Tag: Dan the scientist

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The Sediment of Lead (II) Nitrate

The Sediment of Lead (II) Nitrate

Today, I’m going to do a common experiment about the sediment of Lead (II) Nitrate. This is a very quick demonstration showing that two solids can react together. White lead nitrate and white potassium iodide react to make yellow lead iodide.

I added 5 grams of each chemical into 95ml  of water so I could have 5 % of each.

I pour 10ml of potassium iodide solution into each test tube. And poured 3ml of lead (II) nitrate into the first test tube. Poured 6ml of lead (II)nitrate into the second test tube. And poured 9ml of lead (II) nitrate into the third test tube.20170621_204221

As you could see on the picture the more lead (II) nitrate I add to the potassium iodide, more sediment increases in the test tube.

The demonstration might have more impact if the test tubes are opaque and the yellow product can be poured out and shown to the unsuspecting audience. Have a white background available.

Point out that for a reaction to occur, particles of the reactants must meet. This is much easier in solution (where the particles are free to move) than in the solid state.

The reaction is:

Pb(NO3)2(s) + 2KI(s) →  2KNO3(s) + PbI2(s)

All of these compounds are white except lead iodide, which is yellow.

Lead ethanoate can be substituted for lead nitrate, but the reaction is much slower.

The experiment  Diffusion in liquids is a class practical using the same compounds but as solutions.

We must first convert from a word equation to a symbol equation:

Lead (II) Nitrate + Potassium Iodide → Lead (II) Iodide + Potassium Nitrate

The lead (II) ion is represented as Pb2+, whilst the nitrate ion is NO−3. To balance the charges, we require two nitrate ions per lead (II) ion, and so lead (II) nitrate is Pb(NO3)2 .

The potassium ion is K+ and the iodide ion is I−. The two charges balance in a 1:1ratio, so potassium iodide is simply KI.

In lead (II) iodide, the charges balance in a 1:2 ratio, so the formula is PbI2.

Finally, in potassium nitrate, the charges balance in another 1:1 ratio, giving a formula of KNO3 .

The symbol equation is as follows:

Pb(NO3)2+KI→PbI2+KNO3

The most obvious change we must make, when balancing this equation, is to increase the number of nitrate ions on the right hand side of the equation. We can do this by placing a coefficient of 2 before the potassium nitrate:

Pb(NO3)2+KI→PbI2+2KNO3

In doing this we have upset the balance of potassium ions on each side of the equation. Again, we can fix this: we must simply place another coefficient of 2, this time before the potassium iodide:

Pb(NO3)2+2KI→PbI2+2KNO3

Checking over the equations once more, you will notice that we initially had 1 iodide ion on the right hand side, but 2 on the left. However, we already dealt with this in balancing our potassium ions. Now, our equation is balanced.

And that’s it! One last thing to add is that you may have noticed the irregularity in iodide ions rather than nitrate ions. In this case, you would have arrived at the same answer simply by working backwards.

Source: https://socratic.org/questions/how-do-you-write-the-the-reaction-of-lead-ii-nitrate-aq-with-sodium-iodide-aq-to

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Why can’t Chickens Fly?

Why can’t Chickens Fly?

Most chicken breeds are still able to fly short distances. For example, flying up into a tree (that’s where they would naturally roost), or to escape a predator.

They certainly are not good at flying, though. There are two reasons for that.

1. Ancestry
Chickens were bred from a wild species call the red jungle fowl. These jungle fowl are a little more adept at flying than chickens are now, but they are fundamentally more adapted for a ground-based life

All of their food is located on the ground, and they have an adapted beak to match. Their feet are adapted for walking, rather than perching. Its wings have become partially vestigial since the survival of an individual no longer relies heavily on flight; instead, natural selection has advanced those ground-oriented traits. So, to recap, chickens are bad at flying because their direct ancestor was bad at flying, because they’re adapted for spending time on the ground.

2. Selective Breeding by Humans
Chickens are not a natural species; they were created by breeding the red jungle fowl into a new organism. Since humans were responsible for the gene selection process (“artificial selection”, as opposed to natural selection), chickens were bred not for survivability traits, but to have great big tasty breast muscles. Chickens’ ability to fly has only worsened under human management because no breeder has prioritized that, opting instead for edibility and commercial traits.

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How can the Glass Catfish be Transparent?

How can is the Glass Catfish be Transparent?

You’ve probably heard about this fish. But if you don’t know what the fish looks like I’ll tell you how it looks like. Anyway, I wrote this post because I was wondering why is it transparent. The answer will be below.

Kryptopterus vitreolus, known in the aquarium trade traditionally as the glass catfish and also as the ghost catfish or phantom catfish, is a small species of Asian glass catfish. It is commonly seen in the freshwater aquarium trade, but its taxonomy is confusing and was only fully resolved in 2013. It is endemic to Thailand, where found in rivers south of the Isthmus of Kra that drain into the Gulf of Thailand and river basins in the Cardamom Mountains. There are also unconfirmed reports from Penang in Malaysia.

 

Kryptopterus.jpg
A Glass Catfish

Until 1989, it was considered to be the same as the “glass catfish” Kryptopterus bicirrhis, a larger species infrequently seen in the aquarium trade. Subsequently, the ghost catfish commonly seen in the aquarium trade was believed to be the same as K. minor, but in 2013 it was established that the aquarium specimens actually represented another species, which was described as K. vitreolus. The true K. minor, which is restricted to Borneo, has rarely (if ever) entered the aquarium trade.

But how is it transparent?

