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Honey Bees

Posted by Alex Colón-Vazquez in Science And Society - Best - Y on
  • Science
To explain the science of my topic to the public I would collect many different essential daily products that many people use and explain how honey bees contribute resources to make the product and what will happen if honey bees disappear. I will then give a short introduction about the anatomy of honey bees and how we collect the resources we use from honey bees, this will allow the audience to think differently when they go to their local pharmacy or store to buy products that use resources from honey bees. I am positive my resources are reliable, I made sure to only use sources with ".org" and resources from credible organizations. I am able to confirm that my sources are credible through online educational videos and reviews. 

  • Society
This issue impacts society because if honey bees disappear a large number of products that we use will become extremely expensive or will possibly become impossible to produce. Honey bees are responsible for one-third of our global food production, there are already third world countries that have multiple problems feeding their citizens. Countries like the United States and other developed countries will experience a food crisis that will most likely last for many generations. Lastly the economic value of pollinators is worth $235 to $577 billion dollars globally, if honey bees disappear a large amount of this money will be disappear and funds for education, medical supplies, etc. will become unavailable and result in a global crisis.
  • Self
This issue effects me because I am constantly thinking about the products I use and where they come from, if we lose resources because honey bees are experiencing some kind of a crisis it can effect generations to come and possibly effect the environment in a negative way. I am very grateful that I have all of these resources provided by honey bees that most people find difficult to obtain, I will never stop spreading the word about honey bees and will continue to provide information for those who are unaware of where most of the products they use come from. 

Sources Cited: 

1). Kurzgesagt. "The Death Of Bees Explained – Parasites, Poison and Humans." YouTube. YouTube, 09 July 2015. Web. 31 May 2016. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GqA42M4RtxE>.
2). Morris, Alex. "What Is Killing America's Bees and What Does It Mean for Us?" Rolling Stone. N.p., 18 Aug. 2015. Web. 31 May 2016. <http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/what-is-killing-americas-bees-and-what-does-it-mean-for-us-20150818>.
3). "Honey Bees: Overview of Honeybee Types, Habitats & Characteristics."Orkin. Orkin, n.d. Web. 31 May 2016. <http://www.orkin.com/stinging-pests/bees/honey-bees/>.

Presentation: 
https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/18cOK2J0LoIzs3_Gb A1KVPQog6nweaRLfnyrLE7ilRPo/edit#slide=id.g124eb963b9_0_194

Common Cold Blog Post

Posted by Rafi Hares in Science And Society - Best - E on

​Explaining common cold's to people is actually very simply. The reason for that is that everyone has experienced a common cold before, and and everyone knows the symptoms very well. Symptoms like sore throat, nasal congestion, and coughing are easily explainable. When it comes to the science most people know that there isn't a cure for the common cold because every year we catch cold's several times. The idea here is that there isn't one treatable cause for the common cold, they are hundreds of causes which why it is such a pesky thing to deal with. All of my sources on the common cold are reliable because they are backed by research. Some of my sources are also government funded.

http://www.cdc.gov/features/rhinoviruses/
http://www.nhs.uk/Livewell/coldsandflu/Pages/Preventionandcure.aspx
http://www.commoncold.org/understand.htm
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/five-surprising-facts-about-the-common-cold-23293218/?no-ist

The common cold affects society in it that everyone gets one. Because of the common cold we call out sick at work, don't go to school, and even make ourselves a burden to those around us. People with weaker immune systems and children are the most prone to catching colds. Because of this we often spend a lot of time showing our children how to be sanitary. It's even possible to say that the common cold fostered this whole culture of always wash your hands after you do something with them. We build our lives in such a way that we try to avoid getting a cold as much as possible. The common cold has helped us develop as a cleanly society. Some people might say that the common cold causes us to waste time but it's because of the common cold that we have such as thing like sick days. Everyone has called out of work sick before without actually being sick. Imagine not having that chance because common colds didn't exist. In the future I think we will most likely get even cleaner as a society to eventually eradicate the common cold.


I think the common cold has made me into a paranoid person. Anytime I see someone coughing or sneezing I try to avoid them more because I don't want to catch a cold. It makes me alienate people. At the same time I do value the fact that the common cold has helped society develop. We have things like antibacterial soap and spray because of the common cold. The whole "it destroys 99.9% of all germs" things is a way to assure people that these products will protect against the cold. Yes to me the common cold culture has helped society develop new products and solutions as well as push us further to that 100% of all germs standard

How to Lie with Statistics Podcast #2- Lindsey & Tiarra

Posted by Lindsey Jones in Statistics - Miles - B on
Hey! Lindsey and Tiarra are back with their second installment of How To Lie with Statistics. In this podcast, we explore chapters 5-7 and discuss the deceitful nature of companies, prestigious schools, and other entities and how they can manipulate pictograph, bar graphs, and line graphs. So far, this podcast recording stuff has been very enjoyable and eye opening for us. Please enjoy it and look forward for our third and final installment later this week!
chapters5to7HTLWS

E1 U8 Q4 Proyecto - Lauren Nicolella, Kimberly Gucciardi-Kreigh & Maciej Pokora

Posted by Lauren Nicolella in Spanish 1 - Manuel - D on

Maciej got a bad grade on his final project, causing him to fail the class he was in with Profesora Nutty. When he arrives at restaurant, he sees his teacher and decides to sit with her at the table. She tries to ignore him and tells him how bad this work is and such. Being all clumsy and rude to the waiter, teacher makes a request to cause trouble to him while he goes to the bathroom. After he comes back trouble happens and at the end he leaves a bad tip and drops a chandelier on him.


Hikma Salhe- Female Genital Mutilation

Posted by Hikma Salhe in Science And Society - Best - E on
​Science- 
"Female genital mutilation comprises all procedures involving paritial or total removal of the female external genitalia or other injury to the female genital organs for non-medical reasons as defined by the World Health Organisation (WHO)." FGM is often done on girls between infancy and 15 years of age. There are four types of FGM:
  1. Clitoridectomy- removal of partial or whole clitoris and/or it's prepuce.
  2. Excision- removal of clitoris and labia minora.
  3. Infibulation- the narrowing of the vaginal opening through the creation of a covering seal.
  4. Any kind of non-medical, harmful procedures to the female genitalia 
Studies have shown that there is no known medical benefit to FGM, in fact the consequences are incredible. Most women suffer from problems urinating, vaginal/vulva cysts, vaginal infections, complications in future pregnancies and childbirth. 

Society-
FGM occurs all over the world, however it is not as apparent as it once was 20 years ago. FGM is most popular in North, Eastern/Sub-Saharan Africa, and the Middle East. FGM, in most countries, is considered to be a necessity to raise a girl. It’s ‘purpose’ is to keep the female modesty and virginity intact, making it popular amongst men. It aims to reduce female libido and overall female sexuality, by instilling fear into the woman.


Christian Moore - Human Growth Hormone

Posted by Christian Moore in Science And Society - Best - E on
​Science - Growth hormones are a natural substance created by your body just like testosterone. Human growth hormones however are genetically made hormones that help you get bigger. They were invented to help people who had developmental problems and could not grow to their appropriate size. This synthetic mixture was only available to people who absolutely needed it but began to be sold other places and people began to get their hands on it. The HGH itself does not get a person big, but depending on their daily activities may result in size difference. It is not a steroid, but considered a "doping" substance.

Society - HGH is not commonly known, and is often taken by bodybuilders and athletes even though it is banned in some organizations. These growth hormones when taken properly are very beneficial to your body. Athlete have been known to tear ligaments and take HGH's to speed up recovery time. The hormones are looked at as giving unfair advantages to athletes so it is frowned upon. It works by boosting testosterone levels in effect making a person work harder, lift more, and get better work results. Though it does not make them better, it is a Performance Enhancer. 

Self - I have never taken a growth hormone substance, but I think it is cool how our bodies react to different substances and the length people will go to just to achieve big muscles.

Human Energy

Posted by Ameer Holmes in Science And Society - Best - Y on
​https://docs.google.com/a/scienceleadership.org/presentation/d/1_u2UUJ_nIhsLsfFaI9RKyd7DM0Kv1riVg_BbBAMNF88/edit?usp=sharing

^presentation

My 5 min of science was to explore human efficiency through the analysis and research of human energy. Through discovering the average input and intake of human energy, through the output of certain tasks I was able to compare them to other things with energy usage. I found that biology is extremely efficient in it's daily input vs. output and it's extremely amazing what we do using so little energy. It would take more energy to boil tea on a stove than it would to think for a day and I think that's amazing.

How many calories do I burn by walking? (n.d.). Retrieved May 27, 2016, from http://www.pedbikeinfo.org/data/faq_details.cfm?id=1227

E. I. (2012, August 25). How many calories does thinking burn? Retrieved May 27, 2016, from http://io9.gizmodo.com/5920970/how-many-calories-does-thinking-burn

Owens, T. (2014). How Much Weight Can the Average Man Lift? Retrieved May 28, 2016, from http://www.livestrong.com/article/380767-how-much-weight-can-the-average-man-lift/

Prosthetics-Maggie Clampet-Lundquist

Posted by Maggie Clampet-Lundquist in Science And Society - Best - E on
Science: A prosthetic is a device, either external or implanted, that substitutes for or supplements a missing or defective part of the body. A prosthetic is different depending on the level of physical condition/abilities and needs. Prosthetic technology has advanced so much that each prosthetic is custom made. They can look like whatever the patient wants whether that might be functional,  or looking like a natural limb. A prosthetic is connected to a socket which allows the prosthetic to connect to your dead limb. There is a layer that called the: Addition Layer. The additional layer is a piece of fabric that separated the skin from the prosthetic. The inside of the socket is made with a soft material that makes it comfortable. Limbs need to be amputated so the risk of infection decreases. The doctors would begin by cutting into the skin the cut has to be accurate so it will heal accurately and leave minimal scarring. A lot of the muscle is cut off during the amputation but a lot thought has to go into reshaping the muscle tissue that is still there, this is important because the padding provides around the bone after surgery. The padding is also important for maintaining a healthy stump and is important when it comes to fitting the prosthetic.

Society:In the United States there are 2 million people who have a prosthetic body part. Prosthetics cost anywhere from five to fifty thousand dollars, but no matter the cost prosthetic have to be replaced every three to five years because of wear and tear. The most common way for people to lose a limb is through Vascular disease fifty four percent of the United States has this disease. Prosthetics aren’t only for people, they are also for animals.  Like humans, animals can have limb defects causing them to have a prosthetic body part.

Self: I think prosthetics are an amazing invention! 

Tommy John Surgery - Kevin Courtney 5mins of Science

Posted by Kevin Courtney in Science And Society - Best - E on
​Science:
The tommy John surgery is the Ulnar collateral ligament reconstruction (UCL). What it does it helps athletics get there elbow back to 100%. It will replace a tendon from a different part from the human body or from an organ donor. From my personal experience nothing was taken from me. I had an organ donor tendon to replace my bad ligament. Doctors will cut open your arm by the elbow (not a huge cut, but big enough for them to get into). Then they will drill holes into the ulna and humerus bones to help for the next step. With the doctors drilling through your bones, it doesn't cause your arm to be broken they need the holes there so that the doctors can replace the ligament in a figure eight sort of way to help get the range of motion back faster. The cause of getting the injury that leads to the surgery is when an Athlete puts a lot of stress into there elbow. For example I over used my elbow a lot to throw baseballs and bowling balls. On top of that I would be lifting heavy weights which cause my ligament to tear. Athletes need to be careful when training and playing their sport!

Society:
For society a lot of major league players have many surgeries. Probably because they are always playing their sport. The tommy John surgery mostly happens in baseball because it easy for a pitcher to tear their ligament faster by throwing an average of 100 fast balls per outing on the mound. Since 1999 235 MLB players underwent the tommy John procedure. About 7% of pitchers like to throw the fastball more instead of their breaking ball. Pitchers have a tendency to stick with the fastball because it is there most fast and dominate pitch against a batter.  Also on top of that they probably feel more confident with that pitch slowly making it easier to injure their elbows.

Self:
For myself I underwent the tommy John procedure the past summer. I was out for 9 months and was suppose to be out for 11 months but I recovered super fast because I wanted to get back out on the diamond. I had a great comeback this season hitting 0.629 batting average, 0.638 slugging average, OBP 1.2 something, and OPS 1.297.

5 mins of sci

Posted by Tauqee Friend in Science And Society - Best - Y on

  • Marijuana is a greenish-gray mixture of the dried, shredded leaves and flowers of Cannabis sativa the hemp plant. This plant can be used in many different ways such as medicinal and illegal. The chemical that causes the high is THC. 500 other chemicals creates a sense of relaxation. Also can heightened sensory perception, Altered perception of time and Increased appetite. More drivers under the influence. People will start toAbuse of the drug. It will cause short term memory loss, Poor coordination of movement, Increased risk of heart attack ,Panic and anxiety, Inability to understand things clearly and Weak immune system.

