Children Shows are Stepping up their Game

"Octonauts" is an animated series for preschoolers. The show has a crew of eight undersea adventurers and their motto is "explore, rescue, and protect". Recently the national oceanic and atmospheric administration and the show "Octonaunts" have decided to partner up and raise the awareness of ocean exploration and science. On Monday more details will be released, and also they are hoping to make new educational products such as games, toys, and mobile apps. New episodes of the series is hoped to air by early next year. Word has gotten out that NASA also plans to partner with the child show "Space Racers". They want to teach children basics such as hypothesis, theory, and emphasize scientific inquiry in the show. This is a good opportunity for NASA to get in the young minds. The show want the information to be accurate so the writers of the show will be in close contact with NASA, researchers, and marine biologists. I chose this article because I think this is a really good way to incorporate learning. Children already love both of the shows, so incorporating useful information into the shows is a fun way to teach children and a good way to learn. Education is very important and being aware at a younger age can be helpful for the children of the future. It opens up new gateways of new learning methods, and also keeps up with the technological generation. The children will be more engaged in the show because they enjoy it, so as they're watching they will be learning. I will be interested in watching the shows just to see how they are teaching the information and also I want to see if the information is actually accurate.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/28/business/media/octonauts-series-adds-federal-partner-in-ocean-awareness.html?ref=science&_r=0

Hair Growth Breakthrough

A new technique was created for growth of hair. Only mice have been tested so far, human skin was grafted onto the animals in the experiment. Hair began to grow on the rodent, so this was a breakthrough. Many people have become dependent on remedies such as drugs and transplants, the scientists working on this project hope that will become something of the past. This new method is more effective and useful to the person getting the implant. Most treatments on the market right now are mainly for men, this new technique could be a lot more helpful to women though. Transplants take up to eight hours because you are moving the hair follicles from the back of the head to the front. Also the procedure leaves a large scar on the back of the patients head. Now in the new procedure smaller patches of cells will be taken from the scalp, cultured in the lab to increase the quantity, and then injected into bald spots on the head. This is different from just shifting the hair; you are actually able to add hair using this method. Dr. Christiano became interested in the science of hair when she had a loss of her own. She was diagnosed with alopecia. Which is known as a circumstance where hair is bald in certain places, hers specifically was on the back of her head. Researchers have been focused on dermal papillae the cells have been transplanted in rodents and led to new hair growth. The cells have the ability to revive cells to form newer hair follicles. The cell may have worked in rodents but for a long time didn’t work humans. So now the studies continue to find a method that works in humans. The new method scientists are working on now is where they take 3000 papilla cells, put them on the lid of a dish, and flip the dish over. They found when the dish was flipped over it created an aggregate at the bottom. Now the cells were touching in three dimensions, unlike before when they were only touching in two. Now the signals in the cells were improved and would increase the chance of hair formation. This is a small success but still a big step in the right direction. I choose this article instantly because I am a girl and I love my hair. I think all women feel the same, hair is an important thing and some of us unfortunately lose it or have alopecia. Even men have similar problems, but this method of hair renewal is different than many. I like how cells will be implanted to help the hair growth progress. That is much better than taking drugs or getting transplants. This method seems safer and more efficient; the process may take a little longer, but it seems worth. With transplants you get a large scar on the back of your head after the procedure. With the new method the process should not take as long and you will not have any scars. Also taking drugs is very risky because of side effects, it might be doing good for your hair, but no so good for the rest of your body. Hopefully this study continues in a progressive state and we see the new method out on the market soon. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/22/science/new-technique-holds-promise-for-hair-loss.html?ref=science&_r=0

