VDA #7

URL:http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2013/01/cool-jobs-delving-into-dung/

1.What is the benefit of checking feces (poop, scat, dung, droppings) for hormones versus checking the blood of the animal?

 

                The benefit of checking feces is it tells you important information about the species like about the animals travel, diet and health.

2. What four things can you learn from an organism's droppings?

 

             four things you can learn from an organism's droppings:

 

1. From what animal are the organism's droppings from.

2. The diet of the organism

3. The health of the organism

4. The animals travel

3. What hormone is produced when some animals are stressed or starving?

              GC, or glucocorticoid is the hormone that animals produce when stressed or starving.

4. What did the researchers conclude contributed to the higher stress in orcas and how did the scientists come to that conclusion?

                        
              
           when the number of Chinook salmon, a favorite food, dropped, GC levels in the orca scat rose. Every august there was a large amount of fish dropped in the ocean.

5. Give two reasons why dung beetles climb atop the balls of dung.

      
            One reason is for them to eat peacefully. Another reason is for them to cool their feet.

6. What is the relationship between the Kakapo and the Hades flowers? In your answer, be sure to include how each species benefits the other.

 

     Kakapos have whiskerlike feathers just right for picking up pollen when they feed on a Hades blossom. When the parrots transferre that pollen from flower to flower, it would have pollinated the plant. Wood suspects kakapos could help the Hades flower thrive again.

 

7. Why is the Hades flower called "Hades" flower?

 

 

          The flower is named after a greek god,Hadas,who was the "God of the underworld", and the flower grows underground.

 

 Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hades


Redo:

1.What is the benefit of checking feces (poop, scat, dung, droppings) for hormones versus checking the blood of the animal?

 

 

    The benefit of checking feces is it tells you important information about the species like about the animals travel, diet and health. If you only check the blood you only learn about the body and  ancestory.

4. What did the researchers conclude contributed to the higher stress in orcas and how did the scientists come to that conclusion?

    Around that time of august, GC levels in the whale poop dropped to their lowest levels, the team found. If the boats stressed the whales, then GC levels should have been high at that time  but it turns out that's not the case. Then Scientists thought  the number of Chinook salmon, a favorite food, dropped, GC levels in the orca scat rose. Every august there was a large amount of fish dropped in the ocean.

7. Why is the Hades flower called "Hades" flower?

The flower is named after a greek god,Hadas,who was the "God of the underworld", and the flower grows underground.

VDA # 6: Prune Fingers!

URL: http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2013/01/getting-a-grip/:

 

1. Scientists predict that prune fingers may serve a purpose. What purpose do they suggest prune fingers serve?

 

 

     scientists suggested that prunlike skin might work the same way as the tread on a tire, a pattern of ridges and grooves. these helps rolling rubber hold fast to wet pavement. In 2011, scientists suggested prunelike skin might work much the same way. The body’s nervous system , a network of cells used by the brain to send and receive signals to different parts of the body ,controls skin wrinkling. If the brain directs skin to become prunelike, those wrinkles must provide some advantage. Or so reasoned the researchers.

2. Do you think that the study performed in England was a valid study? Why or why not? 

 

        I think the study performed in england  didn't give all the information to answer why do we have prunelike fingers?  but, it did give some information that could lead to answering the question, for example, every participant moved the wet objects faster with wrinkled fingers. but wrinkled skin didn’t help anyone move the dry objects any faster.

 

 

 

3. How would you design an experiment to gather more data to support the suggestion that prune fingers serve a purpose?  (Be sure to include the number of people sampled, the independent and dependent variables and the duration or amount of time for your experiment.) 

      I would test 4 children and 4 adults and 4 elderly. I will let them put their hands in the water for about thirty minutes and then i will first give them a light object then a heavy object  to put in different boxes as fast as they can. I will record which age group took each object faster and which age group went faster with an object that was lighter and heavier. Then I would test their hands after2 hours in water and give them dry objects with the same weight.  

