Category Archives: Uncategorized

The Invasive Species Council of BC is calling for input: Share what you know.

The Invasive Species Council of BC is meeting with the goal of updating the invasive species approach.  Learn More…

“The ISCBC has already completed one in-depth input session that covered four solutions from the Strategy at the November 24th ISCBC Special Members Meeting. To keep building on the momentum and allow everyone ample opportunity to contribute, the ISCBC is offering three interactive Online Input Sessions. If you cannot attend the Input Sessions or have additional feedback beyond the facilitated discussions, we encourage you to fill out Online Input Forms accessed below. All input received from the November 24th ISCBC Special Members meeting, and gathered through online submissions, is listed in each of the Online Submission pages. Input from the online meetings will also be added to the running summaries.”

 

 

Review how science is done – the scientific method

 

Quizlet on the Scientific Method:

Popcorn is made up of matter (it has mass and takes up space). How is popcorn popped?

Learn more about the scientific method and how popcorn is popped!

 

How do deicers work?


deicers

Welcome Back to a brand new year of learning!

Welcome Back!
Best wishes for an exciting new year of learning!
GetImage

Norad Santa Tracker – keep track of the “Right Jolly Old Elf”

Naughty or Nice – NORAD Santa Tracker

 

The 1st time this has ever been recorded – bats and birds snuggled up together in the same nest hole.

Is there a greater chance of species to species disease transfer when different animal species (birds and bats) share the same nest hole?

Learn more…Science in Action

Noctule Bats

 

What happens when false scientific data is published in a top medical Journal

Learn more about the MMR Vaccination scare:

Why did it take so long for the top medical journal is the UK, the Lancet, to withdraw an article by Dr. Wakefield?  Dr Wakefield, a bowel specialist,  suggested a link between MMR Vaccination and autism.  The original study was published in the Lancet in 1998.

Top five facts about the Lancet article and the Wakefield Study:

  1. the Wakefield investigation could not be repeated.  A valid science study must be able to be repeated.
  2. the study involved only 12 subjects.  While this might be fine if it was an early stage investigation, twelve is too small a sample to conclude that the MMR vaccination causes autism.  Twelve as a sample size is too small to be statistically valid.
  3. Eight (8) of the 12 mothers in the study suggested that Autism developed 2 weeks after their child was vaccination.  In fact the test subjects were exhibiting autism traits 24 months before the MMR vaccination was given.
  4. Dr. Wakefield contacted the 12 subjects two years before he did his investigation and recruited these families to participate in his “research”.  
  5. Dr. Wakefield was paid by lawyers to promote the MMR Vaccination scare.

Learn more about vaccinations:

Vaccinations are not drugs – they are real chemicals.  Vaccinations stimulate an immune response.

Vaccinations are given to people who have no symptoms of a disease.  

 

 

Are you smarter than a Grade 8?

Eighty percent of students are not able to spot the difference between a fake news story versus credible sources.  What are the best strategies to check whether or not web content is false?  

How can you become a fact checker?

FactCheck.org

Remember to ask the following 5 questions before you assume a fact is true:

  1. Who created this message and why are they sending it?
  2. What techniques are being used to attract my attention? 
  3. What lifestyles, values and points of view are represented in the message? 
  4. How might different people understand this message differently from me? 
  5. What is omitted from this message?

How does a scientific study differ from a research article?


 

The link to the research article describes why some compounds found in food, beet pigment and asparagus acid can cause your waste products (urine) to change colour or odour.