This is a question for which there is no satisfactory answer, because we are only beginning to understand the physical and anatomical basis of transparency in living tissue.

Although the physical and anatomical bases for some transparent tissue (e.g. the cornea and lens in the eye) are better understood than others, the situation in the eye is unique in the sense that the tissues are highly modified for transparency and these modifications (e.g. complete absence of a circulatory system) are not applicable to muscular tissue.
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Furthermore, many of the primary modifications for transparency are ultrastructural and can only be seen with an electron microscope. For biological tissue to become transparent, the primary mechanism is to reduce the amount of light being scattered as it passes through it: the less light scattered by the tissue, the more light will be transmitted through it and the more it becomes transparent.

While we do not yet fully understand how biological tissues (particularly muscles) can be transparent, there are several possible mechanisms which might contribute.  The first is that transparent fishes such as glass catfishes and glassfish have very thin bodies.  The flatter the body, the less the potential scattering of light (and hence the easier it is to make the tissue transparent).

Another possible mechanism is the ordered packing of small molecules within the cytoplasm of the cells to reduce the scattering of light.

Lastly, theoretical models also predict that the many subcellular components of transparent tissues (e.g. mitochondria, ribosomes) should be small and highly dispersed. As a recent review paper on biological transparency states, this field of study has more questions than answers, and we await future studies to fully understand this phenomenon.

 

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Leaf Fish

Leaf Fish

Do you know what camouflage is? Camouflage is the use of any combination of materials, coloration, or illumination for concealment, either by making animals or objects hard to see (crypsis), or by disguising them as something else (mimesis). Examples include the leopard’s spotted coat, the battledress of a modern soldier, and the leaf-mimic katydid‘s wings. A third approach, motion dazzle, confuses the observer with a conspicuous pattern, making the object visible but momentarily harder to locate. The majority of camouflage methods aim for crypsis, often through a general resemblance to the background, high contrast disruptive coloration, eliminating shadow, and countershading. In the open ocean, where there is no background, the principal methods of camouflage are transparency, silvering, and countershading, while the ability to produce light is among other things used for counter-illumination on the undersides of cephalopods such as squid. Some animals, such as chameleons and octopuses, are capable of actively changing their skin pattern and colours, whether for camouflage or for signalling.

Some animals camouflage in the ocean like the rockfish or flounders. But in my opinion, this one would be the best. It is called the “leaf fish”.
Monocirrhus polyacanthus.jpg

Leaffishes are small freshwater fishes of the Polycentridae family, from South America.

All of these fishes are highly specialized ambush predators that resemble leaves, down to the point that their swimming style resembles a drifting leaf (thus the common name leaf fish, which is shared with old world fishes of family Nandidae with a similar lifestyle); when a prey animal – such as an aquatic insect or smaller fish – comes within range, the fish attacks, swallowing the prey potentially within a quarter of a second. To aid in this lifestyle, all members of the family have large heads, cryptic colors and very large protractile mouths capable of taking prey items nearly as large as they are. These intriguing behaviors have given the family a niche in the aquarium hobby; however, none of these species are easy to maintain in aquariums, requiring very clean, soft, acidic water and copious amounts of live foods.

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The Wood-nettle: a Plant that could Sting like a Bee

The Wood-nettle: a Plant that could Sting like a Bee

This will be a short post. If you’re interested please continue reading. There are lots of poisonous plants out there. But not as painful as this one:330px-Gardenology.org-IMG_1442_bbg09

Laportea canadensis, commonly called Canada nettle or wood-nettle, is an annual or perennial herbaceous plant of the nettle family Urticaceae, native to eastern and central North America. It is found growing in open woods with moist rich soils and along streams and in drainages.

Laportea canadensis grows from tuberous roots to a height of 30 to 150 centimeters, and can be rhizomatous, growing into small clumps. Plants have both stinging and non stinging hairs on the foliage and the stems. It has whitish green flowers, produced from spring to early fall.

This herbaceous perennial plant is about 2-4′ tall and either branched or unbranched. The stems are light to medium green and abundantly covered with stiff white hairs that have the capacity to sting when they are rubbed against. The lower to middle leaves are alternate, while the upper leaves are opposite. These leaves are up to 6″ long and 4″ across; they are medium to dark green, ovate-cordate to oval-ovate in shape, and coarsely serrated or serrated-crenate. Young leaves are densely hairy and wrinkled in appearance, while older leaves become less hairy and wrinkled with age. Leaf venation is pinnate. The petioles are up to 4″ long and abundantly covered with stinging hairs, like the stems. The leaves may have a few stinging hairs as well, particularly along the central veins of their undersides. Some plants have a tendency to loose many of their stinging hairs as the season progresses. Individual plants are either monoecious (separate male and female flowers on the same plant) or unisexual.

The male flowers occur in branching cymes from the axils of the leaves. These cymes spread outward from the stem and they are about the same length as the petioles of the leaves. Each male flower is greenish white to white and less than 1/8″ (3 mm.) across, consisting of 5 narrow sepals, 5 stamens, and no petals. The female flowers occur in branching cymes toward the apex of the plant. These cymes are erect to spreading and 4″ or more in length. Each female flower is more or less green and about 1/8″ (3 mm.) across, consisting of 4 sepals of unequal size (2 large and 2 small) and an ovary with a long style. The blooming period usually occurs during mid- to late summer. The flowers are wind-pollinated. Each female flower is replaced by a small dry fruit that is curved and ovoid in shape. This plant often forms colonies of variable size.

