The Controversial Dress

Is it gold and white or blue and black?

Read the article below:

http://www.wired.com/2015/02/science-one-agrees-color-dress/

What do you think?  Is the dress blue and black or white and gold?  Do you think that there are other images out there that look different based on the interpretation of wavelenghts of light?  Are you the night owl that sees the dress as blue and black or the early riser like me who sees the dress as white and gold?  

Man of Steel

Yesterday afternoon, Dominic was watching "Man of Steel," while I was pondering the importance of mutations.

Last week in our crazy short week of school, we discussed different types of mutations including both gene mutations and chromosome mutations.  What if Superman is just the result of some really cool mutations...x-ray vision, super human strength, and the ability to fly?  Isn't that what the X-Men comic series is all about?  How realistic is the theory that humans could have real life X-Men super powers?

Read the article below and watch the slideshow:

http://www.pcmag.com/slideshow/story/323873/9-humans-with-real-life-x-men-mutant-super-powers

In a scholarly paragraph, write a response to the above article.  What do you think?  Are there really people around us with gene-based super abilities?  Explain the statement, "Mutations are the means by which nature adds new variants into the genetic pool."  What does that mean?  Can you give examples?  Are all mutations bad?  Why or why not?  Can you think of any other super powers that were not included in this article?  What super ability would you want?  Why?  Do you think these mutations would be gene mutations or chromosome mutations?  Why?

Sled Dogs...More than Meets the Eye

My ten year old son is on a campaign right now to convince my husband and I that we should get a dog for his birthday in March.  I know that there are a plethora of articles out there to convince me of all the benefits of kids having pets.  One of the dogs that Dominic really wants us to get is a Siberian Husky.  While I was reading about the Siberian Husky, I found this cool short video about sled dogs.

Watch the video.  What do you think?  Did you know that breeders use Irish Setters and Greyhounds to make the Husky even faster?  If you were going to breed a dog to be the best sled dog over, what type of dogs would you consider?  What if you were going to create the best dog for a family...what type of dogs would make great pets?  As we are starting our unit of DNA, ponder artificial selection--humans picking the traits that we like the best for dogs, cats, crops, fruit and more.  Are humans meant to tamper with nature?  Is making the best dog ever like "playing God?"  If we start creating the best dog ever...where will scientists stop?

Please write a scholarly response about the video and the questions I proposed above by Friday, February 13th.  What do you think?  Also be sure to comment on at least one of your peers' original responses.

Mind The Gap

Initially, this week we were going to write about Groundhog Day.  However, with the winter storm going on right now outside of my window, I am actually happy that winter has finally shown her face.  Enough of the one or two inches of snow, I am totally pleased to get a full-fledged blizzard on Super Bowl Sunday.  So rather than pondering the truth about Groundhog Day (I did attach the article to the image on the right just in case you are curious), we are going to try and wrap our head around the gap between what scientists and regular folks like you and me believe.

Recent outbreaks of measles have been tied to children who haven't been vaccinated. Many people still believe that childhood vaccinations are dangerous, despite scientific evidence to the contrary. 

From:
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/01/150129-public-opinion-aaas-health-education-science/

Last week, National Geographic published the article above about differences in opinion between scientists and the "regular Joe."  For this week you will first read the article above.  Then, take a look at the graphic below:

The article states that both scientists and U.S. adults agree about the space station, but other than that the gap is enormous.  If scientists say that childhood vaccinations are safe and should be required, why don't people believe them?  Are you in favor of vaccinations?  Do you know people that do not vaccinate their kids?  If more children were vaccinated, would California be experiences an outbreak of the measles?  If scientists have evidence to prove that climate change is the result of human activity, then why can't we accept the responsibility to fix the problem we created?  Finally, as you are sitting down to enjoy your Super Bowl snacks, why do most people avoid genetically modified foods?  What is causing the disconnect?  Why are U.S. adults so hesitant to believe scientists?  What do you think?  What about the other issues?

After reading the article, you will write a scholarly response to the questions that I posed above.  If you feel strongly about a specific topic or issue in the article, then feel free to focus on that issue.  I expect a quality paragraph and evidence to support your claims.  Additionally, you need to respond to at least one of your peers.