Oxygen-Rich Exoplanets May Be Geologically Active

 

Aidan Gegenwarth

Mr. Ippolito

Science 9 Chemistry

1/25/22

 

Kim, Shi En. “Oxygen-Rich Exoplanets May Be Geologically Active.” Science News, 12 Jan. 2022, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/exoplanets-oxygen-rocks-melt-geological-active. 

This article is about an experiment that showed how oxygen-exposed rocks melted at a lower temperature than rocks that weren’t exposed to any oxygen. The experiment measured the melting points of different rocks under 2 environments: in oxygen-rich air and under oxygen-starved conditions. Because oxygen makes rocks melt at lower temperatures, that means that oxygen-rich exoplanets could have gooey mantles and would be geologically active. 

This is important because the findings of this experiment could help us explain the formation of exoplanets. Understanding oxygen’s effect on rocks could help scientists figure out the inner workings and the history of an exoplanet. This is especially important right now because of the James Webb Space Telescope, which is going to observe the atmospheres of exoplanets.

The article did a great job of explaining the researcher’s research process and the results. It also did a good job getting a quote from a planetary scientist from Oxford. However, the article was weak in some ways like how it would skip around. I found that the article would kind of bounce around from topic to topic and didn’t stay on one thing too long. That could be improved by putting the article into 2 sections: explaining the research and then explaining how this affects exoplanets.

Scientists vacuumed animal DNA out of thin air for the first time

 

VIctoria Fang

1/26/22 

Mr. Ippolito

Current Event 11

 

Coleman, Jude. “Scientists vacuumed animal DNA out of thin air for the first time.” Science News, 18 January 2022, https://www.sciencenews.org/article/animal-dna-air-scientist-vacuum-first-time-zoo. 

 

I read the article “Scientists vacuumed animal DNA out of thin air for the first time” by Jude Coleman. The article started off with a story-telling-like hook paragraph about an ecologist trying to “suck animal DNA out of thin air” in a zoo. It went on to tell readers background information about the method of sucking DNA out of thin air and how it is done. Many people would think it’s crazy, even the scientist doing this herself. “‘It’s such a crazy idea,’ says Clare, of York University in Toronto. ‘We’re vacuuming DNA out of the sky.’” Another team of scientists was also attempting the same experiment at the University of Copenhagen. Later in the article, it was revealed that these experiments both came out with amazing results. Elizabeth Clare’s team identified “25 different species” including zoo animal species and species they didn’t know existed near their zoo. The University of Copenhagen’s team discovered “49 different vertebrate species in the Copenhagen Zoo.” To sum up, the article stated the importance of why this was an outstanding achievement in the scientific community even though no one really knows the reasoning and method behind it.

By discovering this new way of extracting DNA out of thin air without really harming or disturbing species, things might become a lot easier for scientists. Also, one of the experiments led to an animal they didn’t know about, which means endangered animals might also be found more easily, which will help endangered species around the world, as well as benefiting and helping dying food chains to survive by helping endangered species.

When I first came across this article, I thought that this was such an interesting and crazy idea to execute. The article led me in with a very nice hook. It gave two examples of experiments that involved extracting DNA from the air around us. And it ended with an explanation of why it all might matter to us today. It also included pictures of the experiments which helped the readers understand more of how the experiments were performed. However, the article would have been a lot more fulfilling if it included specific examples of possibilities of how this new amazing discovery could have played out in the scientific community. 

After a Million-Mile Journey, James Webb Telescope Reaches Destination

 

Jeffrey Colangelo

01/26/22

Current Event 11

Mr. Ippolito

 

Roulette, Joey. “After a Million-Mile Journey, James Webb Telescope Reaches Destination.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 24 Jan. 2022, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/24/science/james-webb-telescope-arrival.html?searchResultPosition=4. 

 

            The article that I read was written by the New York Times and was called “After Million-Mile Journey, James Webb Telescope Reaches Destination.” This article was about how the brand new James Webb space telescope had just reached its final destination. In the article it says, “The telescope launched to space on Dec. 25, with astronomers all over the world holding their breaths.” This shows that the telescope has been on route to its final destination since Christmas day of 2021. Now on Monday, January 24 of 2022 the Telescope has finally reached its destination. The destination of the telescope is located past the moon and the telescope will rotate around the sun with the earth for many years. 

This is a very relevant topic in space and science today and for many years to come for research on our entire universe. The power of this telescope is supposed to help researchers on the earth see farther than we have ever seen before and to be able to see light from billions of years ago. This telescope will help to gauge our understanding of how big the universe really is and whether it ever ends.   

The strength of this article is that it gives the reader a basic understanding of what the telescope does and what is currently going on and the most recent news about the telescope. This article doesn’t really help to get an in depth understanding of how the telescope works and the engineering behind how it works. Although this article mostly wasn’t made to get in depth information on the telescope it still would have been interesting to know why some things are the way they are or why this location is the best for the telescope.