Immortal Jellyfish

Turritopsis Nutricula is the name of a species of jellyfish that is capable of being biologically "immortal". It does this through a process called transdifferentiation, which allows the jellyfish to regenerate its entire body so that it goes from being a mature jellyfish back to the plankton stage. It is supposedly capable of repeating this process forever. Other animals are also able to regenerate certain body parts, such as salamanders and starfish, but they are unable to completely regenerate their entire bodies. This immortal jellyfish originates from the Caribbean, but due to its "immortality" it has spread all over the globe now. I think that it is really cool that an animal can live forever and never die. Scientists definitely need to research how the jellyfish does it, and then perhaps apply it to humans (although I'm not sure I would want to become an old person and then turn back into a baby again). However, I don't think if they could apply it to humans it would be to make us immortal. I think it would be better used to perhaps regenerate body parts for wounded veterans or other injured people. To sum it up, I think that this is a great discovery that could to lead to even bigger ones in the future.

Links: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/wildlife/4357829/Immortal-jellyfish-swarming-across-the-world.html

http://green.yahoo.com/blog/guest_bloggers/26/the-world-s-only-immortal-animal.html

Wi-Fi 'allergies' leave man homeless

Arthur Firstenberg, a resident of Santa Fe, New Mexico, claims that he has 'electromagnetic sensitivity'. He also claims

that his neighbor, Raphaela Monribot, is making him sick by using cell phones and computers. Because of his supposed

electromagnetic sensitivity, he is also unable to stay at hotels, because they have wi-fi connections. Therefore, he is

forced to sleep in his car. While he does have dozens of doctor's notes relating to his sensitivity, scientific studies point

towards the fact that 'electromagnetic sensitivity' is really just a psychosomatic disorder, which is when psychological factors cause physical symptoms. This of course would mean that Mr. Firstenberg is really just imagining his 'electromagnetic sensitivity' and feeling sick because of that. I personally think that while Mr. Firstenberg is not lying about feeling discomfort whenever he thinks he is in an electromagnetic field, his 'sensitivity' is really just his brain playing tricks on his body. The studies made prove that 'electromagnetic sensitivity' does not exist, and therefore Mr. Firstenberg does not have it. However, just to make sure a doctor could perform a test Mr. Firstenberg himself to see if he really does have 'electromagnetic sensitivity'. Unless it is proven, I believe that 'electromagnetic sensitivity' is just the mind playing tricks on the body.

Link: Wi-Fi 'allergies' leave man homeless

Medicinal Chemistry

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SODA POPPERS

11/24/09

Yellow

 

Baking Soda Poppers

 

     One day I walked into science class and was greeted by a lab. We were supposed to use anything on our lab table, including a test tube, graduated cylinders, baking soda, and vinegar, to get the cork to hit the window using a chemical reaction. We could also get 10 extra credit points by hitting the window 3 times in a row. My assigned group at Table 6 was Joey Grzelak, Robert Schenker, Nikki Cavott, and myself. We knew that baking soda and vinegar created carbon dioxide. We also knew that the more carbon dioxide was created, the more pressure would build up in the test tube, and that pressure would force the cork to pop and fly farther. What we didn’t know was if a mix of more vinegar to baking soda or if more baking soda to vinegar created more carbon dioxide. Our thinking process was to first do a control test, with equal amounts of baking soda and vinegar. Next we were to do a test with less baking soda and more vinegar, then an experiment with more baking soda and less vinegar to see which helped create more gases. We also planned to jam the cork in so that none of the gas could leak out of the test tube before the cork launched.

     During the first three 2 experiments, Joey was holding the test tube. Both times, he could not get his hand away fast enough and the cork hit his thumb, making the cork travel a smaller distance. Therefore, for the third experiment we had Nikki hold the test tube. She was able to get her hand away fast enough so that the cork could fly freely without any interference. We ran several more experiments, changing the amounts and recording the data. By the sixth experiment, we had found the formula: 18 mL of baking soda and 12 mL of vinegar. The fact that I was now the one holding the test tube may have helped the experiment. The cork reached the window (or the windowsill and wall) a total of 6 times. On trials 6 and 7, we hit the window twice in a row. However, on the third try my aim was off and the cork missed and hit the window. This was a major roadblock for us. No matter what, the aim of the test tube was always a little different, so even if we had the right combination of baking soda and vinegar, the cork would still miss the window. We hit the window several times after that, but never reached the three in a row goal.

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