Q2 Plant Science Project 2a: 4 Steps to Growing Wisconsin Fast Plants (Project Planner/Supply Ordering Tool)
GETTING STARTED
Let us help you decide how to make or get a kit to start growing your own. Make your selections below.
STEP ONE – CHOOSE A LIGHTING SYSTEM
OPTION 1:
LIGHT BOX
LIGHT BOX
Low-cost, good for group experiments and stacking in vertical space.OPTION 2:
LIGHT BANK
LIGHT BANK
Use a wooden bank or PVC for this horizontal space efficient system.
Plant Light House
Plant Lighting System 
Individual Plant Light STEP TWO – CHOOSE A GROWING SYSTEM
OPTION 1:
GROW PLANTS
GROW PLANTS
Recycled Bottle Growing Systems – made from small or large plastic soda bottles.Learn More »Build It
Recycled Deli ContainerGrowing System – a very stable growing system 4-5 plants.
Learn More »Build It
OPTION 2:
GERMINATE SEEDS
GERMINATE SEEDS
Observe germinating seeds and grow seedlings for days in a Petri dish. Quick way to model Mendelian inheritance patterns.Learn More »Germinate Seeds
OPTION 3:
GET A KIT
GET A KIT
Complete Kit Includes quads, wicking water system, planting materials, fertilizer and Standard seeds.
Quads
Watering system tray, mats and wicks plus Quads, 4-cell foam planters.
Monohybrid Labs
Petri dish Genetics kits
monohybrid labs.
Dihybrid Labs
Petri dish Genetics kits
dihybrid labs.
STEP THREE – GET A POTTING MIX & FERTILIZER
OPTION 1:
PLANTING MEDIUM
PLANTING MEDIUM
A soil-less mix or seed starter from your local garden or hardware store.Learn More » Vermiculite sometimes used to cover seeds after planting: holds moisture and makes it easier to see when seeds are covered.
Learn More »
FERTILIZER
Time-release, pelleted fertilizer like Osmocote 14-14-14 are an easy-to-use option we often use.Learn More »Water-soluble fertilizer that is measured and mixed gives the most accurate control of nutrients. We use Peter’s 20-20-20.
Learn More »
OPTION 2:
GET A KIT
GET A KIT
Complete Kit Includes quads, wicking water system, planting materials, fertilizer and Standard seeds.
STEP FOUR – SELECT YOUR SEED
OPTION 1:
STANDARD STOCK
STANDARD STOCK
Wisconsin Fast Plants Standard Stock
Most Fast Plants classroom activities use Standard Stock seed.
Learn More »
OPTION 2:
GENETIC HYBRIDS &
MUTANTS
GENETIC HYBRIDS &
MUTANTS
Wisconsin Fast Plants Genetic Hybrids and MutantsSpecialized plant types for investigating topics such as: genetics, physiology, and environmental studies.Learn More »
OPTION 3:
GET A KIT
GET A KIT
Complete Kit – Standard Seed Includes the complete kit with Standard seeds.
72 Hour Genetics
Complete Kit A quick monohybrid genetics lab.
Who’s the Father?Genetics Complete Kit
A 45-day investigation.
Now that you have gone through the decision making steps, follow MY PLAN we created for you on the right. Download instructional PDF’s, view the links, and watch the videos to guide you through the building processes. Or if you decided to get a kit, click the “Buy It” link to purchase online from available suppliers
La Jolla Marine Preserve • Tide Pools (Rocky Shore Intertidal Zone) • PROJECT 3: Learning the Names: Species Scavenger Hunt
** Tide Pools Project 3 ** Learning the Names • Due Monday, Nov 3
“What if a tree fell in the forest and no one knew it’s biological name? Did it exist?”
― Richard Louv, Last Child in the Woods
It can take years to learn all the name and natural history of all the species that live in the La Jolla “Dike” Tide Pools. Fewer and fewer scientists or amateur “Naturalists” are taking the time to “learn the names.” This means when a species population drops, or when a new invasive species is introduced, scientists often don’t even know.
