that a college kid made this in his dorm room one night and made him rich, is very cool. It's insane how many people sign up to use it. More than 15 million people use this website! That's crazy and it's great to keep friends in touch and learn more about different people out there. I got this info from: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/02/04/facebook.anniversary/index.html#

Economy Takes its Toll on Everyone.

Obviously, the economy is not too great right now. It is affecting everybody, including the South Brunswick food pantry. The number of people using the food pantry increased from 25 to 40. People who usually donate to the pantry are using it. and it's not just low-class families in need, it's many people from different classes. They want to cut back to be sure they'll be okay and get enough food. Hopefully everyone will be okay and the economy will get better.

X-Rays! =]

In class we are doing projects on Electromagnetic Energy. My topic is on X-rays. I learned that it's called "X"-rays because it is an unknown type of radiation. I also found out that we use x-rays are used to diagnose problems inside the human body. Although, this is very helpful, if you have too much exposure to x-rays then it could cause cancer. That's why in the dentist when they take x-rays of your teeth they give you a lead apron to wear. The apron absorbs the x-rays and prevents them from reaching your body. X-rays are amazingly insane (in a good way.) And a German guy that goes by the name of Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen found x-rays by accident when experimenting with some vacuum tubes. I think that's very cool that he invented something so useful without even really trying!

President Obama!

On January 20, 2009 a major historic event took place in Washington D.C. President-elect Barack Obama became the actual president. He placed his hand on the same bible former president Abraham Lincoln used and took his oath. He is now officially the president of the United States and happens to be the first African-American leader of our country.

The first article I read was pretty much saying that Obama made history and everyone noticed. Black's were especially proud to see another racial barrier broken. People are expecting great things from him and expect him to do a lot better than Bush. When the inauguration was watched on jumbotrons and George Bush came on, many booed him. Despite this, "His transition also produced some missteps that raised questions about whether Obama's highly disciplined, perfectionist organization that proved brilliant at winning an election will be equally brilliant at governing." All in all people want and are sure they will see only good from the new president but they will have to wait and see.

The second article I read was basically saying that Obama is going to make change. It won't be easy, but together as a country we will make a difference. "Greatness is never a given. It must be earned," Barack said. We can't just hope that the economic crisis and the war will solve itself; we have to make the change our selves. He believes that he can.

In my opinion, I think Barack made a powerful speech. He talks a big game and I just hope he can live up to his words. We will just have to wait and see how he does.

I got this information from: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090120/ap_on_go_pr_wh/inauguration_rdp

and

http://www.cnn.com/2009/POLITICS/01/20/obama.inauguration/index.html

Diamonds Are Not Everyone's Best Friend

According to a study conducted by eight archaelogists and geologists from the universities of Oregon and California, tiny diamonds found in soil lead people to believe that a comet exploded on or above North America about 13,000 years ago. This comet apparantly led to the distinction of many mammals. A couple of these mammals were humans and mammoths. Not only did this comet have an affect on the population but it also changed weather patterns. The heat from the comet more than likely melted a glacier from the Great Lakes region causing a flood down the Mississippi River. The cold waves from the glacier were then sent to the Gulf of Mexico and Atlantic Ocean currents changing the climate. This sent the world into a cooling period called the Younger Dryas. Scientists have only found these nanodiamonds in six locations which are all within the Younger Dryas Boundary.

I think it's so crazy that scientists can tell so much from some tiny diamonds found in some dirt from 12,900 years ago. It's also insane how one comet can affect the whole world.

I got this info from: http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/01/02/comet.diamonds/index.html