volume 6, issue 2 fall 2010

CHECk oUT oUr UpDaTED WEbSITE INSIDE THIS ISSUE: www.fisheredu.com Astronomy ...... 21 generAl sCienCe ...... 7-8, 10 Biology ...... 18-19, 21 PhysiCs ...... 2 This fall Fisher Science Education will be launching Chemistry ...... 4-5 ProduCt & an updated website that will not only have a new eArth sCienCe ...... 14-15, 17 softwAre review ...... 23 look and feel, but it will be easier to find: environmentAl...... 1, 11 teChnology ...... 3 • Latest Promotions • Mercury Exchange Program Resources • Hottest Products Price offers in this publication are good until • Teacher Workshops • And Much More December 31, 2010 unless otherwise stated.

fISHEr SCIENCE EDUCaTIoN Headline discoveries Making Science Matter® oIL aND WaTEr DoN’T MIX By: Gwen Myslinski

Oil spills can occur day or night, on land or in water and lighter or more volatile substances within the oil could in any type of weather. But understanding them, having evaporate, leaving heavier components behind that can a plan in place and moving quickly is the best strategy weather further or even sink. The oil could oxidize by to avoid long-term damage to the environment, the being exposed to sunlight and wave action and turn wildlife and to human health. into dense, sticky tar balls. Some of the oil might even emulsify into one of two emulsions. The first emulsion OIL SPILL BEHAVIOR turns it into a thick mousse because water is trapped inside the oil; the second makes the oil sink and look The term “oil” is a general description to include a like it has disappeared from the surface of the water. broad range of hydrocarbon substances or chemical compounds that are made from hydrogen and carbon. Hydrocarbons are often associated with crude oil and WHAT AN IMPACT refined petroleum products, but they also include animal Harmful effects often occur if an aquatic environment fats, vegetable oil and other non-petroleum oils. has long-term exposure to the oil after a spill. Plants and animals can be at risk for chronic long-term effects, After an oil spill occurs, the majority of oils spread hori- though the impact can affect each very differently. zontally into a smooth and slippery surface on top of the water called a “slick.” The rate at which the oil will Coral reefs, for example, are an important nursery for spread depends on many factors including the wave shrimp, fish and other animals, and can be smoth- action, wind, water temperature (oil is more likely to ered by the oil. While beaches aren’t home to many spread in warmer temperatures) and currents, as well organisms on a full-time basis, if they aren’t cleaned In early April 2010, Thermo Fisher Scientific opened its are controlled fires that reduce the oil’s density in the as the relative density and composition of the oil. immediately, run-off can further contaminate nearby global Food Safety Response Center located in Dreieich, water. On land, crews use low- or high-pressure washing These factors can also determine whether or not the oil water sources as it can take several years for the oil to Germany to “help out laboratory customers around the and raking/bulldozing as a means to clean the oil or slick will remain cohesive or break up. disperse naturally. Tidal flats, on the other hand, are world quickly mobilize during a food contamination prevent it from escaping into sediments. rich with plant, animal and bird communities. They are crisis, using our depth of capabilities to develop methods If in the water for a long duration, many changes broad, low-tide areas and, if they are affected with oil, that enable them to respond to potential threats,” said All of the oil that is cleaned up must be disposed of could occur to the oil. The slick could break down and can have severe effects on the ecology of the area. Marc N. Casper, president and chief executive officer properly. Sometimes it can be recovered and reused, become heavier than the water, which is also known as of the company. Then on July 8, the Response Center but other times it must be incinerated or placed in “weathering.” In the first 12 hours, up to 50 percent of the Many people have seen photos of oil-soaked birds announced the development of two new analytical a landfill. Regardless of its disposal, the oil spill isn’t and mammals, but don’t really understand the screening methods which will help to detect petroleum considered to be over until all waste materials are ramification that an oil spill has on them. When birds in oysters and fish. This helps organizations like the disposed of properly. have oil-covered feathers they lose their ability to FDA and the EPA determine the safety of the food.

id stay waterproof and insulated, and the weight of the

PA COST AND PREVENTION Prsrt std Permit #12 us P ostAge indiAn A, PA sticky oil weighs them down and can prevent them According to an article written by aolnews.com, related The cost of an oil spill is relative to both the quantitative from flying and even drown them. Mammals, such to the Gulf of Mexico oil spill, “The NOAA says the and qualitative loss. Quantitatively speaking, costs as otters, beavers, polar bears, manatees, seals, sea seafood is deemed safe if it doesn’t increase a person’s incurred can include the oil lost, the repair or loss of lions, walrus, whales, porpoises and dolphins can all lifetime cancer rate by more than one additional case in machinery or facilities, payment for cleaning up the be affected by the oil, but the damage is generally a million people. Some states like Maine use a higher spill and the environment, penalties assessed by related to how important the blubber and fur are risk level, such as a lifetime cancer risk of no greater regulatory agencies, and legal and insurance fees. to staying warm. Therefore, otters, beavers, fur seals, than one in 100,000 people.” polar bears and land mammals usually experience Qualitative losses are harder to assess, but can include more harm because they need clean fur to remain warm. losses of recreational enjoyment, loss of habitats and CLEANUP AND RECOVERY ecosystems, and any unknown wildlife and human Any oil that evaporates releases hydrocarbon vapors, The techniques used to clean up an oil spill are chal- health effects from exposure. and these toxic vapors can cause nerve and lung lenging and depend on the oil’s characteristics and the damage to any animal that has to surface the water environment that’s involved. Lighter oils often evapo- Preventing oil spills is a major priority, which is why the to breath. Animals who ingest the oil can encounter rate and break down very quickly and, therefore, tend Oil Pollution Act of 1990 was enacted by Congress to bleeding in their digestive tract, as well as kidney, liver not to deposit on shorelines and banks. Heavier oils, strengthen oil spill prevention, planning, response and and reproductive damage. Not to mention that when like crude oil, will form mousse, and will cling to rocks restoration efforts. The provisions of the Act go to the small organisms, like plankton (also heavily impacted and sand or turn into tar balls which are very difficult to Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, administered by the U.S. by oil spills), are eaten by other larger species this con- remove from rocks and sediments, making the cleanup Coast Guard, which helps to pay for cleanup efforts tinues the cycle of contamination and its effects directly much more crucial and much more difficult. after a spill. up the food chain. Physically removing the oil is a long and tedious process Unfortunately, oil spills do occur, and prevention is the that involves many people and lots of equipment. best strategy to avoiding potential damage to human TO PROTECT THEN SERVE Before cleaning begins, booms made of absorbent health and the environment. If a spill does occur, the The Federal Drug Administration (FDA) works with other material are usually set up in the water along the banks best course of action for containing and controlling it agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric to help contain the oil that is cleaned up. Cleanup is to have a plan in place, and respond quickly in an Administration (NOAA) and the Environmental Protection crews can also try to remove the oil by skimming, organized fashion. Agency (EPA) to ensure the food that humans eat is safe. filtering or using in situ combustion methods, which 2 Fisher Science Education Headline Discoveries volume 6, issue 2, fall 2010

part as a gift to his three young children, k’NEX CHaLLENGE— the lecture became profILE much more. It began CrEaTIVITY CoNNECTS WITH fUN with a simple ques- tion: What would By Joy Jones raNDY paUSCH you tell the world if Attention all master builders! The Allegheny Intermedi- you knew it was your ABOUT THE SCHOOL ate Unit (AIU), a division of the Pennsylvania Department last chance to speak? of Education, will host a K’Nex competition, the first of The AIU is one of 29 Pennsylvania educational service agencies that assist pulic school districts By Dan Skantar its kind in the U.S., for students in grades four through Dr. Pausch pondered his and non-public schools. Intermediate units provide eight this fall. Teams of up to four students will be answer, and on September consulting, advisory and educational services to Randy Pausch (1960-2008) was an American computer challenged to design and build a K’Nex structure for 18, 2007, he delivered school districts, plus any ancillary services necessary scientist and professor who earned international fame The Last Lecture to an the competition to be held on December 6, 2010 at the to improve the state for his “Last Lecture” about life and the pursuit of overflow crowd of students, colleagues and friends AIU facility in Homestead, system of education. The one’s dreams. at CMU’s Pittsburgh campus. With wit, thoughtfulness PA, which is a borough AIU is the largest inter- and openness, Dr. Pausch traced the course of his life, of Pittsburgh. mediate unit in the Com- The Baltimore native earned a BS in Computer Science and the dreams he chased, like his unfulfilled wish monwealth, serving more from Brown University and a Ph.D. from Carnegie to play professional football. ABC News called it “one The competition begins with than 133,000 students, Mellon University and eventually joined the CMU of the most powerful accounts of hope, grace and a non-mandatory teacher 9000 professional staff, faculty. With his enthusiasm and passion for learning optimism” ever covered by the network. workshop on October 14, at and 42 school districts and teaching, Dr. Pausch personified the Carnegie which design requirements in the public school Mellon motto: My Heart is in the Work. Grateful to the LESSONS AND LEGACY including structure height, community. Students and mentors who had helped him in his career, Dr. Pausch number, types of pieces, etc. Dr. Pausch’s message was simple. Have fun in everything teachers in more than 100 encouraged his students to believe in themselves will be announced. Teams can non-public schools also and to pursue their dreams. you do. Live life to its fullest. Seek your dreams. On defeating adversity, Dr. Pausch spoke of life’s “brick then embark on the process receive services. of designing their structure. Dr. Pausch’s expertise included human computer walls”, recalling how he had to wait before finally earning Students are asked to bring According to the AIU, interaction and entertainment technology. He was admittance to Brown. “Brick walls are not there to keep to the competition a blueprint and a narrative outlining academic competitions such as the K’Nex Challenge a lifelong learner who had learned from the best— us out; they are there to give us a chance to show how the design process used during creation of the structure. encourage peer interactions and inter-district sharing. a sabbatical with Walt Disney Co.’s theme park attraction badly we want something.” They will then be given a period of two hours in Not to mention they’re just plain fun. designers, called imagineers, greatly influenced Less than a year after The Last Lecture, Dr. Pausch died which to build it. Grades 4-5 will be judged together, his work. Dr. Pausch founded CMU’s Entertainment at age 47. His research legacy lives on through Alice and as will grades 6-8, with awards given for first, GET REGISTERED Technology Center (ETC), where an entire curriculum the ETC. His personal legacy lives through the lives he second and third place. The AIU hopes that the centers on high-tech storytelling through a fusion of To register a team for the competition (maximum has touched. competition will become a statewide event in engineering, design and technology. He also over- of two teams per school), contact the Allegheny upcoming years so that winners can advance to the next saw the development of Alice, a 3-D program that Among hundreds of tributes, the Carnegie Mellon Intermediate Unit at 412.394.5818 before October level of competition. revolutionized computer science education through community honored Dr. Pausch with a message painted 14, 2010. There is no entrance fee for the competition. interactive storytelling. But Dr. Pausch’s signature on the school’s iconic landmark, The Fence. In a twist on K’Nex is a toy construction system consisting of basic achievement did not involve a computer. the CMU motto, it read: Thank you, Randy Pausch. Your plastic rods and connectors, which, when arranged TrIVIa NoTE work is in our hearts. with such auxiliary pieces as wheels, gears, pulleys An 8-foot model of the United States Capitol THE LAST LECTURE and bricks, can create a wide variety of 3-D objects and Read more about Randy Pausch in his book that he building consisting of 514,000 pieces is the At age 45, in the prime of his life, Dr. Pausch was wrote with Jeffrey Zaslow (The Last Lecture, Hyperion, devices. The addition of a motor component allows diagnosed with pancreatic cancer, an incurable disease. 2008). The book has been translated into 35 languages the creation of such movable contraptions as roller biggest K’Nex model ever made. With months to live, Dr. Pausch decided to tell his or see a video of The Last Lecture which is readily avail- coasters and robots. personal story in the form of a “last lecture.” Conceived in able on the Internet.

