Phew! What's that Smell?

You walk into class and the kid next to you speaks and you smell the foul odor from his mouth. Suddenly you wonder if you breath smells too. Therefore, you do the usual trick of blowing on your hand and smelling your hand to see if you have halitosis,(bad breath). This is wrong! This is a common myth that many people believe in but this trick does not accurately tell if you have bad breath or not. This is due to the fact that when you breathe your throat does not function the same way it does when you talk. Talking brings out the odors in the back of your mouth (where that horrible stench comes from).

Another common myth about bad breath is that mouthwash can take away bad breath forever. While mouthwash can take away bad breath for a short period of time, it cannot eliminate of your bad breath problems if you don't regularly use it. Therefore, when picking a mouthwash make sure it is ADA (America Dental Association) approved, so your mouth does not smell bad.

When I first read this article, I was shocked at the information it gave about bad breath. For instance, I did not know that bad breath generates from the back of your mouth. Also, I learned that most people cannot smell bad breath because they are more used to smelling their own smells. In addition, I learned that there are ways to hide the foul odor by using mouthwash and eating sugar-free gum!

A boy with bad breath picture was taken from : http://www.stopbadbreath.co.uk/images/bad_breath.jpg.

Information was taken from :

http://kidshealth.org/teen/diseases_conditions/mouth/halitosis.html#cat20217.

Shining Scorpions

This is a picture of a fluorescent scorpion.

When you glance at a picture of a scorpion, it looks terrifying with its claws pointed towards you. However, when you glance at a picture of a neon blue scorpion on a full moon night, you wonder if this is a picture of a real scorpion. Don't let your eyes fool you- scorpion can be fluorescent on a full moon night. Sounds scary, right?
There are several hypotheses as to why the scorpion has fluorescence but scorpion scientists are still rubbing their heads about the reason for this odd phenomenon. One hypothesis states that scorpions may be using UV light (their fluorescence) as a method of tracking prey down. Another hypothesis states that since scorpions are nocturnal creatures who avoid UV light (like on a full moon night), the fluorescence could be a way that they respond to the ultraviolet light from the full moon.
Although scorpion scientists are still looking for the answer to this raging mystery, the fluorescence from scorpions does provide one useful use. The bright colors that the fluorescence produces under a black light or a full moon helps a humans to kill deadly scorpions in their house. Therefore, remember to keep a black light handy if you ever visit a place that is heavily populated by deadly scorpions!

Information and picture was taken from http://www.livescience.com/14155-full-moon-scorpions-glow-dark.html.

Look to the Horizon

This is a picture of the research ship Atlantis where the experiment behind this fact was conducted. The photo was taken from http://www.gulfofmaine-census.org/education/research-technology/platforms/.

Are you one of those people who become seasick when you're on a boat? Well, the answer to not being seasick lies ahead of you (literally!). According to a recent study in the famous journal Psychological Science, gazing at the horizon eliminates seasickness. This is because when a person stares at the horizon, he or she become more steadier. Also, when a person gazes into the distance, they can feel the change between the natural movement of their body and the swaying of the boat. Thus, if people are stable when they are on a boat, then they have a lesser chance of being seasick.

This fact is actually based from an unique experiment conducted on a research ship called the Atlantis during an exploration across the Gulf of California. In the experiment, volunteers were first asked to stand on a force plate on dry land, an instrument that measures the natural movements of their body. The typical natural movement of people swaying back and forth on dry land is four centimeters every twelve to fifteen seconds. Next, volunteers were asked to stand on a force plate on the boat Atlantis over water. Each time they stood on the force plate, they were asked to stare at the horizon or at something forty centimeters in front of them. When they stood on dry land, they were more stable when staring at closer point rather than at the horizon.

As you can see, the fact that staring at the horizon to overcome seasickness would be helpful to people who become seasick instantly when on a boat. In addition, this fact would be helpful in the future because it could enable scientific researchers to create an invention that would aid people to overcome seasickness when they are on a boat. For instance, researchers could create goggles that people wear that are programmed to make them look directly at the horizon!

Information taken from http://www.livescience.com/health/staring-at-horison-gives-sea-legs-110127.html.

