Here's a chance to try some HOT Skills...

You may have heard about bacteria building up resistance to antibiotics, or, about using antibiotics in soaps, dish detergents and animal feeds leading to super germs. If not, do a search and see what you can find out about that topic.

Then, compare that to what you think might happen if fungal extracts are added to animal feed.

Here is an article to get you started on that topic:

THE EFFECT OF A WILD MUSHROOM (GANODERMA LUCIDUM) SUPPLEMENTATION OF FEED ON THE IMMUNE RESPONSE OF PULLET CHICKENS TO INFECTIOUS BURSAL DISEASE VACCINE hot!

Authors: A.O. OGBE¹, L.O. MGBOJIKWE¹, A.A. Owoade⁴, S.E. ATAWODI² and P.A. ABDU³

• ¹Federal College of Animal Health and Production Technology,
• National Veterinary Research Institute, Vom, Nigeria.
• ²Department of Biochemistry, Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria.
• ³Department of Veterinary Surgery and Medicine, Ahmadu Bello
• University, Zaria, Nigeria.
• ⁴Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Ibadan, Nigeria.

See what you think. Use higher order thinking skills to develop a hypothetical public policy.

(c)2008 J S Shipman

My Father planted a Forest

My Father planted a Forest
When my father was young, 4-H friends of his got several young trees (He recalls, "one or two thousand...") to plant. They were twig-like. At first they dug very slowly and tucked each tree into the ground gingerly. But, they had only one day to plant the trees. The boys that signed-up for the tree project didn't get very far, so the 4-H leader got my dad and some other 4-Hers involved. Someone came up with the idea of using a broad pick-axe to dig one hole after another and then a kind of assembly line planting occurred....Dig, lift, put in the twig, stomp the ground on top, repeat. Today, there stands a magnificent forest in Hamptonburgh, New York (Near Campbell Hall...) that is a result of this 4-H project. I think we will go and look at the forest again soon.

You, too, can save the environment and plant a forest...
Join 4-H or be a 4-H leader. 4-H is a national organization that works with similar groups in other countries. Originally 4-H was mostly farm youth, but now it has membership encompassing farm, sub-urban, and urban youth, too. There are many projects on computers, science, engineering, nutrition, home economics, wood-working, environment, and more. 4-H is well worth checking out.

I came across the following video and it reminded me of the above story and of my own adventures in 4-H. The video is more, "art," than, "science," yet, it triggered me to write this post. I hope the post encourages you to plant or care for a forest.

What do you think about organic farming? Can it save energy and water? Here are some videos on this topic. Make up your own mind about what you think. Remember to evaluate if there is bias in any information you read or see on this topic, including these videos. Checking for bias is an important higher order thinking skill.












under development
.

Journal of Practical Education in Biology No.27 to No.48

"You are able to read the journal of practical
education in biology No.27 to No.48 [on] the following
webpages.
http://www004.upp.so-net.ne.jp/jissen/ejissen27.htm"

Fungi offer Unique Opportunities

The Plenary Session of Botany 2008, the international botany conference currently going on in Vancouver, BC, Canada, was filled with excitement. Dr. Paul Stamets gave the talk, science highlighted with his personal flair.

The audience continued to talk about the great ideas he presented at a social event where science ideas get exchanged rapidly in a fun way. Many discussions continued long into the night, so stimulated by Dr. Stamets' presentation.

Go to his abstract or read his works, Mycelium Running, for example. You will learn about fungi that offer unique opportunities.

A problem with ants? No problem. Too many toxic wastes? No problem. Oil spill? What do human hair and fungi have to do with cleaning that up? If you aren't excited yet, you really need to read Stamets. He is giving you ways to save the world and reduce ecological disaster. It's time to step up to the plate. (And if you'd like to contribute to the cause, contact him directly. His work is soooooooo great, you might like to donate a few pennies or a few million to the the ten million dollars needed for starters...but in the meantime, you can see what is available now and you can plant a forest destined to become an old growth forest!) Imagine all your descendants walking through the forest you planted. And, oh yes, you might just find a few tips on how to make your garden grow or how to survive the bird flu pandemic.

Mushroom Books

Mushroom Cultivation Texts, Identification Guides & More...