How Many of these Tide Pool Species can you find for yourself?
- __ PHOTOGRAPH or VIDEOTAPE each species you find
- __ Classify them using Wikepedia by Kingdom, Phlyum, Class, Order, Family, Genus, Species. (King Phillip Calls Out For Green Spam)
- __ Make notes (by voice or in journal) on date, location (splash zone? upper intertidal? etc., behavior, identifying characteristics.
- __ To Earn Credit: Take photos or videos of species in at least one species from 4 of these 6 Categories: 1. Birds, 2. Crustaceans, 3. Echinoids, 4. Fish, 5. Invertebrates, 6. Mollusks
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Rocky Shore Intertidal Community
Splash Zone Continue reading
La Jolla Tide Pools • Project 2: Nature Photography/Videography Contest Intro Video • “Learning the Names”: Species Census • Photo/Video Contest
** Tide Pools Project 2: Nature Photography/Videography Contest **
Final Entries Due Mon, Nov 3 • All photos must be taken within the Marine Preserve
To Earn Credit:
- __Take photos or videos of species in at least 4 of 6 Categories:
- __Enter your Photos or Videos in the Nature Photography Contest.
For Flying Colors (3 pts) Make a Watercolor or Oil or Acrylic or Colored Pencil Painting of your favorite photo. “Drawing is the queen of the sciences” –Leonardo DaVinci
Prizes awarded for: Best Landscape Photo • Best Seascape Photo • Best Fish Photo/Video • Best Crustacean Photo/Video • Best Echinoid Photo/Video • Best Bird Photo/Video • Best Invertebrate Photo/Video• Best Mollusk Photo/Video
It can take years to learn all the name and natural history of all the species that live in the La Jolla “aka Dike Rock” Tide Pools. Fewer and fewer scientists or amateur “Naturalists” are taking the time to “learn the names.” This means when a species population drops, or when a new invasive species is introduced, scientists often don’t even know.
Life in a San Diego tide pool: Matter•Energy•Life
Many different kinds of plant and animal life call San Diego tide pools their home, nourished with fresh oxygen and food delivered by the daily ocean tides. Animals that thrive in tide pools include sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, barnacles, mussels, snails, crabs, limpets and anenomes. The Red and Pacific Octopi also live in tide pools. Various algae such as Palm Kelp, Scouring Pad and Surf Grass can also be found in San Diego tide pools.
Species Preview:
–>>Green Crab Eating a Barnacle (Leaf Barnacle or Limpet?)
Sea Slug (Black Sea Hare)
–>>
Species Scavenger Hunt • Photography/Video Contest
Giant Green Anenome
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Giant Green Anenome- w/ Shells (Why would it cover itself with shells?)
La Jolla Marine Preserve • Tide Pools • Project 1: Seeing Like a Biologist
** Tide Pools Project 1: Seeing Like a Biologist • Ecosystem Book **
See model from last year. Create a book on the La Jolla Tidepool ecosystem.
Tide Pools (aka the Intertidal Zone):
- Environmental challenges to inhabitants
- Survival of the Fittest Species,
- Adaptations to environmental conditions
The Intertidal-National Geographic Video
Seeing like a BIOLOGIST (not a Tourist!)
(Checklist: Matter, Energy, Life-on-Earth:
6 characteristics of all Living Things):
1. Cellularity? Collecting no longer allowed (with good reason!)-otherwise field microscope, magnifying glass- plant/animal dissection
2. Energy? Where does each species get it?
3. Homeostasis (as tide comes and goes, sun comes and goes, fresh water comes and goes): How do different species maintain a constant salinity, temperature, environment (water vs air), location?
4. Response to Environment. Anenomes? Crabs? Slugs? (see melatonin article and plankton!)
5. Grow: ??
6. Reproduce: Shark Egg “purses”
—————————
X. Struggle for Survival • Natural Selection • Adaptations • Evolution: How is each species adapted to its niche? How does it use space, light, water, food sources?
