by Miss Baker
Click below for a video of the students opening the uterus of a pregnant female (warning: graphic)
You can find all the pictures from the lab by clicking here (warning: some pictures are graphic).
by Miss Baker
Does the theory that birds are modern-day dinosaurs surprise you? Well, check out this website! Not only will it answer many of your questions, but it will give you great practice with cladograms. The exploration is very informative and highly entertaining.
Snow Leopard, Photo source
by Miss Baker
I hope everyone enjoys their extra day off tomorrow. See you on Tuesday!
Snow Leopard, Photo source
by Teddy
In places ranging from the St. John River in New Brunswick, Canada, to the St.Johns River along the east coast of Florida lives an uncommon fish, the Atlantic sturgeon. An Atlantic sturgeon has weighed up to 800 pounds and up to 12 feet long, and that is why they are among the biggest fish found in the Atlantic Ocean. These primitive fish have a tube-like body covered with five rows of large bony plates. Their mouth is perfectly designed to be a bottom feeder; the mouth jets out sort of like a mocking bird getting its nectar from a flower and sucks up a lot of food. It’s hard to believe, but even though this fish is so big it only eats Mollusks, worms, snails, shrimp, and small bottom feeder fish. The reason that they might be that big is also because of them being able to live to be 75 years old.
The female sturgeon can lay up to two million eggs. These eggs are what most people are after, caviar. The juveniles live in estuaries such as the bay until they are mature, then they move out into open waters. As you may know caviar is very expensive, but even though it is elegant and rare it is no reason to kill these prehistoric fishes.
The Atlantic Sturgeon has changed over the millions of ears it has been around. A drastic change is the size of the sturgeons mouth. Sturgeons’ mouths used to be round and sort of egg shaped; now they are long and sort of pointed. This is because of them having to make an adaptation to get food easier sort of like Erik’s post.
Sturgeon can date all the way back to dinosaurs, thus making them amongst some of the oldest fish in the world. There is a decrease in sturgeon throughout the years; my Dad noted that they are particularly sensitive to harvest and habitat degradation. He also stated that before the late 19th century there were hundreds of thousands of sturgeon in the Chesapeake Bay, but over the past century there has been no increase of abundance.
Should catching sturgeon be illegal? Please answer my poll here. Why do you think sturgeon jump out of the water?
A Conversation With Dr. David Secor
Q: Why do sturgeon jump out of the water?
A: I have actually been asked this question a lot, and no one really knows, it is very weird for a fish of this size who is a bottom dweller, and whose food is at the bottom to come up to the surface with such speed that it would fly out of the water.
Q: Why is it that when I go fishing in the Chesapeake Bay I don’t catch any sturgeon?
A: Actually there have been some people who catch sturgeon in the Bay, but it is very uncommon. The reason for that is because they are not very abundant, this is a problem in the Chesapeake, because they actually used to be very abundant. We have tried to make hatcheries for sturgeon and release them into the Hudson, where they actually are pretty abundant, but they are decreasing.
Click here to enlarge the comic.
by David
The human brain has evolved greatly overtime from the time of early humans to us. Let’s try to better understand how this great thing has happened. On this page, under “Big Giant Head”, it is stated that at some point in history the human brain changed and was suddenly able to compute, manage and store information like never before. All life originated from three fatty acids (as stated in “The First Human Brains”). These same fatty acids now form the essential components of our eyes’ photoreceptors and our brain’s cell membranes.
The first living organisms did not have brains as we do today. It is said the first brains were found in insects. These early brains are more collections of ganglia – where hundreds of nerve cell bodies congregate. However, the brain has evolved to be quite big. It seems that carnivores have bigger brains in relation to their body size than their prey, giving them the advantage to create tactics and strategies to catch prey.
When scientists put all the pieces together they found that the early humans who lived near water sources and ate seafood experienced the biggest brain change. This is why many people say that fish is good for your brain. Stone age families living by the water would have been able to provide their families with specific brain nutrition. There must have been enough omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids available in their diet to provide many generations with fuel for fetal/infant development as well as childhood and adult needs for the cardiovascular system and the brain. Here I found a lot of info to help write this post and I think you will find useful information to help yourself better understand the brain and how it has evolved.
