Sorry, Vegans: Brussels Sprouts Like to Live, Too

This article is about the controversy over how extreme a human’s diet needs to be when it comes to being vegan. A vegan is someone who omits all animal products from their diet. Scientists have studied the products that vegans do eat, plants, in fine detail. Researchers of plants are still surprised about the information they observe about plants everyday. Information is being proven by in-depth studying of plants, such as, that they have many qualities that animals do. For example, plants can sense the presence of other chlorophyllated competitors nearby and try to grow in the opposite direction to avoid a conflict. Also, they recognize different wavelengths of light and can listen to chemical signals as well. These qualities are such that we normally associate with only animals. However, these abilities shown in plants are similar to those abilities obtained by animals. But a vegan is still only considered those who do not eat animal product and consume a great deal of plants in their diet.

This article affects not only vegans, but all humans. The consumption of plants/greens is a necessity to all humans. The fact that plants have many more significant qualities than most people know is very interesting, and is something everyone should be aware of.

Overall I think this was a very interesting science article. I would have never thought about how plants have so many qualities that are similar to animals that scientists have discovered. Although, it makes sense that plants do have so many significant characteristics because they are so important to the existence of human life on Earth.

Avatar's Moon Pandora Could Be Real, Planet-Hunters Say

James Cameron’s science-fiction film “Avatar” takes place on the moon Pandora. Though moons like Pandora that can bear life were considered fictitious, NASA’s Kepler mission, which is designed to detect planets that are like Earth, may change this. The atmospheres of planets that contain gases like carbon dioxide, oxygen, methane and water vapor can be studied over time to see if they can be truly inhabited by humans. So far, no Pandora or anything like it has been discovered, but many planets similar to Jupiter have been found. These planets cannot support life, as Jupiter is made of gas, but the moons orbiting them may be able to support life. The Kepler program looks for moons that pass by the host stars, which will lead to an eventual eclipse that can be seen and recorded by the Kepler program technology. Once the moon has been identified by the program, the scientists check to see if it has an atmosphere-if it does, it will absorb some of the star’s light, so it can be seen. Interestingly, Alpha Centauri A, the network “Avatar” takes place in, is a good network for inhabitable planets. However, red dwarf stars are better places to investigate; a potentially inhabitable place is usually closer to the host star. However, the red dwarf stars are so close that one side would receive continuous sun, while the other would have no light at all. This is called tidal locking, and this would prevent any life from forming on these planets.

This article is very relevant because one of the goals of the space program is to find habitable moons or planets which may be similar to Pandora. The new movie “Avatar” brings this idea of life outside of Earth to the forefront. We may be able to use these planets to find alien life, if they are already inhabited. The article’s subject matter was interesting, entertaining, and timely. I also like the idea that the planets from the science fiction movies we watch could be real. We will continue to watch for Smithsonian astronomer and project participant Kaltenegger’s research on alien moons orbiting gas giant planets as potential places where alien life can occur. This data may no longer be referred to as science fiction but just science.

“Case Shined First Light on Abuse of Children”

Current Events Helen Parzick

12/14/09

The article entitled “Case Shined First Light on Abuse of Children” written by Howard Markel, M.D., was very shocking. Before the case of Mary Ellen McCormack,abuse of children was not something that was really thought about as against the law. Thomas and Mary McCormack adopted Mary Ellen, and later after her adoption Thomas died. Mary became very abusive towards Mary Ellen. Neighbors and Investigators became very suspicious about the conduct in the McCormack household. The case was later brought to the A.S.P.C.A (American society for prevention to cruelty of animals) because there was no abuse prevention program for children. In 1874 Mary Ellen went to court testifying about her abuse to the judge and the jury. Finally her mother was put into an insane asylum of some sort and Marry Ellen went to live with the mother and sister of the investigator of her case, Etta Angell Wheeler. This article was interesting because it is an important event in the past that is often forgotten about. This article is not scientific but it is about the health and well being of children. This effects humanity because before this event child abuse programs were not developed and with out this we might never have had the programs we do today.

Citation:

Markel, M.D., Howard. "Case Shined First Light on Abuse of Children." New York Times(2009): n. page. Web. 14 Dec 2009. .

