Dailypedia

Healthy School Food Still Gets Eaten

admin — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

According to results of a recent study, people underestimate children’s willingness to eat healthy foods. While previous studies have shown that students prefer fatty foods and that healthy meals cost schools more, a group of economists from the University of Minnesota found that schools serving healthier lunches did not see a falloff in demand. In addition, the higher labor costs associated with preparing the healthy meals was offset by the lower cost of healthy ingredients like fresh fruits and vegetables. Childhood obesity is considered a growing “epidemic” in Western countries.

Wave Power

admin — Wed, 28 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Wave power is a form of renewable energy that may be harnessed for use in electricity generation. Capturing the energy of ocean surface waves and converting it into a useable form of electrical energy is a difficult task, and a major technological breakthrough is necessary if wave power is ever to contribute significantly to the world’s energy needs. Salter’s Duck, invented in 1974, remains the device against which all other wave energy systems are measured. Why has the Duck never gone to sea?

Babies Can Tell Friend from Foe

admin — Mon, 26 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

When babies as young as 6 months old were presented with naughty, neutral, and nice toys, they overwhelmingly chose to play with the nice one. Researchers showed the infants a googly-eyed wooden toy repeatedly trying to climb a hill. They then brought in another googly-eyed toy to either help the first puppet over the hill or push it backward. After seeing the interaction, nearly every baby chose to play with the helpful toy. This suggests that even at a very young age, infants are able to make social judgments that distinguish between helping and hurting and that these distinctions may serve as the foundation for moral evaluations as children develop and grow.

Marmalade

admin — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Marmalade is a sweet preserve with a bitter tang made from citrus fruit, sugar, water, and, in some commercial brands, a gelling agent. The term marmalade stems from marmelo, Portuguese for quince, which is the fruit originally used to make the preserve. The term marmalade first appeared in the English language in the 15th century, and has been used since the 17th century to refer to any preserve derived from citrus fruit. What is the legend of Dundee Marmalade?

Ancient Sea Scorpion Was Bigger than Man

admin — Sat, 24 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Scientists have uncovered the fossilized claw of a 390 million year old sea scorpion in a German quarry. They estimate that the cannibalistic creature, which has been named Jaekelopterus rhenaniae, was nearly 8 ft (2.5 m) long, making it at least 1.5 ft (46 cm) longer than any previously known eurypterid, or prehistoric sea scorpion. While fossil record has long shown that ancient arthropods were much bigger than they are now, this discovery suggests that prehistoric spiders, insects, and crabs were significantly larger than previously thought.

polymorphism

admin — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

DEFINITION: (noun) Crystallization of a compound in at least two distinct forms. SYNONYMS: pleomorphism. USAGE: Calcium carbonate possesses the characteristic of polymorphism, since it crystallizes as calcite or aragonite.

Earth’s Moon Created in Rare Collision

admin — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

The giant impact theory explains that billions of years ago, an object the size of Mars collided with the Earth. The resulting debris, which was hurled into orbit, consolidated to create the Moon. New observations from NASA's Spitzer Space Telescope suggest that moons like Earth's—that formed out of catastrophic collisions—are uncommon in the universe, arising at most in only 5 to 10 percent of planetary systems. The scientists calculated this probability from their observations of about 400 stars, all about 30 million years old.

La Tomatina

admin — Fri, 23 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

Approximately 30,000 people participate in La Tomatina, an annual festival held on the last Wednesday in August in the Spanish town of Buñol. A weeklong festival features music, parades, dancing, and fireworks, but it is the tomato fight that draws the crowds. During the battle, more than 100 metric tons of overripe tomatoes are thrown in the streets. Participants must follow certain safety guidelines during the event, and wearing goggles is recommended. When does the tomato throwing begin?

furbelow

admin — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

DEFINITION: (noun) A strip of pleated material used as a decoration or a trim. SYNONYMS: ruffle, flounce, frill. USAGE: Those dresses are good, sensible, serviceable dresses, without any frills or furbelows about them, and they're all you'll get this summer.

Scientists Create Stem Cells from Skin

admin — Thu, 22 Nov 2007 05:00:00 +0000

In a pair of landmark studies, two groups of scientists announced that they have successfully reprogrammed human skin cells to behave like embryonic stem cells, cells that have the potential to mature into any type of tissue in the body. Stem cells have long been the source of ethical, legal, and political debate; and while their cultivation could lead to cures for numerous diseases, harvesting of these vital cells often requires the destruction of fertilized embryos. The new embryo-free technique involves the use of a retrovirus to introduce new genes into the skin cells and sidesteps the long-running ethics debate.