Who has the biggest brain? Did all the parts develop at the same time?
by Will
A recent study showed that kids who play when they are younger benefit when they are older. On the other hand children who do not play can become anti-social and maladjusted when they reach adulthood.
August 1st 1966 at the University of Texas, Charles Whitman climbed a tower on campus and shot 46 people. This man was the last suspected man to go on a killing spree. Stuart Brown who at the time recently became a psychiatrist interviewed Whitman along with 26 convicted murders later discovered that as children they had abusive parents and did not play as child.
Children who “free play” as some scientists call it learn how to deal with stress and become socially adept. It also shows that animals need to play when they are young or they could not learn the skill to help them survive and reproduce.
Also, in this study it shows that kids who have a fifteen minute break period during the school day behave better than children who do not have a break during the day. Many children do not get this break because of the “No Child Left Behind Law.” This law devotes more time to learning then to recess. Thus kids behave more badly.
This source says that when children play along with developing their minds and learning basic skills, they physically develop. They learn motor skills, and also their language improves from getting practice from talking with other kids. If kids have positive play experience they will have positive emotions.
Some scientists are worried that kids are not able to play as much as they should. Parents are having their kids in music classes, sports, etc… Kids need play where they can be imaginative and be creative. If children do not get their early playtime we could create a generation of over stressed and maladjusted people.
Do you think that a break in the middle of the day helps you concentrate and behave better? Do you think that there is a need for play?
by Miss Baker
Jennifer’s post which includes a song about malaria is currently on the home page of ScienceBlogs.com! If you follow the link on the home page it will take you to Bora Zivkovic’s blog, A Blog Around the Clock, where he has posted her video.
Also, on ScienceBlogs.com is an amazing response to Jennifer’s post by Dr. David Kroll on his blog, Terra Sigillata.
Another great response has just been posted here.
Congratulations Jennifer!
by Ryan J
German biochemists have developed a new device that can isolate a single cell. This new invention can lead to great advances in drug trials and biofuel creations. This website talks about how an invention that isolates a cell can be used to better our knowledge of cells and their reactions. Drug tests are normally done on a culture of cells, so it is nearly impossible to pick out one cell from another. When multiple cells are cultured together, the cells can alter their environment, making it very hard to know what truly altered the cells.
Scientists working on biofuels have the same problem. They need to find out what makes yeast to grow. The new invention “EnviroStat” uses electro-magnetic poles to hold a cell in place for testing. The fields force the cells into a box in the center of the cage. This creates a stable place for cells to be tested where we can tell its reactions.
New developments in science can create an amazing difference in technology, and create a new way of life. The advances created by this invention can allow many new discoveries in medicine as well as biofuels.
Please answer my web poll!
Do you think biofuels are the answer to a renewable energy source? Do you think this new invention will truly help new discoveries in medicine?
by Justin
A female green turtle named Ana has opened a mystery of ‘Oceanic Superhighway’. This turtle was tagged in Indonesia in November of 2008 and has now traveled into Australian waters. This turtle tracking project was done by WWF (World Wildlife Fund) and Udayana University in Bali, Indonesia. This journey is helping conservationists to track the migratory routes of these turtles. Ana made her way from East Java and is now nearing the beaches of Kimberley in Western Australia.
The beaches of Kimberley are called the Kimberley-Pilbara coast. The Kimberley-Pilbara coast is a magnificent ecosystem with extreme biodiversity. It is said to be similar to The Great Barrier Reef. This journey also shows the Kimberley-Pilbara’s link to the Coral Triangle. The Coral Triangle is the world’s epicenter of marine biodiversity and the cross roads for many migration routes including animals such as whales and dolphins. This journey shows scientists how strong the biological ties are between Indonesia and the reefs in Western Australia. Ana’s journey also helps scientists to better understand how marine turtles navigate the world’s oceans.
