Halloween Candy, Food Coma and Scary Music... oh my

This Tuesday is Halloween and to get in the spirit, I thought I would share one of my favorite Jimmy Kimmel clips.  I absolutely love the brothers at the end of this clip.  If you have time to kill this week between school work and trick-or-treating, you should look at more of the "I Ate All of Your Halloween Candy Clips."  Jimmy Kimmel has been doing this challenge for about six years and he says he will continue the challenge until kids get smarter and realize it is all a joke.

During third hour this week, we had a little extra time on Thursday so some of you picked out some excellent blog topics.

1.  Food Comas

2.  Halloween is not a treat for your Digestive System

3.  The Future of Medical Technology Video Clip:

4.  Why is Scary Music Scary?

All of the options above are either related to digestion, Halloween, or biology in some way or another.  (Thanks 3rd hour...you guys rock.)  You can pick which option you would like to either read or watch.  Write a scholarly paragraph about what you learned.  Your paragraph should be at least five sentences long.  Also, I would like to to respond to at least one of your peers.  Do you have an idea for a future blog post?  Please email it to me.

Got Milk

This week we will wrap up our unit on Chemistry.  In class last week we discussed whether or not you liked milk.  I would say that our class is about 50/50 on the milk issue.  This is a super interesting video put out by the Howard Hughes Institute about lactose tolerance and evolution.  Essentially, one video actually ties together three different units in Honors Biology:  Biochemistry, Enzymes and Digestion and finally Evolution. 

What causes lactose persistence?  Normally, what happens to our ability to digest lactose as we get older?  What is the enzyme that helps break apart lactose into glucose and galactose?  What caused the different mutations in the Finnish and the African people?  Was it the same mutation?  Why is milk good for you?  What was the factor that helped "weed out" the people that were not able to digest lactose? 

Your assignment this week is to watch the video and answer some of the questions above in a well constructed paragraph.  Also in your paragraph I want you to state whether or not you like milk.  Additionally, I would like you to state whether your family likes milk and where your family's ancestors are from.  In addition to your post, you will also need to respond to at least one of your peers. 

Chicago Pop Party

Do you remember learning about the Boston Tea Party in History class?  You know the one where the colonists got mad about the tax on tea and dumped the tea into the Boston Harbor?

I couldn't help but think about how ironic it would have been if Chicago had done the same thing to show outrage over the Cook County Soda Pop Tax.  Okay, environmentally it would have been a nightmare and been horrible for Lake Michigan, but the Cook County Soda Tax caused some major tension in Chicago.

A new study from the World Health Organization says that about 25% of all American teenagers are obese.  The soda tax was an attempt to raise over $1 billion dollars by taxing all sugary drinks a penny an ounce.  Twofold, the tax would raise money for Cook County at the same time it was discouraging young people from drinking sugary drinks.

This week I want your opinion about the Cook County Soda Tax.  Are you for the tax or against the tax and why?

1.  The Cook County Government Site:
https://www.cookcountyil.gov/service/sweetened-beverage-tax

2.  Chicago Tribune from 2016
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/politics/ct-cook-county-soda-pop-tax-vote-met-1111-20161110-story.html

3.  USA Today
https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/2017/10/11/soda-tax-fizzles-out-chicago-area-after-clash-over-health-taxes-sales/753600001/

4.  Chicago Tribune from this week
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/commentary/ct-perspec-soda-tax-repeal-suffredin-1012-20171011-story.html

5.  The Economist
https://www.economist.com/blogs/democracyinamerica/2017/10/fizzled-0

6.  The Daily Herald
http://www.dailyherald.com/news/20171014/why-the-cook-county-soda-tax-failed

You will write a five sentence paragraph stating your opinion about the soda tax.  In your paragraph, you must provide evidence to support your stance from one of the articles above.  State which article you read to find your evidence.  The first article is from the actual government site, but the other five articles are valid newspapers or magazines.  Please do not start your paragraph with "I read...."  Instead start right off the bat with your stance on the soda tax.  Then support your claim with evidence and reasoning just like a scientific paragraph.  Remember that sentences start with capital letters and end with periods.  Additionally, you should comment on at least one of your peer's posts.

Happy National Coffee Day

Did you know that last Thursday was National Coffee Day?  When I was your age, my mom not only wouldn't let my sisters and me near coffee, but she told us that caffeine actually stunted growth.  Because I was a puny freshman, I went nowhere near coffee until I got married in 2000.  By then I figured I was done growing and I could start enjoying coffee.

Caffeine is an alkaloid, meaning that is a nitrogen compound.  The scientific name is trimethylxanthine and it is highly water soluble.  Chemically it looks like this:

Caffeine:  How much is too much?
http://www.mayoclinic.org/healthy-lifestyle/nutrition-and-healthy-eating/in-depth/caffeine/art-20045678

Kids and Caffeine
https://www.today.com/health/kids-caffeine-may-be-dangerous-combination-new-study-suggests-1D79801666

Yes.  It is possible to overdose on caffeine.
http://www.health.com/nutrition/caffeine-overdose-symptoms

This week you can read one of the articles above about caffeine, or you can find your own article about caffeine.  If you chose to find your own article, please include the web address at the end of your post.  Are you pro-caffeine or anti-caffeine?  Do you think that high school kids drink coffee because they need the caffeine?  Are they drinking coffee just to look cool?  Do young people consume too much caffeine?  On the other hand, what are the benefits of drinking caffeine?  How much caffeine is okay?

Remember this should be a scholarly paragraph with at least 5 sentences.  I am not an English teacher, but I know that you should start a sentence with a capital letter and end with a period.  Also be sure to give evidence to support your claims.  Why do you think the way that you do?  What is the proof?  Additionally, you need to comment on at least one of your peer's posts.