Welcome back from the break.
This week your assignment is to find an article that relates to any of the topics we have covered so far this year — Ecology, Evolution, or Genetics. Then, you will post your weekly science article report as usual. Try to focus on making connections between what you have read and what we have studied.
As always, I look forward to reading your reports.
59 responses so far ↓
1
clark
// Feb 27, 2007 at 6:33 pm
Weekly Science Article Report #12
“A Giant Flower’s New Family” by Emily Sohn. I found the article at http://www.sciencenewsforkids.com.
The article “A Giant Flower’s New Family” talks about the Rafflesia plant (I am not actually sure if it is a plant. I will say why later). The Rafflesia plant is the world’s largest known flower (it is also one of the most smelly plants). Recent studies have suggested that the species has evolved from other plants as the Euphorbiaceae or poinsettias. This is strange because the other flowers are very small compared to the Rafflesia plant. It is also strange because the Rafflesia plant is a parasite (remember that from our ecology unit? If not, a parasite is the organism in the ecological relationship of parasitism that benefits while its host suffers). That is why I was unsure if it is considered a plant. The host of the Rafflesia is a member of the grapevine family.
What did this article have to do with Ecology, Genes, or Evolution?
This article was actually about all three of the subjects! It has to do with Ecology because of the fact that Rafflesia are parasites, and that is one of the parts that makes the relationship between it and the other species questionable. It has to do with Genes because similar genes between the Rafflesias and the other plants are what suggested that they even were related. It has to do with Evolution (obviously) because the new information on the plants suggests that the Rafflesias and the other plants evolved from a common ancestor. The article also talks about how such a big change could have occurred in the past causing the related plants to differ.
I kind of liked the article. Emily Sohn did a great job writing it and I had a lot to write about it, but the topic was sort of boring to me. There wasn’t anything wrong with the article though. Also I wish there was some easier way to pronounce the names of the plants, or some sort of nickname was given to them. I rate the article a 7.8 out of 10.
PS: I was the 1st person to post this week (I guess there is a first time for everything)! I bet no one will read this report though, because it is so long!
2
progress report
// Feb 27, 2007 at 9:47 pm
Weekly Science Report #12
By project report
Week of 2.26.2007
Citation:
Title: Progress Is Reported on a Type of Autism
Author: Nicholas Wade
Published: February 20, 2007:
Publication by: http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/20/health/20rett.html?ex=1172638800&en=801dee9ed9b495fb&ei=5070
Summary:
My Weekly science article report has to do with the study of genetics in people and mice with the Rett form of autism. Rett is classified by vocal and large motor functions being turned off at around the age of three and is caused by a mutation in the MECP2 gene. The MECP2 gene recognizes “…chemical tags called methyl groups that get added to DNA at what are called CpG sites, and to recruit proteins that silence or switch off the genes at these regions.” Reinstating the gene correctly would put things back in order Researchers came across evidence that the “The gene [MECP2,] is carried on the X chromosome, …one copy, the one bequeathed by either the mother or the father, is randomly inactivated in each cell…” Females have two X chromosomes while males have one. This means that females would have a greater chance of being born with Rett because “…half the cells will have a good copy, half a bad one.” than, “Males with a defective MECP2 gene [who] mostly die before birth,” because they don’t have a good version of the gene. The researchers “…engineered a strain of mice whose MECP2 genes had been inactivated with the insertion of an extra block of DNA.” From this experiment the mice began to develop human-like Rett symptoms. After that, a second gene was engineered and distributed among that had “…the ability to snip out the interfering block of DNA…” in the MECP2. Then by injecting the drug tamoxifen the mice’ symptoms (even older ones) began to alleviate. This may be concluding that scientists will soon be able to correct the errant gene for Rett and find ways to ‘reverse’ the effects for postnatal disorders in soon time. If so, it would be a great scientific step in the study of neurological disorders.
Reflection:
It’s so amazing that we may soon be able to correct neurological disorders by being able to correct genes! Gene engineering is really going to change the way the whole human race (and perhaps other animal races, for that matter) go about living. From what I’ve heard, autistic persons are really quite intelligent; I can only wonder what will happen when they don’t have to live with the burden of their disorder anymore. And what will become of them? Will they be so used to their autism that they cannot completely switch over to easier, more enlightened state of being, or will they rank next to the adolescent rocket-science mastermind? Maybe not an adolescent mastermind but someone with their medical background be able to make average scores and live a completely autistic-untainted life. It perplexes me to think that will be able to change people to be smarter than they were or to relieve genetic disorders.
My topic ties up with genetics. The article mentions being able to change the genetics of someone’s genes to relieve postnatal disorders.
3
FuNkYy MoNkEy
// Feb 28, 2007 at 5:03 pm
The article I chose is called “From Chimps to People,” by E.Sohn. I found this article at http://sciencenewsforkids.com/articles/20050907/Note2.asp
This article is mainly about scientists that are studyng how closley chimps are related to humans. Scientists figured out after they have been studying the DNA of chimps and humans that we might be more genetically different than everyone thought. Scientists also figured out that humans and chimps might have 3 billion important base pairs that are the same but also almost as much as 3 billion important base pairs that are different. Also scientists have found that the DNA have changed a lot over the past hundred thousand years. Finally scientists have found that there is a wariety in chromosomes between chimps and humans.
I really liked this article and it really appealed to me. I have always wanted to find out how closey related we are to humans, since people say to me well we used to be a monkey. I wished that the author had put more information into the article though and some that wasn’t so scientific. I really liked learning about how closey related we are to chimps and it is really interesting. I think a couple of billion years ago we were chimps or maybe a different type of monkey. Overall I thought that this article was really interesting and focused on a cool topic.
This article goes under the topic of genetics and evolution. The article talks about how chimps genes are closey related to humans and frequently mentions DNA and bases. It also goes under the topic of evolution because it mentions how DNA has changed a lot in the last 250,000 years.
4
Jamie
// Feb 28, 2007 at 6:44 pm
Engineering a cure: Genetic modified cells fight cancer
http://www.phschool.com/science/science_news/articles/engineering_a_cure.html
Scientists have come up with a gene that can transform normal cells into cancer fighting machines. The technique involves targeting immune cells ( T-cells ) and replace all of them with anticancer cells. The only problem is, only some of the patients have the strong enough T-cells to do this. Also, the T- cells that target breast, lung and liver cancer are very hard to find at an early enough time. The scientists got 17 people with advanced cancer and gave them the virus that caused the cells to recognize cancer tumors. Two of the patients had their tumors regress over the next five months, now they are cancer free.
Although the other 15 patients didn’t get significantly better, this is a big step for finding a cure for cancer. But the team of scientists are now working on a way to give cells, even more aggressive cancer killing vaccines.
5
GR1MR34P3R
// Mar 1, 2007 at 11:09 am
What Makes a Dog?
Author: Emily Sohn
Founded: Science news for kids
Date Founded: April 24, 2004
Summary
My article had to do with dog’s genes. Dogs Genes are very complicated and kind of weird. They can reproduce with other species such as wolfs or jackals. There are also a lot of different kinds of dogs like the poodle and they pug those are two way different dogs but are the same species. DNA is like an instruction manual for life. Every cell contains DNA molecules, and these molecules include genes, which tell cells what to do. This spring, researchers from the Whitehead Institute for Biomedical Research in Cambridge, expect to complete a detailed scan of the entire set of DNA in a boxer named Tasha. They’ll be able to compare the boxer’s DNA to that of a poodle.
Reflection
I think that it is very interesting how scientists are able to figure out how to do all these things like finding out where dogs have come from and what created them. I also think that it’s amazing how one specie can create another specie. I also think that dogs genetics are very cool and interesting because there are tons of different shapes sizes and colored dogs all around the world.
