Disney World!!

Everyone loves Disney World! They love the rides the characters, and of course the food. But, for Jeffrey Reed, a 44-year-old man, who at that time lived in Florida, might have thought otherwise. Unfortunately Reed was found with out a pulse after riding Expedition Everest located in the Animal Kingdom Amusement Park in Disney World, Florida. December 18, 2007 was not a fun filled day for himself and his family. Investigators are not sure if the death was due to a previous health problem or just from the adventure on the ride. There is also a record that at least 15 people had died between both Amusement Parks, in Florida and California since 1989. But, some had previous health conditions, which meant it was not all caused by the ride. Animal Kingdom is taking the procedure at which they found that the ride had been working properly, but they closed it down until further information is reported. I agree with the actions taking place because they wouldn’t want to lose anymore lives than they already did. It’s a good thing to look thoroughly, and investigate the problem. But, this accident should not make people think other wise about Disney? Is this bad for the business or good for the people?

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22316563/

TAG!

My favorite TV show is One Tree Hill. I like it because there is a lot of drama and the situations can happen to anyone.

My favorite meal is corn beef and cabbage. This is an Irish type meal so I guess it comes naturally.

My favorite non-school activity is hanging out with my friends. I love just socializing and having fun!

Someone I look up to is my grandmother. She always wants to have fun, and she is so funny! I hope when I’m her age I can look at life the way she does now.

My goal for the future is to open my own restaurant. It would just be so much fun to run a restaurant! I’m even starting to think of names for it now!

In the first hour after school I’m usually practicing sports.

2007-2008!!!!

HAHAHA! this is the new school year! Yeahhh!

Layer to Layer!

Mercury, Venus and the Earth, Mars, Jupiter, and Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. There is one specific planet that our class researched about, and that is the earth! I believe that because we live on earth, we needed to research about it right? The earth has five different layers. There is the crust, the Moho, the mantle, the outer core and the inner core. The crust is a thin layer of rock that forms over the Earth’s outer skin. There are two different types of crust- continental crust and oceanic crust. We actually live on the crust! The continental crust is mainly made of igneous rocks, and is divided into two layers. The oceanic crust is crust below the ocean. Oceanic crust is said to have much younger rocks than the continental crust. The next layer is the Moho layer. The full name of is Mohorovicic discontinuity. The Moho layer is the boundary surface that separates the Earth's crust from the mantle. It is also very thin like the crust. The next layer in from the outside is the mantle. Simply, the layer is a layer of hot rock! Included in the mantle layer is dense iron and magnesium. The top of the mantle has a very rigid texture. Lithosphere is also at the uppermost part of the mantle. The next layer is the outer core. The outer core is a layer of molten metal that surrounds in the inner core. This layer lies directly underneath the mantle. This layer is about 2300 kilometers thick. The final main layer of the earth is the inner core. This core is a dense ball of solid metal. Extreme pressure squeezes the atoms of the iron and nickel that it can’t spread out and it becomes liquid. The inner core has a radius of about 1300 kilometers. All of these layers make up the earth’s formation, and without even the smallest layer, such as the crust, there could be no life on earth! So just be glad that we have these layers to keep us alive!

Class Response
Extra Information:
http://mediatheek.thinkquest.nl/~ll125/en/crust.htm
http://www.amateurgeologist.com/content/glossary/earth/earth.html
Picture: http://www.earthscrust.org/earthscrust/science/historic/img/mohorovicicdiscon.gif

