Whales Descended from....... an Ancient Creature???

The Latest About the Whales

I read the latest news about whales being descended from small deer-like creature. The site I got the story from said , and I quote
" A new study suggests that the missing evolutionary link between whales and land-animals is an old raccoon-sized animal that looks like a long-tailed deer without antlers. Or an overgrown long-legged rat."
The overgrown long-legged rat is called Indohyus and had similarities between it and the water-dwelling whales, dolphins and porpoises. This was revealed in the recently dug up fossils. The researchers at Ohio Universities College of Medicine found out that the Indohyus are "missing link" to the sister species to ancient whales. These researchers studied hundreds of Indohyus bones unearthed from mudstone in Kashmir region of India and created a composite skeleton of a 48 million-year-old creature. The connection between the Indohyus and the earliest whales are its thickened ear bone, shape and position of certain molars.
The researchers think and I quote
"the earliest whales didn't look like whales and they look like a cross between a pig and a dog, they lost their legs and ability to walk on land about 40 million-years ago".
The researchers said that the earliest whales lived in the general region of India and Pakistan, and matched up with the Indohyus but not the early African hippos.(tiny fact: Early whales and Indohyus have small brains). Other researchers were intrigued, but they wanted more proof. A professor had said that there needs to be further testing, especially since other recent studies have suggested both hippos and Raoellids were involved in whale ancestry. The researchers say that there were problems with the preserved fossils and says that Indohyus makes a strong case as the closest land ancestor.I think that this is an interesting case about the whales, but there has to be more evidence to prove these conclusions.

Extra Credit MythBusters: Hot Chilli Cures

HOT CHILLI CURES

Tory is trying to hit the cactus-shaped pinata and Carry is standing aside when Brant comes. Brant asks what is going on. BOOM! The pinata breaks! Green Chilli Peppers are spread out on the table. Our audience asked us this question: Is there a cure for hot chilli mouths? I have an experiment w can do to answer this question. Both of you(Tory and Brant) have to be the victims. So after we eat the pepper past, do we eat something to cool it down, asks Tory. Yes, the cures are milk, water, toothpaste, beer and petroleum jelly. Petroleum Jelly? Is there a such thing? asks Tory. Brant hates chilli food, so he goes to a man called Dave Dewitts to learn about his enemy. Dave says that the tongue has a receptor part called capsaicin(I don't know the correct spelling). The capsaicin and chemical eactions start having a pain. That's why you feel your tongue is on fire. Then Brant asks Dave a question: Can you die from ating something too hot? Dave says yes; it would be from suffocation. Carry, Brant and Tory get ready for the chilli peppers. Carry, Brant and Tory sit down. Carry takes out a bowl of jalapeno peppers paste, 2 glasses of milk, a notebook and all the other Hot Chilli Cures. Tory and Brant eat a half-spoon of the paste and then swallow it. After 30 seconds, they drank milk. They told what they thought of how the cure workrd in numbers 1 to 10. They did that with 5 other cures. The best cure, as they thought in the beggining as a hypothesis, was milk.
Carry, when she was cutting the jalapenos, used blue gloves. That is one of the lab safety rules: WEAR GLOVES ON. Carry did break a rule. When she was mixing the peppers, she didn't have goggles on. The episode didn't exactly use science, but they did use some lab equipment.

Extra Credit MythBusters: Shooting Fish in the Barrel

SHOOTING FISH IN A BARREL

Adam and David did an experiment called Shooting Fish in a Barrel. First they discuss on how to do it. Then, they go to the fish market and buy 3 types of fish: small fish, mdium fish and large fish. They decide that they should experiment with the medium fish. Adam makes a blast chamber for the experiment and also gets ready a few barrels. Adam fills a barrel with water and the medium fish they bought. David gets his 9mm gun. Then, he shoots. That bullet that David shoots into the water makes a hole in the barrel. When they check the fish, they see no cuts. Adam thinks that the barrel needs some more work. So, he adds some white paint. He also cuts 2 squares out and put in some pieces of glasses. Adam cut those squares so David can see if the fish got shot or not. Adam and David go to a shooting rink for the experiment. They set up the blast chamber, the barrel and the fish. Everything is ready and David shoots. BOOM! The fish got shot right below the eye. The other fish didn't get hurt. David was thinking that it can't be only the bullet that can hurt , the shock waves of the bullet would also effect the fish. Adam want s to see that is true and goes to a person who works in the aquarium. He says that is possible. Again, Adam and David experiment again except all the "bait" fish are hooked onto a stick. David used his long gun to shoot this fish. He shoots with such force that water splashes on everybody there. Guess what? Only 1 or 2 fish got shot, but the rest were effected by shock waves. Adam and David got astonished! The next day, David blindfolded Adam and took him somewhere. Then, Adam took off his blindfold and saw David go into another car. Suddenly, David came out of the car's sliding roof with a MEGA long gun. Adam had asked what are you doing. David said that he was going to shoot that barrel(he pointed to the barrel) and the long fish inside. BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! David had shot the fish soooo badly that only its skeleton was left. After that, David and Adam thought that it is really easy to shoot fish ina barrel.
David broke a major rule. That is: WEAR YOUR GOGGLES! David was lucky, because he did stand a little far away from the shooting. Both of them followed a lab safety rule. That is: DO NOT KEEP YOUR MOUTH OPEN. Adam had done a little research on shock wave effects. Researching is part of the Scientific Method. Adam and David had Animal Science involved in their experiment. You would need a science background for a career in special effects, because special effects has a lot to do with science.

The Omega Meme

I've tagged students for the Omega Meme!

The rules are as followed:Each player answers six questions on this blog.The rules of the game are posted at the beginning before the answers were listed.At the end of the post, the player tags 8 people and posts their blog names, and then goes to their blogs leaves a comment, letting them know that they have been tagged and asking the to read your blog.

1. My favorite TV show is...(explain why) I have 2 favorite t.v shows. One is that on Disney Channel, I like The Suite Life of Zack and Cody. I watch it because it is pretty funny. Then , I also watch Tom and Jerry. Anyone can watch that show. It is also hilarious.

2. My favorite meal is...(explain why)My favorite meal is lunch. This is my favorite meal because I can have a nice realaxing meal without any thing annoying going on and at this time I can actualy talk to my friends.

3. My favorite nonschool activity is...(explain in details that do not specify you)My favotite nonschool activity is to go to the library with my friends because we can go on the computer, read magazines, or just relax.

4. Someone I look up to is...(explain why)I look up to my mother because she gives me great advice, she helps me with my homework, she gives me tips on how to study for a big test, and she is someone that really takes care of me.

5. My goal for the future is...My goal for the future is to go to Stanford University, and then to become a pediatrition.

6. Explain what you do the first hour after school...(explain why but do not give specific activities that specify you. In the first hour after school I usualy like to watch t.v for 30 minutes then start my homework.

Instrument Crisis

Having trouble chosing an instrument to play? Don't worry! Instrument Helpers are here. What type of instrument do you want to play?Strings, brass, band instruments or light instruments. If you want to play a string instrument-here are your choices: violin, viola, chello and. If you are going to play violin, viola or chello then you have a chance to be in an orchestra. A violin or viola are to be held in your and you play soft music. A chello is a very large and heavy instrument to play. Each of these three instruments have different keys on their strings. If you don't want to play soft music and want to play rooaaring music, then let's go to the band and brass instruments! Brass instrument are trumpets, trombones and a whole lot more. If you play a brass instument then you have a chance of going to band. If you want to play the drums or the flute then say hello to band instruments. If you think flutes make light sounds, you are wrong!You make it go on for a while, then it will get louder and louder.Let's see, now about the drums we have a lot of types. There are bass drums, normal drums, beat drums and more. Now you have to think about your choice. Good luck!!!!