Response Blog to October Sky

A while back, me and at least 100-140 young men and women experienced the thrill of watching, "October Sky". This fascinating and true story was about a teenager named Homer, a son of a coal miner, living in a small coal mining town. In the beginning, a satellite named the Sputnik, created and launched by the Russians came into view for a brief moment in time. As soon as the Sputnik was in sight, Homer knew what he wanted to do, he wanted to build a rocket. Firstly, Homer had to build a model rocket, and with the help of his friends and fellow town people, he succeeded. At first, Homer thought it would be easier than it was, but he was wrong. To start things off, in order to make a model rocket that would launch with success, math would be a key factor. Math was key to making a rocket because it would help Homer find the right amount of power that would be needed to launch the rocket and the extra parts he would ultimately need to add as well. Also, science was involved too. Science was used so Homer can use a substance that wouldn't be too heavy, and would also have to ignite. On top of that, Homer was accused of starting a fire by the sheriff because the sheriff assumed that since he and his friends were launching rockets, that they started the fire. Consequently, Homer had to go work in the mines with his father, who was already furious that Homer was making rockets instead of working in the mines with him! Working in the mines was an extremely dangerous and possibly deadly job. Firstly, you can die by inhaling too much dust that's floating in the mines or, if the entire coal mine collapses. As stated before, Homer used math to calculate the trajectory of the rocket and where it would land. Homer realised that he didn't start the fire but a flare from a nearby airport was carried in a zephyr and started the fire. Ultimately, Homer ended up working for NASA and helped them design a rocket ship. Later, he retired from NASA and became an author and wrote about his challenges. This movie was not only great, but it was also inspiring. It made me think that if Homer, a boy from a small coal mining town, accomplished a goal that great, so can I. Finally, the movie,"October Sky" was a great and powerful movie, and I think that everyone should watch it.

Response Blog to Sickle Cell Anemia xD

Recently, I have learned about a horrible and common disease that's on planet Earth, sickle cell anemia. Sickle cell anemia was acknowledged by Africans in the 1870s but, the first patient was known in Chicago Illinois in 1904. Having this disease means that your blood cells are in the sickle shape. According to the publisher, you become malaria prone but, your life span is 42 years for a man and 48 for a woman. This blog was very clear about what sickle cell anemia is, what it can do and who it can effect. I feel so sad for the people with this terrible and incurable disease. Finally, this disease is terrible and anyone with this disease, I feel bad for them.

Tay Sachs Disease =(

There is a terrible disease that is on Earth, and it is known as Tay Sachs disease. This disease was discovered by Warren Tay, a British opthamologist, who described the red spot on the retina in 1881. As you may know, the symptoms for Tay Sachs is a "cherry -red" spot in the retina( or the back of the eye). Infants with Tay Sachs disease can become blind, deaf and unable to swallow because of nerve cells becoming distended with gangliosides, a relentless deterioration of mental and physical abilities occur. Muscles begin to atrophy and paralysis set in. Finally, death occurs at the age of 4. Also, it's rare if a juvenile gets it(2-10 years) and develop speech and swallowing difficulties and spasticity. Then, they usually die between 5-15 years old. Unfortunately, there is no cure for this fatal disease. Infants mortality rate is 4, juveniles 5-15 and adults is 20s to early 30s. 1 out of every 250 people will develope Tay Sachs disease and 16 in the U.S. will develop it too. Mostly, it's more common in Jewish people because of their origin. 95% of Ashkenazi Jews are carriers. Tay Sachs occur when the absence of a vital enzyme called hexosaminidase A. It's the absence of Hex-A(hexosaminidase A), a fatty substance or lipid called GM2 ganglioside accumulates abnormally in cells, especially in the nerve cells of a brain. This ongoing accumulation results in ongoing damage to the cells. Worst of all, absolutely nothing can treat it nor cure it. In my opinion, more people internationally should become aware about Tay Sachs disease. Also, more fundraisers for Tay Sachs research should take place to try to find a cure for this cure less disease. This disease takes too many lives, and we(the people of the United States and people of other countries around the world)need to put our differences aside and find a cure.

Cool Fish!

At the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute, researchers have solved the mystery of a rare fish. This fish isn't any ordinary fish, this fish has tubular eyes and a transparent head. Ever since they found this fish in 1939, marine biologist have known that its magnificent eyes are great at collecting light. What makes it awkward, is that the fish lives in a pitch black environment! The fish was named the"barreleye"because of the shapes of its eyes. The fishes eyes provide a "tunnel-vision" view of everything directly above its head. The eyes on this mysterious fish can rotate inside the fishes head through a transparent shield. Thus, it allows the fish to peer up at potential prey, or focus on its food. In my opinion, this fish probably looks around like it has eyes like us. All in all, this fish is mysterious and and to solve a mystery a fish like this, they deserve kudos.

Iran is ready to test a nuclear power plant (S.S.)

