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!
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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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