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Making Science Matter® www.fisheredu.com Tel. 1-800-955-1177 Fax. 1-800-955-0740 3 THE SCIENCE of IncuCount ‘SUpEr foUNTaINS’ Colony Growth By Nancy Thornton Water can be hypnotic, especially when viewed as part of a stunning ‘super’ fountain. It can appear as a graceful Monitoring System dance with synchronized lighting and music, or as an unpredictable sequence of spurts and streams. Count colonies in seconds It compels the passerby to pause and take notice. As or monitor the growth rate! with any form of dance, the production is the result of careful choreography which, in the case of a super (patent pending) fountain, includes complex technology systems. DAZZLING DEVICES The Bellagio hotel and casino has one of the most famous “super fountains” in this country, if not The Revolutionary Science IncuCount the world. Opening in 1998 at a cost of $40 million, Automatically counts colonies on a Petri dish or Petri fi lm with it continues to serve as the most popular attraction the click of a button along the infamous Las Vegas “strip.” Over 1200 nozzles tightly control water flows at pressures up to limiting. With blinding speed and accuracy, software The only device that can automatically monitor the growth rate 250 pounds per square inch, reaching heights of nearly applications control myriad effects. From opening and and multiplication of colonies 200 feet. Sophisticated valves deliver everything from closing valves while governing water pressure, flow and Fits comfortably inside most incubators for growth monitoring a dribble to dazzling 20-story high explosive geysers. direction, to synchronizing music, lights, fog and fire— these silent, off-stage directors deliver with consistent, As technology continues to develop, design firms Interactive software allows user to: awe-inspiring results. • Analyze antibiotic reactions integrate new features that re-define boundaries and deliver stunning effects. A corporate office, displacing • Capture images of gels Design firms, such as Cole-Parmer client Water Enter- “white noise,” might employ a satin wall of water using tainment Technologies (WET), require demanding test for analysis a laminar flow fountain within a multi-story atrium. labs with an array of analytical equipment and instru- • Count colonies An urban park might feature a fountain powered by ments such as spectrophotometers and gas chromato- compressed air rather than pumps. Where suburban • Monitor growth rate graphs. Their development playground is a place where children dance through garden sprinklers, gleeful scientist, engineer and artist collaborate. The technol- city-kids dart among random upward streams of water ogy is complex—the results are mesmerizing. that shoot from the pavement. In 2009, the record-setting fountain at the COMPUTER-BASED center of the Downtown Dubai project opened. CHOREOGRAPHERS At a cost of $218 million, this extraordinary These fountains and their sequence of water attraction includes 6600 lights and 24 colored gymnastics are the result of carefully designed projectors, shoots water over500 feet into the computer programs and integrated electronic controls. air, and is accompanied by a full range of world Manually operated mechanical devices are too music, from classical to contemporary. 2 Fisher Science Education Headline Discoveries Volume 5, Issue 1, Spring 2009 STroNG STEM CrUCIaL forProfile U.S. aDVaNCEMENT By Joy Jones AccordingcHArles to both the National DreW,Research Council In1904 response, several to organizations 1950 have introduced and the National Science Foundation, the STEM programs to advance STEM education, including NASA (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and the National Science Foundation (NSF), and a fields together represent the “core technological substantial lobby to raise awareness of STEM underpinnings of an advanced society.” Many experts education issues has emerged in Washington, DC. contend that the strength of the STEM workforce is a The STEM Education coalition consists of advocates strong indicator of a nation's ability to sustain itself. from over 1000 diverse groups representing all And STEM-related careers are among those regarded eventuallysectors ofresigned the technological from that position workforce to pursue that his support interest as offering both the highest compensation and the inprograms medicine forat McGillteachers University’s and students school at ofagencies medicine that in greatest potential for job growth. So is it any wonder Montreal,offer STEM Canada. programs There, (e.g., he earnedNSF). hisDisappointingly, doctorate of that the U.S. government is ramping up efforts to raise medicinereports andindicate master that of surgeryactivity degrees. of the STEM Coalition our nation’s STEM savvy? seems to have slowed since September 2009. In 1935, he returned to the United States to teach IN THE BEGINNING… pathologyWHAT atTHE Howard FUTURE University. HOLDS While there, he was recommended for a Rochester fellowship at Columbia In his State of the Union Address in 2006, President University.This past February,During this the time, House Drew of Representativescrafted his 200-page heard George W. Bush introduced the American Competitive doctoralexpert testimonythesis “Banked on undergraduate Blood: A Study and ingraduate Blood Initiative to address shortfalls in federal government Preservation”education that based reinforced on two years concerns of research. about the decline support of educational development and progress of STEM education. Panel leaders suggested that His thesis describes the technique he developed to at all academic levels in the STEM fields. Specifically, “students start out interested, but the STEM programs S.T.E.M. - Curriculum activities preserve blood for the long term by separating it into its the initiative called for significant increases in federal are driving them away.” An executive at Boeing, Rick Smart - Maps and learns the environment funding for advanced research and development components.Stephens, presented He observed a bleak that pictureseparating for redthe bloodaerospace cells Tough - High-impact ABS plastic molded shell programs and an increase in U.S. higher education fromindustry, plasma which and employs refrigerating a major portionthem allowedof the nation’s those graduates within STEM disciplines. componentstoSTEM workforce, remain due fresh to “an and aging usable workforce when combinedand little Compact - 15”L x 14”W x 7”H; 15 pounds updomestic to a week engineering after collection. talent to Prior fill that to void.”this revolutionary He further Wireless - Bluetooth-equipped wireless technology technique,asserts that blood today’s could onlyyouth be havestored an for unflatteringtwo days because view Learn As You Go - Event-driven tips teach That same year, the United States National redof STEMblood cellsprofessionals break down as rapidly. “nerdy Also, and although socially red inept,” blood you how to use cye Academies issued three recommendations to whichcell antigens The Aerospace have “types” Industries (A, B, ABAssociation and O), plasmais working has counter the declining state of STEM education nowith type. the Therefore,Entertainment separating Industries blood Council into its(EIC) components, to correct. Description Cat. No. Price in the U.S.: as Drew proposed, allows plasma to be transfused without Robot S96126 $2845.00 regardHowever, to blood the future type. Drewholds notpromise. only convinced Now may Columbia be the Surgeon• Increase America’s talent pool by improving Charles Drew developed the blood bank as Kit S96126A $3999.00 Universitybest time toto setre-ignite up a theblood crusade bank forin theSTEM United education. States, we knowK-12 science and mathematics education it. In his childhood and young adulthood, he butThe he America also set up COMPETES the first blood Act bank of in2007, Britain. whose initial was known not only for his academic ability but also for • Strengthen the skills of teachers through focus was on K-12 but is now recognizing the deficit at his athleticism. Following his graduation from Amherst Combines real robotic systems like additional training in science, math and Tragically,the undergraduate/graduate Charles Drew was killedlevels in toan replaceauto accident retir- College, he took a position at Morgan State College in on April 1, 1950. Despite his sadly shortened career, his technology ing baby boomers, is up for reauthorization. STEM Baltimore, MD teaching biology and coaching. However, he work has saved the lives of millions. obstacle avoidance, path planning and supporters—take advantage of the momentum and let • Enlarge the pipeline of students prepared to artificial intelligence. enter college and graduate with STEM degrees —theLisa STEM Jancarik lobby and your government representatives hear your voice. roBots invADe DisAster city

If you ever find yourself planning a road trip based solely on locations that have a sense of humor, please allow me to be your tour guide. Gas up the mini van, strap in your loved ones and (by all means) make your first stop in Hot Coffee, Mississippi. Deliberately bypass Boring, Maryland, and if you’re feeling particularly sentimental, motor towards Romance, Arkansas. However, if your interests range to the catastrophic, your next stop should be Disaster City, Texas.

A city Born of tragedy In an effort to keep Texas’s topography conversational, attack claimed 168 lives and left more than 800 people fifty-two acres of land have been developed into a world- physically injured and mentally scarred. College Station, renowned catastrophe training community known as Texas, responded to this morbid misfortune by conceptual- Disaster City. Though the city’s name is bound to attract the izing and developing Disaster City. Supported by the man- bare minimum of road-tripping mini vans, the city’s purpose power and crisis-management expertise of Texas Task Force is of benefit to all. Created in 1996 by the Texas Engineer- One, 210 emergency services personnel from 50 state-wide ing Extension Service (TEEX), Disaster City boasts one of the organizations and departments began to devise a template most comprehensive training facilities utilized by emergency to transform and modernize search-and-rescue procedures. response professionals around the globe.

