Cell Phones and Brain Tumors, Are they related?

Cell phones have been a vital part in society for many years. It allows communication to be much easier and sharing information also easier. However, scientists have suggested that cell phones can cause brain tumors because of the radiation coming out of the speakers. Cell phones use non-ionizing radiation while X-rays are more dependent on harmful radiation. Even though cell phones don't have that much radiation, it can still be harmful for your future.

Even though there aren't many justifications to support this claim, there is one that stands out. In 2010, a medical survey took a poll on a region's brain tumor history. Scandinavia has had a major increase in brain tumors since 2000. Why is this so? Scientists state that this could be because Scandinavians were exposed to cell phones in the early 1990's, and it was the first region in the world to see the cell phones similar to the ones today. Why is this important? Well, scientists say that it would take normally 10-15 years for the effect of radiation from cell phones to start. For Scandinavians, that is just around the time that they started to use cell phones. Thus, this theory grew more popular when logic was used to conclude that cell phones could relate to brain tumors in several years.

Sanjay Gupta, a world renowned medical correspondent for CNN, states that using an earpiece could be good substitute. He says that not only it can help prevent exposure to radiation to the brain, it is also mandatory when driving in a car in several states. Texting and emailing are viable substitutes as well. He also states that even if you use a cell phone, you shouldn't hold it right against your head. You should hold from 5/8 in. to a full inch away from your head. This voluntary option can even be recommended by most major cell phone companies.

People may just roll their eyes and say that it isn't possible that cell phones can cause brain tumors. Yet, it is clearly possible. Radiation can cause cancer, and cell phones use radiation.Nonetheless, cell phones can cause cancer. A cell phone does have major perks obviously, yet there are also downsides. So just be careful when you use when, that can be the best prevention of all.

Should the last smallpox virus be destroyed?

Smallpox has been one of the most dangerous and lethal infectious diseases in the history of mankind. Now, scientists have the opportunity to destroy the virus once and for all. In 1980, the WHO (World Health Organization) eradicated smallpox and thirty years later, there are only two locations where it can be found. One is at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention in the United States. Another is in a remote Siberian town in Russia.

Some people who witnessed the disease firsthand have a whole perspective view on the situation. They fully believe that Variola, the virus that causes smallpox, should be destroyed. Yet, in 1993, Russian officials argued the fact that there might be a hidden stock of the virus somewhere in the world. They might unleash it for the use of bioterrorism, which can be devastating for the human race. If the virus were to be destroyed, then it would be nearly impossible to find a vaccination that would work. On the other hand, if the virus were completely destroyed, then it would be the end of one of the worst human calamities in history.

In addition, there is also the possibility that someone could bio-engineer a virus. With the advanced use of technology these days, it is possible that one day smallpox could be made superficially. Dr. Inger Damon, a scientist at the Poxvirus and Rabies branch at the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, is one of the few people in the world who have access to the lethal virus. She states that valuable research could be learned from the virus, such as future prevention and maybe research for a future disease similar to smallpox.

Without a doubt, the WHO should keep these viruses for several reasons. First, someone can launch a bioterrorist campaign spreading out the smallpox virus. It would be much easier to make a vaccine that can handle the matter easily. Also, future research can be possible from the virus. Even though this virus has caused many problems in the past, we should clearly keep the virus because of the above reasons.

