No Rapture, No Judgment: May 21 Doomsday Prediction Fails

Yesterday, May 21, 2011, the world was allegedly supposed to end at 6:00. Harold Camping, the president of Family Radio, made this prediction based on a mathematical interpretation of the Bible. “Earthquakes were supposed to shake the globe, throwing the dead from their graves as believers souls ascended to heaven.” (Live Science). Camping also made an inaccurate prediction of the world ending in 1994, as well.
Camping is among the many people who inaccurately anticipated the end of the world. Some people believe that doomsday is comforting because it ends evil forever. Furthermore, the next doomsday is on December 21, 2012, the day the Mayan calendar ends.
Personally, I did not believe in Judgment Day on the 21, nor do I believe in 2012. These types of predictions can really deceive people who splurge last minute because they think they have a couple days to live. When the world continues, they can truly be in debt and may never get back to where they started.

Article From: http://www.livescience.com/14263-rapture-doomsday-21.html

Image From: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://lastdayspast.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/03/judgment_day_terror.jpg&imgrefurl=http://lastdayspast.com/eschatology/the-judgment/&usg=__Gr_EJtGxqyfp_Ari-EQRrAgdjmo=&h=324&w=411&sz=19&hl=en&start=0&sig2=MvJrdK86jDZcqh3yhWKFzQ&zoom=1&tbnid=JcWmp4vDe8ByYM:&tbnh=169&tbnw=202&ei=48TZTYbLGuHt0gGusPz8Aw&prev=/search%3Fq%3DJudgment%2BDay%2Bterror%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1406%26bih%3D845%26gbv%3D2%26tbm%3Disch&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=143&vpy=100&dur=2056&hovh=199&hovw=253&tx=189&ty=117&sqi=2&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:0

Teen Discovers Promising Cystic Fibrosis Treatment

Cystic Fibrosis is an incurable disease caused my a genetic mutation. This disease sparks a build up of sticky, thick mucous in the lungs and digestive system. Many people with this condition typically don’t live past their teen years. But could this be changed? Marshall Zhang, and eleventh grader attending Richmond Hill’s Secondary School, discovered a drug using a supercomputer system that may be the cure for cystic fibrosis. As a result of his amazing discovery, he won first place in the Sanofi-Aventis BioTalent Challenge on May 10. In his breakthrough, he found two new compounds that were able to fight against the protein for triggering this disease. “He figured out how each of these drugs acted against the protein and discovered they acted on the protein in different spots, raising the possibility they could be used simultaneously without interfering with each other.” (LiveScience). Lastly, even if Zhang’s findings are not the cure to cystic fibrosis, it can form a foundation for other discoveries as well. Personally, I think that Zhang’s discovering is an amazing discovery that will benefit future generations. It may end cystic fibrosis forever, or spark a new discovery by another scientist. Furthermore, it’s incredible how an eleventh grade student could discover something so advanced and life-changing. It shows that you can accomplish anything once you set your mind to it.

Article on:
http://www.livescience.com/14138-teen-cystic-fibrosis-drug-cocktail-contest.html

Picture from:

http://www.livescience.com/14138-teen-cystic-fibrosis-drug-cocktail-contest.html

Soaring Straws Lab

I stretched the rocket back two centimeters. I held it at the bottom of the meter stick and watched the rocket soar up to 0.22 meters. During the next trial, the rocket reached one meter as a result of stretching the rocket three centimeters. During trial three, my partner and I measured 1.76 meters for four centimeters of stretch. After studying the data, we noticed a relationship between GPE and EPE. First off, the farther we stretched the rubber band, the more GPE there was after the release. There was more GPE because the farther we stretched the rubber band, the more energy was transferred to the rocket/straws.
Furthermore, trials in this lab may not be 100% accurate. Firstly, we estimated while we were measuring; we found it very challenging to get a precise measurement. Thus, they are most likely incorrect or a bit off. In addition, we switched rockets during the middle of collecting our data. This could have changed the results because not every rocket is identical. Furthermore, my partner and I switched roles of holding the meter stick and being the launcher. This could have affected our results because we could have different techniques of holding the launcher or meter stick. Moreover, some ways we can enhance this lab are by using different materials. For example, a sturdier rocket made of plastic, could have made more accurate results.

Toothpick Fish Lab

Phenotype and Genotypes

Green = GG, Gr, Gy
Red= rr
Yellow= yy
Orange= ry

G=green allele
r=red allle
y=yellow allele

My Data Charts

First Generation:
six green fish, 2 red fish, 3 yellow fish, one orange fish

Second Generation:
6 Green fish, 3 Red fish, 0 yellow fish, 0 orange fish

Third Generation:
five green fish, three red fish, 0 yellow fish, one orange fish

Fourth Generation:
5 Green Fish, 2 red fish, 0 yellow fish, 2 orange fish

Survivors of the Environmental Disaster:
0 Green fish, 2 red fish, 0 yellow fish, 2 orange fish


The toothpick lab taught me some important concepts about evolution and adaptation. Furthermore, the environment plays a large role in the chances of survival for different types of fish. For example, in this lab the fish live in an environment where it is “very green and lush with lots of seaweed and algae.” Therefore, the green fish are camouflaged and blend well with the background. The yellow and orange fish hide well, too. As a result, they are able to avoid predators because they cannot be seen. On the other hand, yellow fish are conspicuous prey and stand no chance for survival; thus, they are not able to reproduce. When looking at my data chart, it’s obvious that the green fish are a large part of the fish population because they are the dominant to the red and yellow alleles. On the other hand, there were two red fish in the first generation because they were the recessive allele; this was the same for the yellow fish. Moreover, there was only one orange fish in the first generation because the parents had one red allele, which is incompletely dominant to the yellow allele. In addition, we also had three yellow fish for the first generation, and since predators ate them, there were no yellow fish in the second generation. However, there were three red fish and six green fish in this next generation (second generation). As previously mentioned, there were more green fish because they are the dominant allele. I was not surprised when there were five green fish in the third and fourth generation and about three red fish in these generations as well. Nonetheless, after the harmful factory waste is dumped into the fish’s stream, it kills most of the algae and seaweed, leaving the green fish well-exposed and vulnerable to predators. On the contrary, the new rocks and sand are now a good camouflage for the red, yellow and orange fish. Consequent to this environmental disaster, there no green fish survived for another generation since they weren’t able to reproduce, and only two red fish survived for the last generation of recorded fish.
All things considered, the environment plays a major role in any organism’s life, such as the noxious waste that was dumped into the fish’s stream. If this experimental design were to be changed, perhaps there was a predator that only ate red fish, and then it would affect the outcome of the other fish. For example, after there the predator ate all of the red fish, there would also be no more orange fish because they have one red allele. As a result, the green and yellow fish would flourish in the new habitat free of red fish.

Autism

Autism is a non-curable disorder which altars the way one works with others. Usually someone with this condition is diagnosed as an infant. Autistic children struggle with language, behavior, and social interaction. For example, they enjoy playing by themselves in their “own world” instead of in a group among other peers. They also have difficulties maintaining eye contact and often develop repetitive movements, such as spinning and rocking. Unfortunately, no one knows what causes autism, but people believe that genetic problems and environmental factors may have something to do with it. Moreover, some people have a higher chance of being diagnosed with this condition than others. Autism may run in the family, and males are four times more likely to be diagnosed than females. As previously mentioned, a cure for autism does not exist; however, people have developed therapies which improve children’s social techniques as well as how to act in different social situations. Personally, I found this article very informative. I wanted to learn more about this disorder because I have interacted with autistic peers at my school. I have seen how physically and emotionally exhausting it is to care for an autistic child. I believe it is important for people to be educated about this condition because it is becoming a prevalent disorder.

Picture: http://www.csmsmagazine.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/08/autism-kid.jpg
I got my information from http://www.cnn.com/HEALTH/conditions/autism/

Feds to Tighten School Nutrition Standards

As part of Obama's goal to prevent the increasing percentages of obese Americans, the US Department of Agriculture announced a new proposal in order to create a more healthy food environment for American schools. This proposal would enhance the multiplicity of fruits and vegetables, whole grains, as well as low-fat and skim milk. Furthermore, this rule will reduce the amount of saturated fat and sodium common in many of the available cafeteria foods. Foods such as pizza and french fries will no longer be in abundance.
In my opinion, this new proposal should be put into effect immediately. This new proposal will slow down the rising numbers of obese Americans. Schools should strive for a more healthy atmosphere for their students. All in all, this rule is a great idea because it will a wholesome environment for the students.

Article: http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/13/school.nutrition/index.html

Picture: http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://image.shutterstock.com/display_pic_with_logo/83052/83052,1176499953,1/stock-photo-different-salads-in-buffet-healthy-food-3077420.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-3077420/stock-photo-different-salads-in-buffet-healthy-food.html&usg=__i6ljSBWxSwTsX4kT8SYHWQG7brI=&h=321&w=450&sz=62&hl=en&start=0&sig2=35JpixPxaGsgk0vjK2rqvw&zoom=1&tbnid=p79GPkl76M1BNM:&tbnh=137&tbnw=192&ei=QaUvTYf0GcLflgetoq2pCg&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dhealthy%2Bfood%2Bbuffet%26hl%3Den%26biw%3D1280%26bih%3D845%26gbv%3D2%26tbs%3Disch:1&itbs=1&iact=hc&vpx=446&vpy=498&dur=1762&hovh=190&hovw=266&tx=123&ty=209&oei=QaUvTYf0GcLflgetoq2pCg&esq=1&page=1&ndsp=24&ved=1t:429,r:14,s:0