A closer look inside this tragedy-inspired community reveals enter robots a state-of-the-art simulation center that focuses on everything As technology evolved, so did the reconnaissance training from basic technical skills training to advanced structural template. Just recently, the National Institute of Standards collapse reconnaissance. Comprised of full-scale, and Technology (NIST) held a rescue exercise demonstra- collapsible structures, Disaster City is equipped to replicate tion in Disaster City that introduced a more mechanically even the most carnage-corrupted levels of Hollywood- inclined hero to the search and rescue community. Approxi- worthy wreckage. mately three dozen rescue robots were tested by developers and first responders in order to develop a standard suite of Emergency response students and professionals travel to performance tests to better evaluate the chances of using Disaster City to be interactively trained in reactive strate- mechanical rescuers in times of crisis. gies and search-and-rescue techniques. With an immediate Robin Murphy, Ph.D., professor of Computer Science at Murphy was the first recognized professional to introduce focus on the location and extraction of hypothetical victims, Exercises included a series of terrain and mobility tests in the University of Florida, has been exploring this brand of ground, air, and sea robots to disaster response relief teams. Disaster City trainees are exposed to the artificial after- which robots were monitored on their ability to maneuver technological relief for over a decade. In an interview for She conducted robotic research at Ground Zero after the maths of earthquakes, hurricanes, structural collapses, and steps, escalating ramps and gapped-ground simulations. TIME magazine, Murphy estimated that in the response World Trade Center disaster of 2001; the 2005 mudslides passenger train derailments as well as man-made techno- Researchers tested battery capacity by having robots time following a tragic event, one pinned survivor requires of La Conchita, California; and the aftermath of Hurricanes logical and terrorist events. In so many words, Disaster City perform “figure eights” on a rolling course and led the an estimated 10 man-hours to be freed. Statistically, only Charley (2004), Katrina (2005), and Wilma (2005). manufactures heroes. mechanical rescue hopefuls through simulated wooded victims found within the first 48 hours are found alive. areas in an effort to monitor mapping skills and robotic Murphy further concluded that utilizing rescue-robots Though the channel varies, the message remains the Anyone who was within viewing distance of an April 19, sensor capabilities. NIST researchers, developing ultra- ultimately minimizes the amount of time rescue personnel same. Emergency response professionals and celebrated 1995 telecast would recall the horrifying events of the high resolution, three-dimensional sensors, ran a series of must work onsite, which reduces their fatigue-related errors. rescue roboticists alike are in the business of saving lives. By Oklahoma City bombing. Tortured images of soot-smudged capability tests to be submitted to the American Society for fine tuning their crafts and benefiting from the training faces and fatigued rescue workers flashed mercilessly across Testing and Materials (ASTM) International as a potential Though researchers are still working to establish a univer- resources available in places like Disaster City, they are television screens and computer monitors. Blunt chunks rescue-robot test standard. In one day, Disaster City sally accepted standard for robotic technology for search working toward the common goal of making the safety of of the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building exploded and was transformed from a skills and training facility to a and rescue, international leaders in the field like Murphy are our surroundings their priority. entombed innocent children and defenseless citizens. The technology-fueled, algorithm-mapping arena. constantly working on the robotic-resume to seal the deal. —Angela Rydeski 4 Fisher Science Education Headline Discoveries volume 6, issue 2, fall 2010 SHEDDING SoME LIGHT oN THE MaTTEr By Gwen Myslinski and Gordon Bain Science has become “cool” in the eyes of many that fall into the ultraviolet (UV) or infrared (IR) light measurement, the person performing the experiment INTERESTED? middle- and high-school students, thanks to the surge spectrum, that are the most challenging for scientists can determine sample concentration, purity, color, in popularity of crime scene investigation television doing various types of research. light absorbing capacity and reflectivity, among other Thermo Scientific is introducing a new spectrophoto- shows that feature it. Who knew that analyzing DNA characteristics. These characteristics can relay a meter to market in early September, the SPECTRONIC 200. samples, fingerprints or metal bullet fragments, SCIENTISTS SEE WHAT CAN’T substantial amount of information and in some cases The SPECTRONIC 200 is priced the same as which may help solve a case, could be determined by help to protect the population’s overall health and BE SEEN? SPECTRONIC 20D+, and there’s special pricing available something as rudimentary as light? safety with food and water quality control and ensuring for the Fisher Science Education customers. There’s The science of understanding how light works is called the UV light protection of suntan lotions, sunglasses In exploring the principles of light, students learn spectroscopy, and specifically understanding the IR even a trade-in deal that saves you money when and fabrics is effective. that when the sun passes through a prism it creates and UV light, with the help of a spectrophotometer, you send in your old spectrophotometer to promote a “spectrum” of colors. is what helps scientists uncover the truth about what environmentally friendly practices. can’t be seen with the eye alone. SPECTROPHOTOMETERS In science, this energy is part of an electromagnetic + STUDENTS For more information about the new SPECTRONIC spectrum. An electromagnetic spectrum has several HOW IT WORKS 200, to learn about the special pricing or find out more parts, some visible and some not. What the students Introducing spectrophotometers in high school gives about the trade-in offer, call your Fisher Scientific see when using the spectrum is part of the visible spec- A spectrophotometer determines the intensity of students to the opportunity to learn how to apply the representative for all of the details. trum—showing all of the colors seen in a rainbow. various wavelengths in a spectrum of light before principles of scientific research to real life issues in However, it’s working with the non-visible parts, those and after passing through a liquid sample. From that the fields of chemistry, biology, life science, material science and technology. It also shows them how each measurement they take can be converted to useful information about the samples and the environment around them (and answers their question: “How am I going to use this when I get out of school?”). Finally, it provides an understanding of one of the most principal laws of physics, Beer’s Law, which explains the transmission of light using a formula. NEW & IMPROVED

Spectrophotometers were first introduced in the late NEW fEaTUrES of SpECTroNIC 200 1930s, and have constantly been revamped to provide improvements in the quality, resolution, wavelength • Collects full sample spectrum accuracy and range throughout the years. • Optical system offers room light immunity (run an experiment with the lid open) Recently, some models have been further redesigned to meet the needs of modern-day students by providing • Screen tilts for easy readability more student-friendly features, like a control setting • Connects to a laser printer or a thermal that is intuitive to the video-game generation—as well receipt printer with a USB port as the familiar λ knob for setting wavelength, a color graphics screen, full spectrum scanning, and support • Connect to a computer and run with for both square and round test-tube cuvettes as a optional Thermo Scientific piQue software standard feature.

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The Thermo Scientific SPECTRONIC name has set The new SPECTRONIC™ 200 offers technology and features designed for today’s teachers and the standard for generations of educators seeking students without sacrificing the convenience and simplicity of the past. Use the new on-board software to view scans, set up a quantitative analysis curve, or monitor up to four wavelengths a rugged, student-friendly visible spectrophotometer simultaneously on the color graphical display. USB connections let you save methods to a memory for the teaching laboratory. stick, print your data or connect to a computer. Software emulation of our SPECTRONIC 20 and GENESYS™ 20 instruments allows seamless integration with existing laboratory protocols. Learn more about the new SPECTRONIC 200 at www.thermoscientific.com/spectronic200. Making Science Matter® www.fisheredu.com Tel. 1-800-955-1177 Fax. 1-800-955-0740 5 WoULD a baNaNa SMooTHIE bY THE TrUTH bEHIND THE ILLUSIoNS aNY oTHEr NaNo-NaME TaSTE By April Bailey Mythbusters: MacGyver Myths, The Chronicles of Narnia, program that unites ACS local sections with schools, aS SWEET? Star Trek. These popular movies and television show businesses and individuals to emphasize the impor- tance of chemistry in everyday life. The focus has By Jason Akerman have something in common–but what is it? traditionally been toward elementary and secondary Each relies heavily on some form of illusion to tell a story. school students; however, colleges and universities In the underdeveloped nations of the world, the ques- iron additives like so much ground-up pepper, but instead No matter what medium is used, special effects of varying do get involved, often providing programs for younger tion of “what’s for dinner tonight?” doesn’t often revolve results in nano-sized (incredibly small, on the level of a types are a big part of today’s entertainment. Espe- students. around whether or not to call the pizza joint down the single atom or molecule) iron particles. cially in the film industry, what looks to most people street or cook up something in the microwave. For a like cinematic magic is often entirely explainable, be it Events are held on both national and local levels and large number of the Earth’s population, basic resources GOT NANO-MILK? huge explosions, snowy sets, creepy makeup and the like. are centered on ideas presented by ACS. like safe drinking water and nutritionally rich foods are In order to produce these super small concentrations of at a premium. Tragically, poverty and disease go hand- This year’s theme “Behind the Scenes with Chemistry!” iron and zinc, the researchers first had to add water, On Mythbusters, the cast frequently employs various in-hand in many of these places. was chosen to help students learn that often what breaking down the iron or zinc to create a chemical reactions to figure out what’s real and what’s looks like magic or trickery is really a good example of liquefied substance. The fluid was then not. On their 100th episode, they tackled television’s But recent advances in the grow- chemistry in use. Events suggested by ACS include exposed to extreme heat, causing the MacGyver by attempting to blow a hole in a wall with ing field of nanotechnology have the following: opened up potential avenues in water to evaporate off. And voilá, in- pure sodium metal dropped into water and they also tried to develop film using common kitchen liquids. the food industry that could help stant clusters of nanoiron or nanozinc. • Science Café (www.sciencecafes.org)–a live event raise the health standards for many allowing students to have face-to-face conversa- And because these nanoadditive clusters Snow can be created entirely artificially. Snow Business across the globe. tions with scientists to discuss the theme are so extremely small, they dissolve rapidly is an award-winning United Kingdom–based company PEA GREEN TWINKIES in the body with no problems. Even more that uses several methods to create the illusion of snowy • National Poster Content–“Where’s the Chemistry?” importantly for the future of picky eaters and sets via processes that are chemically dependent. ask students to think about and graphically repre- One of the biggest nutritional chal- fussy kids everywhere, the food they are sent common applications of chemistry that might lenges facing poorer countries is a added to appears to go down pleasantly In sci-fi movies like Star Trek, actors are typically outfit- otherwise be overlooked lack of iron and zinc. Iron in particular with no noticeable strange or unusual flavors. ted with extensively detailed life-like masks designed to • ChemMatters–An award-winning magazine is critical in red blood cell production, dramatically transform their appearance. These masks produced for high school students that will devote and not getting enough iron in your diet To see how effective these new nutrients are made of latex, which is derived from rubber that the entire issue for October to the topic can lead to anemia, literally, a “lack of would be, the scientists mixed them into both is harvested from trees. Because environmental condi- blood,” which can cause a wide assort- chocolate milk and banana smoothie treats. tions can affect its quality, it needs to undergo several • Celebrating Chemistry–Newspaper for elementary ment of health-related issues. Using rats that were anemic, the experiment- chemical processes to ensure that the workability of the school students providing hands-on activities ers found the rats consumed the food with no final latex material remains consistent. focused on this year’s theme Up until now, the main way to fight this issues and benefited from the added nutritional problem has been to fortify or enhance foods “punch” of the iron or zinc. The science behind this fun, intriguing and harmless HOW TO GET INVOLVED with iron. One problem, though, is that the body type of deception is the topic addressed by this year’s The true taste test, however, is yet to come, as humans More information, including resources for students, often does not absorb the added iron or nutrients well. National Chemistry Week, scheduled to take place have not yet tried out this nanonutritional menu. Some educators and volunteers to help plan events or find Another issue is that the iron additives can make the food October 17-23, 2010. less than appetizing by affecting its natural taste, look or researchers are concerned there could be dangers as events, can be found at http://www.acs.org/ncw. To aroma. Pea green Twinkie, anyone? these are radically altered substances on a molecular A DEEPER LOOK BEHIND THE SCENES further help with planning, the Learning Center of the level. But for now, the potential to help so many people American Chemistry Council (http://www.american Swiss scientists, however, have recently developed a pro- on the planet lead healthier lives is a very exciting pros- Sponsored by the American Chemical Society (ACS), Na- chemistry.com/learningcenter) has a wide selection cess that doesn’t just, as in the past, simply create some pect indeed. tional Chemistry Week is a community-based outreach of resources.

Finally, a PCR machine at an affordable price!

The EdvoCycler™ is a standalone classroom PCR machine that is easy to use. The 0.2mL tube block has room for up to 25 student samples and comes pre- programmed with all Edvotek PCR kit protocols. These programs may be modified or deleted, plus there's extra memory for more. The vivid seven-line LCD displays all program parameters simultaneously on a single screen. A heated oil-free lid makes operation a snap. Proudly made in the U.S. and backed by a two-year warranty!

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Description Cat. No. Price EdvoCycler S68640 $1950.00 6 Fisher Science Education Headline Discoveries volume 6, issue 2, fall 2010

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Presented by IDSA (Industrial Designers Society of America) and sponsored by BusinessWeek. The IDEA (International Design Excellence Award) competition is a celebration of the most in- novative and exciting product and product concept designs of the year and one of the world’s most prestigious design competitions. Specimen images taken with the kena by Leslie Carisle of St. Gabriel School, Single-line Kansas City, MO. NOTE: minimum size here at 35.81mm/1.41 inch wide Making Science Matter® www.fisheredu.com Tel. 1-800-955-1177 Fax. 1-800-955-0740 7

SCHooL Lab CoNSTrUCTIoN By Gwen Myslinski Science is an ever-evolving field and new discoveries GET TO THE BASICS are constantly being made. Scientists need the right tools in place to help make these discoveries possible. Designing school laboratories starts with simple The same is true as educators. You need the right questions like: equipment, whether it's books, pencils, desks or labo- ratory space, to properly demonstrate the curriculum • What will the laboratory be used for: general you’ve laid out for your students. science, biology, physics, chemistry, etc.? • If there are specific curriculum requirements, will If its time for your school’s laboratory to go through a major pieces of equipment need to be placed in the renovation, be reconfigured or if your school is build- lab; what are they; how much space will they take ing a new lab, here are a few tips that can help you get up; and what is there optimal location? started and keep you on the right track throughout the entire process. • Are there any safety installations that need to be included in the lab (i.e., face/eye washes, emergency Fisher Science Education offers a complete line WAY BACK YONDER… showers, fire blankets, etc.); and where should they be located to conform to OSHA and other local of economical laboratory and classroom seating. It used to be that many classroom labs were designed standards? This model is a comfortable chair made to hold as much bench space as possible. But that’s with soil-resistant molded polyurethane changed with the growth of multi-use classrooms. • What are the preparation and storage room requirements? foam seat and back for easy cleaning. Schools need to take advantage of the space that’s available, therefore student workstations usually need So even if your chairs get "no respect," • Will computers be incorporated and what will be to be adaptable to meet the constantly changing needs needed to accommodate them? this product just keeps on performing. of teachers and students. 1, 2, 3, GO To find the best chairs for your specific application, Something else to consider is the ever-increasing You don’t have to go it alone in this process. Fisher proliferation of computers in classroom laboratories, please see the complete line of Fisher Science Science Education has tools that can help you get equipment storage and access. Education chairs and other laboratory furniture started with a FREE lab planning Assistant CD-Rom that at www.fisheredu.com. helps you plan and build your custom lab; view prices and total spend summaries for budget submissions; review, sort and save your finished lists and Excel® Cat. No. Price spreadsheets; and much more. They also can provide S68904 $219.50 recommended equipment lists for all scientific disciplines and tips to help define your laboratory needs. These are easily downloadable from (fisheredu.com) or by contacting Fisher Science Education at 1-800-955-1177 or by e-mail at [email protected].

Fisher Science Education will be there throughout the process to help you outfit your lab, keep it stocked indefinitely and will provide ongoing support for problems, questions and more. 8 Fisher Science Education Headline Discoveries volume 6, issue 2, fall 2010 boTTLES SQUEEZED for SpaCE By April Bailey Student Friendly With all of the plastic that’s used on a daily basis comes the need to have it recycled. Liquid Handling Products Most plastic bottles produced in the United States are made from Polyethylene Terephtalate (PET). In 2005, U.S. manufacturers produced 5.1 billion pounds of "smaller footprint = smaller carbon footprint" PET products, according to the National Association for PET Container Resources (NAPCOR). NAPCOR has estimated that if the current rate of production remains S66126 the same, then 40 billion pounds of PET waste will be

added to landfills within a decade. S50923 S32813 To help counteract this growth, some states offer financial incentives to consumers who bring in plastic products. His design is based on the 1985 patent, but bottles for recycling. In addition, companies are being features a square package instead of a cylindrical encouraged to design bottles in ways that make them design. Kim’s design results in 66 percent less space more efficient and cheaper to recycle. One of the most being occupied than when the bottle is not collapsed. interesting ideas to come from this challenge is the Plastic Labware offers: collapsible plastic bottle. While there are many advantages to this particular design, it is more unlikely that reengineering the bottle • Safety – highly break and shatter resistant S65905 BEGINNING OF THE COLLAPSE in a square shape will take off due to reasons that In 1985, a patent was filed for a collapsible plastic involve engineering problems, distribution challenges • Economy – long lasting; reduce replacement bottle. According to the patent description, the bottle and production line changes that could be too costly. costs; stretch your budget would be constructed with walls that would look and behave like bellows, allowing them to be squeezed However, other companies, like Plasto Solutions, are • Convenience – multiple sizes available together and collapse upon themselves, thus reducing working on further developing the idea of collapsible the overall size of the bottle by at least half. beverage bottles. They are staying with a cylindrical • Chemical Resistance – products for all bottle design to lessen the impact on manufacturing common chemicals S95713 The technology discussed in this patent has been used process changes for the end user. Their design uses over the years; however, it has been limited to products a complex system of ribs instead of bellows and their • Green – recycle many geared mostly toward outdoor enthusiasts and athletes, plastic bottle folds by slightly twisting the bottle’s body. products when needed and for corporate promotional giveaway items. This produces a flat circle of plastic that takes up only 10 percent of the original space.

THE CHALLENGE BEGINS S31843E BENEFITS OF COLLAPSE One of the greatest impacts to the environment could be if major beverage manufacturers would incorporate The idea of impacting how much space is being occupied Available through in landfills by plastic soda bottles is very appealing to

some form of a collapsible bottle into their product lines. S34564 those who are environmentally conscious. By reducing For example, in early 2010, package designer Andrew the amount of space that a bottle occupies, more can be Seunghyun Kim went public with a set of design placed in collection containers and thus provide a more concepts aimed at repackaging 20 oz. Coca-Cola® cost-effective means of recycling.

ISLaND CrabS rUN MaraTHoN: No TraINING, No probLEM By: Gwen Myslinski ‘TIS THE SEASON… “After many months [of] building a library from the mRNA molecules from both tissues and analyzing Red Crabs live in the moist environment of the rainforest the expression levels of many genes, the team could and dig burrows that have a single entrance tunnel that see that there were dramatic differences between the leads to a single chamber where the one crab will live migrating and inactive crabs’ muscles,” stated Kathryn alone until the breeding season, which is the only time Knight, the author of the summary for the researchers’ they will interact with other crabs. For much of the dry published work in The Journal of Experimental Biology. season, the crabs will retreat and primarily stay in their She went on to say, “Not surprisingly the majority of burrow where it is humid and cover it loosely with the genes expressed in the muscles coded for muscle leaves to maintain a high level of humidity. proteins, such as actin, which forms part of the muscle's contractile unit, and troponin and tropomyosin, which While nestled in their burrows, the red crabs don’t regulate muscular contraction. And, when the team venture away very often. According to research by Ute took a closer look at the versions of genes that were Postel, Fiona Thompson, Gary Barker, Mark Viney and expressed, they could see that the immobile dry season Steve Morris from the University of Bristol in the United crabs' muscles were tuned to short anaerobic sprints Kingdom, these crabs received approximately 10 while the muscles of crabs that migrated during the minutes of exercise a day, which is quite the opposite monsoon were aerobic, extremely resistant to fatigue from the aerobic activity they endure at the beginning and ideal for the crabs’ arduous odyssey.” Training for a marathon is no easy task. It takes months AND THEY’RE OFF… of the wet season. “During the dry season [Christmas of preparation, not to mention cross-training and Specifically, the researchers determined that there According to the Christmas Island Tourism Association, Island] crabs are unable to sustain even moderate weight lifting, to get one’s mind and body adequately were significant differences in the abundance of 14 the long and arduous migration begins with the males exercise with recourse to supplemental anaerobiosis. prepared to perform the strenuous and challenging gene transcripts between the two samples, and it is who head out first so they can start to dig burrows in In contrast, the crabs migrating to the ocean showed no activity of running 26.2 miles. Now imagine performing those differences that help the crabs’ muscles the ocean—think of these as the hotel room. Large this athletic feat with practically no training at all. One reliance on anaerobiosis and no evidence of metabolic essentially supercharge overnight and go from the males make it to the ocean first in approximately five crustacean species does just this, only this trek usually acidosis,” according to Agnieszka Adamczewska, and dry season anaerobic physiology to the pumped-up, to seven days, and soon females, who have already lasts five to seven days for a total of 3.1 miles. These Steve Morris from the University of Sydney in high-endurance aerobic version of the wet season. 12 hour per day marathons, combined with the crab’s joined the migration, outnumber them. After mating, Australia, and referenced by Postel, Thompson, Barker, shell measuring up to 6.5” wide, would be comparable males return inland, much more quickly than the initial Viney and Morris. to the average marathon runner running 13 marathons journey, reaching the plateau in approximately one or 340.6 miles over the same time frame. to two days. Females, however, stay behind until OVERNIGHT MUSCLE OVERHAUL they produce (which lasts three days), develop (12-13 How do they get in shape for the 3.1 mile trek so quickly? This event occurs on Christmas Island, which is located days) and lay up to 100,000 eggs. (The time required To answer that question, a group of the researchers in the Indian Ocean, south of Indonesia. Once a year, to lay eggs depends on the moon–usually occurring (Postel, Thompson, Barker, Viney and Morris) traveled during the beginning of the wet season (Christmas in the last quarter–and can take five to six consecutive Island only has two seasons, wet and dry), usually nights.) Once the eggs are released, they are hatched to Christmas Island during the wet season and sometime during the months of October and December, immediately, and many of the larvae are eaten by collected leg muscle samples from the crabs while they the Christmas Island Red Crabs, Gecarcoidea natalis, various ocean creatures. The larvae that do survive will were migrating, and did so again in six months while migrate from the rainforest to the ocean to mate and live in the ocean for approximately one month, going the crabs were relatively dormant in the dry season. reproduce. The breeding activities are synched with the through several larval stages before growing into The researchers planned to look at the muscles at the lunar cycles so that the low and high tides are as similar juvenile crabs. Finally, the juvenile crabs emerge from molecular level, specifically the mRNA, so they could as they can be, making it easier for the females to lay the ocean and head inland to the plateau, usually taking determine the difference between the gene transcription The Director of the Australian National Parks owns the their eggs. nine days to complete this task. during both seasons. copyright to these images Making Science Matter® www.fisheredu.com Tel. 1-800-955-1177 Fax. 1-800-955-0740 9

