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1. A Spot of Agri-Culture
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 Getting fed up with tractors clogging up your route to work? What are they doing anyway?! Here’s our Farmer-in-Residence, Guy Smith to tell us why…
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 The winter months are a good time for the farmer to catch up on all those seasonal maintenance jobs around the farm. One such is trimming the hedges. Hedges can be a bit of a controversial area because many tend to think the farmers have taken them all out. A quick trip to the countryside reminds us that the British hedge is alive and well. Furthermore if you compare our landscape with, for instance, its foreign counterparts, you realise the British countryside is amongst the most hedged in the world. It is true that 30% of Britain’s hedges were taken out in the 1960s and 1970s to accommodate the new machinery that farmers were using on their farms but in the last thirty years there has been no more loss and farmers now plant hedges rather than remove them. The present generation of farmers do get a bit fed up with being accused of doing something their father’s did, especially when their fathers were encouraged to do it by the Government in the first place. Most of Britain’s historic hedges are alive and well. They say you can tell how old a hedge is by counting the number of species of woody shrub there are in it. For instance if a hedge has a bit of elm, hawthorn and blackthorn in it then it is probably three hundred years old.
On many farms hedges have lost their old functions as fences to keep livestock in but now they are increasingly recognised and managed for their role in conservation. Hedges act as highways of bio-diversity where birds, mammals and insects forage and nest. When we consider species with names like hedgehog and hedge-sparrow we realise how important the hedge is. Alongside the hedge you often find a ditch and a field margin. These also make for important conservation environments. It is important the hedge is trimmed every so often to stop it growing “leggy and gappy”. As a dense, well trimmed, bush it makes for a better environment for all manner of wildlife. Just to make life a bit more complicated the farmer needs to trim his hedge at exactly the right time. If he does it too early in the late winter then he risks removing all the hips, haws and berries that act as an important winter larder for birds. If he leaves it too late then he might disturb birds that are starting to nest. It’s tricky sometimes being both a farmer and a conservationist.
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Thanks Guy. So there you have it – don’t curse the poor ol’ farmer, he’s doing a good job!
If you send us the right answer to this question you could win a packet of seeds from Garden Organic, the leading charity dedicated to researching and promoting organic gardening, farming and food.
‘How can you tell how old a hedge is?’
Simply email us with your correct answer and your name and address, and the words SUPER SEEDED in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk. The winner will be picked at random on Wednesday 20 February at 5pm.
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2. Teachers’ TV: Ready to Learn? The Experiment
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 Are your pupils as ready to learn as they could be? What can be done to improve this vital ingredient for educational success?
Ready to Learn? The Experiment is a major piece of education research from Teachers TV designed to investigate the impact of factors such as diet, sleep, and exercise on children’s readiness to learn.
Open to all primary and secondary schools across the country, Ready to Learn? The Experiment is being run during National Science and Engineering Week from Monday 10th March to Friday 14th March.
A quick and engaging on-line school based activity for 4-16 year-olds, the experiment will feature a survey and game-style activities measuring memory and concentration. Children will find out about their readiness to learn and get tips on how to improve it.
Ready to Learn? The Experiment is designed to be integrated into the curriculum and you can find lesson plans and register online.
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3.  SciCast: Here they come...
“No, you run the spell check in this window, then the thumbnail preview goes in the third box on the…” Oops, sorry, you caught me talking to myself again.
If you’ve seen Planet SciCast this week you’ll have noticed lots of new films — and we’re not done yet. If you’re anxiously hitting ‘reload’ waiting for yours to appear, hang in there, we’ll get to you. Some of you will have had emails from us querying copyright or other issues — thanks for getting back to us quickly! Oh, and if you’re trying to chivvy us about something, please please please include your film reference code and a valid email address!
Meanwhile, those of you who are viewers and users of the films — do leave comments and ratings. It’s enormously gratifying for the film-makers to know that the movies they’ve slaved over actually reach an audience, so a scribbled comment on the site from you makes a huge difference. What do you you like, which bits do you disagree with, how are you using the films? Let the makers know!
And stay tuned. There’s a frightening large pile of films still on my desk, and the Awards are just around the corner.
Meanwhile, if you’ve caught the film-making bug, or if you haven’t got involved yet, start polishing your lenses and honing your ideas. SciCast 2008 will be upon us even before we’ve recovered from this one.
