The Public Library of Science

For information on the Public Library of Science, click here.

Please add your comments and reviews.

There is an article in one of the journals on. "the general paucity in the literature of negative data." (Source: http://medicine.plosjournals.org/perlserv/?request=get-document&doi=10.1371/journal.pmed.0050201, accessed 11-13-07).

Remember that, "no," to a hypothesis still gives valuable information. This point is important to convey to science fair judges, participants in science fairs, the general public who ultimately fund what could be un-biased research, and to scientists and journal editors.

Dr. J

(c)2008 J S Shipman

Here's a Look at a Primary Source Article

Here's a look at a primary source article (related to the September 10th post) via a link. If you can't get a direct link by clicking, your librarian can likely help you get a copy via interlibrary loan, or, you can try the library at a nearby college. Please follow the rules for the links. For example, the patient link is not to be used for educational purposes. It is only for patients. The Medical link does have a 30 day free trial today. Your institution may have access to these or other on-line refereed journal article access.

The genetic response to short-term interventions affecting cardiovascular function: Rationale and design of the Heredity and Phenotype Intervention (HAPI) Heart Study

Here's an activity to try: Draw two interlocking circles for a Venn diagram. Then lable one as Primary source and one as a story about science (or a secondary source). Use the Venn diagram to help you compare and contrast the two articles.

(c) 2008 J. S. Shipman

Teaching Science? Where does your school stand?

Here's a video done by children for adults:

So, what can you do about it?
Teachers, please note, you can teach science and math at the same time, or, science and literature at the same time., or, science and history at the same time. You can teach science on the playground or when you go for a walk.

There are grants you can get to get equipment for your school.

Parents, please note, you can have an after school homework club where a group of kids are supervised by one or two different parents every day. You can check your child's homework. You can volunteer at school. You can take your children to museums, botanic gardens, zoological gardens and observatories. You can go for a walk at a national park. You can volunteer at school. You can talk with your chil and his or her teacher(s).

Youth, you can study. You can find something you are interested in and study science standards through that subject area.

You can all write to your polititions.

You can use resources in the left hand column of this blog.

Experiment Ideas: Plant Pigments Link (USA to Japan to USA again...)

An excellent way to learn science is by being a scientist as you learn. That means participating in the process of science. People are moving away from the idea of "scientific method" because (to some) the idea didn't convey well enough that the method consists of several processes and that these processes are exciting. Whatever skills you have, the process of science can use them...art, music, attention to detail, observation, writing, perseverance, ...many, many skills lead to well done science. The idea is to try some experiments. Plant pigments provide an opportunity for such investigation.

I clicked on the link in the left hand column for the Japanese-based Society for Practical Education in Biology (http://www004.upp.so-net.ne.jp/jissen/english.htm), which you can find on this blog, and landed here: http://www.ucmp.berkeley.edu/glossary/gloss3/pigments.html back in the USA at Berkeley. That activity is what led to this exercise in the study of plant pigments. The internet can be an aid to your research, but, you still need to think deeply about what you find. For example, the Berkeley site gives a lot of information and is a great starting place. Let's see what you can do to become a self-directed learner from there. Pick out ways of learning that support your developing an interest in your studies. As you learn, step up to higher order thinking, which will keep you motivated and interested. Use your talents. For example, if you are a theater buff, use the plant pigments to suggest colorful costumes, or, create a play about plant pigments. A math whiz? What do wave lengths of light have to do with the pigments. Maybe you just love science labs. How could you extract the plant pigments? Could you use them for another chemical process? Art? Help convey the results you get in a beautiful way. Let's get started.

Take a look at the information on plant pigments and see what questions come to mind. What experiments does it make you think about? Post a comment if you have any questions.

