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

Inhumane Humans

Recently in Zimbabwe 81 elephants we're killed by poachers. They contaminated the water holes in a western national park with cyanide poison. Not only have elephants have been found dead, but other smaller animals that feed near the water hole have been also. The poachers were after the elephants for their ivory tusks, and as of now nine suspected poachers have been arrested. This article really stuck out to me because that is completely an inhuman and morally wrong to do to such a thing to a beautiful animal. Also all the smaller animals that fed at the water hole need to be taken into consideration also. Hunting is one thing, when you hunt an animal you should always eat it. If you aren't going to eat it, then you should never kill an animal intentionally. What is the point? Another reason I choose this article is because the other day I was driving through the woods with my boyfriend, and we saw a dead deer with the antlers ripped off. It was a horrible sight and something I have never seen before. This kind of stuff must happen more often then we really know about, the awareness of poaching should be raised. Maybe rules and regulations should be stricter to prevent something like this ever happening again. If you think about it, usually what takes place once, repeats itself again down the line. So if this was to happen a few more times could elephants become endangered or even extinct? http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/25/world/africa/zimbabwe-81-elephants-killed.html?ref=science&_r=0

H.I.V Vaccine Breakthrough

The search for a H.I.V. vaccine has been long and frustrating, but Dr. Picker a vaccine expert at Oregon Health & Science University may have made a breakthrough. In a recent experiment Dr. Picker “tested his vaccine in 16 monkeys who were then infected with simian immunodeficiency virus” (Donald G. McNeil Jr.). The virus is closely related to HIV, and in most normal cases the primates would have died a miserable death. Oddly enough the vaccine cured only nine of the monkeys, but still this was a huge breakthrough. The monkeys were slowly cleared of the virus and even three years later you couldn’t tell them apart from the monkeys that never suffered the virus. This was the first time the existing infection was completely eliminated; many scientists often do similar experiments to “test ideas for potential AIDS vaccines by creating similar one against S.I.V.” (Donald G. McNeil Jr.). Dr. Picker’s vaccine was unlike any other, his curing was similar to the curing of two famous cases known as the Berlin patient and the Mississippi baby. They both no longer have HIV lurking deep in their bodies, but still it is hard to be sure because only certain tissues from the body can be tested. Dr. Picker had an advantage by working with monkeys, because he was able to “necropsy them, grind up every organ, and take 240 samples” to make sure their bodies no longer possessed the virus. The vaccine was fused with S.I.V. genes and the cytomegalovirus, better known as the “big cell” and is a part of the herpes family. This fusion of viruses seems to work best. Dr. Picker cannot be sure that this vaccine will work on humans; he believes it will take around three more years of research and experimenting to find the right fusion of viruses. After reading this article I am completely intrigued, this is amazing to me. Dr. Picker’s vaccine could be a breakthrough for the medical field. I feel like we should expect to see a vaccine for the cure of H.IV. within the next ten years. Technology has opened up so many gateways for science, and also just society in general. It is important to find a cure for H.I.V. and the sooner the better. Many people suffer from this virus; this leaves people with a weak immune system. Once H.I.V destroys so many of your CD4 cells then your body cannot longer fight infections and diseases. This can result in another virus known as A.I.Ds. The virus has been around since the 1800’s, so hopefully soon Dr. Picker’s vaccine will be mastered, and then used on humans to cure the virus for good. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/17/science/new-hope-for-hiv-vaccine.html?ref=science&_r=0

Seven Veruses Four

For years the number seven haunted the cognitive psychologist George A. Miller. It is just a coincidence that there is “seven deadly sins, seven days of the week, seven seas, and seven dwarfs” (Roni Jacobson). Miller felt that he was “persecuted by an integer”, so “he then went to describe several experiments where seven pieces of information- plus or minus tow appeared to be the limit of what our mind could retain in the short term” (Roni Jacobson). Since the time of Miller’s theory we now understand that the mind’s capacity has to do with several factors such as “age, attention, and the type of information presented” (Roni Jacobson). After psychologists studied further into short term memory, they have now realized by “chunking” information it helps our ability to retain and remember. The smaller the words or concepts you are learning the easier you are able to recall the information. The larger the words or concepts the more difficult it is to quickly retain what you have just learned. It is now believed we can “recall about four chunks of information at a time” (Roni Jacobson). I found this article interesting because it ties in with what I have learned in Psychology previously and also what I am learning right now in Child Psychology. I agree with the psychologists’ who believe we can recall about four chunks of information at once. Four chunks of information is a reasonable amount for the brain to remember, seven pieces of information at once is an overload. I also believe the brain retains better when learning about something of interest, therefore I am sure in certain cases the brain can recall more than four chunks in certain cases. http://www.nytimes.com/2013/09/10/science/seven-isnt-the-magic-number-for-short-term-memory.html?ref=science