Planet Science News Issue: 314


	STARDATE 314 \| Friday 15th May 2009 This week release your inner veggie as it’s National Vegetarian Week from 18-24 May. Hop into your veggie-car and you’ll be well away. The line-up this week: Planet Scicast – Vegetables Planet Pick of the Week – Smoothie Operator Stump the Scientist – Oil be Darned Battle for Planet Science – Super Powers Game Activity of the Week – Enzymes in Action Mouses at the Ready – Organic Vegetable Seed Noticeboard – FYI Recommended websites of the week The Winners’ Enclosure Joke of the Week Back to Top


	1. Planet Scicast Vegetables We don't have many films about vegetables. I suppose, if peanuts are indeed peas rather than nuts, Peanut Party might count. ...but we're in no imminent danger of instituting a whole Awards category for vegetable films. This is, I think, a pity, particularly when there's a near-perfect experiment waiting to be done by a brave film crew, who must be out there somewhere. A film that could be a rip- roaring tale of investigation, exploring the ragged edge of the research frontier. Also: funny. Don't forget the funny. Here's my pitch: you know how eating asparagus makes your wee smell funny? No? Google 'Asparagus wee' and see. Or, better still, eat some asparagus, drink some water, and wait. Best of all... do both of these things on camera (not the actual 'weeing' part, obviously. No cameras in the bathroom, m'kay?), and see if you can answer the two biggest questions facing civilisation today: 1. Why? 2. How long does it take? The most difficult part of this whole process will, I suspect, be finding a group of teenagers willing to trough a plate of asparagus. Who's going to be first? -- Jonathan Back to Top


	2. Planet Pick of the Week Smoothie Operator Do you consider yourself to be something of a smooth operator? Bien sur mes amis. Then no doubt you have played the Smoothie Operator game. Grab any ingredient you like (we suggest lard, beetroot, peas, honey and a fried mars bar) and chuck it into the blender. Whizz it up and give it a name (Honey Peas Beetroot to Me) then check out its nutritional value. Oops! Maybe a tad heavy on ‘Saturates’ and ‘Sugars’. Back to the blender for a few modifications. Mmmmmm - those folks at Innocent won’t know what’s hit them. Don’t forget your vegetables... Back to Top


	3. Stump the Scientist Oil be Darned This week we have a question from our esteemed Planet Science editor herself, none other than Katie Walsh, who tells us “Here's my question - I bought some of this (Palmer's Cocoa Butter Formula Moisturizing Body Oil) years ago - but I don't use it very much - so it stays in my bathroom cabinet. It went in my bathroom cabinet clean on the outside - when I get it out, the plastic bottle is covered (Paper label and all) in sticky oil. I clean it off - a year later - same thing. Is it/could it be somehow evaporating and coming through the plastic? The lid is on tightly, it's on the top shelf, next to the wall of the cabinet. Nothing else in the cabinet comes out sticky oily. The oiliness on the outside is kind of darker, concentrated and sticky - whereas the oil on the inside is fluid and clear.” Hmmmmm, we need a chemist. And fast!! 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 Back to Top


	4. Battle for Planet Science Now that the clones have been caught and the mystery of who let them out solved, Miz Ingenuity invites everyone to join her on the Equator Space Station where they can explore the superheroes base. Welcome to episode one of the new Planet Super Powers! game 'Battle for Planet Science'. When disaster strikes in the following episode next week, Miz Ingenuity requires help to save Planet Science from vile villains intent on causing havoc. After finding out about the invading villains, the four quarters of Planet Science must be explored to search for anything that might help to defeat the villains in battle. Then armed with science knowledge and newly acquired superhero skills, it is time to prepare for battle and to choose an outfit and accessories. In the final episode on the 10th of July the fate of Planet Science lies in your hands. After the gruelling battle, a comic strip version of the fight can be printed off as a souvenir of the trip. We'll remind you to visit the game each week, as it's being released weekly in eight episodes. Back to Top


	5. Activity of the Week 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 1. Prepare the jelly according to the instructions on the packet. 2. Leave it to cool and set in a small bowl. 3. Once the jelly has set, cut a piece off the fresh pineapple and place it on top. 4. Observe and record results. Second experiment - fresh and tinned pineapple 1. Prepare enough jelly for two bowls, following the packet instructions. 2. Leave to set in two small bowls, one with a piece of tinned pineapple in, the other with pieces of the fresh pineapple in. 3. 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 from the SciCast site. Back to Top


