Foods And Flavors Chemist

Ever wonder about having a career in the field of Foods And Flavors Chemist? Well this podcast will inform you about it in a unique way. So take a listen to "99.9 FoHiz" for the latest updates in this career!

trckstr111

Will the World End In 2012?

Especially with a new movie opening tomorrow, the hype that the end of the world is getting is growing exponentially. December 21, 2012 is probably the most famous date of modern day America. In the article I read, it explains reasons why the world might end. It has some scientific background to it too. It says that an object from space will enter the solar system and earth's atmosphere and make the north and south poles reverse. Another reason I discovered is from what I saw in a movie. The movie depicts that solar flares from the sun are heating up the earth's core, like a microwave oven. In my opinion I think that the chances of something like this happening are very slim and close to impossible. We can not prevent either of these events from happening. And in actuality, it scares many many people. As I write this post, I see a commercial for the movie I saw, and the effects of the poles turning are very very scary. I am very interested in this article because I am fascinated by what so many people are afraid of. I also think that people are making too big of a deal about it. All in all, the end of the world is very frightening, and has some science behind it too.

http://www.baltimoresun.com/features/faith/bal-fa-20121113,0,7753682.story

Science Extra Credit

In Science the credit goes to the man who convinces the world, not to the man to whom the idea first occurred.

Sir William Osler (1849-1919) Canadian physician.

This quote by Sir William Osler can be interpreted many different ways. To me it means that no matter who comes up with an idea, whoever proves it gets the credit. It also means that many notions in science are not correct. Theories are tested with what we can use, but since technology is always improving exponentially, those theories are proved wrong. Yet the person who thought of the theory may not test it. The person who tests it may not get the credit if they are not the person that publishes the report. In all, the person to whom the idea first occurred may not be the person to get the credit. For all we know, some average Joe may have thought of gravity, yet Isaac Newton may have heard about it at the market and tried it out. His whole apple story could be totally made up for all we know. The world widely accepts that Isaac Newton created the laws of gravity, but if someone were to say differently, they would challenge that person. Newton got the credit, even if someone else first thought of the idea.

Solids, Liquids, and Gasses Oh My! Class Response

Lately in science class, we've been learning about Solids, Liquids, Gasses and Plasma! You're probably saying now that you know all about them, I mean really, whats there to get? Well, there's a lot more than meets the eye, literally!
This represents a solids atom makeup. The atoms in a solid are all really close together and are always vibrating. They have little to no room at all for movement. They form a definite shape and volume. A solid can be anything from a rock to a television. To form a solid from liquid or gas, you must take away energy. To melt a solid, you must add energy.

This picture represents the atom makeup of a liquid. As you can see, the atoms have more elbow room, and will spread out if possible. It has no definite shape, but it does have a definite volume.
To make a liquid a solid, you must take away energy. To make it a gas, you must add energy.

This picture represents how gas atoms move about. They have no definite shape, no definite volume, no definite anything. They move about freely because they have so much room. To make gas a liquid or a solid, you must take away energy.

This represents plasma. The blue streaks of energy are plasma. It is extremely fast, extremely dangerous, and is rarely found on earth. You can find plasma in stars, the sun, and almost everywhere! Its is the most common state of matter in the universe.
Personally, I think it's great that we're getting more in depth with solids, liquids, gasses, and plasma. Who knew there was more to it?

Helpful, or Annoying I-Touch Apps?

Today in the world we live in, it seems like there is too much to worry about. According to my grandma, there never was any danger. But today? Well, we have to worry about criminals, people in cars running us over, allergies, and even disease. For criminals we have alarm systems, for cars we have traffic lights, for allergies we have the epi-pen, and for disease we have... the I-Phone? It may sound silly, but it may actually save a few lives down the line. From the I-Pod, to the I-Touch, to the I-Phone, to a doctor in your pocket, the Apple Corporation is just amazing. Now that the application for I-Phone and I-Touch, Outbreaks Near Me, was introduced, everyday people are able to know when the H1-N1 virus is near them.

Introduced by workers at the Children's Hospital Boston, Outbreaks Near Me is able to warn people of any kind of disease. Whether it be chicken pox, the measles, the mumps, anything doctor worthy, we will have access to over 30,000 databases that are aware of the health status of our country. It locates areas all over the world with disease outbreaks and pinpoints them on a google map. Not only does it let us know about already existing diseases, but with real time updating, it lets us know about new outbreaks the second a doctor sees it. Even if it's in China, people in the USA will know. The people in Mexico could have used this a little bit earlier.

