BAROMETERS - HOW THEY WORK!

The pressure from gravity is exerted on the mercury.

This pressure thus causes the mercury to rise to a certain

height in the measuring tube. This essentially is a vacuum,

due to how its pressure works. The tube is able to suck up

the mercury in a sense that it causes there to be a space with

no matter, due to the fact that there is no air within the upper

part of the measuring tube.

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Buoyancy-How does it work?

The term buoyancy was first discovered by an ancient

Greek philosopher Archimedes. An object that is submerged

in water displaces water according to how much it weighs. 

Archimedes discovered that the water will push against the   

object with a force equal to the weight of the water that is displaced.

The amount of water that is moved depends on the density of the 

object. A bowling ball and a beach ball have the same volume, but the

bowling ball weighs more, The bowling ball is able to move enough

water to be equal with it's own weight, so it floats.

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Toxineering

If you've ever been stung by a wasp or bitten by a fire ant you know that venoms can be extremely painful. Some of them can be so toxic that they're fatal. In fact, venomous snakes alone can kill up to 100,000 people each year. But while venom can cause intense pain, a team of researchers have found a new way to use venom's untapped potential to do the exact opposite.

Biologists estimate that there are about 173,000 species of venomous animals creating various kinds of proteins and peptides that are thought to number in the ten millions. President of the World Toxin Bank Zoltan Takacs explains that every molecule in any given venom has its own target called an ion channel. They are the pores of a cell's surface, where information comes and goes. This information can include things like shoots of pain running along nerve cells.

There's just one problem: there's no way to know which one of these millions of molecules will do what until you test it out. Researchers have screened less than 2,000 of them and have come up with no more than 20 medicines.

To speed up venom testing, Michael N. Nitabach, an associate professor of Cellular and Molecular Physiology and Genetics at Yale University and his colleagues have come up with a new method called 'toxineering' that works by screening for potential blockers of pain-specific channels. They tried it out with 100 toxins produced in several species of spiders and found a match. The Peruvian green velvet tarantula produced a molecule that stifles TRPA1, which is an ion channel responsible for certain kinds of chronic pain.

However you shouldn't be expecting to see any Peruvian tarantula extract on the shelf next to the aspirin at the drug store any time soon. Drug production can take decades and "we're not even out of the culture dish at this point," says Nitabach. Nonetheless, he has begun talk with drug companies and plans to begin scaling up toxineering to screen thousands more venoms.

Glow in the Dark Ice Cream

We've all seen some less than traditional flavors of ice cream, but the British company Lick Me I'm Delicious might have just taken the cake- or the scoop actually! The company's award winning food inventor Charlie Harry Francis came up with the idea.

"But what on earth is it???" Francis writes on the company's blog. "It's glow-in-the-dark jellyfish ice cream using calcium activated proteins that react when they are agitated, or to put it in a nonscience-y way, it glows when you lick it."

Francis worked with a Chinese scientist who figured out how to manufacture the luminescence protein that is found in jellyfish. He used it to make the ice cream emit a neon green glow when your tongue makes contact with it.

Just one scoop of this glowing ice cream costs around £140 or $225.22. And to answer the question we're all asking, 'is it safe to eat,?' Francis writes, "Well I tried some and I don't seem to be glowing anywhere so we'll go with a yes for now."

In addition to the glowing ice cream, Francis has also made a glow-in-the-dark gin and tonic sorbet using a substance called quinine which is a drug made from tree bark that is usually used to treat malaria.

Why Do People Get Migraines?

Have you ever had a migraine, and wondered why? There are many reasons why people get migraines. One reason is hormonal changes in women. Another is food. Or, more importantly, the lack thereof. A lack of nutrients that we gain from food can trigger a migraine. Drinks can also bring on migraines. Alcohol and highly caffeinated drinks can cause migraines. Something else that is a factor of migraines is stress. Stress from work or school can induce the possibility of a migraine by a lot. Bright lights, sun glares, and loud sounds can also trigger migraines. One awful thing about that is all three of those usually make migraines worse. A sudden loss or gain of sleep also causes migraines for some people. A lot of physical excercise can enforce migraines. Medications can also aggravate migraines. 

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We Americans may become nearsighted by 2050, and maybe even blind!

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A recent scientific study in the Brien Holden Vision Institute, Sydney, Australia. Has assumed that half of the entire world will become nearsighted in 2050 due to changes in daily life such as working indoors and electronic usage. The study started in 1995 with 2.1 million participants. The results showed that pretty much of 25% the entire world has myopia (being nearsighted) and by 2050, 50% of the world's population will have myopia due to staring at your phone/computer/TV all day. Since we don't know what the future of electronics has in store for us, then they could potentially blind humans. 

So get ready to save for glasses soon if you stare at your TV all day! if you want to know more about this then check out http://www.fastcoexist.com/3056862/half-the-world-will-be-short-sighted-by-2050.  Also remember this before you watch Netflix next time, not easy being blind like this dude to the left.

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Is Hypnosis Real?

This video shows that hypnosis isn't a mind controlling tool, rather it is a state of high concentration. It has a couple of interesting examples and a few interesting tests in it. It is an interesting video and it shows that hypnosis is real, but different people experience it differently.

Parts of the Brain (And How They Work)

The brain is a very complex thing. We still don't understand everything about it and how it works, but here's a quick layout:

Light Blue- This area of the brain is called the frontal lobe. It controls the ability to do problem-solving, judgement, and motor function.

Purple- This area of the brain is called the parietal lobe. It controls sensation, handwriting, and body position.

Green- This area of the brain is called the occipital lobe. It controls the brain's visual processing system.

Yellow- This area of the brain is called the temporal lobe. It controls the ability to memorize and hear.

Red- This area of the brain is called the cerebellum. It is responsible for coordination and balance.

Dark Blue- This is called the brain stem. It controls breathing, sleep, and the heart.

There are also other parts of the brain. The cortex is the outer layer of brain cells. It controls thinking and voluntary movements. The basal ganglia are groups of structures in the brain. They arrange messages to send to other parts of the brain.

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Sperm Whales

Sperm Whales are mammals that live in the ocean. They grow to be from 49 feet to 70 feet long. Sperm whales weigh from 35 to 45 tons.They are Carnivores. They feed on squid. To hunt squid the sperm whales must dive to depths of up to 3,280 feet. On deep dives such as this the Sperm whale holds it's breath for as long as 90 minutes. They can swim at 23 miles per hour because of their big tale which is 16 feet wide from top to tip. Some scientists also believe that a Sperm Whale was the " Great Fish" that swallowed the prophet Jonah in the bible.
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why do dogs chase their tail?

Why dogs chase there tail usually is because they could be bored or it also could be for attention. My dog chases her tail and usually when she does we start laughing, but the positive energy you give off when your laughing will encourage the dog to keep going, so they will keep getting  attention from you.


                                          

Optical Illusion

This is an optical illusion of a dinosaur. No matter what angle it is viewed, except from behind, it looks like it is watching you. An optical illusion is something that deceives the eye; makes it look like your looking at something that doesn't exist.

Potassium Permanganate and Glycerin

Potassium Permanganate and Glycerin are two chemical compounds that are used for different stuff. Potassium Permanganate (an oxidant) is usually used for medicine for all kinds of stuff to koi pond treatment, while Glycerin is used for sanitary items such as tooth paste to shampoo and sugar related snacks. By themselves these two stuff seem pretty normal until they meet which leads into a combustion that can be used to make a great fire. The only downside to this combustion chemical reaction is that it only reacts at 70 degrees or higher. Here is a fresh video of it in action.