Science Journal Spring 2016

包玉刚实验学校科学杂志社 YK Pao Science Journal Club

2016 / Spring

Autism, Community Model and Love Investigation on Pedestrians-Collision Avoidance System Time Dilation Elementary Piano Self-Learning System for Blind People

Scan to enjoy the music made for Science Journal

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Volume 1, 2016 Founded in 2016 Sponsor: YK Pao School Publisher: Shanghai HuiTao Expo. Company Inscription on Cover: Headmaster of YK Pao School Zi Jian Wu Cover Design: George Yu (Y8) Journal Layout: George Yu (Y8), Selina Gong (Y11) Logo Design: Leon Wang (Y8) Cover Music: Shally Duan (Y11) Science Journal Team: Year 8: Douglas

Science Journal Club Member

Jiang, Leon Wang, George Yu, Bill Wu, Louisa Lou Year 9: Caroline Yu, Joanna Xu, Shelly Ding Year 10: Selina Gong (Team Head) Mentor: Mei Qian Weng, Susie Li Reviewer: Lee Sanders, Samantha Rivett, Chris Zhuang, Daniel Mac Leon, Kendra Zigler, John Coxon, Neil Potter, Gareth Kucinkas, Kieran Gray, Michael Dawson, Peter Mihalcik, Ruth Tyson Acknowledgement: Most of the photos were provided by Ingo Wilhem.

Address: 1800, LANE 900 NORTH SANXIN ROAD SONGJIANG DISTRICT, SHANGHAI, CHINA Postal Code: 201620 2

Science Department Staff

Table of Contents Founder’s Motto

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Principal’s Preface

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Cooperation Agreement Reported by Joanna Xu and Shelly Ding

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Original Studies Jason Zhang (Y11) An Investigation on Pedestrians-Collision Avoidance System

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Sally Duan, Sally Hao (Y11) Autism, community model and love

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Selina Gong (Y10) What’s the matter? - Secret behind Dark Energy and Dark Matter

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Joanna Xu (Y9) Elementary piano self-learning system for blind people

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Leon Wang (Y8) The Relationship Between Current, Voltage and Resistance

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Selina Gong (Y10) Time Dilation (How to write essay?)

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Understanding of Science Rose Sun (Y11) A permanent way to stay nutritious? Microbiota! - The relationship between Microbiota and Malnutrition

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Shelly Ding (Y9) Happiness is all—Is it?

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Simone Lin (Y9) Food Additives—Another category “Food”

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Caroline Yu (Y9) Vitamin D and Cold

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Joanna Xu (Y9) Optics in Vermeer

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Douglas Jiang (Y8) We don’t search for happiness, we MAKE them!

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Phoebe Lu (Y8) IVF Technology - How it works and What it does

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Science Club Interviews Simone Lin (Y9) Pao Innovative Engineering

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Caroline Yu (Y9) Gordon Xu interview

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Selina Gong , Shelly Ding (Y10, Y9) Anatomy Club

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Selina Gong (Y10) Science Journal Club

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Selina Gong (Y10) Seed Club

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Shelly Ding (Y9) Zombies Day

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Selina Gong, Joanna Xu (Y9, Y10) Health Day

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Leon Wang, Douglas Jiang (Y8) Environmental Sustainability

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Science Developments & Competitions Stella Ban (Y9) Acceptance Speech

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Leon Wang (Y8) 2015 Science

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Leon Wang (Y8) ISEF

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Founder's Motto Why do we study science? The origin of scientific exploration is a natural curiosity to understand our world, starting from what we can see and observe in the natural world around us. Over time that curiosity has progressed to exploring the dimensions that are further and larger than what we experience on this planet, to the dimensions that underlie the foundations of what we see, the world of cells, atoms and particles. What makes science unique is that through learning science we not only observe and understand but can change the world and the way we live. It is through understanding physics that we are able to build rockets to explore outer space as well as devices to explore the depths of the sea. It is through chemistry that we can fabricate the materials that fill our everyday lives, from shoes and jackets to electronics and water filters. It is through biology that we can try to reduce the impacts of disease and age on our bodies. And it is through science that we can measure our impact on our planet and also research ways to reduce that impact.

At Pao School, we hope our students will learn not only the content knowledge of science, but most importantly the methods of science and the mindset of a scientist. They should learn the ability to ask the right question to be able to focus their research, the ability to gather data and information in a robust process, the ability to analyse data with computational skills and a demanding level of rigour. Most fundamentally, they learn skills of character through understanding the importance of scientific integrity – results should reflect the data, not be manipulated to reach a foregone conclusion, and the essential trait of resilience – dealing with failure and disappointment in experiments and having the patience and commitment to continue is a constant of scientific research.

I congratulate our students and teachers on the launch of the Pao School Science Journal. Through publishing their work, students can learn the final skill of the scientific method – communicating with others what they have discovered and learnt, and contributing to a shared pool of knoweldge. We must remember that the best scientists are not only good mathematicians but excellent writers and speakers.

Finally, I hope our students will experience the rewards that await the scientist – the joy of discovery and the satisfaction of enlightenment.

Philip Sohmen, Founder and Deputy Chairman

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Principal's Preface It gives me great pleasure to write this introduction to our first ever YK Pao School Science Journal. As a former research scientist myself, I have been fortunate to experience the excitement and satisfaction that come from extending the boundaries of human knowledge so it is especially rewarding for me to see those same feelings being experienced by our YK Pao School student scientists, and being reflected in their articles for this journal.

There are many ways in which scientific learning and research can contribute to a student's personal development as a positive member of society. A broad understanding of the scientific world helps a person contribute usefully to discussions about areas that are crucial to the future of humanity such as health and medicine, food production, energy resources, and environmental protection. As students pursue and deepen their scientific learning, the ability to ask useful questions becomes just as important as the ability to answer questions. But those questions cannot be answered alone. Scientists depend on the research of others – past and present – to be able to follow their own scientific pathway. One other fundamental feature of worthwhile scientific research is the ability to learn from failure. As I know very well, research can involve just as much failure and frustration as excitement and satisfaction! But an experiment that does not work can ultimately tell us as much as one that does, if we have the patience and humility to reflect and figure out what went wrong. Such reflection and learning is valuable in every area of life, not just science.

All of these things mentioned above – an ability to recognize and articulate useful questions, the application of knowledge to address those questions, the humility to collaborate in pursuit of learning, and a willingness to reflect and learn from experiments that don’t work – are at the heart of the scientific process. They are also fundamental to the Mission and Vision of YK Pao School. That’s why we are committed to developing a world class, student–centred science and technology programme. And that’s why I’m so delighted that our students have collaborated to produce this journal. My congratulations go to those students and my thanks go to the members of our science faculty for inspiring, guiding and supporting our young scientists!

Paul Wood, Priciple

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Cooperation Agreement between SJTU and YKPS

On May the 5th 2016, YK Pao School (YKPS) welcomed Jie Zhang, the President of Shanghai Jiao Tong University (SJTU). SJTU and YKPS signed a cooperation agreement, which is the first agreement signed between secondary school and university in both schools’ histories. After the signing ceremony, President Zhang gave a talk “Journey Towards Dreams”, which provided a valuable learning experience for us.

Signing Ceremony On May the 5th, It was the first time President Jie Zhang visited our school. Those who also attended this event included - Professor Anna Pao and Professor Fu Yun Tan, Mr. Philip Sohmen, the Founders of YK Pao, along with school leaders including Headmaster Zijian Wu, Secretar y General LiJing, Secondary Principal Paul Wood, Primary Principal Michae Spencer and other

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teacher representatives.

During his visit, our school leaders accompanied President Zhang. Later on, the grand signing ceremony between SJTU and YKPS was held in the school’s auditorium. This signing agreement is the first cooperation agreement between a university and our school. It represents the sharing of educational resources and other corresponding learning partnership programs between the two schools.

Professor Anna Pao expressed her warmest welcome to Principle Zhang. She reviewed the long history between the Pao family and SJTU, starting from the generous donation from Sir Yue Kong Pao to SJTU. In 1981, shipping tycoon Sir YK Pao offered to make a donation of US$10 million to contribute to the development of education in China through SJTU. This donation was the first major donation made by an overseas Chinese

person. President Deng Xiao Ping received the gift on behalf of the university. SJTU used Sir YK Pao’s gift to build two libraries at the university, the Pao Zhao Long Library, named after Sir YK Pao’s father, at the Xuhui Campus and the Pao Yu Kong Library on the Minhang campus. These two libraries are held very dear in SJTU students’ memories. Today the relationship between SJTU and the Pao family continues on. In 2015, Sir YueKong Pao’s daughter Professor Anna Sohmen Pao donated a further sum of RMB10 million to support building a new health and fitness track at SJTU’s MinHang campus as well as a laboratory conducting brain research led by a leading scientist returning from the USA. Later on, Mr. Philip Sohmen delivered a speech regarding the event. He mentioned that SJTU and YKPS would work together to innovate and create new programs in Humanities and Science.

YKPS will provide students and faculty with all sorts of learning opportunities with SJTU's strong support.

The Journey Towards Dreams In President Zhang’s speech “The Journey Towards Dreams”, he introduced the history and features of SJTU. He told three stories of SJTU professors who pursued their dreams. These stories are significant because they reflected resolution and persistence, two qualities SJTU pursues and embodies.

Founded in 1896, the second year after the Sino-Japanese war, the famous Nanyang College was one of the two oldest universities in modern Chinese history. That year, Chinese “Industrial Promoter” Xuan Huai Sheng proposed to build Nanyang College as a memorial to Emperor Guangxu. Later on, it became the predecessor of SJTU. Therefore, the development of SJTU was also a part of the modern Chinese history of Education, as well as a contribution to Chinese Higher Education marching through hardship to success.

After that, President Zhang introduced three professors in SJTU and told us stories about their

pursuit of scientific dreams. Professor Xiang Dong Ji was curious about “dark matter” in Space. His objective was to detect dark matter in China. In order to to tell people what dark matter really is. He set up his research equipment in a tunnel 2500m underground in Sichuan Province's Jinping Mountain and still conducts the study today.

Professor Xiang Ping Wu wanted to probe “the first of ray in the universe”. He persevered in his research, withstanding cold and harsh weather conditions in Tianshan Mountain, eventually setting up the first antenna array in 2004.

Professor Hai Nan Kong and Cai Xi Zhang have held their commitment to fight against Erhai Lake pollution for 13 years. They have not only managed to improve the water quality of Erhai Lake but also influenced Erhai’s culture and local people’s farming habits and lifestyle.

In the next section, President Zhang introduced SJTU’s idea of “To make a country stronger, we should reserve talents first; to reserve talents, we should promote schools first.” He presented student and teacher achievements in each field: the drilling platform in South China sea, personalized chemical compound screening, Tokyo Trial Study, study in the strategy of marine resources and sea rights…Furthermore, he introduced us to the beautiful environment in SJTU, and told us an interesting story about its excellent orchestra group in campus. The audience were absorbed in his speech.

At last, in the Question and Answer section.

President Zhang received many questions from students. He shared his own life and study experiences, emphasizing the importance of developing self-study habits. He also encouraged us to be optimistic towards life and study. He elaborated more on the academic progress of SJTU’s liberal arts subjects and social science subjects. Some elder students who were preparing for applying to universities wondered what a university looked like. President Zhang expained that the most prominent feature of a university was that “it values both scientific spirit and humanity”, and that “it is a good period of time

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for practicing, exploring and making mistake.”

When we asked about his view on education, he mentioned the initial difference between Western and Eastern education—Western education focused on critical thinking , while Eastern education focused on inheritance of knowledge.

Subsequently, he proposed that there is room for improvement in China’s Elementary Education, particularly in developing students’ creativity.

Finally, President Zhang addressed the school motto of SJTU, “Gratitude and Responsibility”, encouraged us to work hard, and become leaders of China and even the world.

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The speech ended with a round of applause.

Using his profound knowledge and agile thinking, Principle Zhang led us on a journey. First we looked back at the journey of high-level Chinese Education during harsh historical circumstance, and then he showed us the great perseverance and sacrifice professors in SJTU made for science. We were introduced to the learning environment of a high-quality university. Our dreams, inspired by this 90-minute speech, also began to grow.

Reported by Joanna Xu and Shelly Ding

Grade 11

An Investigation on PedestriansCollision Avoidance System

Written by Jason Zhang

T

he aim of this investigation is to examine an active Pedestrians/Bicycles Safety warning system under three typical circumstances, by implementing and redesigning the existing automobile technologies and systems: freight truck turning, cars reversing and cars opening doors. The system will calculate the range of risk area at the back and side of the vehicle and, subsequently, warn its surroundings through a light and sound warning system based on the sensors of speed, turning angle on wheels, indicator, engine, etc.

Key Words: Pedestrian Safety; light and sound warning; intelligent processing

Background Violations of traffic laws and regulations are happen frequently in our daily life, such as riding bikes in opposite lanes, drunk driving, and using smartphone while driving or crossing the street.

These unsafe behaviors impose potential threats to traffic safety. I have witnessed and experienced numerous accidents (caused by inner wheel difference of trucks, reversing, and opening doors) in real life, television and online. Most of them are caused by drivers and pedestrians’ carelessness.

These accidents bring concerns about vehicle and pedestrian safety issues. Today, a lot of cars in the market are equipped with many advanced technical active safety systems to protect the car and passengers from collision; however, it is hard to find any safety systems which are are designed to protect the surroundings of the car. Therefore, the idea of Pedestrians-Collision Avoidance System

Fig. 1: Smartphone addicts across the street

was popped into my head and pushed me to come up with the innovative idea.

Introduction of my design - PedestriansCollision Avoidance System (PCAS) As sensors and electronics are more commonly used in cars, many cars are equipped with several active safety systems, including the basic parking sensors (alert the driver to obstacles while parking) and cameras to keep your lane aid (warn the driver when the car is leaving the lane, and, if no action is taken, automatically take steps to ensure the vehicle stays in its lane), side assist (warn the driver when there is a vehicle in the blind spot), active cruise control (an advanced speed control system that will automatically maintain a set distance behind the front car)and night vision cameras. However, these systems are only used to warn the driver inside the car, which has no benefits to pedestrians and the surroundings.

My design of the product is based on the sensors cars already have. While the active safety systems warn the driver, the product I designed will simultaneously warn the pedestrians and the surrounding through signals in both light and sound. I call it Pedestrians-Collision Avoidance System (PCAS). PCAS combines the signals from different sensors in the car, including sensors on speedometer, wheel angle, headlight, indicators,

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wiper as well as the signals from the conditions of the engine, doors, keys and seat belts. The system will apply those signals and calculate the risk area. Subsequently, LED light and high frequency buzzers are projected in order to remind the pedestrians and surroundings. The lighting intensity, lighting area and lighting angle, as well as the frequency of buzzers are all adjustable to effectively remind pedestrians and accidents can be significantly reduced.

the reversing radars we usually hear in the car.

Main design of PCAS In this section I will explain how does PCAS work under three specific traffic scenes. Figure 2 showed the locations of radars and sensors in the car that will help us to understand how PCAS works.

Traffic Scene 1: Trucks Turning

Fig. 3: Demonstration of Situation 1, Warning area at the sides Turning Angle Sensor

ABS/ESP Activate Safety Module BCM

EMS/VOU

Fig. 4: Frame diagram of Situation 1

Fig 2. Location of Radars and Sensors

Trucks usually have a wide turning radius, which means that when a truck is turning, there is an inner wheel difference due to the different radius between front and back tires. Although drivers can detect the truck’s side and back through mirrors, pedestrians hardly know whether they are in the risk area, which in this case is the inner wheel difference. If pedestrians are reminded, the accident can be avoided. The PCAS collects information from wheel angle sensors, angular accelerations, speed, and indicators to outline the risk area. The risk area is adjustable based on car’s conditions. People are warned by the lighting on the ground, identical to the inner wheel difference, and the buzzer. The buzzer’s frequency is according to the distance between the pedestrian to the car itself. Its theory is similar to

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Fig. 5: Software Flowchart

Warning Area

Traffic Scene 2: Cars Reversing When a car is reversing, drivers can usually receive warnings from radars and cameras. The pedestrians are usually warned by the reversing indicator. However, the reversing indicator can only be clearly seen from back view but not from side view; meanwhile, if the driver reverses his car out of the garage, he cannot detect his surroundings. If some bikes are moving fast but driver cannot see due to a blind spot, accidents are inevitable. The PCAS will give warnings to the surroundings at the back of the car through an intelligently adjustable lighting area and sound frequency based on the signals from wheel angle sensor, speed, longitudinal acceleration and the condition of engine, indicators, wiper and light.

