For Wasps, spotty faces are KILLER

Just as some people look too scary to get into a fight with, so too do the looks on the faces of some wasps keep others away.

Paper wasps wear black spots to warn others of their grappling prowess, according to a new study that illustrates a strategy animals can use to avoid fights.

Animals spend a lot of time competing with each other over food, territory or other desirables.


The better fed and larger these wasps are, the more black spots they often have on their yellow faces. The more spots wasp faces had, the more other wasps might shy away.

The researchers perched dead wasps on top of sugar cubes and painted their faces with specific patterns. They next saw if other wasps dared approach the cubes for some tasty sugar. "The dead wasps kind of served like scarecrows for the other wasps," a researcher explained.


The researchers found that wasps preferred challenging guards with fewer spots and veered off from those with more spots!

Math Extra Credit..3

A year is a long time in a child's education, the time it can take to learn cursive writing or beginning algebra. It's also how much time kids can spend with substitute teachers from kindergarten through high school — time that's all but lost for learning.

The vacuum created by teacher absenteeism has been all but ignored — even though new research suggests it can have an adverse effect in the classroom.

The problem isn't just with teachers home for a day or two with the flu. Schools' use of substitutes to plug full-time vacancies — the teachers that kids are supposed to have all year — is up dramatically.


Link to lower test scores:

Teacher absences lead to lower student test scores, even when substitutes fill in. And test scores have gained heightened importance, because the 2002 education law penalizes schools if too few students meet testing benchmarks. The goal is to get all kids reading and doing math at their grade levels by 2014.

10 teacher absences within a year cause a significant loss in math achievement. When the regular teacher is gone for two weeks, it can set students back at least that amount of time.


With math in particular, the higher the level taught by the absent teacher, the harder it is to find a substitute.

Math Extra Credit..2

Girls like writing and reading; boys like math and science. At least that's the stereotype. Suprisingly, a new survey shows that girls in elementary school actually like math and science better than language arts!

Researchers at the University of Miami in Ohio surveyed nearly 2,000 girls in grades 4 through 8 at public and private schools and had them rate their enjoyment of four subjects, science, math, language arts and social studies, on a scale of 1 (strongly dislike) to 5 (really like).



Fourth-grade girls clearly liked science the best; their average enjoyment levels were:

4.11 for science
3.85 for math
3.5 for language arts
3.49 for social studies
As girls get older though, they seem to like science and math less, with science's average likeability score falling to 3.29 for girls in 8th grade.

But these subjects aren't alone, as girls seemed to lose a little interest in every subject. Likeability for social studies fell to 2.91 for 8th graders.


Just why girls lose interest in all these subjects is something researchers haven't worked out. But the good news, they say, is that girls regain some of their interest in science in college.

As an eight grader, I actually gained more interest in Language and Literature. Those are among my best subjects and I want to be involved with them as I become older.

Math Extra Credit..

With a total of 18 mathematicians and computer, scientists from several countries worked for four years to successfully map the inner working of E8 — one of the most complicated structures in math, a 248-dimensional object. The findings were reported today by the American Institute of Mathematics.


The mapping of E8, according to researchers, may very well have implications in mathematics and physics which won’t be evident for years to come.

Underlying symmetrical objects such as spheres and cylinders is something called a Lie group — a mathematical group invented by the 19th century Norwegian mathematician Sophus Lie to study symmetry. E8 is an example of a Lie group.


The result of E8 and all its representations is 60 gigabytes in size, enough to store 45 continuous days of music in MP3 format. In comparison, the Human Genome Project holding the entire genetic code of a cell is less than a gigabyte in size.

In order to understand this concept, one must know many different areas of mathematics and science, including algebra, geometry, number theory, physics and chemistry. This project will be invaluable for future mathematicians and scientists.

The result of E8 and all its representations is 60 gigabytes in size


A unique aspect of this very large output answer is that unlike many large-scale calculations, the size of the input is small compared to the enormous and very dense answer.

Kids on steroids willing to risk it all for success?!?!

Although many sports stars deny that they are role models to the younger generation, many kids today grow up idolizing famous atheletes. Among students in grades 8 through 12 who admitted to using anabolic steroids in a confidential survey, 57 percent said professional athletes influenced their decision to use the drugs and 63 percent said pro athletes influenced their friends' decision to use them. Eighty percent of users — and 35 percent of non-users — said they believed steroids could help them achieve their athletic dreams.

What's even more upsetting is that the kids said that they were willing to take extreme risks with drugs to reach there atheletic goals. The survey found that 65 percent of steroid users versus 6 percent of non-users said they would be willing to use a pill or powder, including dietary supplements, if it guaranteed they would reach their athletic goals. Even if it could harm their health and even shorten their lives, many people said that they would be willing to take steroids.

The survey was mostly taken in New Jersey,Pennsylvania and New Mexico. Other states included Iowa, Wisconsin, Connecticut, Missouri, Ohio, Colorado, New York, Minnesota and California.

Overall, 1.6 percent of students (about 50 students in total) addmitted that they have used anabolic steroids.

Some students reported using other dietary supplements to boost their game or physical appearance. Of all students surveyed, 17 percent said they had used supplements such as protein powders, creatine and amino acids to gain body mass. And 35 percent said they had used supplements such as fat burners, high-energy drinks, ephedra and caffeine pills in an attempt to lose weight. The more supplements kids took, the more likely they were to also use steroids.