JAMES ISAAC NEUTRON! T3 CR

"James Isaac Neutron you fix this mess us immediately!" This quote is from the television show, "Jimmy Neutron, Boy Genius." It is about a very smart boy who loves science. Well, if you look at the name, you can take the Isaac and the Neutron, and change that into Isaac Newton. Newton, a very famous scientist of England, discovered the gravitational pull of many objects. He was born on January 4th 1643, but unfortunately he died March 31st, 1767. Newton had three separate laws relating to gravity and our earth. Newton’s 1st law is an object at rest tends to stay at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion with the same speed and in the same direction, unless acted apon and unbalanced force. An example for his 1st law is that if you are in a car, and you are at rest, and if the car is in motion and it suddenly stops, you move as the car had done before the stop. So, if you don’t have a seatbelt on, you could go flying through the roof or the windshield of the car. If you look back to the governor’s accident a few weeks back, he wasn’t wearing a seatbelt as the car hit the breaks. He was badly injured, all because of Newton’s 1st law. Isaac Newton’s 2nd law was, in my opinion, very interesting. His 2nd law shows how force, mass and acceleration are related. There is also a formula that is used to find the force of an object. It is force = mass x acceleration. This is also measured in a measurement called Newtons (1N.) An example of Newton’s second law is if a girl throws a heavy ball with a larger amount of mass rather then a small ball, she will need more force if she wants to throw it. If she throws the small ball, there won’t be a lot of force needed to make it go through the air. The heavier ball will go straight across with less force, while the small ball will go up higher in the air with more force. Newton’s 3rd and final law is the law stating that for every action, there is an opposite or equal reaction. An example of this law is that if you are on a boat, and you reach your leg out for the dock you want to get onto, the push of your foot to get onto the dock will push the boat backwards, as a reaction to you going forwards. But because of the opposite forces, you will have a less likely chance of actually reaching the dock. Newton’s laws are very amazing and interesting to see how you can relate them to life. I now know that every time I get off of our families’ paddleboat, I will be careful to not use Newton’s third law! Now that I am aware of Isaac Newton’s wonderful laws, I know that I am more alert in my life, and my surroundings.

CLASS SUBJECT: Newton's Laws
EXTRA INFORMATION: http://www.glenbrook.k12.il.us/gbssci/phys/Class/newtlaws/u2l1a.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isaac_Newton
PICTURE:
http://www.maths-rometus.org/images/histoireDesMathematiques/isaac_newton_hd.jpg

Extra Body Weight, Something to Hate? T2

There are a numerous amount of obese people in this world, as I have talked about in many other blog entries. Well, many scientists are now discovering that not only can others be obese from genetics, but they can also be overweight if their mother had gained too much weight during their pregnancy. Scientists refer to the women body weight as "body-mass index (BMI)." To have a normal BMI, mothers should gain around 25-35 pounds while being pregnant. But women who gain more then that could be considered a woman with a higher BMI. Researchers took surveys on 1,044 pairs of mothers, and found out that 50% of the women gained more weight then the recommended amount. One third met the endorsed amount, but the other 14% went under 25-35 pounds. Many mothers don’t realize that the weight they gain can affect their own toddler’s weight. Gaining too much weight as the mother, and passing it down to the offspring can also lead to a cesarean section. Scientists of New York also say that no decision or conclusion is final yet because more tests have to be taken. Dr. Emily Oken has also found that if a parent has diabetes and is giving birth, the child has a high risk of becoming overweight later in life. They could also be born as a bigger and bulky baby. Oken also said that some factors in the womb can affect the babies risk. (Make it higher.) Not only can the mother make the baby overweight, but she can also make herself obese. This could affect her because she might not be able to lose the weight gained. In all, many scientists want mothers to keep their weight down. Dr. Jennifer Wu, an obstetrician-gynecologist at Lenox Hill Hospital in New York, who wasn’t even contributing to this study, realized that mothers are becoming obese, which connects to their infant. The new work suggests that no matter their starting weight, pregnant women may need to steer for the lower lightness of their recommended weight gains. "For their own well-being and the further well-being of the child," Wu said. I agree with this, because many parents might get embarrassed that they are overweight, and maybe even that their child is. They can prevent this with all of the information that researchers are sharing with the world. Many citizens don’t realize that they can do something about their weight. With this, we could have less obese people in this world, and others won’t be self-conscience about their weight. You never know, this could happen.

LINK: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17900067/
http://www.msnbc.com
PICTURE: http://bradfitzpatrick.com/stock_illustration/images/cartoon_pregnant_woman_01.gif