6
sTrAwBeRrYmEnToSz
// Mar 1, 2007 at 12:06 pm
Title: A Tongue and A Half
By: Emily Sohn
This article was about how the South American bat (a.k.a anoura fistulata) had a longer tongue than his body. This animals tongue is almost 2 times his body, the exact measurement being 1.5 times longer. The reason for the South American Bat’s tongue being so long is because of the need for food and the food that it eats. The South American Bat sips nectar from flowers which is probably a big part of the tongue. The bats tongue has to be an adaptation or mutation because I’m sure that the South American Bat’s tongue has not always been that long. Something must have happened to make the tongue longer so that they could have been able to survive and eat.
I found this article really interesting. Because when you learn something you really start to understand and put pieces together. Now that I know about mutations and adaptations things make more sense. So I really like to know bout new animals because it amuses me. The way they look, what they eat etc. So I really liked this article a lot.
7
wps93
// Mar 1, 2007 at 4:37 pm
Summary: There is a species of gazelle called the Sand gazelles they live in the deserts of the Saudi Arabian peninsula. They can shrink the livers to conserve water and stay alive in the extremely hot weather. With shrunken livers you don’t have to breath as often which alows you to conserve the water that you would have lost is you were breathing more rapidly, because every time you exhale you lose the water that is in your breath.
8
wps93
// Mar 1, 2007 at 4:38 pm
continued:
9
chattychicka
// Mar 1, 2007 at 4:41 pm
Baby Swap, Crime Scenes and DNA Testing
By Emily Sohn
http://www.sciencenewsforkids.com
This article’s main point is to show the reader how DNA testing has influenced many different parts in our research towards animals. It explains how looking at animal’s DNA is helping us solve crimes and helping to prevent animals from going extinct. Another point made is that DNA testing is helping scientists to uncover when an animal baby is swapped with another.
The article also ends up explaining how the DNA is similar from parent to child. This is how the scientists figure out what babies belong to which parents. A part of our DNA, called markers (certain stretches of DNA), will match up with your parent’s markers. These scientists take DNA samples and “use markers to pick apart relationships with more than 99% accuracy.”
Crimes have also been closed through sampling animal DNA. Animal’s saliva has been matched and dog hair has been found at a bank robbery. Some have even stepped in dog poop that matched up with the scene of a crime.
Helping endangered species is also a big goal, accomplished through DNA testing. By looking at the DNA of endangered species, we can determine how threatened the animals are by the environment. Then, we can go a step further to think of strategies to help them.
I liked how this article was written. It was a longer article from Emily Sohn, and it connected so many different points to one cause. DNA testing has changed the world, and this article just shows a few examples. I think this article showed research and thought. I really enjoyed it.
10
chattychicka
// Mar 1, 2007 at 4:44 pm
comment for wps93: Wow, that is awesome! I wonder if that occured in a mutation. That’s a great trait to have, and being able to adapt to your surroudings that well is really resourceful.
11
lizardboy93
// Mar 1, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Chimp “Stone Age” Finds Are Earliest Nonhuman Ape Tools, Study Says
By, Anne Minard
Summary:
“Humans might not be as pioneering as we’re cracked up to be.”
In this Article, Scientists just recently discovered out they that about 4,300, chimps used tools before humans. They used rocks to open nuts and other stuff to eat. The Scientists pushes back the chimp’s tools use of 1 thousands of years. It casts into doubt the long-standing idea that direct human ancestors were the only animals to independently develop tools—and that chimps learned to use stone tools by watching humans. But that was proven wrong.
Reflection:
I think that Chips were the first life forms to really use tools. Scientists probably assumed that humans were the most intelligent animals. But Infact , chimps were!!!
12
chattychicka
// Mar 1, 2007 at 6:52 pm
Comment for sTrAwBeRrYmEnToSz: I agree that the result of the tongue would have to be a mutation or adaptation. I think it’s an adaptation because of the flowers. That’s a really unique trait to have. Imagine if humans had a tongue 1.5 times as long as its body!