Take this text poll I created about this post and see the results by clicking here.
How did Ana safely make this journey considering all of the migration routes she passed? Why was Ana migrating there in the first place? Were there other turtles with her that also made this journey?
by Louis
Did you know that in the year 2002 each person in the United States was responsible for producing 5.1 cubic tons of CO2 emissions? Altogether that is 1.56 BILLION cubic tons of CO2 released into the atmosphere in 2002 by the US according to this website. If those results are from 2002, can you imagine what they must look like now? United States is the biggest producer of CO2 in the entire world. The three biggest consumers of the world’s energy are the US, Russia and China and between these three countries 43% of the world’s energy is consumed. These three countries consume almost as much energy as the other 192 countries of the world.
Global warming is caused by something called the greenhouse effect. The greenhouse effect is when infrared radiation is trapped inside the Earth’s atmosphere by water vapor and other greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide. The amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere has been increasing for the last 150 years due to mainly deforestation and the burning of fossil fuels. This increase of carbon dioxide enhances the greenhouse effect, making the Earth warmer. The act of deforestation accounts for nearly one-third of all the carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere by humans. The heating up of the Earth has caused a chain reaction, now the ice caps are starting to melt. Due to global warming, sea levels along the US coast have risen 5-6 inches more than the sea levels in the rest of the world. What might this affect?
An increase in the temperature of the Chesapeake Bay might cause something called an algae bloom. An algae bloom is when an increase in temperature or nutrients in the water causes harmful algae to flourish. This sudden increase in algae in a certain area is called an algae bloom. This is bad because the algae uses up all the available nutrients and oxygen in the area, making it un-inhabitable for other organisms. Another effect rising water levels and temperature would have on the Chesapeake would be erosion. The increased water levels would erode away the shoreline, increasing the turbidity of the water. Turbidity shows how clear the water is. This website has a chart of how turbidity affects organisms. Also, all of the fishing industries of the Chesapeake Bay would be affected, instead of fishing striped bass, fisherman would be fishing brown shrimp and the bay would be dominated by types of plankton.
How else could global warming affect the Chesapeake Bay? What are some ways we can stop this from happening?
by Sami
Here are links to an Animoto video and Doink animation I created for this post.
Organisms – humans and animals alike – have unique characteristics. Shar Pei dogs are no exception. This cute little dog has more wrinkles than ever, all due to a heredity disorder.
The origin of the characteristic wrinkles found in the shar pei has been discovered by a group of scientists at Universidad Autonoma de Barcelona. When hyaluronic acid, which produces wrinkles, produces an excessive amount of this enzyme it accumulates under the skin.
There are three enzymes responsible for the production of acid in mammals. One of the enzymes is HAS2, which makes a lot of hyaluronic acid. Researchers are trying to find the location of this genetic mutation that causes metabolic alteration.
The results from this research will help scientists to design reproduction programs to improve the health of shar pei dogs. What is learned from this research will be an important model for studying human disorders such as FMF.
Here is a text messaging poll I created for you to answer. Click here to see the results.
Do you think the disorders from this dog will be helpful to find out more information? Do you think people should stop breeding theses dogs because of there problems?
by Jordan
Have you ever waked up in the morning and had bad breath? Have you ever tried to talk to someone and they moved away from you because of your breath? In medical terms, bad breath is called halitosis. There are many things that can contribute to halitosis. Including the things you eat and some of your body’s normal processes. According to the American Dental Association, there are ways to cause and get rid of bad breath.
Eating foods with garlic or onions tend to have an effect on bad breath. When we consume food it is taken into the bloodstream. The blood that runs through the body will come to the lungs where air is exhaled. The air exhaled will have a similar odor to what was previously eaten. The odor will remain until all of the food is completely digested.
Maintaining great dental health can reduce bad breath. Usually when a person eats, little remnants and debris is left behind. Brushing your teeth twice a day usually gets rid of most of the debris.
What other types of food can pollute your breath? What other ways can you keep your mouth clean?
Check out our radio show appearance on NHPR
Check out our article in The Scientist
