... because of the possibility that both humans and chimps inherited an instinct for aggressive territoriality from their joint ancestor who lived some five million years ago. Only two previous cases of chimp warfare have been recorded, neither as clear-cut as the Ngogo case.
Dr. John Mitani’s team has now put a full picture together by following chimps on their patrols, witnessing 18 fatal attacks over 10 years and establishing that the warfare led to annexation of a neighbor’s territory. (Continued after the picture...)

The benefits of chimp warfare are clear enough, at least from the perspective of human observers. Through decades of careful work, primatologists have documented the links in a long causal chain, proving for instance that females with access to more fruit trees will bear children faster.
Dr. Mitani, however, is reluctant to infer any genetic link between human and chimp warfare, despite the similarity of purpose, cost and tactics. “It’s just not at all clear to me that these lethal raids are similar sorts of phenomena,” he said. More interesting than warfare, in his view, is the cooperative behavior that makes war possible. » The full New York Times article - By Nicholas Wade - Published: June 21, 2010

The cooperative behavior that makes war possible.

---

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Examining Military Coups Around the World -
  Overview | Students will consider military coups and their aftermaths, research famous coups... illustrating those events, and write letters from the perspectives of ousted leaders examined during class. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - State of Independence -
  Overview | Students learn about the May 2006 referendum in Montenegro that established the land’s independence from Serbia. They then research other regions around the world in which political movements are seeking independence for their territories and role play from the perspectives of the various parties involved. Go to this Law and Society Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - The Fight for Human Rights -
  Overview | Students explore the concept of human rights by developing and defending their own ‘Bills of Human Rights’ and by writing a reflective essay that compares their notions of human rights and the protection of them to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.Go to this Law and Society Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Scare in the Square: Tracking the Failed Times Square Bomber -
  Overview | How did the authorities find and apprehend Faisal Shahzad, the man who confessed to placing a bomb in Times Square? In this lesson, students learn how one person passing through one of America’s busiest places can be tracked down through technology and detective work. They create a flowchart that shows each step—and misstep—in the process, then research how Shahzad’s experience with law enforcement. would differ had he not become a U.S. citizen. They finish the lesson by debating all sides of a related civil rights issue. Go to this Science and Law Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Science in the Court Room -
  Overview | Students reflect on their opinions about the use of DNA databases in criminal investigations. They then generate a list of questions they have about DNA and its importance, prepare and give brief presentations, and then further discuss their positions on how DNA information should be collected and used by police. Go to this Law and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Examining the "Science" in Forensic Science -
  Overview | Students reflect on forensic science and its popularity and then act as forensic experts investigating photographs of Frances Glessner Lee's miniature crime-scene dioramas. Go to this Science and Law Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exhibit A: Exploring and Learning at Science Museums -
  Overview | What do science museums have to offer? How can visiting a science museum complement classroom curriculum and reinforce science standards? What can students get out of a trip to a science museum? In this lesson, students reflect on the exhibits, learning experiences and purposes of science museums, then prepare for and visit a local science museum where they engage in an open-ended scavenger hunt. Afterward, they develop scripts for a museum guide to use with visitors and/or generate ideas for their own science museum. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

The cervical cancer vaccine is the first vaccine ever designed to prevent a cancer. In the United States - where cervical cancer strikes about 10,000 women a year and causes up to 4,000 deaths - the impact of the cervical cancer vaccine will be tremendous. Worldwide, the impact may be even greater. According to the World Health Organization, there were 500,000 new cases of cervical cancer in 2005. Mayo Clinic: questions and answers article.

The New York Times - Learning Network - The Vaccination Question:
Students share opinions about common vaccines, then consider facts and opinions about the HPV vaccine and hold a “fishbowl” discussion. They then survey members of the community to determine their perspectives on the issue. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - A Matter of Time: Conducting Experiments on Perception and Estimations of Time -
  Overview | How good are you at estimating time? Why does time seem to “fly when you’re having fun”? How do our brains perceive or track the passing of time? In this lesson, students estimate time spent on two short activities, one fun and one tedious, and then analyze and discuss their results and experiences. They then design and conduct their own time-related investigations.  Go to this Science Lesson.

All cancers are caused by damage or mutations to the DNA of formerly healthy cells acquired during a person’s lifetime.
This damage causes them to grow into abnormal lumps or tumours and spread around the body disrupting its normal processes and eventually – if unchecked – causing death.
In lung cancer the damage is almost entirely caused by smoking and in skin cancer or malignant melanoma by ultra violent sunlight.
The Sanger Institute studies used powerful new DNA sequencing technologies to decode completely the genome of both tumour tissue and normal tissue from a lung cancer and a malignant melanoma patient.
They then compared and contrasted the two to discover the differences and see what damage has occurred to cause the disease. The full Telegraph Uk article » By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Learning About Cell Renewal Throughout the Body -
  Overview: Students learn about the latest research on cell and tissue renewal. They then explore the various internal body parts and systems examined in these studies.  Go to this Health and Science Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Talking about Breast Cancer:
  Students share words and associations related to cancer. They then investigate and participate in dialogues about the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Go to this Health, Science and Life's Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating the Changing Perceptions of Cigarette Smoking -
  Overview: Students learn about the changing public perception of cigarettes over the century. They design a survey on people's views on cigarette smoking for homework. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

The scientific evidence supports the notion that humans evolved to be runners. In a 2007 paper in the journal Sports Medicine, Daniel E. Lieberman, a Harvard evolutionary biologist, and Dennis M. Bramble, a biologist at the University of Utah, wrote that several characteristics unique to humans suggested endurance running played an important role in our evolution.
Most mammals can sprint faster than humans — having four legs gives them the advantage. But when it comes to long distances, humans can outrun almost any animal. Because we cool by sweating rather than panting, we can stay cool at speeds and distances that would overheat other animals. On a hot day, the two scientists wrote, a human could even outrun a horse in a 26.2-mile marathon. Read the full New York Times article - By Tara Parker-Pope.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Investigating the Complex Significance of Bones -
  Overview | Students examine the literal, physiological and figurative significance of bones through experimentation, then create their own skeleton-related exhibits for a "Bone and Skeleton Museum."

  New research, led by Harvard scientists and published today, shows that people who run barefoot or with minimal shoes - as people have done for millions of years - often land on their feet in a way that avoids a jarring impact. That’s very different from most shoe-clad runners, who crash down on their heels with every bound. The full Boston Globe article » By Carolyn Y. Johnson

  Go to this Health and Science Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Learning How the Body's Skeletal Muscle Groups Work -
  Overview | Students gain a greater understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the muscular system, the skeletal system and connective tissue by researching joints in the body. They also reflect on the effects of injuries on their joints and learn about new treatment methods. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Investigating and Discussing Darwinism ... (Explaining Life’s Complexities)
  Overview | learn about theories of 'intelligent design' in evolutionary science...  Go to this Science Lesson.

CT scans proved valuable Two studies published in the American Journal of Roentgenology show the need to check X-rays and CT scans for unusual features, and also point out swine flu can be tricky to diagnose in some of the sickest patients.
(in one study) CT scans of patients with severe cases of swine flu showed many had pulmonary emboli, which block the arteries in the lungs, a team at the University of Michigan found.
Anticoagulant drugs can break up these clots and save lives.
A team at the University of Michigan found..."The majority of patients undergoing chest X-rays with H1N1 have normal radiographs (X-rays)," Pulmonary emboli are also not normally seen in flu," Dr. Prachi Agarwalshe said in a statement.
"CT scans proved valuable in identifying those patients at risk of developing more serious complications as a possible result of the H1N1 virus, and for identifying a greater extent of disease than is appreciated on chest radiographs." The full Reuters article » (Reporting by Maggie Fox; Editing by Julie Steenhuysen and Cynthia Ostemran)

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Researching the 2009 Influenza A (H1N1) Pandemic -
  Overview: Students engage in an inquiry into influenza A (H1N1), considering the virus and the pandemic from multiple perspectives and acting as advisers to share factual information they learn with their classmates and school communities. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding the History of Twentieth Century Pandemic Flu Outbreaks -
  Overview: Students will examine the different types of pandemic flu viruses and virus “scares” that have occurred over the past hundred years by creating a master chart that displays the origins, transmission, symptoms, and socio-historical impact of each virus. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating How DNA Databases Are Used to Solve Crimes -
  Overview: Students reflect on their opinions about the use of DNA databases in criminal investigations. They then generate a list of questions they have about DNA and its importance, prepare and give brief presentations, and then further discuss their positions on how DNA information should be collected and used by police.  Go to this Law and Science Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Analyzing Media Coverage of Crime -
  Overview: Students will compare the coverage of two crime stories, analyzing both for objectivity, language, emotional impact, and local and national dissemination. Go to this Media and Law Lesson.

The enterprise has steadily borne fruit. The detection rate in Bangladesh inched up to more than 70 percent in 2006, according to the World Health Organization, and the cure rate to 89 percent. Among the 22 countries that are considered to be heavily burdened by tuberculosis, few have reached those levels, the health organization says. Go to the article

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring the Impact of Disease on the Global Population -
  Overview: Students investigate the nature, causes and statistics of diseases in lesser developed countries and explore ways in which disease impacts the global population. Go to this Health and Building Society Lesson
• Related Lesson New York Times - Learning Network - Nothing to Sneeze At -

  Enlisting (Thai) villagers in 2006 flu battle - set a global example  "Thailand has mobilized about 750,000 volunteers (under the Thaksin government) one for every 15 rural households." 'This is something that all over the world we've been trying to promote. And this is probably the best example that I've ever seen.' said William Aldis, the representative of the World Health Organization in Thailand." Go to the article - By Thomas Fuller - International Herald Tribune

  Go to this Health and Building Society Lesson

For the final exam, the students have an hour to make sense of a crime scene mocked up in the woods with the help of the New Rochelle police. Here the core message of the semester is brutally distilled: that science, like life and its end, can be messy and uncertain, that you must notice what others overlook, and that if you collect and bag your evidence but fail to seal it, your teacher will dump your hard work in the trash. Remember, you’re a forensic scientist. You’re not just playing one on TV. From this New York Times Article » By Natalie Angier.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Examining the "Science" in Forensic Science -
  Overview | Students reflect on forensic science and its popularity and then act as forensic experts investigating photographs of Frances Glessner Lee's miniature crime-scene dioramas. Go to this Science and Media Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Science in the Court Room -
  Overview | Students reflect on their opinions about the use of DNA databases in criminal investigations. They then generate a list of questions they have about DNA and its importance, prepare and give brief presentations, and then further discuss their positions on how DNA information should be collected and used by police.Go to this Law and Science Lesson.

A dangerous germ that has been spreading around the country causes more life-threatening infections than public health authorities had thought and is killing more people in the United States each year than the AIDS virus, federal health officials reported yesterday.
The microbe, a strain of a once innocuous staph bacterium that has become invulnerable to first-line antibiotics, is responsible for more than 94,000 serious infections and nearly 19,000 deaths each year, the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention calculated. Read Article » By Rob Stein - The Washignton Post

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Learning About Hand Washing and Communicable Disease -
  Overview: Students will learn about the latest study on routine hand washing practices. They will then research some of the possible communicable diseases that can be transmitted by having lax hygiene. Add this article: "Good Hygiene key to fighting (2006) bird flu" - from the Hong Kong Government site, then Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding the History of Twentieth Century Pandemic Flu Outbreaks -
  Overview: Students will examine the different types of pandemic flu viruses and virus “scares” that have occurred over the past hundred years by creating a master chart that displays the origins, transmission, symptoms, and socio-historical impact of each virus. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

Bone is built of two basic components: flexible fibers of collagen and brittle chains of the calcium-rich mineral hydroxyapatite. But those relatively simple ingredients, the springy and the salty, are woven together into such a complex cat’s cradle of interdigitating layers that the result is an engineering masterpiece of tensile, compressive and elastic strength. “We only wish we could mimic it,” Dr. Ritchie said. Read the full New York Times article - By Natalie Angier.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes -
  Overview: Students gain a greater understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the muscular system, the skeletal system and connective tissue by researching joints in the body. They also reflect on the effects of injuries on their joints and learn about new treatment methods. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Investigating the Complex Significance of Bones -
  Students examine the literal, physiological and figurative significance of bones through experimentation, then create their own skeleton-related exhibits for a "Bone and Skeleton Museum." Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

Scientists have been chasing earthquake prediction — the holy grail of earthquake science — for decades.

In the 1970s American seismologists declared that the goal was reachable. Yet we have little to no real progress to show for our efforts. We have a good understanding of the planet’s active earthquake zones. We’re pretty good at forecasting the long-term rates of earthquakes in different areas. But prediction per se, which involves specifying usefully narrow windows in time, location and magnitude, has eluded us.
The public would like scientists to predict earthquakes. We can’t do that. We might never be able to do that. What people and government can do is work to make sure our houses, schools and hospitals don’t fall down when the next big one strikes, and that we’re all prepared for the difficult aftermaths. Read this New York Times Article » By Susan Hough, a geophysicist with the United States Geological Survey. More about Earthquakes.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Finding Evidence to Support or Refute Commonly-Accepted Scientific Claims -
Overview: Students investigate commonly-accepted scientific claims and gather evidence that supports or refutes them. They synthesize their learning by writing their own "Really?" columns modeled after those found in The New York Times’s weekly Science Times section. Go to this Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Testing and Reporting on Hypotheses Using the Scientific Method -
Overview: Students explore the importance of accuracy in reporting, focusing particularly on articles documenting scientific discoveries. They then practice the scientific method by conducting experiments to test and report on scientific hypotheses and write articles based on their findings. Go to this Science Lesson.

Although doing many things at the same time — reading an article while listening to music, switching to check e-mail messages and talking on the phone — can be a way of making tasks more fun and energizing, “you have to keep in mind that you sacrifice focus when you do this,” said Edward M. Hallowell, a psychiatrist and author of “CrazyBusy: Overstretched, Overbooked, and About to Snap!” (Ballantine, 2006). More in this NYT Article »

Try this fun Zen exercise.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating the Costs and Benefits of Multitasking -
Overview: Students examine the effects of multitasking and evaluate its impact on their own efficiency.  Go to this Science and Health Lesson.

In 1953, Stanley L. Miller, then a graduate student of Harold C. Urey at the University of Chicago, put ammonia, methane and hydrogen — the gases believed to be in early Earth’s atmosphere — along with water in a sealed flask and applied electrical sparks to simulate the effects of lightning. A week later, amino acids, the building blocks of proteins, were generated out of the simple molecules.
Using modern techniques, revealed small amounts of nine additional amino acids in those samples. In the residues from the apparatus with the steam injector, the scientists detected 22 amino acids including 10 that had never been identified before from the Miller-Urey experiment. More in this NYT Article »

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Reevaluating the Results of the Miller-Urey Experiment -
Overview: Students evaluate new evidence discovered from the classic Miller-Urey experiments, make models of chemical compounds to better understand the biochemistry behind the discovery, and synthesize their new knowledge in a letter to Dr. Miller.  Go to this Science Lesson.

The new cells come from patients with 10 incurable genetic diseases and conditions, including Parkinson's, the paralyzing disease amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or ALS, juvenile diabetes and Down's Syndrome.
"They allow researchers ... to watch the disease progress in a dish, to watch what goes right or wrong," said Harvard's Dr. Doug Melton, who will head up the distribution of the cells. "I think we'll see in the years ahead that this opens the door to a new way of treating degenerative diseases."
Every cell in the human body contains the same genetic instructions, and in people with inherited genetic diseases, every cell carries the same mistakes, Daley and Melton said. More in this Article » By Maggie Fox, Health and Science Editor - Reuters

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Learning How Stem Cells Can Repair the Body -
Overview: Students research stem cells to learn how they function, the distinguishing characteristics of types of stem cells, and how stem cells may be manipulated by scientists to help bodies heal and regenerate unhealthy or damaged cells.  Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Learning About Cell Renewal Throughout the Body -
Overview: Students learn about the latest research on cell and tissue renewal. They then explore the various internal body parts and systems examined in these studies.  Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

Dead zones occur when excess nutrients, primarily nitrogen and phosphorus, enter coastal waters and help fertilise blooms of algae, a process called eutrophication. Major nutrient sources include fertilisers and the burning of fossil fuels.