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THE MYSTErY of THE GaLILEo THErMoMETEr a QUICk HISTorY of THErMoMETErS By Valinda Huckabay Although ancient civilizations probably had ways of measuring temperature, the first reported invention • Ever wonder what a Galileo thermometer Armed with this discovery, he invented a device that metal tag that hangs from them. When they weigh ex- of temperature-sensing technology didn’t happen is and how it works? allowed temperature variations to be measured. This actly the right amount, they will naturally gravitate to a until the end of the sixteenth century. rudimentary device used the expansion and contrac- position in the cylinder in which the temperature of the • Ever wonder how Galileo came up with tion of air in a bulb to move water up and down in an liquid surrounding them matches the number on their 1593 Italian scientist Galileo Galilei develops a device that measures temperature. Called a ther- the idea for his invention? attached tube, indicating a range of temperature. tag. In this way, the bulbs naturally arrange themselves to form a readable temperature scale. moscope, his device consisted of a bulb of air that, • Ever wonder how you’re supposed Because his device did not have a numerical tempera- when heated, forced liquid (alcohol) into a column. to read one? ture scale, it is not technically considered a thermom- Usually a gap forms between the top and the bottom eter. This early thermometer is more precisely called bulbs. To get an accurate temperature reading, de- 1611 Sanctorius Sanctorius, a colleague of WHAT IS A GALILEO a thermoscope. The modern day version of this early termine the number that falls between the two metal Galileo’s, added calibration to the thermoscope. thermoscope does not look much like its predecessor, tags directly above and below the gap. If a bulb is free- Sanctorius marked the levels of liquid when it THERMOMETER? although it does embody the same principles. floating in the gap, then its tag number is the current was cooled with melting snow, and heated with a A Galileo (also known as Galilean) thermometer is temperature reading. candle. The space between these two points was one style of temperature-sensing device. These days, a HOW DOES IT WORK? then divided into 110 equal parts. Galilean thermometer typically looks like a tall, sealed Conventional thermometers—the kind with a bulb at- WHY DO PEOPLE HAVE THEM glass cylinder containing clear liquid in which several 1632 Jean Rey, a French physician, invented tached to a thin tube marked in increments—measure INSTEAD OF CONVENTIONAL small glass bulbs are floating. the first liquid thermometer. It was a flask with a the temperature of their surroundings by the rise of liq- THERMOMETERS? long slender neck, partially filled with water. As the uid in a tube. A Galilean thermometer uses liquids to temperature changed, the liquid level rose and fell Each glass bulb is filled with a slightly different amount Today, most people own Galilean thermometers be- of colored liquid, and each has a small metal tag measure temperature too, but in a slightly different way in response. than the traditional thermometers we’re used to. cause they are fascinating and decorative, and not stamped with a number hanging from the bottom of it. because they’re the best way of telling temperature. Some bulbs float near the top of the liquid, and others 1709 Daniel Gabriel Fahrenheit, a German When the temperature of a liquid rises (gets hotter), Conventional thermometers still hold a very solid place stay closer to the bottom. physicist, invented the alcohol thermometer. the liquid expands, or increases in volume. When the in our lives. As the temperature changes, these glass bulbs rise and temperature falls (gets cooler), the liquid contracts, or 1714 Shortly after the alcohol thermometer, reduces its volume. Both of these reactions can be re- In the end, though, the Fahrenheit invented the mercury thermometer. sink, accurately indicating the temperature of the sur- Galilean thermometer rounding air. corded and interpreted into an accurate temperature reading. is still a unique and 1724 Fahrenheit developed the temperature scale intriguing piece of sci- for thermometers that still bear his name today. WHEN WAS IT INVENTED? The principle of buoyancy determines whether objects ence, beautifully and Throughout time, mankind has depended on tempera- float or sink in a liquid. If an object’s weight is matched faithfully demonstrat- 1742 An astronomer, Anders Celsius, developed ture in their surroundings for survival: metals melt at a to the density of the liquid at a specific temperature, it ing the principles of: a different thermometer scale by assigning 0° to the certain temperature, rivers freeze at another. In order to will neither rise nor fall, which is called neutrally buoy- boiling point of water, and 100° to the temperature • Buoyancy have greater control over their world, people needed ant. If the temperature of the liquid changes, the den- of melting snow. Shortly thereafter, an inverted to be able to measure temperatures more accurately. sity of the liquid changes too, and the objects floating • Temperature version of his scale (i.e., 0° for freezing and 100° for in it either rise or sink accordingly. effects on fluids boiling) became widely used as the Centigrade scale. But the invention of such a device was relatively slow • Density and to develop. Even into the late 1500’s, there was no way The weight of each glass bulb in a Galilean thermom- 1867 English physician, Sir Thomas Allbutt, floating objects to accurately determine temperatures. In 1593, Galileo eter has been carefully calibrated. It doesn’t matter invented the first medical thermometer used for Galilei discovered that the density of liquids (how much that they are made of glass or what kind of liquid they taking body temperature. It responded quickly— they contract and expand) reacts predictably to changes contain. The calibration is accomplished by adjusting results in about five minutes, as opposed to the in temperature. the amount of liquid in the bulbs and the weight of the 20 minutes of earlier devices.

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EASY-READ® GENERAL PURPOSE THERMOMETERS DOUBLE-SAFE™ TEFLON®-COATED GENERAL PURPOSE THERMOMETERS Catalog No. Range Divisions Length Immersion Accuracy Catalog No. Range Divisions Length Immersion Accuracy Partial Immersion Partial Immersion S95775 -10/+110°C 1° 200mm 50mm 1°C S95819 -10/+110°C 1° 200mm 50mm 1°C S95777 -10/+150°C 1° 200mm 50mm 1°, 1.5°C above 105°C S95821 -10/+150°C 1° 200mm 50mm 1°, 1.5°C above 105°C S95779 20/230°F 2° 200mm 50mm 2°F S95823 20/230°F 2° 200mm 50mm 2°F S95781 20/+300°F 2° 200mm 50mm 2°F S95827 -20/+110°C 1° 305mm 76mm 1°C S95783 -10/+70°C 0.5° 297mm 76mm 1°C S95829 -20/+150°C 1° 305mm 76mm 1°, 1.5°C above 105°C S95784 -20/+110°C 1° 305mm 76mm 1°C S95831 0/230°F 2° 305mm 76mm 2°F S95786 -20/+150°C 1° 305mm 76mm 1°, 1.5°C above 105°C Total Immersion S95788 0/230°F 2° 305mm 76mm 2°F S958201 -10/+110°C 1° 200mm Total 1°C S95792 -10/+260°C 1° 355mm 76mm 1°, 1.5° above 105°C, 2°C above 200°C S95824 20/230°F 2° 200mm Total 2°F S95794 20/500°F 2° 355mm 76mm 2°, 3° above 221°F, 4°F above 392°F S95828 -20/+110°C 1° 305mm Total 1°C Total Immersion S95830 -20/+150°C 1° 305mm Total 1°, 1.5°C above 105°C S95776 -10/+110°C 1° 200mm Total 1°C S95834 0/300°F 2° 305mm Total 2°, 3°F above 221°F S95778 -10/+150°C 1° 200mm Total 1°, 1.5°C above 105°C * The entire Easy-Read thermometer and packaging are EnviroKleen™ certified through ChemTel, S95780 20/230°F 2° 200mm Total 2°F and Double-Safe‘s Enviro-Safe liquid and SafetyPak packaging are EnviroKleen certified through ChemTel. S95782 20/300°F 2° 200mm Total 2°F S95785 -20/+110°C 1° 305mm Total 1°C S95787 -20/+150°C 1° 305mm Total 1°, 1.5°C above 105°C S95789 0/230°F 2° 305mm Total 2°F S95791 0/300°F 2° 305mm Total 2°, 3°F above 221°F S95793 -10/+225°C 1° 355mm Total 1°, 1.5° above 105°C, 2°C above 200°C Making Science Matter® www.fisheredu.com Tel. 1-800-955-1177 Fax. 1-800-955-0740 11 ENErGY STar– HoW IT bENEfITS THE EarTH By Sandra D. Bledsoe In a time where terms such as “climate change,” “carbon • Energy efficiency can be achieved through broadly THE SHORE TOUR footprint” and “low-carbon economy” are commonly available, non-proprietary technologies offered by Living Responsibly on the Edge of the Ocean heard on the nightly news, it is evident that a program more than one manufacturer which promotes the conservation and efficient use of • Product energy consumption and performance can energy is needed. Energy Star is that program. The be measured and verified with testing Energy Star program protects the environment by providing cost-effective energy efficiency solutions to • Labeling would effectively differentiate products and be visible for purchasers businesses, organizations and individuals. Energy Star specifications differ with each item, First established in 1992 as a government program by but generally use 20 to 30 percent less energy than the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) for required by federal standards. energy-efficient computers, the Energy Star program has grown to encompass more than 35 product SMALL SAVINGS ADD UP categories for the home and workplace, new homes Twenty to 30 percent may not seem like much, but and superior energy management within organizations. consider the following: if half of all U.S. households The program has two main goals: 1) to reduce green- replaced a standard television with an Energy Star house gas emissions and other pollutants caused by model, the change would be like shutting down a power the inefficient use of energy; and 2) to make it easy for plant. Using energy more efficiently avoids emissions consumers to identify and purchase energy-efficient from power plants, helps eliminate the need for new products that offer savings on energy bills without power plants and reduces energy bills. Americans, with sacrificing performance, features and comfort. the help of Energy Star, saved enough energy in 2009 alone to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to Five units teach students through classroom lectures and activities how those that 30 million cars or fifty 300-megawatt (MW) their everyday actions affect the ocean. Topics include an introduction to HOW PRODUCTS EARN power plants would have produced—all while saving coastal ecosystems, energy conservation, pollution, estuaries, beach erosion THE ENERGY STAR RATING nearly $17 billion on their utility bills. and restoration, litter, recycling, oil spills, shoreline development and marine The EPA has established energy efficiency require- debris. Each unit is packed with activities and spotlights a traditional or not- ments for products seeking the Energy Star rating ENERGY STAR GOES so-traditional marine career. Real news stories and articles bring the lecture based on the following set of key guiding principles: INTERNATIONAL materials to life. Includes data sheets and a thought-provoking game to bring • Product categories must contribute significant The Energy Star program has also been adopted by it all together at the conclusion the tour. Help students develop a sense of energy savings nationwide several countries around the world. In 2001, the EPA stewardship toward shores and oceans that will remain with them for the rest signed an international agreement with Natural • Qualified products must deliver adequate features and Resource Canada, allowing it to implement an energy- of their lives. performance as well as increased energy efficiency efficiency labeling program modeled after Energy Star. This is in addition to existing Energy Star agreements • If the qualified product is more expensive than a with the European Union, Japan, Taiwan, Australia conventional, less-efficient counterpart, consumers Cat. No. Price and New Zealand. As more countries adopt energy- S94983 $90.55 must recover the additional cost in increased energy efficiency programs, the environment will reap the efficiency through utility bill savings within a reasonable benefits which result from the adoption of superior period of time energy management practices.

