Friday, December 23, 2011

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!

So Long and Thanks for All the Fish!

To my Biology and Forensic Science students, glad to have known you (well, most of you). It's been an honor to have been your teacher (that's for all of you). You don't have to go home, but you can't stay here. Have a good holiday break, and I'll see you next year! Peace...JG

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

 
Me releasing a Red-Tailed Hawk at the Nina Mason Pulliam Audubon Center...cool beans

Sunday, October 16, 2011

Welcome Back New & Returning South Pointe Students!

Glad to see you've made it to Block II. Just a reminder, on this blog you'll find links to interesting science stuff. Click on something, check it out, and come back and leave a comment to earn extra credit. Click on the comment button below, or email me at jgiacobbe_southpointe@cox.net Make sure you include your name in the comment, or I won't know who gets the extra credit (25 points each time you have a meaningful comment).

For the 1st one this block, it's a piece of cake. Just leave a comment showing me you've been to the blog, and you get the credit. Were you paying attention? Just leave a frakin' comment with your frakin' name and you get some extra credit points. Capisce? (that's Italian for "do you understand me?")

Check back regularly, at least once a week, for more extra credit options.

Hi Ho!   JG

Friday, October 07, 2011

I'm at the ASTA conference at the Mesa Convention Center. It's totally cool...five hundred dedicated, engaged, and enthusiastic teachers sharing ideas, stories, and awesome lessons. If you're a science teacher, you need to hook up with the Arizona Science Teachers Association. Visit our web page at http://www.azsta.org, tweet us at @AZScienceTA, or like us at our Facebook page at http://www.Facebook.com/pages/Arizona-Science-Teachers-Association/

Science Works, Dudes and Duddettes!

Monday, September 26, 2011

Final Shot at Extra Credit...

It's been like a ghost town around here lately. If anyone is out there, and paying any sort of attention, drop me a line, I'll give you some extra credit for being a clever and alert student.;)

Oh, and you actually have to do something else:

If you're in Biology class, visit this link below, and write me a one paragraph summary of it...

What Your Skull Shape Says About You




If you're in Forensic Science, visit this link below, and write me a one paragraph summary of it.

New Forensic Fingerprinting Approach Retrieves Elusive Prints


Tuesday, August 23, 2011

Forensic Science Mini-Mystery I Answer

Since Lubbock died by his car with his key case in his hand, he was preparing to drive away, probably in pursuit of Thurston. If he had seen her or her parked car, he would have approached her or looked for her instead.

He was shot from the direction of the hedge. She could therefore have shot him only by moving her car out of sight and then returning to hide and wait for him. He left the inn so soon after she did, however, that there was not enough time for that. She therefore did not shoot him.




Monday, August 15, 2011


Top 10 Perseid Meteor Shower Facts

Every August, the night sky is peppered with little bits of comet debris in what we call the annual Perseid meteor shower. The Perseids are bits of the comet Swift-Tuttle and often create the most amazing meteor shower of the year. 

Here are 10 cool facts you can use to impress friends and family late at night or early in the morning while watching for shooting stars: click here to see the rest of the story


Monday, August 08, 2011

Welcome New and Returning South Pointe Students!

Glad to see you've made it this far. On this blog, you will find links to articles, images, and video that is of interest to science. Generally, click on a link, check it out, then come back and leave a comment on it to earn extra credit. Click on the comment button below, or email me at jgiacobbe_southpointe@cox.net Make sure you leave your name in the live or email comment, or I won't know who gets the extra credit (25 points each time you have a meaningful comment).

For the 1st one, it's easy as pie. Just leave a comment showing me you've been to the blog, and you get the credit. 

Check back regularly, at least once a week, for more extra credit options.

Welcome aboard!   JG

Wednesday, July 20, 2011

Happy 189th birthday, Gregor Mendel! 


GREGOR MENDEL: Google Doodle celebrates the father of genetics

Gre
gor Johann Mendel — who was born on this day in 1822 — is honored Wednesday with his own Google Doodle, which spells out the company's home-page logo in ...
peas, of course
 

Tuesday, July 19, 2011

NSTA Statement Regarding the Release of A Framework for K–12 Science Education by the National Research Council (NRC)

 

Arlington, Va.—July 19, 2011—The National Science Teachers Association (NSTA) believes the Framework for K–12 Science Education, released today by the NRC, has the potential to bring about transformational changes in science education. The Framework for K–12 Science Education is the most significant and promising step forward in science education since the release of the National Science Education Standards (NSES) and Benchmarks for Science Literacy. The Framework builds on the strengths of these standards documents while refocusing the field on a vision to better engage students and build their understanding and appreciation for science and engineering over the K–12 years.

One significant aspect of the framework is the recommendation that new standards integrate three key dimensions: practices needed to engage in scientific inquiry and engineering design, content that includes a limited number of core ideas in four disciplinary areas, and cross-cutting concepts that bridge both the sciences and engineering.

Also noteworthy is the Framework’s inclusion of engineering which focuses on how science is utilized through the engineering design process, and the distinctions and relationships between engineering, technology and applications of science. The Framework also brings much needed attention to the practices of science, especially at the K–2 level, that will support science instruction through the interdisciplinary connection to language arts and math.

“This framework emphasizes the importance of engaging students more deeply in the process of doing science, not just learning content,” said NSTA Executive Director Dr. Francis Eberle. “NSTA applauds the NRC for its outstanding work on this document and for engaging the science education community during the development process. Much work lies ahead. We look forward to working with Achieve to translate the Framework into new science standards that can be supported by all states, and to involve science teachers in the development process.”

The Framework will serve as the basis for the development of Next Generation Science Standards, a state-led effort managed by Achieve, Inc.

About NSTA

 

The Arlington, VA-based National Science Teachers Association (NSTA), www.nsta.org, is the largest professional organization in the world promoting excellence and innovation in science teaching and learning for all. NSTA’s current membership includes approximately 60,000 science teachers, science supervisors, administrators, scientists, business and industry representatives, and others involved in science education.

Contact

 

Kate Falk, NSTA
(703) 312-9211
kfalk@nsta.org

Monday, July 18, 2011

Salt Lake Tribute Attributes Firing of Utah Archaeologists to a Combination of Political Retribution and a Lack of Respect for the Past

The positions of state archaeologist Kevin Jones and assistants Derinna Kopp and Ronald Rood were eliminated, not only to save money, but to settle scores. The three had become an annoyance to some of the powerful people in the Legislature, governor’s office and the Utah Transit Authority, and they had opposed powerful real estate developers. http://www.sltrib.com/sltrib/opinion/52175670-82/state-ancient-utah-archaeologists.html.csp

Saturday, July 02, 2011

New Evidence Suggests God Also Had Incredibly Busty Daughter


ARABAH VALLEY, ISRAEL—In a discovery that biblical scholars say could alter our most fundamental understanding of Christianity, recently unearthed manuscripts suggest that in addition to His Son, Jesus Christ, God also had a daughter with absolutely humongous breasts.
Scholars say Tammi of Nazareth may have been a major religious figure nearly two millennia before the bra was invented.

The documents, found in a cave near the Jordanian- Israeli border and estimated to have been composed circa A.D. 200, recount the life, teachings, and death of Jesus' well-endowed twin sister, Tammi of Nazareth. According to experts, the revelation points to a more dualistic conception of the divine, one with the male principle embodied in Jesus and the female principle represented by Tammi and her giant, heaving bazoingas.

"It's a monumental shift," said Boston College religion professor Paul Ferber, claiming that the newly discovered texts are more significant than the Gospel of Judas or the Dead Sea Scrolls. "Tammi has single-handedly undercut the male hegemony we've come to associate with the Christian faith, and added an important new dimension to the holy scripture."

"Also, the various sources are in clear agreement that Tammi had the most enormous jugs in all of Galilee," added Ferber, gesturing with his hands."Seriously. Like, out to here."

The existence of Tammi has caused scholars to reexamine the Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, and replace it with a Quadrinity that includes the Daughter figure—though some, including Ferber, argue it should actually be reconstrued as "a five-way Quintinity, counting as two separate divine powers both of Tammi's bodacious watermelons."

According to the manuscripts, written in Greek on papyrus scrolls, Tammi led a ministry contemporaneously with her brother's. Although she promulgated similar ideas concerning faith, humility, and forgiveness, and appeared to possess the same miraculous powers, Tammi seems to have had more difficulty communicating her message. In one passage, for example, her disciples repeatedly coax her into washing their feet, apparently for a better vantage point from which to observe her "heavenly radiance." And while she, like Jesus, walks on water, the feat is described as almost disappointing to many onlookers, who had apparently hoped to see her run.

Professor Ned McCormick of Duke Divinity School said a complete understanding of Tammi's teachings will require decades of research, with particularly close scrutiny given to the dozens of detailed illustrations.

Explaining the difficulty of interpreting the texts, McCormick cited a passage that reads: "Saith Tammi, 'Consider ye this on the forgiveness of one's enemies: Let he who would slander you sup at your table, let he who would inflict…I saith unto thee: Look upon mine eyes, which dwell within mine head, and not upon mine bosom, wherein no wisdom dwells.' And then did Tammi snappeth her fingers together, saying, 'Seriously; I doth mean it. Up here.'"

"In all fairness to her disciples, it must have been impossible to concentrate with a couple of cannons like those in your face," McCormick said. "Especially in that desert heat, with nothing but a thin linen vestment between you and two of the most succulent milk-makers you've ever laid eyes on, beads of sweat slowly making their way down from her throat and running along the swells before descending into that perfect cleft between…oh my Lord."

The circumstances surrounding Tammi's death are unclear, but the texts seem to suggest that while she was not crucified, she did, like her brother, die in Judaea, rise from the dead, and ascend bodily into heaven in her early 30s, well before her breasts would have begun to sag.

While the documents make no direct mention of Tammi's participation in the Second Coming, Ferber said he would not be surprised if her followers held similar eschatological views and worshipped her as a kind of tandem messiah who would one day return to earth along with her brother, "her ginormous gazongas defying gravity as she descended bodily in glory from heaven" to establish the Kingdom of God.

"Maybe I'm just being hopeful," Ferber said, "but I'd sure love to see those holy ta-tas with my own eyes."

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Capitalizing on curiosity

Featured speaker Larry Lowery’s lively presentation at the San Francisco NSTA conference highlighted research findings about how children learn to inspire teachers to incorporate new practices in their classrooms. Lowery encouraged teachers to further expand students’ opportunities to learn and explore using their various senses.  He showed a functional MRI image to illustrate the lit-up areas of the human brain that can follow from the simple sensory experience of touching an animal’s fur. 

When a student holds a classroom pet, examines a leaf through a hand lens, or hears a bird call, multiple areas and receptors in the brain are activated, providing a rich network of connections that deepen the learning experience.

In an engaging illustration, Lowery suggested that viewing a single image of a single leaf doesn’t teach us anything.  However, viewing two different leaves side-by-side invites comparisons that capitalize on our brain’s tendency to learn through examining differences and contrasts. Students who look closely enough at two different leaves to see varying edges and vein patterns may never again walk in the woods without noticing and appreciating nature’s wonderful array of leaves and trees. As Lowery said, “the beauty of the world is enhanced when you see the world the way a scientist sees.” 

Lowery is professor emeritus at the Lawrence Hall of Science, University of California at Berkeley, and is principal investigator for the Full-Option Science System (FOSS), the widely used K-8 science program funded by the National Science Foundation and developed at the university.  Early in his distinguished career, Lowery studied with Richard Stebbins and was part of the team at Berkeley that developed the Animal Coloration program, a classic resource for activities on the evolution of concealment that NSTA Press published in an updated and revised edition.

Lowery also edited the popular NSTA Pathways to the Standards Elementary Edition, which provides a wealth of inspiring classroom vignettes and tips for teachers who work with our youngest scientists.

Saturday, June 04, 2011

A very controversial figure, boldly (whether rightly or wrongly) attacking a serious social question involving human rights, control over our own bodies, and how far religious perspectives, even commonly held ones, should be able to influence personal liberty...jg

Assisted-suicide advocate Jack Kevorkian dies at age 83

Jack Kevorkian, the retired pathologist who captured the world's attention as he helped dozens of ailing people commit suicide, igniting intense debate and ending up in prison for murder, has died in a Detroit area hospital after a short illness. He was 83.

Even admirers couldn't resist. Adam Mazer, the Emmy-winning writer for "You Don't Know Jack," got off one of the best lines of the 2010 Emmy telecast. "I'm grateful you're my friend," Mazer said, looking out at Kevorkian. "I'm even more grateful you're not my physician."

When asked in 2010 how his own epitaph should read, Kevorkian said it should reflect what he believes to be his "real virtue. "I am quite honest. I have trouble lying. I don't like people who lie."
 



Tuesday, May 24, 2011

So Long and Thanks For All the Fish!

To all my Fantastic Forensic Science Students, it's been a blast learning how to keep America safe with you, and I look forward to when it's your turn to get the bad guys. Take with you this Sherlock Holmes quote: "When you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth." Justicia pro totus!


Sunday, May 22, 2011

Thursday, May 19, 2011

The Bulletproof Dog That Stormed Bin Laden's Lair

BY Elbert Chu 
Mon May 16, 2011
 
If you see this dog coming for you, run. Thanks to his extensive training--and customized body armor that can cost upwards of $30,000--he's bulletproof, can hear through concrete, and can record high-def video of missions, even in the dead of night.

K9 Storm dog

Since the moment it was revealed that the "nation's most courageous dog" [Update: named "Cairo"] served alongside the 80 Navy SEALs who took out Osama bin Laden, America's fascination with war dogs has hit a fevered pitch. And while the heart-tugging photos of these four-legged heroes are worth a look, so is the high-tech gear that helps them do their job.

For the rest of the story, click here

Monday, May 16, 2011

Ignite Your Brainpower with the 20 Smartest Foods on Earth

Just in Time For Final Exams....

Simply put, your brain likes to eat. And it likes powerful fuel: quality fats, antioxidants, and small, steady amounts of the best carbs.

On a deadline? Need to rally? Avoid the soda, vending machine snacks and tempting Starbucks pastries and go for these powerful brain boosters instead. The path to a bigger, better brain is loaded with Omega-3 fats, antioxidants, and fiber. Give your brain a kick start: eat the following foods on a daily or weekly basis for results you will notice.

20 foods that will supercharge your brain:

1. Avocado
Start each day with a mix of high-quality protein and beneficial fats to build the foundation for an energized day. Avocado with scrambled eggs provides both, and the monounsaturated fat helps blood circulate better, which is essential for optimal brain function. Worst alternative: a trans-fat-filled, sugar-laden cream cheese Danish.
Green it: you don’t need to buy an organic avocado – conventional is fine. But make sure your supplementary protein is free range, cage free, or organic.

2. Blueberries
These delicious berries are one of the best foods for you, period, but they’re very good for your brain as well. Since they’re high in fiber and low on the glycemic index, they are safe for diabetics and they do not spike blood sugar. Blueberries are possibly the best brain food on earth: they have been linked to reduced risk for Alzheimer’s, shown to improve learning ability and motor skills in rats, and they are one of the most powerful anti-stress foods you can eat. Avoid: dried, sweetened blueberries.
Green it: buy local and organic, and be mindful of seasonality. When blueberries are out of season, opt for cranberries, grapes, goji berries, blackberries or cherries to get your brain boost.

3. Wild Salmon
Omega-3 fatty acids are essential for your brain. These beneficial fats are linked to improved cognition and alertness, reduced risk of degenerative mental disease (such as dementia), improved memory, improved mood, and reduced depression, anxiety and hyperactivity. Wild salmon is a premium source, but we’ll highlight a few other sources on this list for vegetarians and people who just don’t like salmon. Avoid farmed (read: sea lice infested) salmon.
Green it: the California salmon stock is threatened, so choose wild Alaskan salmon only, and eat small portions no more than twice a week. 

4. Nuts
Nuts contain protein, high amounts of fiber, and they are rich in beneficial fats. For getting an immediate energy boost that won’t turn into a spike later, you can’t do better than nuts. The complex carbs will perk you up while the fat and protein will sustain you. Nuts also contain plenty of vitamin E, which is essential to cognitive function. You don’t have to eat raw, plain, unsalted nuts, but do avoid the ones with a lot of sweetening or seasoning blends. Filberts, hazelnuts, cashews, and walnuts are great choices, with almonds being the king of nuts.

For those avoiding carbs, macadamia nuts are much higher in fat than most nuts. By the way, peanuts just aren’t ideal. Aside from the fact that many people are allergic, peanuts have less healthy fat than many other types of nuts…maybe that’s because peanuts are not actually a nut! They’re still much better than a candy bar, however.
Green it: try to choose organic, raw nuts, and if you can’t get those, at least avoid the tins of heavily-seasoned, preservative-laden nuts that may have taken many food miles to get to your mouth.

5. Seeds
Try sunflower seeds, sesame seeds, flax seed, and tahini (a tangy, nutty sesame butter that tastes great in replacement of mayo and salad dressing). Seeds contain a lot of protein, beneficial fat, and vitamin E, as well as stress-fighting antioxidants and important brain-boosting minerals like magnesium.
Green it: Again, just look for organic and try to avoid the highly-seasoned, processed options. In general, things like fruits, vegetables, seeds and nuts are pretty low-impact, environmentally speaking, in comparison to meats and cheeses.

6. Coffee
Thine eyes do not deceive (even if you are in the midst of a sugar crash). Coffee is good for your brain. Did you know coffee actually contains fiber? That’s going to help your cardiovascular system. Coffee also exerts some noted benefit to your brain in addition to providing you with a detectable energy boost.
The trick is not to have more than a few cups. But you can safely enjoy 2-4 cups daily – we are talking about supercharging here. Just please don’t go ruining a good thing by loading it up with sugar! Espresso beans are actually a phenomenally healthy snack, by the way.
Green it: brew yourself some fair-trade organic coffee to benefit both the planet and the workers who grow your beans. Use a thermos instead of a throwaway cup.