	6. Mouses at the Ready Organic Vegetable Seed To celebrate National Vegetarian Week we are giving away TWO organic vegetable seed collections from Garden Organic. The 'Starting Point' Collection contains 8 packets of organic seeds: Bush Tomato 'Tumbler' Basil 'Sweet Genovese' Courgette 'Nero di Milan' Dwarf French Bean Slenderette' Radish 'Cherry Belle' Carrots 'Nantes' Leek'Pandora' Saladini Mix of cut and come again lettuce. All varieties can be either sown direct or started off in small pots. A lovely idea to get a veggie patch going in a new home, or to build confidence when 'potting on' 'earthing up' and so on can sound a bit daunting. If you’d like to win one then send your name and address and the words ‘ORGANIC VEG’ in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk. The draw will take place at 4pm on Wednesday 20 May. Back to Top

Making choices to conserve the world’s species: what, where and when?

polar bear

Chair: Sir John Lawton CBE FRS, Speakers: Professor Georgina Mace FRS (Director of the NERC Centre for Population Biology at Imperial College London), Dr Jonathan Baillie (ZSL), Professor Hugh Possingham (University of Queensland) and Dr Mark Avery (RSPB)

Conserving species is becoming more urgent as the pressures on natural areas intensify. There are increasing numbers of threatened species facing different problems in habitats all over the world. Unfortunately, there are many more problems than can be solved with the limited resources available to conservation bodies. So how do conservation biologists go about choosing what to focus on first, or where to invest most conservation funding?

This panel discussion is FREE - no ticket or advanced booking required.

Tuesday 19 May 2009 at 6:30pm
View details online here
Doors open at 5.45pm

Location:
The Royal Society
6-9 Carlton House Terrace
London SW1Y 5AG

Contact: Madalina Black 020 7451 2213 or events@royalsociety.org

This panel discussion will be webcast LIVE at royalsociety.org/live and available to view on demand within 48 hours of delivery.

Experiments for Schools - Available to Download

School children participating in an MRC activity at the 2007 Edinburgh International Science Festival

The Research Scientists Schools' Initiatve (RSSI) at the MRC Human Reproductive Sciences Unit in Edinburgh has designed a series of experiments to support teachers in nurturing their pupils’ interest in science.

For more details visit their website here

After-School Science and Engineering Clubs Coordinator

Location:
Home-based with frequent travel across England

Salary:
Between £28,000 to £35,000 (dependent on experience)

The post will be offered on a contract basis until July 2011.

The purpose of the job is to support the delivery of the After-School Science and Engineering clubs (ASSECs) project in 500 secondary schools across England. The post-holder with work with a consortium of partners including STEMNET, the ASE, the Network of Regional Science Learning Centres, the Association for Science and Discovery Centres and the Specialist Schools and Academies Trust.

For more information and to apply click here


	8. Recommended websites of the week Have you seen those CBeebies Science experiment adverts on the TV? What cuties! Well now we know where to find the instructions, but it will cost you a Ferro Rocher to find out. No not really!!! Just joking. The experiment which uses honey, cooking oil and water to demonstrate density is called Every Drop Make It comes from the website Nina and the Neurons which is a fantastic site for young ones. Check out Nina’s Lab plus the Germ Counting with Charlie and Lola game is just brilliant! To tell us about your favourite science websites - drop us an email with the words ‘RWW’ in the subject line, to planet-science.news@nesta.org.uk. Back to Top

Remember last time when we were giving away TWO Team Qinetiq sports bags and balls signed by Ben Fogle? The lucky winners are Matthew Searle of St Austell and Inga Anderson of Grimsby.

Well done and let’s hope Ben didn’t bring those balls back from the South Pole - brrrrrrrrrrrrr. Chilly!

Enjoy!


	10. Joke of the week Have you heard of the garlic diet? -You don't lose much weight, but from a distance, your friends think you look thinner. And talking of vegetables - look at this Chilli joke and don’t say we don’t spoil you! Have a great week! Back to Top


	Remember... If you would like to view the Planet Science Newsletter Archive click here. You can also read back issues of Randomised for younger teens here. Or you can read back issues of Hay-Wire for Under 10s. PS if you would like to unsubscribe from the newsletter at any time, just reply to this email with the word 'UNSUBSCRIBE' in the title. PPS Sorry if you've been having problems with the Planet Science site today - there is a server hardware problem which should be fixed shortly. Back to Top