John Boy Ubaldo is the farmer from Cambridge NY, from whom we purchase our pork, beef, and this summer we are participating in his CSA. In a CSA we get a box of vegetables and fruits from him each week. John raises hormone, antibiotic and GMO free Berkshire pigs and Black Angus cattle. Here he is talking about why we should insist on labeling of GMO products.
Wednesday, July 3, 2013
Monday, April 29, 2013
May Britt and Edvard Moser Explore the Brain’s GPS
Right Time
and Place: May Britt and Edvard Moser Explore the Brain’s GPS
Gorman,
James. "Right Time and Place." The New York Times. The
New York Times, 29 Apr. 2013. Web. 29 Apr. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/04/30/science/
may-britt-and-edvard-moser-explore-the-brains-gps.html>.
This article describes the discovery
of grid cells in rat brains. These cells are a kind of built-in navigation
system that is at the very heart of how animals know where they are, where they
are going and where they have been. May Britt and Edvard Moser, spearheading
this research, have shown that this special function occurs in the entorhinal
cortex, which is at the back base of the brain. They noticed cells that would
emit a signal every time a rat went to a particular spot, and they soon learned
that the cells tracked the rat’s movement in the same way, no matter where the
rat was. The cell was not responding to some external mark, but keeping track
of how the rat moved. These cells would then inform place cells in the
hippocampus (through an unknown mechanism), which sends the signal back with
precise location information. Britt and Moser found that a very regular pattern
emerged- the grid cells fired in a hexagonal formation in specific areas,
creating a “grid” like a checkerboard (see picture below).
This research can be the basis of
several scientific developments to come. It has been hypothesized that the way
the grid cells record and remember movement in space may be the basis of all
memory. This can have huge implications for the way we learn and study in
school. It is also known that the area in the brain that contains the grid cell
navigation system is often damaged early in Alzheimer’s disease, and one
of the frequent early symptoms of Alzheimer’s patients is that they get lost.
These findings perhaps can help develop new treatments for Alzheimer’s in the
future.
I believe that the author did a mediocre good job
explaining the treatment and its implications.
He went a lot into the personal
life of the researchers and how they came about the research project,
and a lot
more unimportant information. At times, his progression of ideas was confusing
as well. He
didn’t do a good job explaining what the research found either. It wasn’t
very well organized, well
written, or informative. The picture contains more
information in a few sentences than the entire article
encompasses.
Tuesday, April 16, 2013
Summer STEM Program at Manhattan College School of Engineering
This sounds like an interesting opportunity for Sophomore and Junior students, who are interested in Engineering. Deadline for the application is May 15. See your science teacher for the application or download it from here.
Manhattan College Summer Engineering Prog-04162013 by Charles Ippolito
Wednesday, March 20, 2013
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
Monday, March 18, 2013
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. |
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
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
The Happiest US State is......
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
30th 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
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