Lab Report: Soaring Straws

In science class, we conducted a lab that compared and contrasted between elastic potential energy (EPE) and gravitational potential energy (GPE). EPE occurs when an object is stretched back and has the potential to do work. On the other hand, GPE occurs when an object is at still point and has the potential to do work. In addition, potential energy can change into kinetic energy, or energy that it is motion. With this in mind, there are also some comparisons between GPE and EPE. The greater the EPE the greater the GPE. This statement can be proved because of the "Soaring Straws" experiment. Constantly, my partner and I saw how the more you stretched the rocket launcher the higher it would go. The manipulated variables throughout the lab were the rocket, the way we stretched the rocket, and the amount of stretch per trials. In the first set of trials, we constantly stretch the rocket launcher 10 cm. In result, the average height that the rocket reached was 2.95 meters. The average GPE was 52.1 mJ and we found this by multiplying the mass of the rocket(1.8g) by the gravitational acceleration (9.81) by the average height(2.95m). In the second set of trials, the amount of stretch was 7 cm. From this, the average amount of height reached by the rocket was 2.42m and the constant GPE was 42.73mJ. Finally, in the third set of trials, my partner and I constantly stretched the 2 cm. From this, the average height was 1.5 m and the GPE was 26.48 mJ.

Even though my partner and I tried our best to make the information as accurate as possible, we couldn't successfully accomplish this feat. First, the GPE is not accurate because you only substitute the gravitational acceleration with 9.81 when you are sea-level, and my partner and I didn't know exactly where we were at sea-level. Second, we couldn't accurately determine the height the rocket reached per trial the peak of it's movement was difficult to actually see so we estimated exactly where it was. Third, the more and more trials we conducted, the more and more our rocket launcher got damaged. Therefore, the later trials are inaccurate because our weak rocket launcher couldn't handle the toll it was taking. A better way to do the project next year is to rebuilding the rocket launcher every day so they can perform to their best and we can get accurate results. All in all, this project showed me how EPE and GPE compare and contrast through a fun and interactive lab.

The Toothpick Fish Lab

In the wild, many animals get eaten. However, some are able to survive because they are able to camouflage and hide in their environment. They can become camouflage because of the alleles they receive from their parents. With this in mind, I have constructed an experiment that describes the relationship between genetics and the wild.

In the first generation of fish, there were twelve total fish; six green (50%), two yellow (17%) four orange (33%) and no red (0%). This is a normal amount of green fish because the color green is the dominant allele and the red and yellow alleles are recessive alleles. Also, the red and yellow alleles combined for incomplete dominance, which produces the color of orange. In the second, third, and fourth generations, all yellow fish were eaten because of their inability to camouflage. With this in mind, there would be less yellow and orange fish and more green and red. In the second generation, there were eleven total fish; six green (55%), two red (18%), two yellow (18%), and one orange (9%). There were still yellow fish because there were still yellow alleles. Also, the red allele was more apparent. In the third generation, there were only nine fish; seven green (78%), and two fish (22%), but no yellow or orange fish. This was the case because all of the yellow fish were eaten. This paved the way for more green and red fish. In addition, there were only two yellow alleles left. Since there were no yellow fishes in the third generation, there was no possible way that the number of fishes decreased in the fourth generation. Therefore, there were still nine fish. There were six green fish (66%), two red fish (23%), and one orange fish (11%). You can see that one of the two yellow alleles remaining mixed with a red allele to form an orange fish. In the fifth generation, disaster struck as algae and seaweed was destroyed by factory waste. As an effect green fish couldn’t camouflage as they were eaten. So, there were only three fish left; two red (67%) and one orange (33%). Obviously, there were many green fish eaten so the population decreased dramatically.

There are several ways I could have changed this lab. First, I could have selected different alleles. For instance, I could have had more orange and red fish so there would be less decrease of the overall fish population. Also, this project has shown me how genes affect nature. The color of an organism can be the decision if it survives or eaten, like the fish in the lab. If an organism cannot hide in it environment and protect itself, then it will be eaten by the prey. This can then pose a huge concern to scientist because many of these organisms can become endangered, many extinct. With this in mind, scientists should try to make a “designer organism”, designing it the way they want it, so it can live in its habitat successfully. Genetics has a lot to do with nature, and this lab showed me how.