The result is an increase of nutrients in the water - usually nitrogen or phosphorus - that triggers a frenzy of action from microscopic organisms.

First phytoplankton take up the nutrients and produce organic matter than eventually sinks to the bottom and dies. There bacteria consume the organic matter and use up the oxygen as they do so. Article link - Telegraph.co.uk News.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Creating a Classroom Ocean Exhibit to Increase Awareness of Marine Health and Sustainability -
Overview: Students brainstorm topics related to the health of our world's oceans. They then create presentations about specific issues affecting oceans for display in a classroom exhibit. They then write letters of invitation to guests to view the exhibit. Go to this Science and ESL Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring Natural and Human Threats on Fresh Water and Marine Ecosystems
Overview: Students examine various fresh water and marine ecosystems, researching the aquatic life they support, threats from nature and humans, and preservation efforts. Go to this Science Lesson.

The tongue is more flexible, sensitive and tireless. And like other facial muscles, its functions tend to be spared in accidents that can paralyze most of the rest of the body, because the tongue is attached to the brain, not the spinal cord.
Read this NYT article » By Su-Hyun Lee

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring State-of-the-Art Medical Technology -
Overview: Students explore new medical technologies to exhibit in an "Amazing Medical Machines" technology fair. Go to this Health and Science lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding and Diagramming the Power of the Brain to Cause Motion -
Overview: Students test and reflect on how the brain receives, interprets and translates contradictory verbal and auditory cues into movement. Then, after learning about a new innovation in brain research and robotics, they diagram the brain and nervous system activities involved in voluntary motion and incorporate this knowledge into a creative work of science fiction. Go to this Health, Science and Building Society lesson.

"I think the leukemia taught me to think step by step," Van der Weijden said. "When you're laying in the hospital bed and feeling so much pain and feeling so tired, you don't want to think about next week or next month, you're only thinking about the next hour."You just be patient. You lay in your bed and just wait. It's almost the same strategy I've used here, to stay in the pack, to be patient, and stay easy just waiting for your chance." Read IHT Article » - The Associated Press

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Creating “Life Lists” of Personal Goals -
Overview: Students consider what it means to live a life well-lived by creating life lists of goals they would like to accomplish and analyzing patterns in the lists of their peers. Go to this Life's Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Learning How Stem Cells Can Repair the Body -
Overview: Students research stem cells to learn how they function, the distinguishing characteristics of types of stem cells, and how stem cells may be manipulated by scientists to help bodies heal and regenerate unhealthy or damaged cells.  Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Learning About Cell Renewal Throughout the Body -
Overview: Students learn about the latest research on cell and tissue renewal. They then explore the various internal body parts and systems examined in these studies.  Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

Before traveling here from Baltimore, Phelps's mother, Debbie, received a letter from Barbara Kines, who had taught Phelps in the third grade.
Before he found an outlet for his abundant energy in swimming, Phelps had immense difficulties concentrating and sitting still, leading one of his grade-school teachers to wonder if he would ever be able to focus on anything. Read Article » By By Karen Crouse - The International Herald

• More background about "Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder" - from Schoolbehavior.com and the article "Can exercise help hyperactivity?" - By Peter Schworm - The Boston Globe (IHT)
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding Social and Emotional Issues Surrounding Attention Deficit -
Overview: Students reflect on how attention deficit disorders affect people’s lives in the areas of home, school, and friendships by reading and discussing a blog post and reader’s comments. Students will brainstorm ways to increase tolerance and understanding of individual differences and write about a personal experience related to the idea of “being different.” Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

Now new research suggests a link between that initial reaction to smoking and a specific gene variant that has also been linked to a greater likelihood for becoming addicted to nicotine.
Findings could have implications for the discovery of new, targeted therapies that are much more effective than current treatments for smoking cessation.
Ovide Pomerleau, PhD, of the University of Michigan says such treatment could be a reality within a few years.
"Things are moving really fast in this field,"he says. "We are making new discoveries all the time." Read this Web Med Article » By Salynn Boyles

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating the Changing Perceptions of Cigarette Smoking -
Overview: Students learn about the changing public perception of cigarettes over the century. They design a survey on people's views on cigarette smoking for homework. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Creating Anti-Smoking Ad Campaigns Geared Towards Kids -
In this lesson, students explore the many causes and effects of cigarette smoking in order to create anti-smoking campaigns geared towards other students. Go to this Health and ESL Lesson.

The Institute of Medicine recently noted that you can meet your body’s need for liquids in many ways, including drinking coffee and tea (with or without caffeine) and eating fruits and vegetables with a high water content. Two clues that you may need to drink more are thirst and the color of your urine, which should be clear like, well, water.

If you are physically very active, especially in hot weather, repeatedly sipping cold water is helpful. But beyond two quarts, you may need to also replace the salts lost in sweat — for example, by drinking a diluted sports drink or eating foods with salt and potassium. More about health myths in this Article » By Jane E. Brody - New York Times

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Finding Evidence to Support or Refute Commonly-Accepted Scientific Claims -
Overview: Students investigate commonly-accepted scientific claims and gather evidence that supports or refutes them. They synthesize their learning by writing their own "Really?" columns modeled after those found in The New York Times’s weekly Science Times section. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

Global food shortages have placed the Middle East and North Africa in a quandary, as they are forced to choose between growing more crops to feed an expanding population or preserving their already scant supply of water.
For decades nations in this region have drained aquifers, sucked the salt from seawater and diverted the mighty Nile to make the deserts bloom. But those projects were so costly and used so much water that it remained far more practical to import food than to produce it. Today, some countries import 90 percent or more of their staples. Read the IHT Article »

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring Natural and Human Threats on Fresh Water and Marine Ecosystems -
Overview: Students examine various fresh water and marine ecosystems, researching the aquatic life they support, threats from nature and humans, and preservation efforts. Go to this Science and Economy Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Addressing the Causes and Effects of the Global Food Crisis -
Overview: Students learn about the reasons for Australia's rice shortage and its impact on the rest of the world. They then individually identify the causes and effects of another agricultural commodity's recent changes in the global marketplace. Go to this Science and Economy Lesson.

The key to understanding E. coli's fingerprints is to recognize that the bacteria are not simple machines. Unlike wires and transistors, E. coli's molecules are floppy, twitchy and unpredictable. In an electronic device, like a computer or a radio, electrons stream in a steady flow through the machine's circuits, but the molecules in E. coli jostle and wander.
When E. coli begins using a gene to make a protein, it does not produce a smoothly increasing supply. It spurts out the proteins in fits and starts. One clone may produce half a dozen copies of a protein in an hour, while a clone right next to it produces none. Read Article » By Carl Zimmer - IHT

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Making Board Games About Drug-Resistant Bacteria and Antibiotics -
Overview: Students reflect on and research drug-resistant bacteria and the use of antibiotics. They then use their research to make board games that focus on the microscopic interactions among bacteria, antibodies, antibiotics and the cells of the immune system. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Debunking Common Misconceptions about Germs -
Overview: Students consider some common beliefs about germs and then create public service announcements that debunk (correct) a particular misconception. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

Update: Ice on Mars is confirmed
Heated to the freezing point of water, a sample of soil being analyzed by NASA's Phoenix Mars lander let out a puff of vapor, providing final confirmation that the lander was sitting over a large chunk of ice.
So far, the soil has turned out to be somewhat alkaline and contains mineral nutrients like sodium, magnesium and potassium. Read article » By Kenneth Chang - New York Times

More Background and updates on the Phoenix Mission » The University of Arizona Lunar Planetary Laboratory.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Creating Storybooks Depicting a Mission to Mars -
Overview: Students infer the meaning and significance of an article on the Mars Lander using vocabulary words. They then write and draw a comic book that depicts a related science concept, based in part on further research, designed for younger readers. Go to this Science and ESL Lesson.

