Man who plays with lions

Kevin Richardson is the man who plays with lions in South Africa. As soon as he walked in where the lions were, he was wrestled to the ground. Alarmed, the reporter asked if he was alright. For Kevin that attack was normal.

Kevin Richardson met his first lion when he was 23 and loved it. He met two lion cubs born in captivity and he was allowed to spend time with them. He had no idea that it would change his life. Those two lions are now part of a pride of 38 that have all accepted Kevin as part of their pride. When Kevin roared, the lions all slowly started coming towards him. Then the big males roared back at Kevin. The reporter was scared that Kevin would  get hurt, but instead the lions rolled around him waiting for their stomachs to be rubbed and manes to be stroked. Kevin also became part of the pride without weapons or food treats. They naturally accepted him. Even the lionesses, very protective of their cubs, were relaxed when Kevin played with them. One lioness named Meg is so fond of Kevin that she goes down with him to swim in the river together quite often. Lions do not like the water, but Meg puts her paws on his shoulders and splashes. Kevin's lions are not tame, they still have plenty of wild instincts, so the reporters were not allowed to interact with the lions for their own safety. Kevin knows that even though he is the only human the lions have accepted, that could all change. He is aware that they could kill him very quickly, but if they did and he could come back to life, he would do it all over again.

~NC
source

Man plays with lion video

This is a link to a video about the .

Kevin Richardson: Lion Whisperer Article

This is the link to the article.

Possible Signs of Water on the Moon

On Thursday September 17, 2009, pictures from NASA's new moon orbiter, LRO (Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter), successfully completed the testing and calibrating part of its mission and moved on to mapping the orbit of the moon. The LRO's materials made measurements of space radiation in the lunar environment and found areas of possible signatures of water. The LRO's LEND (Lunar Exploration Neutron Detector) showed shadowed regions that could potentially be the place of water ice and hydrogen. LEND needs a decrease of neutron radiation from the lunar surface to tell whether or not there is water or hydrogen. A big finding from it is that the hydrogen isn't only in one spot, and the team members on this discovery want to know more about it.

This spacecraft launched on June 18, 2009 and should keep working for a year. As of right now it is in good shape. The main goal of this exploration was to find landing spots for astronauts to land in the future, and to make a map of the moons surface, temperature extremes, and radiation environment. Now, it will also be looking for water ice in the permanently shadowed craters of the moon's south pole. If they find water ice, it will be good for the astronauts because they could melt it for water, and they could extract the hydrogen and use it for fuel. However, some of the maps show steep crater slopes that would be difficult for a truck or car to drive over, so that could create a set back for getting the water ice in the craters. On September 9th the LRO will land on the moon's south pole to get debris samples that will be used for future results.

This article is interesting because if there is water found on the moon, it is a huge discovery for future explorations to the moon. If there is water, it could be very useful to the mission and to the astronauts because having water on the moon would mean that the astronauts wouldn't need to bring it with them, so then they would have room for something else that they might need.

~KM
source
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/32903691/ns/technology_and_science-space

Chupacabra caught in South Texas

A rancher in the South Texas town of Cuero reported nearly two months ago that she has caught the legendary chupacabra. Phylisis Canion said the animal had been living near her ranch for years now.The animal would sneak on to her ranch and kill animals in the middle of the night. It snatched cats at first, then chickens through a wired cage.

"[It] opened it reached in pulled the chicken head out, sucked all the blood out, and left the chicken in the cage," she said. Residents believe that the creature responsible is the legendary chupacabra. Its named translated into English means goat-sucker because the creature drinks the blood of livestock.

Canion also says that two other chupacabras have been sited in Cuero. All of them were reported to have blue-grey colored skin, no hair, and strange teeth. Although residents believe that Canion captured a chupacabra, scientists believe otherwise. State Mammalogist John Young believes that Canin merely caught a grey fox suffering from mange. Mange is a virus commonly found in animals that cause hair loss and skin discoloration. "When mange goes untreated it causes this type of reaction. they start to itch, lose all their hair, blue grey coloration. and the animal usually dies from it," he said. Except in this case a car is what killed the creauture. Scientists also took DNA samples in order to see if the creature was really a chupacabra. Until the results are finished, no one will know i the animal was truly the chupacabra

source
http://www.kvue.com/news/top/stories/073107kvuechupacabrafind-cb.cc11e691.html

More Evolution Debate

    On May 15, 2009 a new fossil was discovered that may change the way people see who we evolved from.  Before this fossil was found, it was believed that all humans evolved from an ancestor common to humans, apes and chimpanzees.  A fossil of a young female adapid was found looking very much like humans are believed to look like during their evolution.  A female adapid is a lemur, but this one wasn't like the ring-tailed lemurs we think of today.  This lemur was very different because it was missing two of three big components that normal lemurs would be guaranteed to have.  Normal lemurs have a tooth comb, which is a tooth for grooming fur, a groom claw (which is similar), and a wet nose.  While this lemur doesn't have the first two, we do not know if it has a wet nose.  This discovery will spark new debates regarding which animal we evolved from.

            I found this topic to be very interesting because I had always thought that humans had definitely evolved from apes.  I thought that because this information came out that the future generations will think about lemurs instead of how I thought about apes.  This relates to science (I think) because we will be studying about the life cycle and most likely evolution from whatever it is we truly evolved from.

~DW

source

http://online.wsj.com/article/SB124235632936122739.html        

Speaking to the Blind

Audio Labels Speak to the Blind

Technology is applying scientific knowledge to improve people's lives. We are constantly thinking of ways to help people of all disabilities. In this case, recently a device called a PenFriend was designed to help blind people. This pen reads barcodes on labels which when scanned play mp3 recordings stored on the audio label. This new invention, designed by a charity of a London-based company, Mantra Lingua, is reasonably priced and very helpful. People are using it all over and have sent in letters about how pleased they are with this electronic pen. The way it works is by using optical identification technology on the labels which can be scanned by the tip of the PenFriend. The pen then triggers a spoken description of the item. The thought of running out of storage space is no problem at all as for this pen can hold up to 70 recordings and also music. This invention is so successful that it is going to be used for almost anything. Including clothing, packaging, personal journals, medicines, and much more! The PenFriend is going to help the lives of many people all thanks to science and technology.

This article relates to what we are studying in class because it has to do with physics such as building machines and electronic devices. It also deals with a huge part of technology which we also experience in Mr. Hazen's science class. In addition this article relates to how we learn about improving the quality of our lives through science. I chose this article because I have a particular interest with this writing piece and the things we learn in class relating to it. I also decided to write a blog on this article because it is also associated to NS's blog which also dealing with helping blind people. Although NS's article has to do more with human anatomy while mine involves more technology and electronics.

BY: M.S.
source http://www.rocketnews.com/2009/09/audio-labels-speak-to-the-blind/

Artic Region Melting

The article I picked is about the Arctic melting as an effect of global warming. It is a very sensitive environment and it is drastically changing because of the climate. The average temperature in the Arctic region is rising twice as fast than anywhere in the world. The polar ice cap itself is shrinking very fast. The Ward Hunt Ice Shelf, the largest glacier in the world, started melting in 2000 and now has a crack right down the middle and will eventually break into pieces. This climate change is also affecting wildlife such as polar bears, seals, whales, and walrus. They are struggling to find food and are starving to death. The melting ice will also affect outside of the polar region. The water that comes from the melted ice caps will pour over and flood the continental plates. This is the worst possible thing that can happen. If this does happen, possibly all of humanity will die or almost all of it. We need to protect the Arctic or the consequences will be brutal.

I found this article interesting because it is going on today and people need to be aware of what is going on, because it will eventually affect us if we don't do something about it. Officials like Al Gore are trying to make a plan to save the Arctic, but there needs to be something done soon, or else polar bears will go extinct. Not only polar bears, but many other animals will be wiped off the face of the Earth. We have to stop the ice caps from melting or all of humanity will be destroyed.

source http://www.nrdc.org/globalwarming/qthinice.asp

Red (well, more like Burnt Orange) Planet

In recent studies, scientists have been inquiring about the nature of the red color that envelops the planet we call Mars (aka the Red Planet). According to reports from a Mars rover, there was once large pools of brackish water (water with a decent amount of salt in it, although not as much as sea water), and a warm and wet environment on Mars. Most scientists believed that the soil became red due to rust caused by oxygen from water and iron oxide from soil.

     However, John Merrison of Aarhus University disagrees. He claims that Mars should look black because most of the rock on Mars is basalt, which is black. To test his theory, he filled flasks with sand and sealed them to ensure that they stay dry. Then, he put them in a tumbler to mimic the erosion the rocks on Mars faced. In months, the sand changed to a red hue. His theory is that the chemical composition of the dust was changed due to friction, becoming rich with iron oxide (hematite). This may prove that there was never a lot or any water on Mars.

     I found this article interesting because it is an acceptable explanation of Mars' red color. Although his experiment isn't perfect in proof, it actually seemed very likely to me. This experiment also changes a lot about what we believed about Mars. The fact that he didn't need water to create the reddish color that we see when we look up at the Red Planet may in fact prove that there really wasn't any water on Mars. This could affect any future discoveries or theories about the history of Mars.

RT
source http://blogs.abcnews.com/scienceandsociety/2009/09/red-mars-black-mars.html

Robots Replace Scientists

Have you ever heard of a robot that can do complicated experiments on its own without human intervention?

Well, this is exactly what a British science team lead by Ross King uncovered at Aberystwyth University in Wales. Adam the robot lab whiz has perfected the whole scientific process. This robot can formulate hypotheses and run experiments all on its own. It is like a full lab group. Scientists believe this super robot could discover the cure for malaria and solve gene disorders faster than humans can. Most scientists believe robots will take over the experimenting task from the scientists, leaving the scientists to focus on solving problems and spend less time and money on routine, repetitive tasks. As King puts it, "There will be teams of robots and humans, but I believe that to work correctly, there always be a need from both teams to help each other with the experiment."

by KE source

http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/04/robotscientist/

Laser Eye Surgery, How does it work?

Laser eye surgery has become more and more popular since it was first introduced over twenty years ago. Most patients that had this surgery were very happy with their results. Some people even said it was the best investment of their life. My big question is why do people say it is dangerous, how does it really work?

The First step to this procedure is for you to go to an ophthalmologist who will examine your eyes to assure you are suitable for this treatment. Once you get cleared by your doctor, either they or an ophthalmic surgeon will do the procedure.

Surprisingly, the surgery does not appear to be too complex. There are many different procedures, but the most common is LASIK eye surgery. In LASIK surgery, the first thing your ophthalmologist will do is give you a local anesthetic to numb your eye ball. A laser is used to make a thin circular flap in the cornea. The surgeon then folds the flap back and removes some corneal tissue using a different laser. The laser also reshapes the cornea while removing some tissue. Once the cornea is reshaped the flap is flipped back into place. This results in improved vision and often vision correction is no longer needed.

I decided to blog about LASIK eye surgery because of NS's blog of the tooth in the eye surgery. Mr. Hazen complimented MS for relating her blogpost to NS so I thought I'd do so too.

by ZS
My first resource-http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/lasik.htmhttp://ezinearticles.com/?LASIK---How-Does-This-Laser-Eye-Surgery-Work?&id=27418

My second resource-

http://www.allaboutvision.com/visionsurgery/lasik.htm

ZS

Doomsday 2012?

Is the world coming to the end on 2012??




Well according to  these folks the world will end on December 21, 2012. They base their suspicions around an advanced civilization 1700 years ago and the callendar of the Mayans.

So what is the Mayan Calendar that predicted the end of the world?

The calendar was constructed by an advanced civilization called the Mayans around 250-900 AD. Evidence of the Maya empire stretches around most parts of the southern states of Mexico and reaches down to parts of Guatemala, Belize, El Salvador and some of Honduras. The Mayan Prophecy is wholly based on the assumption that something bad is going to happen when the Mayan Long Count calendar runs out. Experts are divided as to when the Long Count ends, but as the Maya used the numbers of 13 and 20 at the root of their numerical systems, the last day could occur on 13.0.0.0.0 . 13.0.0.0.0 represents 5126 years and the Long Count started on 0.0.0.0.0, which matches to the modern date of August 11th 3114 BC.

Have you seen the problem yet?

The Mayan Long Count ends 5126 years later on December 21st, 2012 on our calendars. The Mayan Doomsday Prophecy is purely based on a calendar which we believe hasn't been designed to calculate dates beyond 2012.

But wait there is more!

Mayan archaeo-astronomers are even debating to whether the Long Count is designed to be reset to 0.0.0.0.0 after 13.0.0.0.0, or whether the calendar simply continues to 20.0.0.0.0 (approximately 8000 AD) and then reset.  No one really knows.