When the stinging nettles come in contact with the skin, the unlucky individual is dealt a painful burning stinging sensation, sometimes with barbs left in the skin. The skin can turn red and blister, and blisters can last for several days.

Mmm… that should really hurt. Well, thanks a lot for viewing this short post.

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Walking Fishes

 Walking Fishes

Can fishes walk on land? Sounds crazy! But these two fish can.

1.  Mudskippers are amphibious fish, presently included in the subfamily Oxudercinae, within the family Gobiidae (gobies). Recent molecular studies do not support this classification, as oxudercine gobies appear to be paraphyletic relative to amblyopine gobies (Gobiidae: Amblyopinae), thus being included in a distinct “Periophthalmus lineage”, together with amblyopines. Mudskippers can be defined as oxudercine gobies that are “fully terrestrial for some portion of the daily cycle” (character 24 in Murdy, 1989). This would define the species of the genera Boleophthalmus, Periophthalmodon, Periophthalmus, and Scartelaos as “mudskippers”. However, field observations of Zappa confluentus suggest that this monotypic genus should be included in the definition. These genera presently include 32 species. Mudskippers use their pectoral fins and pelvic fins to walk on land. They typically live in intertidal habitats, and exhibit unique adaptations to this environment that are not found in most intertidal fishes, which typically survive the retreat of the tide by hiding under wet seaweed or in tide pools.

Mudskippers are quite active when out of water, feeding and interacting with one another, for example, to defend their territories and court potential partners. They are found in tropical, subtropical, and temperate regions, including the Indo-Pacific and the Atlantic coast of Africa.

 

GambianMudskippers.jpg
Mudskippers

2. Climbing Perch

The Anabantidae are a family of perciform fish commonly called the climbing gouramies or climbing perches. The family includes about 34 species. As labyrinth fishes, they possess a labyrinth organ, a structure in the fish’s head which allows it to breathe atmospheric oxygen. Fish of this family are commonly seen gulping at air at the surface of the water. The air is held in a structure called the suprabranchial chamber, where oxygen diffuses into the bloodstream via the respiratory epithelium covering the labyrinth organ. This therefore allows the fish to move small distances across land.

 

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Climbing  Gourami on land
Of the four genera, Anabas is found from South Asia (they are called chemballi (Malayalam: urulan sugu/Karippidi) in Kerala, kau (odia) in Odisha, India, kawaiya in Sri Lanka), east to China and Southeast Asia. The remaining three genera are all restricted to Africa. They are primarily freshwater fishes and only very rarely are found in brackish water. As egg-layers, they typically guard their eggs and young.

Climbing gouramis are so named due to their ability to “climb” out of water and “walk” short distances. Even though it is not reliably observed, some authors mentioned about they having a tree climbing ability. Their method of terrestrial locomotion uses the gill plates as supports, and the fish pushes itself using its fins and tail.

Mudskipper video

Climbing Perch video

 

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Do Dolphins live in Rivers?

Do Dolphins live in Rivers?

We probably heard that dolphins live in the ocean. But do they live in rivers? To find out please continue reading.

River dolphins are a widely distributed group of fully aquatic mammals that reside exclusively in freshwater or brackish water. They are an informal grouping of dolphins, which is a paraphyletic group within the infraorder Cetacea. The river dolphins comprise the extant families Platanistidae (the Indian dolphins), Iniidae (the Amazonian dolphins), and Pontoporiidae (the brackish dolphins). There are five extant species of river dolphins, and two subspecies. River dolphins, alongside other cetaceans, belong to the clade Cetartiodactyla, with even-toed ungulates, and their closest living relatives the hippopotamuses, having diverged about 40 million years ago.ddddd

River dolphins are relatively small compared to other dolphins, having evolved to survive in warm, shallow water and strong river currents. They range in size from the 5-foot (1.5 m) long South Asian river dolphin to the 8-foot (2.4 m) and 220-pound (100 kg) Amazon river dolphin. Several species exhibit sexual dimorphism, in that the males are larger than the females. They have streamlined bodies and two limbs that are modified into flippers. River dolphins use their conical-shaped teeth and long beaks to capture fast-moving prey in murky water. They have well-developed hearing that is adapted for both air and water; they do not really rely on vision since the water they swim in is usually very muddy. These species are well-adapted to living in warm, shallow waters, and, unlike other cetaceans, have little to no blubber.download

River dolphins are not very widespread; they are all restricted to certain rivers or deltas. This makes them extremely vulnerable to habitat destruction. River dolphins feed primarily on fish. Male river dolphins typically mate with multiple females every year, but females only mate every two to three years. Calves are typically born in the spring and summer months and females bear all the responsibility for raising them. River dolphins produce a variety of vocalizations, usually in the form of clicks and whistles.

River dolphins are rarely kept in captivity; breeding success has been poor and the animals often die within a few months of capture. As of 2015, there are only three river dolphins in captivity.

River dolphins are members of the infraorder Cetacea, which are descendants of land-dwelling mammals of the order Artiodactyla (even-toed ungulates). They are related to the Indohyus, an extinct chevrotain-like ungulate, from which they split approximately 48 million years ago.

 

 

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Euglena, an Amazing Organism

Euglena, an Amazing Organism

I have found this amazing organism in one of my books. When I read the whole thing and read that sentence, I knew this would be great for my blog. This organism is half animal half plant. So if you’re interested please continue reading.

