OWLS!! :)

In class we are learning about owls, and we are dissecting owl pellets. Owls are the type of bird that swallows their prey whole. After they swallow their prey, the owl digests the softer parts of the body, and then it regurgitates the bones into pellets. During class, every pair of students got an owl pellet to dissect. My partner and I had a hard owl pellet. The dissecting takes over an hour, and you find plenty of bones. Our particular owl had two types of animals the time it regurgitated our pellet. My partner and I suggested that the two animals were either a mole or a rodent. At first, the dissecting is a little gross, but once you get over the fact that it is regurgitated food, you come to find that the remains of the animals an owl eats is very intriguing.

Symbiosis.

Recently in class we have been studying symbiosis. There are three types of symbiotic relationships. The three types are commensalism, parasitism and mutualism. Commensalism is when only one species benefits while the other is not harmed. Parasitism is when one organism benefits, while the other is harmed. Mutualism is where both of the organisms benefit. An example of commensalism is regular ivy grown on a tree. An example of parasitism is poison ivy growing on a tree. An example of mutualism is when a bee takes pollen from a flower. This study is important to society because without things like parasitism the world might be overflowed with plants. Without mutualism we might have enough. Without symbiosis, there would be no cooperation, or or cooperation with any organisms on Earth.

Diabetes

Have your eyes ever hurt while you were reading? Wonder why? Studies have shown people with headaches, eye aches, double vision (etc. etc.) have some sort of eye disability which is referred to as convergence insufficiency. Doctors say this is not a very hard diagnosis to treat, but takes roughly 12 weeks. Many students who go untreated may have an extremely hard time in school because of these head aches, eye aches, double vision (etc. etc.). Doctors also so these treatments can make a huge difference in children who do not like to read. After these treatments studies have shown that many more kids are reading for fun. Without the treatments kids start to become frustrated, and this could affect how they do their homework, if they do it. If kids get the help they need with this, it can make life a whole lot easier.

For more information go to:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/27404581/

The Wonders of Monkeys

Recently, scientists have discovered that monkeys can physically be able to use a paralyzed muscle just by using a single brain cell. These monkeys were taught how to play a computer game, and it helped with paralyzed wrists. Scientist say that these certain findings may also be a help to human patients who have had a stroke or a spinal chord injury. This can also mean that many paralyzed people may be able to do things such as grip a hair brush or or a tooth brush and be able to live a somewhat normal life again, says some scientists. This research is led to believe that people who can no longer walk, use their hands or arms (etc. etc.) may shortly be able to by just one brain cell. Studies even say that this research can enable people to posses certain talents that they didn't have before like wiggling ears, or noses. Imagine what it would be like to no longer have some of the senses you have this very minute. If you could suddenly get those back, it would mean the world to you! The human mind can do incredible things, and this is just the start of great, new findings.



For more information, go to: http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/10/15/bypassing.paralysis.ap/index.html

Extra Credit -- Poem

Who has seen the wind?
Neither I nor you;
But when the leaves hang trembling
The wind is passing through.

Who has seen the wind?
Neither you nor I;
But when the trees bow down their heads
The wind is passing by.

Christina Rossetti

Weather is used throughout this poem by talking all about wind. To enhance this poem the poet uses words like "leaves, trembling, wind etc. etc." and this tells us that this also has to do with weather. With using knowledge about weather for this poem it helps you understand better about what she's talking about by creating a picture in the reader's mind. The type of weather discussed is the wind.

The poem would not be the same without the mention of weather because then this poem would not exist without the element of wind. Figurative language is used in this poem when she says "the trees bow down their heads" because trees cannot literally bow down their heads. This specific poem does not further my knowledge about weather because it only talks about the wind passing by.

In-Class Response 2

Another thing we've been studying in class is evaporation. We did an experiment where we took water from natural resources and moved them around, which acted as the normal way the evaporation cycle should work. Then we added recources where humans existed to use the water. At the end of the experiment we learned that humans consume a lot of water and we are losing the water in the other resources that we depend on. Personally I feel that humans use too much of the water for things we don't need. Together we need to find a way to conserve the water so we can have some for later in life. This experiment really opened my eyes about how selfish humans really are.

