3.8 billion years ago, the Earth was mostly ocean. And that ocean was populated by billions of tiny archaea and bacteria. That was life. Life stayed like that for 2 billion years. These prokaryotes existed in an “energy canyon” they did not have the energy to get bigger and more complicated, and the only way they could develop the mechanisms to get bigger and more complicated, they would need energy. It’s a paradox. So for 2 billion years, nothing really changed, and there was no reason life wouldn’t continue like that for billions of more years. But one day, complicated, diverse life began to develop. The theory as to how this miracle happened is as follows. An archaean (a bigger single celled organism) and a bacterium (a smaller organism) are floating along, and they happen to bump into each other. Improbably, impossibly, the two cells merge. The bacterium, now stuck inside a bigger cell, should struggle to survive. It shouldn’t be able to eat, or live, or reproduce. The larger cell should protest, should excrete the imposter bacterium. But that didn’t happen. Very improbably, very impossibly, the bacteria, called a mitochondria, survived. The big cell fed it, allowed it to reproduce, built mechanisms to keep the growing population alive. 

You might be wondering, but where did the energy for this growth come from? What about that energy canyon. The answer is across the cell membrane of the mitochondria. They are a special type of cell that produces a large electric charge across its membrane. It’s an electric charge equivalent to a bolt of lighting. So it grew, and diversified, and made proteins and DNA and organelles, it reproduces and spread, and over the next 1.8 billion years that 2 cell merge evolved into all the complex, eukaryotic life on Earth today. 

Society

Based on this theory, the story in the Book of Genesis of Adam and Eve, of two things coming together and creating life, doesn’t seem that far from evolutionary biology. If Genesis is, as many Christian scientists believe, a romanization of reality, then this theory of evolution might fit into the Bible. 

The other societal implication that arises from this theory is the possibility of alien life. Because of the pure improbability of how complicated life came to be, it’s statistically very unlikely that this could have happened anywhere else, no matter the vastness of the universe. However, it is not that unlikely that we could find bacteria roaming the surface of far away planets. But alas, no E.T.

Self

Inside of myself, there are mitochondria and DNA remnant of that original merge. If you look hard enough, you can see how I am related to the origins of life. 

Sources

Abumrad, J. (Producer). (2016, April 6). Radiolab [Audio podcast]. Retrieved From http://www.radiolab.org/story/cellmates/ 

Rosen, J. (2015, October 19). Scientists may have found the earliest evidence of life on Earth. Science Magazine. doi:10.1126/science.aad4732

Brom, R. H. (2004, August 10). Adam, Eve, and Evolution. Retrieved April 19, 2016, from http://www.catholic.com/tracts/adam-eve-and-evolution  

Inquiry:  I asked many questions when beginning this project. What is neodymium? How can I reflect the element's identity in a piece of art?

Research: I did quite a lot of research to educate myself on neodymium and it's purpose and importance in our lives. I researched both the science and chemistry of the element and the artistic application of the element.

Collaboration: My peers helped critique my various sketches. I was able to brainstorm better out loud and get good constructive criticism to improve my product.

Presentation: The presentation of the final element print is essential. I had to print neatly and cut and matte it precisely in order for it to look professional, well done, and well presented. 

Reflection: I reflected and looked at the bigger picture several times during my process, considering what my project would look like in a grade wide periodic table. I also reflected on my previous experience in science and engineering class with elements to help enrich my project.

The book begins in first person in the perspective of Kurt Vonnegut. He is visiting an old friend from the war, Bernard V. O’Hare, and they are reminiscing about the war. Vonnegut mentions that he is trying to write a book about the bombing of Dresden. O’Hare’s wife says that he should name is book the Children’s Crusade, because she believes that the war is talked about like it was a great gallant fight fought by heroes, but it was actually the gory slaughter of children sent to war. That dialogue sets the stage for the book in discussing the meaningless of war, and, the meaningless of life itself. Vonnegut goes on to think to himself about the fluidity and intricacies of time, a theme carried throughout the rest of the book. He then introduces Billy Pilgrim, a boring man from a boring town with a boring life who becomes unstuck in time. 

The story of Billy Pilgrim is not a linear one. It begins with Billy old and senile in his death bed, and then he awakens on his wedding day, and then to the war, and then to his birth and then to his death. Billy’s story is centered around two different parts of his life; the bombing of Dresden, and Billy’s life on the planet Tralfamadore. Through the repetition of phrases, random anecdotes, science fiction, and history, Kurt Vonnegut uses the life of Billy Pilgrim to convey his own confusions about the meaning and the meaninglessness of existence and what it means to be a human being.