Still think the world willend in 2012? I don't.


by KH -  source http://www.universetoday.com/2008/05/19/no-doomsday-in-2012/

Monkeys Can Now See In Color

Although female squirrel monkeys can see in color, male squirrel monkeys are usually red-green colorblind because they do not have certain pigments in their retinas that detect those wavelengths of light.  The only way these monkeys might be able to see red and green light is if they are treated with a gene therapy test.  From this, they would be able to hopefully produce the protein needed for them to form a red photoreceptor cell which will allow them to detect the colors red and green.

With this theory, researcher Jay Neitz of the University of Washington in Seattle has taken two male monkeys, named Sam and Dalton, to perform a gene therapy test to see if they could produce the proteins they need to be able to see red and green lights.  Since Sam and Dalton were both lacking the red photoreceptor cell, they were given injections with a virus carrying a gene with the protein.  Over a 20 week period, the levels of protein slowly rised in the retinal cells of both monkeys and their performance on their daily color vision tests improved.  While looking at a gray screen with red and green dots lighting up, Sam and Dalton were able to sense the difference of lights by pointing to where they were on the screen.  Two years after Sam and Dalton underwent this test, they have maintained full color vision and can recognize all colors of light.

Researchers were very impressed that this test worked on adult monkeys and that it did not require any rewiring of the brain.  Even though we do not know what actual colors the monkeys are seeing, scientists do know that they do have a change in what type of color they see through their new photoreceptors.  Many scientists are now curious to see if this test would work on colorblind humans, but the outcome would be unpredictable.

     

Main article for colorblind monkeys

By E.R.

Was there ever water on Mars?

   For decades, scientists assumed that the reason for Mar's rusty red color was that Mars was probably at one time warm and wet.  Scientists believed that over time the soil on Mars became rusty.  Scientists believed that this process happened because the iron oxide formed from iron in the soil and oxygen in the water.  "Mars should really look blackish, between its white polar caps, because most of the rocks at mid-latitudes are basalt," said Merrison in a release.  Basalt is the kind of rock that is produced by volcanoes, and other sources of earthly heat.  Basalt is almost always dark.

            "So why isn't Mars black?"  An experiment was conducted where flasks were filled with sand (earthly but not terribly different from Martin soil analyzed by Mars landers).    The flasks were sealed would stay dry as dust.  The vials were put in mechanical tumbler, and they were turned over ten million times to simulate the kind of erosion that happens when rock particles are blown around or grind against each other over time.  After several months, the flasks contained reddish dust.  No water was required.  Merrison theorizes that the chemical composition of the dust changed as a result of the constant friction.  The soil became rich in hematite, which is reddish and a form of iron oxide.

            This finding could mean that there was never water or life on Mars.  This was what some scientists had based their theories for life on Mars on.  I think this could put an end to some studies, but this discovery could open a whole knew world of research possibilities.

http://blogs.abcnews.com/scienceandsociety/2009/09/red-mars-black-mars.html

KH

Blind Woman sees with "Tooth-in-eye" Surgery

Blind Woman sees with "Tooth-in-eye" Surgery

(SEE the video on ABC.com)

Just recently a team of specialists at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine announced on Wednesday that they were going to be the first people in America, to restore a person's sight by using a tooth. They used a procedure that is formally called "osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis," or MOOKP. As far as we know, this procedure only works for people who have become blind due to disease or other problems, such as Sharron "Kay" Thornton, age 60. She had lost her vision due to a rare disorder called Stevens-Johnson syndrome, and her eye became totally damaged.

The first step was for dentist, Dr. Yoh Sawatari, to remove a tooth from Thornton's mouth and prepare for an implant of her own dental tissue for her worse eye. This tissue would be used to make a new cornea to replace the damaged one. The doctors then removed a section of Thornton's cheek to become the soft tissue around the pupil and finally the team implanted the modified tooth with a hole drilled through the center to support a lens, and then they put in an optical cylinder. The doctors had said that since they had used her own tooth and piece of cheek, her immune system would not fight the transplant.

"Her eye looks different, but the goal is that once she's better, we can put on a cosmetic eye shield." says one of the doctors. This "tooth for an eye" technique was developed in Italy in the early 1960s, but it has been modified in Europe ever since. Hundreds of people in Japan, England and Italy have regained their vision, but it was amazing to see it caught up in America. MOOKP is used more often in Europe, but doctors in the U.S. usually choose a less tedious technique called the Boston Keratoprosthesis, which is like this procedure, but uses a prosthetic cornea instead of a tooth and cheek tissue. However, the Boston Keratoprosthesis does not work for all people.

~NS

source

Article from the Daily Mail with illustrations