Snowflake Chemistry Could Give Clues About Ozone Depletion

This article explained how snowflakes can show us the state of the ozone layer. All of snow crystals freeze differently depending on the temperature they are frozen at. However, all of them have a thin layer of water around the crystal. This layer of water causes the crystal to expand and contract depending on the temperature of the place where it is formed. The scientist Travis Knepp discovered that the hotter the area is the faster the snowflakes expand from top to bottom. And he analyzed snow flakes and saw that the flakes that are falling are becoming increasingly taller.

This article interested me because it showed that even something as cold as snow can be proof that the world is heating up. Although this does not prove anything new it is another proof of the way we are killing our environment.

Fruit Flies can be Alcoholics Too

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/50640/title/Fruit_flies_can_be_alcoholics_too

By Laura Sanders

Many studies have shown that fruit flies like many humans have a tendency to alcohol addiction. Since Fruit flies are such simple organisms they are an easy way to study the effects of alcoholism without all of the complicated details there are with humans. It shows many major psychological effects along with hurting its coordination greatly, as shown in the video in the link. Studies have also shown that fruit flies prefer alcohol to pure water because when given the same amount of each they finish the alcohol way faster. Then they found that over five days the booze was slurped down increasingly faster. They also found that flies that had been drinking for less time like two days didn’t like strong booze whereas the ones who had been drinking for five days preferred the stronger ones. Even when the alcohol was mixed with something that most fruit flies don’t like the ones who were “alcoholics” still drank it. The last test the scientist preformed showed that once you are an alcoholic you are one for life, they took a fly who had been drinking hard liquor for five days and didn’t give him alcohol for three days, immediately after this dry period the fly returned to it’s peak levels of drinking. While they haven’t yet really discovered anything we didn’t know about alcoholism in the future the fruit flies could help greatly. For example the fruit flies could help scientist discover how to quickly track down the genes of alcoholism.

I thought this article was kind of entertaining but at the same time interesting. I thought the article was very well written and really captivated the reader, plus I thought it was a really good idea to put a video of a drunk fly at the end because it made the reader even more interested.

FRUIT FLIES CAN BE ALCOHOLICS TOO

Anita Devineni and Ulrike Heberlein from the University of California, San Francisco, have done a study on alcoholism in fruit flies. They created a special device for the flies with water bottle type things, on bottle had liquid food that was spiked 15% ethanol and the other bottle just had plain liquid food. The flies had the choice of which to consume, and it was found that the spiked food was consumed a lot faster than the plain food. Over a period of five days the flies preference to the alcohol adjusted, and the more they adjusted the stronger the alcohol could be. Drunken behavior was observed, such as loss of coordination’s and hyperactivity. The flies liked alcohol so much that when the toxic chemical quinine was mixed into their boozed up food they continued to drink it, even though normally they would avoid the chemical. Researchers think that these studies may be useful for the understanding of why Humans are so attracted to alcohol.
I found this article to be rather interesting, because it had to do with alcohol and flies, random but entertaining. The article didn’t use many big words so it was easy to read, and it wasn’t al that long so the shortness factor was quite pleasing. But I felt like the article wasn’t that direct, I mean yes at the end of it I understood the subject and all of the research but it would have been better it if had just been strait to the point of what was going on with these fruit flies and alcohol. It was very interesting that fruit flies can have alcohol addictions just like humans can and I think it is fascinating that scientists can learn about the human addiction from fruit flies.

Another Livestock Drug Endangers Vultures

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/50556/title/Another_livestock_drug_endangers_vultures

This article is focused on the cattle that farmers raise in South Asia and how a pain killer used on cattle affects vultures that live in that area. Since the 1990’s, diclofenec, an anti-inflammatory, has been used on cattle and since then, vultures have been dying off since the drug is poisonous when they eat the cattle carcass. Conversationists recently had tried a new anti-inflammtory drug, kitoprofen. Scientist had just recently given a direct dose of kitoprofen and meals of carcasses from recently dosed cattle. This test was given to the two other species of voltures in Africa; the direct doses given killed the voltures as did the recently dosed carcasses.
Vultures are a vital importance to the farmers that work around that area by eating the carcasses. A local farmer noticed the population of the vultures decreasing too, “Dozens of the birds could clean up a dead animal in 20 minutes. Now you’ve got a rancid cow sitting there for weeks,” he said. Packs of wild dogs have taken the job of cleaning up but the problem with that is the concern about rabies exposed to more people. Since then, India, Pakistan and Nepal have banned the manufacture of diclofenac for animals in their countries. But since diclofenac is used for humans too so the farmers just buy the drug that its packaged for humans and use it on the animals. In North America, farmers have started using meloxicam – which is vulture friendly. The vultures who live in North America however are not as closly related to the ones in South Asia, but scientist are testing it out now.
I thought this article was very easy to understand as well as interesting. Although, I didn’t like that the fact that the article didn’t show the rate at which the South Asia vultures population has been declining. Before I read this article, I never knew that vultures had such an important role in a farmer’s business. I now have a new understanding and respect for the vultures that live in South Asia.

Collider Sets Record, and Europe Takes U.S.’s Lead

The Large Hadron Collider set a new record for the biggest physics machine in the world. The Hadron Collider is a machine that sends protons 1.2 trillion electron volts apiece and crashes them into other protons. The Hadron Collider is located underneath the countryside in Geneva, Switzerland. The Hadron Collider’s purpose is to recreate a mini-big bang. This would help us learn more about our universe. If the Hadron Collider doesn’t find anything, all the work on it and the whole ideas that scientists thought could have come out of it would have been a waste of time.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/10/science/10collide.html?emc=eta1

"Boom! Hok! A Monkey Language Is Deciphered"

This article is about the Campbell's Monkey, a fellow primate that lives in the forests of the Tai National Park in Ivory Coast, they have developed a language that can now be deciphered. The adult males have six types of call, each with a specific meaning, but they can string two or more calls together into a message with a different meaning. A group led by Klaus Zuberbuhler of the University of St. Andrews in Scotland have spent moths recording the monkeys' calls in response to both natural and artificial stimuli. This group argues that the Campbell's monkeys have a primate form of syntax. This statement is likely to be a controversial claim because despite extensive efforts to teach chimpanzees language, the subjects showed little or no ability to combine the sounds they learned into a sentence with a larger meaning. Still, species like gibbons and whaled make complex vocalizations in which the order of the sound seems to have some effect on their meaning. The team still have reports of deciphering some of the Campbell's monkey's communications. For example, "Krak" is a call that warns of leopards in the vicinity. The monkey's gave it in response to real leopards and to model leopards or leopard growls broadcasted by the researchers. The monkeys can vary the call by adding the suffix "-oo:"krak-oo" seems to be a general work for predator. The "boom-boom" call invites other monkeys to come toward the male making the sound. Two booms can be combined with a series of "krak-oos," with a meaning entirely different to that of wither of its components. "Boom boom krak-oo krak-oo krak-oo" is the monkey's version of "Timber!" or a warning of falling trees. The meaning of monkey calls was first worked out with vervet monkeys. which have distinct alarm calls for each of their three main predators, the martial eagle, leopards, and snakes, but the vervets did not combine their alarm calls to generate new meanings. If the Zuberbühler team’s observations are correct, the Campbell’s monkeys can both vary the meaning of specific calls by adding suffixes and combine calls to generate a different meaning. Their call system, the researchers write, “may be the most complex example of ‘proto-syntax’ in animal communication known to date.” Dr. Zuberbühler said he planned to play back recordings of given calls to the Campbell’s monkeys and to test from their reactions whether he had correctly decoded their messaging system. I thought this article was very interesting. I think that we could learn a lot from monkeys because they are the most human-like creature. It would be a great discovery if they are right about what they have deciphered. I also think many other kinds of monkeys have speech like these ones, but we just haven't discovered it yet. I would like to learn more about what happens next, if they decipher more or if they find more mokey's in which have a language too.

Dogs vs. Cats

Douglas, Kate. "Dogs vs. Cats: The Great Pet Showdown." NewScientist. 09/12/09. Reed Business Information Ltd., Web. 9 Dec 2009. .