Billy Pilgrim floats through time with no start, no end, and no purpose. Aimless and lost, Billy does not feel like he has a solid, down-to-earth impact anywhere, and doubts the significance of his own existence. I related to Billy’s uncertainty. I, too, have questioned who I am, and what the meaning of my existence is. Do I matter? I am significant? Will I have an impact? The philosophy Billy learns on Tralfamdore teaches him that no one is ever truly dead, as they are alive in every other moment at the same time. He learns every moment happened, is happening, and always will happen the same exact way, as it is “structured that way”. Billy raises more relatable life questions I too brood over sometimes. What happens when you die? Do I have a predetermined destiny? If I am simply a compilation of memories than who will I be when no one is left to remember?

Various other characters are introduced in different moments of Billy’s life. There are his wife and his children and his war friends and fellow war prisoners. There is Eliot Rosewater, another man in a mental hospital with Billy. Montana Wildhack, the hollywood actress in the Tralfamadorian zoo exhibit with Billy. And of course, Kilgore Trout, a science fiction novelist no one has ever heard of. My favorite character, or set of characters, where the English soldiers living in the heart of a Russian war camp. They had befriended the Russian guards and recieved extra food and provisions. The Englishmen created a happy and structured life in the center of chaos and captivity and destruction. That contrast, and the recognition of the human ability to create lemonade out of any lemons, was strikingly beautiful.

Slaughterhouse-Five is hauntingly well written and is a book that, as Life Magazine remarked, “a funny book at which you are not permitted to laugh, a sad book without tears, a tale told in a slaughterhouse.” Although the story progression in the book is not linear, Kurt Vonnegut is able to create a sense of continuity through his writing styles and his repetition. Vonnegut takes advantage of the simplicity of the human brain and how easily we can make connections. For example, in the beginning of the book, Vonnegut explains that at the end of a massacre, all you can hear are the birds, and they sound like “poo-tee-weet”. The last line in the book is “poo-tee-weet”, telling the reader that the book was a story of a massacre and a a story of death. The reader knows, even though Vonnegut did not tell. Kurt Vonnegut is a master of words and a master of the mind, and his book is a masterpiece.

I would recommend this book for anyone who likes be intellectually engaged while reading. Anyone who likes science fiction, World War II, classic literature, or anyone who is looking for a short and satisfying read. I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I think you could too.

Hello lovely being! My name is Anna Sugrue, and I am a freshman at Science Leadership Academy. Welcome to my third and final blog on gay rights and marriage equality! If you’re feeling a little lost, click these links to read my first blog and my second blog. 

This blog is the last portion of a year long English You and the World project. Along with our third blog, our class had to go into the world and become an Agent of Change for our issues.  Some people volunteered at dog shelters or soup kitchens, some did presentations to raise awareness, others raised money to help their cause. I decided to hold a rainbow themed bake sale to raise money for the Attic Youth Center. The Attic is an organization in Philadelphia that provides shelter, counseling, and a safe, open space for teenagers in the LGBTQ community. I held the bake sale on April 15th. The main attraction was my lovely homemade rainbow layer cake. It was a great success.

Originally, as I said in blog 2, I was going to craft and present a video about the definition of love. I realized though, after some careful considerations, that a presentation like the one I was planning would not make much of a difference in the minds of fellow SLA students. As I found in my polling, on a small percentage of the SLA students apposed gay rights, all on the basis of religion. Most of the people I presented to would agree with what I said, and I would not be able to convert the one’s that did not. My bake sale process went pretty darn well. I had tremendous support from my friends Dillon and Michaela with baking and selling. I encountered a few problems involving icing and cookies, but I was able to sell the cookies despite their icing-less-ness.

Experiencing the You and the World Project individually and as a class has been a wonderful whirlwind of a learning escapade. Over the course of all three blogs, I learned much more about a issue I’m passionate about. I watched youtube videos that inspired me and frustrated me, I felt hopeful and I knew there was so much more that needs to change. This class and this project encouraged me to act - to do something about it. To use my passion, my anger, and my hope to make a difference in the world.  A whole new realm of idea and opportunity was opened up to me, one I had never been encouraged to explore before. I have learned that I can make a difference, and I will.