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4. Stump the Scientist
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 Remember last week when Julie Field (and class 6B) asked
“While looking at dissolving and evaporation we left some blue food colouring (neat) out to evaporate in a plastic cup. However the residue left was pinky purple and when you took it out of the cup the solid was very shiny where it had been against the bottom of the cup - almost metallic.
Why had it changed colour and what had made it go shiny? (p.s. we added water back to the solid and it immediately returned to blue)”
Dr Alan P Glaze has the answer
“Simple answer - it lost water. As it dried, it formed a shiny crust. The crystals lost water, absorbed different frequencies of light, giving it a different colour. Put the water back and you restore the original colour. The same can be done with copper sulphate. The anhydrous (dried) crystals are white, hydrated they are blue.
The food dye was probably (mainly) E133, Brilliant Blue FCF, which is reddish-blue as a powder. There are concerns that many such products may cause hyperactivity.”
Ooh that could spark off a discussion all on its own.
S.Parker suggests
“If you did chromatography on the blue food colouring you will probably find that it has several different colours in of differing solubilities (the more soluble ones will travel further up the paper). The 'pink' and 'purple' colours described will be the these colour pigments that make up the blue separating out, the least soluble ones are likely to be the ones on the outer most edge.
As for the shiny surface, without seeing exactly what you mean I can't be sure but it just sounds like the smooth surface has been formed as a result of it forming against the smooth surface of the cup.”
Of course if you need something a little meatier for older students then Simon Hepburn says
“Interesting timing for this email as I've just been working on transition metal complexes today with my Y13s, going into this in great detail (d-orbitals and dative bonding....).
Not sure how easy the concept is to translate to Y6, but essentially water is forming a chemical compound (we call it a 'complex') with a transition metal ion (for Y6 I'd stick to a 'metal') and the two together give the specific colour blue. If the colouring is left, the water evaporates (just as water does in a puddle) and the metal ion stays behind so the compound breaks up and the colour changes. Adding water reverses the reaction and reforms the blue complex.
Julie could demonstrate this more simply by heating blue copper sulphate crystals - they turn white as water is driven off (you can see the steam). Adding water to the white powder reforms the blue compound. Any secondary school science teacher could easily demo this for her - it's a key part of GCSE Chemistry!”
So thanks to everyone, on this occasion the scientist was NOT stumped!
If you can help or have a burning question of your own then send us an email with STUMP THE SCIENTIST in the subject line to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk
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5. Activity of the Week
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The Bernoulli Effect
 You will need:
- A hair dryer
- Some light balls; ping pong balls or very light foam balls. They need to be smaller than the nozzle of your hair dryer.
What you do
- Turn the hair dryer on to a cool setting and point it upwards.
- Take your light ball and place it in the stream of moving air. Watch as your ball apparently levitates over the stream of air, and does not get blown off…
- If you want to see your ball spinning in the air you might want to draw on it.
- Now tilt your hair dryer at an angle and see how the ball still appears to defy gravity.
What's going on?
The hair dryer produces a fairly uniform stream of air in a column. While the air in the stream is moving reasonably quickly, the air around it is pretty much stationary.
At first glance you might think that the air would simply blow the ball up and out of the air flow (and in fact this does happen occasionally). Or, if the ball is perfectly balanced in the air flow, you might expect the ball to fall if the hair dryer is tilted to one side. Instead, the ball bounces around in the air flow as if it were contained in an invisible cylinder.
The reason the ball levitates is due to the force exerted up on the ball by the moving air, balancing the weight of the ball. This is why you need a lighter ball if you are using a small hair dryer, or if your ball is too light it will get blown off. This balanced force, however, does not explain the invisible cylinder which seems to keep the ball in place as the hair dryer is tilted.
Bernoulli's principle states that faster moving fluids are at a lower pressure than slower moving fluids. So the air flowing out of the hair dryer is at a lower pressure than the still air around it. The higher air pressure around the cylinder of moving air pushes on the ball and keeps it in place if the ball tries to escape. It is relatively stable even when you add another ball.
Special Safety advice
Be careful not to burn yourself on the hot setting of the hair dryer, and always be careful when using equipment plugged into mains electricity.
This film clip can be viewed on SciCast.
Keep checking back for new films and, whilst you’re about it - how about submitting one of your own?
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6. Mouses at the Ready
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 How long is it since you visited the Glasgow Science Centre?
Have you heard all about the wide range of exciting and inspiring activities for pre-school, primary and secondary pupils, all with direct links to the Scottish Curriculum? There are plenty of downloadable games and resources.
In the meantime we have TWO family passes to give away. If you’d like to win one then email us with your name and address, and the words ‘GLASGOW’ in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk.
The draw will take place at 5pm on Wednesday 23rd January.
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Winter Winnersland
You may not have had time to try our new Winter Winnersland quiz but have no fear – there’s two weeks to go.
Meander your merry way around the wintry scene, answering questions as you go. As you get the questions right a light appears on the Christmas tree lights. And you will get them right. This chipper little quiz soon shows you where you’ve gone wrong. When you’ve done them all you get the chance to answer the final question and land yourself in the draw to win yourself a cuddly tweeter.
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International Summer Science Institute (ISSI) in Israel – Y13s
Do you want to be one of up to 100 international science students who travel to the prestigious Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel from 7 - 31 July 2008?
This unique four week science programme allows you to work in the laboratories of world class scientists on a variety of research projects. The experience is not merely an academic one; it allows you to meet like-minded talented students from different cultures, nationalities, faiths and backgrounds. It also includes field trips which offer a unique opportunity to explore and experience Israel’s diverse and beautiful landscapes.
The first three weeks are spent working in the campus laboratories. Upon completion of laboratory work, participants give an oral presentation and submit a report. There are also supplemental lectures given by senior Institute scientists, departmental talks and visits to some of the state of the art facilities on campus. The final week of the program is spent at a field school in the Judean Desert, near the Dead Sea.
Details
Venue: The Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
Date: 7 - 31 July 2008
Cost: £2,500 although scholarships are available to cover costs in exceptional circumstances
Contact: Michelle Jacobs at Weizmann UK michelle@weizmann.org.uk or on 020 7424 6864.
How to apply
Fill out an application form which can be obtained from Michelle Jacobs at Weizmann UK.
Deadline for application form submission 14 February 2008. Interviews will take place in London during March 2008. Students must be in Year 13 to apply.
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Planet Science wants YOU!
Do you like the look and feel of Planet Science? (Hope you do!) Are you a freelancer or part of a company? Planet Science is looking to increase its orbit of companies and individuals who are suitable to undertake all sorts of work for the site. If you are interested then please express your interest.
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Big Garden Birdwatch 26-27 January
Taking part in the Big Garden Birdwatch is simple and fun. All you need to do is watch your garden or local park on either Saturday 26 or Sunday 27 January 2008.
Simply spend an hour counting the birds, recording the highest number of each species seen in your garden (not flying over) at any one time. You can download a counting sheet to help you keep a tally of what you see on the big day.
PS. Count your lucky stars you won’t have to count these nasty-sounding finches!
VAMPIRE FINCHES: Also known as Darwin's Finches, these unusual small birds make their home on Wolf Island in the Galapagos. Their unusual behaviour of sucking blood from the Boobies seabirds is a source of food for them during the drought periods. It does no harm to the boobies. Oh really? And how impressed would YOU be if someone started feasting off you? Read more about them (if you can bear it).
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8. Recommended website of the week
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This week we couldn’t resist this addictive game of Crayon Physics. Watch the video to see how the game works.
You play with crayons and physics. The goal of the game is to move the red ball so that it collects the stars. You can cause the red ball to move by drawing physical objects. With the left mouse button you can draw and with right you can remove objects. Download the prototype of the game here.
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Remember last week when we were offering you a hardback copy of Bending the Rules: Robert A. Hinde (Oxford University Press)?
The lucky winner is Dave Franks of Hertfordshire. Well done!
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10. Joke of the week
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The farmer didn't like to use a tractor on his small holding. He preferred to have his draft horses pull his plough. Unfortunately, a group of small birds insisted on forming nests in the horses' manes, which prevented him from hitching the reins properly.
The farmer tried every method he could think of to get rid of the pesky birds. He tried lotions, potions, and notions. He kept the stable colder; he kept it warmer. He went to horse doctors; he went to bird specialists. He called his MP; he called the Department of Agriculture. He trimmed the manes as much as he could. He tried loud noises, cat noises, and classical music. Nothing would induce the birds to leave his horses alone.
In desperation, he sought the help of the Horse Whisperer who listened to his story then gave him some vile-smelling yeast extract to rub into the manes. Amazingly, it worked. Within two days, the birds had all fled and the horses were back to work.
The farmer was pleased with this outcome, but he was puzzled with the methodology. He went back to the man and inquired about how a simple extract of yeast was able to solve a problem that many vets and the Department of Agriculture couldn't.
The Horse Whisperer replied, "Simple. Yeast is yeast, and nest is nest, and never the mane shall tweet."
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