Personally, I believe that EVERYBODY IS UNNECESSARILY OVER REACTING!!!!! So what H1N1 has infested the world? Anybody that maintains a healthy diet with a healthy immune system will be fine. Get protected and get the vaccine! But what are the consequences of that vaccine? Can a vaccine be created and spread to everyone in such little time? Has it been thoroughly been tested? In my opinion, if we all wash our hands or use hand sanitizer we will be fine. Has Grandma ever been wrong before? I know mine hasn't! And my grandma said that we have absolutely NOTHING to worry about. Now the only reasProxy-Connection: keep-alive
Cache-Control: max-age=0

I looked at this article was because I myself have and I-Pod. And as I write this post, a person near me is sneezing his brains out. Does this mean my town is gonna be on my I-Pod? This H1N1 virus is made to be much more than it really is, and I think it's stupid. So for it to have it's own I-Touch app? What do YOU think about this? Are YOU worried? Cause I'm not.

So I got this free application on I-Tunes, and if your a health freak, it's perfect for you!

Dead Fish In NJ

A problem that is facing us in our own home state is very upsetting to all animal lovers and beach lovers alike. Millions of fish in the Raritan Bay have washed ashore, dead, overnight. In class, we performed a lab to discover why this happened and if there was a way to stop it. We had a model of a coastline of the Raritan Bay which, like in reality, is tilted so that all water will flow to the bay. On the model we placed colored waters which represented pesticide, fertilizer, auto oil, and also put objects on it that represented soil, sand, cow waste, and litter. After "raining" we saw the color of the water that was put into the "bay". We saw that the water was black. Next we learned about salt marshes. When we simulated a salt marsh by putting a sponge at the coast, the water came out cleaner, but not as much. We also now know that a salt marsh is not an option. But our teacher told us that when fertilizer goes into the bay, plankton multiplys using up all the oxygen. Now that there is no oxygen in the water, the fish all died and washed up on shore. To stop this we should cut down on fertilizers and let plants grow naturally. It is important to preserve our earth and not totally interfere/cancel out a group on the food chain.

I See the "October Sky!"

In school last week, my unit watched a very good movie called "October Sky". October Sky was a very good movie with excellent examples of character ed, and it also showed us kinds of earth and physical science. I was enthralled with the movie and thought very highly of it. We were told to take notes of my school's character ed traits, CARES, (Cooperation, Assertion, Respect, Empathy, Self-Control.), and also examples 0f the sciences.
To tell you about the story, it takes place when Russia's "Sputnik" was first launched. Everyone was amazed at this, and thought it was really neat. The movie goes on in the coal mining town of Coalwood, Virginia. Homer is extremely amazed by Sputnik, so he decides to build his own rocket. After many trial and errors, Homer and his friends finally achieve their goal. Homer wins the national science fair, and after going to Minneapolis, Homer receives offers for college scholarships. Homer is from a poor family, so this is a great opportunity.
Character ed is shown in many ways. Such as when Homer reaches out to the school's nerd and asking him for help. Quentin was very greatful for this. Homer showed empathy by feeling bad for Quentin not having friends and doing something about it. Another example is between Homer and his Dad. Homer's Dad did not allow Homer to build rockets on company property, so Homer showed respect to his dad by building it somewhere else instead of breaking the rules. Homer and Quentin showed cooperation building the rocket. They did not take credit one more than another, they equally shared the attention. In the movie, Homer and his friends almost got arrested because one of their rockets supposedly started a fire. One of the teachers tried to step in and say that it couldn't be their rocket. She felt bad and showed empathy for them by trying to do something. Homer also showed self-control by not totally flipping out when his dad came out of the coal mine injured.
Science was also shown in the movie, and I learned a lot. For instance, Sputnik was very important to people in 1957. I also found out that the nozzle of a rocket directs the flow of the high gases. I also found out that alcohol is a stabele substance that evaporates quickly. I also know that the distance of a rocket can be shown with a parabola.
See how much you can learn by going to the movies?

Respons to Patriots Fan's Patau Syndrome Blog

The disease founded in 1957 by Eramus Bartholan is called Patau's Syndrome. It was founded by Eramus but ascertained by Dr. Klaus Patau. Symptoms of this disease can be a cleft lip, missing an eye, an underdeveloped brain, lung and heart problems, mental disorders, and extra fingers or toes. There is no cure, but the lung and heart problems can be fixed by doctors. One in 16,000 people suffer from this disease, but eighty-two percent die before they reach one years old. Five to ten percent make it to one year. The rest make it shortly into adulthood. Also called Tristan 13, this genetic disorder is caused by deformed cells that are deformed because of an extra copy of a parents chromosome. I think it is a very unfortuante disease and that we should all respect the perseverance of people with this disease and their family. It is something nobody should wish upon anyone and I hope that they someday find a cure so that people with this disease can live a totally normal life. Amen to all patients with Patau's Syndrome.

Canavan Disease

The very fatal Canavan Disease is a tragic genetic disorder that effects approxiamtely ninety percent of all people of the Jewish religion in Ashkenazi. Symptoms include abnormal posture with flexed arm and straight legs, nasal regurgitation, blindness, feeding problems, increasing head size, had lag and lack of head control, poor muscle tone especially in the neck, reflux with vomiting, seisures, mental retardation, swallowing dificulties, and an abnormally high amount of ear infections. There is no cure and no treatment to this disease. Personalized treatments aim to ease the symptoms. It is a very unfortuante occurance that one it 6,400 new borns are carriers of the disease. The population of Ashkenazi is most vulnerable to the disease. The cause of this disease it because of two specific mutations of the aspartoacylase gene. These mutations are mutations on codon 285 and on codon 231 on the aspartoacylase gene. This is an autosomnal recessive gene so a person would need to have the genes on both chromosomes of the 17th pair. It also means this is not a sexually linked trait. All in all, this is a disease that nobody should wish upon another.

Social studies blog: INTERNATIONAL

Is This Necessary North Korea?

North Korea announced Tuesday that it was planning on sending a missile into orbit which US and South Korea officials believe could hit parts of North America. Hilary Rodham Clinton, the U.S's secretary of state, and South Korea's Yu Myung-hwan met and urged the north not to put this test into action. They called it "provocative" and "unhelpful". Mrs. Clinton called it's government a tyranny and offered to help normalize ties and assist with economics if it abandoned it's nuclear program. Many people think that this missile is absurd and funny.

How come a country that can not even feed it's own people put so much money into a space program? I also believe that North Korea should not be allowed to put millions in potential danger. What if that missile hit the U.S.A? What if it hit Newark, New Jersey? Newark is a home to millions of gallons of oil. If a missile were to hit Newark, the entire tri-state area and then some would be blown to smithereens.  It is unnecessary for North Korea to do this, and it is also a risky move. This could put them as the most hated country in the world if it destroyed a lot of land, which could cut off the help they receive from other countries, leaving them broke, needy, and positively putrid. As a citizen of North America, I would not like my homeland in danger, and personally, would not allow it. Action must be taken on this immediately. If that missile hits North America, or the U.S.A, politics will laugh at Obama for not taking action on a deadly threat. How do you think that would make the U.S.A look. We would be an embarrassment to the the world!

Science Blog 8

NASA SATELLITE CRASHES!

Houston, we have a problem. The rocket that was carrying NASA's Orbiting Carbon Observatory, (OCO for short), crashed moments after taking off today, February 24, 2009. It crashed in the atlantic ocean near Antarctica due to some technical glitches earlier in the morning. The OCO's mission was to monitor carbon dioxide emissions for the next nine years, helping scientists understand the distribution of green house gas. NASA officials say that the 270 million dollar mission was an utter fail. That means NASA lost a whole lot of money, especially in this recession. The OCO was carried in a Taurus XL rocket that successfully launched at 4:55 AM this morning from Vandenberg Air Force Base. Chuck Dovale said that launch and countdown went as normal, except for a minor unrelated glitch. NASA employees began to get hints that something was wrong as soon as the rocket failed to shed the clamshell that held the OCO. With too much weight, the structure was too large to go into orbit. So, gravity then took it's toll and pulled the aircraft to earth. Since it crashed in the middle of the ocean, and nobody was aboard the aircraft, nobody got hurt.

In my opinion, there should be a way to figure out if this kind of glitch will happen. For instance, they could build an exact to scale model that will launch up higher than a toy rocket. It is not good that the craft crashed, because it adds to the pollution. I hope NASA will clean this up. If not, it goes against their mission to go green. The crash could have disturbed habitats of animals if it was elsewhere. What if it crashed in a suburban community like the ones many live in? NASA is totally responsible for this in every way and is lucky that something worse did not happen. All in all, the OCO was a mission gone bad.

Source: National Geographics

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/02/090224-nasa-satellite-crash.html

My Roller Coaster Website

Vesuvius

Science Blog 7

Colossal Coasters

Hills and thrills, spine tingling chills. This is how I describe a roller coaster. This week in science class, I have the chance to create my very own coaster. My group so far has one big drop a hill a bend and a sickening twist. This is all possible, but not without physics! There's kinetic and potential energy involved. For instance, one thing I learned is that you have the most potential energy at the top of a hill. This is probably because if the tracks didn't hold you down, you would fly right off, therefore, having the most energy. At the bottom of the hill, you will experience the most kinetic energy. Roller coasters have all the chills and thrills we want, yet we also experience some of the craziest facts of science. I liked roller coasters before, but now that I know why they're so amazing, I love them even more.

