NASA Will Rescue Thousands of Sea Turtle Eggs from Oil Leak Areas

Luis K. -- Generally NASA always is on a mission that has to do with space. The space agency has been working on one that did not encounter spacecrafts or satellites. NASA has been helping thousands of baby sea turtles successfully make their flight easier to the open water. Many Biologists have helped dig up around 700 sea turtle nests on the northern gulf beaches affected by the BP oil spill. The Biologists have gone as far as Panama City to Apalachicola, Florida and have relocating the eggs to NASA’s KSC in Florida (Kennedy Space Center). Each nest has 100 to 120 eggs, and have been taken cared of at the undisclosed facility until each one has hatched. Once the sea turtles hatched, they were hurriedly moved to nearby beaches to make their march to the sea. “Although biologist cant be certain the sea turtle relocation plan will succeed, they say all of this year's hatchlings from the northern Gulf of Mexico will be lost if nothing is done.”

          I really thought this article was neat. It was good for NASA to put away all of the space stuff behind for a while and help out an endangered, and significant animal as the baby sea turtles. If it weren’t for them those baby sea turtles would not have gotten as far. It’s always good to help out the environment and the organisms that live in it. And even though there are other turtles and animals out there, it made a difference for those ones. I think maybe why the writer wrote this article is to show that anyone can make a difference and everything and everyone counts.

Link:  NASA Will Rescue Thousands of Sea Turtle Eggs from Oil Leak Areas

Woolly Rhino Fossil Discovery in Tibet Provides Important Clues to Evolution of Ice Age Giants

Susie M. -- A group of geologists and paleontologists from two different history museums found many new species of extinct mammal fossils in the Himalayan Mountains of Tibet in 2007. They found the complete skull and lower jaw of a Woolly rhino, a parts of the skeletons of a three-toed horse, a blue sheep, a species of badger and 23 other mammals. The leaders of the two groups believe that some of these animals, such as the Woolly rhino, decided that he liked being cold and uncomfortable and cold, so he left the mild climate at the base of the mountain and went to live at the top of the mountain where it was cold and food was sparse so that he (the Woolly rhino) could adapt over millions to the cold by growing long think woolly fur to keep him/her warm. When the next Ice Age came the Woolly rhino was ready-or “pre-prepared” for the colder climate and so survived, as did the other animals they found and, supposedly, some of the large fauna. The “experts” believe  that  same preparation that the rhino made was made by the mega-fauna, making the scientists change their theory about the evolution of plants.

I thought this article was somewhat interesting but not believable. There is no way to prove how long an Ice Age lasted, how old these fossils are or what would cause a species to adapt BEFORE  it was necessary. It was not necessary for the Woolly rhino to grow thicker fur; he could have remained at the base of the mountain where it was warmer; he didn’t have to go up the mountain where it was cold.  This theory of the paleontologists is ridiculous and unfounded especially since the Woolly Mammoth was found flash-frozen in the Arctic and with buttercup flowers in it’s intestines. Buttercups do not grow in frozen tundras; they grow in mild climates. So, it makes sense that both the Woolly Mammoth and the Woolly Rhino lived in mild climates, despite their thick fur coats.


Link:  Woolly Rhino Fossil Discovery in Tibet Provides Important Clues to Evolution of Ice Age Giants

From omnivore to vegan: The dietary education of Bill Clinton

Olga C. -- Bill Clinton used to love eating junk food like hamburgers , French fries , chocolate cake and other things that involved a tone of calories but then he decided to become a healthier person . former
president Clinton now considers himself a vegan. He's dropped more than 20 pounds, and he says he's healthier than ever, his wife farmer first lady Hillary Clinton . Even with the change of the white house menu Clinton battled his weight throughout his two terms as president. He had gained 18 pounds and had gotten really high blood pressure but after he had accomplished his goal of loosing weight he decided to share his experience for healthy eating childten The Clinton Foundation has teamed up with the American Heart Association and is helping 12,000 schools promote exercise and offer better lunches so decades from now, today's children will not face the same heart troubles he has.  "It's turning a ship around before it hits the iceberg, but I think we're beginning to turn it around,"Clinton said.

i think this is very interesting because Bill Clinton was vey brave to quit on all the junk food to save his life , I honestly don’t think I will be able to do that I barely eat fruit , I am very bad at eating healthy . but I am trying to do the same ting that he did to save myself and ill try to share it with other people as well and I also think it is very nice of him to share his story and his method to other children.

Link:  From omnivore to vegan: The dietary education of Bill Clinton

Pot smokers skinnier than non-tokers, study says

Megan C. -- This Article is about how Scientists in France were wrong about their hypothesis. The hypothesis was that people who smoke pot are more likely to be obese because of something in it called ‘cannabis’. Cannabis is supposed to increase appetite. Then they did a test with both smokers, who smoked at least three times a week, and non-smokers. Results? Non-smokers had a bigger obesity percentage then
the ‘pot heads’. Lesson learned, although scientists are very smart, they can be wrong too.

I think it’s funny that were wrong. I know a lot of people who smoke all types of stuff, I don’t though
(gross), and their all skin and bones. Of course in the article it said not to smoke, but I think the people
who really want to lose weight (and seem to be obsessed with it) are willing to do whatever they can to
shed the pounds. So, they shouldn’t have posted this online.

Link:  Pot smokers skinnier than non-tokers, study says

Energy From Cyborg Bugs

Peter D. -- In this article it talks about this beetle that has computer parts in to produce energy. One beetle is able to generate 45 watts of energy. That is enough to power a small electrical device.

I think this is really cool that they have found another device that we could use to get energy without using something harmful to the environment. I don’t know why they would ever think of this it just seems so random. So how they make the beetles make energy is that scientists put a small computer chip inside the beetle and after that they can control the beetle all they want. When the wings flap they produce energy. Some people think this is a better solution than batteries because it is cheaper and it weighs a lot less. A normal battery will weigh about 1.2 grams but a cyborg beetle only weighs 0.3 grams. It’s pretty dang cool.

Link:  ENERGY FROM CYBORG BUGS

86 Percent of Earth's Species Still Unknown?

Mario R. -- Studies say that there are about 8.7 million speices that we have not yet discovered on earth. Scientist say that we've discovered less than 15% of the living organism. Co-author Boris Worm of Canada's Dalhousie University says, "Are we within reach of finding all species, or are we way off?" He says," We are far off." Researchers predict that there is only 7% of fungi, and less10% of the ocean life found on earth today. Two hundred and fifty years after Swedish botanist Carl Linnaeus has found a system for classifying the diversity of nature. The study says that we have nearly completed the mammals and birds speices.

It's just so ineresting to think that you know all the living things on earth then 7 million more are still out there some where. To think how the other animals look, react with other animals, and all of the other things that animals do. And if they are domestic, or if we can use them for food or medicine. Just what we can do for them and what they can do for us, without making them go extinct. I just find nature so interesting and to find out that there's even more animals around the world.

Link:  86 Percent of Earth's Species Still Unknown?
 

Texas Drought Takes Its Toll On Wildlife

Alex A. -- The drought in Texas is having a huge impact on not only water sources, but also wildlife all over the state. The lack of rain has caused large rivers to dry up in multiple places, so animals can’t get the
water they need to survive. Animals with babies have to abandon them to early because they can barely get enough water to sustain themselves let alone many babies. Insects are being affected too especially mosquitoes, which again effects something else, the bats. In Austin the bats now have to go out earlier and stay out later in order to feed themselves enough because of the decrease in mosquitoes. Usually at the end of summer in Texas cicadas are everywhere, but because of the drought they are nowhere to be seen. And no one is really sure when the drought will end.

This article makes me really sad! And I probably have a very different opinion then other people might because Texas is my home and it always has been, so im not really sure how people from other states may react. I especially don’t like the part about Austin because that’s just sad that bats have to work so hard to survive just because of one drought. It’s crazy how a drought can affect so many things, not just plants but also bugs and animals and babies as well. I wish that there was something we could do to stop this drought and make everything okay again, and I really hope it stops soon and cools off.

Link:  Texas Drought Takes Its Toll On Wildlife

How exercise benefits nerve cells

Keke W. -- A nurons electrical activity makes other cells come and put a protctive coat on the nurons that makes them travel faster. The protective coat that wraps itself around the message –sending axons is called myelin. Certain brain cells called oligodendrocytes wraps up to 150 layers on one axon. So basicly the body wants to make sure that this message gets delivered quick and safe.

What really surprised me is the brain cells would wrap that much of itslef around one anox so that it could be protcted. I never knew that this happens when ever you try new things because you would think that its normal but you body knows that its something new. Exercising helps the nerve cells be cause it makes the nurons travel faster even with the myelin on it.

Link:  How exercise benefits nerve cells

Star goes boom, telescopes zoom

Felipe C. -- August 24, telescopes at the Palomar Observatory in southern California took a picture of a white dwarf star that is 21 million light-years away. Mark Sullivan an astronomer from the University of Oxford said “We think we found it probably 12 hours after it exploded” “The amazing thing for me is, that supernova exploded 21 million years ago. And we just happened to open up the telescope on the telescope on that Wednesday night, and in came the photons.”  Scientist classify this supernova as a 1a supernova and they say that’s is so incredible that soon after this supernova was born we were able to see it, and it is something that has never happened before the last 1a supernova that we saw happen a couple of decades ago. This 1a supernova occurred because white dwarf stars gain weight, from materials destroyed by a similar star.

I think that this is a really cool article because they are informing us that new things are happening out in the outer space faster than we have ever seen. Also, scientists are learning new things about 1a type supernovas and how they occur and why they occur.

Link:  Star goes boom, telescopes zoom

Water On Mars?

Taylor W. -- Scientist at NASA may have finally done it. The may have found proof of water on Mars. On August 5th 2011 NASA scientists revealed that they had found dozens of dark streaks on the surface of Mars that they believe are a result of running water. This discovery was made thanks to NASA’s
powerful camera called HiRISE (High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) that is aboard NASA’s Mars
Reconnaissance Orbiter. This orb has been taking pictures of mars for the last 5 years. The streaks were
discovered running inside narrow channels along the inner walls of a small crater called Newton, located
on the southern hemisphere of Mars. What puts this theory over the rest is that the streaks are not
permanent, but come and go depending on the season. When the planet heats up the water melts and
runs downhill, while during winter when it freezes, the streaks disappear again and repeat the cycle. It is
believed that it is from indeed water but not fresh water salt water b/c the winter temperatures would
indefinitely freeze the fresh water. This theory is not a 100% but it may help in the theory that mars was
once a warm and wet planet.

I think that this discovery is amazing. I think that the streaks on mars were caused by salt water. I also think that there was and that there is still water on mars. Maybe other than the ice cap it’s deep under the crust of mars. I agree with the scientists at NASA. Maybe if there’s water on mars, why not other planets. Neptune has a never ending storm on it maybe its core is not just a gas, maybe it’s a solid.

Link:  Water On Mars?