Career day for Twelve year Olds

In The Giver, twelve year olds are given their Life Assignments, the jobs they are going to have for the rest of their lives.  In our society, a capitalistic society where everyone is allowed to pursue their dreams, at I do not think that twelve year olds are ready to choose what their occupation will be for the rest of their lives.  I think that twelve years olds are not ready because they have their whole lives ahead of them.  Between twelve and whenever they go to college, they can change their minds multiple times.  I am twelve years  I want to old and I have changed my mind several times over what I want to be.  When I was younger, I wanted to be an astronaut, and then a lawyer, and then a doctor.  Now, I just want to take my time deciding what I want to do with my life. I wouldn't want someone to just say, 'you are doing this for the rest of your life' because I might not like what they want me to do.

Twelve year olds in our society are influenced in their decision as to their future carrers by pop culture and their family.  Pop culture can influence twelve year olds because it has such a large part of their lives.  A kid who really likes baseball, and who looks up to a well-known baseball player, such as Derek Jeter, would probably want to be a baseball player, or a kid who likes to sing, and looks up to a famous singer, such as Justin Timberlake, would want to be a singer.  Family can also have a large influence in their future career choice.  Families tend to influence children to get occupations that pay well, such as a lawyer or a CEO of a company, or other well-paying jobs.  They can also influence their child to take part in the family business, or have the same profession.

The Giver community has many assignments that are assigned to the twelve year olds.  Of those assignments, I would want to be Doctor.  I would want to be Doctor because it is a highly honorable job and because I have interest in medicine.  In a community based on honor, it would make life easier if I had a job that I was highly respected for.  I would also like Doctor because I have always expressed interest in the human anatomy and how to improve the lives of people.

All in all, the society in The Giver and our society are different when it comes to the roles and responsibilities of twelve year olds.  In my opinion, I prefer our society because it gives us the freedom of choice- a freedom that I could not live without.

Keep your Mouth Shut

Imagine you are an Atlas moth and you just hatched out of your cocoon.  You start flying around and then you suddenly become  hungry.  You fly over to the nearest flower too go get a drink of nectar.  As you go to take a sip, you realize that your mouth parts aren't developed and that you have to rely on the fat you stored when you were a larva.  Then you fly away, knowing that you will die of starvation in the next two weeks.

Because of their lack of mouth parts, the Atlas moth must eat as much as possible when they are caterpillars.  While in their larval state, they mainly consume the leaves of certain citrus and evergreen trees.  They only have a couple of weeks to bulk up for their time as an adult.  The caterpillars are green with white "spines" and can grow up to 4.5 inches before they pupate.

Once they have enough food, they form silk-like  cocoons.  The silk they produce is not actually silk but a stronger substance simply referred to Fagara silk.  They spend about four weeks developing until they emerge from their cocoons.

When they come out, they are adults.  An adult female's wingspan can reach up to 12 inches long; the male is usually smaller.  Their wings are usually maroon and have translucent patches on them.  Their large wings are disproportionate to their bodies.  Their bodies are small and usually "furry".

All in all, this moth is the biggest moth in the world, with arguably the biggest defect in the world.  This proves that just because you are big, doesn't mean that you are perfect.

Further Reading

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attacus_atlas

http://www.worsleyschool.net/science/files/thelargest/butterflyandmoth.html

http://www.cirrusimage.com/Moths_Atlas.htm

http://www.naturia.per.sg/buloh/inverts/atlas_moth.htm

Book Club Responce #1

Everyone has had a time where your life has changed unexpectedly.  For me, this was when my parents divorced.  Although the actual divorce was not an issue, because I was young, it is sometimes difficult to get to spend an equal amount of time with them.

I usually spend most of my time with my mother.  I only get to see my father every Monday, Wednesday, and every other weekend.  On those days, I only get to spend a couple of hours with him, with the exception of the weekends.  Sometimes that is not enough time with him.  It doesn't help that the amount of work that I get from school takes up the time I see him.  I know schoolwork is important, but I like spend as much time with him as possible. 

When I am with him, he is usually with my half-sister.  This is the only time that I get to see her so I like to have as much fun with her as possible.  I know that she enjoys my company as much as I enjoy hers, so it is sometimes hard not seeing her, especially when I don't see her for days.

Even though this can be difficult at times, I know that my parents love me and that they are doing their best to make sure that I see them equally.  This may be a difficulty, I have learned that everything will be okay.

The Magic of Magicadas

In the summer of 1979, my mother was walking through a local park.  As she was walking, she heard a hiss that literally made her skin crawl.  Being only five years old, her sense of curiosity got the best of her.  She slowly trekked towards the mysterious sound, until determined the source.  What she found still creeps her out to this day.  She had found a cicada. More specifically, it was a magicada, a cicada that emerges every 13 or 17 years, depending on the brood, or set of cicadas that hatch at one time.  This particular brood was Brood II, a brood that hatches every 17 years.


There are 30 known broods of periodical cicadas (magicadas).  Broods are symbolized by Roman numerals.  The broods that emerge every 17 years are Broods I-XVII.  Broods XVIII-XXX emerges every 13 years.  Although there are 30 broods named, only 15 of them have been discovered.  The other 15 broods are used for the convenience of scientists.  


Periodical cicadas are averaged sized cicadas.  They are 2.5 to 3 centimeters in length.  They are usually black with red eyes and yellowish orange stripes on their abdomen.  Their wings are translucent and have orange veins.

Magicadas are well known for their extremely long life cycle.  First, they start our as eggs.  When they hatch, they burrow underground as nymphs.  They stay immobile for the majority of their life, going through five stages of development.  The year before they emerge, they start to feed on tree roots.  Afterwards, they emerge through the burrows they used to get in.  The males and females mate, resulting in a total of 600 eggs.  Then the 13 to 17 year cycle repeats.


In 1870, Brood XXI mysteriously went extinct.  No one knows exactly what happened to them but a variety of factors could have played a role.  This is exactly why we should protect the environment- because treasures such as this brood of cicada can be lost.


http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/cicada/
http://www.magicicada.org/about/brood_pages/broods.php

This Is A Blog About Bugs- Beware if You Have Entomophobia

Remember when you were a little kid, playing in your attic, and how that bug started crawling up your leg?  Remember how you screamed at the top of  lungs and how your mother practically tripped over herself trying to get upstairs so she could see that you are okay?  Now, if you have the same reaction every time you see a bug, you have entomophobia.

Entomophobia is the fear of insects and any other thing that crawls around.  Similar fears include arachnephobia, the fear of spiders, apiphaphobia, the fear of bees, and myrmecophobia, the fear of ants.  Entophobia is an irrational fear that, like all fears, can cause severe emotional response, anxiety, and a panic attack.  

 

Entophobia is often confused with an aversion to insects.  Aversion is a natural fear to bugs that can cause harm. Humans have had this kind of aversion for hundreds of thousands of years.  Although aversion is completely natural, it can turn into a phobia if the fear becomes more immense.

Most phobias have the same symptoms as entophobia.  Endophbics can experience much distress if in contact with a bug.  If the fear is potent enough, the person may loose consciousness.  In addition to the same symptoms, they also have similar treatments.  Treatments include medication, therapy, and counseling.

Everyone has fears, but if they let them out of control, they can become phobias.  Phobias can cause much difficulty in life, and may make it impossible to enjoy your day.  You should not let your fears go to your head.    An anonymous person once said, "Each time we face our fears, we gain strength, courage, and the confidence in doing."  Keep this quote in mind the next time a bug crawls up your leg.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Entomophobia

http://www.phobialist.com/

Amber Alert (The Fossil)

30 million years ago, an ant was walking up a form of a cycad, a kind of plant.  As it scaled the plant, it realized that that it had stepped in something rather sticky.  It looks down and realizes that it stepped in tree resin.  It thinks to itself, "Oh God, I'm going to be stuck here forever".  The resin continues to ooze over the ant.  Overtime the resin, along with the encased insect, are buried and are exposed to great amount of pressure and heat.  The resin begins to fossilize, resulting in amber.

Although this is not a true account of how an ant got stuck in resin, amber is actually formed in this manner.  The resin has to withstand the elements and degradation, the process of degrading or decomposing.  Then, it must be buried in the right conditions for fossilization to occur; it must be quickly covered with sediment or dirt.  Lastly, the resin must go through a process of oxidation, which is the process of the removal of oxygen.  The final product takes millions of years to form. 


Amber is usually a yellowish brown color, but it comes in a variety of colors.  It can also come in pale yellow, brown, and black.  Some of the most uncommon colors are green and red, also known as cherry.  The rarest color is blue, which is only found off of the coast of the Dominican Republic.  It is so rare that only 100 kilograms of it are found each year. 


In addition to being decorative, amber has other uses.  It helps paleontologists study specimens that would otherwise decompose.  Specimens such as insects, as well as bacteria, amoebae and frogs have be studied in amber.  The amber also helps to date when these specimens were alive.  amber is also used in perfume as a fragrance, and as flavoring in some liquor.

As you can see, something as beautiful as amber can have use and can give us an insight of life before us.  It gives us an example of the beauty in the world.  If only the rest of the world was the same

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amber#Formation
http://www.emporia.edu/earthsci/amber/whatis.htm#top
http://www.articlesbase.com/jewelry-articles/what-is-an-natural-amber-stone-603360.html

Drop Dead Goats

Imagine you are on a farm.  You see a goat running towards you as fast as it possibly could.  You start to think "Oh My Gosh this goat is going to attack me!!", when all of a sudden, the goat just falls over and seems to be paralyzed.  No, the goat did not faint because it was it was afraid of you.  Goats that exhibit this strange behavior, known as fainting goats, are known to faint at the most random of times.  The cause for this unusual behavior is a genetic condition called myotonia congenita.

Myotonia congenita is a genetic condition that caused the goats muscles to faint when startled.  This condition is caused when the CLCN1 gene is mutated.  This gene controls muscle and bone development.  When this gene mutates, it causes muscles to contract more frequently than normal.  This condition can also affect humans, in which case they can take medicine to shorten the contractions.

Despite the name, fainting goats do not actually faint.  When an animal faints, it loses consciousness.  The goat just simply collapses.  Although it remains conscious, it looses all sensation. 

Animals have developed strange tendencies, whether by choice or by disorder.  It is one of the things that makes the animal kingdom unique.  It usually remains untempered with and is allowed to change by itself, whether for better of for worse.  I believe that we shouldn't attempt to change anything in nature, no matter how unusual.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fainting_goat

For a video click here.

The Potugese Man-of-war

If you were to see a Portuguese man-of-war, the first word that would probably come to your head would be- jellyfish.  Well, the man-of war is actually a siphonophore.  A siphonophore differs from a jellyfish because it is a colonial organism.  This simply means that a bunch of single celled organisms ,call zooids.  They act together, like how polyps act together to form coral. There are four kinds of zooids that make up the man-of-war. 

The first kind of zooid makes up the gas-filled bladder, called the sail.  This sail can allows the man-of-war to float at the surface.  The sail can be tinged blue, purple, translucent, mauve (a pinkish purple color), and pink.  The sail is filled with about 90% carbon dioxide.  In the event that the man-of-war is attacked, it can deflate this sail, and submerged itself.  The man-of-war's sail must stay wet in order to remain inflated, so they may roll to wet their sail.

The other three kids of zooids create the man-of-war's tentacles.  These tentacles are can grow to over 50 meters long, but are usually 10 meters long.  The venomous tentacles are used to catch prey.  Prey swim through the tentacles and get stung.  Although the venom works on most fish, some fish are immune to the stings and live within the tentacles.

Note: Man-of war stings are poisonous to humans and may result in death.  For treatment, click this link.

Man-of wars- live in tropical regions around the world.  They range from Spain to Guyana to Costa Rica.  This is because they have no means of propulsion.  They must travel through ocean currents.

Isn't interesting that a bunch small organisms can work together to form one massive creature.  When you think about it, we all work together to form society as a whole.  If only everyone could do that.

Earth 2100

Earth 2100 is an ABC special describing the worst case scenario of what would happen if we don't take care of our world.  This story is about a girl named Lucy who grew up in the world we are growing up in now.  After I watched this special, I felt compelled to make a difference.  I hope you feel the same way.





http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8UF-q0kpRgc&feature=related
Sorry. Part 3's embed code was disabled. Click on the link to see this part.

The Pollution Solution

Energy is one of the most important things in life.  It powers our homes, our cars, our phones, and just about everything else you can think of.  Without it, society would not be able to function.  We use a variety of resources to power our everyday lives. 

There are two types of energy resources-  renewable and nonrenewable.  Renewable resources are energy sources that can be easily replaced .  Nonrenewable resources are energy sources that cannot be easily replaced. 

Examples of nonrenewable energy sources include petroleum (oil), natural gas, and coal. 

 In 2005, 37% of all energy consumption in the United States came from petroleum, which was mostly used for transportation fuel.  Although petroleum is inexpensive, It produces greenhouse gases and many other pollutants that affect the atmosphere. 

25% of all energy usage came from natural gas.  It is mainly used for heating fuel.  Of all fossil fuels, it produces the lowest amount of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas.  The last nonrenewable resource is coal. 

Coal accounts for 21% of all energy consumption.  It is the least expensive, but the most harmful resource to the environment.  It releases greenhouse gasses and other pollutants that cause acid rain.

Renewable resources include solar energy, wind energy, geothermal energy, biomass energy, and hydroelectric energy. 

Solar energy is harvested through photovoltaic cells, or PV cells.  These cells capture light and convert them into electricity.  Solar panels create no pollution, making them great for the environment. 

Wind energy used wind turbines to harvest energy.  The wind moves the turbines and creates mechanical energy.  This mechanical energy is then converted into electrical energy.  The wind turbines create no pollution, but have many downfalls.  Wind turbines are noisy, are harmful to wild bird populations, and only work where there are strong winds.

Geothermal energy uses heat from the ground to heat water, resulting in steam.  This steam is used to then heat and cool buildings.  Geothermal energy plants only emit a small amount of greenhouse gases.  Harvesting geothermal energy is very costly.

Biomass energy comes from organic matter.  Examples of organic matter include wood, crop waste, and manure.  Biomass is a good energy source because it uses materials that would normally go to waste.  The only problem with biomass is that it costs more than oil, for less energy.

Hydroelectric energy is harvested by using dams.  As water moves through the dams, it spins turbines to create mechanical energy.  This mechanical energy is then converted into electricity.  Hydroelectric power is responsible for most of the renewable energy use in the United States.  Although it is a cheap source for energy, it has a large impact on the wildlife.  The dams could potentially block the river, resulting in complications with migrating fish.

As you can see, renewable energy sources have more pros than cons.  These sources will reduce the pollution in the atmosphere.  Renewable resources are also a better choice because fossil fuels will eventually run out.  In my opinion, I think that we should start switching to renewable resources before it is too late.  Imagine a world where there was no power- just because we failed to save what little we had.  Imagine a world where the air was so polluted that you could not breathe- just because we did not stop using fossil fuels that polluted the air, instead of using renewable resources.  I wouldn't want to live in a world like that.  Would you?

http://scholastic.com/energytour/

http://www.odec.ca/projects/2007/truo7j2/fuelcell.htm

I See Through You

For decades, scientists have been baffled by insects' respiratory system.  For decades, scientists knew that insects did not have any lungs, which raised questions such as "how can they breathe without lungs?"  Due to advances in technology, they have been able to see insects' respiratory system in action.

