Science Seminar April 3

Science Seminar Series

Presents

Naomi Schwartz

Doctoral student, Columbia University

Understanding the causes and effects

 of fire in the Peruvian Amazon

In recent years, wildfire activity has increased across the Amazon. In the past, fire was very rare there, so these changes could have big effects on biodiversity, ecosystems, and the carbon cycle. Most fires in the Amazon are started by people, either intentionally, through the use of fire for land management, or accidentally. Especially during drought years these fires can burn out of control into nearby forests. Naomi Schwartz is a Ph.D. student in ecology, evolution, and environmental biology at Columbia University. Her work uses a combination of ground and satellite measurements to understand the causes and effects of these fires in the Peruvian Amazon. She is especially interested in understanding the relationships between human activities and fire occurrence, and the effects of fire on secondary forests.

Wednesday, April 3

7 pm

Bronxville High School Auditorium

Freezing Point Depression Analysis Lab Investigation

The Chem II students use differences in freezing point depression of three unknown water solutions A, B and C to determine which of the solutions contain sodium chloride, calcium chloride, and sucrose as the solute, in this lab exercise presented by Mr. Nowak.  Once that is determined they will be able to calculate the molality of each solution from the data they collected. The students do know that each solution has the same concentration.

James and Bailie use temperature probes to determine the temperature of three unknown solutions as they approach their freezing points, as Matthew and Jordan look on.

Kenny and Max look on as Mr. Nowak checks their set up.

Alina, Malika and Tatiana decided to use three separate ice baths to bring their solutions down to their freezing points, as Professor Maitland observes their technique during her classroom visit.

The Labques2t Tablet indicates each of the three probes using a different background color. The probes are showing the temperatures of the three solutions (A, B and C) as they approach their freezing points.

Your phone will know you're sick before you do

            One of the most difficult aspects that our health care system has to deal with is people waiting too long to do something. With the new advancements in applications and technology this problem could soon be fixed. Very soon Iphones and other smart phones will be able to monitor your statistics to a point where they know if you are sick even before you do. Spurred on  by inventions such as the Nike-fuel band or other dietary scanners that help keep you in shape before you realize how far out of shape you are. Mark Curtis who most notably founded Foursquare believes that smart phones will entirely change the healthcare system as it stands.

            He believes that the role of doctors will change due to these new applications, “They will become coaches, rather than a source of initial diagnosis.” However will the impact of this new technology be beneficial, harmful, or widely ignored? Initially, WebMD sounded like a genius idea could keep many people from the need to go to clinics; however, once it started to relate every minor bruise or issue to cancer, thee site became largely ignored. Will these new applications be more accurate? Or will they remain on the same par as just an overlooked app that was never useful? Mark Curtis believes that they will be above and beyond what the average person would expect, using science to make people constantly aware of their wellbeing. 

              In fact I have many complaints about this article; first of all, I thought upon reading the headline that the app was already out, or at least in a beta phase, or maybe they had a doctor recommendation for that app, I was let down on both guesses. The article was entirely theoretical about how a developing technology could change the medical world. But in a way it does relate to our class as we are know using our phones and tablets to record our data instead of handwriting it. In the same way people will soon be using their phones, not doctors, to check up on themselves.

posted for M. James

LINK

http://www.cnn.com/2013/02/26/tech/opinion-health-mobile-curtis/index.html?iref=allsearch

The Happiest US State is......

http://www.livescience.com/27541-happiest-state-2012.html

            The article that I read summarized a research that investigated the level of happiness in different states of America. Turns out, Hawaiians are the happiest people in the United States. The results were based on personal life evaluation, emotional health, work environment, physical health, healthy behavior and basic access to necessary services. Hawaii came in at 71.1% out of 100%. The next state on the list is Colorado, with on 69.7%. The research also included what exactly made people happy. Most things, such as income, vehicles, housing, etc… had to do with money. Sex was also at the top of the list.

            This article opened my eyes to the fact that in certain states, such as West Virginia, many people suffer from the same problems. Depression was most common in the lower-rated states. Not surprisingly, the states with the lowest ratings had the highest suicide rates. New York took the 30^th spot right under Pennsylvania and above New Jersey with 66.2%. This study can help people decide where they want to move in the future and also account for some occurrences that happened in those states. For example, states with a higher happiness level have lower crime rates. This information can help the government make better investments into public services such as parks, hospitals, recreational events and even the police in that area.

            Overall, I thought this was a decent article. I thought the research was conducted and executed very well. However, I do believe that the information is limited. I don’t think that many conclusions can be made from such a new project (started in 2008).  

posted for M. Izotov