Project POOCH, Inc. provides opportunities for youth in corrections to develop the personal and vocational skills they will need to become responsible, productive members of the community. The program accomplishes this by teaching youth to care for and train shelter dogs for adoption.
The organization has successfully paired youths incarcerated at the MacLaren Youth Correctional Facility in Woodburn, Oregon, with homeless shelter dogs for over a decade. Youths (guided by professionals) learn to train the dogs, groom them, and find them new adoptive “forever homes.”
The dogs leave the program ready to be great pets, while their trainers re-enter the community with new job and personal skills and an increased compassion and respect for all life.

• New York Times - Learning Network - Researching the Roots of Our Attitudes Toward Animals -
Overview: Students will reflect on their attitudes toward pets and use animal images to design an experiment identifying factors that influence humans’ attitudes, feelings and ambivalence toward animals. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

BMI is a (general) calculation that uses height and weight to estimate how much body fat someone has. Here is more background from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services and a BMI calculator.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Analyzing the Relationship Between Diet, Exercise, and Weight Loss -
Overview: Students conduct a class-wide survey collecting, compiling, and analyzing data about fitness, weight loss, and body image issues.   Ask students if they believe they are now more or less fit than their parents? Have them list the reasons for their answer. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Proposing Steps to Improve Bad Habits -
Overview: Students share opinions about bad habits they and their peers may have. They then create posters illustrating strategies designed to improve these behaviors and individually select strategies to test on themselves. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

The behaviors are abstaining from smoking, weight management, blood pressure control, regular exercise and avoiding diabetes. The study reports that all are significantly correlated with healthy survival after 90.
A second study in the same issue of the journal suggests that some of the oldest of the old survive not because they avoid illness, but because they live well despite disease. Read more about the study in this article » By Nicholas Bakalar - NYT

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Creating “Life Lists” of Personal Goals -
Overview: Students consider what it means to live a life well-lived by creating life lists of goals they would like to accomplish and analyzing patterns in the lists of their peers. Go to this Life's Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Creating Health Resources for Students -
Overview: Students consider the role of the nurse at their school and create informational pamphlets on health topics relevant to adolescents. Go to this Health and Life's Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating Teens' Sources of Health-Related Information
Overview: Students students research the answers to their own health-related questions, and evaluate the various sources from which this information comes. Go to this Health and Science Lesson. - Related information: "Teen Health Website" - Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

For people hospitalized with advanced heart disease, it is better to have visitors than to lie quietly alone. But one type of visitor seems to be especially beneficial, researchers reported on Tuesday. That visitor is a dog. Read Article » By Lawrence K. Altman - New York Times

• New York Times - Learning Network - Researching the Roots of Our Attitudes Toward Animals -
Overview: Students will reflect on their attitudes toward pets and use animal images to design an experiment identifying factors that influence humans’ attitudes, feelings and ambivalence toward animals. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

It emphasizes the quality of individual plants over the quantity. It applies a less-is-more ethic to rice cultivation.
Harvests typically double, if farmers plant early, give seedlings more room to grow and stop flooding fields. That cuts water and seed costs while promoting root and leaf growth... Read this IHT Article » By William J. Broad

More about improving crops:

Monsanto executives say that a new technique called marker-assisted selection could double the rate of gain made from breeding. That technique does not involve altering crops by putting in foreign genes. Rather it uses genetic tests to help choose which plants to use in conventional cross-breeding, vastly speeding up the process and improving its efficiency. » Monsanto pledges to lift food supply - By Andrew Pollack - IHT

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Addressing the Causes and Effects of the Global Food Crisis -
Overview: Students learn about the reasons for Australia's rice shortage and its impact on the rest of the world. They then individually identify the causes and effects of another agricultural commodity's recent changes in the global marketplace. Go to this Science and Economy Lesson.

The platypus genome offers an unprecedented glimpse of how evolution made its first stabs at producing mammals. It tells the tale of how early mammals learned to nurse their young; how they matched poisonous snakes at their own venomous game; and how they struggled to build a system of fertilization and gestation that would eventually, through relatives that took a different tack, give rise to the first humans. Read Article » By Rick Weiss - Washington Post

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Celebrating Important Evolutionary Milestones in the Tree of Life -
Overview: Students compare physical features among organisms and understand the evolutionary importance of these features. Go to this Science Lesson.

• WWS - World Wise School- Is That a Fact?
Overview: Understanding the difference between fact and opinion is critical to our ability to examine our reactions to events and people. Stereotypes and prejudices are often based on opinions that are perceived as facts. Go to this Science and Building Society Lesson Worksheet.

"The thing that's killing people is inaction," said Dr. Michael Sayre of Ohio State University, who headed the association's team that drafted the new recommendations.
Sayre said people not trained in CPR should do two things when they encounter an adult who has suddenly collapsed: first, call emergency services; and second, begin pushing "hard and fast" in the center of the person's chest.
This is necessary to maintain vital blood flow, according to experts. Chest compressions should continue until emergency medical services responders arrive, Sayre said. Read Article » By Will Dunham - Reuters

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding Medical Responses to Emergencies -
Overview: Students review their understanding of cardiopulmonary resuscitation. They then learn about other types of medical responses to common emergency situations and evaluate the importance of CPR. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

Lee was injured on July 2, 2006, during a geological field trip in the desert of California, when the car he was driving overturned. He emerged from a coma three days later, but his fourth cervical vertebra had been fractured.
Nevertheless, he was back to work in early 2007.
Every time he tested out a new device and adapted it for his own use, Lee said, he felt a little thrill, as if he had solved a scientific problem.
During lunch with colleagues recently, Lee amazed onlookers as he touched a headset microphone attached to his wheelchair with his right cheek to move the chair backward, and so prevent bedsores.
On his way back to his office from the cafeteria, Lee used his right cheek again to shift the wheelchair into cruise control mode. That mode buffers the shock when he uses his head to steer the wheelchair on a bumpy road.
"It's like downhill skiing," he said. - Read this NYT article » By Su-Hyun Lee

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding and Diagramming the Power of the Brain to Cause Motion - Overview: Students test and reflect on how the brain receives, interprets and translates contradictory verbal and auditory cues into movement. Then, after learning about a new innovation in brain research and robotics, they diagram the brain and nervous system activities involved in voluntary motion and incorporate this knowledge into a creative work of science fiction. Go to this Health, Science and Building Society lesson.

The problem was that the location of (63-year-old Brooke Zepp's) cancerous tumor was so deep that (surgeons) would not be able to get to it to remove it without damaging organs.
The organs, including her small intestine, liver, spleen, pancreas, as well as parts of her large intestine, were outside of her body for about an hour-and-a-half and were kept chilled.
Zepp is now recovering and is doing quite well, as the surgery was a success. Read Article »

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Doctor's Dilemma -
Overview: Students consider the bioethical dilemmas faced by doctors and write case studies about relevant issues within a particular medical decision. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• A Learning Foundation Lesson - Compare and Contrast the Florida case to the New York Times "Doctor's Dilema case" - Go to this ESL and Health Lesson.

Bacteria are by far the most active ice nuclei in nature," said Brent C. Christner, an assistant professor of biological sciences at Louisiana State University.
Christner and colleagues sampled snow from Antarctica, France, Montana and Canada's Yukon and found that as much as 85% of the nuclei were bacteria, he said. The bacteria finding was most common in France, followed by Montana and the Yukon, and was even present in Antarctica.
The most common bacteria found were Pseudomonas syringae, which can cause disease in several types of plants including tomatoes and beans. Read this LA Times Article »From the Associated Press

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Creating a Book of Seasonal Riddles -
Overview: Students use descriptive language to write riddles on their favorite seasonal subjects; they then illustrate the "answers" to their riddles using the medium of their choice, and compile both riddles and illustrations to create a book. Go to this Science and ESL Lesson.

