Class response- Symbiosis

In class we have been learning about symbiosis and symbiotic relationships. Symbiosis is a close relationship between two organisms in which one organism livers near, on or even inside another organism and in which at least one organism benefits. The three types of symbiotic relationships are: commensalism, mutualism and parasitism.
Commensalism is a reltionship in which one organism benefits while other is not harmed. An example of commensalism is the relationship between a bird and a tree because a bird uses a tree as a home for it's nest and the tree doesn't benefit or get harmed.
Mutualism is a form of symbiosis in which both organisms benefit. An example of mutualism is the relationship between a dog and a human because the human provides the dog shelter and food and in return the dog gives the human love and companionship. This is a good example because both the organisms benefit.
Parasitism is a form of symbiosis in which one organism benefits but the other one is harmed. An example of of parasitism is the relationship between lice and humans because one organism, the human, is harmed while the organism, the lice, benefits because it drinks the blood of the human.

Current event- Mimicking robot

Who- A research team at the Bristol Robotics Laboratory and David Hanson, an American robot designer who is known for A Zeno robot he made at Hanson Robotics.

What- The research team and David Hanson created a robot, named Jules, that can mimic the facial expression you have on your face. This project has been going for the last three years and contains 34 motors. Jules has cameras in her eyes which she uses to scan a picture of the person's face and then try to copy the facial expression.

Where- At the Bristol Robotics Laboratory in England.

When- The creation of the robot started three years ago and finished a couple of weeks ago.

Why- Jules was created because the research team wanted to create a lifelike head and face that can it can interact with humans. Even though this still is not possible, Jules can mimic ten different facial expressions.

My opinion- I think Jules is a excellent robot and i think its really cool how technology can do such amazing things. Before we know it we will be able to interact with robots as easily as we can interact with other organisms!

Source-
http://www.geek.com/articles/news/jules-robot-mimics-emotions-in-real-time-20081117/

Curent event- Which came first? the chicken or the egg?

Class Response- Energy roles

Right now in class we are learning about how organisms get their food and what their role is in the ecosystem. organisms can either be producers, consumers or decomposers. Here is some information on them:

Some organisms, like trees and almost all types of plants, can make their own food and they are called producers. Producers use a source of energy, like sunlight, to make their own food. Producers are at the bottom of the food chain and they are the source of all food in an ecosystem.

Consumers- Consumers are organisms who get their food directly or indirectly from producers. Because they can't make their own food they rely on producers for food and energy. There are three different types of consumers. The three types are:
Herbivores- organisms who only eat plants. Some examples are grasshoppers and rabbits.
Carnivores- organisms that only eat other animals. Some examples are spiders and snakes.
Omnivores- organisms eat both plants and animals. Some examples are bears and humans.

Decomposers- After animals die, organisms called decomposers eat their dead matter. Decomposers, such as as molds and mushrooms, are very important to the ecosystems because they get rid of animals' dead bodies. They also return the important materials of the dead animals back to the soil and water.

Current event- Solar powered MP3

Another new type of MP3 player has been created. This time it's a solar powered MP3 ceated by a company called Hong Kong Electronics Fair Autumn Edition in Singapore. The MP3 player, called Shiro SQ-S, has a 1.8-inch LCD display and a built-in FM radio and a 16GB of storage space. it also comes in three different colors and has a circular leypad like the Ipod. You can also watch videos and view photos on it. Also to charge your Shiro SQ-S fully all you have to do is leave it outside for a sunny day for four hours and if your Shiro SQ-S need more power but it's a cloudy day there is also a USB port.

I got my information from: http://tech.yahoo.com/news/zd/20081013/tc_zd/232954

Class response-Layers ot the atmosphere

In school for a couple of weeks we have been about the weather. A couple of days ago we learned about the layers of the atmosphere. There are four main and important layers of the atmosphere. The names of those layers are:troposphere, the stratosphere, the mesosphere and the thermosphere. The troposphere is the most lowest layer of the atmosphere and the most closest to the earth. This is where most of the weather occurs and most of the clouds are here. The troposphere is 12-15 km above the ground. The second layer that is the closest to the ground is the stratosphere. The lower part of the stratosphere is VERY cold but the temperature gets warmer and warmer as you reach the top because that's where the ozone layer is. The stratosphere extends from the top of the troposphere to 50 km above ground. The third layer that is closest to the ground is the mesosphere. The mesosphere is the coldest layer of the atmosphere with temperatures near -90 degrees Celsius and protects the earth from meteors. The mesosphere rises from about 50 km to 80 km above ground. The outer most layer of the atmosphere is the thermosphere. The thermosphere has no definite end. It just keeps going and going and going. It is broken up into two layers called the ionosphere and the exosphere. In the ionosphere gas molecules are electrically charged and all the satellites are in the exosphere. Here is a diagram that show all the layer of the atmosphere: (if you click on it, it will enlarge!)