Y. “Ecological Services”: what do the different zones in the Intertidal Zone (Tide Pools) provide for the whole ecosystem? What does the rocky areas, surf zone, deep water provide? What do the cliffs provide?—
=================
La Jolla Scripps Pier (aka “Dike Rock”) tide pools
Tide pools can be small, shallow puddles found high up on the shore or huge, deep holes nearer to the sea. They’re created when the rising and falling tides of the of the ocean covers the rocks or beach twice a day. Tide pools that are below the low-tide line, are filled with ocean water most of the time. When tide pools are above the low-tide line, they may be exposed to air much of each day, which poses a special challenge to the organisms living there.
Life in a San Diego tide pool
Many different kinds of plant and animal life call San Diego tide pools their home, nourished with fresh oxygen and food delivered by the daily ocean tides. Animals that thrive in tide pools include sea stars, sea urchins, sea cucumbers, barnacles, mussels, snails, crabs, limpets and anenomes. The Red and Pacific Octopi also live in tide pools. Various algae such as Palm Kelp, Scouring Pad and Surf Grass can also be found in San Diego tide pools.
Life in a tide pool can be a challenge
What kinds of ADAPTATIONS allow tide pool species to maintain homeostasis? fight wave and tidal energy?
Organisms living in a tide pool are often exposed to extreme conditions. For example, they may have to survive both wet and dry conditions because smaller tide pools often dry up in between tides. Animals can hide under cool, damp rocks and moist seaweed so that their bodies don’t dry out before the tide comes in again. During a big rainfall, the tide pool may fill with fresh water, a sharp contrast to the usual salt water environment. Also, the water temperature in a tide pool can vary greatly between hot and cold days.
What kinds of ADAPTATIONS allow tide pool species to maintain homeostasis? fight wave and tidal energy?
Slideshow: Classification Wars • How do we keep track of 30,000,000 Species of Life?
- Before 1969: Life was classified into 2 KINGDOMS: Plant Kindgom – Animal Kingdom
- From 1969 – 1990: Life was classified into 5 KINGDOMS: Monera, Protista, Plantae, Fungi, Animalia, by R.H. Whittaker [Science 163, 150 (1969)] using classification according to Linnaeus – based on anatomy, morphology, embryology, and cell structure. (PS. Viruses are not in ANY of these KINGDOMS…remember that scientists do not classify them as ‘alive’).
BUT – the traditional 5 Kingdom system says nothing about how organisms within Kingdoms or between kingdoms may be related to each other via evolutionary relationships among the kingdoms.
So since 1990 many biologists have added 3 DOMAINS above the KINGDOM Level: Bacteria, Archaea, Eukarya
- Link 1-Wikepedia 3 Domains
- Link 2- Berkeley 3 Domains
- Link 3- Biocourses 3 Domains
((We won’t have time to go here…but what evidence do scientists have for how life began on planet Earth? Click lhere for last year’s notes on “The Origin of Life” if you are interested!))
Aristotle’s Classification of Living Things:
Linnaeus’s Classification of Living Things:
8th Grade Science Textbook • E.O. Wilson’s Life on Earth
“I’m going to ask you to… enter the world of the biologist.”
Available FREE from the iBooks Store
On June 30, 2014, the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation released the ground-breaking new high school biology textbook E.O. Wilson’s Life on Earth. We believe that education is the most important tool we have to face the challenges confronting our living planet. Life on Earth was created to instruct and inspire students, the future stewards of Earth.
Life on Earth is an iBooks Textbook consisting of 41 chapters in 7 separate units and can be downloaded for free from the iBooks Store. The text provides a complete, original, standards-based, media-rich curriculum to give high school students a deep understanding of all of the central topics of introductory biology.