But Henry Scowcroft, senior science information officer at Cancer Research UK, said: "The jury's still very much out on whether vitamin and mineral supplements can affect cancer risk.
"Some studies suggest a benefit, but many others show no effect and some, like this one, suggest they may even increase risk."
He added: "Research repeatedly shows that a healthy, balanced diet can reduce your risk of some cancers while giving you all the vitamins you need.
"Quitting smoking remains the most effective way to avoid many cancers. There's no diet, or vitamin supplement, that could ever counter the toxic effects of cigarette smoke." Read BBC Article »

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating the Changing Perceptions of Cigarette Smoking -
Overview: Students learn about the changing public perception of cigarettes over the century. They design a survey on people's views on cigarette smoking for homework. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

The involuntary hospitalization of Britney Spears recently brought back memories.
Ten years ago, when I was 15, I was a high school dropout and heroin addict, living in the back of a dealer's van.
My mom first noticed red flags at 14: rapid weight loss, self-mutilation, coming home high, irregularly showering. The therapist she had me see, as well as my school counselor, believed that, cutting aside, my actions were typical teenage behavior.
The first time I ran away, though, my mother formed her own conclusions, and got a 5150 issued - California code for the involuntary 72-hour psychiatric hold that Spears was under, before she left the hospital last week.
I wish I had seen my first, forced hospitalization as the gift it was. Read Column » By Mia Fontaine - IHT

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Feeling Different -
Overview: Students will brainstorm ways to increase tolerance and understanding of individual differences and write about a personal experience related to the idea of "being different." Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring Legislation That Protects the Privacy of Students Experiencing Emotional Difficulties -
Overview: The class will examine privacy laws as they relate to students who are suicidal or depressed. The class will then explore the role the government plays to protect these students and will consider how some legislation might actually endanger the public. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

For decades, researchers believed that if people with diabetes lowered their blood sugar to normal levels, they would no longer be at high risk of dying from heart disease. But a major U.S. study of more than 10,000 middle-aged and older people with Type 2 diabetes has found that lowering blood sugar actually increased their risk of death, researchers reported.
The results do not mean blood sugar is meaningless. Lowered blood sugar can protect against kidney disease, blindness and amputation. But the findings inject an element of uncertainty into what has been dogma: that the lower the blood sugar the better, and that lowering blood-sugar levels to normal saves lives.
Read Article » By Gina Kolata - New York Times

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Finding Evidence to Support or Refute Commonly-Accepted Scientific Claims -
Overview: Students investigate commonly-accepted scientific claims and gather evidence that supports or refutes them. They synthesize their learning by writing their own "Really?" columns modeled after those found in The New York Times’s weekly Science Times section. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Identifying the Key Issues Concerning Home- and Hospital-Based Health Care -
Overview: Students share opinions about where patients might be treated for a range of ailments. They then investigate the key issues related to home- and hospital-based health care and write a reflection paper. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

U.P.S.'s problem, like the problem of many passenger carriers, is that it needs to land many planes in a hurry, and then send them on their way.
U.P.S.'s solution was to line up airplanes in the sky, 100 or 150 miles out, spaced not by distance but by seconds. Airplanes have almost always been controlled in altitude, latitude and longitude, but not in time. Doing so requires a fundamental change in air traffic control. Read Article » By Mattew L. Wald - NYT

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Investigating Existing and Emerging Navigational Technologies -
Overview: Students "navigate" a course both with and without a guide. They then prepare "How-It-Works" posters that feature a navigational tool and its application in a global positioning system (G.P.S.). Learning is synthesized by individually charting courses from their respective homes to school using both tools. Go to this Science Lesson.

The patients also receive a drug and radiation to the thymus to eliminate a type of immune system cell, known as a T cell, that typically attacks any tissue perceived as foreign.
On the day of the procedure, surgeons attach the new kidney while injecting the donor's bone marrow into a blood vessel in the patient's arm. The donor's bone marrow mixes with the patient's, creating a temporary state called mixed chimerism. This tricks the patient's immune system into recognizing for years - and possibly forever - the donated organ as part of the self. Read Article » By Patricia Wen - Boston Globe

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Identifying Characteristics and Functions of Human Body Organs -
Overview: Students solve a riddle about the appendix and learn about the paradox surrounding this organ. They then research other human body organs to create a paper model of the human body, and write riddles highlighting identifying characteristics of each. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

Electrical resistance arises because the electrons that carry current bounce off the nuclei of the atoms, like balls in a diminutive pinball machine. The nuclei recoil and vibrate, sapping energy from the electrons.
Superconductivity was discovered in 1911 by a Dutch physicist, Heike Kamerlingh Onnes. He observed that when mercury was cooled to below minus-452 degrees Fahrenheit, about 7 degrees above absolute zero, electrical resistance suddenly disappeared, and mercury was a superconductor. Read Article »

Note: Holding a forward bending yoga posture for a minute or longer will stimulate and restore energy levels when you are tired. Regular practice of this yoga posture will gently stimulate the nervous system, improving memory and concentration...More about this posture and Yoga.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Investigating the Mind-Body
Overview: Students learn about baseball players (golfers and football players) who incorporate yoga and meditation into their pre-season training. They then investigate a number of mind-body techniques to present and demonstrate to the class. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - (Add these articles from the BBC ) Scientists 'reverse' memory loss
Overview: Students students test and discuss their ability to remember events in their recent and past history and reflect on cases of dissociative fugue and amnesia  Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

What is new is the emerging consensus that the way to combat antibiotic resistance may not be bigger, better, stronger antibiotics but, rather, no antibiotics at all. Instead, other molecular weapons with the ability to disable bad germs without bothering good ones are the key, although for the most part these molecules remain on the drawing board. Read Article »

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Making Board Games About Drug-Resistant Bacteria and Antibiotics
Overview: Students reflect on and research drug-resistant bacteria and the use of antibiotics. They then use their research to make board games that focus on the microscopic interactions among bacteria, antibodies, antibiotics and the cells of the immune system. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Debunking Common Misconceptions about Germs
Overview: Students consider some common beliefs about germs and then create public service announcements that debunk (correct) a particular misconception. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Creating Conversations that Address and Alleviate Conflicts
Overview: Students create top ten lists of reasons why people argue, and develop written dialogues that explore how conflicts can often be effectively resolved through compromise. They then create guidelines explaining how to get along with different types of people. Go to this Building Society and ESL Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Considering Addiction as a Chronic Medical Illness and Learning to Treat Addicts Accordingly
Overview: Students learn about how addiction can have both physiological and behavioral effects. They then synthesize their knowledge by creating a sensitivity training session for counselors working with teenagers who are addicted to drugs. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating Teens' Sources of Health-Related Information
Overview: Students students research the answers to their own health-related questions, and evaluate the various sources from which this information comes. Go to this Health and Science Lesson. - Related information: "Teen Health Website" - Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Although the findings do not change the relationship of Homo erectus as a direct ancestor of Homo sapiens, scientists said, the surprisingly diminutive erectus skull implies that this species was not as humanlike as once thought. Article source: A pair of fossils shakes up the human family tree By John Noble Wilford - International Herald Tribune

 "Creation or Evolution?" by David Ross
World Wise School - Learning to identify and modify generalizations. This activity introduces students to the difficult concept of generalization so that they will challenge generalizations made about people... Go to this Lesson Worksheet.
The New York Times - Learning Network - Investigating and Discussing Darwinism ... (Explaining Life’s Complexities)
Overview: Students learn about theories of ’intelligent design’ in evolutionary science... Go to this Science Lesson.  