  • https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1fW7za-E1Iv7fpvEl7IKcvWm0P59B9x_pHHCF8XVHHGg/edit#slide=id.g132647538b_0_5

Acupuncture

Posted by Brandon Yam in Science And Society - Best - Y on
Acupuncture is a form of therapy that is widely used in China. It is so mainstream that it is even used during childbirth to numb the patient as well as treat headaches and other things of the sort. What happens is that a needle is inserted into the affected area (usually 1/2 inch to 1inch) and at the tip of the needle are bits of Moxa leaves which is a Chinese wormwood tree. These leaves are said to have the medicinal affects that acupuncture is known for. The needles are twirled, vibrated and even sometimes an electrical pulse will be sent down to stimulate the area. Acupuncture itself is based on the Taoist philosophy which basically deals with the "Yin and Yang". It talks about how acupuncture essentially helps break down the walls that are blocking your "chi" (good energy). Western researchers believe that what actually is happening is that the stimulation releases endorphins which are natural pain-relieving chemicals. Acupuncture is important because this may the new medicine. It has no side effects and is natural. Many who have received it has talked highly about it saying that it works and things of the nature. Unfortunately, I have not experienced this so I feel that perhaps this is all a placebo effect but we can't tell for sure. There's no real way to tell if it is or isn't the placebo effect. So I can only go test it myself someday. 

Sources: 

  • Acupuncture. (n.d.). Retrieved May 01, 2016, from https://www.questia.com/library/science-and-technology/health-and-medicine/acupuncture

  • Acupuncture. (n.d.). Retrieved May 02, 2016, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/acupuncture/basics/definition/prc-20020778

  • Acupuncture. (2011). Retrieved May 02, 2016, from https://nccih.nih.gov/health/acupuncture

Super Freakonomics Podcast Part 3 - Ava Olsen and Michelle Friedman

Posted by Ava Olsen in Statistics - Miles - B on
The third podcast in the Superfreakonomics series highlights some questions from our teacher, Mr. Miles. He had a few specific questions about prostitution law enforcement and terrorism prediction and prevention. Then we moved on to the third chapter and discussed crime rates and altruism. We challenged the legitimacy of the correlation between TV viewing and increased crime rates. We also debated the idea of true altruism and how incentives and fear play into all of our decisions. Next week we will most likely finish off the book with chapters four and five and answer more listener questions if there are any. Enjoy our third podcast!

"How To Lie With Statistics" PODCAST #3

Posted by Eamon Kelly in Statistics - Miles - C on
Here is our third and final podcast discussing chapters 7 - 10 and our personal opinions on Darrell Huff's How To Lie With Statistics.

Speakers: Eamon Kelly and Will Derry

The topics that we talked about in this conversation include:
- Correlation
- "Who Says So?"
- respect for authority
- Demonstrating something else to prove a point
- How to avoid statistical lies

ENJOY :)
StatsPodcast3

U1 BM4: Restaurante de Divorcio - Kwan, Shilo, Ariana

Posted by Kwan Hopkins in Spanish 1 - Manuel - C on
For our final Spanish project of the year, we were tasked with producing a video, incorporating all vocabulary learned this year that takes place in a restaurant setting with a problem some time in the plot. Our group decided to have divorced parents (Played by Kwan Hopkins and Shilo Kendall) who hate each other be the source of conflict for this story. The story starts with an amazing opening where the two parents are invited to see where their daughter (Played by Ariana Flores) just got a job without knowing the other is coming. Conflict unfolds and hilarity ensues. Enjoy!

Micah's 5 Minutes of Science

Posted by Micah Henry in Science And Society - Best - E on

Science:

The science can be explained to the general public through simply touching on how playing video games can, as a whole, be more harmful than helpful. For video games are already a distraction from exercising and now the fact that using obese avatars can cause people to not want to exercise even more is no good. Males and females were used in this study in which they were given fat/skinny avatar and a fat/skinny opponent and one’s with thinner avatars increased physical activity vs an obese opponent while those with obese avatars were discouraged from participating in real life physical activity. My sources are very reliable and have proven facts and statements in them. There are multiple sources touching on this topic which is how I know my main source is reliable.

Society:

This impacts society through giving everyone and video game users new life and possibly a new perspective on how video games affect the real world. Mainly, video games users will only find this interesting because it obviously applies to them. Doing so in a manner that is both positive, due to it being informing and raising awareness, and also negative because physical exercise is very important for everyone. Furthermore, different people might think this to be untrue or just disregard it because it seems uninteresting or doesn’t apply to them. In the future, this might lead to obese avatars being taken out of video games completely, helping promote exercise.

Self:

I find this issue very intriguing because I would never guess that just using obese avatars would have such a significant effect on someone’s real life. This issue does not necessarily apply to me directly, because I love to exercise and workout out anyway. My overall thought process of having to live a healthy lifestyle, which means eating right and exercising everyday is engraved into my mind. Therefore, this finding does not have much of an effect on me. I believe obese avatars should be taken completely out of video games to help