STEM Career: Zoologist & Wildlife Biologist

Who says that STEM careers have to be boring? If studying animas in their natural habitat or estimating plant or wildlife populations sounds interesting to you then a career in zoology and wildlife biology might be for you!

Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists study the origins, behaviors, diseases, genetics, and life processes of animals and wildlife. Some specialize in wildlife research and management, while others may collect and analyze biological data to determine the environmental effects of present and potential use  of land and water habits.

This well-rounded STEM career encompasses knowledge of biology, the English language, math, computers and electronics, and management and administration. Often, Zoologists and Wildlife Biologists have a background in one of the following fields: Animal Physiology; Cellular Biology and Anatomical Sciences; Ecology; Entomology; Wildlife and Wildlands Science and Management.

Based on 2014 wage and employment trends, students who want to pursue a career in the zoology field can expect an annual median salary of $58,270, well above the national median pay for all jobs.

The History of the Microscope

Four hundred years ago, the world of the microscope was unexplored. That means the structure of things like plants and the tissues of animals were a mystery, and there were thousands of other plants and animals that we didn't even know existed! The causes of the diseases could only be hypothesized about and medical science was limited. Antonie van Leeuwenhook's invention of the microscope in the 17th century brought about a revolution in scientific knowledge.

The word microscope comes from the word micro, meaning very small, and scope, meaning an instrument for looking at objects. Anything which is too small to be seen with the naked eye is microscopic.

While it had been known for more than 2,000 years that glass bends light, the fist accurate lenses were not made until around the year 1300. It wasn't until 1600, though, that it was discovered that optical instruments could be made by combining lenses.

Antonie van Leeuwenhook was a Dutch scientist and one of the pioneers of microscopy in the late 17th century. He made his own simple microscopes which had a single lens and were handheld. He made several drawings of what he observed and discovered bacteria, although he didn't know what they were at the time. In the middle of the 17th century, Robert Hooke drew pictures of cork seen through the microscope. Just like van Leeuwenhook, Hooke wasn't sure of exactly what he had seen.

Because of the low glass quality and imperfect shape of the lenses, many early microscopists saw very distorted images. Throughout the 19th century, huge improvements were made to lenses and the microscope as we know it today was gradually developed into a better instrument.

In Honor of Shark Week: Science & Sharks!

It's that time of year again: shark week has dawned on the Discovery Channel and millions are tuning in every night to watch real-life Jaws survival stories and the tale of Megalodon. But what if everything they showed on Discovery Channel wasn't true? Ed Yong of National Geographic certainly doesn't believe that the prehistoric Megalodon that enchanted so many early in the week is true.

He said in an article published on National Geographic's website earlier today, "...the show was filled with lies, fabrications and actors playing scientists."

But if Megalodon isn't real, what is?! Here are some great shark facts that Yong brought to the table.

• Thresher Sharks Hunt with Huge Weapon-like Tails: Though most sharks are most dangerous at their front end, thresher sharks are the exception. These guys have managed to weaponise their tails, making them deadly from the front or the back. Even worse, the top halves of their scythe-like tail fins are so enormous they can be as long as the rest of the shark!
• Shark Dads Lose Babies to Unborn Cannibal Siblings: Inside its mothers' womb, an unborn tiger shark is busy devouring its brothers and sisters. It's just 10 centimeters long, but it already has well-developed eyes and a set of sharp teeth, which it turns against its smaller siblings. By the time the pregnant female gives birth, she only has two babies left - one in each of its two wombs. I guess the life of a tiger shark is a shark-eat-shark world - literally.
• Prehistoric Great White Shark Had Strongest Bite in History: While the toothy jaws of the great white might be the most famous in the animal kingdom thanks to Hollywood, the great white's mouth has received very little experimental attention. Just recently, Stephen Wroe from the University of New South Wales has put the great white's skull through a digital crash-test, to work out just how powerful its bite was. A medium-sized great white, 2.5m in length and 240kg, could bite with a force of 0.3 tonnes. But the largest individuals can exert a massive 1.8 tonnes with their jaws, giving them one of the most powerful bites among any living animal. Cue the scary Jaws music...!

To read even more "actual facts" from Yong, check out his full article.

Science & The 2014 World Cup Ball

Despite all of the buzz surrounding the 2014 World Cup in Brazil, scientists are keeping a very close eye on the ball.

As NPR reported, this year's ball, known as the Brazuca, has been the subject of intense and careful study, especially after the unpredictable performance of of its predecessor in the 2010 tournament in South Africa.

Though traditional soccer balls have 32 black and white panels, the rule book doesn't actually specify how many panels are on the ball or what shape the panels will be. So, in 2006, the maker of the World Cup balls, Adidas, started producing balls with fewer panels. The ball for the South Africa World Cup in 2006 just had eight. 

While Adidas claimed the new ball was state-of-the-art and rounder, John Eric Goff, a physicist at Lynchburg College in Virginia, explained that it got off to a rough start.

"When the players would try to kick the ball straight...there would be an erratic knuckling effect that would take place." 

This would infuriate goalkeepers, one calling it it a "supermarket" soccer ball. After more complaints started filing in, NASA's Ames Research Center in California got involved. After taking a look at the roundness of the 2010 ball, Ames found that the difference in the number of panels had changed the seams between the panels, and that in turn radically altered the ball's behavior. 

Bring on the 2014 World Cup, and Adidas has changed the design of the ball again. Now, it appears that the new ball has longer, deeper seams that keep it from swerving.



Read NPR's full report on the World Cup soccer ball here.

It's Summertime: Melting Ice Experiment

It's that time of year again: school's out for summer! That means your kids are at home and when they're not away at camp or outside enjoying the warm weather, they need something to do. So why not work a little learning into their schedule?

Give this ice melting experiment a try and you'll stay cool in the summer heat. Here's what you'll need:

• Bowls or Dishes (for making the ice)
• A large tray with sides
• Salt
• Liquid watercolors or food coloring
• Droppers or a spoon

Once you have your materials together, get started!

1. Fill all of your bowls or dishes with water and freeze them overnight. Shallow bowls work great with this experiment!
2. The next morning, loosen the ice in the bowls with a little bit of warm water and place them face down on your tray. A large baking sheet that has sides will work fine.
3. Give your kiddos a small bowl of their own salt - and regular table salt works great - and have them sprinkle it over the top of the ice domes.
4. Once you start to see that the salt is melting the ice and little ravines and crevices are forming, bust out the liquid watercolors. (Or water dyed with food coloring.)
5. Put your liquid watercolors in small jars and place one dropper in each.
6. Squeeze the watercolors on the ice in small sections and don't be afraid to use more than one color on an ice dome.
7. Observe how the color highlights all of the ravines, crevasses and tunnels that are forming as the ice melts. 
8. Discuss what reaction takes place that makes the ice melt in the way that it does. 

Once you're all finished, go outside and check out the ice light catchers you created while you watch them melt some more. Throw in another discussion about the differences in the ways that the ice melts when salt is applied and when heat from the sun is applied. 

The Artful Parent did this experiment with her girls. Check out how it went!

What to do with All Those Leftover Peeps: A Dissolving Experiment

Easter has passed and if you're joining in a candy coma, we don't blame you. But if you don't think you could stuff another Peep in your mouth if your life depended on it, we don't blame you there either. Do you wish you could just make those sugar-filled, fluffy marshmallows disappear? Well consider your wish granted: cue the dissolving peep experiment.

Here's what you'll need:

• Water
• Vinegar
• Apple Juice 
• Soda 
• Laundry Detergent 
• Five Clear Glasses
• Five Peeps of your Choice

Once you've gathered the goods, it's time to get started.

1. Start by arranging your glasses on a tray. Add one Peep and one of your five liquids/solvents to each glass and label them. 
2. Now for the hard part: waiting. As you wait to see what will happen to your Peeps, write down predictions - what you think will happen and why.
3. After three hours, check on your marshmallow friends and record what kind of changes you see. At this point, the only thing you should be noticing is color change.
4. After 16 hours, take a peek at your Peeps again and see what's changed. More color change should be occurring, though you might not notice any dissolving yet.
5. On day two, you'll start to see signs of the Peep in the vinegar dissolving, and b day three, you'll notice the Peep in the apple juice starting to dissolve.
6. End your experiment on day four (or keep on keepin'-on if you wish!). Carefully take each Peep out of their respective cup and observe what's left of them.
7. Record what you observe (amount of Peep dissolved, color change, shape change, texture change, etc.) and have your kiddos write down why they think the Peeps reacted differently in each solvent.

If there's too many Peeps in your house for you to count at this point, do the experiment again and try out different solvents!

Three Egg-cellent Science Experiments for Spring!

Easter is just around the corner, but before you start dyeing eggs, experiment with them first! Here are three egg-cellent science experiments from science-sparks.com just in time for spring.

Eggs always break so easily. Or so you thought. To make an egg unbreakable, all you need is cling wrap! Wrap the egg in cling wrap, place it in your palm and close your hand around it so your fingers are completely wrapped around the egg. Squeeze as hard as you can. The egg should remain in one piece and your hands should stay clean. If you're feeling bold, do the same thing without the cling wrap.

Age-old bouncy balls don't have anything on bouncy eggs. To make an egg bounce, place the egg in vinegar for a couple of days to remove the shell. Be careful when you remove the shell and wash the egg - if you puncture the membrane, it will break. To bounce it, drop it carefully from a low height and the egg should bounce back up from the surface. Try bouncing it on different surfaces. Better yet, try to figure our at what height the egg breaks.

Honey, I shrunk the egg! For this experiment you'll need two eggs, water, two glasses, vinegar, sugar and a pin. Get started by removing the shell of the egg after soaking it in vinegar for at least 24 hours as you did when creating a bouncy egg. After you've exposed the membrane, make up a concentrated sugar solution by dissolving sugar into water. Place one egg in water and the other in the sugar solution. Let them sit for 24 hours. You'll notice that the egg in the sugar solution looks much smaller than the one in the water. Prick the egg that was in the water glass with a fine needle and watch a jet of water shoot out! Put the shrunken egg in water and watch as it grows and reabsorbs water (this may take a few hours). 

For seven more eggy experiments, check out the Science Sparks website.

Snow Science & More!

Mother Nature is making it pretty clear that winter isn't over yet, so why not embrace it? Whether you're loving the extended chilly weather or you're so ready for the thaw that you've considered relocating, there's one thing we can all agree on: In all its wonders, snow is pretty fascinating.

Goli Mohammadi of makezine.com put together a great compilation of snow-related projects, a collection of interesting articles on the science of snow, maker-made snow videos, and eye candy snow art. Here are some of our favorites.

THE COMBO SNOW GUN
Mohammadi says it best: "Are you feeling left out of the snowmageddon but live in a cold environment?" Well take a look at how former Make: Labs intern Steven Lemos shows you how to make your own snow gun. This project is a bit on the pricey side, requiring about $90 worth of parts: a few items from your local hardware store, some quality spray nozzles, and access to a pressure washer an an air compressor. Price aside, the end result is impressive.

PHOTOGRAPHING SNOWFLAKES
No, you don't need to rub your eyes. What you're seeing is really what you're seeing. Caltech physics professor Ken Libbrecht is one of the most well-known snowflakes scientists and photographers. Check out the details of his photo-microscope rig and see how you can emulate stunning shots like his.

VIDEO: NIGHT (SNOW) RIDER
Last but not least on our brief list of favorites from Mohammadi's collection is this awesome video from fashion photographer and filmmaker Jacob Sutton, featuring pro snowboarder William Hughes riding the slopes of Tignes in the Rhone-Alpesregion of south-eastern France wearing a suit made by John Spatcher. What better way to light up a snowy night than to slash deep powder turns with a custom LED suit, right?!



For nine more snowy projects and much more snow science, videos and art, check out Mohammadi's full article.

The Science Behind the Olympic Torch

It's that time again. The time that the world anxiously awaits to come every couple of years. With an opening ceremony that has been guaranteed to awe, tonight marks the beginning of the XXII Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia.

At the center of the games, whether they be winter or summer competitions, is always one thing: the Olympic torch. So how do you ensure that the torch stands up to the elements; remaining reliable in difficult conditions like strong winds, heavy snows, or any surprises that a Russian winter can throw up? Well, with science and a great team of designers and engineers of course!

This year's Olympics torch is red, the traditional color of Russian sport. Getting away from aesthetics, the designers of the Sochi torch paid specific attention to the torch's construction and flame lighting system, ensuring that it remains lit. 

The body of the torch is made of aluminum. The color is light silver, and the finish is a low-dispersion matte. The torch's handle and central decorative stand are cast using a high-density, highly transparent polymer. 

The designers didn't forget about the carriers of the torch! The torch weighs nearly 1.8 kg, is 0.95 m tall and 54 mm wide. Its weight and center of gravity were carefully calculated to make the torch as comfortable as possible to carrying while running. Learn more about the 22nd Winter Olympics torch here.

Looking back to the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, engineers made sure that the torch would be able to cope with British weather conditions by testing it at BMW's  Energy and Environment Test Center in Munich. Take a look at their impressive results.

Science Mystery: Valentine Vexation

What's sweeter than a good, ol' fashioned mystery? This entertaining and educational mystery was selected from the book One Minute Mysteries: 65 Short Mysteries You Solve with Science and put out by Science, Naturally. Great for kids, grown-ups, educators, and any one who loves good mysteries, try your science sleuthing skills at this one!

Mystery #11: General Science
Valentine Vexation

The school student council was putting up decorations for the Valentine's Day party later that day in the multi-purpose room.

Elinor came into the room a bit late. As council president, she had been talking with the principal about some of the details.

Her friends were sitting around a table, blowing up balloons and snacking on the food some parents had brought. Soo was sipping fruit punch, Jada had a cupcake, Olivia was munching on carrot sticks and Cimone was eating a peanut butter sandwich. As each girl blew up a balloon, she used a marker to decorate it.

When they finished, Soo headed off to a corner to put up pink streamers while Cimone started to arrange flowers on the tabletops. Elinor, Jada, and Olivia gathered up some red, pink and white balloons and started to tape them onto the walls.

As she was getting ready to tape up one of the balloons, Elinor saw that a message had been written on it: "Elinor likes Gary."

"Who did this?" Elinor called out.

"That's for us to know and you to find out," Olivia said.

"I will find out," Elinor said, taking the balloon out into the hallway.

She soon returned and said, "Okay, Cimone, confess. I know you did it."

"How do you know," Jada asked?

Can you figure out how Elinor knows? Here's the answer:
"In the hallway, I unknotted the balloon and let the air out slowly, sniffing it as it came out," Elinor said. "I knew that the air in the balloon would smell like anything that was on the breath of the person who blew it up. The air smelled like peanut butter."

You can find the January mystery on Science, Naturally's website.

The Science Behind New Year's Resolutions

Almost half of Americans set a new year's resolution each year, however just a mere 10 percent of them are actually successful. Not surprisingly, at the top of the list of popular resolutions are lose weight, quit smoking, get out of debt and spend more time with family. Possibly a bit more surprising, here are some scientifically supported techniques to increase your chances of success this year!

1. Don't keep too many resolutions at once.

• In an experiment performed at Stanford, one group of students was given a two-digit number to memorize, while the other group was given a seven-digit number to remember. Then, each student was asked to walk down a hallway while keeping their respective number in mind. Once they got to the end, each student was given the opportunity to eat a piece of cake or fruit salad. The study found that the seven-digit memorizers were practically twice as likely to choose the slice of cake (like memorizing the extra numbers took up "good decision making" space in their brain). That being said, pick one or two key goals for 2014 and you'll be much more likely to achieve them.

2. Set Specific Goals (really specific).

• In health behavior change and maintenance studies, the effects of setting specific, difficult goals leads to higher performance when compared with no goals or vague, unmeasurable goals like, "do your best."  So, here's how you can apply this rule: The harder the goal, the more imperative it is that be specific and set measurable goals and write them down. For example, if it's losing weight you're trying to do, set a realistic and specific goal of how much weight you want to lose (i.e. 10 pounds) by what a certain date (i.e. April).

3. Focus on the carrot, not the stick.

• A review by faculty members at the University of Chicago Booth School of business concludes that, for people who are new to certain goals, receiving positive feedback causes them to be more likely to adhere to a new task. Since you're not an expert at your newly declared resolution, don't underestimate the power of being positive and encouraging yourself about your progress. Instead of dreading an extra monthly payment on a loan, think about how much quicker the balance on the loan is shrinking and all the things you'll be able to do when the loan is paid off.

4. Tell Some Friends and Family.

• An experiment conducted on the effects of social support at the workplace found that weak social support often leads to elevated levels of heart rate cortisol, which are indicators of anxiety and stress. It goes unsaid that having the support of others is really important when trying to accomplish a goal, though many people forget about this. Increase your chances of success by telling a few supportive individuals in your life about your resolution - they won't only be your cheering section, they'll be there to celebrate when you achieve what you set out to do.

Now that you have some scientifically based rules for accomplishing your resolution, go out and put them to use.  Good luck!

How Science Changed the World in 2013

http://mashable.com/2013/12/04/innovations-world-2013/

Mashable's "10 Innovations That Improved the Word in 2013" list is out, and some of the innovations you have to see to believe.

Topping the list at number one is the lab grown hamburger. Yes, you read that right: lab grown. It may have cost $330,000 to develop, but thanks to a major investment from Google co-founder Sergey Brin the world saw its first lab grown burger in August. It took researchers at the Netherland's Maastricht University five years to develop the patty, which was created using 20,000 protein strands grown from stem cells taken from a cow's shoulder. Hello, scientific solution to the increasing global demand for meat!

Google Glass is number two and the beef tendon condom is a strong number three, though the invisible bike helmet that doubles as an airbag at number eight is impressive. Hovdig is a discreet helmet cyclists wear around their necks that inflates like an airbag in the event of an accident. While skeptics think this option sounds a bit riskier than a traditional bike helmet, Hovdig claims its not-so-noticeable helmet offers the best shock absorption in the world.

Just about finishing out the list at number nine is a tremor-reducing spoon for people with Parkinson's.  Check out the entire list. 

Halloween Experiment: Haunted, Screaming Cup!

If you think haunted houses are scary, you're definitely going to want to make haunted drinkware tonight! If you'd rather scare than be scared, invite some friends over and get them spooked by making the cup scream where they can't see it!

Here's what you'll need:

• A plastic drinking cup
• Yarn or cotton string (nylon string won't work as well)
• 1 paper clip
• 1 paper towel
• 1 nail
• Scissors 
• Water

Not let's get started!

1. Cut a piece of yarn that measures about 20 inches.
2. Carefully punch a hole in the center of the bottom of the cup with the nail.
3. Tie one end of the yarn to the middle of the paper clip.
4. Push the other end of the yarn through the hole you punched in the bottom of the cup and pull it through.
5. Get a piece of paper towel about the size of a dollar bill. Fold it once and get it damp in the water.
6. Now it's time to make the cup scream! Hold the cup firmly in one hand and wrap the damp paper towel around the string near the cup. While you squeeze the string, pull down in one continuous motion so that the paper towel tightly slides along the string.

What about the science? This is how a sounding board works. The vibrations from the string would practically be mute without the cup, but when you add the cup, it spreads the vibrations and amplifies them.

Check out Science Bob's video of this experiment. Here, he pulls the string in short jerks to make it sound like a chicken.

Economic Stimulus Package Advances Science

Though the economic stimulus didn't do much for those actually suffering during the recession, it did pave the way for some great memories in the field of science. When scientists look back on the Great Recession, they'll think of better solar panel technology, a move toward an HIV vaccine and a hive of robotic bees.

As Katie Worth of Slate reports, those are just some of the advances that were made when the government started pumping megabucks into science while trying to reverse an economic downturn at the beginning of 2009. 

Of the $800 billion in stimulus funds, one third of it tried to create jobs and invest in infrastructure and innovation by funding shovel-ready projects - or in the case of science, microscope-ready projects. This led The National Science Foundation to the purchase of a long-wanted Arctic research vessel. NASA spent around $160 million designing a next-generation crewed space shuttle. Close to every research university in America scored new lab equipment. The cancer genome was expanded and electric cars were improved.

For all the scientific projects that lacked validation, there were others that would benefit the country in the long run: The world's largest photovoltaic solar plant and wind farm were financed. Research tested new treatment strategies for Alzheimer's disease.

All of the stimulus grant money had to be spent by Sept. 30, and any unspent money had to be returned to the government. Of course there were a handful of exceptions.

So now that the stimulus money has been put to use, the question remains: Did it stimulate? If you ask the government, they'll say yes. The main goal of the stimulus was to create jobs and it certainly did that.

The stimulus also silently spurred advances in science and healthcare. The agencies and organizations that received and dished out the funds say that the results speak for themselves. The National Institutes for Health (NIH), for example, received more than $10 billion and developed new strategies for the treatment of alcoholism, better approaches to fight childhood obesity and a new national database for autism research just to name a few. Even better, the stimulus money and extra projects created more jobs within NIH.

Though it's up for speculation, it's important to note that had the projects not been funded by the government through the stimulus, it's possible they wouldn't have been funded for quite a while.

To check out some of the projects that angered conservatives (like the measuring of duck genitalia, a study on how men feel about condoms and a different study that gave cocaine to monkeys) check out Worth's full report. Here you can also find commentary from experts and other projects that advanced the science realm. 