LENDING A HELPING HAND A few months later, around the time of the earthquake in Haiti, ShelterBox USA informed the school that our EarTHboX CHaLLENGE WINNEr With all of the successes the students were having in ShelterBox had been sent to Sumatra, Indonesia to By Betsy Asheim-Dean, Principal at Bay Haven School of Basics Plus growing organic vegetables, the faculty and parents decided to support ShelterBox USA, a non-profit, in- provide aid to survivors of a disastrous earthquake that ® The EarthBox has taken center stage for the past four not only provided opportunities to teach children about ternational disaster-relief program using the EarthBox. claimed the lives of more than 1300 people. Earth Day celebrations at the Bay Haven School of what plants need to grow, but the EarthBox illustrated The mission of ShelterBox USA is to deliver humanitar- Basics Plus, a K-5 public magnet school in Sarasota, scientific principles such as capillary action, diffusion, ian assistance and shelter to victims of natural disas- This Earth Day project, “EarthBoxes to SpaceBoxes… Florida. From the first, when the inventor of the EarthBox, evaporation, condensation and heat absorption. The ters anywhere in the world. So for Earth Day the school to ShelterBoxes,” continued to bring meaning into the Blake Whisenant, a local tomato farmer from Ellenton, EarthBox also provided a conceptual basis for teaching invited several volunteers from ShelterBox USA to be lives of our young students as discussions continued in Florida, was invited to be the guest speaker; to this year, children about the conservation of energy, water, soil guest speakers. They brought a ShelterBox to demon- science and social studies classes as part of their inter- when this unique gardening box taught the student so and organic fertilizer. The plastic cover on the EarthBox strate its use, and students were amazed to see just disciplinary studies. It was empowering for many of the much science and brought students, faculty, parents kept the moisture in what a one hundred and students to see that they could indeed make a differ- and the community together in surprising ways. and the weeds out. ten pound ShelterBox ence in the global community. By using organic contained—a ten-person The 35 EarthBoxes at Bay Haven were first introduced soaps and lady bugs tent, a cooking stove, by a group of parent volunteers who wanted all of the THE ECO-FEST CONTINUES instead of harmful blankets, cookware, wa- students to have a successful, hands-on experience chemical pesticides, ter purification equip- On Earth Day 2010 we had much to celebrate. Again, growing organic vegetables. They hoped that students students were able ment and other survival the school, as well as a local “Eco-fest,” committed to would see the nutritional and energy-saving benefits of to keep the aphids essentials for protection selling the EarthBox produce so that the students could growing and consuming locally grown food. This project under control. from the elements. was made possible through funding from the William sponsor another ShelterBox this year. The Earth Day 2010 guest speakers were representatives from the G. Selby and Marie Selby Foundation and the Bank of Thanks to donations In celebration of Earth Florida Friendly Landscaping and County Extension America Client Foundation, sponsors of an Education of seedlings from Day, the Bay Haven Office. They demonstrated environmentally friendly Foundation of a Sarasota County grant. a parent who owns students unanimously a local organic farm, composting techniques so that students could learn OUTTA THIS WORLD agreed to sponsor the each Earth Day gave purchase of a Shelter- how to compost food waste from the school cafeteria As this campus-wide gardening initiative got underway, students another op- Box by growing, har- and use that nutrient-rich soil for our EarthBoxes. educator-astronaut, Barbara Morgan, in a live broadcast portunity to celebrate vesting, marketing and onboard the International Space Station captured the the EarthBox with selling their EarthBox- The new composting practices, together with the students’ imaginations through her demonstration of a salad-fest of grown produce at the rain barrels, which provide water for the EarthBoxes, the role of a lunar plant growth chamber (or ‘Space- delicious organic school’s Spring Festival. have taught students and teachers alike how to live a Box’ as the children named it) in growing cinnamon romaine lettuce, red Thanks to the support healthy, green lifestyle by practicing sustainable ways leaf lettuce, cucum- basil seeds in space. She invited the children around of the friends, patrons, in which to leave a small environmental footprint. the country to join her in a NASA-sponsored “Lunar bers, radishes, broc- Parent Teacher Organiza- Plant Growth Chamber Design Challenge.” The school coli and pole beans. tion and staff of the Bay The use of EarthBoxes at Bay Haven School of Basics During these salad- acquired some of the basil seeds from NASA and the Haven community, stu- Plus has certainly continued to bloom and grow over fests the school students joined in by conducting a scientific study of dents raised more than the years. With the enthusiastic support and dedicated the growth rate of the cinnamon basil seeds exposed nurse even got into $300. That was enough teamwork of many parent volunteers, teachers, the to space. They wrote up a report and shared their the spirit of things money to help spon- principal, local high school science students, school results with NASA. The students also drew comparisons and presented nutri- sor a ShelterBox. The between the design of the EarthBox and how it tional lessons which students were given an and community resource staff, and generous grant conceptually related to the design of the SpaceBox. emphasized the identification number so sponsors, the Bay Haven students have begun to “think From this study students could see that the EarthBox benefits of eating From left to right, Amara Merritt and Bay Purcell check that they could track the outside the box” by extending a helping hand to those with its research-based, gradient gardening system healthy, locally grown, their organic romaine lettuce with the help of T. Ramsey, final destination of the in need around the world, and by defining their role in was an innovative way to grow plants. The EarthBox organic vegetables. a Bay Haven parent volunteer. Bay Haven ShelterBox. it as responsible stewards of our planet Earth. 12 Fisher Science Education Headline Discoveries volume 6, issue 2, fall 2010

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Gravity can be a complex topic whose variations are often better Fall into the school demonstrated than simply just explained. These topics include gravitational acceleration and variables that affect it, harmonic oscillation and chaotic motion. For moremore information information & to & order to order year with 3B Scientifi c visit www.fisheredu.comwww.FisherEdu.com

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MarCELLUS SHaLE – ENErGY booM, ENVIroNMENTaL bUST…or boTH? By Merry Morris

Oil-soaked ocean birds...fears of dependence on for- 8000 feet below the Earth’s surface—making it an ex- Any type of resource extraction has the potential to eign oil...will we ever have a plentiful, domestic supply pensive resource to access. To be economically viable, cause environmental degradation and endanger public of high-quality, low-impact fuel? Some say the Marcel- a high-rate, steady production of gas would be needed health, and the Marcellus Shale gas is no exception. lus Shale promises just that; others are not so sure. to offset drilling costs. But the gas in the Marcellus is present in tiny, poorly interconnect pores and in vertical What in particular do those concerned over the Marcel- THE MARCELLUS SHALE fractures in the rock, as well as adsorbed onto mineral lus Shale natural gas drilling fear? grains and organic particles. Removing it is expensive Several eastern U.S. states are finding themselves in and slow, so wells in the formation were not superstars: • Release of radioactive materials (associated with a classic predicament—the battle of resource extrac- they produced only modestly, over a relatively long pe- the decay of 238U) from drilling fluids and equipment tion versus environmental protection. The source of the riod of time. These low yields could not economically • Contamination of surface water and groundwater conflict is a geological formation that had once been support the development of wells that might cost one from hydraulic fracturing (“frac wastes”), especially written off as a large-scale energy producer. Ah, but million dollars each to develop. Nonetheless, the mag- in environmentally sensitive areas like river basins, times have changed. nitude of the gas reserves was considerable and its es- watersheds, potential drinking water sources timates kept growing—from 1.9 TCF (trillion cubic feet) The Marcellus Shale was deposited some 400 million • Gas ( e.g., methane) infiltration into homes and in 2000 to recent estimates of 50TCF of “recoverable” years ago and underlies large parts of New York, other structures with the possibility of combustion Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Ohio, and smaller parts gas—enough to keep people looking at its possibilities. • Accidents: blowouts—explosive release of gases of Maryland, Kentucky, Tennessee and Virginia. It lies that can send waste streams spewing into the air, at varying distances below the surface and is present WHY NOW? polluting air and water; burnouts—hitting a pocket in varying thickness. It can be described as slightly In simple terms—economics and technology. With of methane, causing explosion, fire and worker radioactive, low density and rich in the organic matter high energy prices, the Marcellus’s economic equation injury that is associated with the creation of fossil fuels. changed. Even costly fuel is better than no fuel. Timely Photo: American Association of Petrolum Geologists advances in drilling and extraction practices, horizontal • Magnified risks when drilling takes place in While other sources of fossil fuels have been tapped (directional) drilling and hydraulic fracturing, made it urban areas where thousands could be affected for many years, the Marcellus Shale gas was left largely feasible to open the Marcellus to widespread drilling. by a pollution event easy answers. There are many calls for moratoriums untouched. The shale lies deep—commonly 5000 to —as well as outright prohibitions—on drilling in the Horizontal wells—vertical wells that change direction SO WHAT TO DO? to run along the gas-bearing strata—are expensive, Marcellus Shale until the environmental and public but can nonetheless tap many more vertical fractures, This question plagues many individuals and represen- health questions are addressed. In many areas, though, drawing more of the precious gas into the well bore. tatives from neighborhoods, local governments and drilling is proceeding under the watchful eyes of various Hydraulic fracturing uses the injection of a liquid or gas regulatory bodies, and there do not seem to be any regulatory agencies on state, watershed or river basin to create more passageways through the shale than levels. It’s their jobs to foresee potential drilling-related nature provided. These practices support far greater problems and find mechanisms to avoid or mitigate ENVIroNMENTaL CarEErS yields, changing dramatically the profitability equation, them. Through development of rules, regulations, best but also require very high volumes of water to make If your students show interest in environmental practices, permits and enforcement actions, these groups guide the actions of the companies extracting the process work. careers, guide them toward the community the Marcellus Shale’s long-held gas reserves to relations liaison of your state environmental SO MORE GAS IS GOOD, RIGHT? preserve the quality of the air, surface water and agency or local watershed or river basin groundwater resources, and ultimately the public While many individuals and communities in potential commission. These agencies are a great place health in drilling areas. gas-producing areas have been thrilled with the pos- to learn about the science and challenges of sibility of lucrative land leases and oil royalties, not environmental protection. Chances of success? Only time will tell if the Marcellus Photo: DelawareOnline.com/AllGreenToMe.com everyone sees only gold at the end of that rainbow. will prove to be energy boon or environmental bust. Making Science Matter® www.fisheredu.com Tel. 1-800-955-1177 Fax. 1-800-955-0740 15 a rIVEr raN THroUGH IT Trade-In Your Brass Weights By Terri Sota for NEW Economical Stainless-Steel Weights Scientists have new evidence that an ancient Amazon- and analyzed zircons. Previous efforts to plot the course like river system once spanned the continental United of the great river were limited by the rarity of rocks States. After comparing zircon (zirconium silicate) from the mid-Jurassic era in the Midwest and Great mineral samples from Michigan sandstone with Plains; only the Michigan quarry offers access to stone samples taken from the Colorado Plateau and the samples of the proper age. northern Appalachians, scientists revealed that both were of a similar age. These findings, by ZIRCON University of Arizona geologist William R. Dickinson, are directional clues—indications of the course This mineral, ZrSiO4, belongs to the group of nesosili- of the long-ago river connecting east to west. cates, which also includes topaz and garnet. Although less popular as a gemstone, zircon has been instrumental The transcontinental river hypothesis has been in the development of radiometric dating. Zircon proffered as an explanation for the origin of the Navajo contains trace amounts of both uranium and thorium Sandstone formations that scientists have long and can be dated using several analytical techniques, debated. Using radioisotope dating methods on the including uranium-lead and helium dating. Its value Utah zircon grains, Yale University geologists were able rests in its survival strength; zircons can withstand to determine when the zircon crystals were formed severe geologic forces, including erosion, transport (between 1.2 billion and 950 million years ago) and and even high-grade metamorphism. Each zircon when they cooled and eroded (500 to 250 million sample possesses a rich record of Earth’s history. years ago). Scientists concluded that the Utah sand Fisher Science Education, along with Henry Troemner, LLC, is offering a program to help must have been remnants of rock eroded from the The similarity between the zircon samples from Michigan customers meet the new CPSIA regulations by removing brass weights that contain Appalachians, the only place in North America with and Colorado is strong evidence that despite final zircons exhibiting a similar age distribution. destinations hundreds of miles apart, the minerals lead. Troemner will properly dispose of your brass weights through its recycling set out from the same place. Says Scott D. Samson at program. Troemner will accept any type of brass weights made by any manufacturer The latest finds come from a 20 kilogram hunk of Syracuse University: “It’s not as good as a barcode, but free of charge! Michigan sandstone, from which researchers extracted the match is really quite good.” • Economical Stainless-Steel Weights are adjusted to tolerances specified by ANSI/ASTM E617 Class 7 • Available in cylindrical, hook and slotted styles

