My podcast

A morning show interviewing a food scientist about their job.

Obesity and Drug Addition

This article, that was published on October 28, 2009, talks about a very important experiment that was conducted by scientist Paul Johnson of the Scripps Research Institute. The goal of this experiment was "to try to understand how parts of the brain play a role in obesity". What they found was that the brain chemistry of rats with obesity is similar as the brain chemistry of those addicted to Heroin. What was observed in this experiment was the more food the rats ate the more they wanted to eat. This pattern is very similar to rats addicted to drugs.

My opinion is about this article is that it is very important. I believe that this experiment will someday help the many Americans that suffer from obesity. Maybe one day this experiment will lead to a breakthrough in obesity. Overall, I think that this article is important to read and will really change the lives of humans some day.

To learn more visit this site:

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20091028/Note3.asp

Liquid or Solid?

Today in class we did a lab called Wonderful, Glorious Goop. In this lab we mixed together cornstarch, water and food coloring to get a certain mixture of purple goop. There were a lot of interesting things that happened in this experiment but three of them are:

1. When you apply heat and pressure it is a solid


2. When you open your fingers it seeps through like a liquid


3. This substance is called an amorphous solid

I have found that this experiment is very popular and there are a lot of interesting fact on line about it. Two fact i found are:

1. You can walk on this mixture if you keep moving fast enough


2. If you add different amount of liquid of a different liquid you will get a substance that will work very differently

In my opinion think this lab was a fun way to learn about all the different substance between a solid and a liquid. This substance is called an amorphous solid. Because of this lab, I completely understand what this substance is. I love this lab and hope to do it again in the future.

Melting in the Arctic

This article talks about the ice melting in the Arctic. Eric Post released this study on September 11. This study stated that in the past 150 years the earth has warmed about 0.7 degrees but the Arctic has warmed two to three timed that amount. The reason the Arctic is melting this fast is because of the self freezing cycle. This means that the ice is melting more in the summer and in the winter there is not as much ice and snow being produced. I think that this is very important to read about because it can effect our future drastically. Also we may be able to do something about and reverse the process.



http://www.livescience.com/environment/090910-arctic-biology.html

October Sky

Recently my unit watched a movie called October Sky. This movie is about four guys who grew up in a coal mining town but then developed an interest in rockets. They started building rockets in there town and became very successful. This movie relates to science and the character education program in our school.
This movie relates to science in many ways. First of all, the main focus of the movie is rockets. In the movie it shows how they fail making their first rockets but then fix it. In the end you can figure out how to make a rocket exactly how they made it. Also, this movie took place when the Russians lunched Sputnik in 1957. This was one of the biggest steps in space exploration. Seeing the satellite fly through the sky gave Homer, the main character, the inspiration to make his own rocket. Once Homer and his friends built a rocket that worked really well they entered it in the County Science Fair. The winner of the County Science Fair went on to the National Science Fair. At the science fair Homer explained how his rocket worked, and everybody was amazed by it because it was the first of its kind. He won both the County and National Science Fair. After he won the National Science Fair he was offered many collage scholarships which was a big deal because most people in that town grew up and became coal miners, and only about two students every year went to collage. This movie doesn’t only relate to science though, it also relates to character education. Homer and his friends had to work and cooperate in order to make their successful rocket. If they fought all the time then they would have never been able to make their rocket. Assertion is shown because Homer works hard and showed people that even though you grew up in a coal mining town, you don't have to be a coal miner. Respect is showed because Homer respects his dad even though his dad is rude and mean to him. Even though his dad didn’t encourage him, Homer's mom showed empathy and encouragement. Lastly, this movie shows self-control. No matter how mean, rude or discouraging some people were Homer never lot his temper. He showed self-control because he just ignored the name calling and mocking and shot for his dream. As you can see, this outstanding movie connected to both science and character education.

Response To jazzdncer's Blog

I read about a disease called Canavan disease. It makes me fell upset because a lot of children lose their lives to this disease that most people don't know anything about. In addition, i can relate to this disease because I'm Jewish and i know a lot of Jewish people. This disease is more common in Jewish people than other races and religions. Fortunately I don't anybody with this disease. I hope that more people will learn about Canavan disease and they will one day find a cure.

The Truth About Down Syndrome!

Down syndrome was discovered in 1959 but it became possible to identify abnormalities in the 1950s. Jérôme Lejeune discovered that down syndrome occurred because there was an extra chromosome. Now some people believe that there are two or three copies of the 21st chromosome. Before birth, it is not possible to predict symptoms that someone with down syndrome will develop, but after birth one symptom could be heart malfunctions. There are treatments that could help the disease but not cure it. Some of these are living in a conducive family environment and vocational training. Unfortunately people with down syndrome don't get to live a full life. The life expectancy of anybody with this disease is 49 years. That means that the 400000 people living with down syndrome in the U.S. will only live until 49. One in every 733 people has down syndrome and there are 2429 cases every year. This disease is vulnerable to all races and economic levels. On the other hand, studies show that down syndrome is more likely to occur in babies that have mothers that are less than 35. Down syndrome is a disease that most people don't know a lot about. To learn more go to these websites:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_syndrome

http://www.ndss.org/

Building Websites

Three Interesting Facts:

1. You can customize a website with webs.com.


2. There are backgrounds that you can choose from, but then you can customize them. Ex. change color,picture,icon, etc.


3. You can put music on you website.

Two New Facts:

1. There are websites that teach you how to make a website from scratch (http://www.make-a-web-site.com/)


2. You can get some on to build a website for you

Opinion:

I think that it is important to learn how to build a website and go through the whole proses. I don't think that it is worth hiring someone to build a website for you, because there are plenty of sites that make it very easy for you to build one yourself. Also if you have someone build a website for you, your own style would not be in it. Lastly, I think that building a website is a good learning experience.

