Friday, February 27, 2009

Links for 2.27.09

Transpiration Lab

Drink Up, Energy Hogs


Are people still drinking that much bottled water? Really??

Deconstructing the Ribosome


Interesting article on the evolution of a highly complex structure - the ribosome.

Sunday, February 15, 2009

Chapter 35 and 36 review packet answers

Answers for chapter 35 and 36 review packets

Chapter 35

MATCHING

1...H .6...A
2...F .7...C
3...B .8...D
4...E .9...J
5...I .10...G

MULTIPLE CHOICE
1...A .9...E
2...E .10...D
3...B .11...E
4...C .12...B
5...B .13...C
6...A .14...C
7...E .15...E
8...C .16...D


CHAPTER 36

1...B .11...A
2...E .12...C
3...D .13...E
4...A .14...B
5...C .15...C
6...B .16...D
7...D .17...D
8...D .18...B
9...A .19...D
10...C .20...C

Tuesday, February 10, 2009

Links: 2.10.09

Projected records: Baseball 2009

Wonder how it would feel in Tampa if the Rays have the second highest win total in franchise history, and yet miss the playoffs. Ouch. As far as the Orioles winning 76 games, which would be an 8 game improvement over last year, I think that sounds about right.

Flu: It's the humidity. Absolutely


Winter is flu season in the world's temperate regions, but scientists still aren't sure why. Now, it turns out that the answer may have been staring them in the face all along. A reanalysis of data from past studies suggests that low absolute humidity--not low relative humidity, the factor many scientists have studied--helps the virus survive and the flu spread.

"Immortal" Jellyfish Swarm World's Oceans

A potentially "immortal" jellyfish species that can age backward—the Benjamin Button of the deep—is silently invading the world's oceans, swarm by swarm, a recent study says.

Time to put Darwin in his Place

Charles Darwin would be 200 years old this week. And after all these years, people are still arguing about the theory of evolution that he fathered.
[..]
But there's another reason for the ongoing debate that may surprise you: The terms "Darwinian evolution" and "Darwinism" — used frequently by scientists and the media — are misleading.

Friday, February 6, 2009

New post format: Links for 2.6.09

I realized the other day that I have not posted anything here for a long time: Just about a month. I am going to start a new type of post - the links dump. Just a bunch of links to things around the Interwebs that I find interesting/important/amusing. They won't all be science-related - I do enjoy reading about things besides science.

Energy Drinks: The coffee of a new generation?

Several studies have demonstrated that strong doses of caffeine can increase hypertension, cause heart palpitations, provoke irritability and anxiety as well as cause headaches and insomnia. Health Canada does not recommend consuming more than two cans per day.

What causes schizophrenia?

Researchers in Sweden have revealed a surprising change in brain biochemistry that occurs during the training of working memory, a buffer that stores information for the few second required to solve problems or even to understand what we are reading. The discovery may have implications for understanding disorders in which working memory is deficient — such as schizophrenia and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD).

Scientists find world's largest snake

The scientists estimate the snake lived 58 to 60 million years ago and was around 13 metres long. The giant, found in northeastern Colombia, dwarfs modern pythons and anacondas which usually don't exceed 6-6.5 metres and are thought to be the largest living snakes.

Amid rising childhood obesity, preschoolers found to be inactive

They found that the preschoolers were inactive for much of their preschool day, with 89 percent of physical activity characterized as sedentary. Even when they played outside, a time when children are expected to move around, 56 percent of their activities were sedentary


A much earlier start for animals


Where did all the animals come from? The fossil record is virtually animal-free up until the Cambrian Explosion 540 million years ago, and then--boom--thousands of critters of all shapes and sizes show up. The mystery has plagued scientists for more than a century and a half, beginning with Charles Darwin. Now, with a brilliant bit of detective work, researchers have located our missing ancestors.