Schools and Companies... Are they really Helping? T2

In our school, the Board of Education took out sweets, or other snacks that had extreme amounts of sugar in it. Many of our individual bags of chips were taken out. This same action is occurring all around the world. Schools decided to start this change due to 17% of Americans between the ages of 2 and 19 are overweight. From each school, soda was the main beverage that was taken out of school districts. Many soda industries were getting very angry at this situation because they were losing money slowly and surely. But because they needed the money, they decided to help as much as possible. So in May of 2006, Coca-Cola Co., PepsiCo Inc. Cadbury Schweppes Plc, and the American Beverage Association created guidelines to help the schools nutritious drinks be a go! Later during the school year [January,] Bravo! Brands Inc. started selling flavored milk in the schools vending machines. They were tied in with Coca-Cola Enterprises Inc. These businesses just tried to do as much as possible for the school, without loosing money. The Dannon Company Inc., also agreed to supply the school with low-fat yogurts, and smoothies. At the same time, Pepsi is reformulating the oh so popular Doritos, Cheetos and Quaker products. They would be given to schools for the 2007-2008 school year. Pepsi is also giving the schools Frito-Lay’s Flat Earth Fruit/Vegetable crisps. Dole is also, at this moment, testing fruits to see if they can keep them fresh and put them in vending machines. They are trying to do this in four of our fifty states. Will it spread to every state? We’ll have to see. I don’t agree with going through all of this trouble, because in my opinion, it’s a waste. The students might not have the chance to eat and drink unhealthy foods at school, but as soon as they get home, they can pig out on whatever they feel like it, depending on what’s in their house. Students also get very angry at the school system, because for the scholars who are not overweight, the foods that they might like are gone. I do give the companies and schools credit for trying so hard to make sure that all kids are healthy and in shape. But the schools also don’t realize that the heaviness of someone could just be genetics, and that person can’t control that. Also, only 17% of kids in America are overweight, which is not even half! I think that school and companies should wait until there are at least 50% of kids overweight and not just 17%. Schools need to grasp that they are not helping anyone in this situation. Kids can just go home and let themselves do what they want, and eat what they want! This relates to science because of the human body. Being overweight, like I said before, could be because of genetics, and that is a main topic in science. We just learned, in science class, about Gregor Mendel and his discovery of genetics, using pea plants. So, are the schools seeing that there is change going on, or are they just trying to look like they care?

Main LINK: http://www.msn.com
Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/18091511/
Picture: http://www.growingkids.co.uk/images/828.jpg

Sunitas Place could Be in Space! T2

Astronauts are very important people in this world. They help us discover different facts and information about space and our solar system. Well, a very helpful astronaut, Sunita Williams, is stuck in space after trying to find more information for us. She was supposed to stay in outer space for only seven months, but do to a hailstorm and its damage to the fuel tank, she will not be home a little while longer after her original date, June 28th. She left in December of last year, and was hoping to get back seven months following the month of December. Unfortunately she will not be able to get back at her scheduled time. Space shuttle Endeavour is not cooperating with her at all! Other astronauts are sending items up to her so she would feel more comfortable. Many others are also concerned about her health. Flight surgeon Dave Alexander said Sunita Williams’s physical fitness, mental well being, and radiation exposure would be monitored carefully, but he also said, "right now, the predictions are Sunita can stay up for an extended period of time." This is not very good for her health, and I hope that she is still able to survive in a whole other "WORLD." Sunita Williams could be setting another world record for one of the longest amount of time spent in space. The sun is also a part of space, and the sun is a part of our classes studies! If Williams and her ship get close to the sun, which could be considered thousands of miles away, Williams could be fried! I just hope and pray that Williams get home safe and sound!

LINK: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17821426/
SOURCE: MSNBC .com
PICTURE: http://www.spacefacts.de/bios/portraits2/astronauts/williams_sunita.jpg

Hey! It's DNA!

Hey! How’s your DNA? Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA) is inside of everyone, and the odd thing is, no two people have the same DNA! How cool! DNA has the structure of a double helix, which is made up of Deoxyribose. Together with the Deoxyribose, there are little strands of Phosphate. Who would have ever thought? DNA contains YOUR genetic information. It is very intriguing how DNA stores almost everything about you! Now, you know how to match socks together right? Two ADIDAS ® go together, and so does a pair of Nike ®. Well, DNA works like that to. The two nitrogen bases that go together are Adenine (A) and Thymine (T). These two never leave each other’s side. Along with this, the other two bases that "stick to each other like glue" are Cytosine (C) and Guanine (G). When these nitrogen bases are conjoined, there are Hydrogen Bonds between them. Now of course a scientist had to discover DNA, but whom? There are so many researchers out in the world, but a few researchers were the ones that help us know what we do today. James D. Watson, and Francis Crick, helped us have the knowledge that we have today. Now these were the scientists that studied a little bit of everything, and that is why they are well known. Scientists like Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins were the researchers that used X-ray diffraction’s of the DNA molecule to identify the structure of DNA. But, the man who started things off was Robert Hooke, who observed honeycomb-shaped structures under his microscope. When Hooke looked at his structures, it surprisingly led to the cell theory. Deoxyribonucleic Acid or DNA is a great thing to learn and I’m very thankful that I had the opportunity to acquire this wisdom. DNA was a topic that I understood very well, and I believe that could have been from the researcher of natural science that gave us all the information that they could to help us understand it more. I didn’t know about the nitrogen bases (A, T, C, and G), and I definitely didn’t know about all of the names of the structures. It was all so new to me, but after this study, I can refer to it very well. What does your DNA look like?

Topic: DNA
Links: (extra information)
http://www.dnai.org/
http://www.pbs.org/wnet/dna/episode1/index.html
http://library.thinkquest.org/18617/data/history/history.html

The Father of Genetics!

I am the father of genetics! Who could this amazing person be? Gregor Mendel was a priest, also known as a monk. He lived in Eastern Europe, and was proudly known as the father of genetics. Mendel was born on July 22nd, 1822, and was born into a poor peasant family. Mendel didn’t live just anywhere in Europe; he lived in a monastery. When he lived there, Mendel left to attend the University of Vienna. Unfortunately and fortunately, he failed his tests, which meant he didn’t receive a teaching degree. Mendel only went to the University to study mathematics and science, but sadly couldn’t succeed. When he went back to the monastery after Vienna, he tended a garden. This wasn’t just any old garden used for growing. Mendel just didn’t wait for his food to grow so he could eat it-he studied pea plants! He observed large amounts of pea plants by examining the heredity, variations, and evolutions. With previous knowledge from other scientists, Mendel knew he could study the traits of the different pea generations. Recessive, the lowercase letters in the genetic code, and dominant, the uppercase, are parts of genetics. Mendel, being very smart, was able to start this new code by using letters. In addition to finding the code, Mendel used his intelligibility to write down his notes! He wrote down information, good notes, and his experiment, which made him very well known. Many foregoing scientists studied or tried to study genetics, but they didn’t write it down. Because of this, these scientists were not recognized for their actions. In the beginning I mentioned that it was unfortunate and fortunate that he failed his test. But how could it be both? After Mendel failed, he went back to the monastery, and he started genetics. If he didn’t do this, then we might not know the information about genetics that we do today. In the 1900’s Mendels work was shared with all of us in the world. Unfortunately he died in 1884, and was not there to see his work be shown to the public. I’m very happy that Mendel observed the pea plants, because if it weren’t for him I wouldn’t know as much about genetics using the example of pea plants. "My father" did a great job!

TOPIC: Gregor Mendel
Link: http://library.thinkquest.org/20465/mendl.html

No Way Jose!

Leave it to Beaver was a very popular late 1950- early 1960 television show that is currently aired on TV Land. When this show was first aired, I am sure that many people were very excited about it. I believe that they may have reacted the same way that people recently reacted when a beaver was spotted in New York City for the first time in over 200 years. A beaver was spotted swimming up the Bronx River on Wednesday, the 23rd of February. A biologist videotaped the beaver and his twig-and-mud lodge in the river. A beaver suddenly spotted after 200 years, is again spotted. Why is this? "It had to happen because beaver populations are expanding, and their habitats are shrinking," explained Dietland Muller-Schwarze, a beaver expert at the State University of New York College of Environmental Science and Forestry in Syracuse. He also said that New York City will probably be seeing more of these around in the near future. The beaver that they had spotted appeared to be a male, several feet long, and 2 or 3 years old. This was said by Patrick Thomas, from the near by Bronx Zoo. The animal, the beaver, was also put on the NY seal. But, they have not been spotted in New York since the 1800's. The beaver was on the seal to represent the Dutch Trading Company’s that factored the city’s colonial beginnings. Believe it or not, scientists have also given a nickname to this beaver. In honor of the US Representative, Jose Serrano, who helped revive the river, the beaver was named "Jose." This relates to science because the beaver has not lived in such an environment for over 200 years. This could be from people polluting their land, and they had to find some where to go. I’m guessing New York City was the only place that the beavers had felt comfortable in. I do agree with Dietland Muller-Schwarze that more beavers will come because beavers usually live in packs or families. They all chip in to make sure that everyone is getting what they need to survive. I think beavers have the right to live there, and they should never be kicked out or pushed away. I hope that no one in NYC will push them away from where they like it. How would you feel if you were kicked out of your home so others could get what they want? I’m just guessing not very good. Now, agree with me on this, and hope that beavers are safe in New York City!

I used http://msnbc.com/
ARTICLE TITLE: First Beaver Spotted in NYC in 200 Years
Link: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17297004/
Picture:http://www.dec.state.ny.us/website/education/beaver.gif

You Wish for Fish!

Do you like fish? Is it tasty? Do you feel smarter when you eat it? Inside fish, there is a large amount of omega-3's, and fatty acid, which is very significant to brain development. Researchers say that if pregnant women eat fish, they could boost their babies IQ. Scientist are also trying to see if eating fish can help develop communication skills, and hand-eye coordination. Tests also concluded that if pregnant women eat more than 12 ounces per week of fish or seafood, which is the same as two or three servings per week, then their children could have better development skills. But on the other hand, children whose mothers eat no seafood, were 48% more likely to have a low IQ score. You might think, yeah whatever, I don’t like fish so what does it matter? Well researchers also said that if you don’t eat even a little bit of seafood during your pregnancy, then you COULD be harming your baby. The fetus would not be getting the essential nutrients that it needs to help develop their brain. Dr. Joseph Hibbeln from the United States National Institute of Health went to Bristol, Britain to study 11,875 pregnant woman. Dr. Hibbeln asked the women to do a seafood questionnaire. He did this four times while they were pregnant, and then up to eight years after the child was born. They did consider the bad effects of eating extremely too much fish during a pregnancy. It is okay to eat a tad bit more then three servings of fish, but you can’t eat much more. There is mercury, which is known as a chemical, inside fish, so if eaten too much, it can damage the human nervous system, and could cause developing problems. This is only because of the metal from the mercury. Why is mercury in fish? How did it get there? Mercury could be carried by humans, and natures own emissions, but it is mostly in the air. Then it is transferred into the water, which is when the fish have the chance to absorb the particles. This has to do with science, because it has to do with pregnancies, and they have to do with heredity and genes. Passing down genes could mean passing down the traits of being tall, smart, heavy or light, the color of your hair, the color of your eyes and more! I do agree with the researchers who research the fish because most of the facts sound very accurate. Fish is very good for you, and is very healthy , so if you’re pregnant, it helps your baby a lot. 12 ounces per week, or 2-3 servings, is not that much, so it’s not that hard to make sure your baby is healthy. Who would have ever thought fish could help your baby?

ARTICLE TITLE: When Pregnant Mom Eats Fish, Kids do Better

I used http://www.msnbc.com online

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17185324

http://www1.istockphoto.com/file_thumbview_approve/281933/2/istockphoto_281933_cooked_fish.jpg

Sports for Kids Like You!

Would you prefer television or badminton? Or would you rather watch TV or do archery? After a four-year study in the USA, any kids, between the ages 10-15, are known to watch TV and relax, than to exercise and play sports. While watching television, kids usually eat snacks, also known as "junk food." This consists of chips, ice cream, brownies, cookies and more! This action takes place throughout our lives, and it should be stopped. When kids do exercise more, they are able to keep weight off of them, and stay fit. Many children, who are involved in activities, are known to be more healthy and active. A survey shows, that after asking more than 10,000 girls and boys, that girls spend roughly 10 hours week watching TV, while at the same time boys spend around 12 hours a week. But at the same time, girls are only active for 12 hours a week, and boys are active for 14 hours. I feel that kids should be active for at least 8 hours a week, so they’re not always sitting around eating "bonbons." If you’re not active, there is a higher chance that you would be obese. Most kids also get offended when someone makes fun or their weight, but they don’t realize that they can easily change that. This relates to science because of your health. When you eat junk food, or don’t exercise, it’s not good for your future because you could have a chance of heart disease, high cholesterol and breathing problems. Many kids, who might be active, could be over weight and that could just be heredity, just like we learned about it class. Kids sometimes don’t realize how their weight can effect them, and that it why everyone should know what is going on in this world, and how others have the chance to fix it!

If any problems occur go to www.msnbc.com then go to the category: health, then fitness.
ARITICLE TITLE: Less TV Doesn't Mean Kids Will Exercise More
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16989764/
http://www.exploreseville.com/images/basic-info/television.jpg

Haha! I just put two new avatars on my BLOG! They rock. If you love this movie or love the candy, COMMENT ME!!
~Kobie