Kitchen Experiment: Magic Ketchup

What would your little minds think if you told them that they could make a pack of ketchup float and sink at their command while it was sealed inside a one liter bottle? I know, they'd tell you that that was impossible! Lucky for you, you can work with them to prove them wrong and teach them a little about buoyancy and density in the process. Sounds like a win-win to me.

So let's get started! Here's what you'll need:

• 1 liter plastic bottle
• Ketchup packet from a fast food restaurant
• Salt (using Kosher salt will keep your water from become foggy)

Here's what you'll do:

1. Remove all labels from the plastic bottle and fill it to the top with water.
2. Add the ketchup pack to the bottle.
3. If the ketchup packet floats, you're ready to move on to step four. If the ketchup packet doesn't float and starts to sink, skip to step five.
4. For the floating ketchup packet, simply screw the cap on the bottle and squeeze the sides of the bottle hard. If the ketchup sinks when you squeeze it and floats when you release it, you're in business and ready to show off your magical powers! If it doesn't sink when  you squeeze the bottle, try a different ketchup packet or a mustard or soy sauce packet.
5. If the ketchup packet sunk when you put it in the bottle, add around 3 tbsp. of salt to the bottle and shake it until the salt dissolves.
6. Continuing adding sale a few tablespoons at a time until the ketchup packet is just barely floating at the top.
7. Once it's consistently floating, make sure the bottle is filled to the top with water and then cap it tightly.
8. Now squeeze the bottle. The magic ketchup should sink when you squeeze the bottle and float up when you release it. If you get really good, you can get it to stop in the middle of the bottle!

So how does it work? What' behind the magic? This entire experiment revolves around two things: buoyancy and density. Buoyancy describes whether objects float or sink and density deals with the amount of mass in an object. Adding salt to the water adjusted its density and got the ketchup packet to float. There is a little bubble inside of the ketchup packet and, since we know bubbles float, this bubble is what keeps the packet from sinking. But when you squeeze the bottle, you put pressure on the packet that results in  the bubble getting smaller and the packet becoming more dense. Thus, it sinks. When you release the pressure the bubble expands, the packet becomes less dense and more buoyant and floats back to the top.

To take this experiment to the next level, try answering these questions:

1. Do different food packets (ketchup, mustard, soy sauce, relish, mayo, etc.) have the same density?
2. Does the temperature of the water affect the density of the ketchup packet?
3. Does the size of the bottle affect how much you have to squeeze to get the packet to sink?

Telling Whiskeys Apart Scientifically

PopSci reported earlier today that food science researchers at the University of California at Davis have been studying different whiskies to determine whether they can tell them apart, scientifically. Though determining the difference between a Scotch and Irish whiskey isn't as easy as determining the difference between Scottish and American English accents, the university's research director Thomas Collins explained today at the American Chemical Society's annual meeting that they're well on their way.

As reported by PopSci, Collins said, "Right now, we can do a pretty good job of separating, for example, Scotch whiskies from bourbons and other American whiskeys and also Canadian and Irish whiskeys. When you narrow it down into whiskeys from a particular region, the process gets a little more difficult because they're more similar to each other," Collins explained during the talk which was recorded by the American Chemical Society. 

In the future, Collins hopes that he and his team can relay to distillers best practices that make for the best whiskey. Right now, distinguishing one whiskey from another is all about chemical reactions! The major chemicals that Collins' team uses to tell whiskeys apart include some that come from grain, some from the fermentation process and some from the wood barrel in which whiskey ages.

To find out how many concentrated chemicals are used to determine any two given whiskeys from one another or to figure out how many whiskeys Collins and his team analyzed, read the full PopSci report.

'Science' Moving on Up as Most Important School Subject

There's good news for all you science lovers out there: a new Gallup poll finds that three times as many Americans now say science is the most valuable school subject (MVS) than did so more than a decade ago. As reported by LiveScience on Mashable, science bumped out history for the third spot behind No. 1 math and No. 2 language arts as the school subject that has been most valuable to Americans' lives. This is exciting news!

In the new Gallup poll conducted earlier this month (Aug. 7-11), 12 percent of respondents mentioned "science/physics/biology" as the MVS. In the same poll conducted in 2002, a mere 4 percent felt the same way.