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Euglena is a genus of single-celled flagellate Eukaryotes. It is the best known and most widely studied member of the class Euglenoidea, a diverse group containing some 54 genera and at least 800 species. Species of Euglena are found in fresh and salt waters. They are often abundant in quiet inland waters where they may bloom in numbers sufficient to color the surface of ponds and ditches green (E. viridis) or red (E. sanguinea).

The species Euglena gracilis has been used extensively in the laboratory as a model organism.

Most species of Euglena have photosynthesizing chloroplasts within the body of the cell, which enable them to feed by autotrophy, like plants. However, they can also take nourishment heterotrophically, like animals. Since Euglena have features of both animals and plants, early taxonomists, working within the Linnaean three-kingdom system of biological classification, found them difficult to classify. It was the question of where to put such “unclassifiable” creatures that prompted Ernst Haeckel to add a third living kingdom (a fourth kingdom in toto) to the Animale, Vegetabile (and Lapideum meaning Mineral) of Linnaeus: the Kingdom Protista.

Euglenoids_from_a_ditch.ogv

When feeding as a heterotroph, Euglena takes in nutrients by osmotrophy, and can survive without light on a diet of organic matter, such as beef extract, peptone, acetate, ethanol or carbohydrates. When there is sufficient sunlight for it to feed by phototrophy, it uses chloroplasts containing the pigments chlorophyll a and chlorophyll b to produce sugars by photosynthesis. Euglena’s chloroplasts are surrounded by three membranes, while those of plants and the green algae (among which earlier taxonomists often placed Euglena) have only two membranes. This fact has been taken as morphological evidence that Euglena’s chloroplasts evolved from a eukaryotic green alga. Thus, the intriguing similarities between Euglena and the plants would have arisen not because of kinship but because of a secondary endosymbiosis. Molecular phylogenetic analysis has lent support to this hypothesis, and it is now generally accepted.

Diagram of Euglena sp.

Euglena chloroplasts contain pyrenoids, used in the synthesis of paramylon, a form of starch energy storage enabling Euglena to survive periods of light deprivation. The presence of pyrenoids is used as an identifying feature of the genus, separating it from other euglenoids, such as Lepocinclis and Phacus.

All euglenoids have two flagella rooted in basal bodies located in a small reservoir at the front of the cell. In Euglena, one flagellum is very short, and does not protrude from the cell, while the other is relatively long, and often easily visible with light microscopy. In some species, the longer, emergent flagellum is used to help the organism swim.

Like other euglenoids, Euglena possess a red eyespot, an organelle composed of carotenoid pigment granules. The red spot itself is not thought to be photosensitive. Rather, it filters the sunlight that falls on a light-detecting structure at the base of the flagellum (a swelling, known as the paraflagellar body), allowing only certain wavelengths of light to reach it. As the cell rotates with respect to the light source, the eyespot partially blocks the source, permitting the Euglena to find the light and move toward it (a process known as phototaxis).

Spiral pellicle strips

Euglena lacks a cell wall. Instead, it has a pellicle made up of a protein layer supported by a substructure of microtubules, arranged in strips spiraling around the cell. The action of these pellicle strips sliding over one another gives Euglena its exceptional flexibility and contractility.

In low moisture conditions, or when food is scarce, Euglena forms a protective wall around itself and lies dormant as a resting cyst until environmental conditions improve.

Euglena reproduce asexually through binary fission, a form of cell division. Reproduction begins with the mitosis of the cell nucleus, followed by the division of the cell itself. Euglena divide longitudinally, beginning at the front end of the cell, with the duplication of flagellar processes, gullet and stigma. Presently, a cleavage forms in the anterior, and a V-shaped bifurcation gradually moves toward the posterior, until the two halves are entirely separated.

 

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The Magnetic Strip of Credit Cards

The Magnetic Strip of Credit Cards

Credit cards offer you a line of credit that can be used to make purchases, balance transfers and/or cash advances and requiring that you pay back the loan amount in the future. When using a credit card, you will need to make at least the minimum payment every month by the due date on the balance. I’ll show you that there’s a magnetic field on the strip.

Things you’ll need: a used credit card, clear tape, iron dust, and a piece of paper.20170531_115513

  1. Sprinkle the iron dust onto the magnetic stripe on the credit card.20170531_115650 - Copy
  2. Tap the credit card on the table to make the iron dust spread around the magnetic stripe20170531_115728
  3. Put a piece of tape along the magnetic stripe.20170531_115822
  4. Pull the tape out and observe it.20170531_115938

The ­stripe on the back of a credit card is a magnetic stripe (that’s what you’re seeing on the tape), often called a magstripe. The magstripe is made up of tiny iron-based magnetic particles in a plastic-like film. Each particle is really a very tiny bar magnet about 20 millionths of an inch long.

Your card also has a magstripe on the back and a place for your all-important signature.
The magstripe can be “written” because the tiny bar magnets can be magnetized in either a north or south pole direction. The magstripe on the back of the card is very similar to a piece of cassette tape fastened to the back of a card. (See How Tape Recorders Work.)
Instead of motors moving the tape so it can be read, your hand provides the motion as you “swipe” a credit card through a reader or insert it in a reader at the gas station pump.
There are three basic methods for determining that your credit card will pay for what you’re charging:

  • Merchants with few transactions each month do voice authentication, using a touch tone phone.
  • Electronic data capture (EDC) magstripe card swipe terminals are becoming more common — so is having you swipe your own card at the checkout.
  • Virtual terminal on the Internet