7. Oatmeal

Nature’s scrub brush is one of the best foods for cardiovascular health, which translates to brain health. Additionally, oatmeal is packed with fiber, a reasonable amount of protein, and even a small amount of Omega-3′s. It’s a good grain that will sustain you throughout the morning so you aren’t prone to irritability or an energy crash.
Green it: the healthiest oatmeal is the real, steel-cut deal. Steer clear of those little microwavable packets that are loaded with sugar. All that packaging isn’t very green.

8. Beans
One more for carb-lovers. (The brain uses about 20% of your carbohydrate intake and it likes a consistent supply.) Beans are truly an amazing food that is sadly overlooked. They’re humble, but very smart. Not only are they loaded with fiber, vitamins, minerals and protein, they’re ridiculously cheap. An entire bag of beans usually costs only a few dollars and will provide many meals. Beans provide a steady, slow release of glucose to your brain – which means energy all day without the sugar crash. Don’t go eating a whole platter of frijoles, though – just 1/4 of a cup is fine.
Green it: look for heirloom beans that are raised sustainably, like those from Rancho Gordo.

9. Pomegranate
Opt for the fruit over the juice so you get more fiber. Pomegranates contain blueberry-like levels of antioxidants, which are essential for a healthy brain. Your brain is the first organ to feel the effects of stress, so anything you can do to offset stress is a smart choice.
Green it: pomegranates are seasonal and not generally local for most of us, so enjoy sparingly and rely on other berries like acai, grapes and cherries when you can’t get this fruit.

10. Brown Rice
Brown rice is a low-glycemic complex carbohydrate that is excellent for people sensitive to gluten who still want to maintain cardiovascular health. The better your circulation, the sharper your brain.
Green it: don’t buy the excessively-packaged “boil in a bag” rice packets. Just make up a big batch of brown rice in a rice cooker on Sunday so you have it on hand for easy lunches all week.

11. Tea
You have to brew tea fresh or you won’t get the benefits of all those catechines (antioxidants) that boost your brain. Because tea has caffeine, don’t have more than 2-3 cups daily.
Green it: buy organic, fair trade loose leaf or packets to support sustainable business practices.

12. Chocolate
Things are looking increasingly better for chocolate. It’s got brain-boosting compounds, it’s loaded with antioxidants, and it has just the right amount of caffeine. Chocolate sends your serotonin through the roof, so you’ll feel happy in short order. Dark chocolate is also rich in fiber. (Remember, fiber = healthy cardiovascular system = healthy brain.)
Green it: go for super dark, fair-trade, pure organic chocolate, not the sugary, processed milk chocolate candy bars.

13. Oysters
Oysters are rich in selenium, magnesium, protein and several other nutrients vital to brain health. In one study researchers found that men who ate oysters reported significantly improved cognition and mood! Not all shellfish are good for you but oysters are a sure bet.
Green it: oysters are actually one of the most eco-friendly seafood options, so eat up!

14. Olive Oil
Though we know the brain does need a small, steady supply of glucose, don’t overlook fat. Studies have consistently shown that a low-fat diet is not the health boon we hoped it would be (remember the 90s low-fat craze?). In fact, avoiding fat can increase foggy thinking, mood swings, and insomnia. A diet rich in healthy fats is essential to clear thinking, good memory, and a balanced mood. Your brain is made of fat, after all.
One study of men found that those who relied on the processed vegetable fats found in salad dressings, snacks and prepared foods had 75% higher rates of mental degradation (dementia, memory loss) than men who ate healthy fats. Most processed foods and fast foods use corn oil, palm oil, soybean oil and other Omega-6 fats. You don’t want Omega 6 fats. Even saturated fat is safer than Omega 6′s.
Choose healthy fats such as those present in olive oil, nut butters, nuts and seeds, flax, oily fish, and avocados. Avoid processed fats found in pastries, chips, candy bars, snacks, junk food, fried foods and prepared foods. Eating the wrong fat can literally alter your brain’s communication pathways.
Green it: look for organic, local, or farmers’ market options when it comes to your food. You should also explore herbal remedies for mood swings and brain health.

15. Tuna
In addition to being another rich source of Omega-3′s, tuna, particularly yellowfin, has the highest level of vitamin B6 of any food. Studies have shown that B6 is directly linked to memory, cognition and long term brain health. Generally, the B vitamins are among the most important for balancing your mood. B6 in particular influences dopamine receptors (dopamine is one of your “feel good” hormones along with serotonin).

My personal cocktail: SAMe (nature’s happiness molecule) and a mega-dose of B-complex keeps me humming even when I’ve got a mountain of work to do. Which, like you, is all the time.
Green it: only eat tuna from sustainable fisheries, and if you’re looking for a B6 source that is vegetarian, opt for a banana, which contains a third of your day’s requirement (tuna offers nearly 60%). 

16. Garlic
Garlic – the fresher the better – is one of the most potent nutritional weapons in your arsenal. Eat it as much as your significant other can stand. Not only is it fabulous for reducing bad cholesterol and strengthening your cardiovascular system, it exerts a protective antioxidant effect on the brain.
Avoid: I know it makes life easier, but don’t even think about buying the chopped or peeled garlic. Nutritional benefits = zero.
Green it: just choose organic, and go for local if you can get it.

17. Eggs
Eggs contain protein and fat to provide energy to your brain for hours, and the selenium in organic eggs is proven to help your mood. You really needn’t worry about the overblown cholesterol fears. (I have quite a bit to say on this topic but I’ll restrain myself for once.)
Green it: choose organic, free range, vegetarian fed eggs.

18. Green Leafy Vegetables
Spinach, kale, chard, romaine, arugula, lolla rossa – whatever green you like, eat it daily. Green, leafy vegetables are high in iron (slightly less “green” iron sources include beef, pork and lamb). Americans tend to be deficient in iron, which is too bad, because the deficiency is linked to restless leg syndrome, fatigue, poor mood, foggy thinking, and other cognition issues.
Green it: choose organic, and shop at your farmers’ market or order from a local CSA. Leave out the red meat a few days a week and rely on a big, well-seasoned green stir fry or salad.

