National News: S.S

The Inauguration of the 44th President of the United States

The inauguration of President Obama happened on January 20, 2009. This inauguration actually started at around 10:30 am. Since morning of that day, approximately 2 million people gathered around the grounds of the National Mall in Washington D.C., Some of the past Presidents along with their families, Senators and members of Congress gathered at this historic event. The spouses of incumbent, President-Elect, Vice President-Elect arrived at the venue of the inauguration. Finally, the incumbent President and President-Elect come out to the West portico of Capitol Hill, see the gigantic crowd out in front. Everyone settled in to view, observe and take part in this historic moment. After a few greetings, the traditional ceremony began to take place. First, two musical selections were played. Then, the chairman of the Inaugural committee, Diane Feinstein, did the welcoming remarks. After her remarks, she handed it over to Dr. Rick Warren, who did the Invocation. Afterwards, there was another musical selection. Joe Biden took the oath as the vice president with the help of Justice John Paul Stevens. Before the oath of the president took place, there was a musical selection. Then came the most important event of the day, the oath of the President. President Barack Hussein Obama got administered the oath of office with the courtesy of the Chief Justice of the U.S, Justice John Roberts Jr. Then the 44th President of US delivered his inaugural address. Next, we had a poem and a benediction. Lastly, the National Anthem was sung. The next big event came, which was the take-off of former president George W. Bush to Texas. Then, we had President Obama descend from the Capitol to the White House! In the evening, the Obama family attended approximately ten (10) inaugural balls.

My first article, which came from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barack_Obama_2009_presidential_inauguration , is about the ten different inaugural balls that the Obamas attended to. At every one of these balls, the President spoke and danced with his wife to the song “At last”. Obama asked the crowd of celebrities and supporters at the first inaugural ball, "First of all, how good looking is my wife?" The balls that he attended to were:

* The Neighborhood Inaugural Ball was the first stop of the night for the Obamas. This is also where First Lady, Michelle Obama revealed her inaugural gown.

* The President Obama Home States Ball which was held at the Walter Washington Convention Center. The guests came from the Obama hometown states, Hawaii and Illinois.

* The Commander-in-Chief's Ball at the National Building Museum. Military families, duty members of the U.S military, families that their loved ones were lost in the war and families that have their loved ones deployed to overseas for military purposes came to this party.
* The Eastern Ball at the Union Station. Many people from New Hampshire, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts and other places came over to celebrate.
* The Mid-Atlantic Ball at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Many people from New Jersey, New York, Virginia, Maryland and other places came to celebrate here with the Obamas and Bidens.

* The Midwestern Ball was also held at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center. Many people from Michigan, Iowa, Indiana, Ohio and many other places attended at this inaugural Ball.
* The Southern Ball at the D.C Armory center. The attendees came from Tenneesse, Florida, Lousiana, Kentucky and many other places.
* The Vice President Biden Home States Ball also took place at the Washington Convention Center. This ball featured people who came from the Biden hometown states, Delaware and Pennslyvania.

* The Western Ball also took place at the Walter Washington Convention Center. The invited guests came from California, Oregon, Nevada, Alaska and many other places.
* The last ball was the Youth Ball held at the Washington Hilton and Towers. This ball was created especially for young people of eighteen to thirty-five years of age.

My opinion on this article is just wow! I would be extremely tired by the end of all these Balls. Plus, it is soooo cool how a few balls specifically invitees of the different regions of the U.S. I thought that was cool. I think that was really cool how they had a specific ball for every region of the country.Then they also had a special ball for the hometown states of the President and Vice president. I have a question about the importance of these inaugural balls. That is, what and why these inaugural balls occur on this specific day? Luckily, most of the balls were held at the Walter Washington Convention Center. So, the Obamas didn’t get tired going around Washington D.C.

My second article, which came from http://www.nytimes.com/2009/01/22/us/politics/22oath.html?scp=1&sq=I%20Really%20Do%20Swear,%20Faithfully:%20Obama%20and%20Roberts%20Try%20Again&st=cse is about the President and the Chief Justice redoing the oath. The presidential oath, right from the Constitution, is:

I do solemnly swear(or affirm)that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my Ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.

The President and the Chief Justice have decided to re-do the oath since they had messed up the words during the oath at the Capitol. They did this oath in the Map Room at 7:35 pm the day after the Inauguration. At the Capitol, the Chief justice accidently said, “ I will execute the Office of the President of the United States faithfully”. The mistake in this was that the word faithfully is supposed to go between will and execute. When the Chief Justice asked if Obama was ready, Obama said,” I am, and we’re going to do it very slowly.” There were only nine people who were present when the President re-did the oath.

My opinion on this article is that it was interesting. I thought it was awkward, how the Chief Justice knew his mistake but still continued. The White House counsel, Gregory B Craig, said. “But the oath appears in the Constitution itself, and out of an abundance of caution, because there was one word out of sequence, Chief Justice Roberts administered the oath a second time.” I also thought it was funny when the article said that even at the re-do, the Chief Justice still stumbled over the word “execute”. My question about this article is that do you need to do the oath with a Bible in hand? Also, why the Chief Justice did not have a prepared note of the the oath which was accepatable to have and use the note to adminster the oath?

Extra, Extra, Read All About It

Extra Credit: Virtual Tour + Vlog

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Class Blog 3: Catch the Wave

In class, we did a lab called Catch the Wave. This lab was done with three other students in my class as a group.
The tools/materials that were needed:

*foil pan
*water
*foam ball
*fabric ball

First we needed to fill half of the foil pan with water. Then with a pencil, we needed to touch the surface of the water at one end of the pan. We needed to do this twice each second for a minute. Afterwards, we had to place the foam ball in the center of the pan. Then, we had to take the pencil that we used before and touch the surface of the water (do this twice per second for a minute). The result from the tapping of the pencil is that the foam ball had floated in the direction of the waves, toward the other side of the pan. Then, we took out the foam ball and replaced it with a fabric ball. We did the same thing again (the tapping with the pencil). The result for the fabric ball was interesting. Once, we placed the fabric ball in the center, it just sunk to the bottom. So, the tapping with the pencil didn’t make the ball move, at all.

The three facts that I learned from this lab are:
*Since water is denser than air, water can only carry objects lighter than itself.
* The foam ball moved because of the movement of the pencil and other variables such as the air around the pan.
* Anything that touches water can make a wave.

My opinion on this lab is that it was interesting to do. It helped me to have a better understanding of waves and their movement. This was a fun and dripping experience!

Some interesting facts:
* There is another type of wave! It is called a ripple. A ripple is a combination of a transverse and longitudinal wave.
* A wave can be split up by a frequency. This is called dispersion.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waves

The Car Industry Interested in Lithium-Ion Batteries

The United States is ready to make lithium-ion batteries for cars. For that to happen, many car companies need to amalgamate into one big company. This one big company will be the lithium-ion battery industry in the United States. These lithium-ion batteries will run electric cars. Unfortunately, the US is losing to Asian countries. Mr. Greenberger, a lawyer specializing in clean technology, organized a new alliance of lithium-ion battery makers made up of fourteen big companies. Mr. Greenberger said and I quote,” The great age of automobiles lies ahead of us, not behind us.” The alliance plans to have a lithium-ion battery manufacturing in the United States. The ultimate goal is to be able to manufacture cars in the United States again using lithium-ion batteries.

Lithium-ion batteries are a type of rechargeable battery in which a lithium ion moves between the anode and cathode. An anode is an electrode through which electric current flows into a polarized electrical device. A cathode is an electrode through which positive electric current flows out of a polarized electrical device. The lithium ion moves from the anode to the cathode during discharge and from the cathode to the anode when charging.

As mentioned in the articlehttp://bits.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/12/26/electric-car-battery-makers-seek-federal-funds/?scp=2&sq=Alternative%20Energy%20Sources&st=cse, there are three essential reasons why we should use lithium-ion batteries. One reason is that they eliminate the use of petroleum. Secondly, these batteries are three times as efficient as internal combustion engines. Furthermore, they can be charged by sources such as the wind (wind mill energy) and the sun (solar energy).

Several large companies and many start-up companies have been working on lithium-ion batteries. Mr. Greenberger said and I quote,” The future of these batteries will depend on start-ups because it’s a start-up industry.” The US has the technology to make these efficient batteries, but there are two major problems though. One problem is building prototypes to simulate new batteries. The other one is building the factories required to manufacture the batteries. Mr. Greenberger also says and I quote,” One reason is that none of the auto manufacturers bought lithium-ion batteries for electric cars. So, there is not enough money to build prototypes for the batteries and factories”.

My opinion on this article is that it is interesting. It will be helpful for our future to be able to have cost-efficient, energy-efficient and more reliable source to use in cars. The gas prices have been going up and our economy is in a bad shape. So, with the help of the efficient lithium-ion batteries, we could have a better economy. Plus, I learned more about the element lithium. For example, I learned about its purpose in the society and what its made out of. I thought it was interesting when the lawyer, Mr. Greenberger said that we are five years behind the Asians. Hence, I think this article is interesting to read.

A Cure Found For the Disease Giardiasis

If you recently went to a different country and are finding yourself having the following symptoms:
*projectile vomiting

* roaring flatulence
* sulfurous belching
* explosive diarrhea.
You are under the attack of giardiasis, a form of suffering devised by the single-celled parasite known as giardia. http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/16/science/16giar.html?_r=1&ref=science writes an article about this parasite. Giardiasis can linger onto you for months, because the parasite is able to play a defense against the immune system. The giardia has 190 coats. As the giardia “activates” one coat, the immune system is getting its army of antibodies ready. Once the immune system has generated antibodies against one coat, the parasite switches to another coat. There are some two-hundred eighty cases of giardiasis in the world because of the parasite’s persistence and infectivity.

However, there is a noxious weakness in the giardia’s game of switching coats. Biologists at the Catholic University of Córdoba in Argentina led by Dr. Lujan have found a way to stop the parasite. Their cunning counter play is to make the parasite wear all of its coat “proteins” at the same time. This change in the parasite should serve as the perfect vaccine, because it immunizes the body to the full repertoire of giardia’s coat proteins all at once. This vaccine may also help in producing vaccines against any other single-celled parasites that play the game of coat switching to dodge the immune system. For example, malaria causes sleeping sickness and Leishmanias.

The biologists were able to identify the mechanism by which the parasite controls its coat proteins. Each of the parasite’s 190 coat genes is the recipe for making a different protein. To produce the coat, giardia does not switch these genes on one at a time. Instead, it leaves them all “turned” on, allowing each gene to generate into a messenger RNA (Ribonucleic Acid) copy of itself. The synthesis of proteins would usually be directed by messenger RNAs, but all of the messengers get destroyed by giardia except one which makes the coat of the day. To kill the other messenger RNAs, giardia has adapted an ancient cellular system known as RNA interference. The system is designed to destroy foreign RNA, like invading viruses. Dr.Lujan, a biologist said and I quote, “………so it was surprising to find it regulating a cell’s own RNAs”. Dr. Lujan believes this is the case. He proved his theory by disrupting giardia’s production of enzymes, which are components of the RNA interference system. He also said and I quote, “I did not yet know how the organism shifted between coats but suspected that the RNA interference system favored whichever messenger RNA happened to be the most abundant at the time, and destroyed all others.”

My opinion on this subject is that it is fascinating. Dr.Lujan and his team have made a great discovery. This discovery can be used to determine more about single-celled parasites. What’s really interesting about giardia is that it is an ancient type of eukaryote. At the end of the article, they write about the parasite. I learned three facts that I didn’t know before. One fact is that this parasite was one of the earliest branches of the eukaryotes. Another fact is that giardia lacks mitochondria, which is an organelle that every eukaryote has. The last fact is that it has two nuclei, while a normal eukaryote has one. Hence, I think that this article was very interesting.

Symbiosis relationships: Class Blog 2

A symbiosis is a close relationship between two organisms in which one organism is near, on or even inside another organism and in which at least one organism benefits. There are three different types of symbiosis relationships. These relationships are commensalism, mutualism and parasitism.

Commensalism is a form of symbiosis in which one organism benefits and the other is not harmed. An example of commensalism is a manta ray and small fish. The manta ray lets the small fish get a ride on its back. This is commensalism, because the small fish benefits by getting a ride while the manta ray isn’t harmed.

Mutualism is a form of symbiosis in which both organisms benefit. An example of mutualism is a clownfish and sea anemones. The clownfish gets protection, while the sea anemones become clean. This is mutualism, because both water animals benefit from having each other around.

Parasitism is a form of symbiosis in which one organism benefits and the other is harmed. An example of parasitism is wasp’s eggs and caterpillar. When the eggs hatch into young wasps, these young wasps burrow into the body of the caterpillar. The young wasps feed on the caterpillar’s tissues. After a month or so, the young wasps chew their way out of the dying caterpillar’s body and spin cocoons. Afterwards, the young wasps become adult wasps. This is parasitism, because the caterpillar is harmed while the young wasps benefit from feeding on the caterpillar.

I think this subject is interesting, but sad in a way. It is interesting because an array of animals can be beneficial to each other (mutualism). Plus, some animals are being humane and helping other animals (commensalism). It is also sad since an animal ends up being harmed and the other is healthy from feeding on the other (parasitism).

Some interesting facts:
1. There is another type of symbiosis relationship! It is called Mimicry. Mimicry is when one organism is imitating another to gain the benefits enjoyed by that organism. For example, a Banded snake eel mimicking a venomous sea snake in order to divert the attention of predators.

Source: http://www.poliza.de/starship/sciencenew/symbiosis.htm

2. Parasites can be divided into two categories, Ectoparasites and Endoparasites. Ectoparasites refer to external parasites, while Endoparasites refers to internal parasites.

Source: http://www.poliza.de/starship/sciencenew/symbiosis.htm

Will the mammoth live again?

Wow! In a few years, we may be able to see the mammoth and the sabertooth tiger. Now that Japanese scientists have produced clones of mice that have been dead and frozen for 16 years, they are thinking that one day,they could resurrect long-extinct species, such as the mammoth. At http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/11/04/japan.mouse.clone/index.html, they write about ths new discovery. Until now, scientists have only been able to produce clones using cells from living animals. The latest research shows that scientists have overcome the obstacle that stopped them from doing further research. Researchers in Kobe, Japan used cells from mice that had been frozen for 16 years at -20 degree Celsius. The researchers followed a number of steps and were able to clone the mice. A researcher says and I quote,"This is the first time a mammal has been cloned from a sample stored at conditions reasonably close to what might be expected in permafrost". In an article published in http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=6173283, the researchers have a different thought and I quote,"However, it has been suggested that the 'resurrection' of frozen extinct species (such as the woolly mammoth) is impracticable, as no live cells are available,and the genomic material that remains is inevitably degraded". Last year, Russian scientists discovered the body of a baby mammoth frozen in the Arctic Yamalo-Nenetsk region. These scientists are thinking of cloning the mammoth's cells since many of the animals are preserved in ice. Depending on the results, they will clone other extinct animals.

I think that this discovery will lead science in a different direction. I also think that if this experiment on the mammoth works,more scientists are going to start cloning other extinct animals like the sabertooth tiger and the dodo. By reading these two articles, I have learned about how you can recreate an animal. This fact makes me ponder more to learn about genetics. It is interesting to know that as technology improves, our studies and research in science progresses further. We uncover facts that we haven't been sure about, now, we are able to clear those doubts and move on.