If you want to learn more about the atmosphere you can go to this website: http://www.srh.noaa.gov/jetstream/atmos/layers.htm

Extra Credit!!

Desert Places
by: Robert Frost

Snow falling and night falling fast, oh, fast
In a field I looked into going past,
And the ground almost covered smooth in snow,
But a few weeds and stubble showing last.

The woods around it have it--it is theirs.
All animals are smothered in their lairs.
I am too absent-spirited to count;
The loneliness includes me unawares.

And lonely as it is that loneliness
Will be more lonely ere it will be less--
A blanker whiteness of benighted snow
With no expression, nothing to express.

They cannot scare me with their empty spaces
Between stars--on stars where no human race is.
I have it in me so much nearer home
To scare myself with my own desert places.

This wonderful poem called “Desert Places” by Robert Frost uses weather by describing snow in the first verse. He talks about how snow falls so fast at night and covers everything in sight. Robert Frost’s knowledge of snow really enhances the poem because it describes how it covers everything and if he didn’t know anything about snow the poem wouldn’t have been that excellent. This poem wouldn’t have been as amazing as it is now if Robert Frost didn’t talk about snow because this entire poem talks about how the snow covers everything. If Robert Frost didn’t talk about snow in his poem the no one would be able to understand what he is trying to say. In this poem some literary devices used are personification and imagery. Personification is used when Robert Frost says “night falling fast” because night is a non-living thing and it is given a human characteristic. Imagery is used in this poem when Robert Frost mentions “the ground almost covered smooth in snow” because you can imagine that in your mind. This poem however does not expand my knowledge of snow because it describes snow and I already know a lot about it.

Class response-- Arctic Tale

Today in class we watched a documentary movie made by National Geographic called Arctic tale. The movie was about polar bears and walruses who live it the wild and how there life is changing because of global warming. The movie was pretty good except some of the parts were really shocking and kind of disgusting. Something i thought that was shocking was that the camera people didn't feed the polar bear when he was dying!! i know that they weren't allowed to but i think they should have feed the polar bear because then he wouldn't have died. My favorite part of the movie was in the beginning when the two baby polar bears were playing with each other. They looked so cute!! You can now more about the movie at this website: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arctic_Tale

Back way in the day when computers were ENORMOUS, regular people like you and me didn't have personal computers. Instead they had black and white TVs with four channels and radios with only about 5 or 6 stations. Kids usually played outside and maybe helped there parents with some household chores. Today life with personal computers is way better! we can research and find out new and unusual things with just a click. You don't have to carry heavy research books home or search through the books looking for something because everything is can be done with just a click on our personal computer!

Robots and humans? living side by side??

Many researchers and scientists all over the world are creating humanoid robots to help with the work but one country has gone up and beyond all the others and has created robots that can vacuum office corridors, spoon-feeding the elderly, work in factories and be used as receptionists. For example even though robots are no where close to having the same "emotional complexity" as humans, students at a university lab at Tokyo are creating a robot that shows the basic six expressions: anger, fear, sadness, happiness, surprise and disgust. when you say a word like war the robot shows a expression of disgust and when you say love, the robot starts to smile. Scientists hope to soon have a robot in every home and a scientist named Hiroshi Ishiguro even hopes there are so many robots that some people might even ask you, "are you a human or are you a robot?!"

http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/ptech/03/03/robot.nation.ap/index.html?section=cnn_latest

Class response- podcast

In science class we are researching about scientists and making podcasts abouts them. My partner and I got a scientist named Debra R. Rolison who realllllllllly wants to get rid of discrimination of women in science. Dr. Rolson has gotten a B.S. in Chemistry from Florida Atlantic University in 1975 and a PH.D. in Chemistry from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1980 under the guidance of Royce Murray. Soon after that Debra joined the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington D.C as a research chemist. Now she is a head in the Advanced Electrochemical Materials section and is also an Professor of Chemistry at the University of Utah. The main things she studies are multifunctional nanoarchitectures for catalytic chemistry's, energy storage and conversion, biomolecular composites, porous magnets, and sensors. Because Dr. Rolison strongly believes that women should not be discriminated because of their gender, she writes and gives speeches about how women shouldn't be given equal chances as men because of their gender. So hats of to you Dr. Rolison for trying to stop women from being discriminated!!

http://www.cnsi.ucla.edu/staticpages/conference/speakers2007
http://www.nanocenter.umd.edu/nanoday/2007/speakers/rolison/