Much of the information is definitions. Can you describe the words? Do you recall them when you close your eyes? Could you label chemical structures of the pigments with the right name? Great. These are Knowledge-based skills...Skills of remembering. You might also gather information you didn't know before:

The development of the most brilliant red coloring of
 autumn is commonly ascribed to the action of frost.
This explanation is probably incorrect, for careful
observation indicates that the color is most intense
when a moderately low temperature is accompanied by
bright sunshine. In warm, cloudy autumns the colors
are more likely to be dull, with the yellows predominant.
In other seasons, when cold weather is delayed, autumn
coloration may be brilliant and near its climax before
the first frost occurs.  That sunlight is important in
the development of the red pigment in many plants may
be shown also by an examination of a leaf that has been
closely shaded by another. The pigment stops so abruptly
where the shade begins that a perfect print of the upper-
most leaf results. An abundance of nitrogen in the soil
prevents anthocyan[an] formation in some plants. This
fact may explain in part the greater brilliancy of colors
seen on hillsides and river bluffs than on adjoining
floodplains.
Source: GENERAL BOTANY: NEW-WORLD SCIENCE SERIES
Edited by John W. Ritchie http://www.archive.org/stream/
generalbotanyint00tran/generalbotanyint00tran_djvu.txt
Accessed 10-29-08  See also:  http://www.archive.org/
details/generalbotanyint00tran

Can you paraphrase the definitions? (The word paraphrase means to say, or write the information in your own words.) Paraphrasing shows comprehension or understanding. Other skills that show comprehension or understanding include: matching, giving examples, interpreting, summarizing, classifying, illustrating and explaining. Inferring, rewriting, and distinguishing are other ways of thinking about plant pigments that show comprehension. Can you organize information that you read so you can remember it?

Application (Applying) is another step up the thinking skills ladder. If you are using the HOT Skills Wheel TM, you can see that you've moved to another section. When you can apply the knowledge that you've learned, you can dramatize it, use it, solve with it, and, produce with it, for example.

Analysis is another form of higher order thinking that you can apply to your study of plant pigments. Compare, analyze, distinguish, infer, analyze, classify, differentiate, point out, subdivide, survey. Think more deeply! What can you infer from the colors of leaves and fruits? Can you differentiate among different plant pigments? How? (Add your own questions and responses. Keep track in your lab book or journal.).

Synthesis, or "creating" includes verbs like: compose, design, produce, organize, originate, combine, plan, hypothesize, role play, create, develop, construct, invent. Can you make a hypothesis and design an experiment to test out your ideas on plant pigments? If so, you are thinking well. Congratulate yourself. If not, learn by doing: try to create a hypothesis to test and then, after checking with an adult and having supervision, do the experiment. You need to check for safety reasons and for budget. Just like real scientists (which you are), you will have safety, space and budget constraints. But don't worry, you can come up with other ideas that fit the constraints and challenges you run in to. Meeting such challenges makes science fun.

Analyze your data and then, evaluate it. Judge whether your experimental design was good as you did it, or , if you would like to modify and repeat your experiment. Do your experimental results support community policies? Can you summarize your experiment into an abstract? Have you considered various ways of looking at the data you collected? Did you critique your own experimental design and experiment? Evaluation is a type of higher order thinking. Again, congratulations.

As you reflect on plant pigments, go back and re-use any of the higher order thinking skills. Use these skills again, as needed to achieve your goals.

Try communicating with other scientists, such as Philipp Simon, or, me, about your questions. You can find some results of Philipp Simon's experiments at: http://www.hort.wisc.edu/usdavcru/simon/publications/97hort0012.html

Try out the Berkeley link. Do some experiments and then publish the results here or in a journal. Let us know where you have published.
Good luck, good science, and, great thinking!

Additional reading:
Aluminum/aluminium and plant pigments
Autumn leaves and pigments
Blueberry pigments used to make solar panels

http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0968-0004(01)02034-5
(c) 2008 J. S. Shipman

TGA Ter [end]

What does the genetic code have in common with your phone number? Well, the title of this blog post might give you an idea. Say your phone number was 617-000-0000 (fake number). If you put an extra number, say 2, for example, into your phone number, what would happen?

Examples:
261-700-00000 Wrong number
621-700-00000 Wrong number
612-700-00000 Wrong number
617-200-00000 Wrong number
617-020-00000 Wrong number
617-002-00000 Wrong number
617-000-20000 Wrong number
617-000-02000 Wrong number
617-000-00200 Wrong number
617-000-00020 Wrong number
617-000-00002 Connection

Out of all the possible numbers resulting from adding an extra, "2," only one results in a connection to you.

