Fun School Tests March 3, 2008
Posted by Miss Weird Scientist in Easy As Pie, Psychology and Behavior.Tags: education, school, tests, Who Wants To Be A Millionaire
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Now, now, don’t run away from your computer after reading the title. It’s apparently true. School tests can be fun. Nope, neither your teacher nor the government paid me to say that!
Tzu-Hua Wang at the National Hsinchu University of Education in Taiwan came up with a really super idea. He created a Web-based multiple-choice test that is guided by the fun stuff in the popular television show Who Wants To Be A Millionaire. He figured that instead of using the usual, boring multiple-choice tests that our education system seems to adore so much, comprehension levels in students could get a much needed boost by tweaking the traditional test a bit. His work was published in the journal Computers and Education.
While you might normally have cringed to see the word above, the new Web-based test developed by Wang could put some punch back into the traditional, bland school assessments.
Let’s Play A Game
The test itself allows students to do the usual game show stuff like phone a friend or ask the class for help. They can also eliminate two of the false answers, just like you can in the actual game show. Overall, kids seemed to be down with getting quizzed when it involved Wang’s lively test system. Better still, their comprehension levels were higher after playing the game, which shows that Wang’s idea has exciting potential for use in the education system.
My Complaint
The only problem I have with Wang’s game, however, is the fact that you don’t get to win any money. Mind you, if kids really could become millionaires while also improving their comprehension, I think myself and many other adults would be galloping back to school with the hope that we could play. Plus, your parents would bug you to study even more if there was a chance you could be buying them a very nice birthday present!
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Effortless Thinking February 27, 2008
Posted by Miss Weird Scientist in Easy As Pie, Psychology and Behavior, Science and Politics, Science in the Media.Tags: cartoons, consumer, materialism, science
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Sometimes I wonder if people are becoming too lazy to think. We’re a society that likes to buy virtually everything. Will thoughts be for sale too? I think this cartoon by New Zealand cartoonist Nick Kim sums it up perfectly.
Credit: Nick Kim.
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A House With A Conscience February 25, 2008
Posted by Miss Weird Scientist in Easy As Pie, Environment.Tags: building, green, home, nature
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Credit: Simon Dale.
Behold a house that actually cares! Well, sort of! This is a family home in Wales that was built by Simon Dale and his father-in-law. There was also some help from the rest of the family and various people who passed by during the course of the work. According to Simon:
Being your own (have a go) architect is a lot of fun and allows you to create and enjoy something which is part of yourself and the land rather than, at worst, a mass produced box designed for maximum profit and convenience of the construction industry. Building from natural materials does away with producers profits and the cocktail of carcinogenic poisons that fill most modern buildings.
The home took approximately four months to build and required an estimated cost of £3000 ($6000 Cdn) and 1500 man hours. The aim of the project was to build a house while simultaneously respecting nature and using natural materials.
Making It Work
The house was built with attention to an underlying motto from Simon, which is that anything a person could possibly need will be found somewhere in a pile of garbage. The floors were made from reclaimed wood and the fridge keeps cool because of air that flows underground through the foundations. A massive skylight in the roof keeps the home brightly lit during the day, without the need for electricity.
If you’re like me, you were also maybe wondering about the bathroom? Well, it really is back to nature for this one! The house has a compost toilet. What about those gadgets like your computer? To provide energy, the house uses solar panels for lighting, music and computing. But how does the family deal with the icy Welsh winters? Given that I’m currently living in Cardiff, Wales – I know all too well about the freezing winters! That’s where the wood-burning stove comes in, allowing the family to obtain heating that is renewable and abundant.
Virtually Anyone Can Build It
Anyone at all? According to Simon, it’s true! You might have been thinking that he must be a builder but nope, that is not the case. Simon explains:
Oh, and by the way I am not a builder or carpenter, my experience is only having a go at one similar house two years before and a bit of mucking around in between. This kind of building is accessible to anyone. My main relevant skills were being able bodied, having self belief, perseverance and a mate or two to give a lift now and again.
Now that is a super fabulous example of doing something different and challenging. Not only does the home preserve the surrounding environment, but it also sets a cool example to others by showing how we can all find positive ways to impact our environment.
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Life In A Shell February 19, 2008
Posted by Miss Weird Scientist in Easy As Pie, Neat Science Jobs, Science in the Media, Technology.Tags: architecture, house, shell
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Future architects, take note! If you’ve ever thought that being an architect might be a cool job, I’ll give you one more reason. You can create some of the coolest designs with a bit – or a lot – of imagination and the right client.
The habitants of this very cool ‘shell house,’ are a young couple with two kids. They originally lived in a traditional house – one most of us would call normal – before deciding that they needed a change. To spice things up, they worked with an architect to create a home that was nicely tuned in with nature. The special idea was for each member of the family to feel almost like a snail, moving with ease from one room to another in the spectacular abode. The house itself is called Nautilus and was created by architects at Senosiain Arquitectos.
Credit: World Architecture News.
If you see architecture as being a job you would enjoy, the classes to focus on in high school are physics, mathematics and, of course, art. Now hop to it! I’m still hoping for a dream house made of some special melt-proof chocolate. I have faith that one day, such chocolate will exist. Perhaps I can hire one of my readers to design it for me sometime in the near future. I’ll even pay extra if you can add in some white chocolate!
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Eat Or Be Eaten February 5, 2008
Posted by Miss Weird Scientist in Animals, Easy As Pie.Tags: battle, food, snakes
2 comments
Credit: National Geographic.
You might want to eat your lunch before watching this video. It could put a dampener on your appetite. That is, unless your taste buds are a fan of scales!
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A Human Nose Like You Have Never Seen It January 25, 2008
Posted by Miss Weird Scientist in Diseases, Easy As Pie, Human Body.Tags: contest, nose, picture, scan
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Credit: Dr Kai-hung Fung of Pamela Youde Nethersole Eastern Hospital in Hong Kong.
Who would have imagined that the examination of a 33-year-old Chinese woman for thyroid disease would result in the picture shown above? Dr Kai-hung Fung was a co-winner in the photography category for the 2007 International Science and Engineering Visualization Challenge. The contest is sponsored by the journal Science and the National Science Foundation. The picture is actually a computed tomography (CT) scan image that shows the intricate parts of the human nose. Fung described why he chose to use this particular woman for the scan:
[She had] a very straight nasal septum and wavy maxillary sinuses. The anatomy was exceptionally beautiful.
To actually create the stunning image, Fung layered 182 CT images to create the multi-dimensional image you see above, where you’re actually looking upward at the sinuses from underneath the head. If you’re curious to see other winning pictures and read all about the contest, you can see more here.
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Cleaning Up Cuts January 23, 2008
Posted by Miss Weird Scientist in Easy As Pie, Human Body, Microbes.Tags: infection, saline, tap water
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Oooow. Wounds are never fun and they are a big part of medical care. On top of that, it can be a challenge to keep them free from infection while also promoting healing. So, how are wounds kept clean? Antiseptic? Tap water? Salt water? Nothing at all? There has been some debate for a while now about the best way to clean a cut, which can ensure that it heals effectively and doesn’t get infected. As with many things in science, it’s hard to get all of those bickering scientists to agree!
Fixing Up That Cut
Some studies have shown that using an antiseptic seems to slow down the rate of healing, which has prompted others to recommend using saline – also known as salt water. But there’s another concern about saline as well. It’s thought that saline could wash away some of the important growth promoters and white blood cells. This means that healing could slow and your body’s natural ability to fight infection with white blood cells could be compromised by using saline. Others have addressed the issues regarding saline and antiseptic with a completely different suggestion. Tap water! The idea is to use tap water or clean, boiled water.
Tell Me More
According to a Cochrane Review, using tap water to clean wounds does not increase infection rates. Keep in mind, however, that it also doesn’t reduce the infection rate or increase the rate of healing in comparison with doing nothing at all – basically leaving the wound alone. Researchers checked out eleven trials that compared healing and infection rates from a range of cleaning styles. Wounds that were cleaned with tap water had fewer infections in comparison with those cleaned with saline. But, as I mentioned earlier, there wasn’t any difference between the wounds cleaned with tap water and those that weren’t cleaned at all. According to Ritin Fernandez, the main author of the study who works at the Centre for Applied Nursing Research in Liverpool, Australia:
The decision to use tap water to cleanse wounds should take into account the quality of water, nature of wounds and the patient’s general condition.
Your Skin Is A Barrier
Plain and simple – wounds hurt! If infection strikes, the pain increases and other complications can occur. Slow healing is also a problem because it means that one of your most important barriers to microbes and viruses is not in its toughest state. Fortunately, we’ve got researchers studying our wounds to find out the best way to treat them and get our skin back to its healthiest, protective form. Now, if only they could find a way to quiet the babies like me who squeal from even the smallest paper-cut!
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Science With A Beat January 22, 2008
Posted by Miss Weird Scientist in Easy As Pie, Evolution, Science and Politics.Tags: art, lyrics, poetry, science
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My regular readers know that every once in a while, I like to show focused cartoons because they are a fun medium for sharing science. There are many other mediums as well that blur the boundaries between art and science. Some might even suggest that no boundaries exist at all and that art is simply an underused medium in the science field. Either way, I appreciate the different approaches to communicating science and controversy.