Sports role models are very powerful in a young kid's life. The mindset is that if [a pro athlete] had to use that, then maybe I should use that.

In my opinion, I believe that steroid use is wrong. Many kids think it's cool to take drugs or follow their sports role models, but drugs can really ruin your life. So, I think that every kid should think twice about imitating their irresponsible role models so they don't harm their lives.

This article can be found at:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22984780/

Music Can Heal Animals?!!??

After being tested, many labs found out that animals can calm down and feel better after listening to the sound of harps playing. Amazing, right? In 2000, a scientist performed for recently hospitalized canines at a Florida veterinary clinic. The hour-long sessions immediately began to lower heart rate, anxiety, and respiration in many cases.

Dogs aren’t the only animals benefiting from the harp music. Cassie, a black and white cow, used to have anxiety-related behavior issues.


On a recent morning, for example, a few scientists walked into the barn to find the 1,500 pound Holstein snorting and stomping.They weren't sure what upset Cassie but decided to try calming her by playing a CD of harp songs.

Within 20 minutes, Cassie calmed down. Now thats cool.


Both wild and domestic animals can benefit from music therapy but not all of them respond to it.

This is how it works:

The scientists use certain harp vibrations to resonate with the animals own cellular rhythms to help release tense muscle tissue, calm anxiety, improve digestion, induce restful sleep, and increase endorphins for pain management.

"Harp of Hope," a collection of 17 songs, was originally recorded for people but Schneider (the creator) decided to release an animal edition last year after owners reported it helped their arthritic dogs fall asleep and calmed their agitated cats.

Today, many Veterinary Hospitals use the CD to relax nervous animals!

If you would like to view the original article, visit:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22539914/

Girl Born With 8 Limbs!

Have you ever heard of a human with eight arms and legs? Well, in Banglore India, a young girl had four arms and legs surgically removed. She was born with four arms and four legs, but luckily, the surgeons were able to remove them successfully.


Lakshmi was born joined at the pelvis to a "parasitic twin" that stopped developing in her mother's womb. The surviving fetus absorbed the limbs, kidneys and other body parts of the undeveloped twin.

A team of more than 30 surgeons performed a 24-hour operation on Nov. 7 at the Sparsh hospital in Bangalore. They removed the extra limbs, transplanted a kidney from the twin and reconstructed Lakshmi's pelvic area.


The family is extremely thankful and glad that the operation was a success.
Right now, Lakshmi can walk and run with no help or problems at all.


If you would like to view the original article, here's the link:

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/22274113/

6 Questions

I’ve tagged students for the Omega Meme!

The rules are as follows:

Each player answers the six questions posted on this blog.

The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before those answers are listed.

At the end of the post, the player then tags 8 people and posts their blog names, then goes to their blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking them to read your blog.


Then follow the instructions about adding a page element at omegascience.blogspot.com.


6 Questions:

1. My favorite TV show is Greys Anatomy because I like the characters and how they save lives everyday.

2. My favorite meal is chicken quesidillas because i enjoy Mexican food. yummm =]

3. My favorite non school activities are tennis, soccer, and bball because I love playing sports and hanging out with my friends that are on the teams.

4. Someone I look up to is my mom because she always knows when to make the right decisions.

5. My goal for the future is becoming very successful whether it's sports or Fashion Design.

6. In the first hour after school I usually do homework, go on the computer, or hang out with my friends.



I have tagged tennisgirl13, tinkerbell44, livexlaughxlove, softballchik15, xgiants, touchofpink16, smileygirl, and coloryellow

You may not tag someone who has already been tagged.

The Earth!!!

In science class, we are now learning and studying about Earth Science. The subject we are talking about now is layers of the Earth. Some of the key words we had to define were: seismic waves, pressure, crust, basalt, granite, mantle, lithosphere, asthenosphere, outer core, and inner core.

Definitions:

seismic waves- Waves that are produced when earthquakes occur.

pressure- Results from a force pressing on an area.

crust- The layer of rock that forms Earth's outer skin.

basalt- Dark rock with a fine texture.

granite- A rock that usually is a light color and has a coarse texture.

mantle- A layer of hot rock.

lithosphere- The uppermost part of the mantle and the crust together.

asthenosphere- Part of the mantle that is soft.

outer core- A layer of molten metal that surrounds the inner core.

inner core- A dense ball of solid metal.

These are a few of the most important words you should know about the Earth.

A theory that many scientists are working on right now has to do with Pangaea. When volcanoes erupt, the lava and magma spread, causing the land to expand. So, when the lava reaches sea, it extends the borders of Hawaii into the Pacific Ocean.

Three main layers of Earth:

* Crust

* Mantle

* Core

Temperature:

* For every 40 meters down into the Earth's core, the temp. rises 1 Celsius degree.
* When you first start off, the temp. is cool, but then it begins to get warmer.


Crust= 5-70 km thick
Mantle= 2,867 km thick
Outer Core= 2,266 km thick
Inner Core= 1,216

In my opinion, I think learning about the Earth and its layers is very interesting. Before I learned all of these facts, I didn't really understand the Earth's layers. Now I know that they are the Mantle, Crust, and Core. Those are the three main important layers. I would really like to learn more about the Earth and all of its amazing details.


Here are a few sites you can visit to learn more about the Earth and its features: