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1.Gimme Five... fascinating
facts about...?
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The Sun
- The Sun is a star.
- It
would take more than 100 Earths to span the width of the Sun.
- The
Sun is 93 million miles away from
Earth. In other words if the Sun were the size of a basketball, and Earth the
size of the head of a pin, the basketball and the pin would be separated by
about 100 feet.
- The
middle of the Sun is at least 10 million degrees.
- The
Sun is about 4 1/2 billion years old.
These facts came from High Altitude Observatory.
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2. Stump the Scientist
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 No answers yet for Eileen Gerle
who asked
“Do
octopuses ever eat penguins?”
But in the meantime how about
flexing your scientific synapses over the following…
According to ‘The Gentleman’s
Magazine’ in 1853: An old Egyptian method of cooking eggs without fire -
“The shepherds of Egypt placed
them in a sling, which they turned so rapidly that the friction of the air
heated them to the exact point required for use”
Is this really possible? What
do you think?
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
The sound of a jelly wobbling has been captured for the first time
to mark a unique celebration that blends the staple of childhood parties with
architecture, art and science.
Which leads us nicely on to…
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3. Creature Feature: Jellyfish
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 A
Jellyfish is an invertebrate made up mostly of water, it has no heart, brain or
bones. It is made up of 95-97% water, 3% protein and 1% minerals. They range in
size from about 2 1⁄2cm to 61 m long. They have been drifting through the
world's oceans for more than 650 million years. They swim by jet propulsion.
The jellyfish will expand then quickly contract its bell-shaped body, which
forces water away from the bell and pushes the jelly in the opposite direction.
To capture prey for food, jellies have a net of
tentacles that contain poisonous, stinging cells, called cniodocytes. Each of
these cells contains a nematocyst which acts like a mini-harpoon. When a
jellyfish touches something the nematocyst is released and injects toxin into
the prey. Australia's box jelly has a lethal toxin more potent than cobra venom
and can kill a person in minutes. Another poisonous jellyfish is the Portuguese
man-of-war found in Gulf of Mexico; Caribbean Sea near the Bahamas; West
Indies. If you are stung, wash the wound with vinegar or surgical spirit. Don't
rinse with water, which could release more poison. All jellies sting, but not
all jellies have poison that hurts humans. Of the 2,000 species of jellyfish,
only about 70 seriously harm or occasionally kill people. This was taken from Under the Sea Party on Planet Science.
Having whetted your appetite
you might want to find out a bit more about the jellyfish found off British
shores i.e. the moon jellyfish and the barrel jellyfish.
Plus a question we’re sure you’ve always pondered. Do box jellyfish sleep at night?
But the sight that’s bound to set you all a-quiver
is this giant jellyfish.
Apparently Echizen
kurage (Nomura’s
jellyfish) invade the Sea of Japan each autumn, seriously disrupting fishing
operations. The giant jellyfish can grow up to 2 meters wide and weigh up to
200 kilograms (450 lbs) each.
A
Fukui-area company concocted a cookie recipe that includes the powdered
jellyfish as an ingredient. The result is a cookie with a superbly textured
sweetness nicely complemented by the bitter, salty flavour of jellyfish.
Eeeeauugh!
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4. SciCast – What
camera?
 For those of you wanting
to know what’s what in the movie camera world – here’s Jonathan Sanderson
(fresh from the Scicast blog) to let you know.
Things
are moving fast with video cameras, which is one reason I try not to recommend
anything too specific. By the time you’ve found one, it’s usually out-of-date.
For
a long time my standing advice has been (a.) to use your mobile phone, stills
camera, or whatever else you already have, (b.) to buy a miniDV camera with a
microphone jack, and (c.) that you get get what you pay for, more-or-less.
However,
I think we’re approaching some sort of transition, and I’m not sure I can fully
recommend tape any more. My current picks are:
- Flip Video Ultra, ~£100. Small, trivially
simple, not great, but surprisingly good for what it is.
- Canon FS100/10/11 range, ~£220-£350. Not unlike the Flip,
but has a microphone jack.
 Both
these cameras record to flash memory, so they’re much quicker to work with than
tape cameras. Long-term archiving is an issue, but hard drives are now around
the same price as tape.