19. Tomatoes
Go figure, but tomatoes don’t usually make the brain-boosting food lists. (Thank goodness I found the one that did so I’m not the only one.) Tomatoes contain lycopene, an antioxidant that is particularly good for your brain – it even helps prevent dementia. You have to cook tomatoes to get the lycopene – take that, raw foodies! Just kidding. But this does mean that ketchup is good for your brain. Although because of the sugar in it, you should look to other sources for most of your lycopene intake, such as fresh tomato sauce.
Green it: try to eat tomatoes that are local and get your lycopene in vitamin form when tomatoes aren’t in season. You’ll know when that is – the tomatoes will be pale, tasteless, and pithy.

20. Cacao nibs
That’s right, I’m putting chocolate on this list twice. My boyfriend knows I need it. I eat chocolate or cacao nibs daily and I think you might want to consider it, too. Cacao nibs are among the top five most powerful brain foods, right next to wild salmon and blueberries. My girlfriends and I like to mix cacao nibs with frozen blueberries and a generous splash of organic heavy cream while we watch really bad television on Sunday nights.
Green it: as long as it’s fair trade and organic, it’s green. 

Things that drain your brain:
Alcohol kills your brain cells outright! Alcohol also interferes with dopamine production. Moderate amounts of alcohol, particularly resveratrol-rich red wine, can help improve your health, but anything beyond a glass or two of wine daily is a recipe for reduced brain function and energy loss.

Corn Syrup and Sugar lead to health problems like diabetes and obesity, and they’re terrible for your brain. Don’t eat sugar except on special occasions or as an infrequent treat. If you can’t cut back that much, try to limit yourself to just two bites of whatever tempts you daily.

Nicotine constricts blood flow to the brain, so while it may “soothe” jittery nerves, smoking will actally reduce your brain function severely – and the effects are cumulative.

A high carbohydrate lunch
will make you sleepy and sluggish. Opt for a light meal with some quality protein, such as a salad with grilled chicken breast or vegetables and hummus or wild American shrimp and avocado.

SOURCES:
Vita Search
Public Library of Science
PubMed

Farewell, my space shuttle

By Leroy Chiao, Special to CNN
May 15, 2011 1:54 p.m. EDT
tzleft.chiao_leroy.jpg

Editor's note: Leroy Chiao served as a NASA astronaut from 1990 to 2005 and flew four missions into space, including flights aboard the space shuttles Columbia, Endeavour and Discovery.

(CNN) -- When space shuttle Endeavour blasts off Monday on its final journey, I'll be thinking about the shuttle's three remarkable decades of service.

I grew up during the Cold War and the Space Race. I was raised on "Star Trek." To me, the guys in "The Right Stuff" were Mickey Mantle and the Beatles on a rocket ship.

The Apollo 11 moon landing was the biggest moment of my childhood. It made me want to reach for the stars like those real-life heroes had done. And while I was building my dreams, NASA was constructing the vehicle that would bring me to the stars.

As NASA toiled, I was working on my own version of the shuttle -- in my parents' garage, out of toilet paper tubes and balsa wood. America was intoxicated by the space program and I was an addict for the excitement, drama and promise for the future that it would deliver with every launch.
In the '60s the anticipation for the decades ahead was as boundless as the universe itself. We were young, cocky and convinced that we could conquer the limits of space. And while space travel eventually became almost commonplace for many Americans, the fire inside me for space exploration never dimmed.

On one warm July morning in 1994, my boyhood fantasy of rocketing into the heavens in a state-of-the-art NASA spacecraft was fulfilled.

I had achieved what all my boyhood friends only dreamed of. I was an astronaut, a space cowboy -- and the space shuttle Columbia was my steed. That ship will always hold a special place in history, as the first of the shuttles to fly into space. It will have a similar place in my heart, along with those of many of my fellow astronauts.

Despite its perceived lack of sexiness, the shuttle is the most amazing, accomplished and capable flying machine ever conceived and built. She launches into low Earth orbit carrying a crew of up to seven astronauts, and a payload capacity of more than 50,000 pounds.

After completing an orbital mission of about two weeks, she brings it all home with a soft landing on a conventional runway. The only thing missing is a baggage check and "Everybody Loves Raymond" reruns.
After a three-month processing flow (a little lube job, a waxing, and maybe getting the tires rotated), this baby is ready to do it all over again. Unparalleled in performance, the shuttle is what every astronaut has ever dreamed of having -- and the most accomplished spacecraft NASA has ever produced.

Sadly, NASA also made promises that the shuttle was unable to keep. Two-week turnarounds and inexpensive launches never materialized.

NASA didn't know what it didn't know. Nobody had created and operated a reusable, winged spacecraft like this one before.

The losses of Challenger, Columbia and their crews showed us unforeseen and sadly cataclysmic vulnerabilities. We mourned our losses and learned from these tragedies. The knowledge we gained from these painful experiences, along with all the shuttle's glorious abilities, will contribute to the design and operation of future spacecraft.

I have many vivid and poignant memories of flying aboard the shuttle. Floating in my sleep bunk just hours after my first launch, I couldn't sleep until I rotated 90 degrees to "lay on my side."

I watched shooting stars from the cabin window. I watched over my family from space when I identified Houston below me. There were our "aerobatic Olympics" in the Spacelab module. Simply watching the enormity of the Earth below me was incredible.

The shuttle also brought lifelong friendships among the many people whose lives she touched, all over the world. Astronauts and specialists from international space programs formed unlikely alliances in space that were never possible on Earth.

I myself formed deep friendships with several of my American comrades, as well as those from Japan, Europe, Canada and Russia. The shuttle was the vehicle for all of that, literally and figuratively.
Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery. But hard as they tried, nobody else ever got it right.

The development of the Soviet Buran shuttle, which flew only once and without a crew, nearly brought the Soviet program to its knees. The French Hermes and Japanese Hope spaceplane designs never lifted off of their respective drawing boards. Our soon-to-be-scuttled shuttle stands as a symbol of American ingenuity, know-how, persistence and greatness. No other vehicle past, present or currently contemplated for the future even comes close to her capability and elegant beauty.

On April 12 of this year, the space shuttle celebrated her 30th birthday. The last shuttle mission, flown by Atlantis, is scheduled for July.