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With the OHAUS Harvard Junior™ and the included activity Item No. 09HJPROMO – $170.00 guide, you’ll introduce your students to topics such as: The OHAUS Math & Science Measurement Game ✔✔ Measuring with standard and non-standard units Features: ✔✔ Estimation and measurement ✔✔ Enough materials for the entire class to play simultaneously ✔✔ Conservation of mass ✔✔ CD-ROM allowing you to customize your own measurement quiz or test ✔✔ Finding mass using deductive reasoning ✔✔ Hands-on activities using the Harvard Junior ✔✔ No consumable materials to purchase year after year To order call or fax: 1-800-955-1177 Tel For more information visit www.fisheredu.com 1-800-955-0740 Fax Swift_Fisher_June_2010.pdf 1 6/21/10 11:34 AM

20 Fisher Science Education Headline Discoveries Volume 5, Issue 1, Spring 2009 16 Fisher Science Education Headline Discoveries volume 6, issue 2, fall 2010 LEAPING PTEROSAURS TAKE TO THE AIR

Pterosaurs (based on the Greek, “winged lizard”) have been part of many a child’s imaginary visit to the land of the “Generation“Generationdinosaurs. AlsoSwift”...Swift”... referred to as pterodactyls (“winged fingers”), these unforgettable creatures are actually not dinosaurs—surprising news to many of pterosaur’s young fans—butJust rather, becauseflying reptiles. we have a new look and lots of new features 1980 Almost always showndoesn’t by themean popular we’ve press asforgotten our tradition of quality soaring through the air, the impression we have is that the pterosaur had no problem and getting innovation. airborne. To the contrary, Introducing the new M3600 Series the process by which a pterosaur takes to the skies has been the subject of much debatedesigned among paleontologists. for the next generation of Swift users. 1996 Inhabiting the Earth 220 to 65.5 To million experience years ago “Generation Swift” and other during the late Triassic period to the end of the Cretaceous C period, pterosaurs have been shown microscopes through the fossil with our new design, contact

M record to have been creatures of widely varying size and weight, from bird-size to a colossus with a 30-foot wingspan. Fisher Science Education. Y Viewing its puzzling anatomy, the discoverer of the first CM pterosaur fossil in 1784, Cosimo Collini, believed this extinct creature to be aquatic, using its long front limbs MY as paddles. This aquatic view was later replaced by the CY S19617A $369.00 vision of the flying reptile soaring over giant ferns and

CMY Tyrannosaurus rex. K M3600 Series The fossil record on the pterosaurs is limited, and the reptile’s hollow bones do not preserve well. Nonetheless, introduced fossils for more than 60 genera have been found, spanning every continent except for Antarctica. Fossils suggest that in 2010 the pterosaurs’ most characteristic feature, their wings, were not bird-like. Fibrous skin and other tissues formed a membrane that stretched between a highly elongated generated by Michael Habib of the Center for Functional Moreover, their specialized anatomy gives them (literally) their leap into flight must have been a sight to behold. fourth finger and the side of the body. Anatomy and Evolution at the Johns-Hopkins University a real boost. Two limbs were not enough to do the trick, But Habib, using estimated strength of pterosaur bones and School of Medicine. They would simply not be able to get but the use of four limbs, especially with strong front limbs/ computer modeling, has confirmed that the four-legged Just because pterosaurs were believed to take flight, their bulk off the ground and into the skies. wings, made all the difference to these reptiles’ get-away approach could have gotten them off the ground in less than they were often associated with birds, at least a bird-like time, comparing running away from predators to flying a second. Quite an achievement, and one that must have left approach to take-off. Birds characteristically use their strong But other factors were working to assist these reptile to fly. out of their reach. From a resting position with the even the Tyrannosaurus rex in the dust. back legs to launch themselves into the air, at which time Rather than scrawny and fragile like they appear in many For more information, visit www.fisheredu.com knuckles of the front wings, these creatures are thought —Merry Morris their flapping wings take over to complete their ascent. illustrations, these creatures are thought to have been very to have used a “leap-frogging, long jump” motion to To order callBut birds or are fax: not pterosaurs, and the bird model of flight, strong. As Habib, author of the recent study on pterosaur launch themselves into the air. Considering the size of these with much reliance on their light weight and strong back flight, said, “They’re actually built a lot more like Arnold pterosaurs was comparable to our modern-day giraffes, 1.800.955.1177 Tel legs, 1.800.955.0740 just doesn’t work, as confirmed byFax computer models Schwarzenegger than Urkel.”

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THE REALITY aSHES, aSHES… Much has been written about the damage to people, By April Bailey animals, air, soil and water, but less so the damage and chaos that ash can cause to other things, especially those that are technologically and/or mechanically based. Following are just a few things that could be heavily impacted:

• Motors/Engines: internal combustion engines are prone to failure from volcanic ash due to the clogging of air filters; other parts can fail due to “sludge” forming between parts that need to move freely • Paint Finishes: abrasive components of volcanic ash wear away finishes over time • Electronics: items short-out due to dust particulates entering otherwise contained compartments; circuitry shorts-out Because of recent activity in Iceland, there have been Material expelled from the volcano at this point is many news reports done on volcano eruptions and called ‘”tephra.” To better study components of a • Machinery: bearing, gears and any other moveable the damages that can be caused by volcanic ash. volcanic eruption, scientists have broken tephra into parts that are not well-sealed are subject to damage So, just what is “volcanic ash?” classifications based on size: and/or failure • Power Sources: highly charged ash particles produce • Volcanic bombs or volcanic blocks: debris greater THE ASSUMPTION frequent electrical discharges causing damage from than 64mm in diameter (2.5”) GETTING To THE boTToM of IT It’s not what most people may envision. Typically, when short circuiting • Lapilli: debris 2-64mm in diameter (.078 to 2.5”) The words "tephra" and "pyroclast" both most people think about ash, they picture something • Telecommunications: dust particles either scatter or derive from Greek. light and fluffy—like ashes in the fireplace or barbecue. • Ash: debris particles less than 2mm in diameter absorbs radio signals preventing connections from So, when they hear that a volcano has erupted and (.078”) occurring (think satellite TV, WiFi, FM-Radio, etc.) • Tephra means "ash" everything is covered in ash, the natural assumption is that it is relatively harmless and can be easily swept PERSPECTIVE • Roadways and runways become impassible: little • Pyro means "fire" away. Not true. to no visibility if dry, reduced visibility and extra While the size of a volcanic bomb doesn’t seem so large, • Klastos means "broken" some perspective is needed. Take, for example, a storm slippery if wet THE BLAST AND ITS COMPONENTS producing hailstones of roughly the same size. They can • Air filtration and water filtration systems fail: due Properties of Volcanic Ash: cause excessive damage to car windshields and even Volcanic eruptions occur when gases in magma, or to combination of ash clogging filters and affecting • Hard Substance, Minute in Size slate roofs. To a person struck by a volcanic bomb, the molten rock, expand and escape into the air. They moving parts of system impact would feel something like getting hit with a • Cannot Be Dissolved also occur when water that is superheated by magma baseball thrown by a major league pitcher due to the high • Building’s structural integrity fails: dry ash, 4” thick, abruptly flashes into steam, or when thermal contrac- rate of propulsion. weighs up to 200 pounds per square yard (twice as • Extremely Abrasive tion from chilling occurs after contacting water. Each much when wet) • Corrosive scenario leads to eruptions that occur with explosive Volcanic bombs and lapilli do cause problems but, because force, causing escaping gases to shatter surrounding they settle to the ground at a much quicker rate than ash, These examples show that volcanic ash is dramatically • Conducts Electricity When Wet rock layers of the Earth. When eruptions occur in areas the extent of their damage is often not as far reaching. more devastating than it appears and has a great potential • Heavy covered by glaciers, the resulting plume can contain The tiny size of ash and its ability to readily travel every- to leech its way into so many things that are important glass-rich deposits that were created when melted ice where means it can be a lot less apparent to ascertain the to the day-to-day operation of life for everyone in areas • Difficult to Clean Up quickly chilled lava prior to its explosion. damages it can cause. affected by volcanic eruptions.