My Roller Coaster Website

The Nightmare

Food For The Hungry

South Brunswick high school students are setting up a food drive on February 21 and 22 from 11 p.m. to 4 p.m. in four supermarkets locally. They are doing this local food drive as part of a program called SBHS Character Education. As of right now 350 kids and 30-40 adults are signed up to participate in this drive. All the food donated will go to a fund called the Middlesex County Food Organization and Outreach Distribution Services (MCFOODS). Most of the kids that are volunteering are doing it because they see the effect that the economy has taken on them. I think that this is a great thing to do and more people should help out and should do more things like that.

http://www.centraljersey.com/articles/2009/02/17/south_brunswick_post/news/doc4994436241c80214277964.txt

Wavey World

Three interesting facts:

1. There are many different types of waves (X-rays, radio waves, gamma waves, etc.).


2. Some waves are longitudinal and some are transverse and some are both.


3. There are Electromagnetic waves, which don't need a surface to go through and Matter waves, that do.

Two facts i learned from a different source:

1. The waves that are both longitudinal and transverse are called surface waves.


2. When an wave enters a different medium the wave keeps going and bounces back.

Opinion:

I think that waves are very important and are important to read and learn about. When you learn something new about a topic you already learned about then it it a good thing to remember that so you can pass that knowledge along to some body else. this also goes to show that even if you think there is nothing else you can learn about a topic, there are new things being discovered everyday.

http://library.thinkquest.org/10796/ch8/ch8.htm

N.J. Is Shaking

Earlier this week, in North New Jersey (near

Morris County), there was an earthquake that

had a magnitude of 3.0. That is very minor

compared to the ones that happen in California.

The reason it seemed so big was because it only
happened two feet underground. The residents

of North New Jersey felt and heard every five to

ten seconds of this earthquake. Most residents thought it was a plane or

car crash, but nobody guessed that it was an earthquake. This earthquake

happened because two rocks ,underground, broke. I think that this article

is important to read because people need to know that earthquakes can

happen anywhere. Not just California.

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/index.ssf?/base/news-12/1233725144156520.xml&coll=1&thispage=2

Climbing Fish

Who: Scientists
What: They discovered a new species of climbing catfish
Where: near the remote shacks of Venezuela
When: the fish was found and started being researched twenty years ago
Why: They decided to research it because it was abnormal

I think this article is important to read so people can realize that new things are found every day. Also, people should read this article so they know what is happening around the world. The new fish that they found sound really cool and interesting. I would want to read more into it, and maybe even see one, one day.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/01/090121122947.htm

Barack Obama's Inauguration

On January 20, 2009 Barack Obama's was inauguration. This was a really big deal in American history. It was the most watched inauguration in a long time. In addition, there was the biggest crowd ever to be at an inauguration. All races all around the world joined together to witness this historic event.


First Article: (click to retrieve)

The author makes a good point in this article when he says "Celebrations weren't limited to Washington. Across the country, friends and strangers gathered on the streets and in schools, bars and auditoriums to witness Obama's inauguration, united in their hope that he will deliver on his promise of change." What he was trying to say is that this event is so important that people don't just stop partying in one state, people are partying all over the world. The message that the author is trying to get across in this message is that Obama is a great person and i going to great things for our country. Also he is saying that Obama is a great as some of the other leaders involved in the civil rights movement.


Second Article: (click to retrieve)

In this article the author says "It is especially fitting to celebrate the words of Lincoln as we prepare to inaugurate the first African-American president of the United States." What the author means by this is that this is not the only change we should celebrate. My take on this, is without Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama couldn't be president today. Also, I think that it takes one great person to lead to another, to lead to another.

Opinion:

I think that this whole experience is amazing, but i do have a couple of questions. With two articles on the same subject, how can two people have two different views? In the first article, The author says that Obama is great and as amazing as Martin Luther King. On the other hand, in article two, the author thinks that Abraham Lincoln is a hero and should be honored

Zoo vs. Wild

Who: African and Asian elephants

What: Scientists believe that elephants in the zoo have a shorter life span then in the wild.

Where:In the zoo and the wild

When: in the life span of an elephant

Why:some scientists believe that it is because of stress or obesity


I think this article is important to read because it shows people how sometimes capturing a wild animal is not always a good thing. Also, it shows that even though it looks like you are helping something you may not be. You have to be very careful on how you help something , especially a wild animal like an elephant.