E.O. Wilson’s Life on Earth
Morgan Ryan, Gaël McGill, PhD, & Edward O. Wilson
Published June 30, 2014 by the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation
An iBooks Textbook available for iPad and Apple laptops and desktops
To create Life on Earth, the E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation brought together a team consisting of educators, writers, multimedia artists, 3D animators trained in science and cinema, and textbook professionals, led by naturalist Edward O. Wilson. The editorial team, headed by Morgan Ryan, worked in full partnership with the Boston-based scientific graphics company Digizyme, Inc, headed by Gaël McGill, PhD, with the goal of creating a cultural landmark—a portal that will introduce students to the grandest story there is, the story of life on Earth, from molecules to ecosystems, from the origin of life to the modern awareness that we control the environment we live in.
via E.O. Wilson Biodiversity Foundation » E.O. Wilson’s Life on Earth.
What is Zingy Science? 5 Demos: Gravity, Metric System, Electrons, Alcohol Solution, Density
Dear 8th Grade Parents, Click on the links below to try sample Zingy Science Modules:
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- Question
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- Exploration
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- Test Yourself
DRAFT Zingy Lessons Re-Ordered for OTA 4th-5th v2
25% Theory | 75% Lab Science Project & Exams???? or 40% | 60% in 2014-2015
“Active Learning” Projects to Accompany E.O. Wilsons Life on Earth iBook– Homeostasis (5th Characteristic of Living Things)
Wilson’s textbook, Life on Earth: Unit 1: Unity and Diversity of Life on Earth, is an intelligent, physics first approach to biology, but the “projects are too often “Cookbook Labs” (some might be salvageable)
So, here are ideas for OTA Active Learning, Physics First, Projects to accompany the book…
If we’re going to look at homeostasis as one of the six characteristics of living things, why not go back to skills and themes (1. Matter, 2. Energy 3. Life-on-Earth 4. Measuring & Math: Unlocking Nature’s Secrets and 5. STEM: Applications of 1-4…. to do work they learned (or someday will!) in 6th & 7th and dwell on it for few days (while they keep reading outside of class).
- PRACTICE in the LAB: to build those homeostatic control devices &
- THEORY on the Computers/iPads: write code to regulate the same kind of system (get some insight into what DNA-RNA code must be doing—“rules of thumb” that evolution blindly stumbles upon)
Same with thermal energy (from a later chapter on chemistry of life) conductivity of different… see idea for that below.
Directions for Bi-metallic Metal Strip Thermostat to regulate a homeostatic system.
- Truly from scratch–even build your own bi-metallic strip (Brass + Steel, glued together)
Directions for Calibrating your Bi-Mettalic Metal Strip Thermostat to the desired temperature
- (98.6 °F, 37° C?)
Plus two more applications of your Thermostat.
Definition of a “Cookbook Science Lab” Project – Contrast to “Active Learning Zone” Projects
In a “Cookbook Science Lab” students are asked to follow step-by-step complicated instructions/generate processes they
- do not understand,
- cannot see,
- must take on faith
- did not/could not conceivably come up with themselves (enzymes and substrates!?)
End up with no new power to
- do things on their own
- change their environment
- put new knowledge to use without a teacher
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Cookbook Labs: Follow the directions CAREFULLY and Blindly:
“… unbleached paper towel to make your disks. You’ll need 10 disks to start. Then fill five 250-milliliter beakers with 40 milliliters of hydrogen peroxide. Measure the height of the solution from the bottom of the container to the surface. This height in centimeters will be used to determine the rate of enzyme activity. If you don’t have beakers, use baby food jars or something equivalent that you can see through.
Matter • Energy • Life-on-Earth… Measurement & Math… Technology… Experimental Design
The “Star Trek Game”: While “boldly seeking out new worlds” as captain of the Enterprise… the Admiral allows you an exception to the Prime Directive (non-interference with alien civilization rule)…
a planet is dying and if the natives don’t have a scientific revolution soon they will perish: You may tell the young civilization one scientific secret before you move on. What would you tell them?
Others classes picked:
Six Forms of (Kinetic) Energy
The Power of Introverts: An Essential Understanding for Teachers | Edutopia
The Power of Introverts: An Essential Understanding for Teachers | Edutopia.
Here’s a nugget of Cain’s advice for teachers: “If you’re a teacher, enjoy your gregarious and participatory students. But don’t forget to cultivate the shy, the gentle, the autonomous — the ones with single-minded enthusiasm for chemistry sets or parrot taxonomy or nineteenth-century art. They are the artists, engineers, and thinkers of tomorrow.” She also writes a lot about how teachers can work with introverted students.
From Seminar Blog: Question Assumptions… “There’s a Scientific study proving that…”
Replication, the ability of another lab to reproduce a finding, is the gold standard of science, reassurance that you have discovered something true. But….
… colleagues could not replicate 47 of 53 landmark papers about cancer
Four Fundamental Forces – Wikipedia
Fundamental interactions, also called fundamental forces
A force is defined as a push or pull* that changes an object or a particle’s state of motion or causes the object to deform. Newton defined a force as anything that caused an object to accelerate — F = ma, where F is force, m is mass and a is acceleration.
Four fundamental interactions are conventionally recognized:
- gravitational,
- electromagnetic,
- strong nuclear, and
- weak nuclear.
Everyday phenomena of human experience are mediated via 1. gravitation and 2. electromagnetism.
Nobel Prize in Physics Awarded for the Higgs Field
Very Good SLIDE SHOW here: WHAT IS the Higgs Field/Particle?
The Higgs was the last missing ingredient of the Standard Model, a suite of equations that has ruled particle physics for the last half-century, explaining everything from the smell of a rose to the ping when your computer boots up. According to this model, the universe brims with energy* that acts like a cosmic molasses, imbuing [different particles that move through it with different amounts of mass…. depending on how much they interact with that Higgs Field.]
*See “Four Fundamental Forces of Nature” post
via Higgs and Englert Are Awarded Nobel Prize in Physics – NYTimes.com.
4th 5th Grade Zingy Science Progress Trackers – (Covers 2012-2013 for 4th Graders • 2011-2012, 2012-2014 for 5th)
Note: Zingy Science groups the CA Science Topics for 4th & 5th into One Module.
******** OTA 5th Graders Zingy Progress Graph below…. *************
DRAFT Zingy Lessons Re-Ordered for OTA 4th-5th v2
===== pg 2 ===== Continue reading
Matter-Energy-Life: Fostering “Learning Progressions” (different from Standards) • Creating “Progress Maps”
Path for Progress (cf. Montessori’s “Prepared Paths to Excellence”)
A recent National Research Council study argued that schools should focus more on building students’ understanding of “big ideas” in science rather than simply teaching them unconnected facts. The NRC document describes how a “learning progression” can be used to expand gradually students’ knowledge of the central concepts behind matter and atomic- molecular theory in grades K-8.
Big Idea: “Objects are constituted of matter, which exists as many different material kinds. Objects have properties that can be measured, depending on the matter and the material kinds they are made of.”
Sample Progression: (Describing measurements and explanations for properties of objects.)
- Grades K-2: Objects have certain properties—weight, length, area, and volume—that can be described, compared, and measured.
- Grades 3-5: Weight and volume are additive properties that can be measured; the weight of an object is a function of its volume and the material of which it is made.
- Grades 6-8: Mass is a measure of the amount of matter and is constant across location. Weight is a force proportional to mass and varies with gravitational field. Solids, liquids, and gases have different properties.
To learn more about creating Progressions vs Standards and “Progress Maps” ….
Education Week: Panel Points Way to Improving K-8 Science Learning
By Sean Cavanagh
To develop a strong understanding of science, students in elementary and middle school should be encouraged to master a relatively small number of crucial concepts, and gradually expand their knowledge of those topics, a new study argues.
Released by the congressionally chartered National Research Council, the report says that too often, students are presented with long lists of disconnected facts and ideas, leaving them with no sense of what is most important and a poor understanding of the overall rules of science.