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can be done alone or in connection DO and Temperature sensor Cat. No. S94796 pH and Temperature sensor Cat. No. S94794 with the other kits. Nitrate sensor Cat. No. S94800 Each sensor ships with WQSensor Software. 18 Fisher Science Education Headline Discoveries volume 6, issue 2, fall 2010 EXTrEME MEaSUrES SaVE LIVES By Aprile Smith EnhanceEnhance learninglearning withwith hands-onhands-on kitkit andand softwaresoftware For an emergency first responder or an ER doctor, temperatures just above freezing for 24 hours. In this Curriculum Packs by Neo/SCI administering toxic sewer gas, withholding oxygen state of slower metabolic functioning, 66 percent of Curriculum Packs by Neo/SCI or inducing hypothermia hardly seems the best way yeast and 97 percent of nematode embryos survived; Curriculum Packs by Neo/SCI combine to treat trauma patients. However, recent research they reanimated and lived to their normal life expec- laboratory investigation kits with Neo/LAB points to these methods as possible means to buy time tancy once conditions returned to normal. Oxygen for critical patients awaiting medical care. Potential deprivation halts biological processes before dangerous CDs, so you can integrate computer applications include keeping patients alive to reach instabilities develop and slows the cells from dividing learning with hands-on activities. medical centers or allowing transplant organs a longer in an “error-prone” pattern that leads to death. Neo/LABs include Virtual Lab shelf-life outside the body. Investigations that simulate realistic lab INDUCED HYPOTHERMIA environments, comprehensive Tutorials, SUSPENDED ANIMATION fully featured Assessments and a variety Both examples of suspended animation above parlay Cell biologist Mark Roth runs a lab at the Fred Hutchison into possible real-world applications, with transplant of Teacher Resources. Curriculum Packs Cancer Research Center in Seattle, Washington. Roth organs and patient treatment. The Department of are available for a variety of topics. and his colleagues study metabolic flexibility through Defense is interested in suspended animation to aid suspended animation—they investigate how to decrease soldiers in battle. and temporarily cease body functions like respiration and heartbeat. Injured in battle, a soldier losing blood can be dead in 20 minutes—it takes just three to four minutes of blood Suspended animation is not an unfamiliar subject; loss for cells in the brain to starting dying. Dr. Hasan a simple example occurs in nature when bears hibernate. Alam of the Massachusetts General Hospital is one Deceleration of body functions in a trauma patient researcher studying induced hypothermia to extend means cells, organs and systems do not breakdown as Chemical Reactions Curriculum Pack the length of time a bleeding soldier can wait for Using the lab investigation kit, your students fast as they would under normal conditions. medical attention. will demonstrate and observe the changes SEWER GAS In animals, Alam and his team have successfully that accompany chemical reactions. They’ll witness changes in temperature and color, Roth’s lab purposely creates this state of slowed brought on hypothermic states; they cool the body, functioning. In February, his researchers released significantly decrease brain activity, and halt heartbeat gas production and formation of precipitates. an experiment in which hydrogen sulfide was admin- by replacing blood with a fluid similar to that which is They can use the Neo/LAB CD to realistically istered to lab animals. Hydrogen sulfide is deadly in used in transplant patients. After the body is gradually simulate these reactions, reinforcing the chemical weapons. In small doses, it caused the mice to brought back to normal temperature, the animals show knowledge gained from the hands-on lab. appeared dead temporarily; afterward, however, they no cognitive loss, acting the same as they were prior to returned to normal functioning. According to researchers, the procedure. noitpircseD .taC ecirP.oN hydrogen sulfide bonds to places in the body usually Chemical Reactions Curriculum Pack S66727 $159.45 filled by oxygen, slowing the metabolic functioning and Slowing the body processes in a controlled and safe acting as a dimmer switch to body systems. environment increases the amount of time emergency workers have to repair injury. Alam estimates a window Fisher Science Education carries a wide range of of four to five minutes can jump to two or three hours. OXYGEN DEPRIVATION Neo/SCI products, including many Curriculum Packs. In June, Roth released another study using extreme Suspending animation using these methods could be Shop for Neo/SCI products at www.fisheredu.com. oxygen deprivation to suspend animation in yeast just the beginning, giving doctors hours rather than and nematodes. This allowed the organisms to survive minutes to work, which is a great start. Making Science Matter® www.fisheredu.com Tel. 1-800-955-1177 Fax. 1-800-955-0740 19 THE SEarCH for LIfE oN MarS By: Joe Giacobello Fisher Science Education The possibility of life on Mars has long been a subject of Indeed, if a life form does exist in such a desolate, speculation and popular fascination, given the planet’s hostile environment, it probably is not in the form of Has the Products You Need to Make Science proximity and many similarities to Earth. Aside from its the green, “E.T.-type” creatures that you’ve seen in the polar ice caps, which were observed as early as the mid movies. More likely, it exists as tiny microorganisms— Matter in the Classroom 17th century, Mars bears several other similarities to tough little fighters that adapt and survive in the most our planet. The length of a day on Mars is almost the cold, dry and inhospitable conditions. same as a day on Earth, and the axial tilt of the planet is similar to Earth’s. Further, Mars experiences seasons CRYPTOENDOLITHS just as Earth does. In the mid-seventies, microbiologist Imre Friedmann observed super-resilient bacteria living in the Ross 10% OFF MARTIAN CANALS Desert of Antarctica, in mountain ranges so cold and In the late 19th century, astronomers observed a series dry they were thought to be devoid of life. The micro- Select Fisher of apparent Martian “canals,” which led some to organisms live, not in the soil, but in rock, surviving Fetal Pigs speculate that they could be the work of a long-gone dark polar winters where they just barely survive, Science Education* civilization. This concept inspired H.G. Wells’ fictional at degrees of 50 below. Friedmann called these account, The War of the Worlds, which portrayed creatures “cryptoendoliths” (crypto meaning hidden, hostile Martian creatures invading our planet to escape and endolith meaning inside rocks). the desolate conditions on Mars. These microbes, which seem to thrive in extreme Eventually, spectroscopic analysis was performed environments, were found across the globe, living on Mars’ atmosphere and U.S. astronomer William in harsh habitats such as deserts, mountains and the Wallace Campbell demonstrated that neither water frozen poles. Friedmann wondered, if these microbes Dissecting an organism provides Bio-Fresh (13+”; Double Injection) nor oxygen were present in the Martian atmosphere. could colonize such miserable environments on Earth, students an opportunity to see how each Then, with the greatly improved telescopes of the early where else beyond our planet might similar organisms organ connects with one another, allows Cat. No. S1599S 1900s, astronomers conclusively put an end to the exist? 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Plant Cell S96171 $359.00$359 Present the structure of a typical plant cell with cytoplasm and cell organelles, as viewed from an electron microscope. Meadow Clary S96432 $339.00$339 Sweet Pea Cherry Blossom Engage student’s senses using the Meadow Clary model to teach about S96433 $355.00$355 S68287 $299.00$299 the labiates species. Labiates are often Teach the principals of genetics Use the Cherry Blossom with Fruit used for spices and perfumes. discovered by Gregor Mendel model to reveal the removable using the Sweet Pea model. ovary with style and stigma. American 3B Scientific …going one step further 20 Fisher Science Education Headline Discoveries volume 6, issue 2, fall 2010

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Most people don't realize that the oral cavity, mouthwashes altogether, and let the mouth do its own discovered a mysterious cave on Mars while studying or more commonly known as the mouth, is populated fighting. As a dentist, I recommend a fluoride mouth- images taken by a NASA spacecraft. The students, with more bugs than any other body cavity except wash to my patients, to guard against attack by the all members of Dennis Mitchell’s science class one, which I won't describe further. Other than when bugs and bacteria that cause tooth decay. This is an at Evergreen Middle School in Cottonwood, CA, you were sick with a sore throat or other malady, most area where our mouths could use some help. Actually, discovered lava tubes with a Martian skylight— of these bugs "hold the fort" stopping worse varieties at the strengths used in mouthwash, fluoride does not a single hole in the roof of a cave. from staking a claim. kill bacteria. Instead, the fluoride strengthens the tooth structure, in effect, hardening our defenses and allow- THE PROGRAM AND IMAGES ing the immune system to learn how to do its job and SUPERBUGS The program permits upper elementary and high taking the advantage away from the superbugs that are NASA/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Today, the overuse of antibiotics and antibacterials hard to defend. school students to develop a geological question about such as hand washes and mouthwashes encourage the Mars to answer through research. The students are "This pit is certainly new to us," Cushing told the bad guys to take over. To be more exact, the bad guy's THE GOOD GUYS then allowed to command a Mars-orbiting camera to students. "And it is only the second one known to be great, great, great, great, great, grandkids take over. take a picture that will help them answer their chosen associated with Pavonis Mons." Bugs multiply much faster than we do. We can kill off It is interesting to note that the total number of our question. Since the beginning of the MSIP program in granddad, but the kids continue to charge our ramparts. body’s cells does not exceed the number of co-inhabit- 2004, over 50,000 students have participated. The tubes and caves are thought to be formed during Unfortunately, the kids are immune to whatever we are ing bacterial cells. Scientists who have cracked the hu- volcanic activity when lava channels carved their way throwing at granddad. What most people don't under- man genome are now looking at our bacterial genome. The images were taken by the Mars Odyssey orbiter, through rock, leaving behind “lava tubes” when the stand is that our wonderful immune system, which Good bugs assist many of the life-giving processes that which has been orbiting Mars since 2001 collecting and eruption was over. At some point, sections of the ceiling guards against granddad, must experience his presence occur in our bod- transmitting data and capturing images of the planet’s of the lava tubes collapsed, creating the skylight. in order to learn how to fight him. Yes, even our ies. Scientists are surface. Glen Cushing, a U.S. Geological Survey immune cells must go through a learning process. If we realizing that we scientist who ran a study in 2007 that found similar WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? wipe out the bad guys at the gate, before encountering need to replace features on the planet’s surface, estimated the pit to Following their discovery, the students submitted their our immune cells, there is no learning process on the the bugs that be approximately 620 by 520 feet (190 by 160 meters) site to be investigated further by the High Resolution part of our immune cells. Instead, it is the grandkids broad-spectrum wide and at least 380 feet (115 meters) deep. Imaging Science Experiment (HiRISE) camera located of the bad guys that learn how to breach our hope for pharmaceuticals on NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter. HiRISE may antibiotic and antibacterial defenses. are removing. THE QUESTION BEHIND provide more detailed images, as the camera can take Remember that a THE DISCOVERY MOUTHWASH pictures of the surface at approximately 30 centimeters bug can be a good "The students developed a research project focused on (12 inches) per pixel. As a dentist, I never recommend a mouthwash that kills guy. Unfortunate- finding the most common locations of lava tubes on indiscriminately. Also, some mouthwashes have very ly, our antibiotics Mars," Mitchell said. "Do they occur most often near "The Mars Student Imaging Program is certainly one high alcohol content levels, which is why I recommend and antibacterials the summit of a volcano, on its flanks or the plains of the greatest educational programs ever developed," Listerine® green over the original Listerine mouthwash indiscriminately surrounding it?" The students chose to look closely at Mitchell said. "It gives the students a good understanding to my patients. High alcohol content will unnecessar- kill the good guys the area surrounding Pavonis Mons, a volcano nearly of the way research is conducted and how that research ily dry the mouth’s delicate tissues, and many people along with the twice the height of Mt. Everest, near the equator of can be important for the scientific community. This has are already taking medications with this unwanted side bad guys. Mars. The hole exists on the slope of the volcano. been a wonderful experience."

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