Beetles Used as Food Dyes

This is a picture of a woman checking the label of a product in a supermarket.

Imagine a girl eating a red-colored ice pop on a hot summer day. Drops of artificial red food coloring run down her hand.She picks up the box of the ice pop and notices an ingredient called Red 4. She wonders what Red 4 stands for and walks away. The ingredient Red 4 is commercial name for the substance carmine. The name of the substance carmine might seem like a harmless name but its origin's are gross.

Carmine is a substance from made from red cochineal beetles. These beetles are cultivated, accumulated, and pounded to create a red pigment called carmine. The crimson-colored pigment has been disguised as "natural and artificial flavoring" on a product's label. However, now, the FDA requires food manufacturers to clearly put on their product label by the substance's common name of carmine on the label. This is because some people are highly allergic to cochineal extract. Also, if the presence of the insect-produced dye is clearly shown, it will greatly benefit vegetarians because they will know that the presence of an insect is in their food.

A safer red chemical that is widely used by manufacturers is called Red 40. Red 40 is used for coloring deep red products, such as Hawaiian punch. This chemical is also safe for vegetarians because it is made from organic petroleum, not from red cochineal beetles.

In my opinion, the use carmine should be banned from being used.The absence of carmine will positively impact vegetarians and people who are highly allergic to it because they don't have to worry about a product having carmine when they go grocery shopping at the supermarket.

The information in which this blog used as information came from the following source: http://www.livescience.com/health/beetles-used-for-artificial-coloring-110111.html.

The picture used in this blog came from the following source:
http://www.corbisimages.com/Enlargement/42-15203766.html.

Coastal Wetlands

Check out this website on coastal wetlands http://coastalwetlands.webs.com/.

The Thief of Always Comes to Terms with Ecology

This is a photo of the book The Thief of Always by Clive Barker and it was taken from www.fantasticfiction.co.uk.

When I picked up The Thief of Always by Clive Barker, I didn't realize the many connections it had with Ecology. In this piece of literature, the characters Rictus, Jive, Marr and Carna live on the roof of the Holiday house. The roof of the Holiday House is their habitat because that is where they sleep, live and eat food. Rictus, Jive, Marr and Carna are the four servants of Mr. Hood, so they all had a role in Mr. Hood's scheme of bringing children to the Holiday House. For instance, Rictus's role was that he was sent out in the real world to persuade kids that were bored with their lives (like Harvey) to come to the Holiday House. Another instance is that Jive's role in the story was to deceive children. This is because he tricks Harvey into becoming a vampire and sucking Wendell's blood by chanting that Harvey should suck Wendell's blood. However, his beguiling chant does not work. This connects with ecology because each of Mr. Hood's servants play a part in his scheme like how an organism play a crucial part in their ecosystem.

Another connection is that there is a population of fish-like creatures that live behind the Holiday House. These creatures are a population due to the fact they are all the same species. Thus, this connects with ecology because scientists often study populations of animals, plants and bacteria to learn more about the ecosystem of an area. As you can see, The Thief of Always by Clive Barker has a strong connection with ecology. For instance, Mr. Hood's servants play a key part in his scheme similar to how animals have their own crucial parts in an ecosystem. Additionally, there is a population of fish-like creatures that live in the lake because the fish-like creatures that live in the lake are the same species. So, the next time you pick up a book, think of the many connections it has to ecology, similar to how I dug deeper in my book and found connections to ecology.

A Tree's Niche

This beautiful picture shows the tree located in the front of my house. Although this tree may not seem important to you, it has a crucial position in its community. As a piece of evidence, this tree's niche or function in its community, is that is provides as a shelter for many animals, such as birds and squirrels. This is important to its community because without this tree, several animals would not have a home. In addition, this tree lets out oxygen and absorbs the carbon dioxide humans let out. This as a result purifies the air around us by adding oxygen and eliminating carbon dioxide. Moreover, this tree also shades the plants growing below it, so that the plants can receive the proper amount of sunlight and grow successfully. As you can see, this tree's niche is very important in its community because it provides as a shelter for many animals, purifies the air and provides shade, so the plants living under it can grow successfully.


This beautiful picture above was take by Brownies 97- the author of this blog.