Science Buddies Blog (Page 106)

A Vinegar-Based Effort to Save the Danube

October 14, 2010 11:11 AM

Red Sludge: What is It? According to The Associated Press coverage of the Hungarian spill, "red sludge is a byproduct of the refining of bauxite into alumina, the basic material for manufacturing aluminum. Treated sludge is often stored in ponds where the water eventually evaporates, leaving behind a dried red clay-like soil." When a reservoir collapsed last week in Hungary, an estimated at 35 million cubic feet of toxic waste rushed into neighboring waterways and headed for the… Read more

Nobel: Palladium as a Catalyst

October 7, 2010 10:25 AM

Key Terms: Synthesis: forming or building a more complex substance or compound from elements or simpler compounds. Palladium: a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pd Catalyst: a substance that causes or accelerates a chemical reaction without being affected by the reaction The 2010 Nobel Prize in Chemistry went to Richard F. Heck, Ei-ichi Negishi and Akira Suzuki for their development of a procedure for "palladium-catalyzed cross coupling," an organic chemistry process… Read more

A Competition for Tech-Savvy High School Girls

October 6, 2010 6:00 PM

Applications are being accepted for the NCWIT Award for Aspirations in Computing until October 15, 2010. U.S. high school girls, grades 9-12, who are interested in computer science or technology are encouraged to apply! Sponsored by the National Center for Women & Information Technology (NCWIT), the award recognizes high school women who have distinguished themselves in the area of computing and technology. To find out more about NCWIT and the Aspirations in Computing award, visit the… Read more

Nobel: The Wonders of Graphene

October 6, 2010 10:56 AM

The 2010 Nobel Prize in Physics went to Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov, a team of researchers from the University of Manchester. Using ordinary tape, Geim and Novoselov managed to extract a flake of graphene from a piece of graphite like that found in a regular pencil. Graphene is a form of carbon, which makes it sound fairly ordinary. But graphene has proven to be a wonder-material. At only one atom thick, graphene is the thinnest known material and also the strongest. It's harder than… Read more

Nobel: In Vitro Fertilization

October 5, 2010 4:42 PM

The 2010 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine was awarded yesterday to Robert G. Edwards, a pioneer in in vitro fertilization (IVF) therapy. Edwards' research and conviction that infertility could be treated, dates back to the 1950s. After years of experimenting with the fertilization of human eggs cells outside of the body, Edwards' efforts came to fruition in 1978 when Louise Brown, the first "test tube" baby, was born. Student Study Spearheading IVF practices and the knowledge bank… Read more

Nobel News and Student Projects to Explore

October 5, 2010 11:42 AM

It's Nobel Prize time! This week, Nobel Prizes will be announced in the following areas: Physiology or Medicine Physics Chemistry Peace Prize The Sveriges Riksbank Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel To help students, classes, and families talk about the Nobel winners in the sciences--and to contextualize the kinds of research, discovery, innovation, and advancement reflected by the winners--we will be highlighting relevant Science Buddies project ideas, where… Read more

Survey Says: 10 Survey-Based Science Projects

October 4, 2010 11:38 AM

You may be able to win brownie points with friends and family if your science project involves baking dozens of cookies and asking people to tell you which one tastes best... the ones with regular chips or the ones with mini chips or the ones with white chocolate chips or the ones with carob chips or even the ones with M&Ms. A chocolate buzz can go a long way, but is it science? Projects that involve surveys and testing (even taste testing) by volunteers can be legitimate science projects,… Read more

New Exoplanet Discovered

October 1, 2010 4:04 PM

This week, a team of astronomers at the Keck Observatory announced the discovery of Gliese 581g, a planet orbiting Gliese 581, a red dwarf star twenty light years away (and part of the constellation Libra). Gliese 581g is one of six planets that have been detected around this star, but it is the first that seems to "fit" the requirements for life, which led Steven Vogt to term it the "Goldilocks planet." Vogt, one of the leads on the team that discovered Gliese 581g, is a professor of… Read more

Turning the Titanic

September 30, 2010 10:49 AM

Over fifteen hundred people died when the "unsinkable" Titantic sank in 1912, just days into the passenger steamship's first trip from Southampton, England to New York City. Collision with an iceberg undisputedly caused the tragedy, but recent news has raised the possibility that human error also played a role in the accident. Suspicions and possibilities floated to the surface last week as news sources reported on Louise Patten's claim that her grandfather, Charles Lightoller, second… Read more

Teacher Webinar is Today!

September 22, 2010 9:48 AM

Just a reminder, our free Professional Development Webinar for teachers is today, Wednesday, September 22 at: 4 p.m. Pacific 5 p.m. Mountain 6 p.m. Central 7 p.m. Eastern If you are already signed up, please follow the directions you received in email to log into the Webinar at the time listed above. If you are not registered yet and would like to join us, it's not too late! Please register now: https://www2.gotomeeting.com/register/389772962 To find out more about… Read more

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