Interestingly enough, it appears that education and gender played a part in affecting people's answers. Respondents who had high levels of education were less likely to choose math as the MVS. Likewise, men were more apt than women to give math the top spot - 40 percent versus 28 percent, respectively. Men were also more likely than women to choose science as most valuable.

The poll results are based on phone interviews with a random sample of 2,059 Americans, ages 18 and over, from all 50 U.S. states and Washington D.C. Results were weighted so they were nationally representative. Further, respondents were allowed to look back at their entire education when gauging the value of subjects, including elementary all the way through postgraduate school.

For more information on the poll results and to see specific excerpts and statements from the Galllup statement, check out the Mashable article. The importance of science is making a name for itself and we're moving in the right direction!

It's Shark Week: Sharks and Science!

It's that time of year again: shark week has dawned on the Discovery Channel and millions are tuning in every night to watch real-life Jaws survival stories and the tale of Megalodon. But what if everything they showed on Discovery Channel wasn't true? Ed Yong of National Geographic certainly doesn't believe that the prehistoric Megalodon that enchanted so many early in the week is true.

He said in an article published on National Geographic's website earlier today, "...the show was filled with lies, fabrications and actors playing scientists."

But if Megalodon isn't real, what is?! Here are some great shark facts that Yong brought to the table.

• Thresher Sharks Hunt with Huge Weapon-like Tails: Though most sharks are most dangerous at their front end, thresher sharks are the exception. These guys have managed to weaponise their tails, making them deadly from the front or the back. Even worse, the top halves of their scythe-like tail fins are so enormous they can be as long as the rest of the shark!
• Shark Dads Lose Babies to Unborn Cannibal Siblings: Inside its mothers' womb, an unborn tiger shark is busy devouring its brothers and sisters. It's just 10 centimeters long, but it already has well-developed eyes and a set of sharp teeth, which it turns against its smaller siblings. By the time the pregnant female gives birth, she only has two babies left - one in each of its two wombs. I guess the life of a tiger shark is a shark-eat-shark world - literally.
• Prehistoric Great White Shark Had Strongest Bite in History: While the toothy jaws of the great white might be the most famous in the animal kingdom thanks to Hollywood, the great white's mouth has received very little experimental attention. Just recently, Stephen Wroe from the University of New South Wales has put the great white's skull through a digital crash-test, to work out just how powerful its bite was. A medium-sized great white, 2.5m in length and 240kg, could bite with a force of 0.3 tonnes. But the largest individuals can exert a massive 1.8 tonnes with their jaws, giving them one of the most powerful bites among any living animal. Cue the scary Jaws music...!

To read even more "actual facts" from Yong, check out his full article.

Summer Science Experiment: Mystery Markers!

Summer heat is officially taking over. Since your youngsters can't spend all day outside, bring them inside and embrace their inquisitive side with another summer time experiment that you can do right inside your kitchen. Even better, you'll enjoy this experiment as much as your kids will.

Here's what you'll need:

• Bowl of water
• Plain white paper towels, cut into strips
• 3 or more different markers, including black (non-primary colors work best)

When you have all your materials together, get started!

1. Draw a wavy line an inch from the bottom of each towel strip, using different color markers on each one. Make sure you note which color is on which strip.
2. Dip each strip in to the water so that the bottom edge of the paper towel is submerged, but not the line of marker ink. Hold the strip in place as the water creeps up the paper towel.
3. The marker ink will spread, revealing the different types of dye that make up each color. The young minds around you will this it's magic!

The lesson here is that most colors are actually made up of several different colors or dyes. Science-ly speaking:  as the paper towel draws the water out of the bowl, the water molecules bond with the different ink molecules and spread them. The process of separating these dyes is known as chromatography. 

To make it really interesting, have your young scientist cover up their eyes while you draw a line on a fresh paper towel strip. Dip it in the water and, once the ink has spread, have them open their eyes and try to guess which marker you used!

Capture, Label & Report Using MoticNet

Are you looking to network your classroom? The digital era has brought technology to everything - even science! MoticNet is designed for and inspired by the success of digital microscopy and technology in science classrooms. MoticNet allows digital microscopes to be linked so that one teacher can have full and instant access to any student at any time.

If you've already networked your classroom, take a look at this video to touch up your skills on using MoticNet to capture, label and report in you classroom! If you haven't used MoticNet before, the possibilities really are endless. Integrating science with technology and even incorporating literacy, MoticNet helps you provide your students with a well-rounded lesson. Check it out!