Start

Reverse Gear

Yes

Minimum Warning Area On

No

Position Lights On/Off

Engine On/Off No

Yes

Yes

Maximum Warning Area

Yes

Emergency Indicator/ Wipers/ Foglights On/Off

Calculate the intensity of lighting area bed on sunlight sensors

Calculate the lighting Intensity based on the intensity of switches

Yes Calculate the warning area based on wheel turning angle, speed and longitudal acceleration sensors

Adjustable Intensity of Warning Area

Fig.8: Software Flowchart

Fig. 6: Demonstration of Situation 2, Warning area at the back MT Turning Angles Sensor

AT

Reversing Light

carelessness when they suddenly open the door, which is unexpected and sometimes fatal to bike riders. Therefore, if there are visible and acoustic warnings to the riders, such accidents could be avoided, or at least riders can respond quickly by decelerating and dodging. The PCAS is based on the condition of the engine, key, safety belt, central lock and boot to detect whether the passengers intend to open the door. When the signal is detected, light whose area is equal to the radius of the door will be projected on the ground, in and a sound warning will active if the distance is small (the theory is similar to the reversing radar).

ABS/ESP Active Safety Module

Warning Area

Terminology:

BCM DVD

EMS/VOU

Dashboard

Fig. 7: Frame diagram of Situation 2

Traffic Scene 3: Cars Opening doors For backseat passengers, when they open the door, it is very difficult for them to see behind them. Many accidents are caused by passengers’

Fig. 9: Warning areas at the sides

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BCM

Active Safety Module

Warning Area

ACU

EMS/VOU

Fig. 10 Frame Diagram of Situation 3

surroundings.

2. T he system adjusts intelligently and strategically based on several sensors and the vehicle’s condition, which maximizes the effect to warn pedestrians. All logically planned adjustments can refer to the software flowcharts.

3. The innovation is based on the technologies and sensors that have been equipped on the car, and it doesn’t require any extra or new sensors; therefore, the cost of installing the system is low, and it has a feasibility.

Future Research 1. Connected with car networking, when the car is reversing, the camera can work as a recording instrument. When collisions occur, it will record the scene and submit to the database. Engineers can use the recordings to analyze the effects of the system.

2. The PCAS can also work with V2V, which is a form of car network. When the door opens immediately, the car networking can give warning to the rear vehicles and remind them to decelerate.

3. In the future, it will be possible to choose more penetrative and visible light sources, such as the laser light.

Agaga Fig.11: Software Flowchart

1.

2.

3.

4.

5.

6.

ABS - Anti-lock braking system ESP - Electronic Stability Program BCM - Body Control Module EMS - Engine Management System VCU - Vehicle Control Unit ACU - Airbag Control Unit

The innovations of PCAS are: 1. While calling attention to drivers, the system warns pedestrians and bike riders. It is unique in today's market since all safety systems aim to assist drivers but not to the

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The warning area will be adjusted according to the increasing turning angle.

Fig.12: Warning area when turning angle is 0

Continues on to page 13 >

Grade 11

Autism, Community Model and Love

Written by Sally Duan, Sally Hao Mentor: XiaoXia Cao, Mei QianWeng

W

e love music and art because of their glamour, which fascinates millions of people around the world. Music has the power to not only reveal the darkness of the real world but also imply and wish the best hopes for our tomorrow; music connects people from different nations, cultures and educational backgrounds. Music and art cannot push the society forward like STEM does, but they are records of who we are, who we used to be and who we will be. Our history and blood are one with music and art, so any ordinary person can be touched and moved by just several single notes or a picture that only consists several simple lines. Sometimes, we just wonder if this special power can also work on a special group of people.

This winter we met a group of autistic children

and their families through Ms. Cao, the host of Angel Salon. She provided us with a precious opportunity to further explore the magical power of music on a special group of people, autistic children. (Autism is a developmental disability which significantly influences one's verbal and nonverbal communication and social interaction.)

Who is Ms.Cao? Ms. Cao is the daughter of Mr. Cao Peng, the principle conductor of Shanghai City Youth Symphony Orchestra (SCYSO) one of the most outstanding music conductors in China, and a pioneer in developing music therapy for autistic children. Ms. Cao and her team have spent 8 years treating children with autism with music, and

Reference

Fig.13: Warning area when turning left

1. 中国汽车安全发展报告（2015），中国汽车技术研究中心，赵航、 王东晨等 2. 相关专利 a) 基于多传感器的汽车防碰撞及行人保护预警系统－南京农业大学 b) 一种安装在汽车上的行人预警系统－金华频 c) 汽车上的行人保护预警系统－浙江吉利汽车研究院 d) 一种用于提醒行人交通安全的车辆提醒装置－浙江吉利汽车研究 院 3. 中国汽车影音网 a) http://gps.carcav.com/qcdz/2013/0412/42294.html 4. 汽车之家 a) http://car.autohome.com.cn/shuyu/detail_11_12_687.html b) http://v.autohome.com.cn/v-35930.html c) http://www.autohome.com.cn/tech/201409/840974.html 5. 搜狐 a) http://mt.sohu.com/20150709/n416494753.shtml

Fig.14: Warning area when turning right

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these efforts have significantly contributed to society, especially the patients and their families.

Nowadays, great numbers of patients from the salon can go on with their daily lives. Some of them are even recruited by SCYSO as one of the permanent performers. Ms. Cao showers the children who suffer from autism with love, care and educational opportunities. She is not only an expert on music but also love.

How does Ms. Cao analyze autism?

Children (with autism) are extremely “Lonely�.

The patients typically isolate themselves in their own world, refusing to communicate or interact frequently with the community. They struggle to cope with things that happen around them; they find it difficult to empathize and adapt to new environments. Therefore, their personal world is much more limited when compared with most of us, which also explains how they can do one thing repeatedly without losing interests.

They find it difficult to process the information the outer world sends to them.

Children (with autism) are perfectionists Autistic people can focus on one thing and do it repeatedly without becoming bored or annoyed.

They possess the patience of practicing one thing until they master it. For example, if you teach an autistic patient the route for location A to location B, they must memorize the content of your explanation. He/she will start to practice every part until they have gone over in your directions thousands of times until his/her muscles could remember and guide him/her the route. However, when you bring up the task of walking from point C to point B, they are unlikely to find or think of any shortcut. What he/she will do is to walk from C to A first, and then reach B from A. Admittedly, autism patients have a longer and tougher route than most. It might take them a longer time to reach the destination, but they will never get lost.

Music therapy helps children with autism to open themselves up and communicate with others.

Autistic patients can be lonely in this world.

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They have no one to confide in because they find no one can actually comprehend their thinking.

Just like us, autism patients yearn for recognition and camaraderie. Art and music can always inspire people imagination and creativity by producing a positive and welcoming atmosphere to encourage everyone's participation. Children who suffer from autism are not interested in mundane conversation, but they can easily switch to our wave length with music. When volunteers play music with them, they begin to listen and involve themselves, gradually communicating with others.

They sing songs together, dancing with each other with hand in hand. Music is the universal language that every person can understand. Every child who is attracted to music will subconsciously start to find a community and communicate with the others in order to create and produce the music they pictured in their minds.

What kind of education will benefit children with autism?

Due to their unstable emotional state, anxiety, and communication problems, autism patients are not capable of reading or studying very well.

Since we do not have a very well established education system for this special group of people, it is not difficult for them to finish their middle school or any education level above high school in China. However, if the society is more patient and inclusive, the autism patients are more likely to receive effective therapies and fight discrimination. That way, they can blend into the society and contribute in their own special and unique ways. More and more people in our society are realizing this now. Some pioneers are planning to open a school specificly designed for autistic children's special skills. For examples, some of them can memorize the map of Shanghai metro including every single stop during the first sight; some of them can play a song completely identity to the ones they just listen in radio‌The talent of these autism patients can shine through if more people can help them develop a more balanced and peaceful social environment.

What causes autism?

In order to understand more about this disease, we read scientific papers and learned to design questionnaires for these patients. Our data from our survey is as follows: We inter viewed and sur veyed 25 random patients’ family members about their Medical history and patients' conditions on autism.

Survey data • 84% of the patients are male, 8% are female, 8% are unknown (Did not answer the question directly in the survey) • 76% of the patients are diagnosed between 2 to 4 years old, 23% are diagnosed between 5-7 years old, 1% are unknown.

• Any behaviors or disorders that are suspected as symptoms of autism that helped diagnosing -- 92% have communication issues -- 8 4 % h av e a te n d e n c y to e n g a g e i n restricted range of activities -- 76% have repetitive behaviors.

-- 28% have sensory processing problems.

-- 16% have Seizure Disorder.

-- 4% have pica, which means eating unusual food.

-- 16% have no symptoms • Does the patient suffer from any diseases?

-- 72 % only suffer from Autism -- 20% suffer from Jaundice -- 8% suffer from Neonatal Anoxia • Is there any inheritable disease history in the family of the patients?

-- 4% of the patients' families have an inheritable diseases history of Retardation -- 4% of the patients have an inheritable disease history of Mental illness -- 16% of the patients have an inheritable disease history of Diabetes -- 16% of the patients have an inheritable disease history of Hypertension -- 8 % of the patients have an inheritable disease history of Urticarial -- 4 % of the patients have an inheritable disease history of Hepatitis B

•

• •

•

•

8% of the patients have no inheritable -- 4 diseases history 8% of the patients live near factories, garbage stations, industrial pollutants or high voltage power stations.

68% of patients’ parents gave birth when they both surpassed the age of 30.

The maternal characteristics and behaviors during pregnancy -- 4 % of mothers had passive smoking exposure -- 4% of mothers had used medication and antibiotics during pregnancy.

-- 8% of the mothers were esposed to X-rays frequently -- 1 6 % o f m o t h e r s u s e d c o m p u t e r s excessively -- 20% of mothers used tocolysis therapy -- 2 0% of mothers have an ex tremely unstable emotion state.

Did the mother have difficult labor?

-- 40% of mothers had difficult labor and chose to have a caesarean operation to give labor.

-- 2 0 % o f m o t h e r s c h o s e c a e s a r e a n operations for other reasons -- 40% of mothers gave birth through natural labor Treatment history and information -- 8% of the patients just started to receive treatment -- 12% of the patients received half to three years of treatment -- 60% of the patients received four to seven years of treatment -- 20% of the patients received 8+ years of treatment -- 84% of the families found music therapy improved their communication ability, coordination, anxiety, and communication consciousness.

-- 24% family found ABA therapy effective improved their comprehension ability, and patience.

-- 4% of the families found traditional

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Chinese medicine could help stabilize their emotion state.

-- 4% of the families found Sports & Exercise Therapy improved their coordination.

What kind of information did we get from our survey?

T h ro u g h o u r s u r ve y w e l e a r n e d t h at a questionnaire is a very useful tool to help doctors understand and find useful information for disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention.

The information we found was: 1. This disease is more common in males (male:female=10.5:1 in this group of people) 2. The mother’s health during pregnancy might be related to autism, is required more careful statistic analysis.

3. Genetic inheritance might play a role in causing autism, however, there are lots of other factors that might contribute more.

The real cause of autism is still unknown.

4. The parents' ages when they have babies need to be considered too.

5. Music is an effective treatment for autism patients (need increased sample size and establish control group for statistic analysis.)

What we learned beyond science?

Community Model - the best model to against autism?

The rate of incidence of autism is increasing.

A 2015 U.S.A Medical Report stated that 1 out of 68 people are diagnosed with autism. Scientists and doctors still have no reliable and approved evidence to speculate on the cause of autism.

Autism, until now, still cannot be diagnosed by precise laboratory tests or be treated by any clinical drugs. Furthermore, the cost to prevent and treat this disease is very expensive, which means that if the patients are from lower class families, it is very possible that they could miss the best time period for recovery treatment.

In order to face this challenge, the community model was widely used to deal with this disease in the USA. After working with Ms.Cao and collecting

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survey data and information from the patients in the salon, we found that Ms. Cao’s running model (music therapy) is a very efficient and workable model system, and it's worth promoting in our community. Here are some lessons we learned from our experiences.

1. It is easy to let the patient family exchange experiences to help early diagnosis.

2. There are plenty of volunteers from different fields who would like to join the activities in Salon, such as teachers, university students, nurses, doctors, scientists, musicians, or artists. These volunteers bring precious opportunities and resources to help autistic kids.

3. The deep love that Ms.Cao contributes to the community successfully built a united, big family. Every family helps and supports each other and shares their resources to treat each other’s children. This can be the first step in creating a harmonious and loving community and society.

Reference 1. "Autism." KidsHealth - the Web's Most Visited Site about Children's Health. The Nemours Foundation. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

2. "Autism Spectrum Disorder Fact Sheet." Autism Spectrum Disorder Fact Sheet. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

3. "Autism Spectrum Disorder." NIMH RSS. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

4. "Autism Spectrum Conditions." : MGSE. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

5. Medical News Today. MediLexicon International. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

6. "What Is Autism?" Autism Speaks. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

Grade 10

What's the Matter?

The Secret behind Dark Energy and Dark Matter Written by Selina Gong

H

as your Physics teacher ever told you that our universe is made of atoms, ions and molecules? However, after you have read this article, you will realize they are wrong. Instead of the atoms, ions, and molecules, what is the actual ingredient or ingredients that make up our universe? How much of our universe is actually made up by familiar matter? During the 20th century, a person stated “the realm of physics is complete”. From Relativity to the Big Bang Theory and the development of quantum mechanics, we began the trend of discovering the truth behind the gigantic black Space surround us. Surprisingly, only 5% of our universe is constructed based on the familiar ordinary matter made up by quarks, electrons and neutrinos. The rest of the “darkness” is made of two mysterious ingredients called dark matter (about 25%) and dark energy (about 70%).

To begin our story, let’s start with one of the most intelligent people in 20th century --- Albert Einstein.

Einstein was the first person to realize the “empty space” insides space is not actually empty. One version of Einstein’s gravity theory mentioned a “cosmological constant”. This constant predicted empty space could produce its own energy. Since this energy is produced by Space itself, it is not going to be affected by the space expansion.

After Einstein, a college student called Alan Guth did research on A stronomy with his professor Henry. After reviewing his calculations of the expansion rate of the universe, he had a hypothesis on the reason behind the Big Bang and the expansion of our universe. He proposed at the beginning of our universe that there was a repulsive gravity. In the early years of the universe, this repulsive gravity was reverse repelling everything to create expansion. Does this repulsive gravity relate to dark energy and dark matter?

Yes. Dark energy is the ‘force’ which caused the ‘explosion’ 13.7 billion years ago. To combine those ideas together, we can explain why the universe actually accelerated its expansion. Due to this energy being the product of Space itself, as Space expands, more dark energy is produced. The repulsive force increases, so the amount of this energy gets larger and larger. Thus, the universe expands faster and faster.

In our daily life we always mention dark energy and dark matter together, yet what is the difference between these two concepts? Dark matter produces energy that attracts and dark energy repels. It’s easier for us to understand the repelling energy (Dark energy) because we are able to observe the expansion the universe. For its anti-partner, dark matter, scientists discovered its existence while studing our galaxy— the Milky Way. There are three solid reasons we could use to

Image Source: Bing

demonstrate the existence of dark matter.

The first reason is dark matter causes the galaxy’s rotational curves. Image you are rotating.