Neither
the Flip nor the FS100/10/11 will be much good in poor light, neither shoots
very high-resolution, and neither gives you much if anything in the way of
manual controls. But they’re quick, simple, and relatively cheap. I’ll be
reviewing the Flip properly, alongside its closest competitor the Busbi Video
Plus, shortly. I’m also sorely tempted to buy myself an FS100, but there’s a review here.
For further reference, here’s
a handy list of cameras supported by the current version of iMovie.
Still worth a look even if you’re a Windows user, since these tend to be the
cameras that do things ‘by the book,’ so you may find you have a smoother time
with them than others.
Keep up-to-date with Jonathan and SciCast.
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5. Activity of the Week
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 Enzymes in Action
Here are two simple experiments to show enzymes in action.
You will
need:
- a
ripe fresh pineapple,
- a
tin of pineapple,
- fruit
jelly cubes (or another gelatin product),
- 3
small bowls and a knife.
What you
do
First
experiment – fresh pineapple
- Prepare the jelly according to the
instructions on the packet.
- Leave it to cool and set in a small bowl.
- Once the jelly has set, cut a piece off the
fresh pineapple and place it on top.
- Observe and record results.
Second experiment – fresh and tinned
pineapple
- Prepare enough jelly for two bowls, following
the packet instructions.
- Leave to set in two small bowls, one with a
piece of tinned pineapple in, the other with pieces of the fresh pineapple
in.
- Observe and record results.
What's going on?
There are many types of proteins, all made up of units called amino acids. Altogether there are 20 amino acids. They are linked in
chains of different lengths and orders to make all the different proteins.
Gelatin is a protein, which causes the jelly to set; enzymes are a special type
of protein too and can be found in the pineapple.
In the first experiment, when you place a chunk of fresh
pineapple on top of the jelly, enzymes from the pineapple catalyse the
digestion of the gelatin in the jelly. Therefore, the chunk of pineapple starts
to sink into the jelly as its enyzmes help breakdown the gelatin.
In the second experiment, the jelly containing the tinned
pineapple should set much more effectively than the jelly with the fresh
pineapple. Enzymes from the fresh pineapple are breaking down the gelatin that
the jelly needs to set properly. With the tinned pineapple, this doesn't seem
to be a problem. Can you think why?
It turns out that enzyme molecules are sensitive to heat
– their unique structures are destroyed by heat and they are no longer
able to function as catalysts. Most tinned foods are heat-treated during
pasteurisation to prolong their shelf life. In contrast to the fresh pineapple,
the enzymes in the tinned pineapple have been denatured (destroyed) by heat and
can't assist in the digestion of the gelatin protein.
This activity came from York Uni.
For another interesting
activity on enzymes checkout Attack of the Enzymes.
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6. Mouses at the Ready
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 This summer at the Science
Museum is the Science of Survival. Also be blown away by a bubble show and
explore space through interactive tours and shows. Not to mention Launchpad,
the largest free interactive science gallery in the UK.
Visit www.sciencemuseum.org.uk for up-to-date listings and news on
all free events.
Plus the IMAX where you can travel back in time to
the royal tombs of Ancient Egypt, come face to face with dinosaurs or dive into
an underwater adventure all on a giant scale! Part historic journey and
part forensic adventure, Mummies 3D:
Secrets of the Pharaohs follows researchers and explorers as they piece
together the archaeological and genetic clues of Egyptian mummies.
More info: www.sciencemuseum.org.uk/imax
We’ve got a family ticket to
give away!
If you want to win it then email
us with your name and address, and the words ‘I WANT MY MUMMIE’ in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk.
The draw
will take place at 5pm on Wednesday 16th July.
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ESA European Space Education Resource Office (ESERO)
survey
The European
Space Agency is setting up an Education Resource Office based in the National
Science Learning Centre, York. Its aim is to promote Space as a resource for
teaching and learning.
The first phase includes
a survey into the current use of Space in science, technology, maths and ICT in
primary (KS2) and secondary teaching. Even if you do not use Space as a context
or in your curriculum, your responses will help to shape the project.
The survey takes no more
than 5-10 minutes to complete: ESA survey.