13
lizardboy93
// Mar 1, 2007 at 6:53 pm
sry i forgot to add
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/science.html
14
chattychicka
// Mar 1, 2007 at 6:55 pm
Comment for GR1MR34P3R: I think it’s so interesting how dogs are such a diverse species. There are so many different kinds that have all different abilities. This change must have happened with time and adaptation and mutations as important factors.
15
I've been caught LEFT handed!
// Mar 1, 2007 at 8:09 pm
Weekly Science Article # 12
Title: Evolution of genetics Variations that Protect against Alzheimer’s and Cardiovascular diseases
Author: Stephanie Fullerton
Link: (scroll down, three articles to the bottom) http://search.eurekalert.org/e3/query.html?qt=Evolution&col=ev3rel&qc=ev3rel&x=18&y=14
Summery:
This article was about how now the researchers in The American Journal of Human Genetics have now found evidence to show how now less people have the certain genetic variations that are associated with an increased risk for A Alzheimer’s and Cardiovascular disease. So if less people have the “right” genetic variations then maybe pretty soon everyone will have the “right” genetic variations and know one will get those diseases!
Reflection:
I thought this article was interesting but it some parts were hard to understand. The article was nice but some parts I didn’t understand were because the author didn’t explain anything. This article made me think of how if now we have the right genes or alleles to not get diseases like Alzheimer’s or Cardiovascular so maybe in a million years/ in the future people won’t get other really bad diseases like all of the cancers out there and people in the future might not get color blindness or even blind! I thought this article was really cool but it could have had more information in it for the reader and to make it look longer.
16
Buddy
// Mar 1, 2007 at 8:37 pm
Canada to Study Polar Ecosystem for Climate Clues
By: Roberta Rampton
From: http://news.scotsman.com/latest_international.cfm?id=324272007
This article was about how some scientist are going to study the impact of global warming in the artic. This project will be the largest research project in the artic which will take place next winter. The scientists will use icebreakers to study the Artic environment and how the ice is shrinking and affecting the animals in the area such as polar bears. The project will cover every thing in the ecosystem from the top of the atmosphere to the animals in the environment.
The article I chose is related to ecology. In school we learned about different ecosystem in our ecology unit. The information I learned in school helped understand this article a little more. This article relates to ecology because it explains about the environment and the animals and how they are affected.
This article was very interesting but there were two problems with it. I thought that the article repeated its self often. I also think the author could have given a little more background information.
17
wps93
// Mar 1, 2007 at 8:44 pm
continued:
Other mammals conserve water by useing it cautiously. The kangaroo rat that lives in souteastern arizona is so good at conserving water that it doesn’t have to drink water because it gets it from the seeds that it eats. The kangaroo rat has evolved into an animal with kidneys designed for retaining water to survive. The kangaroo rat has also developed an outer cheek pouch which it uses to store food that it has found while out hunting. This help the rat because it mean that it doesn’t have to open its mouth every time it finds a seed, and when you open your mouth you loose water.
These are just some of the many ways in which animals evolve and adapt to survive in their enviornments.
Reflection: I didn’t like this article that much because it was written for a younger audiance. although it was an easy read I thought it was interesting and contained many facts thats I felt were useful. The article was very clear and got straight to the point. overall it was a great article and I reccomend it to you for a weekly science article report.
Title: Living in the Desert
author:Jennifer Cutraro
found at:sciencenewsforkids.com
18
Vote Jon
// Mar 1, 2007 at 9:03 pm
Weekly Science Article # 14
Living in the Desert
By: Emily Sohn
http://www.sciencenewsforkids.com
Summary— This article is about animals such as kangaroo rats, gazelles and roadrunners can live in the desert and drink very little water without getting dehydrated. They can store a lot of water in their body that they don’t need to use right away. Gazelle can shrink their liver to help store water so they don’t have to worry about drinking for days. And kangaroo rats can nuts and seeds in external pockets on the outside of their mouth so every time they find a seed; they don’t have to open their mouth. This way their mouth won’t dry out that fast.
