Aqurium Trip

On Friday, I visited the Camden Aquarium. There, we saw tons of animals and some, I didn't even know existed! Most importantly, we saw all the animals that we learned about in science. From echinoderms to crustaceans, we saw it all. My favorite of all the exhibits, however, was the shark exhibit! It was so exciting to see all the different species of the fish and even experience them swimming above me. Next, I liked the place where all the different jelly fishes resided. The glowing colors and invisible like skin made me extremely fascinated. The penguins outside was also something I'd like to remember. I remember one of them was facing the wall the whole time I was at that exhibit! It was hilarious! Next, something that really knocked me out was the hippo exhibit. Even though the smell bothered me, I really liked seeing them. I'm not sure why though because all they did was sleep. However, the birds perched above the tank the hippos resided in really rubbed me the wrong way. They looked like they were ready to die! It was really freaky, I don't know what type of birds they were, but their feathers were like falling off and it was just....gross. Well, anyway, to wrap this up, I had a really enjoyable time at the aquarium and I hope to go there again soon in the near future.

Lit. Poems

"Character Poem"
Rudy
Kleptomaniac, athletic, and strong-hearted
Who loves a girl named Liesel
Who feels proud about his athletic accomplishments
Who needs to see the fall of Hitler
Who shared his stealing with a special blond
Who fears the loss of his loved ones
Who'd like to see his loving father
Who dreams of having Liesel for his own
Who ends up having his wanted kiss



"Red"
Death a black shadow,
pink a warm hue;
red is the sky
not all the time blue.

Small boys, yellow headed,
a stolen green fruit;
Red is the blood,
it stained Nazi boots.

White is a soul,
grey is the snow;
red is the fire
that warms the Jew's toes.

First Satellite Map of Haiti Earthquake

On January 12, 2010, a major 7.0 magnitude earthquake caused havoc in Haitian Capital of Port-au-Prince. This earthquake caused damaged and was followed by several aftershocks with magnitudes over 5.0.This type of thunderous earthquake can make current maps out of date and can cause troubles for helping citizens. Earth observation satellite can help assist in saving people's lives. The French Civil Protection Authorities, Public Safety of Canada, the American Earthquake Hazard Programs of USGS, and UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti wanted satellite info on the area so they can help those affected. Emergency maps were created as soon as satellite images arrive, these maps from satellites can help rescuers set up camps with medical support for victims. Another satellite helpful to this disaster is Radar imagery which can help identify landslides, which is helpful to help.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/01/100114143323.htm

podcast

Glacial Dust off of Alaska's Copper Glacier

From the Copper glacier, Alaska's Copper River flows through a glacier-carved landscape of steep mountains and fields of sand dunes before emptying into the Gulf of Alaska. The wind picked up fine sediments, the matter that settles to the bottom of a liquid, from the riverbank and carried it over to the ocean. This particular river is also, in fact, lined with sand.Due to the fact that the river is prone to high winds, the combination of these minerals result in a massive dust storm such as the one that was observed by Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer (MODIS) on NASA's Terra Satellite on October 30, 2009. In the image, the wind is blowing from the snow-covered mountains to the Gulf of Alaska. The wind picked up fine sediments from the river bank and carried it over the ocean. To make this easier to understand, the sand and silt, an earthy matter, fine sand, or the like carried by moving or running water and deposited as a sediment, comes from the combined erosive power of flowing ice water.The heavy glaciers grind rock into fine sediment and gravel as they flow slowly down mountain valleys. This sediment washes into rivers and streams, much of which goes to Copper River.

Color blindness within monkeys

Scientists have always been curious about the cure to color blindness and with their latest experiment they may be one step closer to its discovery. It is said, that two male Squirrel monkeys who were once color blind can now see in full color due to gene therapy. This therapy is believed to eventually cure human color blindness. For this experiment monkeys, Dalton and Sam were injected with a virus whose disease-causing genes had been replaced with human genes for red photo pigments. Viruses dump their genes into host cells, where the rival DNA can replicate. In this case, the virus was used to insert photo pigment genes. Since monkey's brains are similar to ours, researchers hoped the same result could work on humans as well. The monkeys were used as the test subjects mainly because they are adult male Squirrel monkeys that were red-green color blind since birth and also because all males in the species show signs of red-green color blindness, which is also the most common form of color blindness in humans.Luckily, 5 months after injecting human genes in the monkey's eyes, they began to see red. This is known because the monkeys were tested daily. Their tests were basically that they had to distinguish patches of colored dots that were varied in size and brightness from surrounding grey dots on a screen. Both monkeys passed and are now cured from their blindness. :)

Plasticity Lab: The Conclusion

In the experiment known as the Plasticity Lab, I have come to a conclusion. It was written that we were instructed to fill a large beaker half way with corn starch. Then, we would put a small amount of water into the beaker (warm or cold.Your choice). After the certain amount of water was added, the starch will start to become thick, but slightly chalky and yet a little bit watery. We would then take the metal spoon which was laying on the tray that was provided and mix the starch. We would continue to mix till the starch became thick. Then the experiment really began! When I stuck my hand in the beaker to examine, the starch was watery and dripped around my open hand. But when I clasped my hands and rubbed them together, in a way that I will roll a Play-doh glob longer, the starch became solid and was forming chunks in my hand! Curious, I opened my hand but was shocked to see that the "chunks" were still water! I was baffled and tried the experiment again and again. Still the same result. However, it came to reason that the starch became a solid when I applied pressure onto it and when the pressure was released it would return back to a liquid. Thus, concluding the class experiment and thinking of the other wonders our world could create.