The Art of Codominance

Codominance . . . an agreement. A mutual understanding between two alleles that agree to show in the offspring. An example of codominance can be eye color. If say the eye color green and blue are both dominant, then one eye will be green and blue. In a Punnett square, a codominant combination of alleles are both capital letters, but they have to be different. Codominance is like peace between two countries. If say they both want a certain piece of land, then they will both agree to have some parts of the land similar to one country, and another piece of land similar to the other country.

Incomplete dominance . . . a disagreement. Both of the alleles want to show but they won't agree on a mutual understanding. Show, they have to blend. An example of incomplete can be flower color. If one flower is red and another is white, then you would think that the dominant allele can take over the recessive allele. However, maybe both the red and white color allele are both dominant and they just won't agree on which one will win. So, because of the laws of nature, the offspring must have a color. Therefore, the colors blend and the flower is pink. If say these alleles were codominant, then there would be spots of red and white. On the other hand, these two alleles couldn't agree on a color so they had to blend.

Incomplete dominance and Codominance are two fascinating features that everyone should all learn sometimes in their lives. With this knowledge we can try to figure out who we got our genes from and if they have an example of an irregular combination of alleles. Incomplete dominance and codominance are all the part of the mysteries of life, and we can observe them and learn more about genes and alleles.

The Interesting Field of Genetics

For the past two weeks, I have learned the interesting field of genetics. This subject is the science of heredity and shows us what is related to what. Many credit this field to Gregor Mendel. He was a monk who studied the cross breeding of pea plants. From then on, scientists have experimented in genetics to such a degree that in 1996 a sheep named Dolly was cloned in Scotland.

First, we learned that humans have 46 chromosomes in a cell. The only exception is 23 chromosomes for a sex cell. Once the two sex cells fertilize, they then combine to make the 46 cells. Another interesting feature we learned about genetics was the Punnet square. The Punnet square shows the mathematical probability of which alleles the child will inherit from each parent in a neat and simple box. We first learned how to use a mono-hybrid Punnet square, a pretty basic concept. There is only one allele that you have to multiply by. Then, comes the di-hybrid punnet square where gametes come into play. To me, gametes are similar to the distributive property, which is what I told several students in my class to help them understand it better. If say you are told to show the possible combination's of alleles through a punnet square. You are then given these alleles: GgBB and GGbb. To find the possible alleles that the child will have, you have to use "the distributive property" as I mentioned before.

Because of genetics, scientists would not be able to read many different types of cells and its genetic material. We would also not be able to find the different alleles that each cell possess. Clearly, the field of genetics has had a huge impact on our world today.

Check out this Awesome Wetlands Website

www.fsnomega.webs.com

Mutualism: A close relationship between bacteria and human

Mutualism is without a doubt the most peaceful form of symbiosis in the ecosystem. There are many different forms of mutualism in today's world. For instance, humans provide cardon dioxide to plants while the plants give us oxygen. However, there is another major relationship I would like to talk about, bacteria and humans.

When you first hear of bacteria, you think of words like germs, sick, and the common "icky". On the other hand, you may not have heard the bacteria is vital to our everyday existence. They help us digest our food, give us vitamin K and fight off bad bacteria which causes disease. In return, we give them a place to live and do basic activities like eat and reproduce. Other activities bacteria helps us do is decompose garbage and turn milk into cheese and yogurt.

Many types of bacteria can harm you causing like they can cause disease. However, in most cases they can benefit from them and they benefit from us by living inside of us. In my opinion, bacteria is a very crucial aspect in our society. Without it, we won't be able to live. In addition, if they didn't have us, they wouldn't be able to live to. Therefore, the relationship between humans and bacteria are mutualistic.

Biotic Limiting Factors

This is an image of a large tree near the recreation center in my community. This tree is a limiting factor because it causes all the patches of grass underneath it to die. In addition, it takes up all of the roots from other plants like smaller trees and flowers. Third, it provides shelter for small animals like rabbits and possums from bigger animals like hawks. This has an effect in our world today because trees decompose oxygen. For example, the rain forest in South America provides nearly 35% of the Earth's oxygen. These several reasons are why this tree and many other trees in my township are vital to our everyday lives.

