Young blood: The elixir of youth?

A few years ago there was a phenomenon of books and movies called "Twilight" which centered around a vampire and his human girlfriend. In the story importance was placed on human blood being a factor behind why vampires stay young, seemingly forever.  Of course vampires and the "Twilight" books are all fictional, yet it seems that there is some truth even in fiction. In the case of laboratory mice scientists have found that the blood of young mice, when given to older mice helps improve the memory of older mice and helps the older mice muscles.

  Originally the scientists connected blood vessels between older and younger mice, which showed that the younger mice did not benefit from the blood of older mice. So then, they decided to just try giving older mice the blood from younger mice and found that the older mice had healthier hearts and livers. The brains of the older mice also improved thanks to the effect on their brain cells or neurons which worked more efficiently.  This resulted in the older mice becoming  "smarter" and growing new brain cells, something that usually only occurs in young mice.

Now before you stop visiting your grandparents, because you might be worried that they might ask you to donate blood, this article only talks about research done in mice.  If this was ever to be applied to humans, researchers would isolate the substance in blood which is responsible for this beneficial change. For now the researcher done on mice indicates that a protein found in the blood of mice known as GDF11, which stands for growth differentiation factor 11, might be very important to understand more about how this process works.

The article written by Lida Katsimpardi shows the importance of asking questions and learning from our fellow species how our own bodies work and applying that knowledge to benefit the human species. It makes us wonder is there more to our blood cells than just blood, such as a "magic" protein which can help us stay young ?  Either way I will keep eating my veggies and spinach, until we have more understanding of GDF11 and how it works.  For now daily exercise and plenty of sleep will be my solution to aging too fast.

 You can find the article here:     

https://student.societyforscience.org/article/young-blood-elixir-youth

Discussion Questions :

 

1.  Can you think of another example of a substance or food where the promise of a longer life is based on eating or drinking something which will have immediate health benefits?  Do these examples have a negative side effect that accompanies the intended positive effect ?

 

2. What are the moral implications of asking teenagers for their blood so that products can be made for older people to make them younger ?   How will this affect the nice and neighborly habit of donating blood simply for the sake of helping a stranger with their health ?

 

Wily bacteria create ‘zombie’ plants

We are seeing a lot about Zombies these days, from our televisions to the bookstore it is certainly a part of popular culture. Recently I read an article that used the ‘zombie card’ to describe how a specific parasite took control over a certain species and preventing it from reproducing (thus, turning it into a zombie, serving only the bacteria that used it as home).

It sounds hard to believe that a parasite can actually change the behavior of a plant, but it seemed to modify the flowers to look more like leaves, which would attract insects, which would then transfer the bacteria to other plants and ensure that it could be spread over and over again. This leaf like structure stopped the plant from flowering, which is crucial to its reproductive cycle – meaning the plant itself could not continue to ‘spread’ so to speak.

Sounds hard to believe that you could stop a plant from reproducing so easily, but we do it all the time. At home in the summer, we pick the fading flowers from the plants in order to prevent them from going to seed so that it will continue to flower all summer long. Once a plant goes to seed, it stops producing flowers.

This article, written by Esther Landhuis is a good example of evolution at work. Surely the bacteria doesn’t think to itself “hey, maybe I can complicate life for that vulnerable looking plant……” it is all a part of natural selection which goes much further than how we came from Homo Habilis. It makes me stop and wonder just how the species we know now might evolve in four or five generations – or less.  It is certainly scary how fast bacteria can change and adapt to a friendly environment, especially with cold season right around the corner.

You can find the article here:

https://student.societyforscience.org/article/wily-bacteria-create-zombie-plants?mode=topic&context=79

Discussion Questions:

1)   Can you think of other examples of when a parasite host that continues to live on? What are the advantages and disadvantages of this situation? 

2)   How do you think life on earth will evolve over the next five generations? What are some of the highlights, and some of the drawbacks for us to this new evolution.

wanna learn how the bike works?

what an awesome video! yeah!

The Future of Cars

In Las Vagas in January 2010 general motors of GM test drove a new electric cars that looked like colorful eggs. This car holds two passengers. Parking with this car may be easy because of its small build but how easy. Well this car can self park. Also when you need it, it will come right to you with one easy click of a button on your cellphone. How cool! This car is called the EN-V pronounced envy.
Now scientists are researching to if newer cars will do more complex things. For example,reminding you when to take your medication, sending you a text when your car needs to be charged or, connecting to other devises. also it even 'talks" to other cars to insure pedestrians and other cars are safe on the road. lastly these cars save energy.