If there is a mass around you, you will slow down.

When the scientist measured the rotational velocity of the Milky Way, the figure is much different from the calculated value. Dark matter attracted the matter in the Milky Way, and hence, it also affects human life and our whole solar system.

The second reason is related to Einstein’s 17

gravity theory. In Einstein’s interpretation of gravity, it is not like a rope, which ties things [around], and ‘forces’ them to rotate around a point. Everything thst has a mass, in Einstein’s point of view, can bend space. As light travels through Space, it would bend with Space. The more massive the matter is, the more the light bends.

Dark matter “makes up around 85% of the mass of the Universe. This means that light rays coming towards us from distant galaxies will pass through the gravitational field of dark matter and hence will be bent by the lensing effect.”

Last but not the least, without the dark matter, there is no force that can combine/attract matter

Image Source: NASA/ESA

together to form our galaxy.

Today, scientists are working on finding the candidates for dark matter. However, the first question you need to answer is ‘why is dark matter dark’? You may say it is because we are unable to observe them with the naked eye? I would like to define dark as the particles, which are electrically neutral. However, candidates of dark matter are not simply dark. They need to satisfy certain criteria. First, it needs to be cold. Let’s start with the Big Bang. Is it related to heat? No, cold in this sense refers to slow moving. Mass-less particles are too light, so the velocity is far above our criteria.

Conversely, massive particles move in a slow way.

The beauty of the universe is there are always exceptions. Axion, a particle that is surprisingly never hot has unsurprisingly become one of the most popular candidates for dark matter.

In addition, the next criteria for the candidate is precise interaction strength. Massive particles

18

are usually going to interact in “a strong way” and transform into anti-particles and lower mass particles. The light particles act in an opposite way when they interact too slowly. The grey area for the interaction strength would be weak nuclear force.

A typical representation would be WIMPs (weakly interacting massive particles).

In addition, a stable state is equally important.

All the stable particles we know currently are either mass less or lightest particle having certain conserved quantity. If the particle wants to be massive (relatively) and stable at the same time, the form needs to be symmetrical. There are two kinds of symmetries: Global symmetry and Gauge symmetry (also called local symmetry). Gauge symmetry involves another ingredient which is “long-range” force. (e.g. electromagnetism) In other word, those massive candidates need to have on analogue of electric charge. However, as I have mentioned previously, the Axions are so unique and light that they interact weakly.

The last challenge of the candidates is going to be dissipation. In other word, they do not need to be fed with a large amount of energy. However, you may realize from the points I have mentioned above, the long-range force is required for keeping a stable state. The amount of the energy “tends to have dissipation”. The left opinion is global symmetry; however they are quite easy to break.

The WIMP model is actually stabilized by super symmetry.

There are still so many mysteries behind dark energy and dark matter. There are not many to say in this conclusion because there are more things about dark energy and dark matter that are “unknown more than we know.”

Reference 1. http://www.bing.com/images/search?q=dark+matter+galaxy+r otation+curve&view=detailv2&&id=7946D4E3B5E37521796959B 395A29F7F8747F543&selectedIndex=0&ccid=NDmQ2MML&sim id=607987423519705181&thid=JN.dxVcXUcz6YxS%2ffPoh%2bJm 8g&ajaxhist=0 2. http://www.cfhtlens.org/public/what-gravitational-lensing 3. http://www.preposterousuniverse.com/blog/2015/07/07/whyis-there-dark-matter/ 4. http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/article/january-2013/ illuminating-the-dark-universe

APhenomenon in Einstein’s Special Relativity In the following section, the side bar explains the template for standard scientific essay. The component in scientific essay include title, authors, abstract, introduction, materials and methods, results, tables and graphs, discussion, acknowledgement and reference

Time Dilation Written by Selina Gong

Mentor/Pual McCullough

SIDE BAR: How to write scientific paper?

Title : • Specific enough to describe the contents but not confusing to normal people • May summarizes the results effectively

Abstract:

I

n the following essay I will explain why time is non-invariant: What is the relationship between the different time lengths experience by different people in

the relatively same period of time? All the answers for those questions would be ‘to maintain the speed of light in a constant value’. Under the principle of special relativity, which all the observers in different reference frames have to stay in inertial state, they would experience different lengths of time. We could say if they travel faster than normal, their time will be relatively slowed down. However, because the speed of light was too large compared to the speed we could reach in our time, the time dilation could be easily ignored (which I will explain in my essay).

Abstract: -- A “preview” of what’s to come • Summarizes the purpose, methods, results and conclusions of the paper • NO abbreviations or citations

Introduction: In 1600s, Isaac Newton had demonstrated the foundation of modern physics. He interpreted our world as a stage. In his model, time and space are presenting in straight axis (xy=space & z=time), therefore, time is invariant. However, Newtown had not given out a reason which explains what actually linked them together. In other word, what makes time and space relative to each other? In 1800s, Hippolyte Fizeau had successfully measured the speed of light “based on time-of-flight measurements on Earth” is 315 000 km/s. This figure had later matched with the ratio of the electromagnetic and electrostatic units of charge. With the later research of Maxwell on the electromagnetism, he proposed light is an electromagnetic waves.

Introducion: • Summarizes the relevant literature • Explain why you were interested in the question • 1 to 4 paragraphs • Usually nd with a sentence explaining the specific question of this experiment

19

In late 1800s, the Michelson-Morley experiment took its place and the experiment is not proving for nothing. With their contribution, we could conclude that the light has a finite speed, and it is constant. The speed of light is maintained by changes in space and time in a relative way. Time

is no longer invariant and Newton’s stage is no longer presented in straight lines. Once you would travel in a high speed the time dilation could cause significant differences. The velocity of the object would be the key to effect the time and space.

Method: In order to prove the fact that time is non- invariant, I would like to use a laser beam experiment as an example. There is a laser placed inside the train and there are two different observers. The first observer is inside the carriage (first reference frame); the second observer is standing beside the rail and observes the experiment outside the train. (Second reference frame) B v S

S’

A

A - Light source & detector B - Mirror S -Second reference frame S' – First reference frame v – velocity of the train

Δt= First, the ray would shine to the mirror and then the mirror reflect the light, then the ray goes back in an opposite direction into the detector. We assume the distance between the mirror and the detector was D and the distance to finish a complete lap is 2D. Furthermore, the difference between the speed of light in glass and air is neglectable in this experiment.

S

S’

x’ = 0

A

B

B

x’ = 0

A

v

A

x=0

However, the train is moving in a constant speed in the second reference frame; the observer would saw a slant ray around 045 degrees and bend right after the train has passed through the observer. Then the ray start at the point they bend and travels around 135 degrees. We assume the distance for the slant is L then the time for the same complete lap would change into Δt = 2L (represent the time by C Δt) Using the Pythagorean Theorem, L = ( 1 vΔt) + D .Therefore, the formula 2 1 ( vΔt) + D which calculates the time inside the second reference frame is Δt = 2 c (equation2). If we replace D on the right side: 2

2

2

20

• Write enough information to allow another scientist to repeat your experiment • Use diagram, table or flowchart to explain complicated contents

The time inside the first reference frame can be calculated in this way (use Δtₒ to represent the time, because it the time observed by the observer who was stay in the reference frame):

B

Method and Material: * No material for this paper (Theoretical demonstration)

2

• Mention relevant ethical considerations.

If you used human subjects, did they consent to participate.

If you used animals, what measures did you take to minimize pain?

* A Discussion part should follow this part or after your results or conclusion

1 ( vΔt)2 + (Δt o c)2 Δt = 2 = c

1 1−

v2 c2

（Equation 3）

Since the velocity of the train could not be greater than the speed of light because it is undefined in mathematic; the Δtₒ would always be smaller than Δt. Therefore the time was invariant in different reference frame. We could shorten the equation3 using a Greek letter γ (gamma) -Δt= γ Δtₒ The Δtₒ represent the time experienced by the observer that is in the reference frame; we could also call it proper time. The Δt represents the time experienced by the observer outside the reference frame. When you travel in a greater velocity than before, time slows down compared to your original state. In addition, because velocity is the key to determining the degrees of the effect on the relative time and space, the speed on Earth is going to be too small. Therefore, the γ will not going to have a great change.

To further explain my statement, we should make an assumption that one of the twins (A) would stay on earth and the other twin (B) travels in a spaceship moving at a velocity greater than A. If they could only compare their speed with each, A and B would both conclude “I travel slower than brother/sister.” First without a doubt, B, who traveling in a spaceship, would have grater velocity than the twin A. Therefore, twin B’s time is going to slow down relatively compare to A. As a observer outside both reference frames, we could easily identify who is young after the trip. However, using only those two reference frame, we can also figure out an answer. The truth is only twin A is right because he/she was the person who stay in an inertial state. When B is turning back to earth acceleration is necessary. Base on the principle of special relativity, which all the object need to move in inertial state, the person who was accelerating would have an incorrect judgment about the order of event.

Conclusion: This experiment has proved to us that the time dilation actually exists. The time dilation is a relationship between the time observerd by people in different reference frame. The velocity as the key to fill the puzzle has a important value to the whole equation. However the reason which people has believe in Newton’s theory for so 2 long, is because the speed we reach on earth is too small so the value of 1− v 2 c is near to 1. Hence basically, it is going to looks like Δt= Δtₒ.

Reference 1. Douglas, C. Giancoli, Physics for Scientists & Engineers with Modern Physics.

Pearson, 1984, Upper Saddle River, New Jersey. Print.

1. K.A Tsokos, IB physics standard and higher level, Fifth edition. Print.

Result: • Present the results you’ve gotten. Use graphs and tables if appropriate • Summarize your main findings in the text. Do NOT discuss the results or speculate as to why something happened • NOT all the data are need to be presented.

IT’S NOT A DAIRY! • Use appropriate methods of showing data

2. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_physics

21

Grade 9

Elementary Piano Self-Learning System for Blind People

Written by Joanna Xu

T

his device is designed for teaching elementary level piano to the visually impaired opening up the possibility to teach music to people who currently would find it very challenging. It provides instant instruction to the learner through the connection between Music Module and Cap Sense Button. The voice instructions include two learning modes: one is the whole music playing model and the other is the segment learning model. The whole music playing mode plays the whole music piece while the segmentlearning mode equally divides the learning piece into one measure. This design keeps learners alert while not leading to overexertion and fatigue. Another feature of this design is having two pedals which function as multiple selection keys. Unlike taking a teacher’s courses, this device is distinct for its low cost. Thus it truly provides the possibility for the visually impaired to enjoy the music itself.

Keywords: Visually impaired community, piano self –learning; learning modes; voice instruction; Cap Sense Button

Significance Music is an irreplaceable part in our daily life.

It conveys beauty, thoughts and has the ability to increase our receptiveness to everything around us. Practicing an instrument is a skill many people hope to have. A visually impaired person can often feel isolated from our world because of their disability. This should not be tolerated, and we have the responsibility and ability to provide them with the same sort of opportunities as we do. Playing a Music instrument can develop new methods of communication. This can provide enjoyment and engagement and also open up music to more people in the world, which is why this device is worth making.

Among the variety of instruments, piano is easy to learn and has a relatively simple construction, so it is a great choice to start lear ning music for the v is ually impaire d.

Meanwhile, their consequent physical advantage such as strong hearing, sensing and memory equips them with the potential to be as a good practice in piano performance.( 田春雨 )

Current Issue Currently in China, music is often spread through word of mouth in the visually impaired

22

community. The teacher has to repeatedly speak instructions while the learner memorizes the content passively. It is quite time consuming and expansive. Furthermore, the text book they use is designed for hearing people without consideration of diverse learning needs. Thus, learning to play the piano is not popular in visual impaired community.

The equipment I designed and created is a self-learning device for the visual impaired community. This device will help them to be able to learn playing the piano and consequently derive enjoyment from improving performance.

Design This figure below presents the basic structure of

the device: The Piano self-learning device design has been based on a keyboard, which aims for providing the visually impaired community with the ability to learn to play basic piano music without the help from a teacher. It uses voice recognition to give instructions to the coordinating Cap Sense Button and provides specific learning modes to help instruct the learner to play entry-level piano pieces.

I used the development board based on STM32F103ZET6 main control chip to regulate every section of the system, including Voice Module and Cap Sense Button. T hrough commands from the device, the Voice Modules plays the instructing voice pieces stored in the memory card by inner speaker thus provide the learner commands, learning content and feedback.

The voice instructions contain specific learning modes, which are the whole music playing and segment learning. Whole music playing mode plays the whole music piece for students in order to give them a general understanding of what they’ll learn to play. While the segment learning mode equally divides the learning piece to increase the practice quality and allow students to make incremental progress, allowing them to feel a sense of achievement. This mode also covers the instruction for each music note with its corresponding finger presses. During the process, the development board can be informed of which keyboard key is hit by the student by receiving electrical signals corresponding to the pressure from the user which can be measured by the Cap Sense Button under each keyboard. The device will measure the amount of pressure for each key press and if that is within the preset tolerance level, the Voice Module will instantly play that music note to show it is correct. If the key being touched is incorrect, the Voice Module will not play the note.

Each stage of instruction can be repeated or chosen by stepping on the two pedals. Also, the surface of each keyboard is marked with corresponding braille in order to help with student’s memorizing different music note through touch.

Functions 1. Self-adjustable learning modes. Whole music playing mode provides general idea while segment-learning mode breaks learning into manageable steps.

2. Repeatable voice instructions make sure that the learner can always go back and review the previous segment.

3. Key Press instruction in the segmentlearning mode help people to learn the position of the keys, and memorize the order of the notes.

4. Connection between Voice Module and Cap Sense Button provides instant response while hitting the key.

Targeted Group The Visually impaired community who has had little or no experience of learning to play the piano.

Hardware Section 1. STM32F103ZET6 main control chip

It is cheap with multiple functions and is suitable for normal electronic control system.

2. Voice Module

It conveys information with the main control chip by serial port in order to achieve the playing of specific voice clip. The voice clips are saved in the TF card (Trans-flash Card, a type of memory card) within the Module and can be played by the inner speaker of the Module.

23

3. Cap Sense Button

It receives the information of which keyboard the learner has hit in form of electrical levels.

4. OLED Display

It is used for presenting data in a visual form in the adjusting process.

5. Power Supply

The input power of this device is 12V direct current. While the Voice Module need power supply of 5V while the Main Control Chip and the Cap Sense Button need 3.3V of power supply. This Module transfers the power for each sections’ need.

6. Design of Piano Model

In order to save cost, I use modal form made made by organic glass to achieve the elementary state of my device. This is the design drawing.

24

This is the real object.

2. Install the system on real keyboards.

3. Apply the idea of this device to other instruments.

Reference

Software Section This image shows the main logic and operating process of my device.

1. 蔡学静 , 张剑 , 魏明欣等 . 浅谈盲人生活助手设计 [J]. 美术大 观 ,2010,(4):101.DOI:10.3969/j.issn.1002-2953.2010.04.072.

2. 林洲 . 盲校多媒体音乐教学初探 [C].// 信息技术教育应用研 究 .2002:383-386.

3. 彭莹 . 盲校音乐教学中存在的问题及解决对策 [C]. 全国第四届中小学 艺术教育科研论文报告会论文集 .2013:188-193.

4. 石红艳 . 搞好盲人计算机教学的几点体会 [J]. 才智 ,2012,(35):90.

5. 田春雨 , 陈明大 . 盲人钢琴教学艺术研究 [J]. 长春大学 学报 ,2002,12(2):85-86.DOI:10.3969/j.issn.10093907-B.2002.02.030.

Start Sit in Front of the Piano Choose Learning Pieces Select Mode Whole Piece

Modes

Whole Piece Playing

Segments k Fragmentsʅ j starts at 0 YesN

j<=k

o

j segment plays n sounds istarts at 0 Yes Note i activated, the Voice Module plays the key’s instruction

i<=k

End No

Current segment completed, moving to the next segment j++

Segment Completed

i++

Here are the steps: As the system starts, the learner can step on the pedals to choose learning pieces while listening to the voice instruction.