Blizzards Project

For anyone who wants to see Gotmilk's and Tigers97's weather project on blizzards, please visit:
www.blizzardland.webs.com

Lit. Poems

"War and Peace"
War
Destructive, costly
Killing, bombing, dying
Ruthless, miserable, happiness, joy
Loving, calming, soothing
Serene, cheerful
Peace

"The Only Survivor"
Liesel
Brave, kind, and smart
Who loves her family
Who feels worried about Max's safety
Who needs the safety of your home
Who shares the gift of words with Max
Who fears the power of Adolf Hitler
Who'd like to see Max be free
Who dreams of peace in Germany
Who ends up happy and with a loving family

Sleep Insomnia, what is it?

Sleep. We all need this. We feel good in the morning when we get enough of it. However, we feel grumpy all day without enough of it. So, what causes someone to have sleep insomnia and what happens if you don’t get enough z’s? Patricia Morrisroe, a journalist with her own sleep insomnia, went from Las Vegas, Nevada to the Arctic Circle and chronicled her story in her new novel, Wide Awake. She talked to TIME magazine and told the organization about the journey she had.
Patricia Morrisroe said that people with chronic sleep insomnia are usually people who had a harsh history, like an ugly divorce or a bad childhood. However, as she stated, “The person who broke the record for longest time awake in 1964(approx. 11 days) seemed to be doing just fine.”
Sleep has also evolved over the years. James McKenna, a doctor who specializes in infant sleep at Notre Dame, claims that people probably slept in trees in the dawn of human society. Today, we have everything from race car styled beds for the little ones to luxury made types, like Temperpedic.
In addition to the way we sleep, scientists have discovered more on how we sleep over the past one hundred years. Sleep study started to grow some interest when one of the richest men in America, JP Morgan, wife died when she went to sleep one day and eight weeks later was pronounced dead. The oil tycoon donated a tremendous amount of money to research this rare sleep disorder.In the 1950’s, Rapid Eye Movement was discovered. REM is the movement of eyes during the night, and is surprisingly the normal way to sleep. For the next thirty years, the science of sleep was a somewhat respected field, but in 1981, the topic skyrocketed. The CPAP was invented, which still used today to help treat sleep apnea. This invention really put sleep medicine on the map.
In addition, Patricia Morrisroe stated that people who complain of sleep troubles never really have any. For example, Morrisroe went to sleep lab in Las Vegas and met a women who complained of sleep trouble. In the women’s sleep test, it was revealed that she had seven hours of sleep. On the contrary, after the test, she complained that she “didn’t sleep a wink.” This is because people think that the time they spend awake at night is more than the time they spend sleeping, which is usually not the case. Someone with real sleep insomnia would usually wake up every 90 minutes after he or she goes back to sleep.
Finally, Morrisroe said that increased industrialization has caused sleep problems. The many hours we spend on the television, radio, and the computer cause us to lose concentration at night and therefore cause troubles at night.
In my opinion, sleep insomnia is a major problem in today’s society. It is overlooked and not talked about that much. When a child complains about sleep insomnia, most parents would just say that it’s not a big deal but when sometimes it is. However, it usually is really no big deal. I used to think that I had sleeping problems, but after reading this article, I think that I don’t really have any major problems. I used to think that I spent more time awake than asleep, when probably I sleep around seven to nine hours a night and spent little time awake. I hope that many people read this article and truly see if they have a sleep disorder or not.

For more information on this article, go to:
http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1989451,00.html

The ano

The dissection of a frog is something we dread since we first hear about our parent’s frightening dissection stories. On the contrary, it is one of the most interesting scientific processes you evr have to go through. You have the weird guys that cut the toes for fun and then you have the girls who scream every time you cut another organ. For me, it was a normal feeling.

