Science: Teen scientist harnesses sun power to help Navajo community

http://vimeo.com/28991945

Inspirational.

Glass Two Atoms Thick Shatters World Record

http://www.futurity.org/glass-just-two-atoms-thick-shatters-world-record/

Scientists at Cornell and Germany’s University of Ulm had been making graphene, a two-dimensional sheet of carbon atoms in a chicken wire crystal formation, on copper foils in a quartz furnace. They noticed some “muck” on the graphene, and upon further inspection, found it to be composed of the elements of everyday glass, silicon and oxygen.

They concluded that an air leak had caused the copper to react with the quartz, also made of silicon and oxygen. This produced the glass layer on the would-be pure graphene.

READ THE WHOLE ARTICLE AT THE LINK ABOVE.

STEM: Ecosystem. Sundarbans

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130212-sundarbans-natures-bioshield

The Sundarbans is Bangledesh and India's giant mangrove forest, home to the Bengal Tiger. It is an ecosystem that is being destroyed and turned into a shrimp farm. But this forest protects one of the world's most populated areas from cyclones and storms.

STEM: Ecosystems, Sahara

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130205-sahara-life-giving-sands

How does the Sahara Desert help the Amazon Rainforest?

Wind blows the nutrient rich dust from the Sahara over the Atlantic Ocean where it ends up in the rain over the Amazon in South America. Rugged and brutal yet life giving.

STEM: Ecosystems Coral Reefs

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130219-coral-reefs-the-oceans-larder

Corals are more like plants than animals. Every species is food for another in the food web. Coral reefs are ocean nurseries. One fourth of all ocean species live in coral reefs. Many costal communities only access to protein is the coral reef. Catching fish is essential for the health and nutrition for fishing communities. Coral reefs are under stress from international fishing industries.

STEM: Ecosystems, Antarctic Ocean

http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20130305-antarctica-engine-of-ocean-life

This is a 4 minute film about the oceans surrounding Antarctica. That southern ocean around the earth's remotest, coldest, windiest, loneliest place is essential to all of the world's ocean life.

Even though it is a cold and desolate place, it supports an amazing number of animals. All of that life relies on the sea for food. The sea around Antarctica is full of plankton. Nutrient rich waters of Antarctica is key to the global ocean system. This is the point where the world's oceans connect.

This system generates a huge amount of nutrient cycling, where the world's largest mammal, the whale, can feed.

STEM: Space Photo Each Day

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2013/01/space-photo-of-the-day-2/?pid=7226

This site is really cool. This page is a space photo each day. Awesome! I love it when science, technology and art all unite to create something beautiful. This image below is five views of the planet Venus.

STEM: Nutrition: Health Risks of Obesity

Excerpt:

The number of people with obesity in the UK has more than trebled in the last 25 years. Doctors now say that the condition is reaching 'epidemic' proportions. Why are they so concerned?

Read below

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/0/21702372

STEM: Prehistory: Exctinct Lizard Named After Jim Morrison

Excerpt:

A newly described 6ft lizard that roamed South East Asia from 36-40 million years ago has been named after The Doors singer Jim Morrison.

The choice of name Barbaturex morrisoni is a play on the late frontman's epithet "The Lizard King".

Read the whole article below

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-22764946

STEM: Nutrition: Trendy Veggies

Crazy Colored Veggies are on the rise. The health benefits in the pigments are naturally occurring. Carrots were originally purple or yellow and by selective breeding they are mostly orange today. In the 1600s people found orange ones and those were bred to dominate.

Not only are they fun to look at and eat but they are loaded with anti-oxidants which are important to protect our bodies from stresses.

Watch this interesting video about these trendy veggies

http://www.cbc.ca/player/News/Technology+and+Science/ID/2388963986/

STEM: Prehistory: Wooly Mammoth De-Exctinction

Excerpt:

Q: Could extinct species be brought back to life?

That was the fantasy of the classic film, Jurassic Park, but a Hamilton researcher thinks it can actually be done. Hendrik Poinar, professor of evolutionary genetics at McMaster University, is working on a process called "de-extinction." He's mapped the genome of the woolly mammoth.