Response– I really liked this article. It relates to evolution because the kangaroo rats and gazelles had to adapt to living in the desert and the hot climate with little water. I wish she talked more about other animals and not just three and how they adapt. But I liked how they examples were different from each other so you got an idea about how other species adapts to the desert and not just one species.
19
Silverwolf
// Mar 1, 2007 at 9:49 pm
Grass Created in Lab Is Found in the Wild
August 16, 2006 Science Times- http://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/16/science/16grass.html?ex=1172898000&en=b34f1375c2130b45&ei=5070
By Andrew Pollack
Summary: First time any genetically engineered plant established itself outside a lab. The grass is called Creeping Bentgrass and is immune to herbicides like glyphosate. It was created for use on golf fields, so that when they sprayed herbicides and pesticides it would not harm the grass. Some critics of agricultural biotechnology think that genes that are resistant to pests and herbicides could get into wild relatives making “superweeds.” Scientists conducted a search for genetically engineered grass within 20,400 plants in which they found 0.04% genetically engineered grass plants, the farthest of which was 2.4 miles away from the control zone. Scientists in Canada reported that there was an instance that herbicide resistance had spread by cross-pollination from genetically engineered canola to a wild relative.
Reflection: I thought that this article was very well written. It was soaked with interesting and useful facts on this subject. I thought that it was very interesting to have information about cross-pollination, which I learned had about in class. I think that this article was written well for all age groups and I would recommend this article to anyone interested. I thought that it was fascinating that the article was about herbicide and pesticide resistance because we had talked about pesticide resistance in class also.
20
Tracker
// Mar 1, 2007 at 10:28 pm
I chose “Eating Troubles” By Emily Sohn
http://sciencenewsforkids.com/articles/20060208/Feature1.asp
This article is about how eating disorders are affecting people across the nation. Some people are eating too much and becoming obese, while others are not eating enough and starve themselves. In the U.S. eating disorders affect 1 million boys and men, and 10 million girls and women. Scientists have recently found out that eating disorders are partially caused by genetics.
I found it very interesting the 9 million more girls have eating disorders than boys. I also found it very interesting that eating disorders were genetic. I thought that they were controlled by the mind (like you created and controlled it). This was a very long article, and it was hard to stay focused on. Otherwise, it was a good article by Emily Sohn.
21
iamnotjosh
// Mar 2, 2007 at 11:53 am
Watching For Wildfires In Yellowstone
By Emily Sohn
http://www.sciencenesforkids.org
This week I choose to do ecology as my weekly science report. I found a topic that I am intrested in, Wild Fires. In this article every year George Henley hikes up to the top of Mt.Holmes and lives in a one room cabin watching for wild fires at Yellowstone Park. Every few weeks helocopters sends food, water, and wood for him to survive up there. He stays up there for 3 months. They also help out at the park and make sure everythings running good. Wild Fires are common in the northwestern states so he always keeps a close eye on everthing. Ever since Yellowstone become the first U.S. national park in 1872, its had tons of tourists so problems could happen very easily. Even though 3 years out of every 10 years are dry enough to be serious fire years, historical records show that really big fires strike the Yellowstone area only every 200-400 years.
22
clark
// Mar 3, 2007 at 9:45 am
this comment is for iamnotjosh,
that article sounded cool. The way you described it made perfect sense. The only thing is that you didn’t include a reflection.
23
clark
// Mar 3, 2007 at 9:48 am
This is a comment for Tracker,
That is cool! I never would have known that eating dissorders were passed on by genetics. Just wondering, is anorexia also genetic?
24
clark
// Mar 3, 2007 at 9:53 am
this is a comment for Vote Jon,
I knew about how animals can go on without water for several days, but I didn’t know how(except for camels)! That’s really cool! I had no idea that gazelles can shrink their livers (a little weird, but it seems really useful). Good work
25
Track
// Mar 3, 2007 at 10:30 am
Clark
Wrong, I read your article, and I found it very interesting. One question though, how does the plant harm the host?
26
Track
// Mar 3, 2007 at 11:39 am
Dear iamnotjosh,
Next time elaborate more in your summary and reflection.