FOR MORE INFO
Matter and Energy TRANSFORMATIONS • Here’s What Happens When You Light a Fire in Space – Megan Garber – The Atlantic
On Earth Fire Produces Light, Heat, CO2, Water, and Soot (Hydrocarbons)… and FLAME!
In Space things get weird… Fire Byproducts:
- On Earth (High Temp Flame: “Teardrop.” By-products: Soot, Carbon Dioxide, Water) vs
- In Space/in the MicroGravity of the Space Station (Lower Temp Flameless Fire: “Spherical.” By-products: Carbon Monoxide, Formaldehyde
“When it comes to fire,” says physics professor Forman A. Williams, “we’re just getting started.”
Take the flame of a candle, the kind you might find on a birthday cake. The flame takes the familiar shape — as, basically, a gaseous teardrop — because of gravity. The hot air rises and draws fresh, cool air behind it. The buoyancy makes the flame shoot up and flicker.
To watch video: Fire on the Space Station….
How I Made It: SpaceX exec Gwynne Shotwell – Los Angeles Times
The president and operations chief of rocket builder SpaceX parlayed her childhood interest in machines into a career in engineering and aerospace.
June 07, 2013 | By W.J. Hennigan, Los Angeles Times
“I knew early on, if these guys [at SpaceX] couldn’t make it… nobody will.”
The gig: Gwynne Shotwell, 49, is president and chief operating officer of SpaceX, the Hawthorne company that builds rockets and space capsules to resupply the International Space Station for NASA. Shotwell is No. 2 at the pioneering company behind founder and chief executive Elon Musk. She is responsible for Continue reading
How to Create a New Generation of American Engineers & Scientists: Start Kids Dreaming Again
Tick borne diseases are spreading fast.
But enough about the tick-borne diseases in my neck of the woods. Ticks make people sick everywhere in the U.S. People in the South and South Central states—especially North Carolina, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Tennessee, and Missouri—have to contend with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, a nasty bacterial infection spread by dog and wood ticks that can be fatal if antibiotic treatment isn’t started within several days of symptoms. They also have to watch out for ehrlichiosis, a bacterial infection spread by the Lone Star tick; tularemia, a bacterial infection that can be spread by several ticks; Southern tick-associated rash illness, an infection whose cause is unknown and is frequently confused with Lyme; and Heartland virus, which is so new that no one knows much about it yet. Midwesterners have Lyme disease, anaplasmosis, and powassan to deal with. And out West, tick-borne diseases are less common, but they run the gamut: People bitten by ticks can come down with Rocky Mountain spotted fever, anaplosmosis, Lyme, tularemia, and three other lovely ones: Colorado tick fever, tick-borne relapsing fever, and 364D rickettsiosis. Think you’re safe because you live in a big city? Nah. American dog ticks, which can transmit Rocky Mountain spotted fever, are crawling around many urban areas, and in recent years blacklegged ticks have been found in almost every borough of New York City. A whopping half of NYC blacklegged ticks harbor the bacterium that causes Lyme disease. Freaked out yet?
If you don’t remember being scared of tick-borne diseases when you were a kid, or even a decade ago, that’s because you weren’t. The reported prevalence of tick-borne diseases has basically doubled in the U.S. since 2003 and tripled since 1995. Some of this increase may be due to greater awareness and detection, but ticks are also spreading to new areas, “and in some places, the ticks have been getting more abundant and a higher percentage are infected,” Ostfeld explains. (Scientists don’t know exactly why this is happening—it could have something to do with how the U.S. landscape is changing, and climate change may also play a role.)
‘Mayday! Emergency Landing. We’re on Fire.’ – The Atlantic
For most of human history, the possibility of flight was confined to myths and nighttime dreams. A century-plus past the Wright Brothers, flight now conveys either jam-packed discomfort among the (statistically very safe) airlines, privilege for the private-jet world, or danger for other kinds of small planes. Rege’s video is meant to illustrate some of the beauty of the process — as the Avenger clip does in a different way.
SOAR from hadi dimachkieh on Vimeo.
SOAR from hadi dimachkieh on Vimeo.
Notes for specialists: the airplane Rege is flying is a new Cirrus SR-20. It is made by Cirrus Aircraft in Duluth, the company I’ve written about for years, and is one of the famous “planes with a parachute” that can be lowered safely to the ground by a parachute in the event of an impending crash.
Source: ‘Mayday! Emergency Landing. We’re on Fire.’ – The Atlantic
Measurement of Work, Power and Energy Expenditure
Measurement of Work, Power and Energy Expenditure
I. Measurement of Work and Energy Expenditure – Basic Concepts
A. Applications:
- Training and dietary regimens for athletes
- Exercise prescription for general population
- Understanding of metabolic requirements for rest and exercise
- Effectiveness of exercise training to improve performance, fitness, or overall health
B. System International (SI) Units
- Metric Prefixes
How to Convert Metric Units (Video) not sure I like these? Use UNIT ANALYSIS (aka Dimensional Analysis: ignore numbers, set up units to cancel, then use a calculator!)
- SI units
- – Mass: kilogram (kg)
- – Distance: meter (m)
- – Time: second (s)
- – Force: Newton (N)
- – Work: Joule (J)
- – Energy: Joule (J)
- – Torque: N*m (=J)
- – Power: Watt (W)
- – Velocity: m/s
C. Weight and Mass are NOT the same
- Mass – measured in grams (or kg etc.), independent of gravity
- Weight = FORCE = mass * acceleration – NOT gravity independent – gravity on Earth – 9.8 m/s2
II. Definitions of Work and Power
A. Work:
- Work = Force x distance
- Work expressed in: joules (= kg*m2/s2), kpm, kcal, foot-lbs
Kgm(kg x meters) may be used by some (see text) but it is lazy and basically wrong!- N*m CAN be used (newtons x meters)
B. Power: Continue reading
An Argument AGAINST the “illogical” metric system! Richard Nilsen
But when it comes to the arguments for adoption, I demur. No, the metric system is not “more logical” than the so-called English system. And in many ways, it simply fails the test for logic, at least if by logic you mean usefulness.
I admit that when it comes to particle physics and engineering, the fact that you can do a good deal of your math by simply moving a decimal point has a lot in its favor. For the very large and the very small: for astrophysicists and nano-technologists, the 10-based metric system is the logical choice.
But I resent the patronizing tone so many pedants take toward the older system, as if it made no sense at all — when in fact, it makes a great deal of sense. There is a logic to the English system, and one that makes our lives easier — and more human.
Just start with the thermometer. When Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit invented the mercury thermometer in 1714, he devised his system of measuring temperature in very human terms. Zero degrees was a cold as he make brine before it froze, and 100 degrees was (he was a little off) body temperature.
And using the Fahrenheit thermometer, when it is 0 degrees F, you know it is cold, and when it hits 100 in the shade, you know you’re hot.
The Celsius, or centigrade system that is used in metric nations, is based on the boiling and freezing points of fresh water. Sounds logical, perhaps, but I’m not water, I’m human. Why should it be considered logical to base your thermometer on water?
Arming the Immune System Against Cancer – Biologist | Cancer Researcher
But your laboratory came up with an answer. What did you discover?
My lab has done a lot of basic research on how T-cells find and mark viruses, bacteria and defective cells. In the 1990s, my team and another group showed that there was a molecule on T-cells that actually acts like an off switch or a brake pedal when T-cells encounter an infected cell.
Instead of attacking the cell, this molecule puts a kind of brake on the immune response. We call it a checkpoint, and it may be why many of those therapeutic anticancer vaccines couldn’t work. We think the immune system may have multiple checkpoints.
I wondered whether we could block this off switch to keep the T-cells turned on. And that’s what we did. We developed an antibody to plug this off-switch. It worked great in mouse models of many types of cancer.
