A Squirt of Stem Cell Gel Heals Brain Injuries

 

Title: A Squirt of Stem Cell Gel Heals Brain Injuries
Author: Sandeep Ravindran
Website: http://www.popsci.com/scitech/article/2009-09/squirt-stem-cell-gel-heals-brain-injuries

Brain injured have always been one of the hardest body parts to cure. That is because brain injuries are very hard to fix. Since injured tissues swell up and can cause additional damage to the cells. Dr. Ning Zhang at Clemson University in South Carolina has created some sort of gel that can help cure the damaged injured tissues. "It has the potential to treat head injuries suffered in combat, car accidents, falls, or gunshot wounds." (Sandeep Ravindran) Since we do not have many ways to treat such damage scientists have tried inputting donor cells into the brain to replace the damaged ones. This however has not been working so well because, "The donor cells often fail to grow or stimulate repair at the injury site, possibly because of the inflammation and scarring present there. The injury site also typically has very limited blood supply and connective tissue, which might prevent donor cells from getting the nutrients they require." (Sandeep Ravindran) However the gel can be filled with chemicals that will help the donor cells get planted in the brain properly and receive the nutrients and blood needed to sustain and heal the injury. They have tested the gel on many different rats with severe causes of brain injuries and it has shown huge results. "Dr. Zhang loaded the gel with immature stem cells, as well as the chemicals they needed to develop into full-fledged adult brain cells. When rats with severe brain injuries were treated with this mixture for eight weeks, they showed signs of significant recovery." (Sandeep Ravindran) This gel might be something that will help us save many lives and the new pathway ahead. With the results we are getting now the gel might be ready to be tested on humans in about three years.

Quarter 2: Current Event 1

 

Helium: Not so super after all

An exciting discovery in physics turns out to be merely a case of mistaken identity"

              In 2004 scientist Moses Chan of Pennsylvania State University made a supernatural discovery. He discovered some sort of super solid that could flow without slowing down. He found a super solid that when cooled down to super cold temperatures could flow without slowing down, or without friction in other words. It appeared to not follow the law of friction which should not be possible. Ever since scientist have been calling such materials super solids. Ever since many scientists have been fighting to make the discovery their own. But now Chan has reported that the discovery is untrue, or in other words too strange to be true. He repeated his experiment and failed in proving his friction-free motion theory. The super solid that he thought was magical was actually a test material that became too stiff.  Chan told Science News he now feels “a sense of disappointment.”

             “Super solids were the latest super stuff to catch the interest of physicists, scientists who study matter and energy. Superconductors are materials that can carry electric currents without disruptions. Super fluids don’t obey the rules we’re used to; they may flow up and over the side of a container. Super solids would have been like super fluids, able to flow without friction.” Is what Chan told Science News in great disappointment. Friction is the force that slows down the motion of two touching things moving past each other. When you rub your hands together quickly, the heat you feel is from friction. Chan worked with one of his co workers Eunseong Kim on the first experiment. They used helium, which we usually use for blowing balloons. Like all matter, helium can exist as a solid, liquid or gas. Chan and Kim didn’t use helium gas; they used a solid form, which exists only at extremely low temperatures. They put the solid helium in a glass cylinder and put that in a device that twisted it one way and then the other, reversing direction 1,000 times per second.

             After that came the exiting part. Once the scientists lowered the temperature the cylinder began twisting faster. This increase in speed suggested some helium atoms had broken free of the solid and were acting more like a liquid, flowing without friction to slow them. That suggested some of the helium had transformed into a super solid. But in his team’s latest study, Chan found an error that he’d missed the first time around: A glitch in the construction of the twisting cylinder. And this mistake threw off the measurements. Although the error was tiny, it was large enough to confuse the researchers. What they had thought was a super solid turned out to be solid helium becoming stiffer.
Chan might not have found a super solid but he might have began a new era to find new things. Explore further and extend out limits. His findings, although mistaken were interesting and proving them impossible must have been the hardest action he has ever took.

http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2012/11/helium-not-so-super-after-all/

 

One World Essay: Chemical Abuse

For the first time in science we are writing a "One World Essay". That means that we had to chose an issue, that has something to do with chemistry or chemical reactions, that we have seen and write an essay about it. The topic I chose to do is chemical abuse. Below are some great sites, I've looked at to get an idea of what I am studying. There is also a link to my bubbl.us account so you can see my brainstorm! Hope you enjoy it!

5 Great Links!

1. http://www.councilonchemicalabuse.org/
2. http://www.theexaminer.org/volume1/number6/facts.htm
3. http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/patientcare/healthcare_services/mental_health/mental_health_about/substance/Pages/index.aspx
4. http://www.kingcounty.gov/healthservices/MHSA.aspx
5. http://www.draonline.org/chemical_dependency.html

Here is the link to my mind map/ brainstorm!
https://bubbl.us/

Hope this helps when you have a similar task!
Thanks!

Reactions Lab

Reaction Number 1:

Glue+ Water+ Boron= GAK
What happened?

• It became thinner
• Became thicker
• Stick
• Drying
• Bounces
• Becomes stringy

Why is this a reaction?
This would be a reaction because it changed from one state to another. It started out as liquid and became solid.

Reaction Number 2: 

Cu2+ + So42- + Zn(s)=Cu(s) + Zn2+ + So42-
What happened?

• The zinc is becoming darker (black)
• It is making bubbles
• Disolving

Why is this a reaction?
It started dissolving  and changing color. It also made bubbles.