Iran's first nuclear power plant will undergo testing in front of Russian and Iranian officials. During the testing, they plan to use "dummy" fuel rods without enriched uranium and are planing to test all the plant's systems. ISNA quoted Khazaneh, a former adviser to the IAEO(Iran's Atomic Energy Organization) saying,"then the next tests, with fuel rods containing enriched uranium, will take place near the end of 2009". Numerous countries, including the United States, are concerned that Iran are going to use the nuclear power plant to make nuclear weapons but, Iran says its for peaceful purpose's. On top of that, countries are primarily concerned because Iran has enough uranium to create a nuclear bomb. All in all, Iran wants to use the nuclear power plant for peace and not to make a nuclear bomb.

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Amazingly BIG SNAKE!!!!!!!!!!!

Scientist in Columbia have unearthed the remains of perhaps the biggest snake that lived on Earth. They named this snake insane snake Titanoboa cerrejonensis. The scientist say that the snake would've weighed 2,500 pounds and would be 42.7 feet from head to tail, but it would also come up to your hips! Supposedly, the snake lived on Earth 58 to 60 million years ago. In order for a snake that big to live, the average temperature in its habitat would have to be 91 degrees Fahrenheit. In my opinion, I would not like to be around if that snake shows its head again. Most importantly, with the information that the scientist provided, I believe a snake of that size would've been able to be alive on Earth. Finally, Columbia's scientist discovering that massive snakes inhabited Earth and I believe they did too.

South Brunswick Snow!

Beautiful South Brunswick New Jersey, experienced snow from 3:00 pm on February third till 1:00 am today. All of the snow resulted in three inches of white, glistening snow! The kids enjoyed playing in the snow but, the adults grabbed shovels and and started shoveling. It resulted in a ninety minute school delay! On the other hand, the snow covered roads resulted in tough driving conditions. On the bright side, trucks plowed, salted and sand the roads to make driving way easier. Finally, the snow that South Brunswick received was good and bad.

How infrared help?

Infrared waves help in numerous ways. But, I will focus on how it helps to see at night. Firstly, infrared waves help detect different temperatures and the temperatures come in on the camera in colors. The cooler the object, the darker the color(blue, purple) and the hotter the object, the brighter the color(red,yellow, bright green). For example, if scientist are making a documentary on elephants and they want to track them during at night, they can use infrared to track their body heat to find out where they are. Also, the army can use infrared at night to pinpoint enemy the enemy's position so they could take them out. In my opinion, infrared can help in many ways, but as you can see, it is very helpful at night.

The inauguration of Barack Obama

On Tuesday, January 20, 2009 the United States experienced their new president Barack Obama. This inauguration was one to remember because he made history by being the first black president. He wasn't the only one that was sworn in that day. Joe Biden was chosen to be his running mate and because Obama won, he became the Vice President of the United States. Now George W Bush and Dick Cheney are out of the white house, the question is, who will do a better job at being president and vice president of the United States?

Firstly, the first thing Obama plans on doing once he is in office is shutting down Guantanamo Bay. Then, Obama still wants to keep U.S. troops in Iraq for the sixteen more months. On top of that, when Biden came back from Afghanistan and told Obama," The truth is that things are going to get tougher in Afghanistan before they're going to get better." With that in mind, Obama thinks that he can win in Afghanistan, which defies what everyone believes. I think that Obama will be able to undo what Bush did and make America better again. All in all, Barack and Biden have big plans for the United States.

The terrible economy is what many believe is all Bush's fault. All of the messes Bush created, he left for Obama to fix. The war in Iraq and the economy are the most famous messes Bush and Cheney created. Bush kept on sending troops to Iraq for years and we got no where. Most important, he was the president when we got the terrible economy that we have now. As a result,he left millions of citizens without a job. I think that Bush didn't do as good of a job that he should of done, and he dug America into a deep hole that would be hard to get out of.

In my opinion, the inauguration of Barack Obama was marvelous. After all, me and millions of other people saw history in the making. I think that Barack Obama and Joe Biden will do marvelous at leading the country and do better than Bush and Cheney. Out with old and in with new is a good way of saying we need a new president in my opinion. Finally, I think having Obama as president will do wonders for America, and like he said, "It's time for a change."

Does !NEW! nano-coating BOOST SoLaR EFFiCiENCY???

They say that the new nano-coating boosts solar efficiency, does it? The new coating allows solar panels to absorb sunlight from almost every angle. We can thank scientists from Future Chips Constellation (FCC) for creating the coating by using nanotechnology. The FCC team found out that by stacking coatings(Consisting of silicon dioxide and titanium dioxide nanorods positioned at oblique angles) on top of each other which enhances anti-reflected properties of each layer. Having more layers helps to "bend" the flow of sunlight which ultimately helps the solar panels capture sunlight that would have been reflected off. All in all, the new nano-coating helps to increase solar efficiency and boost solar energy. I believe from the information that I have read had me believe that the new nano-technology can boost solar technology.