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Lent 2018 Edition 3Pdf Leicester Grammar School’s The unseen danger within one of the world’s biggest spectator sports. Players killing themselves for our entertainment - the truth about the NFL — Page 6 Are we innovating in technology towards our demise or triumph? Artificial Intelligence: Terminator or C-3PO? — Page 8 How millions of years of history lie hidden beneath Los Angeles. Mammoths in the middle of Los Angeles: La Brea Tar Pits — Page 12 More inside... ISSUE 3 LENT TERM 2018 A Message from the Team: Throughout the Advent term, the Young Scientists' team has been hard at work settling into the new year and tackling exams and interviews. Nonetheless, that has not stopped us from continuing to explore Science in our individual and collective ways. Though we bring you our Autumn Issue “ later than expected, we hope it may offer an insight into the diverse interests of the School's members - from Astronomy Camps to mammoths in Los Angeles, from colour blindness to conferences and much more! The Young Scientists' Journal is open to every member of the School, whether you study Science subjects or not. This project provides a way for you to go beyond what you study in class, and to demonstrate your passions to the School community and beyond. Every contributor has an individual role, which can be tailored to incorporate interests in photography, editing, design and promotion. Meetings run on a weekly basis at breaktime, and are always announced in Morning Notices. To see how you can be part of the Journal's ever-evolving identity, come and join us in one of our meetings, or speak to any of your Science teachers who will point you in the right direction.” Maria Hancock — Chief Editor We would like to acknowledge the following for their contribution: The LGS Editorial Team: Maria Hancock, Year 13 — Chief Editor Prabhjot Grewal, Year 13 — Design Director Andrew Higginson, Year 13 — Editor / Writer Writers: Tejas Easwar, Year 10 Unais Syed, Year 11 Ben Schwabe, Year 13 Katie Mills, Year 7 Zain Girach, Year 12 Georgina Holmes, Year 10 One of the initiatives at our school to promote STEM subjects to younger students. Here they are experimenting with “Non-Newton Fluids”, also known as slime! 2 Articles in this issue: Who are We? We are a collection of Leicester Grammar 4 — My Colour Blindness School students who have come together to produce a variety of pieces of writing about the world of STEM. As a school, we have become a hub for the Young Scientists Journal, an international peer-review written 6 — Players killing themselves and edited entirely by young people. for our entertainment - the truth about the NFL Contact Us Anyone interested in joining the YSJ to help 7 — A Word on the COP23 UN to write, edit and publish is more than Climate Change Conference welcome to meet us at our meetings during lunchtimes (specific details will be in the daily notices). We welcome submissions from all year groups on any scientifically- related topic; so come along to a meeting or 8 — Artificial Intelligence: email us at: Terminator or C-3PO? [email protected] See more of the Young Scientists Journal at: 10 — The Principles of Lighting ysjournal.com in Photography Or follow us on social media: @YSJournal Young Scientists Journal @LGS_Senior 12 — Mammoths in the middle of Los Angeles: La Brea Tar Pits The Editorial Team: Maria Hancock — Chief Editor Prabhjot Grewal — Design Director 14 — YSJournal Conference 2017 Andrew Higginson — Editor Front Page YSJ Logo: 15 — Astronomy: Night under the Stars By Rhianna Rajput, Year 8 3 My Colour Blindness Tejas Easwar explains the genetics and science behind colour blindness, also giving an insight into the condition from his own personal experience. n humans, colour blindness is a sex-linked Why did I inherit this condition? trait which causes you to be unable to view colours within the full spectrum. In the back of Neither of my parents was colour blind, so I was our eyes is a light sensing screen of tissue curious as to how I had inherited this condition. I Colour blindness is a sex-linked allele carried on called the retina. This contains two types of cells: rods and cones. Rod cells detect light and dark. the X chromosome. It is also a recessive allele Cones detect colour and are concentrated near meaning that it will not be expressed if there is a the centre of vision (the fovea). There are three dominant allele present (as in my mother’s case.) versions of cone cells that detect colour: red (L), green (M) and blue (S). This information is My Parents’ Phenotype (How the alleles are transferred to the brain through electrical impulses expressed): in the optic nerve. Here, the brain deciphers the information and processes it. Five percent of the My Parents’ Genotype (Alleles an organism world’s population are colour-blind, so it is carries): Key