October Sky

On Thursday, May 14th, we watched the movie October Sky, which was a movie based on a true story. This movie was about a small-mining-town boy who aspired to work in the Space and Astronautics field. Homer Hickam, the boy, faced many bumps in the road along the way, but at the end of the day, he achieved his goal. This movie portrayed a lot of science, math and character education.

On of the obvious science connections in this movie was all about coal mines and coal mining. Coal mining is the town's way of supporting itself. Coal mining is very dangerous. In the movie, Mr. Hickam, became seriously injured due to a collapse in the coal mine. The coal that is mined is used for energy use and fuel. America is very dependent on coal. There are many ways to extract coal from the mines.

Next, Rockets and Rocket Science was very prevalent throughout the movie. Homer and his friends built many rockets. They used physics, math and many other scientific concepts to build and design their rockets. Homer and his friends (they were often called the Rocket Boys) used trial and error to build the perfect model of a rocket. In addition to the Rocket Boys' rockets, real explorations were in the process. Russia had sent up Sputnik, the first rocket in space, into outer space. The Russians had a few troubles along the way, but they always tried their hardest.

The boys used math to prove their innocence when they were in trouble. Police thought that a forest fire had been started by the boys' rockets and experimenting. Through a detailed math (such as geometry), the boys proved they were innocent. If the boys had not used their math and science, they would have been in heaps of trouble for what they didn't do!

Finally, this movie talked about health issues. Everyday, the coal miners put themselves at risk for lung cancer. Breathing in the horrid fumes and other chemicals in the coal mines damaged their bodies. In addition, Homer's teacher was faced with Hodgekin's Disease. Hodgekin's is a type of cancer. A few years later, their teacher had died due to Hodgekin's.

The miners in the movie often showed respect towards one another. When the cave caved in or collapsed, a miner was always there to push a fellow miner out of the way. Also, many of Homer's friends and family supported his dreams to become what he wanted. However, his brother and his father often were negative about his dreams. Homer's teacher gave Homer a lot of support and help to achieve his goal. Also, Homer showed self-control when his dad did not support his dreams (most of the time). Once, Homer and his dad got into a fight over it. This fight occurred as a result of Homer being assertive towards his father. In addition, Homer's father stepped in when one of Homer's friend's step-father was beating his step-son. Mr. Hickam stopped him. Homer's dad also saved peoples lives, putting his own at risk, when the mine collapsed. Finally, when Homer needed to help the family out, he put his own needs and desires to the side to cooperate and help his family in their time of need.

To reiterate, October Sky was a good movie. I enjoyed its lessons. This movie taught me that even in a small town, it's possible to become a big shot. Also, I learned that strength is something you choose. In addition, I learned that even if there's a bump in the road, you jump over it or you walk over or around it. I learned that if you fall down, you have to pick your self up and just keep going. If there's a scratch on your knee, you need to rub it and keep on going. All in all, I really loved this movie, I hope I can watch it again.

Angelman Syndrome Response Blog

After reading about Angelman Syndrome on babybblue14's blog, I learned a lot about this genetic disease.

What exactly is Angelman Syndrome? Angelman Syndrome is a genetic disease. This affects the nervous system. Angelman Syndrome was discovered in 1965 by Harry Angelman. There are only about a thousand cases in the Unites States. However, around the world, there is between 92,702 and 154,504 cases. People are usually born with this disease. Infants are presented with developmental issues at very young age. Also, children have feeding issues. Although, it doesn't end here, sadly. As the person gets older, they have to fight more and more problems. In addition to affecting the brain, Angelman Syndrome will affect the physical appearances. Even with all these problems, there is no perfect cure. However, there are different ways to deal with having Angelman Syndrome. 

In my opinion, Angelman Syndrome seems like a hard thing to live with. I want to do something to help these kids and people who have this disease. It makes me sad that infants are faced with such challenges. It also makes me sad that parents need to watch their kids suffer. All parents want are healthy babies that will lead a happy life. It must be tortuous for parents to watch their kids suffer. Although, I think that we can learn something from the many kids that have Angelman Syndrome. They teach us that its possible to lead a good life, even with a few bumps in the road.

To read babybblue14's blog here!

 

Phenylketonuria

Phenylketonuria (commonly known as PKU) was discovered in 1934 by Asbjorn Folling. PKU is usually found in newborns. It is a genetic disease. If not treated, PKU can lead to brain damage very soon after the birth of the infant. PKU is caused when there is a excess amount of protien in the baby's body.