ZINC

ZINC DISSOLVING 

Different Types of Reactions Videos

1. Combustion Reaction
2. Precipitation Reaction
3. Synthesis Reaction
4. Heat Releasing/exothermic
5. Nuclear Reaction
6. Heat Absorbing Reaction/Endothermic
7. Color Changing Reactions
8. Decomposition Reactions
9. Oxidation Reactions 

1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UygUcMkRy_c
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFovlKpPCbI
3. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_GEhXPTo9gc
4. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOTNXJl8fU0
5. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8hCh6W4g3Y
6. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5RJLvQXce4A
7. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTIPp4lCTg8
8. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg9oPSn8mJQ
9. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-LA9BxQsdE

Current Event Week 4

Covalent Bonds vs Ionic Bonds

    

There are two atomic bonds- ionic bonds and covalent bonds. They are different in two ways- their structure and their chemical properties. Covalent bonds are made up of two pairs of electrons shared by two atoms. The formation of the covalent bonds of electrons all depends on their electro negativity. (The power of the atom inside a molecule that attracts electrons) A covalent bond is made when two atoms are able to share their electrons, while the ionic bond is formed when the sharing is so unequal that the electrons that are exchanged between the two elements are completely lost, which then becomes a pair of ions. Each atom is made up of protons, neutrons and electrons. At the very center of an atom, which is its nucleolus protons and neutrons are bonded together. The electrons are not in the center but they border around it. Each of the orbits can have a certain number of electrons to be stable. One type of chemical bonding in covalent bonding. That is where two non metallic atoms which are characterized by sharing one pair or more of electrons between atoms and other covalent bonds. The other type of chemical bonds is ionic bonds. They are formed when the electric attractions between appositively charged ions inside a chemical compound. Those kind of bonds occur mainly between metallic and non metallic atoms. There are many differences between ionic and covalent bonds. Here are some of the main ones.

1.        Covalent bonds have a definite shape and low melting/boiling points.—Ionic bonds normally form crystalline atoms and have high melting/boiling points.
2.       Ionic bonds conduct electricity and heat which the covalent bonds can be broken down into their primary structure. 
3.       If you want to break ionic bonds it uses a lot of energy. A lot more than it takes to break covalent bonds.

Those are the main differences between the two bonds.
http://www.diffen.com/difference/Covalent_Bonds_vs_Ionic_Bonds

 

Current Events: 2&3 (Week 2& Week 3)

 

Since for the last two weeks I forgot to complete my current events I decided to make this blog post 2 in 1. I have decided to write about the two of my favorite elements from the periodic table. Gold and Selenium. I really do not know why I like selenium but I guess I just love the sound of it. I really like gold because it is shinny and I love shinny! Anyway the first element, gold will be like the first current event and the second element selenium will be the second blog post! 

Gold:

On the periodic table of elements gold is represented by the symbol 'Au'.  'Au' is a symbol from a Latin word, aurum. Ancient Greeks fell in love with its yellowness and named it after aurum which means ‘light of dawn’. Gold’s atomic number is 79 and its atomic mass is 196. Because the atomic number is 79 it means that it has 79 protons and electrons. Then we subtract the atomic number from the atomic mass to get the number of neutrons, 117. Gold is part of group 7 on the periodic table along with, cooper, silver and uninunium. Gold has a very high melting point, which is 1064 degrees C. Gold is a very dense and heavy element. There are 21 isotopes of gold. On the periodic table we refer to gold as AU-197, which is a stable element. Gold is usually found in free form but can also be found as a compound form with silver, quartz, lead, tellurium, copper, zinc and calcite. Gold can also be found in sea water. ‘Rescuing’ gold from sea is not yet ‘approved’ because of such high cost and scientists are worried that it would not be worth it. Gold is considered to be one of the most valuable elements on earth. Most man and women on this earth crave gold. People wish to own it in any state. Liquid or solid gold has many admirers all around the world. People throughout many civilizations have wanted gold but couldn’t have it. Gold is bendable and able to attract heat. It can be shaped any way we want, stretched to make a thin wire or even pulled together. Gold can be stretched apart to create sheets that are thinner than human hair. Its thickness could be as small as 0.000127 millimeters. But we mostly use it to make jewelry. Gold is a pure form, which means that it is soft. It can only be hardened if you add other metals to it. When you add other metals, only then can it be created into jewelry. Gold is such a boring but interesting element all at once. It is not very rare but many people dream of having gold. I myself, do not own gold but dream about having some. 

Selenium:

 

Selenium is my second favorite element on the periodic table of elements. Again I do not know why, but I really love the name. On the periodic table Selenium is represented as SE. Its atomic number is 34 and the atomic mass is 78. 34 is not only the atomic number but also the number of protons and electrons. Then we take the atomic number and subtract it from the atomic mass to get the number of neutrons which is, 45. (also my favorite number) Selenium’s boiling point is at 220.5 degrees C. which is not as high as gold but still too hot for us. Selenium is a Greek word for moon. Why? We don’t know. Selenium is part of group 16 on the periodic table along with oxygen, sulphur, tellurium and polonium.  Their group is called part of the nonmetallic elements. Selenium was put in their group because it is similar to these elements in terms of forms and compounds. According to Anne Marie Helmenstin “Selenium is used in xerography to copy documents and in photographic toner. It is used in the glass industry to make ruby-red colored glasses and enamels and to decolorize glass. It is used in photocells and light meters. Because it can convert AC electricity to DC, it is widely used in rectifiers. Selenium is a p-type semiconductor below its melting point, which leads to many solid-state and electronics applications. Selenium is also used as an additive to stainless steel.” If I was to put that paragraph into my own words I would have to say that selenium is very useful in a glass industry. In my opinion selenium is not one of the most important or outstanding elements on the table but it did catch my eye. 

Websites: 

Gold- http://www.buzzle.com/articles/gold-the-element.html

Selenium- http://chemistry.about.com/od/elementfacts/a/selenium.htm