Moose Cannot Handle Gobal Warming

Scientists are alarmed by the decreasing moose population in New Hampshire and Minnesota. In Minnesota twenty years ago there were two geographically separate moose populations. Since the 90’s one of them has declined to less than 100 moose, the population used to be made up of around 4000. The population that is found northeast is rapidly dropping at least twenty five percent each year, and now there are less than 3000 moose in that region of Minnesota. This rapid decrease in the moose population has made wildlife officials suspend all moose hunting as of right now. The decrease of the population is left unsure as of right now, but many scientists are quick to blame the climate change. A shorter winter equals a much longer fall; the animals need the cold weather. A decrease in snow has also been proven to affect the lives of moose, along with the high counts of ticks from the longer fall sessions. Exhaustion from the short winter and trying to stay cool has really taken a toll on the moose and can lead to death. Bark beetles thrive in the warmer weather and a recent has pinned that species of beetles to the decline in moose deaths also. The moose now more than ever are left more exposed than before because of the loss of trees, so it is easy for humans and predators such as wolves to find them. The climate change has not only impacted the moose population, but it has also impacted the tourist population. Each year around 115 million is brought in by moose watching, the tourists are not coming as often because the trips do not always insure a moose sighting because of the lower population. Scientists are hard at work trying to get the bottom of the deaths; they have started tagging moose to make it easier to find them once they have died. Doing the scientists have a better chance to find out the cause of the death; they have such high levels of body fat that decompose quickly; after around 24 the necropsy has little value to the scientists. To me it seems like the scientists that are studying the moose have a good idea about what the cause of the deaths is really from. It has a lot to do with the climate more than anything; the climate is taking a toll on the animals. Because of the warm weather striving to stay cool is hard; the animals need snow, and the cooler weather after a long summer. Since they are experiencing a longer fall, the moose now has to work hard through those warm days because they weather could still reach the 60s in the fall or maybe even a little higher. Hunting the animal should no longer be allowed until the population is at an all-time high again, and they need to be controlled. The scientists should create a spray that could potentially kill off a lot of the ticks and of course not harm the moose. Moose do not groom off ticks as deer do, so by creating something that can keep the ticks away maybe the moose would have a better chance of living. The climate problem is a hard thing to solve because you can now physically alter the weather… So hopefully by solving the tick problem the moose can find some way to adapt to the longer falls. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/15/science/earth/something-is-killing-off-the-moose.html?ref=science&_r=0

Penguins Threatened By Malaria

All around the world most zoos have penguin exhibits; everyone enjoys the adorable little creatures including the zookeepers whom take care of them and the visitors at the zoos. Penguins have been taken out of their natural habitats, and because of that they are stalked by a killer disease known as malaria. The outbreaks among the penguins vary widely, but most of the time if the bird is left untreated it results in a death of the animal. Species-specific mosquitoes go after the penguins, that simply means that the mosquitoes carrying malaria and the parasites are harmless if it were to bite a human. During the summers at zoos the mosquito counts are very high and it is dangerous for the birds. Different zoos take different precautions to protect the penguins. At the Maryland zoo all the new penguins get blood drawn once a week, and if any stain of malaria is found in their bodies they are treated from there on. In New York City their zoos use the same methods, and at Central Park Zoo the King, Gentoo, and Chinstrap penguins are very lucky because they live in a giant walk-in refrigerator. So therefore the birds are constantly protected because the mosquitoes do not have much of a chance in the cold altitudes. In London zoos the penguins pens are sprayed with lavender and they are almost given lavender to make their nests. The smell is proven to keep most of the mosquitoes away for long periods of time. In other zoos all around the world the penguins are given a daily dose of primaquine or chloroquine. That was once a medicine used to treat humans at a point in time. The zoos are very protective over the birds, and try to always keep them in their best health year round. After reading this article I was informed about something I really had no idea about. I enjoy seeing penguins at the zoo just as much as everyone else does. They are beautiful creatures and I do think it is very important that they get specific care. The summers have been continuing to get hotter and longer each year, so in my opinion precautions should be taken throughout the whole year to prep the penguins for the long summer. Assuring that the penguins remain healthy is important because preventing the death of any penguins is major. If malaria continues to spread within the penguin population and gets past the point of the treatment it will result in death for the birds. That happening at a rapid pace could lead to endangerment of the species. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/08/science/earth/zoos-aim-to-ward-off-a-penguin-killer.html?_r=0