Red VS Blue

Who: Researchers at the University of British Columbia

When: Thursday, February 5, 2009

Where: England

What: Researchers did a study with 600 people. The test was to see if people's performance is different when they are looking at red or blue. Some people did the red test and had better results in remembering words and stuff like that. The other people took the blue test and did better in creativity.

Why: The researchers did the test to see if it is true that if you work in a room that has a lot of red in it, you're work will be more accurate and if you work in a room with a lot of blue in it you're work will be more creative.

My Opinion: I think this is true. The colors that are around you make an impacted on the kind of way you feel. For example, if you are working in a yellow room, you are going to feel more energized than if you were working in a black room. The opposite effect of red rooms vs blue rooms makes since because red is the opposite color of blue, so the feelings are going to be different.

I got my info from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/06/science/06color.html?_r=1&ref=science&pagewanted=print

Chuck, the Groundhogs Day groundhog

On February 2nd, Groundhogs Day, Chuck the groundhog bit the New York mayor, Michael Bloomberg. A day after this, the zookeepers from the Staten Island Zoo(where the incident happened) decided to take Chuck out for another photo op. However, things don't go as planed. Chuck spotted a photograph of Mayor Bloomberg that was planted there by a photographer. Then, he flared his teeth  and rubbed his lips in the corner on the picture. In my opinion, this groundhog is crazy. In the article it states,"He's usually well behaved," insisted Doug Schwartz, a zookeeper." Based on what happened over those two days Chuck is either just crazy, or hates Major Bloomberg.    

I got my info from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/02/04/nyregion/04groundhog.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

Peanut Products Recall

Who: FDA (Food and Drug Administration)  

When: Friday, January 23rd 

Where: United States 

What: There is a recall on peanut butter and peanut paste products from the Peanut                   Corporation of America (PCA) in Georgia(processing plant). These products include some cookies, crackers, cereal, candy, ice cream and some pet food products.  

Why: The peanut butter and peanut paste has been contaminated with salmonella typhimurium, which can make you very sick.   

My Opinion: I think that this recall is going to be hard for people to avoid. This is because a lot of food is made with peanut paste or peanut butter. I hope this recall doesn't last long.   

I got my info from: http://www.fda.gov/oc/opacom/hottopics/salmonellatyph.html 

 

Inauguration of Barack Obama

On Tuesday, January 20th, a historic event took place in Washington DC.  Barack Obama was inaugurated to be the first African American president of the United States. Over a million people traveled long distances and fought the brutal, cold, weather to wittiness this. And, many people watched all day at home. This was truly a proud moment for Americans. 

"In his inaugural address, Mr. Obama promised to take "bold and swift" actions to restore the economy by creating jobs through public works projects, improving education, promoting alternative energy and relying on new technology." said The New York Times. In this article it states that as Barack Obama took the oath to become president, he used the same bible that was used by Abraham Lincoln on his inauguration. Also, it says that people were packed from the National Mall all the way to beyond the Washington Monument. This was the biggest crowd ever! However, the inauguration does not stop there.

Later in the day , there were many balls and everyone was pumped. In my second article from Access Hollywood, it says "President Obama and his wife finally arrived to the MTV and Service Nation's Youth Ball after 10:30 pm,taking the stage to loud chants of "O-B-A-M-A" and "Yes We Can" from the patrons gathered." Preforming at this ball was Fall Out Boy, Kanye West and Kid Rock, while Usher, Rosario Dawson and Tobey Maguire were there. Another ball that took place was the Neighborhood Ball where Beyonce, Mariah Carey, Mary J. Blige and will.i.am took the stage and had Queen Latifah as a special appearance. The other balls were the Western Ball with a duet from Jennifer Lopez and her husband Marc Anthony, the Midwestern Ball where Sherly Crow preformed and finally the Commander in Chief Ball where Bon Jovi sang. All of these balls took place all across Capitol Hill.

In my opinion the inauguration was truly a spectacular and historic moment. After watching it on TV, I wish that I was there to wittiness it in person. This was a proud moment for all Americans and proves that Matin Luther King Jr.'s speech, "I have a Dream" has really come true.  

I got my first article from: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/21/us/politics/20web-inaug2.html?s...uguration%20of%barack%20obama&at=Search&scp=2&pagewanted=print

I got my second article from: http://www.acceshollywood.com/beyonce-mariah-and-more-step-out-at-inaugural-balls-to-celebrate-president-obama_article_13166

        

Panda with Attitude Bites Zoo Trespasser

Who: Nine year old panda named Gugu

Where: Zoo in Beijing, China

When: Thursday, January 8th 2009

What: Gugu attacked and bit a man on the legs who came into his cage. The man got away when a zoo worker got in and distracted the panda by swinging a broom. After, the man who got bitten was driven to a hospital for rabies shots. Luckily, his injuries were minor. 

Why: This all happened because the man just went in to pick up a toy.

My Opinion: I think the man got bitten because the panda is very defensive when someone gets into his cage. That's because the article says that two other people who went into the cage got bitten too. Also, I think that the zoo should have a warning sign saying: Please do not climb into the cage with the panda. Hopefully, that would keep people out.

I got my info from: http://news.yahoo.com/

Class Response

In class, we have been learning about ecology for a long time. Some of the things I have learned are:     1. A biosphere is the whole world and it is the biggest of the 5 levels of environmental graphic organizer.

            2. There are 3 forms of symbiosis: commensalism, mutualism and parasitism 

            3. Food chains and food webs are different. Food chains are just some animals, but food webs are all of the food chains overlapping each other.

On  the internet I found out 2 new facts: 1. There are many different types of jobs in ecology like, ecologists, ecotoxicologists, environmental economists, environmental consultants, science writers and many for.

2. The food chain always starts with the sun for the producers to get their energy. 

My opinion on this is that ecology is very important to the world because it helps us learn about the world and how we can make it better.

I got my info from: http://kids.nceas.ucsb.edu/ecology/careers.html and http://www.planetpals.com/foodchain.html    

Symbiosis

In class we have been learning facts about symbiosis for a while. One fact is that there are 3 different types of symbiosis: parasitism, commensalism and mutalism. Another fact we learned, is symbiosis is everywhere around you, and even on you! Finally, we learned that symbiosis can be good or bad depending on the relationship between the 2 oraganisms. When I went on the internet, I found out that a mycologist from Germany named Heinrich Alton de Bary, was the 1st to ever use the word, symbiosis. Also, I found a new word: symbiote which mean, an organsim living in symbiosis. After everything I've learned , I think without symbiosis, our world would be very different, because organisms would't be interacting with each other. That could mess up how the world works.




I got my info from: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbiosis