Wednesday 30 January 2013

How to Crush a 55 Gallon Drum

In chemistry lab this week, you saw that atmospheric pressure could crush a pop can.  Did you know that it is even strong enough to crush a 55 gallon drum?

In this video, Steve Spangler uses the same principles we used in class to crush a large drum!  He boils water in the drum and then caps it off (we sealed our pop can by submerging it in water).  After quickly cooling the drum in a kiddie-pool of ice, the water vapour condenses and the crushing begins...check it out:

Tuesday 29 January 2013

What would you do if you had a snow day?

This couple made good use of a cold winter break and made a rainbow igloo!  Read the full story and check out the pictures here.

What sort of science concepts were used in the building of this beautiful igloo?  Think about it and feel free to comment below!

Tuesday 22 January 2013

Creating a Functioning Heart in the Laboratory???

In Human Biology II lecture this week, the question "Has anyone made a human heart in the laboratory?" was asked.  Well...it appears that scientists may be close!

In 2008, researchers from the University of Minnesota produced a rat heart in the laboratory that actually beats!  The scientists removed all of the heart cells from the heart of a dead rat.  This just left the heart valves and a scaffold of connective tissue.  They then insterted cells from the heart of a newborn rat and within 2 weeks the beating heart developed.

In 2011, this same research team used a similar technique using the connective tissue scaffold of human hearts.  They injected stem cells into the scaffold.  The stem cells recognized the heart scaffld, multiplied and grew around the structure, eventually turning into healthy heart cells.

Want more information?  Watch this interesting documentary on the topic. 

Thursday 17 January 2013

Do YOU know these students?

Students in Susan's Human Biology II course had an exciting day today.  They had their blood typed by Canadian Blood Services, learned about blood transfustions and donations, checked out their veins and poked around at a cow's heart!

These students were featured on the college's Facebook and Twitter accounts:

Grow Your Own Blood Vessels ?!

It turns out the adult stem cells removed during liposuction could be put to good use! 

In a study reported here, adult stem cells were turned into smooth muscle cells that were put onto a thin collagen membrane.  The cells multiplied and were rolled into tubes, and in just 3-4 weeks they had formed into blood vessels that can hopefully be used in heart by-pass surgery!

Friday 11 January 2013

Studies are Wrong (Study Shows)

Think about all the scientific research that is going on in the world right now.  There is a HUGE amount of research going on covering almost any topic you can think of (and probably some you can't)!  So, who decides what studies we hear about in the news?  Have you ever noticed how often you hear about studies on chocolate, caffeine, or cancer?  Would you be surprised to know that a lot of new findings that are published are later shown to be false?

Take a look at this article that examines a study on studies...and shows that many of the findings we hear about in the news may not be newsworthy at all!

This really highlights the continuous nature of science.  There is no "end" to the scientific method.  Once you've gathered results, analyzed them and drawn concusions, the cycle continues with new ideas and new experiments.

Friday 4 January 2013

Welcome!

To our second semester students - welcome back!  We hope you enjoyed your break and are ready to continue learning and developing your skills in your second semester.

For new students starting in first semester - welcome to Fleming!  We hope you'll enjoy your time at the college and in the program. 

Make sure you're checking D2L for all of your courses on a regular basis.  You'll find other news and interesting links on this blog.  If you have questions about anything, speak to your teachers.

See you soon!
~ The GHS Teaching Team