This is how it works: After you or the cashier swipes your credit card through a reader, the EDC software at the point of sale (POS) terminal dials a stored telephone number via a modem to call an acquirer. An acquirer is an organization that collects credit authentication requests from merchants and provides a payment guarantee to the merchant.
When the acquirer company gets the credit card authentication request, it checks the transaction for validity and the record on the magstripe for:

  • Merchant ID
  • Valid card number
  • Expiration date
  • Credit card limit
  • Card usage
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The Tropical Pitcher Plant

The Tropical Pitcher Plant

I’ve found this amazing plant and I’ve grown it in my garden before. But it died because of the humid weather in Thailand. Anyway, I want to show you this amazing plant and what can it do.330px-Nepenthes_peltata

Nepenthes, also known as tropical pitcher plants or monkey cups, is a genus of carnivorous plants in the monotypic family Nepenthaceae. The genus comprises roughly 150 species, and numerous natural and many cultivated hybrids. They are mostly liana-forming plants of the Old World tropics, ranging from South China, Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines; westward to Madagascar (two species) and the Seychelles (one); southward to Australia (three) and New Caledonia (one); and northward to India (one) and Sri Lanka (one). The greatest diversity occurs on Borneo, Sumatra, and the Philippines, with many endemic species. Many are plants of hot, humid, lowland areas, but the majority are tropical montane plants, receiving warm days but cool to cold, humid nights year round. A few are considered tropical alpine, with cool days and nights near freezing. The name “monkey cups” refers to the fact that monkeys have been observed drinking rainwater from these plants.

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Global distribution of Nepenthes

 

Nepenthes species usually consist of a shallow root system and a prostrate or climbing stem, often several metres long and up to 15 m (49 ft) or more, and usually 1 cm (0.4 in) or less in diameter, although this may be thicker in a few species (e.g. N. bicalcarata). From the stems arise alternate, sword-shaped leaves with entire leaf margins. An extension of the midrib (the tendril), which in some species aids in climbing, protrudes from the tip of the leaf; at the end of the tendril the pitcher forms. The pitcher starts as a small bud and gradually expands to form a globe- or tube-shaped trap.

Basic structure of an upper pitcher
Here is the important part.

 

The trap contains a fluid of the plant’s own production, which may be watery or syrupy, and is used to drown the prey. Research has shown this fluid contains viscoelastic biopolymers that may be crucial to the retention of insects within the traps of many species. The viscoelastic fluid in pitchers is especially effective in the retention of winged insects. The trapping efficiency of this fluid remains high, even when significantly diluted by water, as inevitably happens in wet conditions.

The lower part of the trap contains glands which absorb nutrients from captured prey. Along the upper inside part of the trap is a slick, waxy coating which makes the escape of its prey nearly impossible. Surrounding the entrance to the trap is a structure called the peristome (the “lip”) which is slippery and often quite colorful, attracting prey, but offering an unsure footing. The prey-capture effectiveness of the peristome is further enhanced in moist environments, where condensation may cause a thin water film to form on the surface of the peristome. When wet, the slippery surface of the peristome causes insects to ‘aquaplane’, or slip and fall, into the pitcher. Above the peristome is a lid (the operculum); in many species, this keeps rain from diluting the fluid within the pitcher, the underside of which may contain nectar glands which attract prey.

Prey usually consists of insects, but the largest species (e.g. N. rajah and N. rafflesiana) may occasionally catch small vertebrates, such as rats and lizards.255px-Rattus_baluensis_visiting_Nepenthes_rajahThere are even records of cultivated plants trapping small birds. Flowers occur in racemes or more rarely in panicles with male and female flowers on separate plants. They are insect-pollinated, the primary agents being flies (including blow flies, midges, and mosquitoes), moths, wasps, and butterflies. Their smells can range from sweet to musty or fungus-like. Seed is typically produced in a four-sided capsule which may contain 50–500 wind-distributed seeds, consisting of a central embryo and two wings, one on either side.

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Are Video Games Bad for You?

Are Video Games Bad for You?

Introduction: The last time I did a post about Why Kids Should Study Science. And it has 6 views and four likes but maybe it has more now. Anyway, now my question is: Does video games make your brain think slower? Good question right? And on this post I’ll try to find the answer to this question from internet. So let’s get started. Also, try to read the whole post please if you’re interested.

The first video game was created in October 1958, Physicist William Higinbotham created what is thought to be the first video game. It was a very simple tennis game, similar to the classic 1970s video game Pong, and it was quite a hit at a Brookhaven National Laboratory open house. After that, Since the 1980s, video gaming has become a popular form of entertainment and a part of modern popular culture in most parts of the world. One of the early games was Spacewar!, which was developed by computer scientists. Early arcade video games developed from 1972 to 1978.

After that, there were more video games created like Minecraft and Terraria. Both of those video games are popular. Now if you ask me do I like video games? Well… of course! All kids like video games including me.

Article number 1.

Anyway, let’s go back to our question. Some studies suggest that video gaming can improve vision and enhance information processing abilities. But that may be total nonsense, according to a study that examined the short-term effects of video-game ownership on academic development in young boys. Families with boys between the ages of 6 to 9 were recruited for the study in Psychological Science. The families did not own video-game systems, but the parents had been considering buying one for their kids. The children completed intelligence tests as well as reading and writing assessments. In addition, the boys’ parents and teachers filled out questionnaires relating to their behavior at home and at school.

Half of the families were selected to receive a video-game system (along with three, age-appropriate video games) immediately, while the remaining families were promised a video-game system four months later, at the end of the experiment. Over the course of the four months, the parents recorded their children’s activities from the end of the school day until bedtime. At the four-month time point, the children repeated the reading and writing assessments and parents and teachers again completed the behavioral questionnaires.