Continue reading the main storyContinue reading the main story
More importantly, it worked for some people with skin cancer. The first drug developed out of this was Yervoy, which was approved by the F.D.A. in 2011 against metastatic and inoperable advanced melanomas.
Long-term follow up of 5,000 melanoma patients who received it found that 22 percent survived for at least 10 years, some longer.
Is that a good number?
Oh, yeah. These were patients with usually seven months, maybe a year, to live.
A woman in Santa Monica was one of the first people to get the drug. She had two kids in high school. She’d failed at everything.
And so Dr. Antoni Ribas at U.C.L.A. said: “Well, we’ve got this experimental thing. We don’t know if it will work. It may be toxic.” She said, “I’ll do anything if I can just live a few more months to see my son graduate high school.” And so they treated her. And her tumors went away within about four months.
I met her 10 years later. She said, “You know, my kids are through school, married, starting families.”
There are a lot of stories like that.
California Drought Map 2012-2015
How Bad is the California Drought?
How plants adapt: Calcium waves help the roots tell the shoots
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Arabidopsis thaliana growing in salt water. The plant on the right has more of the protein channel TPC1, thought to be involved in calcium signaling in plants. The plant at center has less TPC1 than normal, and the one on the left is considered normal. Credit: Won-Gyu Choi/Gilroy Lab
It’s a finding that has implications for those interested in how plants adapt to and thrive in changing environments. For instance, it may help agricultural scientists understand how to make more salt- or drought-tolerant plants.
“How do you think plants live?” Gilroy asks. “If I poke you, I see an instant response. You move away. Plants live in a slightly different world. They are rooted to the ground, literally, and they respond to the world either by growing or creating chemicals.”
Calcium is involved in transmitting information in the cells of humans and other animals, contracting muscles, sending nerve signals and more.
In plants, scientists believed it had to also play a role in processing information and sending rapid signals so that plants can respond quickly to their environments.
Imagine you are a plant being eaten by a caterpillar: “It’s like a lion chewing your leg,” says Gilroy. “If an insect is chewing your leaf, you’re gone unless you determine something effective immediately.”
But no one had ever been able to see it before. Even Gilroy’s team found it by accident.
via How plants adapt: Calcium waves help the roots tell the shoots.
Southern california underwater marine life field guide: Submit Your Photos!
Underwater Field Guide to the Flora and Fauna of Southern California
California Fish ID
Welcome to the Southern California Underwater field guide. More than 450 species are represented here, covering a geographic area from San Diego to Santa Barbara.
- You are invited to contribute photos to this field guide. To make a submission, or for assistance in identifying something unknown, please email sgietler@yahoo.com
- All photos are copyrighted by each photographer and should not be used without their permissions. Field guide contributors are listed below.
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Gates Foundation Uses Art to Encourage Vaccination – NYTimes.com
By MELENA RYZIKJAN. 6, 2015
A tableau of a vaccination. Credit Alexia Sinclair
Artists, it’s fair to say, usually don’t know much about bacteria. Vik Muniz is an exception. Mr. Muniz, the Brazilian-born photographer known for his unorthodox materials, has been working with the M.I.T. bioengineer and designer Tal Danino on a series of trompe l’oeil images of microscopic organisms: cancer cells, healthy cells and bacteria.
At first glance, they look like ornate and colorful patterns. In reality, they represent teeming, living things. Among his latest: a pink print that could pass for floral wallpaper. But it’s made up of liver cells infected with the Vaccinia virus, which is used to make the smallpox vaccine.
“Normally, patterns are soothing structures,” Mr. Muniz said, “and all of a sudden, there’s a lot of drama.”
The work now has another meaning. It will be used in a new online campaign, The Art of Saving a Life, sponsored by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. The intent is to promote vaccination just in time for an international effort to raise funds to inoculate millions, especially in poor nations.
via Gates Foundation Uses Art to Encourage Vaccination – NYTimes.com.