Scott Shewchuk, a friend of mine, enjoys writing lyrics. It’s a way for him to express his passion about some of the issues going on in the world. We recently had a banter about how lyrics – with or without song – are a creative, poetic way to share science and opinion. I asked him if he would write something for the weird science blog. Ten minutes later, he sent me the lyrics below.
Does the debate end when it comes to Darwin and creationism/
Is it God and wisdom or are these scientists fake with fiction/
It’s a contradiction to have a belief system not based on facts/
Evolution ended with the Scopes trial the textbooks want it back/
Can’t have our youth educated these days with only the Bible in mind/
The book of Genesis made way for a movement of intelligent design/
Children it’s perfectly acceptable to read about natural selection/
It’s either fable or truth and that’s based on your perception/
But can you believe God opened up the heavens and Adam appeared/
The knowledge we need is being suppressed I’ve had it up to here/
Don’t think one side should prevail but at least lend each an ear/
And have both parties listen and have a voice to speak it clear/
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Good Habits Save Money And Lives January 11, 2008
Posted by Miss Weird Scientist in Easy As Pie, Human Body, Psychology and Behavior, Science and Politics.Tags: anthrax, fines, safety
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I remember science classes when I was in high school. My teacher was always really stern and sharp about safety. Most of the time, we were doing simplistic experiments and rarely did we work with any chemicals or techniques that were blatantly dangerous. Back then, I would think in my rebellious way that the teacher was being overbearing and fussy over nothing.
Wow, was I ever wrong though!
Careful, Careful
I recently heard some news that got me thinking about how important good habits are – whether you’re in middle or high school, university or working professionally in the field. The University of California was fined $450,000 U.S. dollars by federal authorities for the improper handling of anthrax after they received the shipment from Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. Anthrax is a disease caused by the bacterium Bacillus anthracis – it occurs in humans and animals. In fact, in some forms it can be lethal.
It was during this recent shipment that vials of anthrax leaked although no resulting illness was reported. The fine itself was imposed by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services and was the largest of 11 imposed since 2003 for violations of federal rules for designated agents. Why special rules? It’s because some agents have potential use as dangerous weapons, which means the government implements regulations to protect the public and ensure proper use for research or similar purposes.
Let’s Get Back To School Labs
One thing I’ve concluded is that learning how to have good habits is best done when you’re in safer conditions. It’s during this learning process that a lot of mistakes and accidents might happen. If you’re in middle or high school and working with stuff that’s obviously less hazardous than anthrax, it’s an ace time to get good habits under your trendy belt. This way, you’ll be set for basic, good safety skills if you decide to pursue one of the zillion cool careers out there in the science field. Plus, each laboratory and workplace always has its own set of safety rules (and boy oh boy, some of them are long!). It definitely helps if you’re a wizard already when it comes to lab safety, which means you can keep adding in new safety smarts as you go along.
Would good habits have made a difference in the anthrax leak? I really believe they would! Although there haven’t been many details released about the case, a leak does imply that the anthrax wasn’t securely contained or that some outside influence affected its enclosure. Either way, it’s fortunate that the University of California only has a whopping fine to pay. Lives could have been lost.
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Fancy A Very High Lift? January 7, 2008
Posted by Miss Weird Scientist in Easy As Pie, Technology.Tags: Solae, Taipei 101, tallest lift tower
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Mitsubishi Electric in Japan has opened what they say is the world’s tallest elevator testing tower. It’s called Solae and it practically owns the skyline at 567 ft (173 meters) high! Mitsubishi Electric plans to use this testing tower to test out new gears, drives, cables and various other lift systems. The tower will also be used to learn more about high-speed elevators.
Why is it important? Think about all of the super tall buildings, which just keep on getting bigger and taller. Mitsubishi Electric’s new elevator testing tower will help to ensure that elevators can continue to meet the rigorous demands of the enormous towers that penetrate the skyline.
Currently, the world’s tallest building is the Taipei 101, which stands in at 1,666 ft and 508 meters. The lifts in the Taipei 101 are among the fastest anywhere in the world, clocking in at a maximum speed of 17 meters per second, which translates to 61 kilometers per hour or 38 miles per hour. Even more technologically advanced is the fact they comprise a pressure control system that prevents your ears from ‘popping.’ The lifts themselves are also designed with a streamlined shape to reduce the whistling noise that can occur as the lift moves rapidly through a confined, narrow space. Imagine living or working in a building with one of these fast lifts? It would be like taking a roller-coaster ride every day! Sign me up!
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