Results showed that the boys who received the video-game system immediately spent more time playing video games and less time engaged in after-school academic activities than boys who received the video-game system at the end of the experiment.

Furthermore, the boys who received the video-game system at the beginning of the study had significantly lower reading and writing scores four months later compared with the boys receiving the video-game system later on. Although there were no differences in parent-reported behavioral problems between the two groups of kids, the boys who received the video-game system immediately had greater teacher-reported learning problems.

Further analysis revealed that the time spent playing video games may link the relationship between owning a video-game system and reading and writing scores. These findings suggest that video games may be displacing after-school academic activities and may impede reading and writing development in young boys.

After these paragraphs, the answer is probably yes. But let’s not decide yet, look at these paragrapgs on the bottom.

Article number 2.

With the rise of video games in modern culture, researchers and psychologists have taken close looks at the impact gaming can have on people in a multitude of situations. Numerous experiments have been done in recent years, many of which draw conclusions that gaming can increase brain function, problem solving skills, spatial reasoning, memory, attention span, strategic planning, and even social skills among others.

But “video game” is a broad term — with so many different types of games, researchers have focused their studies to see how different genres affect players. Let’s take a look at the benefits of various game types.

Puzzle/Platformers

Improves: Brain function, IQ

These brainteaser games are meant to give your mind a workout. Puzzle games like Brain Age or Angry Birds — which use problem-solving, memory, spatial reasoning, and attention to detail — can boost brain function and IQ, as well as slow down the brain’s aging process. But some games don’t make it quite so obvious that players are flexing those skills. The Legend of Zelda and Mario Bros.franchises are both well-known for challenging puzzles that you’re required to figure out in order to advance to the next area or unlock some special item. Additionally, the platforming aspects (jumping from place to place, avoiding projectiles, moving around obstacles, etc.) of some games can also improve motor skills and reaction time.

Role-Playing Games (RPGs)

Improves: Problem-solving, strategy, logic, reasoning

Mass Effect, the Elder Scrolls, and Final Fantasy are just a few famous franchises that are RPGs — games in which the player assumes the role of a character. Typically, RPGs focus on player-driven choices, dialogue options, and the consequences of player actions. In essence, RPGs are much more customizable than other games, which leads to unique experiences and no two games being quite the same. Though many cognitive elements are utilized while playing these games, the most prevalent ones are problem-solving, strategy, and reasoning. Socially, players can exercise their empathy and ethics, as they’re often faced with morally difficult choices that can have lingering consequences — skills you can take back to the “real world.”

Real Time Strategy (RTS):

Improves: Planning, Multitasking, Prioritization

Flickr user Jeff Nelson

Sometimes you have to think on your feet, a useful lifelong skill that can be developed and exercised in RTS games. As the name suggests, these games use strategic planning in order to accomplish a task, defeat an enemy, or work with other players (known as a co-op) to win. Games like StarCraft, Age of Empires, or World of Warcraft all challenge a player to think ahead, think smart, and think together (if it’s co-op). And since it’s in real-time, things can go wrong. While players increase their multitasking ability and prioritizing skills, they also learn to adapt to changing situations.

Now the answer is probably no. But…. let’s keep looking before decide. Here’s the most important part

Article number 3.

1. Though the activity level needed to play Wii or Xbox Kinect are a step in the right direction, a majority of video games still involve sitting in front of a screen, often with poor posture.  A study published in Pediatrics International found that “excessive television-game playing” led to increased levels of muscle stiffness, especially in the shoulders.

2. Experts have long debated whether violent video games desensitize young people to violence. Some studies have disputed this while others, indicate that young people who show more rapid desensitization to violent pictures are going to be more accepting of violence, which is dangerous to the community at large.

3. Many parents suspect that kids who spend significant amounts of time playing video games may not be devoting enough time to school work.  A report in Issues in Mental Health Nursing confirmed just this: “Results revealed that time spent playing games was related … to aggression and … to school competence.”  In particular, violent games were directly related to attention problems and generally led to a greater decline in academic performance.

4. According to a report in Pediatrics, seven out of 10 children are vitamin D deficient.  Vitamin D, of course, is commonly absorbed from exposure to sunlight.  Unfortunately, being holed up in front of video games system does not afford the same exposure to sunlight as, say, being outside.  Word to the wise: Leave your mom’s basement and go outside from time to time.

5. Yes, video games have been associated with changes in physical appearance.  According to Pediatrics International, school children who played “excessive” amounts of video games were much more likely to develop black rings in the skin under the eyes and to suffer from a displacement of the shoulder blade, which can be caused by poor posture and muscle stiffness.

6. A report in Pediatrics International recommends that video games should be limited to less than one hour per day. But some hardcore gamers are spending three times that amount of time playing.  Along with increased gaming can come sleep deprivation, especially among young people.  Rather than reducing the amount of time spent playing, gamers often opt to lose sleep instead.

7. A 2010 study found that kids who spend too much time watching TV or playing video games may have more trouble paying attention in school. Researchers found that children who had more than two hours of screen time per day were twice as likely to have trouble paying attention. The study, published in Pediatrics, analyzed both elementary school students and college students.

Yes, number 7 happens to me to sometimes. ↑

All right. The final answer is revealed.

Are video games bad for you? The answer is……………. Yes and No.

Why is it yes and no? What if it is only yes? Then article 2 is false.

But what if it’s no? Then articles 1 and 3 is false and everybody would be playing video games.