See It to Believe It - Visual Discrimination

Here's a link to some interesting science experiments:
Neuroscience for K-12
http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/chvision.html

One of the experiments is on Visual Discrimination and suggests, among other things, comparing and contrasting flourescent lights and incandescent lights.

Sometimes it is fun to start science with a story.

The Tortoise and the Hares run from Sydney to Melbourne
ia a story you will treasure.

Now, let's link it to science and use it as an example of how you could develop a science fair project.

The story has a literature side and a sports side. You might be a literary or sports fan, but, you have to do science. How can you use your interests to your benefit? Can you think of some possible ways?

Does the story help you think up a "do-able" experiment?

Here are some hints:
control vs experimental
rules for animal experiments
physiology
turtles
tortoises
speed of different animals
data
repeatability
aerobic exercise and blood oxygen content
blood oxygen in people of all ages
sports medicine
exercise and health
when being slow wins, health=wise
results
drawings, photos, charts
...
Add your own brainstorm and then write an experimental design. Post any questions.

(c)2008 J. S. Shipman. All rights reserved

Sauerkraut Science (Post under development)

Sauerkraut Science
What has sauerkraut got to do with science?
Here is a lesson about picking a science fair topic.

(Not doing science fair ? Just want a good read? Read the link at the end of this post.)

Pick something you are interested in or that you can afford to use. Then, look for the science related to that item. Okay, we've selected sauerkraut, just to prove that almost any topic can become a subject of science study.

Brainstorm: What about sauerkraut has to do with science? What does your topic have to do with science?

Do a Literature Search:
Here's a sampling of literature found on sauerkraut. Do a search on your own topic.

• Books

1. Chemical Activities (Teacher's Addition) Christie L. Borgford and Lee R. Summerlin. ISBN13:97808412163 ISBN10:0841214166 paper. 244 pages.
2. Traditionally Fermented Foods http://www.nap.edu/catalog.php?record_id=1939
   

• Newspapers and Magazines
• Journals

1. Food Chemistry: Changes in biogenic amine concentrations during sauerkraut storage. Volume 69, Issue 3, 15 May 2000, Pages 309-314
   doi:10.1016/S0308-8146(99)00273-3 Copyright © 2000 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
2. Leuconostoc sp. strains: aem.asm.org/cgi/content/full/68/6/2877
3. http://dx.doi.org/10.1006/fstl.1996.0055
   

• Internet

1. Fermented Foods
2. Lactic Acid Bacteria
3. Microbiology
4. Create Sauerkraut (commercial kit)
5. Create sauerkraut (the old-fashioned way)
6. http://www.genkifoods.com/faq.html (commercial site)
7. DNA Fingerprinting in Sauerkraut?
   

Define a problem: "Do different amounts of salt affect the final product," or, "Do spices change the ability of the cabbage to be fermented?"

Brainstorm again:

Select a question from among your brainstormed ideas:

Write an experimental design:

• Introduction
• Materials and Methods (future tense)
• Blank data table
• Literature Cited

Set up the Experiment

Perform the Experiment

Collect Data

Analyze Data

Think about the Experiment and Future Experiments it suggests

Write a Laboratory Report:

• Introduction
• Materials and Methods (Past Tense)
• Results
• Discussion and Conclusions
• Literature Cited
  

Write a Reflection

• What did you do well?
• What did you learn?
• Do you have something to publish?
• Do you have ideas for another experiment?
• What can you do to improve your science fair experience next time?
  

Here's a wintertime story on sauerkraut that you might enjoy: http://www.thisisby.us/index.php/content/old_mother_hubbard__s_sauerkraut_soup

(c)2007, 2008 J. S. Shipman

Remember what an herbarium is...

You might remember previous posts on herbaria. Here is a link that you might enjoy that can expand your knowledge of plant families while you learn more about herbaria and international cooperation.

Here is a virtual herbarium of European plants.
http://utopia.knoware.nl/users/aart/index.html

Can you find similar plants near where you live? Can you draw pictures of them? In today's electronic age, perhaps you would like to take digital photos. Enjoy the diversity of living things. Contemplate their unity in how they share biochemical mechanisms, like DNA.