Pathogens/microorganisms, what are they again?

The Good, The Bad and The Ugly!



Microorganisms/Pathogens.


Bacteria-Ear infections, food poisoning and tuberculosis.


Virus- Infect living cells and reproduce itself, flu, cold, etc.


Fungi- Molds, yeasts-Cause athlete’s foot.


Protist- passed by small insects mostly-Malaria caused by mosquitoes.


Baboons Vote Funny People.

Life Blood

Blood is a life- and- death issue.  How does blood keep you alive? every second of every day, blood delivers vital nutirents, oxygen, and other chemicals to all of your organs.  It also carts away your body's waste.  In addtion, flowing blood can cool you off or warm you up, when necessary.  Blood is also your best weapon against germs and other invaders.  Your bloodstream creates microscopic defenders called antibodies.  They coat germs, making it possible for white bloods cells in the bloodstream to kill them.
    However, the very liquid that keeps you alive can also kill you.  Within hours, blood can spread poisons and other harmful elements all over your body.  deadly diseases travel from one body to another via the bloodstream.  Your blood may not have the right kinds of defenders or enough defenders to protect you. 
    How can you blood both give life and take it away? Stay tuned in class to find out.

(Information Taken from: Kids Discover Magazine: Blood, Editor Stella Sands.)

Mouth, Esophagus and Stomach Oh My!!!

Before we can put food inside the  mouth, the body needs to be ready to make use of the food's nutrients.  This process is called digestion.  It occurs when food passes along a long tube, which begins with the mouth, throat and esophagus. 

Even before food arrives, the sight or smell of food triggers the release of gastric juices.  As food fills the expanding stomach, the nervous and hormonal systems control the churning of food, and mixing with gastric juice, until the time comes for emptying.  The volume of the stomach can increase from just 0.1 pints (50 ml) when empty, to a massive 8 and a half pints (4 liters), after a big meal.  It can expand bevause of big folds in its lining.

We finish off this process with the small and large Intestines located in a limited space in the abdomen.  It's here that the breakdown of major food groups-carbohydrates, fats, protiens and others-into simple, usable nutrients is completed.  Leftover waste is also removed.

 (Information taken from: Dr. Frankenstein's Human Body Book: The Montrous Truth About How Your Body Works   Author: Richard Walker.)

Beauty is only Skin Deep...

Your Skin is an amazing part of your body.  It helps to protect you from infection, keeps water in your body, regulates your body temperature and gives you vital information about the outside world.  This one organ has multiple jobs that are important to maintaining your body's dynamic equilibirum or balance. 

Take a look at some of the pictures and diagrams below, they truly make you appreciate the skin you're in!

Why Do We Need to Be Organized Anyway?

         Are you oragnized? No I don't mean your locker?  For some of you I know the answer to that already and I don't need to ask you.  I mean is our body organized?  If you've been paying attention this week then you know that the answer is YES. 

         So, our body is organized, But why?  Don't worry I will give you some time to think about it.....................imagine the Jeopardy think song here..............Okay do you have an answer?  Well, the answer is similar to the reason we organize other things in our life.  It makes things function more efficently.  What that means is that all the body processes you do everyday run smoother because your body is nicely organized from Cell to Tissue, Tissue to Organ and Organ to Organ System. 

         How does that work? I mean if our body is oragnized from cells the tinest part to Organ system the largest part, how does this help our body?  Well imagine for a minute you need to find your homework for Science.  You look at your binder and its a mass of papers and dittoes sticking out with out any kind of thought to what goes where or what class they are from.  To some of us this may sound familar, but think about that mess for a minute.  How hard would it be to find the homework you wanted to turn in.  Better yet, what kind of condition are you going to find it in?  Is it done?  Is it half done?  Blank?  Did you even remember you had it?  I mean if its jammed in that mess chances are your didn't even remember you had it.  Now imagine your body is in that condition.  Eating, breathing, and even moving would be a struggle.  Your organs would be shoved everywhere.  Nothing would be in the right place and your wouldn't be able to use any of them when you wanted to.   Your body accurately places all the cells, tissue, organs that are needed to complete a process or function in the same system together.  They are all connected and tucked away in the body is such a way to ensure that each process runs smoothly and without a problem.

        Kind of cool, huh?  It's a good thing the body has its own organization system that helps keep us going.  I don't want to see what would happen if we didn't.

Rocks and Minerals

The Top Ten Things I Learned from the Earth Unit!

1. There are constructive and Destructive forces that shape the earth.

2. Seismic waves travel through the earth, away from the focus, and tell about what’s inside.

3. The lithosphere is made up of broken plates (pieces) that shift and move causing deformation on the crust.

4. Convergent, Divergent and transform boundaries cause Compression, tension and shearing stress.

5. Earthquakes are the trembling and shaking of earth’s layers. This usually occurs where plate boundaries are located.

6. Volcanoes are weak spots in earth’s crust created by convergent-subduction zones, divergent boundaries, or hotspots.

7. Minerals are naturally occurring inorganic solids that have crystal structure and have definite chemical composition.

8. All rocks are made up of a mixture of minerals and other substances. The three formations of rock are igneous, sedimentary and metamorphic.

9. The rock cycle is a set of processes that change a rock from one type to another. Rock is neither created or destroyed it just changes form.

10. All rock under-go a process of weathering and erosion that wear down rock. It is caused by gravity and helps to push the rock cycle along.

Volcanoes

Volcanoes are like sleeping giants.  After years - even - centuries-of rest, they awake.  They erupt.  Some powerful eruptions blow tops off mountains, flatten forests, and dam up rivers.  Some eruptions have killed tens of thousands of people.  A few have have buried cities, while others have buried mountains.  Some big eruptions have even changed the world's weather for years.

Volcanoes also shape the earth.  They build islands, mountains, plains, lakes, and the ocean floor.

Despite the dangers of active volcanoes, people often liver near them.  Farmers like the soil volcanoes create.  Some of our favorite foods - like chocolate- come from plants that grow best in volcanic soil.  Volcanoes also contain valuable ores and metals like the silver dentists use for fillings in our teeth.

Come discover volcanoes from the inside out-on land, under seas, and in outer space.
(Kids Dscover- Volcanoes: Pg. 2 Copyright 1999)