Author Archives: wardsci
Recent news about White-Nose Syndrome indicates it was likely that the disease was brought to the US from Europe on the shoes or pants of a traveling spelunker. Use these articles, about a fairly new introduced species of disease causing fungi and about Australians combating a less recent introduced species, to lead your class into discussions about introduced species in your area. Both articles can be found on DiscoveryNews. The Article about White-nose syndrome is here and you can find the article about Cane toads here.
Do your students understand about the importance of repeatability in science? It is one of the aspects of the scientific method that is often overlooked, but is a key element in the process of scientific discovery. There is a followup article to the report that a bacterium could integrate Arsenic into its DNA that shows how scientists repeating an experiment can support, or refute, the original findings. Check out the article at ScienceNews here….
Last month scientists were asked to censor the publication of their research findings into the H5N1 Bird Flu virus. Specifically they were asked to not publish their methodology of making the virus more highly effective at infecting mammals. The original article from ScienceNews is here. The article raises a number of questions about the ethics of scientific research. Have your students debate intentionally not publishing the procedures from the standpoints of reporting the science in a reproducible format and the threat of misuse of … Continue reading
Effectively demonstrate the proper procedures used to prevent the spread of infectious disease with this premium compact handwashing kit. With a 2 oz. bottle of Glo Germ Gel, 1.2 oz. of Glo Germ Powder, and standard UV light with battery, you”ll have enough supplies to lead over 50 demonstrations with your students in handwashing training and cross-contamination testing. For a complete learning experience, a full set of student activity sheets and trainer’s manual are included with this kit. See this … Continue reading
What a great time to talk to your students about health and disease transmission. In November ScienceNews reported an article about how germs may survive longer outside of the body than previously thought. It also contains a link to a primary article from 2008 determining how long a virus can survive on money! Take a look at the ScienceNews article here…
Midsouth Technology Conference Memphis, TN December 8-9 NSTA- Seattle Seattle, WA December 8-10
Distinct color coding identifies the various regions of this life-size brain model. Frontal lobe, parietal lobe, occipital lobe, temporal lobe, motor cortex, somatosensory cortex, limbic cortex, cerebellum, and brain stem are shown in accurate reproduction and clearly differentiated from each other. Mounted on base, model includes key identifying structures. Size: 6 1/4″L x 7 7/8″W x 5 1/2″H. See it here…
Scientists have begun researching people with exceptional memories. They have found that people who could tell you what they did on a specific day in the past have an area in their brain that is more highly developed. Take a look at the article at ScienceNews here…