First, my partner cut the male frog from it pelvis, going all the way up to the throat. Then, my partner cut straps on the tray so we could see. Immediately, my group saw a huge plate of muscle as its first piece of internal layers. As my partner joked, “This frog must have worked out.”

Then, I tore the muscle and broke its arm and thighbone for a better view on its organs. At once, liquid came spewing out all over the tray, and when the process was finally over, our tray was like a lake after a monsoon.

We finally saw all of the organs, and I had to admit, it was pretty gross. Fat bodies, intestines and the liver covered the inside of the frog. On the other hand, some parts were really exciting. When we were about to cut the stomach, I was hoping to find scorpions and fish. Hysterically, we just found water.

What was really amazing was what was under the liver. Remover these three loaves and you find the heart, the lungs, the gall bladder and many more.

Something I didn’t understand was does the female have more intestines than the male? Whenever somebody would cut out a female frog, they would always have more intestine, or was that part of the reproductive system.

All in all, this dissection gave me a great opportunity to discover properly how a vertebrate functions.

The Anatomy of a

Doomsday coming closer, by a minute

The doomsday theory, which proclaims the world will end on December 21, 2012, has always been a frightening thought for everyone. Nonetheless, with the new year just occurring, we are less than three years away from our so called "doomsday". However, what you may not know is that the Bulletin of Atomic Sciences[BAS] in Chicago, Ill has the world's most trusted "doomsday clock", if this can even be on the level of reliable. Recently, the doomsday clock has gone from five minutes before December 21, 2012 to six minutes before that date.
You must think it takes a genius to decide what time the apocalypse will start, but basically, you don't. The time is affected by major events worldwide. The worst an event is, the closer time is to midnight. The better an event is, the farther it becomes to midnight, and if you were wondering, my resources have claimed that the recent earthquake in Haiti was not a factor in this recent decision.
In 1945, when of the most controversial events took place, the bombing in Japan on August 6, 1945 and also August 9, 1945. Some say it was an act of patriotism that the USA represented. On the other hand, others have claimed this is just a sign of just what this world is turning into, a world that will come to an end by the combat of nuclear weapons. One group of these people were the Bulletin of Atomic Sciences, who created a doomsday clock for when the end of the world would occur. This clock was revealed to the public in 1947, just when the Cold War was underway. The closest the clock ever got to midnight was two minutes to midnight when the USA and Soviet Union tested thermonuclear devices within a span of nine months. The largest jump it took was thirty-seven years later in 1991, when the clock went from ten minutes to midnight to seventeen minutes to midnight due to the end of the Soviet Union.

This is a picture of the doomsday clock, and as you can see, it has been turned from five minutes to six minutes.

Lawrence Krauss, a theoretical physicist on the BAS, said"Moving it back by a minute means it can go in any direction." The last change was a two minute increase from seven minutes to midnight to five minutes to midnight.
The Board has also said a few ideas on how to increase the minutes. First, treaties must be formed against enemy countries to avoid the use of nuclear weapons. Also, climate change must be enforced.
In my opinion, I do not think that we should live by this clock. We live by how we want to live it, not a doomsday clock. However, I do believe piece and climate change must be enforced to make our world a better place.

Biotechnology, the science of the future

Join Dr.Francis Crick as he explains biotechnology in ScienceNow.

Controversial Stem Cell Research could treat the blind.

Stem cell research has always been a controversial issue in modern day America. However, based on recent studies, stem cells can help people with macular degeneration, which causes blindness.
Now, biotechnology company "Advanced Cell Technology" has applied a license to the FDA to do tasks on the blind using stem cells.
Macular Degeneration is a disease which damages the center of a person's retina, or the macula. This disease affects 1.8 million people over the age of forty.


This would be the vision for someone with macular degeneration.





Experiments have been going well, the company says. Robert Lanza, the companies' chief scientific officer, is optimistic on there studies so far.
Mr. Lanza states, "We certainly expect them[the FDA] to come back with comments and questions but our hope is that we will start sometime next year.
If the trials are approved, they could begin in the spring.
Also, other scientists try to improve vision worldwide with other mechanisms. One that is a surprising idea is implanting computer chips in the eye to improve vision. This has been experimented on humans and cats, as well as a blind dog that when used the chip, gained vision once again.
Another mechanism is done on humans only, but it is complex. A camera is built into a pair of glasses that send signals to a tiny chip planted in the back of the retina and stimulates nerves that lead to the vision center of the brain.
Finally, a new "seeing-machine" uses an LED-based device to paint a picture in someones head.
Based on these facts, I have concluded several new ideas. First, stem cell research is a major part of science. However, due to how it is made, it is a controversial idea. On the other hand, in my opinion, stem cell research should be legal and a vital juncture in modern day society and will help science reach a new level medical breakthroughs, which would especially helpful in today's predicaments because scientists just don't know what to do now a days. Everything from Global Warming to cancer to the swine flu is putting scientists in a situation to deep to get out of. Even though stem cells are created controversially, they should be used because of all the breakthrough they can have.
In addition, I have concluded macular degeneration is a horrible situation, but scientists are doing a great job at solving this. With all the inventions they have made, scientists all around they world are clearly helping people with this condition. On the contrary, the only effect i worry about is cost. People around the world can not afford the discoveries science has made, especially with the worst economic situation since the Great Depression. Even in America, 50 million people can't even afford health care, so imagine the count in our country for the people who can't afford scientific miracles like these.
All in all, I have learned two main ideas. Stem cell research is vital in today's society, and how scientists are trying their bests to treat diseases like this.

For more information on this topic, please go to:
http://www.livescience.com/health/etc/091120-blind-stem-cell-treatment.html

Greenhouse gas cuts start at home

Did you know 32% of carbon emissions in the US and 8% of carbon emissions from the entire world are because of all the waist we account for in our very homes? Well, now you know!
We all know that we have a problem with Global Warming, but we don't know how to fix it. We always blame those big companies for polluting air into the earth. However, Americans contribute to one-third of the problem in the US.
So what can we do at our own homes? For starters, you can get routine car check ups to see how much your car is polluting and limit that amount. Also, we can use clothesline instead of dryers. If this sounds crazy, then try doing simpler things at home like only using inputs when necessary and avoid leaving the water on by accident.
Experts at this problem are Michigan State Professor Thomas Dietz and his co-workers. To help Americans with this problem, they are creating technology for people to use so they can lower carbon emissions.
In experiments in the past he performed, he noticed that if someone does something, than an acquittance is likely to do the same. This is called the "demonstration effect". For example, if someone is changing from gas powered cars to hybrids, it is likely that a friend of theirs is to do the same.
In my opinion, I think this technology Dr. Mietz and his fellow professors are creating is a good idea because than it will use less carbon emissions which will help us out in the future.

For more information on this topic, go to http://www.livescience.com/environment/091026-greenhouse-cuts.html

Twisted things of Nature

You may not know this but nature prefers a twisted when it comes to flying. Insects wings deform while flying, which causes the twist. After years of examining this fact, scientists at the John Young University of New South Wales decided to put this into an experiment.
The scientists made one of the most accurate models of an insect flight and photographed the wing motion of the models and found the wing curves. Then, the scientists put their measurements into a three dimensional computer simulation. Using the simulation, they tested different scenarios with twisted wings and flat wings.
This experiment was taken place in Southern Wales, UK. They had this experiment to see which was easier to fly, twisted wings or flat wings. Nonetheless, they discovered it is 50% easier to generate lift off for a twisted winged creature than a flat winged teacher. The experiment took place for several months earlier this year and was issued on September 18 in the The Journal Science.
In my opinion, if airplanes were able to have twisted wings rather than flat wings, airplanes would than be able use less power when lifting off and could go much faster.