After the piece to learn is certain, the learner can choose learning mode by the pedals while listening to the voice instruction. The left pedal represents whole music playing while the right pedal represents segment learning mode.

As the learner enter the whole music playing mode, the device plays the whole piece of music.

Then it returns back to the previous option after its finished.

Future Scenario 1. Develop the second level learning system.

25

Grade 8

The Relationship Between Current, Voltage and Resistance

Written by Leon Wang Mentor / Zhong Wang

Research Question What is the relationship between current, voltage and resistance?

Prediction Current is inversely proportional to voltage when the resistance is the same; Current is directly proportional to resistance when voltage is the same.

Experiments In order to explore the relationship between current, voltage and resistance, the experiment needs to be separated into two parts.

Experiment 1: Experiment Design: Independent Variable: Current Dependent Variable: Voltage and Current Control Variable: The Resistor To explore the relationship between current and voltage (Maintain the same resistance).

Connect a slide rheostat in series in order to maintain the same resistance, as well as to collect data and protect the circuit (prevent current overloads).

Circuit Diagram 1. Ammeter 2. Battery 3. Switch 4. Slide rheostat 5. Voltmeter 6. Resistor

26

Equipment: Battery, Switcher, Ammeter, Voltmeter, Slide rheostat, 15Ί resistor, wires.

Experimental Procedure: (1) Set up the circuit as shown in the circuit diagram.

(2) Glide the slide rheostat to the very end.

(3) Record the data of voltage and current from Ammeter and Voltmeter (4) Glide the slide rheostat to the middle.

(5) Record the data of voltage and current from Ammeter and Voltmeter (6) Glide the slide rheostat to the other end.

(7) Record the data of voltage and current from Ammeter and Voltmeter Experiment 2: Experiment Design: Independent Variable: Resistance of Resistor Dependent Variable: Current Control Variable: Voltage To explore the relationship between current and resistance (Maintain the same voltage).

Connect a slide rheostat in series in order to maintain the same voltage and protect the circuit. A voltmeter is added to monitor the voltage. Change the resistor to collect data.

Circuit Diagram 1. Ammeter 2. Battery 3. Switch 4. Slide rheostat 5. Voltmeter 6. Resistor

Equipment: Battery, Switcher, Ammeter, Voltmeter, Slide rheostat, 15Ω resistor, 30Ω resistor, 60Ω resistor, wires.

Experimental Procedure: (1) S et up the circuit as shown in the circuit diagram.

(2) G lide the slide rheostat in order to keep the voltage at 2V (3) R ecord the d ata of cur rent from Ammeter (4) Change the resistor to 30Ω (5) G lide the slide rheostat in order to keep the voltage at 2V (6) R ecord the d ata of cur rent from Ammeter (7) Change the resistor to 62Ω (8) G lide the slide rheostat in order to keep the voltage at 2V (9) R ecord the d ata of cur rent from Ammeter

Figure 1: Positive liner correlation between Voltage and Current under the same resistance

Experiment 2: When we maintain the same voltage, as the current increases, the resistance decreases. Therefore, we found current is inversely proportional to resistance in a non-liner way.

(Table 2 and Figure 2) Table 2: The relationship between current and resistance under the same voltage Voltage (V)

Current (A)

Resistance (Ω)

1st

2.0

0.14

15

2nd

2.0

0.06

30

3rd

2.0

0.04

62

Results Experiment 1: When we maintain the same resistance, we found the good liner correlation between current and voltage (Table 1 and Figure 1).

Current will increase with the voltage in positively liner correlation.

Voltage (V)

Current (A)

Resistance (Ω)

Origin

0

0

0

1st

3.0

0.20

15

2nd

2.0

0.14

15

3rd

1.5

0.10

15

Voltage R (Ω)

Table 1: the relationship between current and voltage under same resistance

Current I (A) Figure 2: Non linear correlation between current and resistance under the same voltage

Continues on to page 28 >

27

Grade 11

A Permanent Way to Stay Nutritious? Microbiota!

The Relationship Between Microbiota and Malnutrition Written by Rose Sun

Introduction What is the leading cause of death worldwide in children under the age of five?

The answer is hunger. If we put it in a more scientific way, the cause would be malnutrition.

Malnutrition can be defined as a deficiency in nutrition, ranging from a deficiency in macronutrients to micronutrients. How did this horrible cause affect us then? According to my research, it accounts for the death of around 6 million children per year with 159 million children who continues to suffer from the disease.

What is microbiota then?

Microbiota is used to describe microbial living things within the human system, an example of a bacteria microbiota would be E.coli.

Conclusion In our science course, we tested Ohm’s law, a powerful predictor of the relationship between potential difference, current and resistance. We found that Current is directly proportional to voltage when the resistance is the same, and it is inversely proportional to resistance when voltage is the same.

Furthermore, according to this experiment, we could prove the equation that current equals to voltage divided by resistance. (I=U/R)

Evaluation A s w e a l l k n o w, t e m p e r a t u r e p l a y s a n important role in Ohm’s law. Temperature change result in the change of resistance. Also, when the temperature reaches certain point, metal conductor would be superconductive, which

28

Then, what is the connection?

People used to think that malnutrition could be cured by simple feeding the patients, but it turns out to be a wrong conception. Scientists recently discovered that children with malnutrition might be missing the right mix of germs, some studies showed that certain bacteria in the guts could affect our health.

The following experiments are introduced to discuss further the effect of microbiota on malnutrition.

Experiment 1: The importance of Germs in Animal Diets Background Information No one knows exactly the effect of microbes.

means there was no resistance in the metal.

Thus, Ohm’s law only applies when the circuit is in room temperature. Because of the equipment limitation, we did not detect the temperature in out experiment.

Furthermore, Ohm’s law only applies with circuitry of pure resistance, metallic conduction and electrolytic conduction. It would not work under cer tain conditions, such as gaseous conduction and semiconductor device.

This experiment is designed for our curriculum study, so the whole experiment will be done within one hour, thus I will only present one set of data.

Reference 1. ”Ohm's Law." Baidu, n.d. Web. < http://baike.baidu.com/link?ur l=BqC4F5dN8WfgMXdTs7bNkD7a795Z8auUuguGY7vFFgHIJqml Pw0kkrIUDaFyGCgrdJO3_zoscuvrblXCAWv1M_>.

Therefore, biologist François Leulier conducted an experiment to explore the physiological benefits of microbiota in our body.

The group focused on nutritional complements called “probiotic.”, which is a microorganism found mostly in the human and animal intestinal tracts. However, this type of microbiota was rejected by Europe Food Safety Authority in 2010 despite intense marketing campaign advertising for the beneficial effect of the probiotic on human and animal health.

The Europe Food Safety Authority claimed to have insufficient research proofs, showing the need for revisiting intestinal bacteria-mediated physiological benefits. Thus, the group decided to conduct basic and clinical research for the accumulation of knowledge about intestinal bacteria relationships.

Method Two animal models were used to evaluate the impact of intestinal bacteria on their host. They chose Drosophila melanogaster , a type of fly, as a sample of invertebrate species as well as Mus musculus to represent the vertebrates (mammals).

François Leulier and his teammates fed a diet low in protein to the two target groups, some with gems in it and some don’t, and observe the change in growth plus development.

Result The animals with gut microbes in their diet grew significantly bigger, including larger bone structure, well-functioned organs and stronger heartbeats. When analysis the data, scientists found that microbes affect the animals’ hormones: the gut microbe encouraged growth by increasing production of a hormone known as IGF-1. Overall, this investigation proves the benefits of probiotic, leading to potential therapy solutions.

Experiment 2: Application in Africa Background Information Kids of similar ages usually have the same group of guts bacteria, and even a slight change in the population could affect growth in various ways. Jeffery Gordon, a microbiologist at George

Washington University, found that malnourished babies have a different microbial mix comparing to their peers. They decided to conduct a study on gut bacteria in both healthy and malnourished infants in Malawi, Africa.

Method The study focused on two specific types of microbes: Ruminococcus gnavus and Clostridium symbiosum . Bacteria from malnourished children and healthy children were isolated and were transplanted into germ-free mice. All the mice were fed the exact food eaten by Malawian children.

Results The germ-free mice with immature microbiomes showed poor growth that matches malnourished children, whereas mice with specific microbiota grew healthier: they put on more muscles and developed denser bones. The study could hopeful lead to a resolution of curing malnourished human beings.

Discussion & Conclusion Through the experiments, scientists had confirmed microbiota as a disease promoting factor. The results could provide a new view of acute malnutrition, which suggests gut microbiota under environmental pressures might develop the unique “disease-promoting microbiota”. Even though there are still many uncertainties related to how different combination of microbiota could cure malnutrition, scientists are working towards new methods and trying to create new possibilities. Hopefully in the future, we would lower or even eradicate the malnutrition phenomenon.

Terminology: Ruminococcus gnavus : An anaerobic Gram positive coccus that can be found in the gastrointestinal tract of animals and humans Clostridium symbiosum : A special sequence, member of the division Firmicutes.

Germ-free mice : Mice that have no microorganisms living in or on them.

Continues on to page 30 >

29

Grade 9

Happiness is All - Is It?

Written by Shelly Ding

“H

appiness is all” implies that happy is enough, you do not necessarily have to have meaningful life.

Recently a PNAS paper provided biological evidence for the prospective health advantages associated

with psychological well-being.

Key words: Hedonic, Eudemonic

Introduction Nowadays, “Happiness is all” has become a popular phrase in China, which refers to an easygoing state of mind--No matter what things we are doing, “happy is enough”. “Happiness is all” implies that we do not necessarily have to do meaningful things in our life, and we can do whatever we like for pure happiness and fun. However, in real life, should we tell ourselves that “Well, as long as I feel happy, there is no problem?”, or should we set objectives for ourselves and strive to achieve them, in order to pursue “higher and worthier pleasure?”

The answer to this philosophical question varies depending on different people. However, according to one paper published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Science (PNAS) in 2013, researchers from University of North Carolina had proved through scientific experiment that people who pursue the significance of life have healthier being than people who simply pursue pure pleasure and happiness. How did they manage to do it? The following article is a brief introduction of their experiment and results.

Philosophers have classified two forms of wellbeing: “a “hedonic” form representing the sum of an individual’s positive affective experiences, and a deeper “eudaimonic” form that results from striving toward meaning and a noble purpose beyond simple self-gratification”. Both dimensions

Reference 1. Functional Genomics Group. Web. 2. Functional Genomics of Host/intestinal Bacteria Interactions. F. LEULIER. Web. 3. http://www.bioenergychina.org/fg/ 4. http://www.ibdm.univ-mrs.fr/equipe/immune-response-anddevelopment-in-drosophila/

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of well-being are deeply implicated in human biology and evolution (17–24), with hedonic wellbeing hypothesized to motivate basic physiological and psychological adaptations, and eudaimonic well-being hypothesized to motivate more complex social and cultural capacities “(Fredrickson et al.

110:) However, although hedonic well-being and eudemonic well-being are two different concepts, they correlate with each other. It is difficult for people to determine which form of happiness is more directly related to health and longevity. It is also hard to know whether they are involved in similar biological processes as well as their distinct effects and consequences.

In order to answer those questions, the researchers examined the biological implications of hedonic and eudaimonic well-being through ~21,000 genes. They found a serial inflammation related genes (such as IL1b, IL6, IL8, TNF) and immune response related genes (type I IFN antiviral responses genes and IgG1 antibody synthesis genes) were significantly increased or decreased in different attitudes. Thus, those two group of genes were selected to explore the relation between healthy and longevity with hedonic and eudaimonic well-being.

Background Information: Inflammatory Response: a fundamental type of response by the body to disease and injury,

5. http://igfl.ens-lyon.fr/equipes/f.-leulier-functional-genomicsof-host-intestinal-bacteria-interactions 6. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/02/right-gutmicrobes-help-infants-grow 7. Immune response and development in Drosophila J. Royet.Web 8. The Right Gut Microbes Help Infants Grow. Elizabeth Pennisi.

Web.

a response characterized by the classical signs of "dolor, calor, rubor, and tumor" -pain, heat (localized warmth), redness, and swelling.

The Immune Response: how your body recognizes and defends itself against bacteria, viruses, and substances that appear foreign and harmful.

Experimental Process Researchers recruited 80 healthy adults. They were required to submit a report containing their answers to questions such as “in the past week, how often did you feel. . . happy? (hedonic), satisfied? (hedonic), that your life has a sense of direction or meaning to it? (eudaimonic), that you have experiences that challenge you to grow

and become a better person? (eudaimonic), that you had something to contribute to society? (eudaimonic);”(Fredrickson et al. 110:) The researchers can therefore distinguish a group of people who tended to have eudaimonic wellbeing, and another group who tended to have hedonic wellbeing. After that, the participants all provided venipuncture blood samples under resting conditions.

Method: 1. Detect inflammation response on mRNA level and measure inflammation cytokines 2. Analyze immune cells Results: Before analyzing the results, we should first understand the following concepts:

1. When encountering external stimuli, the human body would produce an inflammatory response and consequently produce transcription factor, which would ask the immune cells to come to “rescue”:

2. The human body has two lines of defense stimulated by antigens (any substance that stimulates an immune response in the body): The first line of defense: innate immune system—have immune cells like Monocytes, dendritic cells, NK cells, etc. The first line of defense can respond very quickly.

The second line of defense: adaptive immune system—immune cells are T cells and B cells. The second line of defense is stronger than the first line of defense, but need more time to respond. When the first

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line of defense becomes too weak, dendritic cells could learn the characteristics of the antigen, then process and present them to T cells and B cells in the second defense line. Thus, T cells and B cells could make use of the information to cope with the antigen.

Then...What is the result of the experiment? We could still use comics to explain.

The hedonic individuals had reduced expression of proinflammatory genes and up-regulated expression of genes involved in antibody synthesis and type I IFN antiviral response.

Fierce inflammatory response. Since the first defense line is weak, the body depends on stronger second defense line to kill antigens.

The eudaimonic individuals had elevated expression of proinflammatory genes and reduced expression of genes involved in antibody synthesis and type I IFN antiviral response.

Faint inflammatory response. Since the first defense line is strong enough to produce a large number of cells to defeat the antigens, antigens are directly killed without the help of the stronger second defense line.

Conclusion Results from the experiment show that, when human bodies are undergoing the same stimuli, people who have hedonic wellbeing would have fiercer inf lammator y response and immune response when compared with people who have eudemonic wellbeing. People who have eudaimonic wellbeing could recover quickly since the first line of defense in their body could produce many cells to kill antigens in a short time. In comparison, it takes a longer time for people who possess hedonic wellbeing to recover as their first line of defense are not strong enough. They have to rely on the stronger second line of defense to kill antigens, resulting in a longer time to recover. In conclusion, people who have eudemonic wellbeing (who live towards meaning) are healthier than people who

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have hedonic wellbeing (who live towards empty positive emotions).

Discussion Should we enjoy pure happiness or strive towards a meaningful life? Now, this ancient philosophical question is answered from a biological perspective. This experiment had successfully proved that working towards a meaning in life would make a person healthier and more capable to resist illness and disease.

T here fore, instead of say ing to ourselves â&#x20AC;&#x153;happiness is allâ&#x20AC;? and live a life of indulgence, it is better for us to set objectives, to challenge ourselves, and to strive to achieve them. Then we would not only feel happiness, but also feel a sense of achievement and a meaning granted to our lives. At the same time, we may get health and Continues on to page 33 >

Grade 9

Food Additives Another Category "Food"

Written by Simone Lin

F

ood additives, a category of “food” that we eat every day, does not get any attention from most people. There are five different types of additives that are used in our daily life. This report will provide an overview of the composition, usage and side effects of these five types of additives. Some additives are beneficial to our health, some have side effects, or can even cause disease.

The food that we eat on a daily basis are usually from a plant or animal product, yet there is still another category of “food” that we did not pay much attention to until the past few years- additives. However, we should not directly conclude whether additives are good or bad. This report will provide an overview of the composition, usage and side effects and of the different types of additives.

The first type of additive are ones added before products are harvested; they are used on not only plants but also animals to protect and speed up the growth rate. These additives are not only commonly harmful to our health, but also can pollute the ocean and rivers as they are used in industry. An example used on plants is called aliar, a type of chemical fruit ripener that is sprayed on apples, the side effects can include an increased cancer risk. Other than on plants, people have also successfully bred a type of chicken called the cornish cross that increases the growth rate of chicken up to the point where they loose the ability to stand on their legs after just 7 weeks.

During the 7 weeks, growth hormone is added to the corn fed to them. The side effects are still unclear, although eating this type of chicken

over a long period does cause an effect on our hormone levels as we are also ingesting extra growth hormones into our bodies. Nevertheless, the demand for more productivity in the modern world extremely intense and competitive, which drives companies to search for faster growth rates to increase their income, and additives such as pesticides also increase yields.

The second type of additives are preservatives, these additives keeps food fresh and stable while preventing natural decay. They are added in order to lengthen the time period a food could be kept by fighting oxygen damage to the food. The most common example would be salt, it is used for preserving raw meat as it draws out moisture from the meat by osmosis. Most synthetic antioxidants contain controversal effects on our health, as the precise effects are still unclear. Additives such as E320 and E321 are artificial antioxidants that come in the form of a waxy solid that is used in food packaging and animal feed, it raises your cholesterol level and increase the chances of heart attack. However, there are also quite a few natural preservatives that have a beneficial effect upon our health, lecithin would be an example. It is extracted from soy and contains antioxidants.

longevity in life!

Sciences 110.33 (2013): 13684–13689.

3. Henochowicz, Stuart I. "Immune Response: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia." U.S National Library of Medicine. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 11 May 2014. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

4. "Inflammatory Response." MedicineNet. Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

5. "Tencent" Tencent. Web. 21 Apr. 2016. <http://v.qq.com/iframe/ player.html?vid=s01638hy15a>.

References: 1. "Antigen - Encarta (cached)." Antigen - Encarta (cached). Web. 21 Apr. 2016.

2. Fredrickson, B. L., et al. “A Functional Genomic Perspective on Human Well-Being.”Proceedings of the National Academy of

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Other antioxidant examples include vitamin C and E, they are proven to reduce cancer risks.

The third type of additive brings consistency to the manufactured goods we buy, not only do these make the appearances of foods more attractive but also enhance the texture of the food as we chew. One example of an additive that improves the texture of food is pectin, a soluble fibre that is found most concentrated inside the peel of fruits such as oranges, lemons, grapefruits and apples. Pectin is a natural gelling agent added to make foods taste thicker. They are proven to have anti-cancer properties and evidence shows that pectin can lower cholesterol levels, although there are side effects such as abdominal cramps and diarrhea. Another example would be food dyes: Tartrazine (E102, vivid yellow colouring), might cause allergic reactions in people who suffer form asthma and eczema that can cause hyperactivity in certain children. Yet, according to doctor Taylor form the Health Magazine, 2011, there is not enough proof that food dyes harms our health.

The fourth type appeals to our taste and smell senses, enhancing the foods' flavour, so that more customers will buy the product. Salt and sugar are the most commonly used flavouring additives. Aspartame is an artificial sweetener that is 200 times sweeter than sugar, used in diet coke and is toxic to the human body. Castoreum is a type of natural flavouring that is often used as a substitute for vanilla flavoured foods due to the lowering of the budget, it is a yellowish secretion of the castor sac from a beaver used with urine to mark territory. It is perfectly safe to eat and does not have any known side effects.

The fifth type of additive is used to raise the nutrition level inside certain foods, to provide extra minerals and vitamins that or body requires for a balanced diet. In many cereals, calcium is added to strengthen our bones and teeth. Other additives such as vitamin B, D and E can be extracted from fish, they support our nervous system and immune system. The group of chemical additive curcumin and phenethyl isothiocyanate can be found in plants, they create a protective

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effect on implanted prostate tumors, though either one used alone has no effect.

Chemicals that are permitted to be used as food additives for use within the European Union and Switzerland are coded by E-numbers.

Examples would be E320, E230-233, etc. These codes are used to represent individual additives, this code not only makes the chemicals look less harmful than just writing out their chemical formula, but also covers up what really is added to our daily food, since most people wouldn't pay much attention to a short string of numbers.

Overall, the side effects of food additives upon children can be summarised to the following: making children vague, withdrawn, agitated/ anxious, teary/depressed; Also affects on their ability to focus and learn, increasing chances of having Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD).

Concluding all the above points, additives are neither bad nor good, they may have their disadvantages, but they also benefit the food industry and our health.

Reference 1. Gordon Edlin, Eric Golanty, Kelli McCormack Brown, 2002, 'Health and Wellness' Hawaii, Jones and Bartlett Publisher 2. Health Magazine, 2011. (health.com) 13-Jan-2011, Priyam 3. Michael Pollan, 2009, The Secrets Behind What You Eat, London, The Penguin Group, P119, P120, P117, P128.

4. The Food Debate, 13-Jan-2011 by Priyam.

5. tiki.oneworld.net/food/food6.html 6. 2007, Jonny Bowden, 'The 150 Healthiest Food on Earth', USA, FairWinds Press, P297.

Grade 9

Vitamin D and Colds

Written by Caroline Yu

T

he common cold, also termed as Respiratory Tract Infection, is one of the most common infectious diseases in human of all ages. A growing number of studies have suggested that Vitamin D deficiency could cause the

common cold. The metabolism of Vitamin D and the factors cause the Vitamin D deficiency will be discussed in this paper. We will also involve the topic of how to prevent Vitamin D deficiency.

Introduction Vitamin D ( Vit D) is one of the most unexpected discoveries. Scientists found that Vit D reduced 50% of cancer incidences, and 90% of patients with the common cold recovered after taking Vit D. In addition, Vit D was also reported to play key roles in longevity. The common cold (we also termed it as Respiratory Tract Infection) is known as the most common infectious disease in human beings, including men and women of all ages. More and more research data showed that Vit D deficiency could cause the common cold.

Why is Vit D deficiency linked to colds; what is the mechanism, and how can we prevent colds by supplementing with Vit D?

Discovery of Vitamin D In early 1918, Sir Edward Mellanby, a British medical doctor, found that cod liver oil could relieve rickets effectively, and rickets was caused by a dietary factor, a lack of Vitamin A (Vit A). In his later experiments, he processed cod liver oil through bubbling oxygen, which destroyed Vit A. And then, he still observed that the processed cod liver oil still could effectively relieve rickets. He was quite disappointed even though he knew that a nutrient deficiency caused the disease, but he could not figure out the reagent. Four years later, McCollum did repeat the same experiment. He found an unknown vitamin, which he termed it as “Vit D”, to contribute to the treatment of rickets.

(History of the Discovery of Vitamin D and Its Active Metabolites)

Metabolism of vitamin D Vit D is one of the derivatives of steroids, which

can help calcium and phosphorus’s absorption, and also promote bone mineralization and musculoskeletal health. A new function of Vit D has been discovered claiming it was involved in various defense and immune cells including monoc y tes, macrophages, lymphoc y tes or epithelial cells. It also has been found that Vit D is related to lots of diseases such as infectious lung disease, asthma, and cancer. (Vitamin D and Health) Our bodies can not make Vit D3 themselves. Vit D3 is made in the skin from 7-dehydrocholesterol (7-DHC) under the influence of UV light or diet.

The production of Vit D3 in the skin is not an enzymatic process. Instead, Vit D3 (also named cholecalciferol) is produced from 7-DHC though a two-step process by UV light (spectrum 280320 UVB) radiation from the sun. The intensity of UVB from sunlight varies according to season and latitude. Both UVB intensity and skin pigmentation level contribute to the rate of Vit D3 formation in our body.

Another source of Vit D is our diet. Most foods with the exception of fatty fish contain little Vit D unless they are fortified. Fish Vit D is Vit D3, whereas D2 (also named ergocalciferol) is often used for fortification. D2 is produced by UVB irradiation of the ergosterol in plants and fungi (such as mushrooms). Vit D2 and D3 in are transported to the liver, where Vit D turned into 25-hydrocyvitamin D (25-OH(D)). 25-OH(D); the main circulation form of Vit D is biologically inactive until it converted into 1,25(OH)2D in the kidneys. (Vitamin D and the Immune System)

Relationships between vitamin D and 35

This figure is from reference 6

Colds The common cold is one of the most common reasons for doctor visits, especially in the winter.

The symptoms include runny nose, sore throat, cough, or breathing difficulty, and lethargy. In the USA, the common cold is most commonly the cause of absences from school or work.

Recently, more and more clinical data suggests an association between 25- (OH)D3 level and RTI incidence. According to the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a probability survey in US from 1988 to 1994, the incidence of the common cold was found closely related to the content of Vit D in a group of 18883 twelve-yearold and older participants. It was found that the number of the common cold was reported by 24% of these participants with Vit D content less than 10 ng/ml, by 20% of participants with less than 30 ng/ml Vit D, and by only 17% with more than 30 ng/ml. In the group of participants with special respiratory diseases, the lower Vit D is highly related to the common cold. (Association between Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D Level and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey)

Vitamin D deficiency in China In China, Vit D deficiency is very common -- ne arl y 40~90 p ercent o f p e ople h ave a 25-hydrocyvitamin level lower than 50 nmol/ L. In teenage girls, deficiency is more common.

More than 40% of them have a Vit D intake of less than 12.5 nmol/L. In January, according to Mr. Eggersdorfer’s report in his review article, there are several reasons behind Vit D deficiency: First of all, the serious air pollution keeps

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people indoors, giving them less opportunity go outside and less sunlight exposure.

Second, Asian culture defines “beauty” as white skin color. When people go out, they often use an umbrella or wear a hat and long sleeves to protect themselves in the summer, limiting the exposure to sunlight.

Thirdly, an unbalanced diet and shortage of basic scientific knowledge in the community also reduces the possibility of getting enough Vit D from our diet. Specifically, the sale of food with abundant vitamin D is limited because they are mostly in short supply.

How to prevent Vit D deficiency?

A person can get more Vit D by absorbing more sunlight and eating more food that are abundant in Vit D. According to Vitamin D Council’s suggestion, the best daily requirement of Vit D is 5000 IU. (Information on the Latest Vitamin D News and Research) Some foods are rich in Vit D, such as mushroom (446 IU each 100g), nuts, fishes (759 IU each 100g), cod liver oil (10000 IU each 100g) and eggs (871 IU each 100g). However, Vit D is not found in any green vegetables or plants.

(Top 10 Foods Highest in Vitamin D) Last but not least, we need to do exercise more often, especially in the sun.

Conclusion Above all, Vit D is linked closely to the common cold; its deficiency might lead to more frequent and severe diseases. We should bask in the sunshine and intake food rich in vitamin D, which might help us to prevent colds.

Terminology: R ic ke t s i s de fe c t i ve m i ne ra l i z at ion or calcification of bones before epiphyseal closure in immature mammals due to deficiency or impaired metabolism of Vit D, phosphorus or calcium, potentially leading to fractures and deformity.

Respiratory Tract includes the sinuses, nasal passages, pharynx, and larynx

Continues on to page 37 >

Grade 9

Optics in Vermeer

Written by Joanna Xu / Mentor: Susie Li & Meiqian Weng

The workers carefully carried a box to the back of Vermeer’s studio. Griet and Vermeer looked inside the box and saw a vivid image. This is a scene in the movie Girl With a Pearl Earring, a movie about the great painter, Vermeer. “ Do you know what it is?”

“A camera obscura.”

This article will be about Vermeer’s mysterious box, camera obscura. Camera obscura is the predecessor of the camera. It functions to project images on walls or canvas through a lens. As early as the sixteenth century, some painters had begun using optical tools to assist their painting. Did Vermeer also use this box?

Vermeer (1632-1675) is one of the greatest Dutch painters. His depicts domestic scenes and has a cozy tone in his paintings. He is especially known as "the master in light", with his depiction of light and reflection so close to reality. All those amazing skills triggered broad speculation about Vermeer’s painting being assisted by some secret tools.

This is "View of Delft" by Vermeer. It shows a delicate light captured with the reflections on the Reference 1. AA, Ginde, Mansbach JM, and Camargo CA Jr. "Association between Serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D Level and Upper Respiratory Tract Infection in the Third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 23 Feb. 2009. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

2. Aranow, Cynthia. "Vitamin D and the Immune System." Journal of Investigative Medicine : The Official Publication of the American Federation for Clinical Research. U.S. National Library of Medicine, 1 Aug. 2012. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

3. Cannell, John. "Information on the Latest Vitamin D News and Research." Vitamin D Council. Vitamin D Council, 10 Dec. 2013.

lake vividly depicted.

It is amazing that, once removed off its color, the painting turns to just a black and white photo.

This image shows the left corner part of Vermeer’s famous painting "The Concert". There are several interesting optical illusions here. First, it is easy for human eyes to turn the white bricks into grey ones, due to optical factor. Second, by taking them out individually to compare the black and white bricks, one might find that the darkest white block is even darker than the lightest black block. Those details are imperceptible for human eyes and are very likely to be the product of optical equipment assistance in this painting.

Another clue is that the most frequently occuring scenes in Vermeer’s painting is the same room with hardly any difference in floor tile,

Web. 14 Apr. 2016.

4. Deluca, Hector F. "History of the Discovery of Vitamin D and Its Active Metabolites." Nature.com. Nature Publishing Group, 8 Jan. 2014. Web. 08 Mar. 2016.

5. "Top 10 Foods Highest in Vitamin D." HealthAliciousNess. Daisy Whitbread. Web. 05 Apr. 2016.

6. "Vitamin D and Health." The Nutrition Source. Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

7. W, Zhang, Stoecklin E, and Eggersdorfer M. "A Glimpse of Vitamin D Status in Mainland China." National Center for Biotechnology Information. U.S. National Library of Medicine National Institutes of Health, 14 Apr. 2013. Web. 15 Mar. 2016.

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windows or the position of beams. For example, the same window in the image has appeared in more than 10 of Vermeer’s paintings. Except for the extent of opening the window, the size and decorations on the windows are generally the same.

Colin Blakemore, an expert of human vision at Oxford Univeristy, claims that these light changes are impossible for human capability. As early as the end of the 19th century, people had come up with suspicions of the photo-like traits in Vermeer’s painting. The most popular view was that Vermeer might have secretly used camera obscura in his paintings.

During Vermeer’s time, camera obscura had a relatively big size thus was hard to move around.

They appeared usually in a cubic form. Such a trait might suggest the reason why many of Vermeer’s paintings are depicted in the same room. Here is an image of the 17th century camera obscura.

The basic principle of camera obscura is pinhole imaging. A cube with a hole in the center is placed along one side of the obscura. Lights from the image transfer to all directions, with some of them transporting through the hole to the cube, they intersect while passing the hole and are then presented on the wall or canvas in an upside-down form.

However, the assumptions in the past few centuries weren’t thoroughly investigated until

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the publishing of Philip Steadman’s book Vermeer’s Camera. In the book, Philip first started his research from the rooms that appeared in the paintings. He used perspective to transfer the 2D image in the painting into 3D image.

He found the tr ick in one of Ver meer ’s painting "The Music Lesson". The mirror on the wall reflected part of the back wall and the stool where the painter sat on. That provided Philips an important clue-- Philips could thus use the elevation angel between the mirror and wall to restore the original part of room appeared in the mirror and get the room length from the two walls.

However, the data Philip had gotten so far were all based on proportional relationships. He still needed to calculate the actual size of the room.

Fortunately, many of the objects that appeared in the mirror were real objects which can be found in museums. Consequently, Philip could use the existing scale such as the floor tiles to calculate the actual size of room. Moreover, after he repeatedly compared the real sizes in paintings, he could then prove that more than ten of Vermeer’s paintings took view in rooms of exactly the same size, which

fit with the dimensions of Vermeer’s mother-inlaw's house.

Then, Philip reached the key part of his discovery. He generated a plan of the room with six scenes in it. There’s the window wall on the top, blank wall on the right and back wall on the left.

Six pairs of diagonal lines showing angled views touch the back wall and form six viewpoints. He reached a width on the back wall when he carried back these diagonal lines. He further reached a shape of a rectangle on each case of the back wall.

Here is the surprising geometrical result--the size of this rectangle is the exact the same size of Vermeer’s canvas. Now Philip was sure that Vermeer did use a booth camera. He assumed that while painting, Vermeer placed his booth at the back wall and adjusted his lens to capture views.

He must have traced the image from the lens down on the canvas since the two images were of exactly the same size.

As a conclusion of his research, no matter to what extent he used it, camera obscura must have had been a part of Vermeer’s painting tools which was used to trace objects.

After his book Vermeer’s Camera was published in 2001, a hot debate was provoked. It also gave inspiration to another dedicated man—an American inventor called Tim Jenison, whose invention received two Emmy Awards. He read the book, which his daughter recommended, and decided to further prove the optical principles listed in Vermeer’s Camera by reproducing a Vermeer painting.

However, he had difficulties in reproducing the work. First, images produced by booth camera are always mirrored images, while the paintings were obviously not mirrored. Second, once being inside the semi-dark booth, it is impossible to see the paint on canvas or palette. He thought about it for a long time, and one day when he was taking a bath, he got some ideas. He used a very simple device—a metal mirror with one reflective surface placed in a 45 degrees angle.

He arranged the device in the following way.

The lens in the booth cast the light of the image

onto the screen inside. The light on the screen was then reflected on the mirror below, there was then a second reflection as the image was then casted down to the canvas. One could see part of the optical image while looking down in the mirror. It also turned out to be a good matching tool. If the tone of color applied on the canvas matched well with the real image, the edge of the mirror would disappear. The two problems were then solved.

Firstly, one more mirror meant a second reflection of the image, so that the image was overturned into normal orientation again. Secondly, the image on the screen and the image on canvas are from the same light source, their lightness is correspondent, which cancels out the possibility of inconsistent tones.

As he confirmed the treating method, Tim applied the method to paint out a photograph of his grandfather successfully. That was the first time he used a paintbrush.

After the practice, he came to plan for his major goal—reproducing Vermeer’s The Music Lesson.

He visited the original room where Vermeer conducted the painting and used computer to construct a 3D model for the room. Tim used the method of constructing movie sets to reproduce the scenery outside the window. He tried new things, which he had never done before-- in order to make the working condition consistent with that of the 17th century, Tim also learned to create pigments and lenses himself and assembled all the windows, beams and furniture all his own.

As he started painting, he met another problem—

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the light was too dim to trace tiny patterns. After deep thought, he perfected his device again. He removed the camera booth and placed a new concave lens behind the mirror. All the components in the camera obscura were removed except for the lens. In that case, there would be enough light on the canvas for painting while the image was more clearly presented to the concave mirror.

Afterwards, Tim spent a long time everyday tracing and dotting repeatedly. The whole process was dull and his back hurt due to long time spent sitting. But he overcame those hardships and constant technical problems. After 11 years of persistence, the experimental version of The Music Lesson was completed.

It still stays arguable whether Vermeer ’s painting in 17th century had actually relied on optical aid. But the efforts of Philip and Tim showed us the possibility of existence of such an optical aided painting method at that time. Philip provided solid theoretical basis for assumption t h ro u g h h i s c o m b i n a t i o n o f e n g i n e e r i n g technology into art. While Tim, the inventor, put the theory into practice and finally presented the shocking piece to us through 11 years of handcraft. The persistence and innovation of these people provided us a different perspective to view the 400-year-old masterpiece. Tim’s version of The Music Lesson is the best proof of the dedication of Philip, Tim and countless predecessors who contributed to the research. No longer being separated by divisions, they proved the wonderful combination of science and art.

PS: At YK Pao School, a student also tried a similar method to aid his painting. This is a 2m*1.5m artwork of Jonas from Y11. He was inspired by a primary school experience of tracing world map and tried to project the image on canvas using projector in order to save time. He then applied grey painting to trace and finished up the script in just 15 minutes. This method also helped him later in fixing color.

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Reference 1. Dandanjie. "a madman used 14 years to prove that Vermeer was a ‘liar’.” EEUD. 酷玩实验室 , 9 Feb. 2016. Web. 17 May 2016.

2. "Johannes Vermeer." Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation, n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.

3. Philip, Steadman. "Vermeer and the Camera Obscura (part One)."

Essentialvermeer.com. Essential Vermeer 2.0, n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.

4. UCLLHL. "Vermeer's Camera and Tim's Vermeer." YouTube.

YouTube, 2015. Web. 17 May 2016.

5. "Vermeer's Camera." Vermeerscamera.co.uk. Vermeerscamera. co.uk, n.d. Web. 17 May 2016.

Grade 8

We don't Search for Happiness, We Make It

Written by Douglas Jiang

W

hen I was 8, my mother got pregnant.

Quickly, I realized there was a huge change in her taste. Normally, she had prefered an insipid diet with light flavor, but now, she requested to eat sour food. “I don’t know why,” answered my mother when I asked her why, “I especially love to eat preserved plums and that’s why I always carry a jar of them everyday, maybe my body just needs it.” My neighbors also favored sour taste when they got pregnant. I just wondered if there was really the need from our bodies like my mom told me. One day I went on the web and saw a scientific paper which explained this phenomenon very well.

How do we feel taste?

In order to know how sour taste affects our body, we initially need to understand how your brain receives the signal of sour taste. As you toss a preserved plum into your already lubricated mouth, and your dexterous teeth accurately scrape off the flesh from its core, the chemicals stimulate the taste buds that are scattered on your tongue and the soft palate. Those taste buds connect to the end of countless nerve fibers that are densely distributed throughout the entire mouth. The nerve fibers are tips of incalculable nerve cells that cluster in a curved ganglion, which means a ball of cells, that is located beside the ear canal at the side of your head. From here, the journey of taste sensation heads for its terminal, the brain.

However…

Taste sensations do not have the ability to jump over the gap between the taste buds and the nerve fibers. In response to this problem, chemical messengers bridge the gap requiring a specialized receptor. Scientists discovers that the type of taste bud, which was then imaginatively classified into 3 types, determines the difference between the chemical messenger. Type 1 is not well-understood

yet, it is only known to support other taste cells; type 2 is relatively better known, it is responsible for recognizing bitterness and sweetness. They both transfer by a chemical messenger named Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP). And type 3 was found to detect sour by its acidity. The chemical messenger——serotonin, which was found in the brain, now was detected in taste buds. In order to prove the existence of the passage of serotonin from taste buds to the brain, scientists used mice to test it. They first recombined their genes to link a glowing protein——Green fluorescent protein (GFP) onto the serotonin receptor. When we taste a sour flavour, our taste bud lights up, the green spots (serotonin receptor) can be observed under microscope with naked eyes, however when we have sweet or bitter tastes, no “lights” will be observed. Using this method, scientists proved the existence of the serotonin signaling pathway in our taste buds.

What is Serotonin?

Serotonin or 5-HT(5-hydroxytryptamine) plays the role of a monoamine neurotransmitter that is biochemically originated from tryptophan. It is mostly located in the CNS(Central Nervous System), though it can still be found in our gastrointestinal area, and in our blood platelets, which solidifies our blood when we get a wound.

Serotonin is originally known to be one of the four mood stabilizers (the other three is dopamine, endorphin and oxytocin). Research shows that the serotonin level has a great effect on mood, sex desire, temperature regulation, memory, appetite and social behavior. Thus a high serotonin level means a lot more than just a pleasurable feeling.

Also, it has even been a potential medicine for depression, studies indicated that melancholiacs tend to have a low serotonin level.

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Grade 8

IVF Technology

How it Works and What it Does Written by Phoebe Lu / Mentor Samantha Rivett

What is In Vitro Fertilization (IVF) Reproduction is what makes this diverse living world, however, some do not have the ability to reproduce future generations. IVF is a technology to help those who are unable to gain the ability of reproduction.

Preparation for IVF IVF is an operation that helps people fertilize outside of the body through combining an egg with a sperm. It is a complex procedure. To prepare, women first need to consume drugs that will suppress their natural menstrual cycle. In addition, women need to take a fertility hormone named FSH, which increases the eggs their ovaries

How does diet influence the serotonin level?

In order to produce Serotonin, tryptophan, which is a type of amino acid, is required. Food that is rich in protein normally contains a high tryptophan level. However, it is ironic to say that consuming a high protein diet, in fact, does not evidently influence the serotonin level. According to the nutritionist Elizabeth Somer, “it is because when you eat a lot of proteins, tryptophan has to compete with other amino acids to enter the brain, and it results in only a small amount of tryptophan getting through.” She then expounds a roundabout way: eating a meal that is rich in carbohydrates. The reason is that carbs trigger your body to release insulin, which causes all the amino acid except tryptophan to be absorbed into different parts of your body. Thereby, it provides an unimpeded path for tryptophan to enter freely into the brain, and eventually incites the rise of serotonin level.

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produce. This medication ensures that the eggs will be mature when they receive the eggs from the women's next ovulation.

Then the men produces sperm, the doctors pick out the fastest swimmers and freeze them in a frozen storage. Sometimes, a sperm donor is needed, a male's sperm can fail in swimming, that can be resolved by buying a donator's sperm and fertilizing it with the woman's egg. There are a lot of men who donate their sperms to banks. In The Guardian, one man stated that he fathered 34 children using his sperm.

The Process of Fertilization Since "Vitro" means glass, the process of fertilization is performed in a thin disk of glass.

So the answer is obvious now…

Now we known that the sour taste boosts serotonin levels, which gives us happiness. The pregnancy brings big stress both mentally and physically to the pregnant mother, therefore their body tends to like sour taste more.

Reference 1. Brookshire, Bethany. "There's a Sour Side to Serotonin." Science News. Science News, 25 Jan. 2016. Web. 29 Mar. 2016. <https:// www.sciencenews.org/blog/scicurious/there’s-sour-sideserotonin>.

2. Bouchez, Colette. "Serotonin and Depression: 9 Questions and Answers." WebMD. WebMD, 12 Oct. 2Ω011. Web. 29 Mar. 2016. <http://www.webmd.com/depression/features/serotonin>.

3. Larson, Eric D. The Role of 5-HT Receptors in Signaling from Taste Buds to Nerves. Diss. The Journal of Neuroscience, December 2, 2015. Print.

4. "7 Foods That Could Boost Your Serotonin." Healthline. Ed. Healthline Editorial Team. 28 Apr. 2015. Web. 29 Mar. 2016. <http://www.healthline.com/health/healthy-sleep/foods-thatcould-boost-your-serotonin#Overview1>.

The egg cell and the sperm cell are mixed together to perform fertilization and it is checked after 16 to 20 hours. If the sperm are weak, then a process named Intracytoplasmic injection (ICSI) is performed where they inject each sperm to a certain egg. However, there is still a chance that fertilization would not be performed, due to special reasons about the egg and the sperm. But if successful, an embryo would form and be stored in the lab for the first five days.

Women are again given medicine to help her womb hold the embryo later on. The top quality embryo should be selected and transferred to the women's womb, if the women is older or had performed IVF before, two embryos could be considered. IVF is in fact a high risk work, there are chances that there will be twins or multiple birth if two embryos are implanted. That may lead to the baby being born prematurely. During the period, the women's body would also be under a lot of stress and discomfort because of the numerous medicines she took. Since fertilization out of the body is quite a difficulty, the chance of a successful result is below 50 percent.

The Benefits of IVF IVF has helped people with health issues work the miracle of reproducing, by completing it outside of the body. Most pandas in China used IVF to continue their species, for it is the perfect way to create future generations for a rare species.

Jodi Kelly had failed to get pregnant because of problems between the meeting of the sperm and the egg, their IVF cycle succeeded and she found out she was pregnant with a female infant, she described IVF as “a life changing experience – you learn just how lucky you are if you’ve conceived naturally and just how precious every little life is.” I personally admire the IVF technology. It is acknowledged that humans are the smartest animals, and the IVF technology has proven that.

To continue the species, humans learned to apply their knowledge and technology to aid themselves in nature's survival of the fittest. The way that we use what we know to improve how we live has ensured us to live for so many centuries.

Risks and Problems Even though IVF can be considered a miracle, there are defects to it. I personally think that it has too many risks for the woman. She abuses her body with so much medication that might result in absolute failure, it is quite horrifying to think of that, and it will be utterly painful for the woman. One woman, Aela Mass was unfortunate to lose her twins produced during IVF, has wrote, "When I lost the twins just before Christmas, I felt so guilty for the few times that I misspoke and for envisioning (without intentionally doing so) a future without them." Yes, it is physically and mentally difficult for the woman and often the man too. And I would also like to mention another problem. A male sperm donor can donate millions of cells, if that male's cells are used by lots of woman, their babies would have very similar genes and even personalities. Even though they may not know each other, they are already siblings in a way. Which also prevents them from reproductions with each other. Since IVF is a technology that helps reproduction, I think this side effect perhaps will decrease the numbers of reproduction happening, because when people with similar genes mate, their babies have high risks on becoming mentally disabled or premature.

This also extends to the topic of love between two people banned due to IVF. Though I still support the lovely possibility of a baby formed outside the human body, when I consider the stress and impacts, I feel that it requires improvement.

A Conclusion IVF is fantastic proof that humans are smart enough to use technology to thrive in nature's selection, and the joys it can bring to those who are fortunate is immense. However, I must suggest that humans should keep observation and reduce the side effects that arrive with it.

Reference 1. Aela Mass, May 1, 2012, Two Moms Make a Right, http:// twomomsmakearight.com 2. Definition, June 27, 2013, http://www.mayoclinic.org/testsprocedures/in-vitro-fertilization/basics/definition/prc-20018905 3. Infertility and In Vitro Fertilisation, January 18, 2015, http:// www.webmd.com/infertility-and-reproduction/guide/in-vitrofertilization

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Grade 9

Interview with Pao Innovative Engineering Club

Interview with Mr. Daniel MacLeon by Simone Lin

Why do we need a robotics competition?

Today across the world students at every grade level are competing in robotic competitions on a global scale. The success of these competitions is rooted in the universal need to develop creative, innovative and problem solving graduates who can do more than follow directions. Today’s graduates will need to demonstrate their abilities to analyze, revise, and improve existing systems or develop new ones. Innovators like Robin Li, Steven Jobs, Jack Ma, Lei Jun, and Bill Gates have been able to apply creative thinking and problem solving to literally change the world. These individuals were able to see opportunity where none existed before and create practical and useful applications of technology.

What is the future of YK Pao School robotics team?

We believe creativity is the currency of the future. The most important lesson our graduates can take from YK Pao School is the ability to clearly understand a problem or question, in order to develop an efficient an appropriate solution, while considering global implications.

What is the ultimate goal of YK Pao robotics projects?

Robotics is not the goal, it is a vehicle to apply the creative problem solving ideas of engineering, design, and programming. Dean Kamen from my home state of New Hampshire founded “First Robotics” in 1992. Since then the annual challenge

4. In Vitro Fertilization (Ivf): Side Effects And Risks, March 24th 2015, http://americanpregnancy.org/infertility/in-vitrofertilization/ 5. Panda Cub born using frozen sperm IVF, 06 April 2016, http:// www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/china/5901475/ Panda-cub-born-using-frozen-sperm-IVF.html

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has spread across the world. Many other robotic challenges were developed and aimed principally at education to satisfy a growing demand. Every year, elementary, middle and high schools along with colleges and universities from around the world compete in robotics events. To qualify for the world event, teams must successfully compete at the local, regional, and national levels. Every step along the way is a lesson in self-assessment of a team’s efforts and measuring it against the engineering problem, and comparing it to the solutions from other teams.

