First Android, now Google OS?

Google's first mobile OS, Android, was a big hit and was used by numerous new phones, including the Motorola Droid. Now, Google is announcing another operating system, called Chrome OS. However, this time it will be for netbooks (kind of like small computers). Chrome OS will only be available on certain new netbooks, because the operating system is revolutionary. Instead of using a hard disk drive, it uses "cloud computing", so all of the data is stored online instead of on your hard drive at home. Google also promises to have the boot up time to be around 7 seconds, giving users quicker access to their files. While I definitely think this idea is exciting, I do believe there are some downfalls. I think that the program should definitely be available for all computers, not just select netbooks. I would like to test out the operating system without having to buy a new netbook for $300. Another reason Chrome OS might not be such a good idea is that if someone hacks into Google's servers or puts a virus in them, the fact that all the information from the Chrome OS netbooks is stored in them would let the hacker access a lot of computers all at once, or let the virus spread much quicker. While Google says that they will prevent this from happening, but who knows? As noted above, Chrome OS sounds like a great new idea, but there are definitely negative sides to it.

Link:http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/11/20/google.os/index.html

Leech Helps Solve Crime

Today, a man was convicted of robbing an elderly woman's home because of a leech. The robber's name is Peter Alec Cannon. Eight years ago, he and an accomplice robbed an elderly woman's home. When police arrived at the crime scene, they found little evidence except for a leech that appeared to have just bitten someone on the floor. None of the police officers had any bite marks on them, and neither did the elderly woman, so the police assumed it was from one of the robbers. They took DNA from the blood inside the leech and put it into the database. Last year he was picked up on a drug offense. The officers cross-checked his DNA against a database and found the blood that was extracted from the leech. I think it's really cool that a leech could actually help solve a crime. A lot of people think leeches are really disgusting, because they stick onto you and suck your blood. But I think it's awesome that they can actually help people too. I also wonder what other animals might have accidentally contributed to the solving of a crime.\

Link:http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/asiapcf/10/20/australia.crime.leech/index.html

Mini T-Rex Fossil Discovered

Today an article was published in the magazine Science about a newly discovered fossil of a miniature Tyrannosaurus Rex. This beast, now named "Raptorex," roamed China around 125 million years ago, 60 million years before the real Tyrannosaurus Rex. An adult Raptorex was said to be about 9 feet tall and weigh 143 pounds. Stephen Brusatte, a co-author of the article, said this was about 1/100 of a Tyrannosaurus Rex's weight. Stephen and lead author Paul Sereno were the writers of the article. The fossil was smuggled out of China into the U.S. It was bought in the U.S. by a collector who then donated them to who donated it to science. Scientists say it will be returned to China and put on display. The I think it is really cool that scientists discovered a "mini T-Rex". Scientists should always be on the lookout for cool discoveries like this. I also think that authorities should be more careful with smuggling. If it hadn't been bought by a good person, people might not know about this awesome discovery. I think the science community should be very thankful for this man's generosity and hope for more people like him.

http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/09/17/tiny.t-rex.dinosaur.discovered/index.html

Plasticity Lab

Recently we did a science lab on the property of plasticity. Plasticity is a property that the mantle of the earth has. When immense heat and pressure act on the mantle, it acts like a solid. However, as if the heat and pressure decrease, the mantle would then act like a liquid. For the lab, we made a substance that also had the same property of plasticity. We did this by mixing 5 teaspoons of cornstarch with 20 milliliters of water. Then we grabbed a handful of the mixture and squeezed it. When we squeezed it, the pressure we applied made the mixture condense and act like a solid. However, as soon as we let go it went back to acting like a liquid. I found this lab very fun ( although a bit messy) and very educational.

October Sky

Recently in class we have watched a movie called October Sky. In the movie, a boy named Homer is inspired by the recent launching of Sputnik, the first man-made satellite. He decides to build his own rocket, and enlists the help of several of his friends. Together, they test many different designs for the rocket before they finally make a successful one. Then, with the help of their teacher, Miss Riley, they enter into a science fair and win first prize, leading to national attention and an insane amount of scholarships. This movie connects to science and math in many ways. Rockets connect to the movie because that's what Homer and his friends decided to make. Coal mines connect to the movie because the town that Homer's family lives in is owned by a coal mine, and his father is a worker there. Science fairs connect to the movie because Homer and his friends enter their rocket design into one, and end up winning first prize and tons of scholarships. Sputnik and the Russians connect to the movie because Sputnik was what inspired Homer to build a rocket in the first place. Proving their innocence using math connected to the movie because Homer used his knowledge of mathematics to prove that he and his friends did not start the forest fire, and could therefore continue their rocket building venture. Health dangers connect to the movie because Homer's father's life was later claimed by Black Lung Disease, a disease that often affects workers at coal mines due to the conditions there. Many Character Education traits were also shown in this movie. Homer and his friends had to show cooperation in order to work together and finally design a successful rocket. Homer had to show assertion when his father tried to bring Homer's rocket building efforts to a halt. He convinced his father that the rocket building would not harm the coal mine in any way, and even moved his testing site to an area several miles away from the coal mine to make sure of that. Even though Homer's father did not always approve of the rocket project, Homer still showed respect toward him and called him his "real hero". Homer showed empathy for the Russian worker that helped him build his first rocket when the Russian worker died in the coal mine. Before, he had worked in the shop, but Homer's father switched him into the coal mine. The Russian was given the offer to go back to the shop, but decided to stay in the coal mine because he received better pay. All in all, this movie had many connections to science and math, as well as character education.

Duchene Muscular Dystrophy

Duchene Muscular Dystrophy is a genetic disease that causes weakness and wasting in the muscles of people with the disease. Most people with the disease die before they reach their thirties. I feel very sad for the people with this disease. I think more work should be done to find a cure for this disease. Otherwise, many more people will suffer from the symptoms of the disease.

Color Blindness

Color blindness is a genetic disorder that causes people to not see as many shades of colors as usual. Inherited color vision deficiency cannot be treated, but if the color vision problems are caused by a broken cataract, the damaged cataract can be removed. This disease is unable to kill anyone. About 1/212 people in the United States exhibit the symptoms of color deficiency. Males are more vulnerable to the disease, because the disease is carried in the X chromosome. Males only have one X chromosome, while females have two. So if the disease is present in the X chromosome of the male, they automatically have color deficiency. However, for the female the disease must be present in both chromosomes, or else she will not have color deficiency. Even though it cannot kill people, i still feel sympathy for the people who have the worst form of this disease, where they can only see different shades of black and white. As noted above, color deficiency is a very intriguing disease.

Sources: www.webmd.com
www.webexhibits.org