Google you may know of as the Internet search bar on your computer but, it also has scientists researching into these types of cars. They even invented six cars that can drive around surfactantly enough to have them drive all over the world to see if they worked. All that the driver did was give it direction to where it wanted the car to take them and check out the cars to make sure they worked well enough.“People who see our technology understand its potential to make driving safer and cut down on traffic,” says Sebastian Thrun, the engineer and computer scientist in charge of Google’s self-driving car program. That being said google is very much into safety of the people.Neither of these cars have been released because of safety concerns but cars by ford and other companies have been released that can parallel park by themselves.

At Massachusetts institute of technology or MIT scientists have invented an AIDA also known as affective intelligent driving assistant. This white robot sits in your car gives you directions and can cheer you up because it can tell when you are in a bad mood. Also it can detect when a car accident has occurred or there is a lot of traffic it will give you faster directions for you to get to the place you want to go.

Platzer a scientist got in a car named Boss built by his colleagues and Carnegie Mellon. “Right after the start signal, Boss hit the gas and rocketed forward, and I felt a bit like [I was] in a roller coaster. Only those are safe, because they simply follow the tracks,” he says. “Boss didn’t have any tracks to follow…. The curve came closer and closer, yet Boss still didn’t hit the brakes. It actually didn’t hit the brakes until long after I would have. That was a rather odd feeling.”

1) Do you think that for kids who are 11 now will get their drivers licenses before the robot cars?

2) If one of these cars came out would you buy one? Why or why not?

Drones in the sky.

Obama signed an aviation bill that would open the skies (300 feet high in altitude) to unmanned aircraft systems, also known as drones. The most important questions that have been asked are concerns about the low altitude in which the drones would be flying regularly. A few of the many questions include, what would stop a terrorist flying one of the drones at tree high altitude and plow through a few civilians. And would peoples privacy be declined because of the drones taking pictures at low altitudes in backyards and windows. An answer to the privacy question formed by officials is that the drones are merely flying through public air space.

There is also another part of the airspace in which the drones would be flying. The stratosphere. It is mostly empty in human activity. This layer will be increasingly populated by solar powered drones that would travel at bicycle speeds. High resolution cameras on their underside would take pictures of the population in city's.

One of the drones that would be used in the stratosphere is called the zephyr, a high altitude, solar powered drone, designed by the British company QinetiQ. It weighs about 120 pounds and has a wingspan of about 74 feet! This is quite incredible because it weighs just 120 pounds.

Although drones seem new. They are actually quite common. For example, a satellite up in orbit is a drone. And most military forces contain drones that are called UAVs or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. A helicopter toy that you got for Christmas or your birthday would be considered as a drone.

What will these drones be able to see? They will record the route and speed of auto mobiles and other land vehicles. They will observe the movements of individual pedestrians. They will also observe when people turn off the lights in their houses at night. The information gathered by the drones would be sent to smart meters and mobile devices.

1. Would you be worried of drones taking pictures of you in your daily life?

2. Do you think that it is a requirement to have these drones?

Mr Beaupre's class: round 1 part 2

SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY – GRADE 8

SCIENCE BLOG ASSIGNMENT v1.02

The purpose of this assignment is two-fold: to have students research current scientific topics occurring in the media and, to create an environment wherein students can engage in a healthy discussion related to science.

Please Note – Participation in this assignment occurs on two levels.

Level One: Each week, ONE designated student will be responsible for choosing a scientific issue currently covered in the media (a list will be provided indicating each students designated date). After reading the article, the student will create a summary of the information presented and create TWO thought-provoking questions for the rest of the class.

On the blog, you will find links to numerous media sources for scientific information. You can use these sources, or identify your own, for your respective article.

Due Date: Your summary and questions are due on the Sunday, at 8:00pm of your specified week (please consult the schedule for details).

Level Two: Once the designated student has read the article, summarized the information, and posted the two questions, each remaining student in the class will be responsible for commenting upon the questions.

You MUST comment at minimum ONCE each week. However, bonus marks may be given if you discuss and respond more frequently.

Level ONE Evaluation:

1. Appropriate article chosen	5
2. In-depth summary provided	5
3. TWO thought-provoking questions	5
4. Summary & questions posted by deadline	5
TOTAL	20

Level TWO Evaluation:

1. Responds to the questions asked	5
2. Provides and interesting reflection	5
3. Spelling and Grammar	3
TOTAL	13

Article Schedule:

WEEK	STUDENT	DUE DATE
1	BUCK-THOMPSON, Liam	February 27th post, March 2nd
2	BISSONNETTE, Alissa May	March 5th post, March 9th reply
3	ANCONA ARIAS, Luis Javier	April 2nd post, April 6th reply

Our Blog Website:

http://grade8sciencejournal.blogspot.com/

Sample Places to find Science in the news:

(links to these sites are found on the Blog itself..)