27
Track
// Mar 3, 2007 at 1:05 pm
Dear Vote Jon,
That is very cool that kangaroo rats have external pockets on there mouthes. I also wish they had given more examples.
28
FuNkYy MoNkEy
// Mar 4, 2007 at 11:06 am
This is a comment for Jamie:
I thought the article you picked was really interesting. I agree with you, I think this is a big step to finding a cure for cancer.
29
FuNkYy MoNkEy
// Mar 4, 2007 at 11:09 am
This comment is for Tracker:
I really liked the article you picked. I have heard before that eating disorders might be genetic but actually never found information about it.
30
FuNkYy MoNkEy
// Mar 4, 2007 at 11:12 am
This comment is for sTrAwBeRrYmEnToSz:
That is really cool that that bat has a tongue that long. I agree with you, I can connect information better now that i have learned about genetics and evolution.
31
progress report
// Mar 4, 2007 at 1:54 pm
This comment is for “Jamie”,
That’s really amazing! This is such a huge step in curing diseases like cancer! I would really like to know more on this topic, these self-help cures are rather incredible. Did the article talk about devising other anti-disease cells? One other question I have is that is it possible for the virus to get out of hand? Viruses have no cures (vaccines) so if something was to go wrong or manipulate for the worst, how would be go about correcting the problem. The person with the cancer and the virus would be in a very fragile state.
32
progress report
// Mar 4, 2007 at 1:54 pm
This comment is for “Buddy”,
Did the article talk about exactly how and why they were going to go about doing these experiments? Your report seemed to leave me a little in the dark about what exactly was going on. I conjured up the idea it was just about the current environmental state and how everything is affecting it. Did the article talk about any prior investigations or information that would be important to this experiment? It would be hard to have an idea of change if there is no controlled information to base the present data on.
33
progress report
// Mar 4, 2007 at 1:55 pm
This comment is for “wps93”,
I remember hearing about the kangaroo-rats’ mouth pocket conservation technique but I didn’t know about its kidney or the sand gazelles’ shrinking liver. That’s very cool. I’d like to know when it was pushed upon them to evolve to have these features.
34
Silverwolf
// Mar 4, 2007 at 2:09 pm
This is a comment for Jamie,
I think that your summary was great but where is your reflection? I found the fact that cancer could soon become an easily fixed problem interesting. I also back up progress report’s responce that what if the virus went haywire?
35
Silverwolf
// Mar 4, 2007 at 2:14 pm
This is a comment for iamnotjosh,
I think that your article summary was good and I found the information interesting. I think it might be hard for me to live up in the mountains for 3 months out of a year. Where is your reflection? Am I missing some criteria change or something?
36
Silverwolf
// Mar 4, 2007 at 2:20 pm
This is a comment for progress report,
I thought that your article sounded very interesting. If at some point I have to do research no autism I will look into that article. I really thought that your reflection was very well said and that I couldn’t have said it better myself.
37
Vote Jon
// Mar 4, 2007 at 2:40 pm
Buddy–
I really liked your report. It was very interesting and ever since we watched the movie I have been really interested in learning more about global warming. Your report made me really want to read the article. Good job!
38
Vote Jon
// Mar 4, 2007 at 2:46 pm
Tracker–
I really liked your article. I never knew that eating disorders were genetic. I always thought that people chose to starve themselves. And I already knew that eating disorders were more common with girls than boys but I never would think it would be that much more. Your article was really good.
39
Vote Jon
// Mar 4, 2007 at 2:57 pm
I’ve been caught LEFT handed!–
I thought your article was very interesting. It’s really cool how scientists have figured out a way to alter some one’s genes so they won’t get Alzheimer’s and Cardiovascular disease. That means that if they can do it with that disease, they can find out other ways to alter a different gene so there won’t be any deadly diseases! Your article was very good and it made me want to read the article.
