Science: Current Event # 5

Ivan

6B

Science

31/10/11

Title of Article: Insects Are Scared to Death of Fish

Author(s) of this Article: The above story is reprinted from materials provided by University of Toronto.

Source of the Article: Science Daily: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111027125241.htm

Date this article was written: October 27^th, 2011

Summary of the Article:

The mere presence of a predator in their habitat is enough to create such stress, that dot-tailed dragonflies could actually die. In the second experiment 11% of the larvae died when they shared their environment with fish. They were in a process called metamorphosis (the process of dragonflies becoming adults). Scientists at the University of Toronto state that their findings can apply to all living organisms facing any amount of stress. "We allowed the juvenile dragonflies to go through metamorphosis to become adult dragonflies, and found those that had grown up around predators were more likely to fail to complete metamorphosis successfully, more often dying in the process," says Rowe, a professor conducting the experiment at the University of Toronto.

This discovery I think may affect our society positively because now we know not to stress ourselves and not to put other into stressful conditions. I chose this article because I am interested learning about insects. I found this website on www.sciencedaily.com. This is the best reliable resource to get science articles. From this article, I learned that when you are feeling stressed it is really bad for your nerves and body and brain. I felt weird reading this article because eI didn’t know anything about this.

Science: Current Event # 4

Ivan

6B

Science

24/10/11

Title of Article: Brain Scans Support Findings That IQ Can Rise or Fall Significantly During Adolescence

Author(s) of this Article: The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Wellcome Trust.

Source of the Article: Science Daily: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111020024329.htm

Date this article was written: October 20^th, 2011

Summary of the Article:

Researchers at Wellcome Trust have found out that over your period of being an adolescent your IQ can both fall and rise significantly. These theories were proven right by both IQ tests and brain scans at the beginning of your adolescence and at the end of your adolescence. Your IQ is your intelligence quotient; IQ tests are used to predict educational achievement and also employment prospects later in life; to see what your chance is of getting a well-paying job. At the Wellcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL (Universal College London) and the Centre for Educational Neuroscience, tests proved that our IQ is not constant. "We found a considerable amount of change in how our subjects performed on the IQ tests in 2008 compared to four years earlier," explains Sue Ramsden, first author of this study.

This discovery is great for the society because now adolescents would try harder on tests, so their IQ would not fall down and they would get better educational achievement and possibly a better, well-paying job in the future. I chose this article because I am interested how our brain works and what it does; how it helps us. I found this article on www.sciencedaily.com; this is a website where I always go to find material for my current events. I know Science Daily is a got place to get articles for my current events because it is all about science, many people use it and I learn from my previous experiences. From this article I learned that even if you are a “brainy” person your IQ may fall down during your adolescent years. When I read this article, I felt sad because that means that my IQ may go down. :(

Science: Current Event #3 Crab Pulsar Beams Most Energetic Gamma Rays Ever Detected from a Pulsar

Title of the Article: Crab Pulsar Beams Most Energetic Gamma Rays Ever Detected from a Pulsar

Author(s) of the Article: The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by Science Daily staff) from materials provided by University of California - Santa Cruz. The original article was written by Tim Stephens.

Source of the Article: Science Daily:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/10/111006141358.htm

Date that the article was written: October 7^th, 2011

Summary of the Article:

            Astrophysics of the University of California-Santa Cruz identified pulsed gamma-ray emission from the Crab pulsar. This article talks about that gamma-ray emissions from the Crab pulsar are far beyond what scientists think they are. Recent studies made by an international group of scientists using a VERITAS telescope array at the Whipple Observatory in Arizona, showed that gamma ray emissions from the Crab Pulsar can reach up to 100 billion electron-volts (GeV).  This was reported to a science magazine called “Science” and the reports were printed in the October 7 edition. Corresponding author of the article Nepomuk Otte said this about the discovery: "It turns out that being persistent and stubborn helps," Otte said. "These results put new constraints on the mechanism for how the gamma-ray emission is generated."

 

                 This discovery is good for society because now we do not underestimate the gamma-ray emission from the Crab Pulsar. I chose this article because as I said in my previous current events I like space, science and a lot of things that are connected to those two things. I found this article like always; I went to www.sciencedaily.com and found this article. Science Daily is a reliable resource because a lot of people use it and because I know this from my previous experiences. I learned that there are a lot of things in the universe and on our planet that scientists and we people underestimate. When I read this article I felt that now people will think before reaching conclusions which underestimate objects and things on our planet and in the universe.

Science: Current Event #2: Space Telescopes Reveal Secrets of Turbulent Black Hole

Title of Article: Space Telescopes Reveal Secrets of Turbulent Black Hole

Author(s) of the article: The above story is reprinted (with editorial adaptations by Science Daily staff) from materials provided by SRON Netherlands Institute for Space Research.

 

Source of the article: Science Daily:

 http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/09/110929155306.htm

Date article written: September 30^th2011

Summary:

          An international team of astronomers have revealed some striking features of a turbulent black hole; they found a very hot “convertor” corona hovering above the black hole also they found cold gas 'bullets' in hotter diffuse gas, speeding with velocities up to 700 km/s. This was found by a group of international astronomers lead by Dr. Jeele Kaastra of the SRON; Netherlands Institute for Space Research. The black hole the scientists studied is a “monster”: this black hole is located in the distant galaxy of Markarian 509, has a mass 300 million times that of the sun so it was an interesting black hole. Astronomers found this on September 30^th, 2011; this article does not state where these studies were being taken.

 

          This article connects to our unit because it talks about the mass of the black hole: in the galaxy Markarian 509, this black holes’ mass is 300 million times that of the sun. I think this is good for society because now we know some really important details and descriptions about this black hole. I chose this article because I like space and almost everything that is connected to space; also I think “Science Daily” is a reliable source to get articles for current events. I found this article in “Science Daily” which I think is the best source to get articles. Yes, I think “Science Daily” is a really reliable or trustworthy source for finding scientific articles. I learned that some black holes are really, really big; bigger than the sun and some other big stars. I agree with the astronomers because I think to study a black hole can lead into new discoveries. I felt really good because I think soon it will be normal to go to space, maybe even live there and go to school there; our technology is developing steadily.