Space shuttle, you left us far too soon. You'll never be grounded in the hearts of all of us who loved you.
The opinions expressed in this commentary are solely those of Leroy Chiao.

Monday, May 09, 2011

Four planets will cluster together next week

Four planets will cluster together next week
 
Jupiter (seen here) will hang low in the sky, along with Venus, Mars and Mercury, on Tuesday.

Four planets will huddle close together, visible to the naked eye, in the predawn sky next week, according to the editors of StarDate magazine.

"The best view is from the southern states because the path the planets follow across the sky (the ecliptic) stands at a little higher angle relative to the horizon," the magazine's editors said.

"Peak streak" time arrives for meteor showers
Venus and Jupiter will be easy to spot hanging low in the east as dawn brightens on May 10. They are the brightest objects in the night sky after the Moon. Venus, the brighter of the two, will be to the right of Jupiter.

Mercury will be visible to the lower right of Venus, about the same distance from Venus to Jupiter. It won't be as bright but its proximity to Venus will help you find it. To the lower left of Jupiter you'll find Mars, which may be too low and faint to see without the aid of binoculars.

StarDate magazine is a bi-monthly publication of The University of Texas at Austin McDonald Observatory, which houses many telescopes responsible for a wide range of astronomical research. McDonald Observatory is also pioneering the next generation of astronomical research as a founding partner of the Giant Magellan Telescope.

Monday, May 02, 2011

Blow Your Mind II

Terrifying Brown Spiders Moving North with Global Warming

  • - Contributing Editor, GOOD Environment

spiders, brown spiders, climate change, Arachnophobia

My colleague Liz has been begging—seriously begging!—me to warn the American public about the growing threat of the terrifying and deadly brown recluse spider. Researchers have founds that the range of this extraordinarily venomous spider—a bite from which can, in some cases, kill—is expanding due to climate change, and that they'll be moving farther north to more populous parts of the country.

"The actual amount of suitable habitat of the brown recluse doesn't change dramatically in the future time slices, but what is changing is where that area is located," said Erin Saupe, a researcher from the University of Kansas.

Here's the map. The green dotted line marks current habitat. The blue masses are the areas they're expected to move to as temperatures increase.
spiders, brown spiders, climate change, Arachnophobia

So, really, the story here is not that the brown recluse spiders are expanding their range because of warmer temperatures, but rather that they're going to have to relocate. Which is probably welcome news to folks in Texas and Oklahoma and across the current habitats. But it's a big bummer for those of us who are up further north and wouldn't know one from a daddy long legs if it were climbing up the wall of our wood shed.

Photo (cc) by OakleyOriginals on Flickr

Blow Your Mind I

For the First Time, Humans See Quantum Entanglement With the Naked Eye


Quantum Entanglement, Visible to the Naked Eye Jule_Berlin via Flickr

Physicists at the University of Geneva in Switzerland have devised a new kind of quantum experiment using humans as photon detectors, and in doing so have made the quantum phenomenon of entanglement visible to the naked eye for the first time.

For those that need a primer, entanglement is that strange quantum phenomenon that links two particles across distances such that any any measurements carried out on one particle immediately changes the properties of the other--even if they are separated by the entire universe. Einstein called it “spooky action at a distance.” And indeed it is weird.

Nicolas Gisin at U. of Geneva noted that Italian physicists had previously done an interesting thing with entangled photons. Rather than entangling just a few as experimenters usually do, the Italian team had entangled a pair of photons and then amplified one of them to create a photon shower containing thousands of particles, all linked to the single other photon from the original pair. That is, there was one “microscopic” photon, and a shower of “macroscopic” photons, all tied together at the quantum level.

Gisin realized that while the naked eye can’t see a single photon, it can certainly see thousands. So he used a setup similar to the Italians’, but rather than putting a photon detector in front of the macroscopic photons he put himself and his colleagues there. The beam of photons produced by the amplifier would appear in one of two positions in their darkened room, depending on the polarization state given to their microscopic single photon. Time after time, when the human results were tested against photon detectors, they got a positive result.

It may sounds like a bunch of scientists sitting in a dark room looking at blinking lights, but it represents the first time quantum entanglement has been directly observed with the naked eye.

Sort of. The Swiss team also found that what they were looking at wasn’t necessarily macro-micro entanglement. Even when they deliberately broke the quantum link between micro and macro and then ran their “human detector” experiment, they still got a positive result. This is due to the imperfection of detectors (even human ones) and a loophole in what’s known as the Bell Test (which, in a nutshell, is used to measure entanglement) that’s negligible in small quantities of photons but grows along with their quantity. This introduces a degree of uncertainty (for a better explanation of this, click through the Nature link below).

What the Swiss team does know is this: when they started, they had two entangled photons. Even though flaws may have been introduced in the amplification process, they could still “see” the effects of entanglement. A new method is being devised by the original Italian researchers (who also detected this flaw in their research) to verify micro-macro entanglement with lasers. Unfortunately, humans can’t be used as detectors for these experiments, as the highly focused beams of light would be the last thing those humans would see.

Friday, April 15, 2011

Oh, no, not that annoying dictionary atheist argument again!

From Pharyngula

Once upon a time, there was a man who thought rather highly of humanity's potential. Sure, there were things humans did that were awful -- they could be violent, and careless, and short-sighted -- but they also did amazing things like science and art that other species didn't. Overall, he thought that calling someone "human" was a high compliment. And this idea colored his thinking in such a way that it began to shape his expectations of people; maybe we should expect human beings to do more than eat and excrete and reproduce, and maybe we should recognize that the word "human" meant an awful lot more than just a certain flavor of meat or the species of your parents.

He also noticed that every single human being he ever met, without exception, was more than a perambulating set of chromosomes. Some were good at math and others liked to dance and others were kind and yet others liked to argue, and these were the virtues that made them good and interesting, and made them…human, in this best sense of the word. So when he praised being human, it wasn't for the accident of their birth, it was for the qualities that made being human meaningful.

Unfortunately, not all humans liked having the fact that words carry greater connotations than the most narrow, most literal, most concise, dictionary-style definitions, despite the obvious fact that they all do. They got quite irate.