40
Buddy
// Mar 4, 2007 at 7:02 pm
Comment for Clark
I liked how your report was about ecology, genetics, and evolution. You explained how the three subjects were related to your article and explained what the Rafflesia plant was like really well. I liked your report a lot.
41
GuMmi PiGzZ
// Mar 4, 2007 at 7:07 pm
My article is called “ Animal Clones: Double Trouble?” written by Emily Sohn. I found this article at http://www.sciencenewsforkids.com
Summary: This article was about cloning different animals. Scientists have already cloned 11 different types of animals. Clones are like identical twins, they are exact copies of each other. So far only a few cloned animals have been successful, many other animals tend to have heart or lung and liver problems, and most seem to die young. There are many questions coming up now that we know how to clone. “Is it a good idea to let people clone their favorite pet? What if cloning could revive dinosaurs?” Scientist’s goal of cloning is to take control of reproductive process. They say its like you take out all the randomness. Its appealed to animal breeders and farmers. Hoping if they learn how to clone it will help them with their business.
Reflection: I liked this article because I didn’t know that we have cloned 11 animals already. I think its really great but I also feel bad for the animals. Since many of them have lung heart and liver problems, they die young anyways. They haven’t yet perfected cloning but once they do I think we may have to many animals on the planet. If we can clone animals can we clone humans? It would be very different if you could clone animals because then many things would change. If you cloned cows there would be a lot more milk and butter and more competition. Same as if you cloned chickens except with eggs. I think cloning would be great in some ways and bad in others.
-GuMmi PiGzZ
42
Buddy
// Mar 4, 2007 at 7:10 pm
Comment for Vote Jon
I foud your report very interesting. That is really amazing that kangaroo rats and gazells can store so much water in their bodies. I also liked how you explained how kangaroo rats and gazells are related to evolution.
43
Buddy
// Mar 4, 2007 at 7:25 pm
Comment for sTrAwBeRrY mEnToSz
That is so interesting that the South American Batbhas such a long toungue. I liked how your report explained why the bat needs such a long toungue.
44
StRaWbErRyMeNtOsZ
// Mar 4, 2007 at 10:09 pm
This article is to “GuMmi PiGzZ”. I really liked this article because its interesting to know that we have the technology to clone animals. I wonder why we haven’t figured out a way to help the cloned animals live?
45
StRaWbErRyMeNtOsZ
// Mar 4, 2007 at 10:13 pm
This comment is to “FuNkYy MoNkEyY”. I really liked the way you worded your article. But I don’t understand. Are chimps close to us or higly different from us?
46
StRaWbErRyMeNtOsZ
// Mar 4, 2007 at 10:17 pm
This comment is for “iamnotjosh”. I liked this topic because I used to be interested in wildfires. I experienced one … but I’m not sure if it was a “wild” fire it was on my way to brooklyn and a tree was burning …but it was caused by the wild. So I’m assuming you call it a wildfire (lol).
47
I've been caught LEFT handed!
// Mar 5, 2007 at 7:21 am
This comment is for Vote Jon! That article sounds really cool! I liked how you explained what each animal was like, but it didn’t sound like a pretty long article, was it? I am surprised she didn’t talk about camels though because they live in the desert and store water too. Nice report!
48
I've been caught LEFT handed!
// Mar 5, 2007 at 7:31 am
This comment is for Tracker!
Wow, I new that they can be genetics but I didn’t know that 9 million more girls have eating disorders than boys! People can have an eating disorder by their environment too though if you were wondering or didn’t know. I wonder how they got the results or numbers on how many people have it. Did people go door to door asking others if they had a eating disorder or did they have a anonymous poll on the internet? Hmmmmmm I wonder! Nice Job!
49
I've been caught LEFT handed!
// Mar 5, 2007 at 7:39 am
This Comment is for iamnotjosh!
WOW, isn’t this the story that Emily Sohn was telling us about?!?! I remember this story she was talking about it and giving us a summery of it!! Did you like this article, was it a short article because it doesn’t seem like you were very interested in it if you just have a paragraph.
But nice job telling the reader about it.