Source: http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/GBSSCI/PHYS/mmedia/energy/ce.html

Social Studies 2

Chromium Commotion

The Natural Resources Defense Council and the Interfaith Community Organization had some pretty serious issues with Pittsburgh. They sued the city for chromium pollution from 25 years ago. Many people with the power to do something about the pollution have ignored it for years. Not many see it as urgent as the people who live and work in the area. The lot of a demolished building is hazardous to many people's health. So finally, the NRDC and ICO decided to sue Pittsburgh on Febuary 3rd, 2009. They aren't looking for anything more than the area to be cleaned up.

What they are trying to get across is that the amount of pollution is more than legal, and something has to be done. Jersey City has been waiting 25 years for it to be cleaned up, and it hasn't. In my opinion, they deserve a clean area to live and work. People who live down the street won't want to walk outside for some fresh air on a warm summer night. Playing outside in the snow won't be pleasing when the smell is sickening. All in all, the fair thing to do in this case is have Pittsburgh clean up the mess they started.

Source: nj

Social Studies Blog One

Inauguration Celebration!

On January twentieth, almost every eye was glued on Barack Obama as he delivered the inaugural oath. "I Barack Hussein Obama...." were the beginning words of what will go down in history. His twenty minute speech was inspirational, as he delivered with such quality and dignity. His inspiration was Abraham Lincoln, and like Honest Abe, Obama will go down in history as the first ever African-American president. 

For  the first article, I looked at the New York Times. They absolutely positively  had great things to say about our 44th president. "He spoke to a sea of people... with just over a million covering the national mall." They didn't even mention the rest who were watching at home, work, or school. For those who don't know, the national mall is 300 acres stretching from the white house to the Washington memorial. Obama addressed himself as "...a man whose father not even sixty years ago might not have been served at a restaurant." Well look at where that father's son got today. After reciting the oath on Lincoln's bible, he had lunch with the continental congress and marched in the parade. The Inauguration was a day to remember.

The Washington Times sure did have a good word. They said than the The American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association encouraged bringing the inauguration into classrooms. They said it was "Not only important the students understand we are watching and making history, but carrying out the wishes of Dr. King..." So this inaugural was in the will of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. I believe that they are right, and that this inaugural stands for something bigger.

In my opinion, this inaugural was history. Personally, I saw it, I witnessed it, I saw history. Actually, We saw it, WE witnessed it, WE saw history. All in all, we should all be proud of our nation for making history come true.

Sources: NY Times- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/us/politics/20web-inaug2.html?scp=1&sq=inauguration%202009&st=cse

Washington Times- http://www.washingtontimes.com/nes/2009/jan/12/teachers-bringing-inaugural-classroom

Science Blog 6

In class activity: stations.

In our science class, we have been learning about the exciting subject of defraction, waves, and reflection. After our quiz on this, we performed this interesting activity, a rotation of stations. In these stations I discovered many new things. I did stations that showed me how colors are defracted, and how light is reflected. For one, these stations showed me the colors in a bubble defracted, and how light can be reflected off of one surface onto another. This one station showed me how water is a box. The water reflects images off of the surface, but you can not see out of the box because the water also reflects inside the box too. Or when I saw the colors defracted from the white light on the bubble, I learned that light seperates colors. I also learned about the persistence of image. An image projected onto a surface is still there in the air. When a rod is waved, it almost looks like a wall. So the image is projected onto the "wall".

All in all, I think that these stations were very prominent in the learning of these subjects.

Science Blog 5

Internet Usage.... In China: And my opinion about what the government does with those users.

China's internet network center has reported that forty-two percent more people are using the internet. But, internet penetration has reached its highest ever global average. By the end of 2008, 298 million people were using the internet (about the same as the population of the USA), but ninety percent of those users use broadband connections. Internet penetration  has reached  twenty-two point six percent by the end of 2008 along with that. 

My opinion about all this is that they need to get out some more. With over 298 million internet users, it shows that many people are not getting the exercise they need. If the body is sitting in front of a computer for too long, the calories are not burned and people gain weight. Also, if staring at a screen for too long, eyesight can get bad. But what surprises me most is what the government does to these users. The Chinese government monitors the users activity and checks out any suspicious activities. They have been known to arrest blog writers for many different reasons. Overall, I personally do not approve of this habit.

Source: http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=212900560&subSection=Browsers