"I am a human because I am not a squirrel, or a hyena, or a fish, or broccoli," some said, "and I resent the fact that you think there's more to me than being a not-squirrel!"

"You expect me to be good at math to qualify as human?" complained some of the slower, less alert people, who failed to notice that the man had made no such specific requirements.

"The only thing that all humans have in common is that they were born to other humans, and can only reproduce with humans," said other complainers, "therefore, that is all that 'human' can imply or mean. How dare you taint my pure and perfect language with complications and nuances and expectations!" 

And the man listened to their arguments for a while, and argued back for a while, and then he came upon a simple solution. He told the not-squirrels and identity-by-rutters and functional illiterates and simple-minded machine-coders to fuck off, and it was good.

"Ad hominem!" they squeaked.

"Who cares what barely human people think, anyway," he shrugged.

Sunday, April 10, 2011

Live human heart grown in lab using stem cells in potential transplant breakthrough

By David Derbyshire of the Mail Online
4th April 2011

Breakthrough: Scientists are hopeful their artificial heart will be beating within days

Breakthrough: Scientists are hopeful their artificial heart will be beating within days

Scientists are growing human hearts in laboratories, offering hope for millions of cardiac patients. American researchers believe the artificial organs could start beating within weeks.
The experiment is a major step towards the first ‘grow-your-own’ heart, and could pave the way for  livers, lungs or kidneys to be made  to order.

The organs were created by removing muscle cells from donor organs to leave behind tough hearts of connective tissue. Researchers then injected stem cells which multiplied and grew around the structure, eventually turning into healthy heart cells.

Dr Doris Taylor, an expert in regenerative medicine at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, said: ‘The hearts are growing, and we hope they will show signs of beating within the next weeks. ‘There are many hurdles to overcome to generate a fully functioning heart, but my prediction is that it may one day be possible to grow entire organs for transplant.’

Patients given normal heart transplants must take drugs to suppress their immune systems for the rest of their lives.


heart


This can increase the risk of high blood pressure, kidney failure and diabetes.
If new hearts could be made using a patient’s own stem cells, it is less likely they would be rejected.

The lab-grown organs have been created using these types of cells – the body’s immature ‘master cells’ which have the ability to turn into different types of tissue. The experiment follows a string of successes for researchers trying to create spare body parts for transplants. 

In 2007, British doctors grew  a human heart valve using stem  cells taken from a patient’s  bone marrow.

HOW TO GROW YOUR OWN HEART

  • The donor heart is removed from the body; pig hearts may also be suitable.
  • Detergents are then used to strip the cells from the heart leaving behind the protein skeleton or 'ghost heart'.
  • Stem cells grown from cells taken from a patient are then added to the ghost heart.
  • The stem cells then multiply and generate new heart cells. now all that is left is the hope that these will start beating.
A year later, scientists grew a beating animal heart for the first time.

Dr Taylor’s team have already created beating rat and pig hearts. Although they were too weak to be used in animals, the work was an important step towards tailor-made organs.
In their latest study, reported at the American College of Cardiology’s annual conference in New Orleans, researchers created new organs using human hearts taken from dead bodies.
The scientists stripped the  cells from the dead hearts with a powerful detergent, leaving ‘ghost heart’ scaffolds made from the protein collagen.

The ghost hearts were then injected with millions of stem cells, which had been extracted from patients and supplied with nutrients. The stem cells ‘recognised’ the collagen heart structure and began to turn into heart muscle cells. The hearts have yet to start beating – but if they do, they could be strong enough to pump blood.

However, the race to create a working heart faces many obstacles.

One of the biggest is getting enough oxygen to the organ through a complex network of blood vessels. Scientists also need to ensure the heart cells beat in time.
Dr Taylor told the Sunday Times: ‘We are a long way off creating a heart for transplant, but we think we’ve opened a door to building any organ for human transplant.’
By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent,  6 Apr 2011

Eye transplants to cure blindness have taken a step closer after scientists managed to 'grow' a retina in the laboratory for the first time. Researchers were amazed when stem cells in a test tube spontaneously organised themselves into a complex structure that resembles the developing embryonic eye.

The surprising development could lead eventually to whole retinas being cultured and then transplanted, restoring sight in the blind and visually impaired. The team from the Institute of Physical and Chemical Research in Japan, first cultivated embryonic stem cells in a test tube and then added proteins to trigger them into developing.

They hoped that they would form a recognisable organ but were still stunned when over 10 days they clustered together and began to grow the "optical cup" of a retina.Tests showed that the cells were functioning normally and were capable of communicating with each other.

The research was done on mouse eyes, but there is no reason why a similar technique would not work on humans, said the experts.They hope that within 10 years to be able to start clinical trials on retina implants.

"This is an absolutely stunning achievement," said Professor Robin Ali, an ophthalmologist at University College London."It is a landmark not just for the retina but for regenerative medicine as a whole."

More than a million people in Britain suffer from vision problems caused by a damaged or malfunctioning retinas. The retina is the "business end" of the eye, where nerve cells convert light into electrical and chemical signals that are sent to the brain down the optic nerve. If it is not working then the eye is useless.

Professor Yoshiki Sasai, lead author said: "What we've been able to do in this study is resolve a nearly century-old problem in embryology, by showing that retinal precursors have the inherent ability to give rise to the complex structure of the optic cup."

His team, who filmed the technique as it unfolded, grew floating clusters of the mouse cells in a special tissue culture in the laboratory that had previously been successfully used to make a variety of brain cells.

By adding particular proteins they were able to get the cells to build a three dimensional layered structure reminiscent of the optic cup within 10 days.The retinal neurons ultimately organised into a six-layer structure closely resembling that of a retina shortly after birth.

This could eventually lead to treatments aimed at repairing the eyes of people with conditions that limit or destroy their sight. Potential applications include regenerative medicine approaches to the treatment of progressive genetic disorders such as retinitis pigmentosa.

Prof Ali, who reviewed the research published in Nature, said: "For the first time, we see unfolding in real time the beautiful events that shape the early stages of mammalian eye development. "But even more remarkable is that these are not recordings from live animals, but of self-organising 3-D cultures of embryonic stem cells."