Before scientists could see how insects breathe, they had to figure out how to see through the insects exoskeleton.  To do this, they used a synchrotron.  A synchrotron is a type of cyclic particle accelerator in which a magnetic and electrical field are synced with the beam of particles.  The synchrotron produces the world's most intense X-rays, which is perfect for seeing through the insects' exoskeleton.  Synchrotrons are mostly used in chemistry and for medical imaging.

By using the synchrotron, scientists were able to observe the insects' respiratory system.  They concluded that insects use a system of breathing tubes, called tracheae, to transport oxygen to and from different parts of their body, similar to the way our blood transports oxygen though our arteries.  The tracheae connect  breathing holes on the insects' exoskeleton.  In addition to the tracheae and the breathing holes, insects also have small air sacs that help pump air throughout the body. 

This advance has opened many windows in entomology, the study of insects.  This kind of technology will allow scientists to see how insects' circulatory system works.  Unfortunately, this kind of technology won't be used on "advanced" animals.

Image of insect in  synchrotron.

http://ipm.osu.edu/trans/013_242.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synchrotron

The Black Widow

Black widow spiders are a wide variety of spiders, consisting of 31 species.  These species range all over the world from Asia, to South America, to Africa, to the United States, except for colder regions.  Although these species are known for their infamous red hourglass, not all species have it.  Instead, they may have other red markings or lack markings altogether.  Females are usually black and red, males are gray to brown.  Female black widows are 38 mm in length and 6.4 mm in diameter.  Males are only a quarter of this size. 

Black widows are called black widows because after a female mates, the male is usually eaten by the female.  Although this occurs regularly, male are sometimes fast enough to escape.  Often times, they will mate with another female.

A misconception that people have with black widows are that they are very aggressive and bite whenever they get the chance.  In fact, they are solitary spiders that will not bite unless bothered.  Another misconception is that their bite is deadly.  Their bites is almost never deadly.  A black widow bite causes muscle aches, nausea, and difficulty breathing.  These ailments rarely cause injury- let alone death. 

The only things that should fear black widows are other bugs.  When another bug crawls, or flies, into their web, the black widow spins them into the web, and injects an enzyme into their body.  This enzyme causes thier insides to liquify. 

We tend to prejudge things by what they look like, for example, with the black widow spider.  I think that we can only judge things once we get to know them.  Something that could seem bad or harmful, may acually turn out differently.




http://animals.nationalgeographic.com/animals/bugs/black-widow-spider/

Atrazine's Adverse Affects

A couple of months ago, a student from  University of California, named  Ngoc Mai Nguyen, was working in the university laboratory with a group of frogs.  After observing the frogs, he realized that some of the frogs were exhibiting unusual behavior.  Some of the frogs were acting like females, which was peculiar because all of the frogs were male.

Nguyen told her boss, biologist Tyrone Hayes, of their unusual behavior.  Hayes advised her to observe the frogs on a daily basis.  Nguyen was perplexed because she knew that all of the frogs were male.  Hayes was not as confused because he put a substance called atrazine in the water that the frogs were in.

30 percent of the male frogs changed gender, due to the atrazine.  In fact, some of the transgender frogs sent out chemical signals to attract other males.

The laboratory is not the only place where this has happened.  Atrazine is used as a weed killer, so it can pollute water near the crops it is used on.  The concentration of atrazine in nearby water is 2.5 parts per billion, the same amount used in Hayes' experiments.  This proves that  frogs can be changing their gender in their natural habitats.

The  Enviromental Protection Agency, or the EPA, is responsible for defining the concentration of certain chemicals in U.S. waterways.  The EPA concluded that 3 parts of atrazine per billion is safe.  The water that the frogs were tested in was 2.5 parts atrazine per billion parts.  This means that even through the atrazine levels are safe to humans, the level is two high for frogs.

