Evolution

You may have heard the theory of evolution, where humans evolved from apes. Well scientists are saying that we may not be done evolving yet. In fact, studies show that over the past 1,000 or 2,000 years evolution is accelerating. Scientists say that they can see changes in DNA studies. One hypothesis of why this might be happening is because of the worlds large population. The more people, the more likely a genetic mutation will arise.
For more information go to:
http://www.cnn.com/2007/TECH/science/12/13/evolution.speedup/index.html#cnnSTCText

Omega meme

I’ve tagged students for the Omega Meme!

The rules are as follows:

Each player answers the six questions posted on this blog.

The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those answers are listed.

At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their blog names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.


Then follow the instructions about adding a page element at omegascience.blogspot.com.


1. My favorite TV show is Gossip Girl because this show is easy to relate to and I have read the series.

2. My favorite meal is pizza because I love the taste of the melty cheese.

3. My favorite nonschool activity is dance because I have danced since I was three years old and I really enjoy it.

4. Someone I look up to is my mom because she has taught me so much.

5. My goal for the future is to enjoy life and live every day to its fullest.

6. In the first hour after school I usually hang out with friends, do homework, or go on my computer.

I have tagged lavalamp29, spazztastic101, and pepi5.

Waves

There are two different types of mechanical waves, transverse and longitudinal waves. Transverse waves consist of crests and troughs because the particles in the medium are up and down. A crest is the highest point in a wave, whereas a trough is the lowest point in a wave. Longitudinal waves have compressions and rarefactions because the particles in the medium are horizontal. A compression is when the coils are close together. A rarefaction is when the coils are spread out. The amplitude of a wave is the maximum distance that the particles of the medium carrying the wave move away from their rest positions. The wavelength is the distance between two corresponding parts of a wave. The frequency (measured in hertz) is the number of complete waves that pass a given point in a certain amount of time.

Newton's Laws

All three of Newton's laws apply to everyday life. Newton's first law of motion states that an object at rest will remain at rest and an object in motion will remain in motion at a constant velocity unless acted upon by an unbalanced force. To illustrate this, when a car is moving forward and is then suddenly hit by a car from behind, your body is thrown forward. This is because it was acted upon by an unbalanced force. Newton's second law shows how force, mass, and acceleration are related. Force= Mass x Acceleration. For example, most of the time when you go to the grocery store you are pushing a cart. When you first get the cart it is very light and does not take much strength to push it. This is because it has no mass. As you start to fill it up with groceries, the mass gets heavier and the cart needs more acceleration to make it go the same speed as when the cart was empty. Lastly, Newton's third law of motion demonstrates that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction. When a bird is flying it exerts force into the air. The air pushing back on the birds wings propels the bird forward.

Greatest Supernova Explosion Ever!

Recently, scientists observed the biggest supernova explosion ever recorded. This violent explosion was watched from ground-based telescopes and N.A.S.A.'s orbiting Chandra X-Ray Observatory in a galaxy no where near ours. A star called Era Carinae in The Milky Way could possibly explode similar to this supernova. This explosion was powerful that it is requiring a new explosion mechanism. This was discussed as a theory but never actually observed until now so scientists are very excited about it. Even though this explosion was so big and bright it wasn't too noticeable form Earth with the naked eye because it was 240 million light years away.
This article took a big interest in me. One of the details that caught my attention most was how there is a star in our own galaxy that could explode in a similar, violent way.
For more information Click Here.

A New Habitable Planet Beyond our Solar System?

Outside of our solar system a planet about 50% larger than Earth was discovered. This planet is within the constellation Libra and orbits around a red dwarf star. It is about 14 times closer to its star than Earth is so a year would last 13 days rather than 365. It has temperatures between 32 and 104 degrees Fahrenheit. The gravity on this planet is heavier than on Earth, therefore, if you weigh about 150 lbs. on Earth than you might weigh about 240 lbs. on this planet. Most importantly, scientists are saying that there is a possibility for water on this planet which could be a sign for life. Theres only one problem, that is that it would take 20 light years to get there and 20 to get back.
I think its amazing that scientists are now discovering planets out of our solar system and I think it would be even more amazing if scientists discovered a way to get to this planet within 20 light years.
To learn more about this fascinating article Click Here

Spacecraft Tracking Earth's Highest Clouds

Since 1885 scientists have noticed certain clouds that remain about 50 feet above Earth. These clouds are only noticeable at night because once the sun sets below the horizon, the light reflects on the clouds causing them to glow. Within the past few years these clouds seem to be shining brighter, occurring more frequently, and they are appearing at lower latitudes. Some scientists are saying that this is happening because of global warming. Above Mars, similar clouds are hovering. Therefore, after scientists send out a spacecraft to study these clouds, they hope to not only find answers for Earth, but also for Mars.
I chose this article because it is interesting to me that in the past few years the clouds have been changing. Also, if these clouds are also above Mars it might be a clue to whether or not there is life on Mars.
Click here to find more information

Disease fighting plants of the polar region?

