Plasticity Lab

In science class we learned about the property of plasticity that is most prominent in the Earth's Mantle. To simulate plasticity we mixed water with corn starch. This new mixture which had the property of plasticity was liquid in appearance however force is applied to it, it acts like a solid. When pushed our fingers in fast the mixture acted more solidified. On the contrary when we pushed our hands in slowly the mixture acted moire like a liquid. Not unlike the Earth"s Mantle, the mixture had the property of plasticity. I think this activity was educational and enjoyable. It was a hands on activity which I enjoyed very much. I hope there will be more activities like this one in the future.

October Sky

    In school I watched an inspirational movie known as October sky. The synopsis is that the main character homer witnesses a Russian space craft orbit the Earth. He is then inspired to build rockets, a pursuit he follows until the end.It had many of the character education traits we are learning about. Respect- Homer respected his fathers ideals and way of life though they both have different goals in mind. Responsibility-Homer took his fathers job at the coal mine when he was injured in order to insure that his family would keep all its belongings. Caring-in order to allow his brother to go to college on a football scholarship which he will have to stay in school to validate Homer took his fathers job in the coal mine instead of allowing his brother to work in the coal mine. Along with the character education traits that were so prevalent in the film October sky also had many connections to earth science. One such connections is that Homer's father was a coal miner. Coal mines are located underground.

Duchene muscular distrophy

Duchene muscular distrophy is a disease weakens muscles. The symptoms for this disorder can be identified at young age, around the age of three unusual walking and running patterns can be identified as Duchene muscular distrophy. Also there are general weaknesses hips, pelvis, thighs and shoulders. There is no known cure for the disease however by undergoing physical therapy the subject can remain fit. Most children identified with the disease die before they reach their thirties. This disease is not that common as only 1 in 3600 inherit the disorder. I believe that those with this disorder are very unfortunate as they will no be able to engadge in normal physical activty as a "normal" human can.

Information found here http://darknightxv1.blogspot.com/

Color Blindness

Color blindness is a genetic disordor that occurs in 8% of men and .5% of women in the U.S. The symptom of color blindness is that the subject will not be able to see all shades of color. Color blindness can not kill the subject and therefore the mortality rate is zero. Inherited color blindness cannot be treated except by wearing special glasses, however if a cataract is causing the disorder surgery can treat the problem.The male population is more vulnerable to the disease because the trait that causes the disordor is carried on the X chromosome and unlike females, males only have one X chromosone, therefore if a female has an X chromosone withe the trait and one without the trait the female will be a carrier of the trait however they will not be affected. On the other hand if a males single X chromosone has the trait the male will definately have the disease. In order to understand the principles of color blindness and develop new treatments you would need to understand the limits of each individuals color blindness.

Information found here and here

How to extract D.N.A. from a strawberry

D.N.A. is a molecule that contains a genetic code in the cells of plants and animals. Extracting D.N.A from a strwberry is a multi-step process. In order to extract the D.N.A. you need a heavy duty ziplock bag a fresh strawberry, a cheesecloth, a funnel, a testube, a wooden coffee stirer, a hundred mL beaker, some cold rubbing alchohol, (100mL of shampoo(without conditioner) and 900 mL of water)this is your extraction buffer. You start the procedure by placing the strawberry in a ziploc bag which you then smash for 2 minutes. Then you add 10mL of your extraction buffer to the ziploc bag then smash it again for one minute. Filter your solution in your ziploc bag through the cheesecloth then pour it into a testube so it is 1/8 full. Finally slowly pour the cold rubbing alchohol into the testube. You should see the D.N.A. foam out at the top. An explanation for this is that the soap breaks down the cell membranes in a cell. Then the alchohol percipitates th D.N.A making it visible.

Information found here.

Infamous Iraqi prison is now humane

          A prison once known as Abu Gharib was the site where tens of thousands of Iraqis were thrown into jail tortured, abused and executed without a trial. That was however the time when Saddam Hussein ruled. Now it is called the Baghdad Central Prison. The new jail has water fountains, a freshly planted garden and a gym. Prisoners were tortured in the prison first by Saddam Hussein then by U.S. troops. Because of the scandal by U.S. troops General Janis Karpinski was demoted to the rank of sergeant. Though there was trouble in the past, the Iraqi government is going to great lengths to change the image that the prison has. There will be a tour for journalists sometime in the near future. CNN was already told that rooms have been renewed and renovated. I believe that this is a great improvement in the Iraqi justice system. Now that Saddam Hussein is gone places of torture like Abu Gharib will no longer exist.

Information was found here

Making a roller coaster

       My Science class was learning about physics and Newtons laws so we did a little project. The project was to create a roller coaster for a website you would make about the roller coaster. The class was first separated into groups, each one would make their own roller coaster. You needed to collect Omega money, a currency used to buy the supplies needed for the roller coaster in order to create it successfully. After the roller coaster was built you needed to test it make sure it worked by dropping a marble at the top and watch it as it rolls down. If the marble can't get down adjustments need to be made to the coaster. After the roller coaster is finished each individual student needed to make a website for the roller coaster. The website must include information on the rates and services, testimonials, and the way physics make the roller coaster work. The student was also allowed to add extras to their website such as music. I think that this project was very fun. My favorite part was making the roller coaster. I felt that the project was a good way to get away from normal classroom exercises. Although my roller coaster wasn't very good it was also fun to create a website for it. I hope their will be more projects like this in the future.