4. While scientists are attempting to determine the biological purpose for prune fingers, the article does not discuss why prune fingers happen in the first place.what biological process allows  for the skin on our hands and feet to turn wrinkly when submerged in water for a long period of time?

       

      Your hands turn wrinkly when submerged in water for a long time because water washes away an oily substance that protects your skin which is called sebum.When that happens, a certain type of dead cell on your skin will absorb the water causing the cells to swell up, but the layer underneath does not. So the swelling, combined with the places the skin is connected underneath to the non-swelled layer, causes your finger tips to look all wrinkly.

 

 http://www.todayifoundout.com/index.php/2010/11/why-fingers-wrinkle-in-water/

Redo:

1. Scientists predict that prune fingers may serve a purpose. What purpose do they suggest prune fingers serve?
 

prune fingers serve us by helping our fingers hold wet objects.

2. Do you think that the study performed in England was a valid study? Why or why not?

I think the study was valid because they did the experiment more than once. They also made the people try to carry objects with dry hands.


3. How would you design an experiment to gather more data to support the suggestion that prune fingers serve a purpose? (Be sure to include the number of people sampled, the independent and dependent variables and the duration or amount of time for your experiment.)

      I would test 20 people i would let them first move dry things with dry hands as fast as they can to boxes then I would let them put their hands in warm water for 1hour and let them move wet things as fast as they can to boxes, then i would see the difference of speed between each part of the experiment. this experiment might take about 1hour and a half for each person.( which includes the time period of the peoples hands in the water.My independent variables is the time, water and objects. My dependent variables are the people and results.




4. While scientists are attempting to determine the biological purpose for prune fingers, the article does not discuss why prune fingers happen in the first place.what biological process allows for the skin on our hands and feet to turn wrinkly when submerged in water for a long period of time?














        This biological process is called Osmosis.


 

VDA #5 Fish Consumption & Pregnancy

http://www.americanpregnancy.org/pregnancyhealth/fishmercury.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_hyperactivity_disorder
   

      Mercury is a contaminant found in fish that can affect brain development and the nervous system. This could affect pregnant women by causing ADHD. ADHD is the abbreviation for Attention deficit-hyperactivity disorder. this causes difficulty of inattention, hyperactivity, and impulsiveness. ADHD impacts school-aged children and results in restlessness, acting impulsively, and lack of focus which impairs their ability to learn properly.The FDA has released guidelines for women who are pregnant and women who are trying to become pregnant. These guidlines state that no more than 12 oz of low mercury fish should be consumed weekly. "Highest" mercury fish should be avoided and should be kept to only three 6 oz servings per month.

Experiments That Keep Going And Going And Going

http://www.npr.org/2012/11/23/165030844/experiments-that-keep-going-and-going-and-going

Long-Term Science Questions:

1. What is Richard Lenski studying and why does he think it's important?

Richard Lenski began his evolution experiment in 1988 with a simple question: Does evolution always lead to the same end point? if he started with 12 identical flasks,full of identical bacteria, would they all change over time in the same way? If he started with 12 identical flasks, full of identical bacteria, would they all change over time in the same way? or would random mutations send each bottle's population spinning off in a different direction? 
 Richard Lenski thinks it's important because,he could find new and interesting results that can lead to new discoveries. 

2. What is Telewski studying and why does he think it's important?

Telewski is studying to see how long seeds might remain viable in the soil. We know that seeds can remain dormant for a long period of time so, he wanted to find out Professor Beal's key question, which is, "how long?"
Telewski thinks it's important because it's been going on for so long and he wanted to work on this experiment also.

3. What benefits do you see in performing long-term scientific studies like these? 

 The benefits I see in preforming long-term scientific studies like these is when you work on long-term scientific studies you will have more information than a short-term experiment. you also will find new results.

Extra Credit DNA's shape

URL:  http://avicennamsscience.blogspot.com/2012/11/extra-credit-dnas-shape.html

1. DNA is an acronym. What is DNA's "real" name?

     DNA's real name is Deoxyribonucleic Acid.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_real_name_for_DNA

2. What function does DNA serve?
DNA contains information that determines the characteristics of an organism and directs its cell activities.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_function_does_DNA_serve

3. How was DNA's shape discovered? Give me the name of three scientists who played a role in this discovery? (Hint: I'm looking for the names of two men and one woman).
DNA's shape was discovered by a photo taken in 1952. this image was the first X-ray picture of DNA which led to the discovery of its molecular structure by Watson and Crick. Created by Rosalind Franklin
using a technique called X-ray crystallography. it revealed the helical shape of the DNA molecule. Watson and Crick realized that DNA was made up of two chains of nucleotide pairs that encode the genetic information for all living things.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/evolution/library/06/3/l_063_01.html

4. DNA has nucleotide bases, what are the four bases? (Hint: C, G, T, A... what does each letter represent?)
The four bases (C) (G) (T) (A) represent, adenine,cytosine,guanine,and thymine
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_do_the_4_letters_A_C_G_and_T_in_DNA_mean

5. In DNA, the four base nucleotides always pair up in a certain way; which letters bond with which? 
The letters pair up with G,C and T,A
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_do_the_4_bases_in_DNA_pair_up

Biofuels VDA #3

http://www.nbcnews.com/technology/futureoftech/first-algae-derived-fuel-hits-pumps-1C7048163

 

1. What is algae? (Specifically, what kingdom does it belong to and where is it found?)

    Algae belongs to kingdom plantae and protista. It is found in damp places and bodies of water.
Reference:
 http://www.oilgae.com/algae/sources/sources.html
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/In_taxonomy_in_what_kingdom_are_algae_classified

2. What is another form of biofuel that the article mentions? (Hint! "There's more than _______ in Indiana! Indiana Beach!")

Another form of biofuel is corn.

3. When comparing algal biofuel to the biofuel mentioned in your answer to number 2, which one allegedly produces fewer polluntants?.

The corn produces fewer polluntants than the algal biofuel.

 

4. How does the algae produce biofuel?

 Special algae are grown in bulk; when fed certain sugars, they produce combustible oils that can be used as fuel additives

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=8mFzCAYoLVs

 

1. How long does nature take to produce fuel?

Nature takes millions of years to produce fuel.

2. How long does it take Solazyme to produce fuel?

Solazyme takes a matter of few days to produce fuel.

3. Where is Solazyme currently located?

 Solazyme is located in Peoria, Illinois

"DEE" is for danger:

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2012/10/cool-jobs-the-science-of-secrets/

1. Choose which of the subsections of the article you found most interesting and answer the following questions:

a) In what way does their research contribute to the greater good?

This research contributes that animals do communicate with each other just like humans but, in different ways. it also contributes that we can understand what animals are saying but, with practice and studying.

b) What questions did the scientist pose that led to the research that s/he did?

The question that this scientist posed is "when birds varied their calls,did that indicate they were giving a different meaning to each message? 

c) What field of science does this fall into? (Biology, chemistry, physics, etc.?)
This article falls into Biology.

2. Select one of the scientists mentioned in the article, and write a letter to him/her. In the letter, include what you know about his/her research, what you found most fascinating and include a minimum of two well thought-out questions.

           Dear Dr. Chris Templeton ,

        I enjoyed reading your article "Dee is for danger". It was very fascinating and interesting. The most fascinating thing about the article was, how you tested the chickadees by using different kinds of animals that are predators to them and seeing how they will react. i wanted to ask, why did you pick the bird chickadee to test on? My other question is, does every animal's name come from what they say when they try to warn or communicate each other? Thank you for your time to read my letter.

                                   Sincerely,
                                                          Dena