Scientific American - http://www.scientificamerican.com/section.cfm?id=news

Science News for Kids - http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/

CBC Science - http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/science/

Popular Science - http://www.popsci.com/

Science News Magazine - http://www.sciencenews.org/

NY Times Science - http://www.nytimes.com/pages/science/index.html

Blogger – Student Evaluation

Level ONE Evaluation:

1. Appropriate article chosen	5
2. In-depth summary provided	5
3. TWO thought-provoking questions	5
4. Summary & questions posted by deadline	5
TOTAL	20

Comments:

Level TWO Evaluation:

Week:		1	2	3
1. Responds to the questions asked	5
2. Provides and interesting reflection	5
3. Spelling and Grammar	3
TOTAL	13

Bonus Tracks:

Week	1	2	3

A bird that keeps the beat

Aniruddh Patel is a neuroscientist who studies how the brain and the nervous system contribute to learning, seeing and other mental abilities. After seeing a YouTube video of a cockatoo dancing named Snowball he decides to visit this dancing bird. Mr. Patel works at the “The Neurosciences Institute” in San Diego, visits Snowball at a bird rescue facility which Snowball calls home. Patel plays the cockatoo’s favourite song “Everybody” and other versions of this song were sped up or slowed down, Snowball danced too fast or too slow sometimes. When the tempo was changed Snowball had to adjust the speed of his dancing to match the rhythm, other scientist observed the same abilities with preschool children in other experiments.

Mr. Patel isn’t the only one who studied Snowball’s moves, Adena Schachner, who studies psychology at Harvard University, also wanted to learn more about this amazing cockatoo, so Schachner’s team played different musical pieces for Snowball and a parrot named Alex, as well as eight volunteers. Both scientist observed the bird’s and the eight volunteer’s moves and conclude they both kept time to the music with about the same accuracy. Schachner and her team didn’t stop there, she and some of her colleagues watched thousands of YouTube videos of different animals moving to the music, and not all animals could dance, however.

1) Do you think other animals have this ability to dance and keep a beat?

2) Do you think that animal have other human ability example: like talking, writing?

Thank you and enjoy!

the immortal fish

The turritopsis nutricula species of jellyfish maybe the only animal in the world to be "immortal"Since it is capable of cycling from a mature adult stage to an immature stage and back again, there may be no natural limit to its life . Scientists say this jellyfish is the only known animal that can repeatedly turn back the hands of time and revert to its original (baby ) state

The key lies in a process called transdifferentiation, where one type of cell is transformed into another type of cell. Some animals can regenerate. this jellyfish, on the other hand, can regenerate its entire body over and over again. Researchers are studying the jellyfish to discover how it is able to reverse its aging process.

Because they are able to bypass death, the number of individuals is spiking. They're now found in oceans around the earth rather than just in their native Caribbean waters. "we are looking for a world wide silent invasion" says Dr. Maria Miglietta of the Smithsonian Tropical Marine Institute.

1)If you could regenerate like them would you continue to live for ever or just try to limit your "kids"

2) How can we stop these jelly fish to spread "to much" around the world

i hope you enjoy reading :)(:

First brain image of a dream made

The contents of a man's dreams have been revealed in the Nov. 8 Current Biology. By recording the brain of a man who, unlike most people, has somewhat control over his dreams. The accomplishment brings scientists closer to understanding the functioning of the human brain's dream capacities.

“It’s really exciting that people have done this,” says sleep researcher Edward Pace-Schott at Massachusetts General Hospital in Charlestown and the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. “And it also brings back lucid dreaming as a very powerful scientific tool.”

Lucid dreaming is the rare power to control movements and behaviors while asleep. For the most part, the body is dead to the world. Most muscles are paralyzed and the eyes jitter. But also, at the same time, the lucid dreamer control his dreams and can change the scenes of his dreaming.

Czisch and his team were in for an experiment. They set out to catch a lucid's dreamer brain activities with an fMRI machine. Six lucid dreamers were asked to squeeze their hands during a dream (recorded with the fMRI machine) repeatedly. Czisch says it's rather an easy thing to do for a lucid dreamer if they're told what to do. If it's a random dream, he says, it's much harder.

Out of the 6, only 1 dreamer was able to succeed. The fMRI indicated increased activity in a region of the brain important for movement called the sensorimotor cortex when the dreamer squeezed his hands during the dream. When the dreamer squeezed his right hand, the left side of the brain's sensorimotor cortex showed an increase in activity. When he squeezed his left hand, it showed increased activity in the right side of the cortex.

The work is preliminary says Czisch. Because the results of the experiment come from a single dreamer, doing a predetermined task, they're not sure how a person having a self-generated dream would react. “To get real insight into a complete dream plot is a bit science fiction,” he says. But improving methods and experiments might eventually lead to a better understanding of the human brain's emotions, feelings, movements, thoughts and memories during dreams.

Discussion Questions:
1. Would you like your dreams to be viewed/explored by other people, or would you like to be able to see other people's dreams? Why?

2. Do you think trying to learn more about the subject (the way the brain works during dreaming) is worth it? Why or why not?