He argues that the insecticide-filled nets, when used by 80 percent or more of a village, create a barrier that kills or drives off mosquitoes, protecting everyone in the area, including those without nets. Individual nets tended to just drive mosquitoes next door, to bite someone else. As such, he said, nets ought to be treated as a public good, like the measles or polio vaccines, which the world does not charge the poor for.

A dangerous germ that has been spreading around the country causes more life-threatening infections than public health authorities had thought and is killing more people in the United States each year than the AIDS virus, federal health officials reported yesterday.
The microbe, a strain of a once innocuous staph bacterium that has become invulnerable to first-line antibiotics, is responsible for more than 94,000 serious infections and nearly 19,000 deaths each year, the Centers for Disease Controland Prevention calculated. Read Article » By Rob Stein - The Washignton Post

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Learning About Hand Washing and Communicable Disease
Overview: Students will learn about the latest study on routine hand washing practices. They will then research some of the possible communicable diseases that can be transmitted by having lax hygiene. Add this article: "Good Hygiene key to fighting bird flu" - from the Hong Kong Government site, then Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating How Behavior Modification Can Curb Stress
Overview: Students explore the difference between hypochondriasis and somatization syndrome. Students also create scenarios and design experiments to learn about how behavior modification can curb stress in the daily lives of teens. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Using Writing to Explore the Importance of Pastimes for Personal Growth
Students take part in a variety of writing exercises about the most important pastime or activities in which they participate and the personal growth gained through this participation. Go to this Health and ESL Lesson.

• Related Lesson: The Learning Foundation - "What to Teach" - Simplified Mock Trial Lesson Plan.

State lawmakers across the United States are adopting broad changes to criminal justice procedures as a response to the exoneration of more than 200 convicts through the use of DNA evidence.
"It's become clear that eyewitnesses are fallible," said Lieutenant Kenneth Patenaude, a police commander in Northampton, Massachusetts, and an expert on witness identification. - The full International Herald article - By Solomon Moore.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating How DNA Databases Are Used to Solve Crimes
Overview: Students reflect on their opinions about the use of DNA databases in criminal investigations. They then generate a list of questions they have about DNA and its importance, prepare and give brief presentations, and then further discuss their positions on how DNA information should be collected and used by police.  Go to this Law and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Analyzing Media Coverage of Crime
Overview: Students will compare the coverage of two crime stories, analyzing both for objectivity, language, emotional impact, and local and national dissemination. Go to this Media and Law Lesson.

As advanced science (communications and international agreements) play a larger role in courtrooms across the country (and the world) judges who earned degrees in English, the humanities (or only Law as in Thailand) face the daunting task of making informed decisions about some very technical disputes. Read the entire article Judges get crash course in sciences - By Mike Baker - Associated Press Writer.

"... This is a problem for Thailand. They ignore the scientific evidence. The judge, the attorney, the police... I think they don’t know much about forensic science, especially DNA...." read the rest of the Interview with Dr. Porntip - Foreign Correspondent

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating How DNA Databases Are Used to Solve Crimes
Overview: Students reflect on their opinions about the use of DNA databases in criminal investigations. They then generate a list of questions they have about DNA and its importance, prepare and give brief presentations, and then further discuss their positions on how DNA information should be collected and used by police.  Go to this Law and Science Lesson.

In Thailand, Peerapong Suksaweng, an official with the country's Food and Drug Administration, runs spot checks on street vendors, supermarkets and farmers' markets. Each day, his mobile inspection unit -- one of 26 throughout the country -- checks produce for insecticides and chemical additives such as borates and formaldehyde.
"Human ignorance as well as greed knows no bounds," says Gerald Moy, manager of the World Health Organization's office that monitors chemicals in the global food supply. Unsafe Food Additives Across Asia Feed Fears By Nicholas Zamiska - The International Herald Tribune

How to avoid food with formalin? - BIMC Medical Center

• Fish, especially sea fish. Press the fish, if it feels tender, it should be free of formalin. Choose fish which still has its fishy smell. It is best to buy live fish.
• Avoid dried salty fish.
• Tofu. Choose one with smooth surface and consistency. It is safer to consume egg tofu or water tofu (also known as japanese tofu), though this product cannot last long and is very brittle.
• Wet noodles. Try the less attractive coloured ones.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Food, chemical, and drug testing which utilizes 'DNA' chips
Overview: Students evaluate the pros and cons of a new approach to food, chemical, and drug testing which utilizes 'DNA' chips to test the toxicity of chemical compounds. Go to this Health and Society Lesson

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Creating an Educational Guide on Water Safety
Overview: students research water pollution and create a class guide to raise the public's awareness about this issue. Go to this Science and Economy Lesson.

No country in history has emerged as a major industrial power without creating a legacy of environmental damage that can take decades and big dollops of public wealth to undo.
China’s problem has become the world’s problem. Sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides spewed by China’s coal-fired power plants fall as acid rain on Seoul, South Korea, and Tokyo. Much of the particulate pollution over Los Angeles originates in China, according to the Journal of Geophysical Research. The full International Herald article - By Joseph Kahn and Jim Yardley

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating the Human Costs of Global Trading
Overview: Students create a standard of living profile for a developing nation, and compare it to the same measure for a developed nation. They then evaluate the pros and cons of industrialization in a developing nation and the responsibilities developed nations have to their trading partners. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

"Considered by many marine scientists to be the most destructive fishing gear in the world's oceans, deep sea bottom trawls consist of nets the size of football fields that can reach down more than a mile beneath the water's surface. Weighted down by massive steel doors and often attached to heavy rollers, these nets can weigh five tons or more. When dragged across the ocean floor, they frequently crush everything in their path." More from - Protecting our Deep Seas - By Joshua Reichert / International Herald Tribune

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Proposals to Solving the Global Overfishing Problem in the Classroom
Overview: students investigate the many ecological and economic issues related to overfishing the world's marine resources. Go to this Economy and Society Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Examining the Effects of Sleep Deprivation in Teenagers
Overview: Students explore the effects of sleep deprivation in teenagers and pose reasons why sleep may not be a priority in their own schedules. They then determine changes that can be made.  Go to this Health Lesson.

Benefits of the Standing Forward Bend:
• Increases the flexibility of the hamstrings, calves and lower back
• Increases blood flow to the brain
• Helps relieve stress and mild depression
• Stimulates the liver and kidneys
• Strengthens the thighs and knees
• Reduces fatigue and anxiety
• Relieves headache and insomnia
• Therapeutic for asthma, high blood pressure, infertility, and sinusitis.
Image and description of the forward bend from Online Yoga classes.

• Spring Tuneup: The Basics of Stretching with Guidelines and strategies for a successful yoga experience - by Katherine Roberts
Note: Katherine is back for the THIRD season with the San Diego Padres as their yoga conditioning coach.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Investigating the Mind-Body
Overview: Students learn about baseball players (golfers and football players) who incorporate yoga and meditation into their pre-season training. They then investigate a number of mind-body techniques to present and demonstrate to the class. Go to this Health Lesson

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Overview: Students gain a greater understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the muscular system, the skeletal system and connective tissue by researching joints in the body. They also reflect on the effects of injuries on their joints and learn about new treatment methods. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

Overview of Lesson Plan: Students research and debate the positive and negative aspects of expanding nuclear resources, biotechnology, and nanotechnology in the future. Go to this Science and Society Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring Driver Safety for Teenagers
Overview: Students use the Internet to investigate safe driving practices and technologies, and then "publish" a manual of safe driving for teenagers. Go to this Building Society Lesson.

• Have students read and discuss the: Parent-Youth Safe Driving Contract.  

• The Learning Foundation - "Loud Music" - A Simplified Mock Trial

Students will measure the levels of indoor and outdoor gas compounds around their Missoula-area homes. Using a global positioning system, they will sample air quality at 45 households during 12-hour periods at least three times throughout the school year. The story - from Big Sky High School
By Tom Bauer/Missoulian - Missoula, Montana

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring What It Takes to Become a Well-Informed Citizen
Overview: In this lesson, students explore education requirements for different professions, and define the skills and knowledge that adults use in their everyday lives. Go to this Building Society Lesson
 Click on this image for "Asthma 101 class helps kids cope" - Detroit News
• Extend with: Asthma Environmental Triggers - Kids Page from NIEHS (National Institute of Environmental Health)
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Investigating How Asthma Affects Students and What Schools Can Do to Help
Overview: Students learn about asthma, and then write proposals outlining how teachers, coaches, administrators and school support staff can be better prepared to treat students with asthma. Go to this Health Lesson   

"I think the threats are greater now than they were during the conflict, because you have people moving back into these areas, and they're armed," Wildlife Conservation Society Southern Sudan program director Paul Elkan, said.
"The question now is, Wow, they survived, but can they survive the peace?" Full Story - National Geographic News

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Mapping Animals' Migration Routes and Patterns
Overview: Students consider an immense animal migration recently documented in Sudan. They then investigate migratory patterns of animals and reflect on how human conflicts and activities affect migratory wildlife populations. Go to this Science and Building Society Lesson

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Investigating the Mind-Body
Overview: Students learn about baseball players who incorporate yoga and meditation into their pre-season training. They then investigate a number of mind-body techniques to present and demonstrate to the class.
 Go to this Health Lesson

Understanding How Eyes Function and the Use of Technology to Aid Vision Problems and Diseases

Overview: Students first identify the parts of the eye and their functions... then investigate vision problems and diseases, focusing on their causes, effects on the human eye, and how abnormal vision can be aided with technology. Go to this three-day Health Lesson Plan.

• Expand the lesson by discussing the article: Primates developed close-up eyesight to avoid a dangerous predators:

"A snake is the only predator you really need to see close up. If it's a long way away it's not dangerous," Isbell said.Venomous snakes evolved about 60 million years ago, raising the stakes and forcing primates to get better at detecting them."
Based on research and hypothesis of Dr. Lynne A. Isbell.

Hamburgers, french fries, chicken nuggets, and even milk and carrots all taste better to children if they think they came from McDonald’s, a small study suggests. From: If It Says McDonald’s, Then It Must Be Good - By Nicholas Bakalar - New York Times

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Analyzing Factors That Influence Interest Levels in Fast Food
Overview: Students investigate the influence of fast food brand names on food choices and analyze the factors that contribute to branding preferences. Then they write an opinion essay on the corporate responsibility to influence food choices. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

(which) uses a different capability of the eye - its natural knack for navigating, for instance, when walking down the street, driving a car, or, in the case of Dasher, playing what often looks and feels like an onscreen game.
The direction of their gaze is then captured by a computer equipped with an eye-tracking system.

Go to this Health Lesson

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Overview: Students gain a greater understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the muscular system, the skeletal system and connective tissue by researching joints in the body. They also reflect on the effects of injuries on their joints and learn about new treatment methods. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

Six months of acupuncture provides more relief for back pain than conventional treatments, according to a large new study. But surprisingly, fake acupuncture works just as well as the real thing.

The German study of nearly 1,200 patients, published today in the Archives of Internal Medicine, is the largest and most rigorous analysis yet of the use of acupuncture to treat back pain. - The New York Times Article.

• More about Back Pain
It won't necessarily be one event that actually causes your pain. You may have been doing many things improperly -- like standing, sitting, or lifting -- for a long time. Then suddenly, one simple movement, like reaching for something in the shower or bending from your waist, leads to the feeling of pain.

Most back problems will get better on their own. The key is to know when you need to seek medical help and when self-care measures alone will allow you to get better. - This Health Center Report - WLWT.com Cincinnati

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes
Overview: Students gain a greater understanding of the anatomy and physiology of the muscular system, the skeletal system and connective tissue by researching joints in the body. They also reflect on the effects of injuries on their joints and learn about new treatment methods. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

The Lindners share a defective copy of a gene known as BRCA1 (for breast cancer gene 1) that raises their risk of developing breast cancer sometime in their lives to between 60 percent and 90 percent.
Deborah Lindner began to seek support elsewhere, (and contacted) Bright Pink, a group of young women who have tested positive for the BRCA genes.
Lindsay Avner, its founder, lived in Chicago, and their meeting over coffee in the hospital lounge one evening in March lasted four hours. Avner, 24, had had a prophylactic mastectomy last year.
"You've got to see my breasts," she told Deborah Lindner, escorting her into the bathroom.
Avner's surgeon at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in Manhattan had used a technique that preserved the breast skin and nipples, leaving a scar only under the breast. Deborah, still in her scrubs, said, "Wow."
Deborah scheduled the double mastectomy with Dr. D.J. Winchester at Evanston Northwestern hospital for the last weekend in June, three days after her medical board exams.

The surgery and reconstruction took seven and a half hours, twice as long as the doctors had expected. The incisions were small, Winchester explained when he came out, and hidden under the breast, so it had taken a long time to scrape out all the breast tissue. - The full IHT article - By Amy Harmon.

The New York Times - Learning Network - Talking about Breast Cancer:
Overview Eventually a simple blood test will lead to accurate "made to measure" treatments that can identify, attack and kill the causes of each patient's own individual cancer, they claim.
Professor Mike Stratton, of the Wellcome Trust Sanger Institute, a world leading research centre in Cambridge who carried the studies, said: "What you are seeing today is going to transform the way that we see cancer.
"This is a really fundamental moment in the history of cancer research."

Grim beauty Deadly diseases under the microscope Photo: Wellcome Images

All cancers are caused by damage or mutations to the DNA of formerly healthy cells acquired during a person’s lifetime.
This damage causes them to grow into abnormal lumps or tumours and spread around the body disrupting its normal processes and eventually – if unchecked – causing death.
In lung cancer the damage is almost entirely caused by smoking and in skin cancer or malignant melanoma by ultra violent sunlight.
The Sanger Institute studies used powerful new DNA sequencing technologies to decode completely the genome of both tumour tissue and normal tissue from a lung cancer and a malignant melanoma patient.
They then compared and contrasted the two to discover the differences and see what damage has occurred to cause the disease. The full Telegraph Uk article » By Richard Alleyne, Science Correspondent.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Learning About Cell Renewal Throughout the Body -
  Overview | Students learn about the latest research on cell and tissue renewal. They then explore the various internal body parts and systems examined in these studies. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Talking about Breast Cancer:
  Overview | Students share words and associations related to cancer. They then investigate and participate in dialogues about the diagnosis and treatment of breast cancer. Go to this Health, Science and Life's Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating the Changing Perceptions of Cigarette Smoking -
  Overview | Students learn about the changing public perception of cigarettes over the century. They design a survey on people's views on cigarette smoking for homework. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

A carefully designed study released Thursday in The Lancet, a leading British medical journal, shows that a variety of common food dyes and the preservative sodium benzoate — an ingredient in many soft drinks, fruit juices, salad dressings and other foods — causes some children to become more hyperactive and distractible than usual. The full article - By Claudia Wallis - Time Magazine

Related Lesson:
• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating the Pros and Cons of a New Type of Toxicity Test
Overview: Students evaluate the pros and cons of a new approach to food, chemical, and drug testing which utilizes 'DNA chips' to test the toxicity of chemical compounds. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Researching Alternatives to Trans Fats
Overview: Students will consider the fat content of a wide variety of foods. They will then examine their own diets, find healthier alternatives, and make charts that illustrate before and after menus for a typical day. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

The dreaming imagination does not just harvest images from remembered experience, Roger Knudson, director of the Ph.D. program in clinical psychology at Miami University of Ohio, said. It has a "poetic creativity" that connects the dots and "deforms the given," turning scattered memories and emotions into vivid, experiential vignettes that can help us to reflect on our lives. The full article.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding the Scientific Methods used in Dream Research
Overview: Students reflect on their opinions and new scientific theories about dreams. Then they qualitatively and quantitatively analyze a selection of recorded dreams. Finally, they apply these techniques to write personal analyses of their own memorable dreams. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Creating a Health and Wellness Exhibit on the Science of Sleep
Overview: Students share opinions about facts related to sleep. They then create a health and wellness exhibit that addresses topics related to sleep, including interactive elements that exhibit visitors can experience. Learning is synthesized through the analysis of their own experiences and observations. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

I used to get in front of my students and do all the science for them. I should have been showing them how to do it themselves. If they were studying the piano, I wouldn’t have gone, “sit down, I'll play the piano for you.”
Today, by having the students work out the physics problems with each other, the learning gets done. I've moved from being "the sage on the stage” to "the guide on the side." The full article.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Debunking Common Misconceptions in Physics
Overview: Students take a short quiz to identify and discuss their misconceptions about physics. They then work in groups to create children's books that explain correct science concepts. Finally, they reflect on learning methods and create individual lists of "teaching rules" for science teachers to follow. Go to this Science Lesson.

