Dwayne’s Study Zombies

Yeah. This is totally something I want to see on the GED test… Cats that glow in the dark. How can the GED make something so interesting into boring multiple choice questions? So, did scientists make these cats to sell them to millionaires for big bucks? To write funner GED practice questions? Or can glow-in-the-dark cats really help scientists cure diseases and save endangered species? I thought about it a lot, cuz it seemed weird to me. I think the answer’s in how they do the cloning, tho, and that’s GED science thinking. (more…)

Okay. Have you seen these cats!?!? Scientists in Korea cloned these kitties that glow in the dark. Yeah! No more tripping over the cat in the middle of the night, right? No need for a night-light, cuz you got a glow in the dark kitty! What do you think??? (more…)

Dude! Did you look at that article at http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071012104737.htm? You know, the big problem with these science stuff is the long words. Like “pigments.” What’s that? Mr. W says it’s what makes something a particular color. So why don’t they just say “colors”?

Anyway, I guess my idea about trees being aliens is bust. I looked over that article, and if you remember, I had two questions…

What makes tree leaves change color?

I guess trees start out with stuff that colors them, that pigment stuff. And “chlorophyll” is what makes them green. (I thought chlorophyll was what they call the pool guy, Phil, who puts chlorine in the pool…) Anyway, chlorophyll takes light and makes it into food for the plants. Kewl!

Then, there’s something else in leaves called “auxin.” (Hmmmm… sounds like an alien name to me…) This stuff keeps the channels to the leaf open… I think of it kind of like keeping blood vessels open. You know how leaves got little lines in them? Like little blood vessels, right? Except with no blood… weird. So, I guess auxin keeps those things open so the leaf stays connected to the tree.

When the tree stops making auxin, everything closes off, and it doesn’t get any food. Then the chlorophyll dies… and the green goes away. Then, you can see the other colors from other pigments in the leaves.

Why does it happen in the fall?

I guess all this stuff happens when it gets cold and the days get short… but how does that stop the auxin? The article doesn’t say. Maybe it is aliens after all…

What do you think?

You are traveling to another dimension… a dimension not of sight and sound, but of mind… next stop… Dwayne’s Twilight Zone… doo, doo, doo, doo… doo, doo, doo, doo…

Seriously. Did you know science was so freaky? I never thought of it until I started studying for my GED. So I decided to keep you up to date on the weird and wild world of science…

Like, I was looking out my window, and I noticed that the leaves on the trees are starting to change colors. They do that every year, yeah, sure… but how come? I started to think how the trees are probably really aliens who traveled to Earth millions of years ago, and have been quietly waiting for the right moment to take over! And changing the colors of their leaves is a secret signal to each other and to their master ship that’s rotating the Earth.

Okay, Curtis says when I get ideas like that in my head, I should look up what’s really true. So I decided to look up about leaves. First I thought up my questions.

• What makes tree leaves change color?
• Why does it happen in the fall?

Here’s a link I found to start looking up my answers:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071012104737.htm

What do you all think? Are autumn leaves a natural process? Or signs of alien communication?

I’ll let you know next time what I found out.

Dudes, I delivered pizza to this creepy government experiment family the other day. They were all wearin’ white shirts and jeans, and all of them had short brown hair. Like they were a bunch of clones! I was sweatin’ so hard by the time they paid me, I just knew they were gonna suck me into their clone vortex and spit me out to be just like one of them. No way, dude, I’d never wear a white shirt. I’d get pizza stains all over it in an instant! Man, all my shirts are serious tomato sauce magnets. Hey, I wonder if my shirts have been secretly altered by the government too… I think it’s time to buy some new shirts! (Maybe the ones with, like, cool fire designs all across the chest, so you wouldn’t even notice all the pizza stains!)

So, today’s GED Science problem has to do with creepy clones! Ok, so maybe not clones, but families that look alike.

Which of the following would provide the best evidence of a blood relation?

1.) The two people look alike.

2.) Matching fingerprints

3.) Similar interests

4.) Legal documentation stating a blood relation

5.) DNA analysis (more…)

Dudes! So, like, part of GED science is studying your own body… and health, and stuff like that. Like, did you know I’m allergic to peanuts? Seriously. Get those things away from me! I found a science article about peanut allergies, too… Some scientists did a study about kids allergic to peanuts. And guess what the solution is to peanut allergies that they found? PEANUTS!

Here’s how it works… the kids ate a little bit of peanuts every day, and their bodies sort of got used to dealing with them. They built up a tolerance for peanuts. Man, I wish I’d done that when I was little! But be careful, this article says that it’s just a study for now… and no one should do it without a doctor. You don’t want to set off your peanut allergies. No kidding! The article’s called “Children Can Complete Treatment For Peanut Allergies And Achieve Long-term Tolerance, Studies Suggest”

Here’s a GED Practice question from the article… First, read this paragraph from the article:

Duke and Arkansas Children’s Hospital began enrolling patients in studies five years ago to determine if incremental doses of peanut protein could change how the body’s immune system responds to its presence. The doses start as small as 1/1000 of a peanut. Eight to 10 months later, the children are ingesting the equivalent of up to 15 peanuts per day. The children stay on that daily therapy for several years and are monitored closely.

So, based on this study, what might a scientist hypothesize would be an effective treatment for an allergy to milk?

1) a regular daily dose of 1/1000 oz. of milk

2) a daily dose of milk, beginning at a very small quantity and slowly increasing

3) a daily dose of milk, beginning at the maximum tolerable quantity and slowly decreasing

4) a daily dose of 10 oz. of milk for 8 to 10 months

5) a small dose of milk administered at random intervals

So, what’d'ya think? Read more to find the answer… (more…)

Hey! Dudes! Havin’ lots of fun studyin’ GED science? Man, I just saw this article, and I guess I must be smarter than I think. See, whenever I’m in class, y’know, I get to thinkin’, an’ my mind starts wanderin’, an’ next thing I know, I’m like daydreamin’ I got a light saber and battling gooey green monsters on other planets. See? So, when the teacher asks me ’bout the GED questions… well… y’know how it is.

Well, I jus’ read about how our brains are like, totally active when we’re daydreaming. So I guess I’m all solvin’ problems without knowin’ it… just not the one’s I’m s’posed to be thinkin’ bout. Here’s the link to read all ’bout it… Daydream Brainy-Science

So, here’s a practice question on that article… an’ don’t daydream till after you’re done answerin’ it! (more…)

Hey! Like, I read this article, about a chimp at a zoo. Now, if I were in a zoo, like on an alien planet or something, I’d be totally pissed off. Right? Well, I guess this chimp is, too. Cuz here’s what he does. He gets some rocks, right, and he saves ‘em up for later. And then when there’s people at the zoo, he’s got his rocks all ready to throw at ‘em. That’s one mean chimp. But hey–what’s that got to do with science?

(more…)

Hey GED dudes! Yeah, you know I like dinosaurs. Like, in Jurassic Park, when the big T-Rex starts comin’ at them, and it’s so big its footsteps make the water shake… ba-boom! ba-boom! It’s comin’!!! Well, imagine that dinosaur dancing! Dudes! Hilarious! (more…)

Hey, GED studiers! Anyone out there who wants to be a scientist? I think it’d be totally kewl… like, I could be like Dr. Jeckyl, all in my secret chemistry lab, with mysterious equipment, putting together a secret formula…. Well, I guess real science isn’t quite like that, but still. Like, you could work on a space ship. Or in a laboratory, with microscopes and exploding chemicals and stuff. Or on secret work for the government! And maybe you’d win a Nobel prize! (more…)