I found the Attic Youth Center, a non-profit organization in Philadelphia that could always use support. Although I only raised $60, I feel like I impacted the life of someone discriminated against unfairly and unjustly. Just $25 provides a hot meal for 5 homeless LGBTQ teens who were disowned or kicked out of their homes because of their sexual or gender identity. $50 provides an LGBTQ youth at the Attic with a life coaching session to help apply for college, develop a resume, and get on track in school. If I combined the money I raised with the money raised by fellow activist Lindsey Jones, we could provide 10 Attic youth with a weekly support group to connect with other LGBTQ youth in a safe and caring environment. 

One thing I learned specifically that I did not know before was the importance of the vanishing point in any perspective drawing. The vanishing point is used to create sides in 3D objects in a drawing, as a reference when drawing which parts of an object would be visible, and as a general reference for the position of everything in a space.

Learning the importance of the vanishing point and the importance of orthogonal lines made my windows and tables look much more realistic and aesthetically pleasing. Though it took a lot of erasing, my whole project became 100 times better.

c. If you did this assignment again, what would you do differently?

If I did this assignment again, I would double check that all of my orthogonal went to the vanishing point before I darkened the lines with my pencil. I would also sit on the floor in a place where there would be less of a chance of people accidentally walking across and damaging my piece.

d. What is your advice to someone who has never drawn a one point perspective drawing before?

Draw orthogonal and draw boxes. Orthogonal are essential to making your drawing realistic. To make a 3D shape with those orthogonal, making a prism or cube like shape that can be your frame for the object. This will act as a guide when you draw the rest of the object. Also, it helps to get on your feet and walk around the space you are drawing to get comfortable with every aspect and perspective.

e. What resource helped you the most and why?

My classmates helped me the most. It helped to work out problems with someone, and to learn from the hands and words of someone I am comfortable with and that I trust. 

How does this project relate to the real world?

       -The skills we learned in this project can be applied to a variety of different situations and professions. If I ever wanted to know the height of something, I can make quick approximate calculations with a mirror and a tape measure. If I wanted to go into a career in architecture, city planning, civil engineering, construction, interior design, etc, the knowledge of triangles is essential. Triangles are the basis of construction and design everywhere, from the pyramids to pie slices. Knowing how to measure triangles will give anyone an upper hand in the “real world”.

What was the most exciting portion of this project and why? What was the least exciting portion to this project and why?

       -The most exciting portion of this project was the in class time we got to go explore our block independently. Going out into the world and applying the knowledge we had learned on paper in a class environment to a large scale real life environment was exciting and invigorating. The least exciting portion of this project was the written portions of the final project. The final calculations did not come out cleanly and were frustrating to evaluate. The stick method was especially frustrating. I also had no idea how to structure my letter to the Neighborhood Association and was a little lost as to how to put together our final written report.

What did you learn from completing this project?

       -From completing this project, I learned about triangles and their application in real life situations. From measuring my building, I learned about the approximate heights of buildings around the city and how these buildings could be improved to increase the attractiveness of the area. I also learned 5+ handy new ways to measure to find an approximate height of any tall object (including the purchasing of a measuring app!). I also learned how to navigate the residential areas around SLA better than I did before. I found a new shortcut to get to the Franklin Institute, and a place where they apparently sell great hoagies.

The last few months have been great months for the LGBTQ community. Same-sex marriage was legalized in Maine, Maryland, Minnesota, and Washington state in November. Gay marriage and adoption is on its way to be legalized in France. The Hobbit, a wonderful success, came out in December, starring openly gay Ian McKellen as Gandalf the Grey. It seems both in America and in the world at large, people are slowly coming to terms with gay marriage.

On the other side, there are still people in the world fighting to protect the young generations from making the “life choice” to be a homosexual as an adult. Do you agree with men like Scott Lively, supporter of the Uganda “Kill the Gays” bill? Or Stacey Campfield and his “Don’t Say Gay” bill? Do you think that the good outcomes these men hope to gain from their campaigns out weigh the good outcomes of the lives of married gay couples?

For my piece of individual research, I created a short simple survey about who the survey taker was and if they supported gay rights. The questions were as follows; 1. Male or Female? 2. How old are you? 3. What is your sexual orientation? 4. Do you support gay marriage? 5. If no, why not? 

Here are a few helpful graphs depicting my results.

Interestingly enough, as a new poll shows, the amount Americans that believe homosexuality is a sin has decreased by 7% in the last year, from 44% to 37%. Even more interesting are the statistics shown from further polling. The amount of people that answer that they do not believe homosexuality is a sin has only increased by 2%. This leaves a surprising amount of people in the “I don’t know” category. Is this good news for the the LGBT community? How will we make “I don’t know” into “yes”?

This change in heart from religious americans can be rooted in many different recent cultural changes, including the support for gay marriage from Barack Obama and the rising popularity of openly gay celebrities like Ellen DeGeneres. I read another article on Huffington Post's Gay Voice's section about evangelical minister Steven Chalke. Chalke has begun "calling on Christians to support the gay community, as well as lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender rights, instead of promoting a policy of 'condemn and exclude'". This new christian way of thinking gives hope for a brighter future for gay marriage and gay rights. Christians like Chalke would not be changing their religion, but rather letting their beliefs evolve with the quickly changing times. 

¡Hola! Mi nombre es Anna Sugrue. Tengo el pelo rizada y morena y los ojos azules/verdes. Tengo catorce años. Mi cumpleaños es en Mayo, el mejor mes. Soy inteligente, creativa, y un poquito loca. Vale... soy bastante loca. Me gusta dormir y comer (soy algo perezosa). Me gusta también jugar videojuegos, escribir, leer, y ver la BBC. La adora porque es genial.

Ella es Rosalie Swana. Es una buenísima amiga. Tiene el pelo púrpura y los ojos azules. Es siempre loca y boba, a veces conmigo. Es tambíen talentosa. Le gusta practicar y escuchar música. Le gusta Miles Davis y Erykah Badu. Le gusta también dibujar.

Ellos son August y Leo. Son mi amigos. Me caen bien porque ellos son artístico y cómico. Son los amores de gente. Tienen el pelo café. August es algo tímido sin embargo Leo es muy sociable. Les gusta practicar música y dibujar. 

Ellas son Lauren y Lauren. Tienen catorce años. Son guapa, simpática, y inteligente. Tienen los ojos azules y el pelo cafés/rubia. Les gusta Twilight y Disney. Son importantes para mi porque son muy simpáticas y a menudo cuando yo necesito una amiga. 

Somos Michaela y Anna. Michaela es una bastante buenísima amiga. Somos muy similar. Tenemos los ojos y el pelo larga. Somos de Filadelfia. Somos sociable, creativa, inteligente, y cómica. Nos gusta ver Doctor Who y Downton Abbey. Nos gusta psicología. Nos llevamos bien porque somos muy similar. Es genial.

¡Hasta Luego! ¡Gracias!

Pia, the protagonist, is 17 years old - and she will never die. All she has ever known is Little Cambridge, a laboratory built to develop the Immortis serum deep in the Amazon rainforest. Pia’s skin cannot be broken, she is immune to every disease, and her reflexes are faster than any normal human’s. Her whole life she has been training to become part of the Immortis team to create another immortal human just like herself - her Mr. Perfect - to help start their master race. Her “aunts” and “uncles” in Little Cam teach her all there is to know of biology and chemistry, but she knows nothing of the outside world. Then, one day, Pia discovers the hole. Little Cambridge is guarded by tall electric fences, but one night, Pia see a break. Her curiosity overcomes her fear of breaking the rules, and she explores the jungle world outside Little Cam. Pia then meets Eio, a young handsome boy from a nearby Amazonian tribe. Together, they discover the horrible truths behind Little Cam and its scientists - uncovering Pia’s true origin - and changing her life forever.

In Origin, there is consistent tension among characters because of the fear of the lab being discovered or of ruining the experiment. When Pia escapes, she comes back longing for the forest and afraid of being discovered. Later when she meets Eio, there is conflict of love versus one’s job - commitment versus curiosity. Origin also addresses the negative connotations of power. What will you do with the power to be fearless? The power to live forever? What would you do to reach that goal? Origin gives a new-age twist on the “age old desire to live forever.”

Pia is an angst-filled teenaged girl. Although I found her naivety (hardly her fault) a little annoying, I felt I could connect with that nagging feeling of not quite having enough. Pia knew that the lab was built for her to fit in perfectly, but she cannot help but feel that she might be able to find her place somewhere else. By the end, I found myself begging Pia to make the right choices and rooting for her to survive. Khoury does a great job creating a character that is both annoying and worth rooting for - a delicate balance that is hard to achieve.

My favorite character in Origin was Eio’s younger foster sister Ami. Ami is a minor character, but the happiest character in the novel. She is care-free and full of the joy of life. Ami’s spirit reminds Pia of the happiness to be found in the moment. Ami’s appearance in the climax brings her beautiful childlike philosophies of life to a full meaning. I think Ami is a lustrous embodiment of Khoury’s moral.

Origin is a breathlessly paced story full of profound philosophy and nail-biting plot twists. However beautifully it was written though, I could not help but feel like the book lacked something. I liked it, but there was not an overwhelming “wow” factor. The characters could have had slightly more substance. Though Eio and Pia’s relationship is heartwarming - it comes across as a relationship built on lust and utter curiosity rather than real love and feeling. Pia also has never experienced real love or affection before, so it seems implausible that she would fall head over heels in only a few days.

I recommend this book to anyone who likes a good dystopian science fiction book with a spice of romance. Anyone 12 and up could enjoy this book, but I do not believe it’s a book most adults would find satisfying. This book was written for teenage readers, and is best consumed by that audience. 

What companies one encounters in everyday life have a foreign slave influenced work force?

Rosalie, Jesse, Alejandro and I made a colorful representation of a world map. We then did research on different common brand names that are supported by slaves labor or low wage work in factories in third world countries around the world. For example, the clothing brand American Eagle is not made in America at all, but rather by young people in sweat shops in China.  Each brand name is pinned to the specific location it is associated with on the map and brief snippet of information about the work force there is included under the flap. Will you stop giving money to these companies? How do you avoid supporting slavery in everyday life? What are you willing to sacrifice?

In technology class at Science Leadership Academy, I was given an assignment to make one slide that describes who I am. The class was given several slide presentation websites to read and use to educate ourselves on how best to present ourselves. We then had to write a script describing why we made the design choices we made. My slide is simple and colorful and reflects on what I’ve learned. Hope you enjoy!

I started by setting my background color as an aqua blue, which is my favorite color. I then picked a font recommended on the Zach Holman site that is bold, sans serif and easily readable. I set the color of the words as white to create striking contrast to the background blue. I aligned the smaller text box about my craziness slightly off center to the larger text box with my name. This created some contrast in font size and caps lock, and also draws ones eyes towards the corner. I colored each letter in the word crazy a different color to make a rainbow pattern, which repeats in the corner of the screen. Some empty space was left in the top right corner and the bottom left corner to balance the slide and leave breathing room for the viewer. The bottom right corner holds my main graphic, a rainbow that continues past the edges of the slide. The rainbow flows out to the sides and towards the corners. The color and the shape help represent my identity in which ever way the viewer perceives it.

 learned many new and worthwhile facts about slide design that will help me for the rest of my life. I hope you learned something too about slide design and about me. Thank you!

My issue is gay rights and gay marriage. Though I personally support gay marriage, I am doing research to help see all perspectives on the issue, because one must know what they are fighting against in order to fight it. I am also researching how gay rights struggles reflect the struggles of African-American people in the 20th century, and the controversy on whether gay rights are civil rights or not.

Let me give a little background information. Homosexuality, by definition, is having sexual feelings for someone of the same sex. Homosexuality has been shunned upon for centuries due to different understandings of religious texts and the time-old fear of anything different from the norm. Some Christians believe homosexuality to be a sin. Others believe that marriage can only be “an exclusive union of a man and a woman,” never for a man and a man or a woman and a woman. In some countries still, homosexuality is a punishable crime. For example in Iran, any people caught having same sex relations are punishable by death. 

The civil rights movement was partially driven by the idea of black pride, celebrating ones heritages and embracing oneself. Isn’t it that same idea, of pride in being oneself, that drives that gay rights movement? Marshall Brown’s last point about being able to easily hide ones sexuality addresses this same point. If it was possible to hide the color of your skin, would you do it? The civil rights movement was a fight against having to live a life built for them - a fight to live independently and equally with everyone regardless of their differences. LGBTQ people want a life where they can live without being judged by their differences - a life where they have the rights to the same privileges as everyone else regardless of sexuality. Aren’t those fights the same? If so, can LGBTQ people win like African-Americans did?

I want to help show young people that you should take pride in being oneself - whether you are gay or japanese or black. I want to show how your own struggles with race and faith reflect gay rights and sexual equality. I want to show that everyone wants to be happy as much as you want to be happy, and why ruin anothers chance of happiness when you do not get a reward? True happiness is being free of judgement - so why not free someone else? 

In order to understand the calendar, you need to know... 

• How to ask the date
• How to state the date
• The months
• The numbers

If you want to ask for someones birthday, you need to know...

• How to ask for someones birthday
• How to tell someone your own birthday