Jet lag slows hamster brains

When a person travels quickly over long distances, the place may not be the only change. When her bodily rhythms get thrown off, she suffers from jet lag , it’s hard to sleep and eat at the right times in the new location. Humans and all living creatures have an internal biological clock that tells them when to sleep, and when to be awake.
In a new study, scientists tested the effects of jet lag on hamsters — which might seem strange, since we don’t usually think of hamsters as world travelers. But what happens to hamsters may happen to humans, too.
Neurons are important cells in the brain. People are born with many of the neurons they’ll have their whole lives. But these cells also continue to be produced by the hippocampus, a part of the brain that helps people store and sort memories, and can move to other parts of the brain.
The hamsters with jet lag produced only about half as many neurons as before. Plus, the hamsters had trouble with basic learning exercises.
So if you have an hamster I don't think it's a good idea to bring him with you on a trip!!!!!!!!!
helene le roux 6a 30/11/10

robot competition in atlantas

One weekend in April, 20,000 screaming and cheering fans showed up at the Georgia Dome in downtown Atlanta. The stadium is home to the Atlanta Falcons, a professional football team, but these fans weren’t cheering for their favorite football players. They were cheering for robots — and for the high school students who had built them.
Students on more than 300 teams from across the country had brought their homemade robots to Atlanta for the FIRST Robotics Championship. During the competitions, robots played “Breakaway,” a game where they scored points with a ball and climbed over obstacles The FIRST Robotics Championship in Atlanta lasted for only a few days, but the projects last all year. High schools register for the event in the autumn, and during the fall and winter they get ready to build robots.
So I now most of us are a bite young butif you want to be a famous scientist and you believein yourself...... COME WITH ME WE ARE GOING TO BUILD IT!!!!!
                                                                                                                             helene de 24 of november

Active volcano on Venus !?

Incredible,you know that scientist already know of more than 1,000 volcanoes on the surface of Venus, Earth’s “sister” planet. A big question has been: Are they still active?
one of  their evidence comes from a lava flow in the planet’s northern hemisphere. The flow is hotter than the rocks around it, which means the lava might still be cooling off. Venus is a difficult planet to study from Earth because it is surrounded by thick clouds. Telescopes on Earth can’t see through these clouds, so the best information about Venus comes from spacecraft orbiting it.The scientists say the lava flow can’t be very old because if it were, it would have cooled off enough that Magellan wouldn’t have noticed the difference in microwaves.  
Now we just have to wait until that we are sure of the information!!!

the electricity bacteria!!!!!!!!!!!

It's incredible and horrible at the same time!!!!!!!!!ILike a household wire carries electrons from wall socket to appliance, bacteria can conduct electricity along tiny wire-like appendages

A community of bacteria  could act as a slimy fuel cell, digesting organic matter and churning out electricity.  the microbes might   gobble up toxic marine sediments or process sewage at waste treatment plants.Biologists first noticed that deep-sea bacteria grew the curious wires when placed in environments with little oxygen. Those bacteria   share the gas — their way of breathing — by connecting their wires, as if a crowded room of people could breathe from an open window simply by linking hands.So be carfull and if you see a thing litle bite like this image .....Run away  to hide in a scientifique lab!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


                                                                     helene le roux         3/11/2010