50
GuMmi PiGzZ
// Mar 5, 2007 at 11:18 am
This comment is for iamnotjosh
Thats really interesting, doesn’the get bored up there? I would. Its for a really good cause, but i think there should be a few people up there, so you don’t get that bored. What if a helicopter doesn’t get up there in time and he doesn’t have enough food left?
-GuMmi PiGzZ
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GuMmi PiGzZ
// Mar 5, 2007 at 5:49 pm
This Comment is for Tracker:
I agree I always thought that eating disorders were what you controled not genetic. I think the geneticspart might be how fast and slow your metabolism is, because some people have very fast metabolism’s and some have very slow ones. Thats a lot of mor girls than boys, but I understand why. We learned alot about this in health this year.
-GuMmi PiGzZ
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GuMmi PiGzZ
// Mar 5, 2007 at 5:59 pm
This comment is for Vote Jon:
Thats really cool. I wonder what it would be like if we only had to eat or drink for a couple of days. It would be alot easier, you could have one day in the week where you just eat and sleep and your set for the rest of the week. How can you shrink your own liver???
-GuMmi PiGzZ
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GR1MR34P3R
// Mar 5, 2007 at 10:33 pm
This comment is for Buddy-
I really liked your article because you used a very detailed discription about it. I also liked it because I really like the subject global warming and I really want to look more into global warming and read more things about it.
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GR1MR34P3R
// Mar 5, 2007 at 10:37 pm
Comment for Vote John-
I really liked your article because I thought it was really interesting. The part I thought was most interesting was that the kangaroo rats have external pockets on there mouthes.
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GR1MR34P3R
// Mar 5, 2007 at 10:42 pm
comment for iamnotjosh-
I really liked your article because I’ve always wanted to see a wildfire because I do not know how they actually start. I would love to learn more about it.
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wps93
// Mar 7, 2007 at 11:41 am
this comment is for GuMmi PiGzZ, I really like the way you wrote your reflection. It was well thought out, and a good length.
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wps93
// Mar 7, 2007 at 11:44 am
comment for tracker: I agree with what you said. I thought that eating disorders weren’t genetic. Great reflection.
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wps93
// Mar 7, 2007 at 11:52 am
comment for iamnotjosh- I liked weekly science article but it was a little long. overall really good thuogh. I liked how you really explained what you thought about the subject.
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the music man... woman!
// Mar 8, 2007 at 6:56 pm
The name of this article is “Big Talkers” and is written by Peter Winkler. I found this article at http://www.nationalgeographic.com and the URL for the article is http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngexplorer/0109/articles/big_talkers_0109.html .
Summary: This article was about elephants and how the have many ways to communicate with each other. When people are around elephant, they sometimes hear low grunts or barks and many other sounds, but sometimes you’ll see an elephant going someplace, and then it will suddenly turn around for not reason. The reason is because elephants’ ears are so big (they can reach up to 6 ft. long and 4 ft. wide) they can hear inferred sound and transmit it as well. Many elephants will send messages across giant planes to their family that’s somewhere else. This article was also about how the elephants are being poached for their ivory tusks, which can be sold for a high amount of money.
Reflection: I think that it’s amazing that first, elephants ears can get so big. Right now, I’m about 5’5”, and an elephant’s ear is bigger than me. I really find that fascinating. Second, I also think that it is amazing that elephants can transmit messages over such long distances that we can’t even hear, because the sounds are so low, our ear drums don’t pick it up. It is weird to think that elephants are sending all these messages without us even knowing it. It’s almost like a secret language because we didn’t know about it for so long. Even if an elephant is straining to hear something, they can just turn their ear the way that the sound is coming from, and then open their ear up to hear the sound better. I also think that it is cruel that people are killing elephants so rapidly. In 18 years, the elephant population has decreased by more the 50%! All because people want something that is very unnecessary, but in some places quite fashionable. I don’t think that it’s right to kill an animal so that a person can have a small accessory. I hope the elephants will be preserved for a long time so that they won’t go extinct within my lifetime.
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