In-Class Response

In class lately we have been studying wind. We did an experiment with kites and how they flew. The kites didn't fly in the area we were at. I wondered why the kites didn't fly in the open field where as they flew at the beach. I came to a conclusion that there wasn't enough hot and cold air mixed together to create the wind our kites needed to fly. It also didn't help that our kites were heavier than the wind. When the cool air from the ocean and the warm air from the beach collide they create the wind that our kites need to be able to fly. This information can help me in the future if i want to plan a trip to the beach and i would like to fly kites, or do some other activity that involves the wind. If i know where is the best place, it could help save a lot of time.

Social Studies Advancement In Technology

One of the greatest inventions with the most impact on society made from newer technology was the hand held cell phone. Anywhere you turn, someone has a cell phone. This has changed society because it has made everything that has to do with communication a whole lot easier for everyone! You can call pretty much anyone you want to, and it doesn't take to long like the telegraph or letters do. Also, this something that you can take from your house, unlike a regular house phone. The cell phone has made life just an all around easier thing.

Math Extra Credit #3

Did you know that the influence of what course children take in high school may come from what success their friends have? Lately, universities have been studying the topic of friendship and how it relates to academics. One friends success can actually motivate the child to do as good or even better than their peer. Studies have also shown that even though girls have to take the same amount of mathematics courses as boys do, they are more prone to trying to do what their friends do. Friends can challenge their peers without even realizing they're doing it.

For more information on this topic, go to:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080207085618.htm

Math Extra Credit #2

Has anyone wondered why male children are particularly more interested in math than the female child? Recent studies have shown that children's fathers have been playing a big role in their kids interests in education. When the father has a son, he typically stereotypes between the son and daughter, and pays more attention to the son. Parents will more often buy more math related toys for male children then they would for female children, which influences their learning habits. This has shown a dramatic change in the way females and males learn today. The University of Michigan has been doing studies on this topic finding that more math products have been bought for the male gender.

For more information on this topic go to:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/06/070624143002.htm

Math Extra Credit #1

Recently, a group of people have been studying lines for climbing trails. These people from the University of Washington have discovered when climbing a mountain, zig-zagged trails are more efficient than straight trails. Their reasoning was that if you "traverse" the mountain, you become less tired, and you have a better shot at making it up the full way, even though it's longer. They also say that if you attack the mountain with a straight trail, for it to be easy you'd have to find the exact angle to make it easier on you, and that could take a really long time.

For more information go to:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/02/080220130507.htm

Popping Lab

Lately in school we've been doing a lot of experiments in science. The most creative experiment we've done is our most current one, the Popping Fun Lab. In this lab, you had to shoot a cork at a window from the opposite side of the classroom. In order to do this, you had to combine two substances [baking soda and vinegar] to make carbon dioxide. The who chemicals reacted pretty quickly, so you had to put the cork on pretty quick.
After many times of trying to hit the window, we successfully hit the window three times consecutively. Not every group accomplished this task, but we were one of the lucky few who did.
Doing this lab made me realize, science isn't easy. You have to retry things to make them turn out the way you want them to. This also relates to how life in general works. If you don't accomplish a goal in life, try again until you acclmplish that goal. Like the experiment, if you dont persevere, you'll never get to where you want to go in life.

Monkey's Working Wonders.

Recently, scientists have been studying the way the brain works. They have been testing on monkeys to see how their brains work, to compare them to ours. This time, they put one specific monkey on a treadmill every day to see what her reaction was. As suspected, she walked for 10 minutes each day. Soon after, they placed electrodes in her brain to record her brain activity. After that they built a robot and connected the electrodes in the live monkey's brain to the robotic one. Then scientists observed as the two walked in unison. Scientists were shocked. The brain activity from the live monkey had transferred to the robotic one's. Soon enough, the real monkey stopped walking, but the robotic one continued to move.

As it turns out, the real monkey was still thinking of walking which is why the robot monkey still was in motion. From this scientists discovered that if you place electrosdes in paralyzed humans brains, all they have to do is think about moving, and they will be able to move the parts of their bodies that are paralyzed! This could lead into more great discoveries, all from one source. A monkey.

I got this article from: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/15/science/15robo.html?pagewanted=2&_r=1&ref=science