PKU has many symptoms. The infant can have an intellectual disability, seizures, delayed development, behavioral problems, psychiatric disorders, musty or mouse-like odor, eczema and lighter hair and skin color the unaffected family. However, PKU can be treated. A reduced-protein diet and phenylalanine-free formula (which is should be fed 7-10 days after the birth of the baby). In the picture above, you can see all the different kinds of foods good to eat if one has PKU. The medicine "Kuvan" is also prescribed in some cases.

PKU is common in about one in ten thousand people to about one in fifteen thousand people. Even though how common the disease is in people varies from place to place, it is mostly common in Whites and Asians. Very often, PKU is diagnosed in newborns.

In the end, there are many treatments for PKU. Since this is a genetic disease, we can hope that one day, it will die out. Personally, learning about PKU made me sad because small and innocent infants are faced with this.

Links I Used:

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DNA Conclusion

On Wednesday, we did a simple lab to extract DNA. We extracted DNA from a human and from a plant. Before we did anything, we took a few observations.

(If you look closely at the HUMAN DNA, there is DNA, it's just small)

The procedure to extract the human DNA (which I did) was to swish the Gatorade in my mouth for one minute. After that, spit it into the cup. Next, put it into the test tube. Following that, put alcohol into the test tube. Finally, let the test tube rest at an angle for fifteen minutes. Fifteen minutes later you will see white pieces floating around. This is the DNA. As the time goes by, you can see it getting slightly bigger. My partner, had to extract DNA from a strawberry. Once she was done with her procedure, we looked at each others DNA and compared them to one another.

In the end, I thought this was a cool lab. I learned a lot from it. I learned how various types of DNA look. I also learned that DNA is a lot like a puzzle piece. I think the only thing I did wrong was the fact that I didn't put the alcohol into the tube gently starting at the side. I just, well, put it in! If I did that, I wonder what would've been different if there was any difference! I enjoyed this lab very much and hope to do something this fun again soon.

Cells

In science, we are learning about cells. Cells are considered the basic units of life. To start, each cell has a cell membrane. The cell membrane protects what is inside. In plants and algae, the cells have a cell wall. The cell wall gives the cell membrane support and strength. After that, there's everything inside. The "computer" of the cell is all in the nucleus. The DNA is in the nucleus. The DNA contains the information needed to make the cells proteins. There might also be a nucleolus inside the nucleus. Next, there's the ribosomes. The ribosomes are very small building blocks of cells. These ribosomes carry messages to the endoplasmic reticulum. The endoplasmic reticulum (ER) is known as the delivery system of the cell. The ER transports protiens (that come from ribosomes) somewhere else later, after storage. The mitochondria of a cell is known as the energy system of a cell. Did you know the reason you breathe is so the mitochondria has the oxygen it needs? Plants and algae have chloroplast which is responsibe for converting energy. Lastly, lysosomes contain enzymes.

Look at the diagram above to learn more about a cell.

Click on the CELL to learn more

Roller coasters

Bloggers,

I realize this is a bit late, but here are some really cool site to go along with the post named "Rollar Coasters" (with an A [=) Please look at these sites, they are really cool!

Great one to start off learning the physics and just messing around to see what you can get out of observations.

http://www.funderstanding.com/coaster

Great one to see it action and have a detailed explanation as you go along. Mix and match around and see what you get out of it with an explanation!

http://www.learner.org/interactives/parkphysics/coaster.html

Great website for the final step... SAFETY! Mix around and see how well your audience likes it
-- safety wise!

http://dsc.discovery.com/games/coasters/interactive.html

Sprinklers Flood a Police Station

There are sprinklers in some of your houses. What if they cracked? Then what? A leak or nothing might be expected, right? But, what if the results were much more worse... Like a flooded police station?!?!

In the South Brunswick Police Station, cracked sprinkler heads created turmoil and damage on the first and second floors. The damages made cost about $158,327. There was also lots of damage done to the equipment. ”The fire sprinkler heads burst and it caused substantial damage to the lower floors at the Police Department,” claimed Ron Schmalz. “Once our dispatchers saw the heads leaking they called in Public Works, but those sprinklers throw out a lot of water so by the time they got it turned off there was substantial damage.” Mr. Schmalz also mentioned that the police were in the middle of some work while this had happened, but they evacuated soon enough. Mr. Schmalz also said that repairs are almost done. Although, out of all the damages, the worst is probably the carpet! $74,918 will be needed to replace it! A computer, a projector with a lamp and new ceiling tiles also need to be replaced.

To learn more about the disaster, click on the broken sprinkler.