SCVTS Art Show Invaded by Budding Scientists

For the first time some of our ABMS students have decided to enter artwork into the SCVTS art show on May 3.  The chemistry 102 students had completed a periodic table printmaking project, and hung it up for display.  Tiles from past classes will also be on display. 

We are not sure if there are any prizes awarded at this art show, but as far as I'm concerned these guys win the Au.  

Philadelphia Science Festival

The second annual Philadelphia Science Festival is taking place from April 20-April 29 in locations all over Philadelphia and its suburbs.  There will be various workshops, lectures, museum tours and movies all about science.

The biggest event is on April 21, the Science Carnival.  There will be demonstrations and interactive experiments all over Logan Circle in Philadelphia with real scientists, engineers and mathematicians guiding you along the way.

UPDATE: Speeding past the speed of light?

So, remember back in the fall when scientists at CERN announced that they may have seen motion faster than the speed of light?  Well, as always with new scientific discoveries, the experiment has been reviewed and it seems like there might be a non-Einstein-crushing reason for the measurements.  Apparently there may have been a loose cable between a gps unit and the clock used in the experiment...  Just goes to show, everyone makes mistakes, even physicists.

They are still going to redo the experiment in May, with all the cables plugged in correctly to see if they can replicate their results.  Don't count them out yet!

How Your Cat May be Making You Crazy

Those of you who have had my college biology class know that I have an interest in human parasitic diseases, especially ones that might alter human behavior.  The Atlantic just published an article summarizing some of the new research surrounding Toxoplasma gondii, the protist parasite that causes toxoplasmosis.  It is estimated that 50% of people in the world are infected with toxoplasmosis (rates in the USA are far lower, around 10-12%).
The conventional wisdom has been that toxoplasmosis infections don't really cause harm to healthy people, but it seems that those conclusions may have been misguided.  Toxoplasma infections are now strongly linked with some forms of mental illness such as schizophrenia, as well as to brain cancer.

NASA releases the first video of the dark side of the moon

On Thursday scientists at NASA announced that they had captured the first ever video of the dark side of the moon (the side we never see here from Earth).  This side of the moon is especially marred with craters from meteor and asteroid impacts.

The images were created by twin spacecraft called GRAIL.  In a few weeks eighth graders from all over the USA will be able to send requests to the GRAIL spacecraft to photograph particular areas of the moon that they deem interesting.

Astronauts for hire!

When you were little did you dream of someday being an astronaut and getting to fly in the space shuttle?  Well, even though NASA has ended the shuttle program for the foreseeable future, they are hiring astronauts.

Here are the educational requirements and the actual job posting:
Applicants must meet the following minimum requirements before submitting an application. 
1. Bachelor's degree from an accredited institution in engineering, biological science, physical science, or mathematics. Quality of academic preparation is important.
2. Degree followed by at least 3 years of related, progressively responsible, professional experience or at least 1,000 hours pilot-in-command time in jet aircraft. An advanced degree is desirable and may be substituted for experience as follows: master's degree = 1 year of experience, doctoral degree = 3 years of experience. Teaching experience, including experience at the K - 12 levels, is considered to be qualifying experience for the Astronaut Candidate position; therefore, educators are encouraged to apply. 

This could be you!!

  

SCVTS Mole Day 2011

This year's Mole Day went off without a hitch.  We had a full house at 6:02am in F11 - and despite the fact that no one in the room had gotten eight hours of sleep that night everyone was excited to celebrate.  The Chemistry 101 students made some great mole models in honor of the day, as well as some beautiful works of art.

  

 You may be wondering why these ladies are laughing...

Muriel was practicing

                                                                    her rap and dance moves...

And last but not least....

...here is a Mole Day Rap, presented by Aaliyah, Devon and Laura.