Florida Citizens for Science

Congratulations to these inspiring teens for kicking butt at one heck of a demanding science competition recently: Top teen scientists seek real-world solutions in their research

The Orlando Science Center [link] held the 10th Dr. Nelson Ying Science Competition on April 26 and 27.

Not your everyday science fair with exploding volcanoes of baking soda or test tubes filled with colored water, this competition requires high-school students to present research, which must have an altruistic application, in front of a judges’ panel of scientists, engineers and educators.

This year’s pool of 28 applicants was narrowed to five: Damien Denis, 17, a senior at Edgewater High School; Mansfield Burlingame, 17, a junior at Lake Brantley High School; Halei Benefield, 17, a junior at Spruce Creek High School; Noel Turner, 16, a junior at Satellite Beach High School and Gordon Wilson, 16, a junior at Spruce Creek High School.

Although barely old enough to drive and still too young to vote, all tackled larger-than-life issues, from Gordon’s research on developing a supernutritious plant with the ability to fight cancer to Halei’s findings on generating alternative energy from wastewater to the winning project, Noel’s research on stem cells.

The Church Executive News writes about the deceptively-named “academic freedom” bills in other states. Interesting how so many religious organizations are so interested in these bills when the bills are supposedly not about religion.

The Louisiana bill (SB 733) — which passed the state Senate 35-0 April 28 and now is in a House committee — says the state board of education “shall allow and assist teachers, principals, and other school administrators” to “help students understand, analyze, critique, and objectively review scientific theories being studied,” including “evolution, the origins of life, global warming, and human cloning.” A teacher would be allowed to “use supplemental textbooks” in addition to the textbooks in use. In addition, the bill says it “shall not be construed to promote any religious doctrine.”

The Michigan bill, HB 6027, was introduced in the state House April 30 and currently is before the education committee. It would allow teachers to help students “understand, analyze, critique, and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories.”

The Missouri bill, HB 2554, passed a House committee April 30. It would permit teachers to teach about the “strengths and scientific weaknesses of theories of biological and chemical evolution.”

USF Professor discovers fire ants play dead to survive

Fire ants create territories, care for their young and even fight to the death to defend their homes. But USF professor Deby Cassill and her Experimental Design in Biology class at the St. Petersburg campus have discovered another interesting quality: Fire ants can also play dead.

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Cassill and the class have posited two explanations as to why the ants fake their deaths. One was to ensure the survival of valuable younger workers to tend to the queen and increase the colony’s size. Another was that newly hatched ants, more apt to injuries in battles because of their soft external skeletons, are less aggressive.

Cassill, a biologist specializing in evolutionary biology and the evolution of social behavior, said ants and human beings are similar in more ways than one.

“Ants are one of the few social species that are anatomically very different from humans but a lot of their social behavior parallels human behaviors,” Cassill said. “So what I bring to the research on social behavior is kind of a psychological point of view. I’m interested in what the individual does and how they interact with others.”

The headline “Vatican: It’s OK to believe in aliens” is misleading, but the article is OK. Essentially, the Catholic faith has no real heartburn with science.

Believing that the universe may contain alien life does not contradict a faith in God, the Vatican’s chief astronomer said in an interview published Tuesday.

The Rev. Jose Gabriel Funes, the Jesuit director of the Vatican Observatory, was quoted as saying the vastness of the universe means it is possible there could be other forms of life outside Earth, even intelligent ones.

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Funes said science, especially astronomy, does not contradict religion, touching on a theme of Pope Benedict XVI, who has made exploring the relationship between faith and reason a key aspect of his papacy.

The Bible “is not a science book,” Funes said, adding that he believes the Big Bang theory is the most “reasonable” explanation for the creation of the universe. The theory says the universe began billions of years ago in the explosion of a single, super-dense point that contained all matter.

I have many fond memories of Raiders of the Lost Ark. My dad was a weekend projectionist at the local theater, so I got to see that movie for free over and over and over and over and … well, you get the idea.
The two sequels so far were mediocre at best, but I am looking forward to the next movie coming out later this month. With that in mind, an intrepid reporter decided to ask real archaeologists what they thought of good ol’ Indiana Jones. My favorite part:

“I wish he’d take more notes and things. What’s his publication record?”

Congratulations to UCF for their acquisition of a supercomputer: Supercomputer puts UCF in big leagues.

The WorldWide Telescope looks like a cool toy. Anyone had a chance to play with it yet?

Congratulations to the United Methodist Church for signing on to the Clergy Letter Project!

(hat tip to Henry Neufeld.)

I feel like I’ve been writing about science standards battles and legislative battles for far too long. So, it feels good to finally get back to saying good things about Florida science education. Congratulations to chemistry teacher Lisa Peake: Wesley Chapel chemistry teacher wins Presidential Award of Excellence

WESLEY CHAPEL — Lisa Peake isn’t just good at her job. She’s one of the best in the nation.

So good, in fact, that the Wesley Chapel High School chemistry teacher just returned from Washington, D.C., bearing the nation’s highest honor in her field: the 2007 Presidential Award for Excellence in Mathematics and Science Teaching.

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Peake is the only science teacher in Florida to win the presidential award.

As a state finalist, she got to ride on a special plane that simulated zero gravity. As the plane flew a series of parabolas to simulate weightlessness, Peake and other teachers conducted experiments — and did some other stuff.

“We did the fun things like Superwoman or eating M&Ms,” she said. “It was fascinating.”

Science is fun. It’s a message Peake works to impart to her students. But science is also demanding.

“She raises the bar on them all the way,” Crosby said. “Some of these kids, they want to give their best, but they want to take a shortcut or hope a teacher slacks on them.

“But she didn’t and they respected why she didn’t. That’s huge.”

Writer Daniel Ruth does a quick followup on the Dr. Madrigal event cancellation: Darwinners And Darlosers: Stupidity Is 1 Thing That Just Keeps Evolving.

Here is the old event notice, and another mention. And here is a general Q&A with Dr. Madrigal (not about the canceled event). Here is an article in which Dr. Madrigal talks about the importance of evolution: Anthropologist shares insights on Darwin and the evolution of the evolutionary theory. And this book chapter that mentions Dr. Madrigal is interesting.

Scientists map the genetic makeup of the platypus

SYDNEY, Australia — With a bill like a duck, a tail like a beaver and snake-like venom hidden in heel spurs, the platypus could be the result of some strange genetic experiment.

And it is, scientists say: evolution.

A scientific team published the genetic makeup of the Australian animal in the scientific journal Nature on Thursday, confirming that its features - which straddle multiple animal classes - are reflected in its DNA.

The research could help explain how mammals, including humans, evolved from reptiles millions of years ago, they said.

A longer story in ScienceDaily and the paper in Nature (if you have a subscription).