A biweekly science newsletter for kids
Edition 8 | Aug 15,2022 – Aug 31,2022
In This Issue: Trending News: Scientists from Yale revive dead pig’s organs| Piece of SpaceX capsule crashes in a field in Australia | Would you rather | STEM Around Us: Ballooning: How spiders fly | Science Video | Did You Know? | Science Experiment: Hydroponics: gardening without soil | Brain Teaser | STEM Careers |Futoshiki | Science in Depth : How Did Darwin Predict the Existence of a Moth?|
Trending News
Scientists from Yale revive dead pig’s organs
The pigs in the lab lay dead for over an hour. They were neither breathing nor did their hearts beat. That is, until the scientists pumped a solution called OrganEx into each dead pig’s body with a device similar to a heart–lung machine. The events that followed pose the question: How much do the boundaries that science places between life and death hold?
Piece of SpaceX capsule crashes in a field in Australia
On July 9, 2022, a black object landed on a field in New South Wales, Australia. It wasn’t until several weeks later that Mick Miners, a farmer and the owner of the land, discovered the rather peculiar debris. Initially, Miners thought the black object sticking out of his land was a dead tree.
Science Experiment
Hydroponics: gardening without soil
Soil isn’t always necessary to garden. Hydroponics needs just nutrient-rich water to grow a plant. There are multiple ways to set up hydroponic growing; here we will focus on the wick method.
Materials needed:
1. 1⁄2 US gal. (1.9 L) bottle
2. A pair of scissors (use under adult supervision)
3. Twine or wick
4. Water
5. Nutrient mix
6. Growing medium (perlite, coconut coir, etc.)
Futoshiki
Can you do a Futoshiki?
Rules:
- Fill in the 5 x 5 grid with numbers from 1 to 5, such that no number is repeated twice in a row or column.
- Place numbers according to the greater than and lesser than signs wherever applicable.
Previous edition’s answer:
STEM Around Us
Ballooning: How spiders fly
One of the best pilots in nature has no wings!
From birds and bats to insects that fly, wings are the most common organs of flight. However, their eight-legged neighbours prefer using webs to wings. Spiders use silk to hunt and nest. However, young spiders spin webs that help them to fly, even across seas and oceans. This method of flight is called ballooning.
Like a kite, the spider needs to catch a breeze to balloon. Next, the spider faces into the direction of the breeze and lifts its abdomen. At this point, it stands on the tips of its legs.
Science Video
Slime mold form a map of the Tokyo-area railway system
Slime molds act in clever ways, even though they don’t have a brain. These gooey, slimy blobs form veins as they spread along dead logs or leaves, or anything that they deem as food. Slime molds are unique and do not fit well into the current system of classification. When it comes to research on slime molds, bright, yellow-colored Physarum is the lab rat. It can detect food, changes in humidity, pH, and even light using receptors. Receptors are similar to sense organs like eyes or ears. Within a blob of slime mold, one can find veins. Long proteins are associated with these veins. Jelly-like protoplasm runs through these veins, and on smelling food, these veins grow outwards. The proteins squeeze and relax, pushing the protoplasm towards the growing end.
Brain Teaser
In the given identical dice, which symbol will be on the face opposite the face with symbol *?
Previous edition’s answer:
Gorbl translates to fan. Similarly, flur means screw; pixn means ceiling; arth means tile; tusl means roof. And: pixnarth
Would you rather
Would you rather:
Develop a vaccine to end a pandemic?
Or
Find a cure for cancer?
STEM Careers
Forensic Scientist Kelly Knight
As a forensic DNA scientist, I tested evidence from crimes that occurred in the state of Maryland. I also got to research new techniques. Because I worked with evidence from crimes, a big part of my job involved going to court. I explained my tests and conclusions to lawyers, judges, and juries. This information helped the jury make its decisions.
Did you know?
Eat an apple, keep the peel! Apple peels, when added to unclean water, can draw out various contaminants and impurities. These impurities stick to the surface of apple peels by a phenomenon called adsorption. Tomato peels can also be used in the same way.
Science In Depth
How Did Darwin Predict the Existence of a Moth?
Fantastical traits like foot-long tongues can arise from coevolution. Darwin guessed the existence of a new species based on the traits of one species! Coevolution is fairly common in nature, though not always as odd.
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