Friday morning he spoke with CBC Radio's Matt Galloway before his appearance at a Toronto festival called Subtle Technologies. Here's an edited and abbreviated transcript of that interview

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/06/07/hamilton-poinar-wooly-mammoth.html

STEM: Space: Truck Size Asteroid Misses Earth

Asteroid Size of Small Truck Buzzes By Earth

Excerpt:

An asteroid the size of a small truck zoomed past Earth four times closer than the moon on Saturday, the latest in a parade of visiting celestial objects that has raised awareness of potentially hazardous impacts on the planet.

NASA said Asteroid 2013 LR6 was discovered about a day before its closest approach to Earth, which occurred at 12:42 a.m. ET about 105,000 km over the ocean south of Tasmania, Australia.

The 10-metre-wide asteroid posed no threat.

Read the article below

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/06/08/asteroid-buzzes-earth.html

STEM: Mars Rover Opportunity Discovers Watery History on Mars

Excerpt:

After almost 10 years of roaming the red planet, the Opportunity rover has made a new discovery that offers scientists more clues about Mars's watery history.

NASA researchers announced Friday that a rock that was examined by the rover last month, and which they named Esperance 6, contains clay minerals, pointing to the existence of water on ancient Mars.

Read the whole article below.

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/06/07/tech-mars-opportunity-rover-anniversary.html

STEM: Ecosystems: Jellyfish on the Rise

Excerpt:

The rise of jellyfish populations in many of the world's oceans may be more than just an inconvenience for swimmers who want to take a dip.

The rapid growth over the last few decades of these creatures is a sign of the planet's deteriorating marine health, according to expert Lisa-ann Gershwin.

In her new book Stung! On Jellyfish Blooms and the Future of the Ocean, Gershwin says that these "enchanting and lovely" invertebrates are in fact harbingers of the health of the oceans.

"They're an indicator that something is out of balance,” she told Bob McDonald, host of CBC Radio's Quirks & Quarks. “So they’re kind of the canaries in the coal mine, if you will. Except whereas a canary dies when something’s wrong, jellyfish flourish when something’s wrong.”

Read the whole article about the ocean's ecosystem being unbalanced by following the link below

http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/story/2013/06/07/tech-jellyfish-bloom-quirks.html

ROBOT POWER

Robots can now do the most amazing things. Check out this robot that can carry people.

How would you like it if at EACP robots carried you to and from classes all day? They could walk you into class, and then serve as your desk once there. Perhaps it would serve you a nice cold drink as you leisurely browsed the internet looking for cool games to play. Wouldn't that be nice? Well, it's never going to happen. So I suggest you all walk a little bit faster to make it to class on time.

http://youtu.be/xpA59vLEl3g

Cancer Educational Site

Some of you are researching cancer. Here is an excellent fact gathering site about Cancer.

http://www.eschooltoday.com/cancer/cancer-facts-and-tips-for-kids.html

Damien Hirst

Damien Hirst is a famous artist. His most recent showing at Tate Modern in London England displayed art such as cows cut in half, and a shark in a tank of formaldehyde. One of the pieces used butterflies. Over 9,000 butterflies died in the exhibit.

Do you think that's ok for Damien Hirst to use the butterflies in his art if they might die?

Answer in your blogs.

Here is the story by Claudine Zap.

Lucy Cooke: Zoologist

Lucy Cooke

She's on a one-woman crusade to show the world why some of the most unlovable animals are actually the most interesting and deserving of our attention, study, and protection.

Read the article below and write your thoughts in your blog.

http://www.nationalgeographic.com/explorers/bios/lucy-cooke/

The Effects of Drug Abuse

This is a pretty good article on the effects of drug abuse on the mind and body, including alcohol, hallucinogens, barbituates, opiates, inhalants, and the social effects of drug abuse.

http://www.projectknow.com/research/effects-of-drug-abuse/

Pollution!

Some of you are researching pollution. I found this cool web site that tells you a lot about pollution, and what you can do to help stop it.

http://tiki.oneworld.net/pollution/pollution10.html