important to understand what causes this. B= Normal colour vision b= Colour blindness Mother’s Genes s Genes Female offspring ’ Father Male offspring What are the different versions of This is my brother This is me this condition? Colour blindness comes in varied degrees and forms. However, scientists have put them into three broad categories. The first is a mild condition when a person can see colours well in Male: 50% chance of colour blindness normal light, but finds it difficult seeing colours in dimmer light. The second is slightly less mild and Female: 0% chance of colour blindness (but 50% is when a person cannot distinguish certain chance of being a carrier) colours in any light. The final is the most severe and the person can only see everything in the As a male I am twice as likely to be born with this gray scale, but this affects only one in every condition. I receive my X chromosome from my 40,000 colour-blind people. mother and my Y chromosome from my father. This is because the Y chromosome I inherit from The two main types of colour deficiency are red - my father cannot carry sex-linked traits, as this green and blue-yellow. The most common is red- chromosome is smaller. This means that this green; I myself am in this category. characteristic depends solely on my mother’s genetics. Compare this to my brother, who 4 received the dominant allele and hence does not Deuteranopia These conditions are express this condition. when an entire cone is Protanopia missing. Dogs also have a Tritanopia dichromatic view However, in the hypothetical situation that I was female, I would have not been colour-blind. This is because I would need two recessive alleles, and Monochromacy — This condition is when a my father does not carry this allele. This gender person only has one cone. Therefore disparity can be shown statistically: monochromats can only see in black and white. Colour Blindness in animals Certain animals view colour in different ways to humans. For instance, birds have four cone cells, allowing them to see UV light. This means they 1 in 200 Women 1 in 12 Men can, for example, view the ‘eye’ markings on The truth about colour itself peacock feathers with more clarity. Seeing UV light can also help them to identify individuals. Colour is an illusion produced by cone cells and our brains. Our brains convert a certain range in the Electromagnetic Spectrum into colour. Beyond Many mammals (except for primates) only have our perception, colour as we know it does not two types of cone cells. This gives them a exist in the outside world like atoms, gravity or perception similar to humans with red-green photons. Only the different wavelengths of light colour-blindness. Some animals are exist outside the brain. monochromats (they can only see in one colour). These include seals, walruses, dolphins, owls, monkeys and Humans are Trichromatic many others. The following The retina has three types of cone cells that picture is of a detect colour. The ‘S’ cone detects light with small dog’s view of wavelengths. The ‘M’ cones detect medium his owner’s feet. wavelengths. The ‘L’ cone detects light with long wavelengths. In people with normal vision, their brains use the ratio between the strengths Some species are totally blind or can only detect detected to visualise colour. light and dark (often deep-sea animals). These species include some moles, cave crickets, etc. Recently, some scientists have suggested that People with colour blindness have problems with pigeons are pentachromats. It has also been these three cones: suggested some stomatopods (marine shrimps) Deuteranomaly — This is when the ‘M’ cone have around twelve cone cells! shifts towards the ‘L’ cone. People with this form Do you have Colour have red-green colour-blindness. I have this form Blindness? of colour-blindness What do you see in this picture? Protanomaly — This is when the ‘L’ cone shifts to If you see nothing, then you the ‘M’ cone. People will have difficulty seeing in have Protanomaly the orange-red spectrum If you see 21 then you have Deuteranomaly Tritanomaly — When the ‘S’ cone shift towards the ‘M’ cone. Typically, these people struggle with If you see 74 then you have normal colour vision blue and yellow. Tejas Easwar 5 Players killing themselves for our entertainment - the truth about the NFL Zain Girach discusses the biggest medical issue plaguing the NFL in its history, and the problems surrounding its prevention in sport. aving watched ‘Concussion’ (2015), in which Dr Benet Omalu, played by Will Smith, uncovers the devastating risk H American football players have of contracting Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy (CTE), I was intrigued by CTE’s potential effects and whether they are worth the risk for American A 2017 study discovered football players who still play.
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