A simplification of the genetic code can help you understand what happens or can happen, when the code is disrupted. Think about this for a while. I'll come back and add some more. Remember to use the title for a clue: TGA Ter [end].

(c)2007 J. S. Shipman. All rights reserved.

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Announcing planned HOT Skills Symposium: ................ Using the HOT Skills Wheel

J. S. Shipman

Summary:
The HOT Skills Symposium
will focus on
how science teachers
of all levels encourage students
to improve higher order thinking
skills necessary to
good botanical research.

The symposium will include ideas on using HOT skills for closing achievement gaps both between non-scientists and scientists and between intelligent non-achievers and achievers.

Dr. Shipman will present: Using the HOT Skills Wheel to improve Botanical Education and help close the Achievement Gap. Shipman has taught science from K-12 through University and has worked in industry thus brings a broad scope of experience in science education to the symposium. She has modified and developed a tool which was originated by a group of elementary school professionals for lesson planning to include higher order thinking skills in their teaching. Research on the tool, introduced by Dr. Shipman to high school and college students and affectionately known by the students as the, "HOT Skills Wheel," will be presented. Participants are encouraged to bring their own tools and ideas for improving higher order thinking, especially using botanical concepts, together with their written summary of the same, which may be collated into a publication. Five additional participants will present on HOT skills in botanical education. A discussion will follow.

List of speakers: To be determined.
Those interested please contact Dr. Shipman by e-mail (shipmanjs@gmail.com) ASAP (as soon as possible) with

1. a summary of your ideas,
2. your professional affiliation and
3. presentation title.

The Symposium is part of an international science meeting.

Botany/Geography/Research: Highlighting Zaidi!

Mudassir Asrar Zaidi is a botanist in Pakistan. Can you find Pakistan on a map? Click on her name and read about her research.

• Zaidi has written a book entitled, Fresh water algae from Balochistan, and has organized more than 40 seminars/workshops on biodiversity and plant sciences in Quetta.
• Zaidi has received three of the world’s most prestigious research fellowships: Fulbright, Commonwealth and Alexander von Humboldt.
  
• As a Fulbright Post Doctorate, Zaidi worked with Dr. Sidney Crow at Georgia State University in Atlanta, Georgia.
  
• At the University of London, the Commonwealth fellowship enabled Dr. Zaidi to work with Dr. Simon Gibbons in the School of Pharmacy.
  
• In London, Dr. Zaidi was also honored and elected as a fellow of Linnaean Society of London (FLS).
  
• Dr. Zaidi studied indigenous medicinal plants of Pakistan. These plants hold great potential of holding a cure for various diseases.
  

Dr. Zaidi says, "In my research on medicinal plants, I examine the bioactive plant extracts and purify, isolate and identify the biologically active compounds." Botanists like Zaidi help find new medicines to cure diseases. She has published her research results. Do you know how to use Google Scholar to find her papers?

List of Women in Science

Click here for an annotated list of women in science.

Rolling along, rolling along....Diatom glides by

You may have heard of "diatomaceous earth." It is found in everything from toothpastes to pesticides. So wat is diatomaceous earth? It is earth that is made up of diatoms. And what is a diatom? Go here to see one moving gracefully by:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBAcksaRwy4

Desert Watermelon

Have you heard of desert watermelon? Can you remember how desert is spelled? A mnemonic device is a way to remember something. Desert and dessert are often confused but dessert has an extra "s" for sugar. So, desert is the dry place. But watermelon, that's wet! What is it doing in the desert? Do you have any ideas? Can you speculate? Does it make you curious? Can you design an experiment to find out if watermelon can grow in dry conditions?

This is a mental exercise. Can you stretch your brain? E-mail your responses to EducationResponses@gmail.com

(c)2007 J. S. Shipman

Night Flowers

What does light and dark have to do with flowering? Think about that. You can also watch these videos on night-blooming flowers. Is there an advantage to blooming at night? Submit your comments.

To play the first video, click the arrow in the center of the box below:

To play the next video, click the link:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yji7sCjLsXgEpiphyllum">

Here is more information on the genus Epiphyllum