Related story: Haze from forest fires, frequently deliberately lit by Indonesian land and plantation owners to clear land cheaply, has become a regular problem for large parts of Southeast Asia over the last 10 years.

Indonesia has predicted the haze will be much lighter this year because of greater efforts to combat the fires (which) caused health problems and billions of dollars of losses from falling tourism revenue and flight delays in Indonesia, Malaysia, Singapore and Thailand.
Indonesia is the third-highest emitter of carbon dioxide worldwide, mostly due to the fires, scientists say. The full article - The Associated Press Published: July 15, 2007

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Understanding the Dynamics of Forest Fires
Overview: Students reflect on the ecological and chemical changes caused by forest fires. Then they work in groups to create diagrams showing how specific variables can affect a forest fire and the chemical reactions that take place during combustion. Finally, students use their knowledge to evaluate fire prevention and management techniques.
Go to this Science, Economy and Health Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Using Technology to Help Fight Fires
Overview: Students explore how digital maps and global satellite positioning are helping firefighters. Students will then research what factors promote fire danger and various fire-fighting techniques. Go to this Science, Economy and Health Lesson.

In the 1980s, scientists established the revolutionary concept that nicotine is extremely addictive. The tobacco companies publicly rejected such claims, even as they took advantage of cigarettes' addictive potential by routinely spiking them with extra nicotine to make it harder to quit smoking. And their marketing memorandums document advertising campaigns aimed at youngsters to hook whole new generations of smokers. From:Tracing the Cigarette’s Path From Sexy to Deadly -By Howard Markel, M.D. - New York Times

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Evaluating the Changing Perceptions of Cigarette Smoking
Overview: Students learn about the changing public perception of cigarettes over the century. They design a survey on people's views on cigarette smoking for homework. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Creating Anti-Smoking Ad Campaigns Geared Towards Kids
In this lesson, students explore the many causes and effects of cigarette smoking in order to create anti-smoking campaigns geared towards other students.   Go to this Health and ESL Lesson.  

Dam-building, over-extraction for drinking, industry and agriculture, invasive species, climate change, pollution and shipping were among the various activities whose impact the group assessed.

Five of its "top 10" are in Asia, such as the Yangtse, Mekong, and Ganges, though Europe's Danube and North America's Rio Grande are also included. - Article link - BBC News

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Wondrous Water -
  Overview | reflect on the importance of water in their lives. Then they investigate the properties of water through a series of experiments and activities. Finally, they synthesize what they have learned about water to create a super hero comic strip with water as the main character. Go to this Health,Science,ESL Lesson.
• The New York Times - Learning Network - The World’s Water Woes -
  Overview | Students discuss their community’s water sources and assess the factors affecting the water availability and quality. They research water disputes around the world and understand common factors among them. Go to this Health and Science Lesson.

The mature state of crash simulation today means that car companies can conduct many more tests than they could in the days when the only method was building physical prototypes and crashing them.

Their goal is to see early in a vehicle's design evolution where things need to be improved. The simulations allow them to make structural changes on the computer screen, before any metal parts have been built. The full article By Stuart F. Brown - International Herald Tribune.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Brainstorming 3-D Software Applications for Professional Use
Overview: Students brainstorm new technological devices that apply cutting-edge 3-D computer modeling software to benefit different professions, then pitch them to their classmates. For homework, they create advertisements to market their ideas to the public. Go to this Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring Technical Solutions to Perilous Problems
Overview: Students explore safety issues and challenges related to various modes of transportation. They then create blueprints for technological methods to make those modes of transportation safer. Go to this Science and Health Lesson.

The enterprise has steadily borne fruit. The detection rate in Bangladesh inched up to more than 70 percent in 2006, according to the World Health Organization, and the cure rate to 89 percent. Among the 22 countries that are considered to be heavily burdened by tuberculosis, few have reached those levels, the health organization says. Go to the article

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring the Impact of Disease on the Global Population
Overview: Students investigate the nature, causes and statistics of diseases in lesser developed countries and explore ways in which disease impacts the global population. Go to this Health and Building Society Lesson

• Related New York Times - Lesson - Nothing to Sneeze At

Enlisting (Thai) villagers in flu battle  "Thailand has mobilized about 750,000 volunteers (under the last elected government) one for every 15 rural households." 'This is something that all over the world we've been trying to promote. And this is probably the best example that I've ever seen.' said William Aldis, the representative of the World Health Organization in Thailand." Go to the article - By Thomas Fuller - International Herald Tribune

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Exploring Improvements in Cardiac Care
Lesson Objectives - Students will:

1. Take their own pulse before and after exercise to learn more about how the human heart works.
2. Discover the progress that has been made in cardiac care by reading and discussing "Lessons of heart disease, learned and ignored"

3. Work in groups to research various ways that heart disease is treated today.

4. Imagine that they are cardiologists and create their own "patient reports" (complete with medical background, recommended treatments, and prognosis) for imaginary patients. Go to this Health Lesson

The wildcat DNA closest to that of house cats came from 15 individuals collected in the deserts of Israel, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, based on analysis of their mitochondrial DNA, a type that is passed down through the female line. Since the oldest archaeological site with a cat burial is about 9,500 years old, the geneticists suggest that the founders of the five lineages lived around this time and were the first cats to be domesticated.
Wheat, rye and barley had been domesticated in the Near East by 10,000 years ago, so it seems likely that the granaries of early Neolithic villages harbored mice and rats, and that the settlers welcomed the cats' help in controlling them. The full article
Nicholas Wade - NYT

• The New York Times - Learning Network - The Taming of the Few
Overview: Students consider the cultural, historical, and social implications of domesticating animals as pets. They then create informative posters of various animals, illustrating their histories as pets. Go to this Science Lesson.

• The New York Times - Learning Network - Learning About Carnivores in Their Natural Habitats
Overview: Students research different species of meat-eating animals in their natural environments to create a "Carnival of Carnivores" exhibit for their classroom. Go to this Science Lesson.

"Telecom companies will, in their migration to 3G, need fibre optic networks. They will need the right to lay down fibre across fields and roads, across towns and rivers. Or they will need to partner with someone who does have the right of access - someone like Egat." More about fibre-optic broadband - Article - Bangkok Post.

use of composite polls - "Running energy" by Alan S. Brown - Mechanical Engineering Magazine

"In Finland...one of the biggest money earners for the railway authorities is not actually operating the rail network, but laying fibre alongside the track and providing wholesale connectivity to mobile phone operators and cable TV companies...."
Egat's true value lies in the 'right of access' from Article by Don Sambandaraksa - Bangkok Post

• The New York Times - Learning Network -
Exploring Technological Solutions to Global Challenges Go to this Science and Economics Lesson

• The New York Times - Learning Network A Primer to Understanding Fundamental Facts about DNA
  Go to this Science Lesson
• Extend the Lesson with:
  WebCurrent Online Lesson - DNA Evidence
• Explore more with Dr Porntip Rojanasunan
  Asia Media - DNA as forensic evidence.