This article was about the two most famous house pets, the cat and the dog. To find out how good the feline or the kanine is, scientists unleashed a pack of experiments on the two. These pets had a competition in several different categories. These categories included the brain, shared history, bonding, popularity, understanding, problem solving, vocalisation, tractability, supersenses, eco-friendliness, and utility. Brain size is vital to the animals for their success. The kanine has a brain weighing in at an average 64 grams which is much bigger than the cats (25 grams), however in brain mass, the cat wins by a little. The cats have 300 million neurons in the executive brain, while the dogs only have 160 million. Cats and Dogs go a long way back and that's why scientists tried to figure out when did the cat and dog make it's first appereance. Scientists compared dog DNA to grey wolf DNA and found that the dog made it's first appereance around 50,000 years back. Then, the scientists looked at cats and found that they were significant in ancient Egyptian burials. Cats were finally traced to make their first appereance in a burial with a human in Cyprus 9,500 years back. Bonding with the owner is very important and that's why a dog is a man's best friend. Cats however are more popular than dogs because most want to get a cat as a pet. Dogs are more understanding though because they will figure out the thinking of the owner. Also, dogs can solve problems better than cats in critical situations. In terms of vocability, cats win because of their ability to "talk" to the owner. Dogs win in tractability because of the ability to train them easily for their knowledge. Cats win at the sense of smell because of their power of 45-64,000 hertz unlike the dogs 67-45,000 hertz. Finally cats are more eco-friendly because of their smaller paw-print of 0.15 hectares but dogs have the ability of better hunters and more mobility which enables them to fianlly take the prize.

This discovery helps the world to know the advantages and disadvantages of these famous house pets. Now, people will know in which categories their pet is superior in and in which not. So far, dogs may be in the lead, but scientists are always researching and categorizing these pets.

This article was very big in size but most paragraphs made it short by giving data and accurate statements. Everything was to the point and was clear about pets. The statements helped me work on my review of the article and at the same time I learned more of what seems to be an everyday topic. It's good that scientist finally are categorizing these pets to make it clear in which each category they are superior in.

People Hear with Their Skin, As Well As Their Ears

By Nell McFadyen
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=skin-hearing-airflow-puff-sound-perception
The act of hearing is something the whole body has to work on; even the skin. When people saw a video where somebody was saying "ga" but the audio was playing "ba," people thought they heard a completely different sound—"da." Then when they mixed audio with a sense of airflow, researchers have found that our perception of certain sounds relies slightly on being able to feel these sounds. When people say the letter “p”, “t”, and “k” a puff of air is produced that most people do not even notice. This feeling of puff helps the person distinguish “p”, “t”, and “k” from other letters. Why skin contributes to hearing could be because the largest organ in the body is covered with mechanoreceptors. These receptors in skin cells that are similar to the ones in ears respond to the pressure created by airflow.
This article doesn’t necessarily affect humanity. But, it effects life in general. I think this because before, nobody knew that skin had a lot to do with hearing. Little did people know, the puff sound that comes out of our mouth helps our ears distinguish letters.
I thought this article was very interesting. But, one thing I would change about this article was that some parts became very confusing. When it came to the part about “p”, “t”, and “k” I sort of lost track on what they were trying to say. Therefore, I hope I explained it a little better. I also thought they could have shortened this up because there was a lot of useless information.

Despite three deaths in Detroit race, runner fatalities are rare

http://www.cnn.com/2009/HEALTH/10/20/health.marathon.fitness/index.html

This well written article focuses on the tragedies and potential well being issue of runner fatalities. Three runners collapsed and died throughout the Detroit Marathon a couple weeks ago. Though this is a scary and shocking thing to have happened to three seemingly healthy men, a series of doctors confirm that this is a rare occurrence. Proving their point with examples such as, "Its probably safer to be running in these races than to be driving in a car if you think about the number of deaths from traffic accidents.", its a hard case to disprove. 

All three of these runners are suspected to have had cardiac arrest, which is a sudden change in the hearts circulation and the heart stops pumping as much blood as the body needs. The most common cause for cardiac arrest is when you have an undiagnosed heart condition, general heart abnormalities that could have been in place since birth that have gone undetected. Another cause could be a rupture of the soft plague in the arteries... being active puts you at less risk for this cause. Another thing to worry about if your training for or currently running marathons, is over hydration. Usually common with inexperienced runners or runners anxious about dehydration, water intoxication is becoming more regular. Be aware of how much water you drink.

