In Brazil, the government is taking a new approach to killing diseases.  Instead of creating vaccines that prevent the disease, they are attempting to kill all the mosquitos carrying the disease called dengue fever.  Dengue fever's symptoms are like the flu symptoms, except they can be deadly.  


To kill all the mosquitos, the scientists are making "genetically modified" male mosquitos themselves.  These mosquitos have two different genes than regular mosquitos.  They have a tracker, which allows the scientists to track their process, and a gene that makes a protein that breaks down the develpoment of the mosquito.  This makes it so the development of dengue cannot start.  These two extra genes are also passed down to the males offspring.  


Learn More at:  
http://www.dogonews.com/2014/5/5/brazil-approves-use-of-genetically-modified-mosquitoes-to-combat-dengue-fever

Researchers in the US have recently run test on mice that can counter the affects of aging.  When they took a young mouse's blood and injected it into an older mouse, the older mouse had a "dramatic reversal" in its muscles, brain function, memory, and stamina.  Basically, the mouse becan to have the qualities of a younger mouse!  Scientists are confident this will work the same way on humans

After watching "Years of Living Dangerously" in science class and at home, I began to truly understand the Syrian Revolution.  When Syria was in a drought, all of the crops began to fail. This caused many people to be very hungry.  As a result, the Syrian farmers and other Syrians turned to the government for help.  Syria's government didn't help them, told them to go away, and as a result the citizens rebelled.  Many were so hungry that they smuggled food on a regular basis.  The government didn't like this, (which personally is a little hypocritical of them, since they put themselves in this predicament).   Now the whole country is at war. 

This was an upsetting moment of comprehension.   Its one of those moments where you feel like your protective little bubble world just popped.  It's really sad, thinking how humans beings are evil and sinful enough to sit in gold palaces while fellow beings starve.  (The "gold palace" part was a slight exaggeration, but that is basically what is happening in Syria.)  It is so depressing.  Why can't humans live in peace?  

Overall, the episode of "Years if Living Dangerously" was a highly educational  video that helped me understand more about the world's current state and climate change.

           Are your sure about global warming??  Do you really think that in a decade everything is going to be underwater if we don't do something about it??  Well that may not just happen.

        Scientists have known for a long time that the "new" rock on the surface of Earth, pushed up by mountains, has soaked up carbon dioxide.  Volcanoes erupted, producing carbon dioxide, and the rock would absorb enough that there was not too much carbon dioxide, but enough to ensure the survival of man.   In summary, this new rock has kept the Earth in geological cycles making sure there is not too much or too little carbon dioxide in the air.


            These studies have shown that the Earth will not get too hot like Venus (it will not have too much carbon dioxide in the air) and it will not get too cold like Mars (it will not have too little carbon dioxide in the atmosphere).

Learn More At:  http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140319143904.htm
          

The Hunt Is On!!!  Scientist have recently been searching for "rouge" black holes.    These black holes are all over the universe, and scientists say they know how to detect them.  The discovery of these "strange objects" could tell us more about life before us and the formation of the Milky Way and other galaxies.  

Each  black hole has 1,000 to 100,000 more mass than the sun.  Inside these could be mass from the time before Earth and fossil evidence of the growth and mergers of black holes.  If we find these black holes, our knowledge would expand greatly.

Overall, this is a huge discovery that may change everything we know.

Learn more at: http://www.livescience.com/44077-rogue-black-holes-radio-telescopes.html

        Scientists just discovered a planet outside of our solar system that has water in the atmosphere around it.  This planet is orbiting a star called tau Boötis and is about the size of Jupiter.  

        This discovery helps scientists realize that there could be more planets like Earth that could exist in the universe.  

60,000 years ago the largest mass extinction in the history of animal life happened.  This annihilation wiped out 96 percent of sea life and 70 percent of land life.  This was called end-Permian.  Researchers have figured out that this happened almost ten times faster than previously.  

No one really knows what happened, but there are some theories.  One is that an astroid hit Earth.  Another is that there was a huge eruption of many volcanoes.  Lastly, some think there was  a "cataclysmic cascade of environmental events".  None of these assumptions are 100 percent correct though.  


Researchers were baffled, how could something wipe out 90 percent of sea life that had survived tens of thousands of years.  They found out that 10,000 years before the extinction, a pulse of  light carbon.  It likely reflects a big amount of carbon dioxide added to the atmosphere.  This may have added a lot of acid to the ocean which might have raised the sea water temperature ten degrees Celsius or more.  This would kill most of the marine life.

Overall, not much is known about this mass extinction and offers only a large number of questions.

Learn more at: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/02/140210161334.htm

A recent study has shown how cool cuttlefish are.  They have the ability to change the color and pattern of its skin.  This earned it a nickname, "The Chameleon of the Sea".  Cuttlefish have pigmented organs that allow them to change appearance.  However no much is known about this; scientists don't have a lot information.  
           
              Many scientists had the idea of figuring out how the cuttlefish do this, so they can make camouflage uniforms for soldiers.  In addition to uniforms, people are also thinking of making paints, cosmetics and consumer electronics out of this new technology.  


             Could this new information change the world?  Could the cuttlefish be the start to new warfare technology?


Learn More At: http://esciencenews.com/articles/2014/01/29/chameleon.sea.reveals.its.secrets