What is your future plan?

Our plan is to bring design, engineering, programming, and robotics to YK Pao School through the combined effort of the Science and Computer Science departments. I envision the use of VEX robotics as the tools we will use both in the classroom, where appropriate, and during after school activities. The “Team” will consist of students and teachers in much the same way as a sport team operates along with clearly identifiable clothing in the fashion of a sports kit. We currently meet four times a week and plan to do the same next school year.

Grade 9

Interview with Gordon Xu

By Caroline Yu

Hi, Gordon. Would you please introduce your project?

Sure. So the thing I am working on is “Tesla coil”. It can produce a current up to millions of volts, yet, surprisingly you can still touch it.

Sounds great, right? The safety voltage of direct current is 36v normally. In other words, people can’t touch a current above this value. However, the Tesla coil can produce lightening which is alternating current with a frequency of nearly 200 thousand Hz. Differing from the constant voltage of direct current, its voltage diagram is a sinusoidal waveform. There is a special property for alternating current----skin effect. It means the tendency of the alternating current will be distributed and mostly concentrated the outer layer due to the self-induction of the conductor.

Simply put, the higher the current density, the more it may gather on your skin. The alternating electric current the Tesla coil seems to be very strong. Actually it mostly goes through your skin and transmits to the ground, only a little inside the conductor. Therefore, it will not be dangerous for humans.

Very interesting. Well, what’s the working principle of this “Tesla Coil”?

T h e Te s l a c o i l consists of several parts: capacitors u s e d t o s t o re a n d then release electric energy; the primary coil causes alternation of magnetic field by conducting this current; the secondary coil receives the induction current for supplying the terminal, which discharge electricity at the end. The terminal will then create an equivalent electric capacity to the ground causing a

demand for discharging electric current. In general cases, about ten thousand volts current can break down one cubic centimeter of air. As a result, the electric arc is visible because it has millions of voltages.

Ok. Does it have any uses?

Yes. To explain this, I need to mention its inventor---- Nicola Tesla. He was eager for “free energy” during his lifetime, which means all human beings can use energy for free. However, this was not acceptable at that era, most businessmen opposed it on account of losing benefits. The Tesla coil was created under the same idea of free energy. The terminal on Tesla coil can release high-voltage currents, meanwhile a very strong magnetic field is produced. As we all know, since a magnetic field is associated with the current in a coil, any change in that current alters the magnetic field around it. This means magnetic force and electricity can transform one another. For instance, if you hold a bulb near the terminal with strong magnetic field, it will emit light without electricity, so do all electrical appliances. Tesla imagined there was a huge tower for producing a magnetic field encircling the whole Earth; therefore everybody can use electricity to make electric appliances work.

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A

NATOMY CLUB

Translated Version

Interview with Mrs. Chris Zhuang & Alice Wang

by Selina Gong & Shelly Ding Last semester, Danna and Alice had hold an Anatomy course during club time with a total of 11 students and Ms. Zhuang as their tutor. Theyâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve learnt the basic form and function of the nerve, cardiovascular, pulmonary, and digestive systems of different species throughout dissecting, while making slices of different cells including liver cells that we had extracted as auxiliary. The group had been absorbing knowledge about virus and immune systems through videos online and lectures. Also, interesting clips related with biology and dissection that they didnâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t have enough resources to do would be shown to the group online.

What platform has the club provided for stu-

studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; performance. Since our club has less people, I

dents?

am able to see their performances and progress observ-

First, this club is run by students themselves, so

ing them choosing materials, making slide and so on.

students can manage their time and conduct studies

Furthermore, I have discovered several students with

based on their own interests. Anatomy Studies require

great potential, as they could control their hands very

professional guidance, and with the help of a profes-

steadily during anatomical operations. In this club,

sional biology teacher, students can receive systematic

students can discover their talent, and have a deeper

training and acquire knowledge beyond curriculum

understanding of their own potential.

study during Afternoon activity time.

What was your most memorable moment

What is the biggest challenge for our students?

throughout the whole season?

Probably, the students have more puzzles rather than

The pigeon dissection. In the current biology curric-

difficulties. They have to overcome their psychological

ulum, the majority of students had tried dissecting

limit regarding the respect for animals. Like in IB cur-

mammals, amphibians and invertebrates such as

riculum, there is an ethical policy, prohibiting student

insects. However, the dissection of a pigeon, as an

at this stage from conducting any experiment that

exception, was included in our club study, as a result

deprive animal lives.

due to its evolutionary significance evolving from a

Which aspect did the students perform the best?

reptile to birds and mammals. Our students performed

They have good practical skills. Usually, in a normal

very well even though their knowledge of bird anatomy

biology lesson, 20 students make slides at the same

was limited; they gained experience by these hands-on

time, so it is hard for me to pay attention to every

activities and would apply it to their future studies.

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In the field of Biology, could there be any other

What in particular do you need to pay attention

opportunities for our students to explore beyond

to in dissections?

curriculum study?

First, it’s each tool’s use. For example, we should avoid

Biology is related closely with medicine. Modern med-

using bone-cutting scissors in the same way as we use

ical science and technology update very quickly. It may

ordinary scissors. Second, which is also our first princi-

be difficult for our high school to get all the equipment

ple, is to respect the animals.

as universities or research Institutions have currently.

What is your most memorable part throughout

However, we have just signed a co-operation agreement

the whole season?

with Shanghai JiaoTong University, which would offer

Dissecting the pigeons. I was the one who had to con-

our students opportunities to take part in Shanghai

duct the demonstration that day. After I finished ex-

JiaoTong University’s science programs in order to

plaining the dissection steps and the organ structures

achieve high academic level. In addition, Mrs. Weng’s

we needed to find, Miss Zhuang let me do the whole

seed club (molecular biology club) is also trying to pro-

dissection of the pigeon on my own since she had not

vide opportunities for students to study further.

done it before either. I used my former experiences and

Among various fields of Biology, why are you fond

skills to complete every step. Eventually, I found all

of anatomy?

the organs. I taught myself and accomplished it all by

I wanted to learn about organism’s structures in a

myself, and I felt quite proud of myself.

more detailed way. Dissection is an important part of

What difficulties have you encountered through-

biology. It’s the primary source to study most animal

out the whole season?

structures. Through careful examination of different

First, it’s each tool’s use. For example, we should avoid

structures of living organisms, we could know more

using bone-cutting scissors in the same way as we use

about their functions. I also started to realize that

ordinary scissors. Second, which is also our first princi-

every single part of a living organism such as a gland or

ple, is to respect the animals.

a piece of muscle is significant. For example, a bird has a hollow skull, which helps it fly. Different organisms have different structures, which makes them able to adapt the environment and live on. Dissection is not only exploring Biological concepts. It’s also reexamining the meaning of life.

What vocabulary do you have to learn in dissection?

They are mostly medical terms, such as names of all kinds of bones and muscles. For example, ‘atria’ and ‘ventricle’ are the top and bottom chambers of the heart. We also use directional vocabulary such as superior and inferior occasionally.

What tools are used in dissection?

Scalpel, bone-cutting scissors, forceps, and dissecting needle are four basic tools we use. We do not need very complicated tools in our club, as we haven’t dissected colossal animals. When extracting stem cells, we used the centrifuge and other equipment, too.

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Science Journal club interview Interview with Ms. MeiQian Weng by Selina Gong

Why do you want to have a science journal club?

After I worked in YKPS for a while, I found that our Chinese department published lots of articles from students to celebrate their academic excellence. I was inspired and thought it would be pretty cool experience both for students and teachers in our science department. Plus, it gives us an opportunity to study outside the science curriculum and have some fun. Thus will hopefully capture the imagination and boost the perception of a magnificent and amazing subject. Also science really changes our life. This is what I want to inspire in our students.

What do you want to present to YKPS community through this journal?

Firstly, I want to let our students understand that science is part of everyday life, the ability to solve the problems that occur and improve standards of living everyday. Anyone can be as a scientist! All you need to do is observe and ask questions. In addition, science and physiology, arts, music, literacy and sports are involved with each other, the overlapping relationship makes our life so colorful and interesting.

Secondly, our students should get updated in this ultra-fast information rich society. In the future, our students may work with the robots, so with latest science. They need prepare themselves very well to face this challenger. Every day, our knowledge increases about our space and time, that might total change our society too.

With new inventions and the internet changed everything, our behavior, life styles, business models, classrooms, even how we communicate.

If we were not keeping up, we may miss some new

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and exciting things. So I hope that our journal can introduce all cutting-edge science to our students.

Thirdly, it provides an opportunity for our students to showcase some of their fantastic work that they do outside of the classroom.

Fourth, when students enter Y11, they may be asked to produce scientific essays. Those essays require a style and format that need to be learned.

This gives students the opportunity to practice and develop those skills earlier, and also support their scientific literacy. It also allows teachers and students to learn from each other, exchange ideas and opinions.

How about the team, how do you describe your team?

We are so lucky to have a great team. Miss Susie is a well respected and lover practitioner and students want to learn from her. You are the first student to write an email to me and ask to join this team. Our first talk, your enthusiasm for physics really inspired me. Susie and I chose you as our group leader, which was a great decision as you have been so helpful! George Yu, offered his support and told us that he would like to help us for editing, which myself and Miss Susie are so appreciated of. Leon, Douglas, Joanna, Shelly, Caroline, Louisa, Bill, most of you have all worked so hard, using your valuable weekend time to help produce the first volume of the YKPS science journal. Sally, you made a beautiful piece of music for this journal, it is so lovely. Miss Susie and I are really lucky to have all of you in our team, and being part of the YKPS community.

Seed Club (molecular biology club) interview Interview with Ms. MeiQian Weng by Selina Gong

What is the seed club? And who is qualified for it?

The Seed Club is designed to provide an opportunity for academically talented Y10-Y12 students. It is a project-based course that will have the opportunity to utilize cutting edge technology to design and implement an original scientific study with a focus on biotechnology.

What will students learn in the club?

It is comprised of lectures and laboratories. The lecture study will provide the scientific background necessary to prepare students for their lab experiences, lab activities will teach students how to implement the technology, this enables students to understand how and where the techniques and technologies can be applied in the field of science.

Also students will learn to read scientific articles and conduct literature reviews. The technology will include DNA/RNA, DNA sequencing, PCR, gene cloning, genetic engineering, manipulation of bacteria, bacterial transformation, isolation of plasmid and recombinant DNA, Western Blot, agarose gel electrophoresis. The class meets every week for one hour for lectures, and lab experiments will begin in Jiaotong University

during summer break (June) for 3-4 weeks.

Where do they do experiments?

We cooperate with Jiaotong university to run this club. This allows our students during the summer to work in the real lab with scientist and Ph.D students. They will take part in the seminar and lab meeting. And it is a fantastic opportunity to conduct â&#x20AC;&#x153;realâ&#x20AC;? innovative science.

What kind of projects are the current students working on?

Currently we are working with professor Li, who is a specialist research for the brain. Our project is related to Huntington disease, an inherited condition in which a signal defective gene leads to brain changes over time. And they are breeding some knock-in and knockout mice related this disease, I will lead the students to do some research works on those mice when the mice are ready. We are anticipated a closer working relationship with Jiaotong University which may open up other exciting research projects.

Bacteria attack human intestinal cells (Red - cell stucture, blue - cell nucleus, green - bacteria)

49

IB Diploma SCIENCE coursework

laboratively in groups of four to develop solutions

“Zombie’s Day”

to being stuck in school with no electricity, answer

Interview with Mr.John Coxon

they going to make it.

by Selina Gong, Shelly Din

So you were in charge of the physics part?

The first question, and also the most import-

Kind of… however… when you say “in charge”,

ant question: What were the major problems

because the students come up with solutions

the students needed to solve? How did the

themselves. They did not come to me and ask, “Mr.

students cope with them?

Coxon, what can we do?” and I go “Aha, you need

The idea is that, as part of the IB program, the students would do something called a “group-four” project, and they are set a task that’s meant to be multi-disciplinary, which means it goes across physics, biology, chemistry, math, IT and so on.

The idea is that they are presented with a situation and they will have to come up with solutions using science or technology in order to address the problem or given situation. What we could have done is we could have simply said that: “Right, you need to find a sustainable way of providing electricity for the school.” But instead of doing that, we decided to put the whole day in the context of a zombie apocalypse to excite and inspire, so imagining a zombie virus is wiped out the whole of humanity, and as far as the grade elevenths knew, they were the only people left on earth! Once this scenario was presented, they decided to use the

questions such as how much electricity do they need, how long do they need it for, and how are

solar panels.” They need to come to me with an idea or suggestion first. So what would happen is that they would come up with an idea and say: “Look, we think we need solar panels. Are we going to use solar panels?” And can we work out how much area there should be, how much sunlight they need, how much electricity they are going to produce? The students can then go and work on developing that solution. In another instance, they could say, “Can we use wind turbines, can we use something else?” … I was in charge of it so I have to make sure that it’s safe, and I have to make sure the equipment. However, if a group decided something unrealistic such as “We’re going to make a small nuclear thermal reactor”, I would have to say, “Well, we can’t do that.” (Laugh) So, yes, normally I am in charge, but the students themselves decide what they are going to do.

school as a base, because of the canal around it

What in particular would this kind of train-

and the fence for security. The next problems are

ing help them within the IB curriculum?

that they have to provide electricity - how much electricity do they need; they have to provide clean water for drinking; they have to provide food and eventually, because once they take all the food away from the local shops, the food there will run out, thus in the long term they would need to produce their own food. The scenario provided opportunities to use all three Science disciplines: Physics, Chemistry and Biology. They worked col-

50

Well, despite the fact that a zombie virus is highly unlikely; the educational reason is to develop students who can work collaboratively as part of the team. This is very important in today’s society.

All these students want to go to university and a lot of them wish to further their study in scientific fields. And to be honest, it is very rare, that a scientist or scientists sit in a room on their own, dreaming up ideas. It is important that you work

as a part of the team, you share ideas, you discuss

you need to feed the chickens as well as the peo-

outcomes or possible outcomes, and everybody

ple. So ultimately, the most important part of the

does their own research and then you bring it all

day were not the solutions that students came up

together. It delviers practice and develops soft

with, but the idea of working as a part of the team,

skills as well as a little taste of what they are going

and even beginning to realize how difficult it will

to be doing beyond university, what life would put

be to feed fifty students, in the school grounds. As

in front of them in terms of work.

the day unfolded, that became quite a daunting

Are there any errors or mistakes in those experiments, if there are, what are they?

thing of the students because they began to realize that actually you can’t just go down to MacDonald’s, and actually if you plan to grow potatoes,

Oh yes. Mistakes are key to learning. One student

how much land you would need. If I’m going to

thought that the school should grow potatoes. I

keep pigs, where can we keep them and how much

asked, “How many potatoes a day would a per-

food do they eat as well? So the idea wasn’t so

son need to feed off?” and he said “Six potatoes”.

much important of finding solutions. It was about

Six potatoes does not seem a lot, does it? So you

going through the process of problem solving, idea

thought “ok, six potatoes. But there are 50 stu-

creation and testing theories.

dents and there are 365 days a year (excluding leap years of course!), so you would have to grow 140000 potatoes a year! How you are going to do

What do the students need to prepare under this situation?

it? How much space do you think, in the school,

They needed water, pure drinking water. So the

if you want to do that? What happens if a disease

students looked at how they could distill water so

wipes out the potatoes? So you need to develop a

that it was acceptable to drink. They went through

batch of varied crops, which fulfills different di-

water purification process. In biology, some of

etary needs such as more energy or more carbohy-

them tried to find a cure for the zombie virus, or

drate or more protein from than just single crops.

something that would make them immune, so if

So that particular student hadn’t fully realized

they did bit by the zombies, they wouldn’t turn

their idea in logical terms and rationalized what

into zombies. Some of the physics students looked

that statement meant.

This is a great learning opportunity.

And…did they manage to solve these problems?

