Deforestation: The Effects

electrictreehouse.com

www.telegraph.co.uk

We all know that deforestation isn't good for our planet. Cutting down our Earth's precious trees at such a rate that we are/have been doing can only have negative effects. One of those effects is the decrease in rainfall. Without rainfall, our planets vegetation could no longer survive. The tropical areas of the Earth have the most abundant amount of rainfall due the amount of forests they have. Scientists have been trying to prove that there is a direct link between the amount of forest and the amount of rainfall it gets. A recent study from researchers out of England's University of Leeds shows that in areas in the Amazon region have already been greatly affected by the amount of deforestation that has occurred. The study also showed that if it continues at the rate it is going now, rainfall for those areas could be reduced by as much as 20 percent in the next 40 years. This means we need to take action now, or lose our precious forests we have been blessed with.
Sources: http://news.yahoo.com/less-forest-less-rain-deforestation-reduces-tropical-rainfall-214509180.html

What would we do without Photosynthesis?

vickyexplored.wordpress.com

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Photosynthesis_equation.svg

Photosynthesis is one of the most important processes on Earth. It is said that Earth's plants produce close to 160 billion metric tons of sugar by converting solar energy to chemical energy. 160 billion tons?! That's a lot of food, considering that the chemical energy photosynthesis yield is a sugar known as glucose. Sugar is food for humans and animals, so photosynthesis is essential to life. The scientific way to express photosynthesis is written is shown in the image above. This picture is helpful in understanding photosynthesis and how it works. As you can see, the reaction yields glucose, and oxygen. As we all know, without oxygen we would not be able to live. Photosynthesis is essential to life in many ways. As shown in the reaction, it uses carbon dioxide and water to make sugar and oxygen. In other words, plants use the excess carbon dioxide in the air (which can be deadly in high doses) and turn it into two things that help us live. Glucose (food to eat) and oxygen (air to breathe).
Sources: Class Notes: Chapter 7-Photosynthesis: Using Light to Make Food

Once in a Blue Moon..

http://images.nationalgeographic.com/wpf/media-live/photos/000/117/cache/blue-moon-new-years-eve_11722_600x450.jpg

www.all-hd-wallpapers.com/wallpapers/animals/388039.jpg

Does a blue moon really have anything to do with how we behave? Or does it affect our pets more than us? People have always had the perception of a blue moon making people, or animals go crazy. Fortunately in 1996, researchers found that a blue moon, or an ordinary full moon for that matter, has no connection with people's behavior. Experiments showed that the amount of emergency room visits on nights of a full moon were no different from any other night. Well, that means it's safe to be "out on the town" if the moon is full right? According to an study published in the British Medical Journal in December 2000, you better be careful and make sure there are not many animals out at the same time you are (at least in Great Britain). Studies showed that one emergency room has more animal bites on the nights of, or around the night of a full moon. Hopefully, that's only true for Great Britain and not the United States...

Sources: http://news.yahoo.com/myth-busted-does-blue-moon-us-crazy-192444799.html?_esi=1

The World's Smallest Living Thing



http://www.fi.edu/learn/heart/blood/images/large_white-cells.jpg



http://www.redicecreations.com/ul_img/9743helacells.jpg

What is the world's smallest living thing? In 1655, Robert Hooke discovered it-a cell. There are two types of cells-prokaryotic and eukaryotic. Prokaryotic cells consist of bacteria and archea while eukaryotic cells are all other cells like and plant and animal cells. Our bodies are made up of eukaryotic cells. Although Hooke discovered the cell, a scientist named Antoni van Leeuwenhoek discovered that cells could move. It was later discovered that not ALL cells move. Van Leeuwenhoek is also known as "the Father of Microbiology" because he is known for his work with the microscope in order to study cells more closely. With his home-made microscopes he was able to become the first person to observe single-celled organisms. Most cells cannot be seen without a microscope because they are so small. The smallest of cells is bacteria which usually needs to be viewed at 1,000x magnification just to see it. Plant and animal cells are 10x bigger than bacteria cells, so they are 10x easier to see. By understanding cells and how they work, we have learned how not only our bodies work, but also plants, animals, and even the bacteria that are all around us.

Sources: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonie_van_Leeuwenhoek, class notes