Its is not only the frogs' behavior that is altered by atrazine.  Two frogs that behaved like females were dissected.  To Hayes' surprise, they had female reproductive organs.  Two other transgender frogs, that were introduced to male frogs, successfully mated. 

Other scientist conducted similar experiments and came up with the same results, proving that Hayes' studies were accurate.

Knowing atrazine's affects on frogs is crucial because it can threaten a species reproduction.  If there is an increase, or decrease, in an animal's reproduction, it can throw off the ecosystem's balance.  With studies like these, we can be sure that our ecosystems will not be tampered with.

Dissection of female (transgender) frog.

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/articles/20100324/Note2.asp



That's Lice

Head lice are always an annoying thing to get. Head lice is a condition, called Pediculosis capitis, caused by head lice (Pediculus humanus capitis).  Head lice are small, wingless insects that spend their entire life feeding on the human scalp.  Although head lice can be pests, they do not cause any disease, unlike the the body louse.  Body lice can be vectors for many diseases such as epidemic typhus, trench fever, and relapsing fever.  Head lice only cause discomfort.  Head lice infestations are caused by dirct contact with an infected person or by using their articles of clothing or cosmetics.

Head lice can be diagnosed by using a louse comb to comb down a person's hair.  If lice, nymphs or nits (eggs) are found, treatment is necessary.  if a person has head lice, everyone in their family has to be checked for them.

There are many treatments for head lice.  The most common, and effective, treatment for head lice is to use medicated shampoos.  These shampoos aren't as hard on the hair as other treatments but, along with a comb, very effective.  Other treatments include hot air, chemical treatments, silicon based creams, natural remedies, and shaving the patients hair of altogether.  If I were to get head lice, I would prefer the shampoo because I would like to keep my hair (some are the exact opposite). 

Head lice is such a problem in young children because they are always in close contact.  Head lice are so contagious that if one kid gets them, their whole school can get them in a matter of weeks.  Some epidemics have become so bad that many policies had to be formed to keep the lice in check.

In  my opinion, I think that head lice are a nuisance to anyone that has them.  I am sure that if I were going to get them, i would be annoyed.  How would you feel if you got head lice?



http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_lice#cite_note-Bolognia-0
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Head_louse
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Body_louse

As Dead as a Dodo

Dodos an extinct species of bird that are closely related to modern day pigeons and doves.  Its closest living relative is the Nicobar pigeon, a bird who lives on the Nicobar islands. Dodos stood an impressive meter and weighed over 23 kilograms.  The dodo was a flightless bird.  They were grayish white all over except for their wings which were black.  They had a puff of feathers on their posterior, yellow legs, and a  nine centimeter hooked bill.  The dodos diet consisted of only fruit.  During the wet season, they ate all of the fruit they could get because during the dry season, food was not readily available.

Dodos are one of the few species of animal that have become extinct due to human activity.  The Dutch travelers arrived on the island of Mauritus, in the late 17th century.  Considering they have evolved away from any apparent predators, which made them fearless against people and that they were flightless, they made easy prey for the travelers.  In addition to over-hunting, they travelers brought other animals such as pigs and  crab-eating macaques.  These animals plumaged the dodos' nests, causing the population to drop.  All of this, in combination with the travelers cutting down the forest that the dodos inhabited, lead to the demise of the dodo.  The species was finally declared extinct in the early 18th century.

I find upsetting that an animal that was discovered in the late 17th century became extinct decades later due to human activity.  To think that could have been prevented if the the dutch travelers had not exhausted their resources.  Of course, this was the 17th century.  they did not have the idea of conservation and preservation.  Now it is the 21st century.  Species are still threatened by human behavior, such as the orang-utan and the African elephant.  We can all take a part in minimizing the decline of endangered species by protecting the environment and by using your resources wisely so that they don't go to was.  "Going green" does not only helps us, but it helps very other living thing in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dodo_bird