Shoot-'em-up video games may be good for eyesight
http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn16857-shoot-em-up-video-games-are-good-for-your-eyesight.html
In this expierament Daphne Bavelier tests the affect of video games on eyesight. The independant variable is the type of video game. The dependant variable is the affect on eyesight. The scientist came to the conclusion that action and shooting games can help with contrast perception, which we use in dark conditions. The tests showed that 43% of the young adults who played action games contrast perception improved. There contrast perception improvment stayed for monthes without playing the action games.
I think that this expieriment was done very nicely. They used 13 people in there trials. They also tried with 2 different types of video games. I think they should have used more than one action game. Also i think they should have done they expierment testing both young adults and adults. That would be my follow up expieriment.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Jacob H
Science News for Kids
In this study, a scientist tried to find out whether or not mosquitos use the sounds they make to attract mates. The scientist flew a male and a female mosquito by each other and recorded the sounds they made. when the two mosquitos flew by each other they made the same noise. The independent variable of this experiment was whether or not the mosquitos were flying by each other or not and the dependent variable was the sounds they made.
The article was well written and it was a good experiment. I was surprised that the annoying sounds mosquitos make help them choose their mates. I would like to know more about ways to use the knowledge to decrease the mosquito population. It would be a good follow up experiment to find out if it would be possible to decrease the mosquito population.
Ashley L.
Science news for kids
In this experiment, the scientists experimented and compared the reactions of humans and chimps. They wanted to see if chimps had the same altruism as humans.
The first experiment that was conducted was the task of having a chimp reach through bars of an enclosed area to retrieve a stick that they saw a person trying to reach. Before the chimps went in to this enclosure to retrieve the stick, they watched a person struggle to try to reach it. That phase of the experiment was a success, because the chimp usually retrived the stick.
The experiment was then taken "to the next level". The chimps were expected to climb a platform that was 2.5 meters (8.2 feet) in order to retrieve a stick for the researchers. children were also tested for their willingness. However, instead of climbing barriers, the children were to go through some sort of obsticles that were set out in order to retrieve a pencil for the reesearchers.
A third test was then conducted. A total of nine chimps were tested to see if they would help out a strangered chimp. For this experiment the chimps were to attempt to get food on the other side of a closed door. An observing chimp was then placed on the other side of the closed door. If the chimp wanted to, it could pull a peg that held the door close, inorder for the unknown chimp to retrieve the food. In many of the cases, most helped the other chimp. The new results "come as no surprise to any field worker who has spent lots of time close to wild chimpanzees," says anthropologist William C. McGrew of the University of Cambridge in England.
The independent variable of this experiment was the tasks in which the chimps decided to preform, and the dependent variable is the number of chimps that decided tp preform each task.
This was a good experiment, because it compares how chimps and humans are closly related and how each have similar characteristics. However, it could be improved by using a wider range of humans in different age groups. a follow up suggestion would be making the tasks more different, for example having two chimps and one banana.
Alex S
Scientist Jean-Michel Weber and Simba Nagahuedia, a student of the University of Ottowa, worked together to fing out if omega-3 increases aerobic capacity (endurance) in bobwhite quails.
Over six weeks, Weber fed three groups of the birds on an omega-3 diet. One group was fed n-3 eicosapentaenoic acid, the second, n-3 docosahexaenoic acid, and the third a equal solution of the two. After the six weeks, Nagahuedia checked the pectoral muscles of the birds. This was done to see if the capacity of thier lungs had improved. After measuring the activity levels of four oxidative enzymes, the enzymes' activity levels had increased by between 58 and 90%, for short, the birds endurace capabilities increased by 32%.
This experiment could be thought of in many ways, but in my opinoin it was a good one. But, from what i read, there was no constant. There should have been a group quails on a normal diet. Now these scientists need to try and see if it works in people, too.