Overall I liked this article because running is somewhat universal, a lot of people run in marathons or use running in their every day life, for sports or exercise. It is definitely a cautionary story as well as sad for the people who've already lost their lives to running problems... However they do leave us with some tips to stay healthy while running. The key ones were to stay in shape if you're going to run, and don't overdose on water. In general, I think this article was very interesting and informative.

We May Be Born With an Urge to Help

We May Be Born With an Urge to Help by Nicholas Wade NY Times Dec 1, 2009

This article is about how eighteen month year old kids were tested with chimpanzees to find out about how helpful we as a human race may be. It was stated in the article that eighteen month year olds helped out non relatives when they needed to be assisted with opening doors and picking up an object they dropped. It was proven by the age of three years old though that kids may start being more generous to kids that have been nice to them in the past. It was also proven that the kids treated kids in there own social norm differently then kids who are not in there norm. One of the experiments that Dr. Tomasello conducted was he sat kids down in a room and taught them a game. After they had learned the game the kids were then tried to be taught another way to play the game and this did not turn out so good. The kids went as far as screaming and yelling about how they had to play the same way they were taught it the first time. Dr. Tomasello stated that kids are naturally altruistic and they are also selfish but if parents help there kids out by giving them the push on how to behave socially that they will find a good balance between being selfish and generous.

Review by Jesse Greenwald

"Athlete's Foot"

This article “Athlete’s Foot” focuses on the question, is athletic prowess achieved or gained? It explains, through many tests completed and observations obtained, the advantages that competitive sprinters are born with, and what disadvantages other people are born with. It also thoroughly explains the differences of people that are born with better abilities, and people that train for those abilities. For example, Dr. Lee and Dr. Piazza observed that the average lengths of sprinters toes are 8.2 cm, and those of non-printers averaged 7.3 cm. these facts suggest that sprinters get better contact with the ground by having longer toes. This creates a firmer platform to push against, making it quite easy for them to move faster, resulting in a better sprinter. This article shows that some people are born with qualities that give them an advantage as a sprinter. Although, it states that people can work at their skills and become better, but some parts of their body that give them a disadvantage over others cannot be improved, for instance, the length of their toes.

The facts stated in this article help humanity today because it can help people get their facts straight. For some people training and working very hard to become something like an Olympic sprinter, it can help show them that they are at a slight disadvantage. Only because of their bone, tendon, foot, toes, and overall makeup of their body. Also, this changes the way sprinters and sprinting is looked at because now, it just shows how these little things create such advantages. And for people that are very good sprinters, and do not have all these qualities, it shows how hard they work and train to become the amazing sprinter they are today.

This article was very interesting and relatable. I enjoy sprinting and therefore, it made it all the more enjoyable to read about. The length of this article was very appropriate, although it could have had a little more detail and facts. It gave good insight on the topic and question at hand, and included many examples to help the reader gain a better knowledge of the athlete’s foot. Some words were difficult to understand, but overall, this was a very well written and appealing article.

Anderson Hershey

Toyota Engineers Two New Flower Species to Offset Manufacturing Carbon

by Jeremy Hsu

http://www.popsci.com/science/article/2009-10/toyota-engineers-new-flowers-offset-carbon-making-prius

This article is about Toyota Car Company’s reaction to less-than green manufacturing of the Toyota Prious. The reaction are two new plant species that absorb the carbon emissions created by the production of the green car. Although the car is energy efficient, the manufacturing of it is polluting. The plant has cut carbon emissions by 55%. The scientists at Toyota have engineered grass that grows slower than normal grass. The Toyota grass is cut once a year and normal grass is cut three times a year. This is to cut emissions. The factory uses solar tubes instead of electrical lights. Motion sensor lights to moderate energy.

I think Toyota’s efforts in engineering these plants is very important. It is a bio engineering challenge that only Toyota has conquered. The carbon absorbing plant is very important. In one car factory, it cut carbon emissions by 55%. This may be the solution to global warming the world has been waiting for.

The article is short, but to the point. It clearly states the problem. After it states the different solutions. I would recommend to the author to explain more clearly to the reader why Toyota has engineered plants. Is it for profit. To sell the carbon absorbing plants to tree huggers. Or for Toyota Company’s ego. To stop other car companies insulting Toyota for a green car, but an inefficient manufacturing plant.