From February to May of this year, scientists have been in Antarctica studying plants that supposedly can fight diseases such as Cancer and Cystic Fibrosis. So far a sponge-like organism that lives at the bottom of the ocean is what scientists are examining. So what's the problem? Each of the organisms that live on Antarctica are accustom to a cold, icy habitat. Yet, lately global warming seems to be slowly taking over Antarctica. Therefore, if these plants are able to prevent deadly diseases, then they may not be around for long if their habitats change.
This article interests me because scientists are saying that we could be fighting some of the most serious diseases. Yet, we mostly caused global warming. Therefore, we're the only ones who can fix it. If global warming was stopped, then all these plants would have a better chance of surviving, which means that all the people that could potentially die from cancer could also have a better chance of surviving.
Click here for more information from this helpful website.

DNA

In case you don't already know, DNA is what makes our bodies. Every part of you; your hair color, eye color, height, etc.; is all located in your DNA. It is so complex that if you were to print it on paper, it would probably stretch for miles. There are only four main structures that make up DNA; Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and Guanine; yet no two people can have the exact same DNA unless they are identical twins. Adenine and Thymine are always matched together, and Guanine and Cytosine are always matched together.
In one article I read on DNA I saw it mentioned how DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic acid. Also, DNA is in all living organisms. For us, DNA is located in our cells.
This is all very interesting to me because I find it amazing that our body can be so complex. Also, I think it is amazing that even though DNA is what creates our bodies, yet we can't even see it!
Click Here to go to this helpful website.

Punnent Squares

The reason I choose to do punnett squares was because it can show the probability of diseases or appearance, etc. in your children. I thought this was cool because if they already have ways to predict the outcome of certain genes in our children, than it makes me wonder what will be discovered in the future. Punnett squares are also very easy to follow because it is almost like a little game. They represent two things called phenotype and genotype. When you create punnett squares you always have a capital letter represent the dominant allele and a lower case letter represent the recessive allele. On the top of the square you write one gene pair, and on the left side you write the partner's gene pair.
After reading an article on a website I remembered that when a dominant and a recessive allele are resulted together the dominant always shows over the recessive. Therefore, if B represents brown eyes and b represents blue eyes and they combine then the offspring would have brown eyes. As I read further I saw it was talking about how if a gene in an offspring becomes dominant, the recessive allele is still carried within that offspring.

Click Here to go to this helpful website.

Water on Mars?

After N.A.S.A.'s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter discovered pictures of a valley on Mars, scientists are beginning to question whether or not there is water as a trace that there is or was life Mars. There were layers of dark and light rock which filled a giant rift valley. Some say that there were areas in which water passed through the bedrock. Researchers say that layered outcrops can indicate signs of cycles of water, wind, or volcanic acid once passing through. Last December there was evidence of water possibly passing through. More recent photos show changes in craters which could mean that there was water passing through only a few years ago, or possibly even now.
I was interested in this article because if there is still water passing through Mars than possibly in a couple hundred years or so we could start human life on Mars. Also, maybe people could go to Mars temporarily to tour the planet with less risk considering there could be water. Not only could we send humans there but, also, if there was life there, then maybe it could come to Earth.

Click Here for more information.

The Silver Dart Spaceship

Recently N.A.S.A. is working on building a new space plane called The Silver Dart. They are hoping that it can travel at least 5,000 miles farther down. It is expected to move at a speed of Mach 22. This speed can get you from New York to Paris in 20 minutes rather than about 8 hours! A demonstration launch is planned for December 2009.
This is fascinating because it seems that everyday N.A.S.A. is finding new ways to explore. Also, I don't think we have ever explored this far down in space before, so something new could be discovered.

Click Here for more information.

Global Warming

Scientists are saying that global warming can have a major effect on us in the very near future. First, the past 11 years are on the top 12 most hottest years list. Next, since the air is getting warmer the ocean temperature has increased by 80%. This adds to the fact most glaciers are breaking apart and melting into the water which raises sea level, and over time scientists say the most of the population all around the world could be under water. Warmer oceans can also mean more severe hurricanes. When the air temperature changes there are more droughts in more areas, heavier rainfall more often, and more killer heat waves.
In my opinion this is interesting because scientists are able to predict what could happen in the future if we don't try to stop global warming. Also, it is amazing that the past 11 years were the hottest on record. I wonder if enough people will care enough to change our future.

Click here for more information.

tinkerbell44

hi!!