But why is it yes and no? According to my research and as you could see on the top, the first and the third article says that it is bad for your heath and knowledge. Video games (I think) is bad for your eyes and brain. But video games are good at some points too. It relieves stress and boredom. I only play video games for fun. I only play video games for thirty minutes or to an hour per day. I recommend to play video games for at least a half an hour or even never would be better. And try to tell your child to play less video games.

 

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The Sleeping Grass

The Sleeping Grass

Mimosa pudica (from Latin: pudica “shy, bashful or shrinking”; also called sensitive plant, sleepy plant, Dormilones, sleeping grass, or shy plant) is a creeping annual or perennial herb of the pea family Fabaceae often grown for its curiosity value: the compound leaves fold inward and droop when touched or shaken, defending themselves from harm, and re-open a few minutes later. The species is native to South America and Central America, but is now a pantropical weed. It can also be found in Asia in countries such as Bangladesh, Thailand, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Japan. It grows mostly in undisturbed shady areas, under trees or shrubs.Mimosa_pudica_-_Kerala_1

The species is known by numerous common names including sensitive plant, humble plant, shameplant, and touch-me-not.

The stem is erect in young plants, but becomes creeping or trailing with age. It can hang very low and become floppy. The stem is slender, branching, and sparsely to densely prickly, growing to a length of 1.5 m (5 ft).

The leaves are bipinnately compound, with one or two pinnae pairs, and 10–26 leaflets per pinna. The petioles are also prickly. Pedunculate (stalked) pale pink or purple flower heads arise from the leaf axils in mid summer with more and more flowers as the plant gets older. The globose to ovoid heads are 8–10 mm in diameter (excluding the stamens). On close examination, it is seen that the floret petals are red in their upper part and the filaments are pink to lavender. The fruit consists of clusters of 2–8 pods from 1–2 cm long each, these being prickly on the margins. The pods break into 2–5 segments and contain pale brown seeds some 2.5 mm long. The flowers are pollinated by the wind and insects. The seeds have hard seed coats which restrict germination.

The roots of Mimosa pudica create carbon disulfide, which prevents certain pathogenic and mycorrhizal fungi from growing within the plant’s rhizosphere. This allows the formation of nodules on the roots of the plant that contain endosymbiotic diazotrophs, which fix atmospheric nitrogen and convert it into a form that is usable by the plant.

Mimosa_Pudica
The movement of Mimosa pudica

 

 

Mimosa pudica is well known for its rapid plant movement. Like a number of other plant species, it undergoes changes in leaf orientation termed “sleep” or nyctinastic movement. The foliage closes during darkness and reopens in light. This was first studied by the French scientist Jean-Jacques d’Ortous de Mairan.

 

The leaflets also close when stimulated in other ways, such as touching, warming, blowing, or shaking. These types of movements have been termed seismonastic movements. The stimulus is transmitted as an action potential from a stimulated leaflet, to the leaflet’s swollen base (pulvinus), and from there to the pulvini of the other leaflets, which run along the length of the leaf’s rachis. The action potential then passes into the petiole, and finally to the large pulvinus at the end of the petiole, where the leaf attaches to the stem. The action potential causes potassium ions to flow out from the vacuoles of cells in the various pulvini. This causes water to flow out from those cells by osmosis through aquaporin channels, making them lose turgor, which is the force that is applied onto the cell wall by water within the cell. Differences in turgidity in different regions of the leaf and stem results in the closing of the leaflets and the collapse of the leaf petiole.

It is not known exactly why Mimosa pudica evolved this trait, but many scientists think that the plant uses its ability to shrink as a defense from herbivores. Animals may be afraid of a fast moving plant and would rather eat a less active one. Another possible explanation is that the sudden movement dislodges harmful insects.

Gallery:20170518_163311

Before being touched
After being touched

20170518_163401

20170518_164256

See also: Codariocalyx motorius (Telegraph plant)

Credits: Wikipedia the free encyclopedia.

 

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The Process of Viral Infection

The Process of Viral Infection

I have drawn a diagram of “The Process of Virus Infection” (my diagram is on the bottom). Viruses are cells that infect animals, plants, and bacteria and reproduce only within living cells. Viruses are considered as being either living organism or inert chemicals. The first step of virus infection is attachment. The Host cell has receptors on the cell membrane. In order for the virus to infect the Host cell, the virus needs the right receptors to match the Host cell receptors. Then it enters the host cell if the virus receptors match with the Host cell. Then the capsid of the virus comes apart. Then it transcripts and translates the viral proteins and copies the genome. And then assembles and releases many virions in the process called “Lysis”. A virion is the complete form of a virus when it is outside a Host cell.

This is my diagram of The Process of Virus Infection
This is my diagram of The Process of Virus Infection
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The Blue Rose Experiment

The Blue Rose Experiment 

(March 1, 2016)

Introduction:

In this Blue Rose Experiment, I was trying to confirm what other researchers found: that food dye added to water in a vase will cause the rose to change color. My hypothesis was that adding blue food coloring to water into the vase would cause a white rose to turn blue.

Materials:

2 white cut roses (I got the rose from my mother’s garden),

DanPickingRose

  • 2 cups
  • Blue food coloring
  • Water
  • Pure refined sugar

1. Add 250ml of water into the first cup, then add 250ml of water into the second cup and then add 1ml of blue food coloring.

2. Add a pinch of pure refined sugar about .125cc into the two cups and place the stem of the roses into the cup.

3. Wait for 2 or 3 days and record what happened. If the rose in the first cup turns blue that means the sugar makes the rose blue.

Results:                        Control                          |                         Experimental

                Day 1    

                          controlday1                    controlday1    

              Day 2

                    controlday2              testday2

The control is not blue and that means the sugar didn’t make the rose blue. The rose in the blue dye vase turned blue on the second day.

Conclusion: Blue dye caused the white rose to become blue because the dye was absorbed through the stem.

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How to Write a Research Report

How to write a research report

This is what I learned about the scientific method:

ScientififMethod

Here are the parts of a research report:

Writingapaper2

We can see that a report has these parts:

1. Summary or Abstract

2. Introduction-We tell about the hypothesis + purpose of the study

3. Materials + Methods-We tell about what we used and what we did

4. Results-We tell the results

5. Discussion-We talk about what we learned

6. Conclusion-We give our conclusion about the study

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3D Printer-What It Can Do

 3D Printing

WHAT IS 3D PRINTING? 3D printing, also known as additive manufacturing (AM), refers to various processes used to synthesize a three-dimensional object. In 3D printing, successive layers of material are formed under computer control to create an object. These objects can be of almost any shape or geometry, and are produced from a 3D model or other electronic data source. A 3D printer is a type of industrial robot.

Futurologists such as Jeremy Rifkin believe that 3D printing signals the beginning of a third industrial revolution, succeeding the production line assembly that dominated manufacturing starting in the late 19th century. Using the power of the Internet, it may eventually be possible to send a blueprint of any product to any place in the world to be replicated by a 3D printer with “elemental inks” capable of being combined into any material substance of any desired form.

3D SCANNER vs 3D COPIER A 3D copier is a copier that can copy any solid objects into another one. A 3D scanner is a device that analyzes a real-world object or environment to collect data on its shape and possibly its appearance (e.g. color). The collected data can then be used to construct digital three-dimensional models.

Many different technologies can be used to build these 3D-scanning devices; each technology comes with its own limitations, advantages, and costs. Many limitations in the kind of objects that can be digitized are still present, for example, optical technologies encounter many difficulties with shiny, mirroring or transparent objects. For example, industrial computed tomography scanning can be used to construct digital 3D models, applying non-destructive testing.

HOW DOES 3D PRINTING WORK? It all starts with making a virtual design of the object you want to create. This virtual design is made in a CAD (Computer Aided Design) file using a 3D modeling program (for the creation of a totally new object) or with the use of a 3D scanner (to copy an existing object). A 3D scanner makes a 3D digital copy of an object.

3d scanners use different technologies to generate a 3d model such as time-of-flight, structured / modulated light, volumetric scanning and much more.

Recently, many IT companies like Microsoft and Google enabled their hardware to perform 3d scanning, a great example is Microsoft’s Kinect. This is a clear sign that future hand-held devices like smartphones will have integrated 3d scanners. Digitizing real objects into 3d models will become as easy as taking a picture. Prices of 3d scanners range from very expensive professional industrial devices to 30 USD DIY devices anyone can make at home.

Many things have been printed, such as food, body parts, and skin, hamburgers, guns, a beak for a Falcon, peanut butter, a 1-story house. Maybe you could even print phones, make toys, make computers and make furniture.

Here are some links that give an overview:

 

Some specific things that can be printed, with some videos and my short summaries:

1. 3D printed clothes: 3D printed clothes are sometimes for fashion. Girls like to design their own cloths with 3D printing.I think we should make men’s clothing too.
Make a nice and cool blue suit for men. This video is about a woman design clothes
from a 3D printer.
https://youtu.be/3s94mIhCyt4

 

2. 3D printed body parts: They use ink called “Bio Ink” that can make body parts. They have made: hair, skin, liver, kidney, and lots of more things. And they use these body parts to put or replace the humans’ organs. This video is about 3D printer make live body parts.
https://youtu.be/a1Ikv3yHs0w

3. 3D printed tools: If you don’t have a tool you’ll need to buy it from the store. But you can print your own tools. I think you should combine them, for example, a wrench+screwdriver that will be a great idea. This video is about 3D printed wrenches.
https://youtu.be/WmDz7Q9_h6c

4.3D printed cars: How can they print cars! They print the part and assemble them. This video is about the first printed car.
https://youtu.be/O9odhgH24oA

 

5. 3D printed house: The printer must be huge and I wonder how did they carry it. They use cement as ink and they can make a one-floor house less than one day. This video is about ten houses printed in 24 hours.
https://youtu.be/SObzNdyRTBs

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Butterflies

Butterflies

The family of butterflies and moths is called Lepidoptera.

The earliest known butterfly fossils are from the mid Eocene epoch, between 40-50 million years ago. But no one knows which was the first butterfly on earth. The first butterfly onThailand is the Butterfly bush burning sugar (Papilio arcesilaus).

ผีเสื้อป่าสีตาลไหม้
Papilio arcesilaus

The largest butterfly in the world is Queen alexandra’s bird-wing (Ornithoptera alexandrae). Is wide about 280mm when the wing is spanned.

 

ornithoptera_alexandrae_m1
Ornithoptera alexandrae

 

The largest moth in the world is Atlas moth (Attacus atlas). Their wingspans are also amongst the largest, reaching over 25 cm (9.8 in). They live in the South East Asia.
Attacus atlas  2b3034f53972d5291dcb9ff244918663-d6jjmep

The smallest butterfly in the world is the Western Pygmy Blue butterfly (Brephidium exilis or Brephidium exile). It’s about 14 mm and it’s in America.

Unknown

 

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