Some of them came up with some interesting ideas, and it’s along the lines of this as well. Do you keep animals? You can’t go like “Oh, we can keep chickens”. Yes, but

51

at, as I said, the energy production from a solar

and how things work. Therefore, as they are doing

cell or from a wind turbine, to try to decide how

it, the school can look back on it, and in order

much electricity they would need and how many

to do this better next time, it would be better if

of this equipment they would need in the school.

the students had more experience of that type of

If there’s another event like this, is there any thing you want to improve or add?

Yes. As a requirement of IB, every IB student has

event, lower down the school.

Finally, what was your favorite part of this event, as a teacher?

to do this project every year. The project is not

My favorite part—we made an introductory video.

always going to be a zombie apocalypse. It will

The staff video, the YKPS zombies attack! It shows

change from year to year. But the principle of

the teachers fighting zombies and running away

learning to work as part of the team has to happen

from zombies. It’s quite funny and students loved

in each year. One of the problems was that the

it. We had a lot of fun making that video, so before

grade eleventh students who did this had never

the day started that made us all excited as teach-

been faced with this before, had never worked in

ers. But I enjoyed the whole day, really! At the

that type of way before, and that was a full day. It

end, for the last hour, I observed the students had

was from 7:50 in the morning to 6 p.m. at night.

their solutions to the problems up on the boards

And they had to decide when they would go to eat,

that you can go and review, question and assess.

when they would have a break, when they would

It is always interesting to determine the thought

keep working. That was part of their day. So what

processes when students present solutions. I really

I would like to see happen would be for this to fill

enjoy doing that as well.

it down through the school, so that all year groups have the opportunity to develop with one or two of these special academic learning events. Obviously, it will have to be age appropriate in regards to the student’s subjects, but they should spend a day working as part of a team for something.

Therefore, when they get to year eleven and would have to do it for the IB, they will have plenty of experience. They may go “Oh, we know what to do…and then use the time to produce some exceptional outcomes and learning.

Do you think that this event will benefit all the others besides Y11 students?

Yes. Because the year eleven are the first students through the school, everything they are do is pioneering…and the school and the students themselves are able to test for the first time what to do

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Health Day

--not just about healthy diet Interview with Kendra Zigler

by Selina Gong & Joanna Xu

What is the purpose of setting up a Health Day and plan

is exercise. We hope our students can understand the

for next year?

importance of being active and the variety of activities

At YK Pao school and many other schools, Health education is a very important part of the curriculum.

However, since senior secondary students are very busy, it is hard to have Health lessons in their regular curriculum. Although last year we did conduct our lessons during Af1 and Af2, it’s a period of time where students have a hard time focusing. Therefore, packaged the Health program into two whole days this year.

Every year the program will be similar, however, we

from which they can choose. I hope they can find one they feel comfortable practicing themselves. The activity we provide is not just “a routine of standard exercises that you can do at home or in the afternoon.” We wanted to introduce new activities students wouldn’t normally do with the Sport program. Our goal is giving students the chance to figure out their own best-fit activity. Such as Chi which I wanted to introduce next year.

might change a little very year.

How do you choose the topics and programs for Health Day? We carefully choose those topics from the overall curriculum. With input from other teachers, the topics mainly focus on the knowledge required by students’ developmental stages. Through Health Day, our current senior students are able to catch on those subjects that they haven’t covered before. This Health program includes a variety of activities are students love.

Each subject covers material that will benefit you for the rest of your life. For example, what is the healthy food, what is the healthy life style, how to make balance and keep yourself healthy both mentally and physically, and what kind of exercise fits for you?

What is the purpose of making exercise part of the Health Day program?

One of the important elements in Health education

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Environmental Sustainability Interview with members of Environmental Sustainability Club Mentors / Tina Tao, Jenny Zou, Vinne Wang, Brendan Zhang

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Grade 9

Acceptance Speech

Written by Stella Ban

Dear Teachers and Students, Hello, everyone. Last autumn as the leaves were falling all around us, we attended the Tenth CTEA Cup Creative Technology Robot Contest. Luckily, as a YK Pao School student, I had the opportunity to see many interesting new robots. First we would like to thank our teachers; Wangzhong’s meticulously guidance was a great benefit to me.

Mr. Wang the assistant teacher really helps me to understand these new concepts. Second, the other students in the STEM club also were a great help to me. In STEM we always try to help each other when we learn. In conclusion, without teachers and students working together, we wouldn’t have been able to have achieved this success.

for "int XX = a", XX is a variable name we can give any names we want, but it should be easy to remember. It’s also a connected signal pin of the motherboard. This is a part of the program where we defined our variables: 1 2 3 4 5 6

I would like to explain in detail what we have learned in class, and what techniques we used in the competition. Our team took part in was the “xunji”. There were a lot of other events, which allow us to see other applications of science that were not familiar to us. Throughout the competition, we saw the hard work of students from many different schools. The process of the “xunji” competition involved starting a car from the green origin point, and driving along a black line, and finally stopping the car at the yellow area.

All of these needed to be done within the 2*5m area, and the players couldn’t touch the car until it was over. Before the event started, players needed to ensure to get everything was done properly, including programming, assembling, and testing.

October 27th was a day of testing, and the formal competition took place at October 28th. At school, during club time, our team had already finished assembling the car and had started programming its path. I will now explain the program carefully, as it is an important part of the competition.

The program is based on the C++ language. The first step is to define signal pins with the sentence

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8 9

int Left_motor_back=8; // Left motor back(IN1) int Left_motor_go=9; // Left motor forward (IN2) int Right_motor_go=10; // Right motor forward (IN3) int Right_motor_back=11; // Right motor back (IN4) int key=7; // Define interface button number 7 const int SensorRight = 3; // Right “xunji” infrared sensor (P3.2 OUT1) const int SensorLeft = 4; // Left “xunji” infrared sensor (P3.3 OUT2) int SL; // Left tracking infrared sensor state int SR; // Right tracking infrared sensor state

Our car has two wheels, the front and the back which are controled by two serial button, these are the 8, 9, 10, 11 serial buttons. If you want to let left wheel come back, give No. 8 signal pin high voltage, followed by sign. In this competition, the most critical part is the infrared sensor, it tracks reflections from the black line. The black line was used to judge other operations, we have two infrared sensors on the bottom front of our car which use the 3, 4 serial button controls. The master switch for all of the programs is the key 7 interface. The next part of the program used to define the serial port, the format is:

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1 void setup() 2 { 3 // Initialization of the motor

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analogWrite(Left_motor_ back,0);// regulate the PWM speed to ratio 0~255, control the left and right wheel differences slightly increase or decrease analogWrite(Left_motor_go,15); //delay(time * 100); // Change the time of interval }

drive IO as the output mode

4 5 pinMode(Left_motor_go,OUTPUT); // 6 7

8 9

10 11

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PIN 8 (PWM) pinMode(Left_motor_back,OUTPUT); // PIN 9 (PWM) pinMode(Right_motor_go,OUTPUT);// PIN 10 (PWM) pinMode(Right_motor_ back,OUTPUT);// PIN 11 (PWM) pinMode(key,INPUT);// Define button interface(key) as input interface pinMode(beep,OUTPUT); pinMode(SensorRight, INPUT); // Define of the right "xunji" infrared sensor as input pinMode(SensorLeft, INPUT); // Define of the left "xunji" infrared sensor as input }

1 void run() 2 { 3 digitalWrite(Right_motor_go,LOW); 4 5

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// Right motor forward digitalWrite(Right_motor_ back,HIGH); analogWrite(Right_motor_go,0);// regulate the PWM speed to ratio 0~255, control the left and right wheel differences slightly increase or decrease analogWrite(Right_motor_back,11);

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We can see “void run(){ }” is the main program syntax. It controls the car to go forward (both left and right wheels). When we want the car to go forward, we have to define all the backward buttons as “low” current (can’t move) and all the forward buttons as “high” current. We can use the same method to obtain the backward direction.

We can also use this method to make turns, however tur ns were not necessar y in this application.

1 while(1) 2 { 3 //have signaled： LOW， no 4 5 6 7

8 The “void setup(){pinMode…….}” syntax is the format for defining input and or output. The “input” means that the computer gain gets the signal from the button such as “on” and “off”. The “output” means that the computer gives the signal to the car such as “forward” or “backward”. The main program is as follows:

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signaled：HIGH SR = digitalRead(SensorRight);// There are signs show that in the white area, L3 light on car floor; no signal that the pressure in the line, L3 off on the car floor SL = digitalRead(SensorLeft);// There are signs that in the white area, L2 light on car floor; no signal that the pressure in the line, the car floor L2 off if (SL == LOW&&SR==LOW) run(); //Control the forward function else if (SL == HIGH & SR == LOW)// Left tracking infrared sensor signal detected the sign, the car slide to the right of the track, then turn left

The code above illustrates how the LED light Continues on to page 57 >

Grade 8

Science in 2015

Collected by Leon Wang

1. TuYouYou

2. Gravitational Wave

Tuyouyou, that she is the first Chinese woman to win Nobel Prize for Medicine is surprising of most of people, especially since she doesn’t have a medical degree or a Ph.D degree. She has discovered Artemisinin, which can reduce the death rate of malaria. Malaria is fatal disease which is transmitted by mosquitos.

TuYouYou ’s research was inspired by an ancient Chinese text. She read ancient books to find treatments of malaria. Eventually, she found a method of treating malaria from the early days.

It refers to a medicine called sweet wormwood, which has great effects on treating malaria. She and her teammates isolated an ingredient in the sweet wormwood, artemisinin. Large samples from clinical studies showed that artemisinin is the most effective medicine for treating malaria.

In September, 2015, the Laser Interferometer

Gravitational-wave Observatory (LIGO) first detected gravitational wave. This is exciting news since gravitational waves have been a hypothesis for more than one hundred years, and it is the first time for human beings to prove the true existence of gravitational waves.

What is the gravitational wave? Basically, a gravitational wave is the wave in space time created by the mass of an object. It was predicted

by Einstein in 1916.

3. AlphaGo In October, 2015. The artificial intelligence AlphaGo won the first game with a professional Go

on the little car can be controlled by the infrared reflected signal. The car will then follow the light and response quickly, and here, the program ends.

During the competition, we encountered some problems, such as damaged equipment and finding the best speed for the car.

We had to test the car running at different speeds a thousand time to discover the optimum

speed for our car, but that was the secret to our success.

Finally, we welcome students who are interested in “STEM” to our club.

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player. It represents a great accomplishment for artificial intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence equips computers with a human mind and even create ideas. AlphaGo is a model of Artificial Intelligence. It is programmed

by Google DeepMind to play the board game Go. After the first game in October, AlphaGo then competed with the strongest Go player, Lee Sedol.

AlphaGo won the game with the final game of 4 win to 1 lose.

4. Boston Dynamics Boston Dynamicsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s main project is the engineering and robotic design. The famous product is a quadruped robot called BigDog. However, as technology is growing fast in the 21st century, BigDog has updated into a much more powerful robot, called LS3. LS3 is the

abbreviation for Legged Squad Support System, known as the AlphaDog as well. It was designed for military use, to carry the load of soldiers. LS3 is suitable for all kinds of environments, and it can carry 181 kilograms for 24 hours.

5. Ocumetics Bionic Lens Gareth Webb from Canada invented a bionic lens, which can improve human eyesight 3 times further. Furthermore, this lens could help

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people prevent cataracts. Webb was the CEO of Ocumetics, he used 8 years and 3 million dollars for researching this new technology.

The feature of this technology is: the surgery will only last for 8 mins, and patients wonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel any pain or discomfort. However, this bionic lens will only work for the people who are older than 25 years old, since their eye structure are fully developed.

Ocumetics hope they can introduce their bionic lens to the market in 2017.

Reference 1. Tuyouyou: (1) "Youyou Tu - Facts". Nobelprize.org. Nobel Media AB 2014.

Web. 4 Apr 2016. <http://www.nobelprize.org/nobel_prizes/ medicine/laureates/2015/tu-facts.html> (2) Hatton, Celia. "Nobel Prize Winner Tu Youyou Helped by Ancient Chinese Remedy." BBC News. BBC, 6 Oct. 2015. Web. <http://www.bbc.com/news/blogs-china-blog-34451386>.

2. Gravitational Wave: (1) Ghosh, Pallab. "Einstein's Gravitational Waves 'seen' from Black Holes." BBC News. BBC, n.d. Web. <http://www.bbc.com/ news/science-environment-35524440>.

(2) "Gravitational Waves." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gravitational_wave>.

3. AlphaGo: (1) MOYER, CHRISTOPHER. "How Google's AlphaGo Beat a Go World Champion." The Atlantic. Atlantic Media Company, n.d.

Web. 05 Apr. 2016. <http://www.theatlantic.com/technology/ archive/2016/03/the-invisible-opponent/475611/>.

4. Boston Dynamics (1) "Boston Dynamics." Wikipedia. Wikipedia, n.d. Web. <https:// en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boston_Dynamics>.

(2) "Boston Dynamics: Dedicated to the Science and Art of How Things Move." Boston Dynamics: Dedicated to the Science and Art of How Things Move. N.p., n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2016. <http:// www.bostondynamics.com/robot_ls3.html>.

3. Ocumetics Bionic Lens (1) Rathi, Akshat. "The Remarkable Technology of Our Human Eyes Cannot Be Replicated-at Least, Not Yet." Quartz. Quartz, n.d. Web. 05 Apr. 2016. <http://qz.com/411344/ocumeticsremarkable-technology-of-eyes-cannot-be-replicated/>.

(2) Bains, Camille. "Ocumetics Bionic Lens Could Give You Vision 3x Better than 20/20." CBC News. CBC, 18 May 2015. Web. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/ocumetics-bionic-lenscould-give-you-vision-3x-better-than-20-20-1.3078257>.

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair Collected by Leon Wang

The Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (Intel ISEF), a program of Society for Science & the Public (SSP), is the world's largest international pre-college science competition. Approximately 1,700 high school students from more than 75 countries, regions and territories showcase their independent research as they compete for approximately $4 million in prizes. The Intel ISEF is the premier global science competition for students in grades 9â&#x20AC;&#x201C;12. The categratory covers animal science, behavioral and social sciences, biochemistry, cellular and molecular biology, chemistry, computer science, earth and planetary science, engineering, energy and transportatioin, environmental management, environmental sciences, mathematical sciences, medicine and health sciences, microbiology, physics and astronomy, plant sciences.

(From https://student.societyforscience.org/) Now let us meet two of the winners to see how they won compliments from the judge!

Sara Volz Sara Volz has invented a process which can increase the amount of biofuel produced by algae.

This new invention can reduce the overall cost of algae biofuel.

The most amazing thing is that this invention was mainly developed in Sara Volzâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s bedroom! She grew algae in glass flasks and put them underneath her bed, which formed a small garden of algae.

Furthermore, Sara Volz put a huge amount of effort into the garden; she tended those algae every day, to make sure that they were growing well under her bed.

Algae biofuel is a renewable fuel produced by algae. However, this fuel is very expensive; Saraâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s new invention dramatically reduced the price and might replace the fossil fuel, which are widely used now days.

With her enormous hard work, she has been granted an award with 100,000 dollars as prize for this research.

Jack Thomas Andraka Jack Thomas Andraka has invented a new way to detect the early stage of pancreatic cancer and other cancers. When comparing with his new method of detecting cancers to the old one, we realize how revolutionary his invention is. His method is about 28 times faster, around 26,000 times less expensive and over 100 times more sensitive than the diagnostic tests now days.

This great invention was started as a simple idea, which Jack Thomas Andraka came up with in his biology class at school. The principle of this new method is simple. He uses a paper sensor to test the level of mesothelin in human body. This paper sensor is made up of simple-walled carbon nanotubes and antibodies against mesothelin in human body. However, the establishment of this new method is not easy at all.

Jack Thomas Andraka has won 75,000 dollars grant prize from Intel International Science and Engineering Fair for this new invention, and he enrolled to Stanford University as a freshman in 2015-2016.

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