Tripp K
Which kind of baseball bat hits farther wood or aluminum?
studies have show that if you hit with a aluminum bat the ball will go about 4mph faster than a wood bat. For a batter that is the difference between a off the ball double or a home run. Most people train with a wood bat so there batting will improve greatly by the start of the session. Scientist have show by analysing several major leagues swings with the too bats that there is a significant difference.
The IV is metal v.s. wood and the DV is how far the baseball goes. The article did not say how many trials there has been.
I liked this experiment because i play baseball so much and it really shows how hard it is. Most people that hit with wood bats have a lower avg then ones that use metal. I see that a lot when i play.
studies have show that if you hit with a aluminum bat the ball will go about 4mph faster than a wood bat. For a batter that is the difference between a off the ball double or a home run. Most people train with a wood bat so there batting will improve greatly by the start of the session. Scientist have show by analysing several major leagues swings with the too bats that there is a significant difference.
The IV is metal v.s. wood and the DV is how far the baseball goes. The article did not say how many trials there has been.
I liked this experiment because i play baseball so much and it really shows how hard it is. Most people that hit with wood bats have a lower avg then ones that use metal. I see that a lot when i play.
Katie P.
Whatever Happened to... Mind Control?
by Stephen Ornes
Discovery Magazine
The CIA used LSD to control the minds of a group of people. This project was called MKULTRA. It began in the year of 1953. The scientists believed they could use chemical, biological, and radiological to advance toward modification of interrogation and behavior. They gave each person a dose of LSD which was the independent variable and watched them behind a glass window. The dependent variable was how they acted on the dose of LSD, but Scientist found no way to control the mind through LSD. There was one death in this experiment because the subjects were not watched close enough. LSD, radiation, and electric shock were all "dead ends". But scientist have also discovered that MRIs make the brain more transparent and they this may be the way to control minds in the future.
This experiment was not a good one because it did not work and one person that was tested died. I think to improve this experiment the scientists need to monitor the subject more carefully and hold them for a longer time. For a follow up experiment they should test the dose of LSD on different ages and sizes of people.
Breanna B =D
Drinking very hot tea can increase the risk of throat cancer
Author unknown
Bright Surf Science
Tea that is 70 degrees Celcius or more can increase the risk of a person getting oesophgeal squamous cell carcinoma, or OSCC. Scientists did their research in Iran because they drink a large amount of tea there. They studied 300 people with OSCC who drang approximatly a litre of hot tea per day and compared them to 571 healthy people who also drank about 1 litre of hot tea per day. Through these studies, they found that people who drank hot tea were twice as vulnerable to OSCC as people who drank warm tea, and that people who drank really hot tea were eight times more likely to develop OSCC.
The independant variable in this experiment is the temperature of the tea. The dependant variable is the amount of people who developed OSCC. There were 300 trials for people with OSCC and 571 trials for people without OSCC.
I thought this was a pretty good experiment because they had alot of trials. Altough they had alot of trials, i would have done the same amount of trials for OSCC people and healthy people. To follow this experiment, they could have tried other hot drinks such as hot chocoloate or coffee to see if they also caused OSCC.
Author unknown
Bright Surf Science
Tea that is 70 degrees Celcius or more can increase the risk of a person getting oesophgeal squamous cell carcinoma, or OSCC. Scientists did their research in Iran because they drink a large amount of tea there. They studied 300 people with OSCC who drang approximatly a litre of hot tea per day and compared them to 571 healthy people who also drank about 1 litre of hot tea per day. Through these studies, they found that people who drank hot tea were twice as vulnerable to OSCC as people who drank warm tea, and that people who drank really hot tea were eight times more likely to develop OSCC.
The independant variable in this experiment is the temperature of the tea. The dependant variable is the amount of people who developed OSCC. There were 300 trials for people with OSCC and 571 trials for people without OSCC.
I thought this was a pretty good experiment because they had alot of trials. Altough they had alot of trials, i would have done the same amount of trials for OSCC people and healthy people. To follow this experiment, they could have tried other hot drinks such as hot chocoloate or coffee to see if they also caused OSCC.
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