Salt Marshes

In class yesterday, we were shown how toxins flow into the ocean and how fish are dying of it. We were shown through a neat model. On a model of a sloped and coastal community, we added soil, sand, pieces of trash(paper), animal waste(chocolate sprinkles), and oil, fertilizer and pesticide(all different colored food coloring). We added rain(sprinkled water), and all of the additions we had added flowed into the ocean at the bottom of the community. The water was filthy and turbid from all of the toxins. No wonder that large amounts of fish die overnight after being in that water.The toxins that they are breathing in cannot be good for their health. So, we conducted the experiment a second time, however, this time we added a sponge at the bottom of the model that would act as a salt marsh. A salt marsh is a coastal wetland that can be found all along the coast of New Jersey, but they are more dense in southern New Jersey. Lots of wildlife can be found in marshes, including many crustaceans, horseshoe crabs and various birds. Anyway, when we simulated the rain, the polluted water went down the landscape, but it came past the sponge and came out much cleaner than without the marsh. The marsh's high grasses can use the pesticides and fertilizers to its advantage, and though the waste, trash and oil might pollute the water, it is not as severe as it would be without the marsh. Marshes are one of the only natural cleaners found in nature, so it is important to preserve these valuable wetlands.

Plasticity

In class, we did a lab to see how the mantle flows and has the property of plasticity. So we put cornstarch into a beaker and combined it with water. At first, it looked like a liquid batter. But when I put my hand in it, and then rolled it around, it hardened and felt like hardened wax. When I poked my finger in quickly, it made an indent that filled in quickly. I poked it slowly, and the mixture settled around my finger. So, supposedly, this is similar to the mantle's texture.

October Sky

During a unit day, we watched the movie October Sky. This movie is full of scientific and character ed connections. For instance, Homer and Quentin had to apply Newton's Laws and aerodynamics when building the rockets. Also, Ms. Riley had Hodgekins Disease, a type of lymphoma, a cancer that originates from white blood cells. In addition, Coalwood Mining Company was digging through the Earth's crust to mine coal. And the Sputnik flight, which occured in the beginning of the movie, had to do with astronomy for it was the first object launched into space.

Character ed was present in this movie many times. First of all, Homer, Quentin. Roy and Odell all have to overcome their differences to work together in buildding the rockets. And Homer's father becomes more accepting of Homer's new passion to build rockets towards the end.

Response to Genetic Disease

After I learned about Patau's Syndrome for my genetic disorders blog, I looked around for other people's blogs and I found an emotional blog regarding Downs Syndrome. Apparently, people with Down Syndrome can never perfect their fine motor skills. In addition, Downers have shorter lives and take longer to develop language skills and speaking abilities. They also have lower I.Q.'s, but that is not there fault. Some people that I have seen with Down Syndrome have odd faces, for the extra chromosome they recieve that causes Down Syndrome can do that. This blog made me feel sad. These people are born with different features and phycological abilities which make them a deviation from most kids. Unfortunately, they are bound to be mocked. I give credit to all of the people with Down Syndrome who continue to go out into the world and face life. They are saying, "Hey, I might be different, but everyones different, so come at me."

Reflective off of http://hershey96.blogspot.com/

Patau's Syndrome

Of all the horrible abnormalities, Patau's Syndrome takes the top. Patau's Syndrome was discovered in 1657 by Eramus Barthalon. The cause for this is that a fetus has three copies of chromosome 13, as opposed to the normal level of two. This random genetic accident can result in many abominations. The symptons include incomplete eyesight and smelling nerves, deafness,cleft lip and/or palate, a flat face, lowered or malformed ears, extra fingers or toes along with deformed hands and feet, respiratory difficulties and heart defects, severe organ deformities, and basically anything else that could be wrong with someone. In addition, the brain may not divide into lobes or hemispheres and would be unusually small. And the child is almost always mentally retarded. Unfortunately, there is no treatment for this terrible syndrome that mars the patient's body severely. However, surgery can be done to try to mend some of these deformities, yet this is more for the patients comfort than anything else. The mortality of Patau's Syndrome is truly sad. 82% of the patients that survive being born die within the first month of infancy. 5-10% pass away after one year. The oldest known person with the Syndrome survived up to 33. About one in every twelve-thousand infants have Patau's Syndrome and survive to their first birthday. One in every sixteen-thousand fetuses have Patau's and result in a miscarraige. No fetus is more vulnerable or safe from Patau's Syndrome then the next. The presence of the extra chromosome is just a random genetic accident. Hopefully, scientist will be able to find a cure, but there is nothing that could prevent Patau's at the time.

Valuble Info From: http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_g2601/is_0010/ai_2601001030/

DNA Conclusion

Recently in class, I extracted DNA from my saliva. I swished Gatorade around in my mouth and spit it into a test tube, added lysome and inverted the tube causing bubbles to come to the top of the surface. Then I added alcohol which created a visible layer on toop of the previous mixture. After letting the test tube rest for fifteen minutes, strands of DNA were visible towards the top of the mixture. Overall, the experiment came out good. I was able to see the DNA from my saliva, which was the initial purpose of the experiment. I saw animal DNA for the first time. From this experiment, I learned that DNA is everywhere, even my saliva.

Biological Warfare

As the modern age becomes more technologically advanced, new ways of warfare have developed. We've gone from throwing rocks to nuclear bombs. Now, a new, much more deadly way has been experimented in terrorist labs. The scientists in Iran and other middle eastern nations have developed harmful bacteriae and viri that could turn the US into a deserted, lifeless country by 2013. Certain precautions have been taken against this, but it is hard seeing as we don't know what type of virus is coming about. in some ways, these bacteriae are more harmful than nuclear attacks for we could detct a missle on military radar and shoot it down. It only takes one immigrant top wipe out America. It could be as bad as the flu outbreak in the early 1900's that killed over 40 million civilians. A second Black Plague might be caused by our enemies.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/28006645/