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Calling Scotland! Science Clubs
and Youth Groups in/around Glasgow
Film-making
teams needed!
If you run a science club, or a
Scout Group or any other kind of young people's group (YP aged 13 - 15) and are
operational over the summer break please get in touch. We'd like to make some
films with teams of young people in the Glasgow area to seed a new SciCast Category about careers from science.
If you'd be interested please email
scicast@nesta.org.uk with Glasgow YP in the subject line.
Thanks if you can!
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The Bloody Quiz
Last
chance to enter our quiz! You’d be a complete clot to miss it. June 14 saw the
anniversary of the birth of Karl Landsteiner who was born in Vienna in 1868.
We’ve got a lot to thank this man for – ‘O’ yes! ‘A’ great man! So ‘B’
positive – if you get all the answers right you could win a pair of
cuddly blood cells.
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Project ENTHUSE launches
Project ENTHUSE, a £30 million partnership between
industry, government and the Wellcome Trust has been launched. This provides
teachers with funding to cover the cost of attending courses at the National Science Learning Centre.
The ENTHUSE Award will cover course fees, supply cover, travel and
accommodation in the high quality residential facilities. It will also
include a small amount of money to help you implement your ideas once you
arrive back in the classroom.
The exact value of each ENTHUSE Award is listed in the online
course catalogue.
ENTHUSE Awards are available from September 2008 onwards on all of the
courses at the National Science Learning Centre.
Any teacher, lecturer, teaching assistant or technician from a
maintained school or college can apply for one. All you have to do is
apply for your place on the course of your choice, and a link to the ENTHUSE
Award application form will be sent to you.
Project ENTHUSE is supported by Vodafone, Rolls-Royce, GlaxoSmithKline, General
Electric Foundation, BP, BAE Systems, AstraZeneca and the AstraZeneca Science
Teaching Trust.
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8. Recommended Website of the Week
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 Here’s a missive from the France
family.
“Thought you might be interested in
a couple of youtube films we found that are pretty impressive. They are stop
motion bionicle battles!
The
Duel of Fates by Spidey406
Bionicle:
the Finale by Bryan Cropper
With many thanks,
Janet, David and Steven France”
And
thank you too! Does that give anyone any ideas for possible Scicast movies?
The Mystery of the Missing Ming
Vase is an
"off-the-shelf" teaching pack which teachers can download to use in
the classroom for teaching chemistry to YEAR 8 (ages 12 to 13) students.
There are great downloadable worksheets and posters, plus a map of the
Museum and guidance notes. All are photocopiable and the aim of the resources
is to minimise the amount of preparation work needed by both the school and
visiting chemists. Couldn’t be better. And you’ve got all summer to
prepare it!
By the way, if you’ve got a good website to recommend then send it along
to us at planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk with RWW in the subject line. Thank you
very gladly.
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Remember last time when we were offering TEN two packs of June/July Flipsides to give away?
The lucky winners are Iris Jane
Francis from Dyfed, Karl Thomas of London, Jamie Roche of Market Deeping, Carol
Davenport of Cramlington, Marita Duff of Newport, Del Smith of Southampton, Tomasz
Blumowski of Darlington, Tom Draude of Crawley, Sue Martin of Bournemouth and Kelly
Appleby of Consett. Well done everyone!
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10. Joke of the week
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Why don’t jellies like
athletics? Because after they’ve got ready and got set they can’t go!
In the world of chemicals, a constant battle rages
between the chemical supervillains and the chemical secret agents. The most
esteemed of these is one (OO)7, international dyeing agent of mystery.
On one particularly hairy mission, he finds himself pitted against the evil
genius of lore, Dr. Nitrogen Monoxide, who has set a devious trap in the form
of an ordinary piece of white cloth.
After plummeting through a cleverly placed mechanosensitive membrane protein,
(OO)7 is shocked to find himself soaking in to a tightly bound mesh of cotton fibres.
(He is, after all, a dyeing agent!)
In desperation, he calls to his nemesis, "Do you expect me to talk,
NO?" The villain only chuckles maniacally.
"No Mr Dye, I expect you to bond."
These jokes came from the Planet Science joke collection
Have a great week!
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