Saturday, April 09, 2011

You are required to watch Tim Minchin's excellent short animated movie.

Monday, April 04, 2011

The Decorah triplets: A birds-eye view of our own

It is unequivocally captivating. In fact, I personally am addicted, along with millions of others, and it's giving Decorah, Iowa much attention, especially since going national and beyond.

If you've not logged onto the website sponsored by the Raptor Resource Project, I suggest you immediately cease from reading my blather and go online to www.ustream.tv/decoraheagles.

Over the years, I have been subjected to newborn birds and other small wildlife, due to various reasons, which resulted in overseeing their care. Not all made it, but for those that did, raising to maturity and letting the animals free were major accomplishments on many levels. (However, don't get me started on the lack of sleep toward clockwork feedings.)

This likely enhanced my own obsession with the Decorah Eagles. By the video's angle, one would never know that the nest, which took months to prepare, weighs well over a ton, averaging between five and six feet wide. The pair has used this same one since 2007, as it is nestled 80 feet high within a cottonwood tree. And, the first of three eggs pipped early Saturday morning.

We humans are fortunate to have been given this opportunity for experiencing nature at its finest - from a birds-eye view. Late Saturday night, an owl came within close proximity, likely anticipating the carcass of a rabbit in their nest (caught just two days before the first hatching). It could be heard hooting just out of camera shot. The mother, covering her brood, glared intently as she called to her mate, perched on a nearby branch. Evidently, the owl became what it is known for and thought better of a possible tangle with the mighty beings, not to be heard again.

The second eaglet emerged from its shell Sunday morning and the final egg is due to hatch any moment. The website has to be one of the elite classroom tools currently utilized and if not, it should be. Although, the demise of nearby animals for their nourishment - whether rabbits, squirrels or birds, etc. - would be something for gentle discussion among young children who are watching - the whole circle of life thing, yada yada.

(In fact, it's highly recommended because 'dad' dropped off a fresh-feathered kill before Sunday's dusk, then sitting on the edge to partake of his dinner.)

But overall, the process, for what these eagles motion, stands for what is still good and innocent.

Hopeful and uplifting.

The day those babies soar freely in the wind will be a great day.

Indeed.

 
Video chat rooms at Ustream

Monday, March 28, 2011

Sperm Whales May Have Name

By Brandon Keim of Wired Magazine 

March 14, 2011 



Subtle variations in sperm-whale calls suggest that individuals announce themselves with discrete personal identifier. To put it another way, they might have names.

The findings are preliminary, based on observations of just three whales, so talk of names is still speculation. But “it’s very suggestive,” said biologist Luke Rendell of Scotland’s University of St. Andrews. “They seem to make that coda in a way that’s individually distinctive.”

Rendell, lead author Ricardo Antunes and their collaborators, biologists Hal Whitehead, Shane Gero and Tyler Schulz, have for years studied the click sequences, or codas, used by sperm whales to communicate across miles of deep ocean. In a study published last June in Marine Mammal Sciences, they described a sound-analysis technique that linked recorded codas to individual members of a whale family living in the Caribbean.

In that study, they focused on a coda made only by Caribbean sperm whales. It appears to signify group membership. In the latest study, published Feb. 10 in Animal Behavior, they analyzed a coda made by sperm whales around the world. Called 5R, it’s composed of five consecutive clicks, and superficially appears to be identical in each whale. Analyzed closely, however, variations in click timing emerge. Each of the researchers’ whales had its own personal 5R riff.‘This is just the first glimpse of what might be going on.’

The differences were significant. The sonic variations that were used to distinguish between individuals in the earlier study depended on a listener’s physical relationship to the caller: “If you record the animal from the side, you get a different structure than dead ahead or behind,” said Rendell. But these 5R variations held true regardless of listener position.

“In terms of information transfer, the timing of the clicks is much less susceptible” to interference, said Rendell. “There is no doubt in my mind that the animals can tell the difference between the timing of individuals.” Moreover, 5R tends to be made at the beginning of each coda string as if, like old-time telegraph operators clicking out a call sign, they were identifying themselves. Said Rendell, “It may function to let the animals know which individual is vocalizing.”
Rendell stressed that much more research is needed to be sure of 5R’s function. “We could have just observed a freak occurrence,” he said. Future research will involve more recordings. “This is just the first glimpse of what might be going on.”
That individual whales would have means of identifying themselves does, however, make sense. Dolphins have already been shown to have individual, identifying whistles. Like them, sperm whales are highly social animals who maintain complex relationships over long distances, coordinating hunts and cooperating to raise one another’s calves.

Sperm-whale coda repertoires can contain dozens of different calls, which vary in use among families and regions, as do patterns of behavior. At a neurological level, their brains display many of the features associated in humans with sophisticated cognition. Many researchers think that sperm whales and other cetacean species should be considered “non-human persons,” comparable at least to chimpanzees and other great apes.

Compared to primates, however, studying the behaviors and relationships of whales is extremely difficult. They don’t take well to aquariums, and observations in the wild take place on their aquatic terms.
What’s been observed so far are just “the crude behavioral measures we get by following them in a boat,” said Rendell. “I’d argue that there is probably a vast amount of complexity out there in sperm whale society that we have yet to understand. As we get to know more about them, we’re going to continue to reveal complexities that we didn’t anticipate.”

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Welcome to Block IV!

Three down, one to go. Welcome back to my returning Biology and Forensic Science students, and a special welcome to my new Honor's Biology students. Good job guys. 

Well, most of you know the routine by now. Check out the blog postings, leave me a comment or send me an email (at jgiacobbe_southpointe@cox.net), get some extra credit, 25 points each. No limit to the number you can do as long as the comments are thoughtful and show you actually read through to the link. 

Good Luck, and let the magic carpet ride begin...

Thursday, March 17, 2011

A New Evolutionary History of Primates

ScienceDaily (2011-03-17) -- A robust new phylogenetic tree resolves many long-standing issues in primate taxonomy. The genomes of living primates harbor remarkable differences in diversity and provide an intriguing context for interpreting human evolution. The phylogenetic analysis was conducted by international researchers to determine the origin, evolution, patterns of speciation, and unique features in genome divergence among primate lineages.