THE RHS CHOIR TRIP TO OHIO!!!

Every two years the RHS choir goes on a trip, and this year Wilhemina got to go as well!!!!  This year the trip was to Cleveland Ohio.  While in Cleveland Wilhemina got to go to Oberlin College, Ceder Point, the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame, a professional concert performance, and a Cleveland Indians game where the choir got to sing the national anthem!!  Originally Julianna was going to blog about this with us, and she had come up with a great idea that had especially interested Wilhimina, how the vocal chords work.  She noticed that they were used a lot by the choir because not only did we sing but we also talk A LOT! 

The vocal chords are located in the larynx.  The vocal chords are made of elastic connective tissue covered by folds of mucous membrane.  There are two pairs of vocal chords.  One pair is called the false vocal chords.  They extend from the epiglottis to the angle of the thyroid cartilage.  The job of these chords is to narrow the glottis during swallowing.  The next pair of vocal chords are called the true vocal chords.  They are below the false vocal chords and extend from the arytenoid cartilages to the angle of the thyroid cartilage.  With the help of the voice box  these chords create sound.  The true vocal chords are vibrated by air passing out of the lungs, that is then amplified by the voice box and boom you have sound!  Pitch is controlled by muscles that rotate they arytenid cartilages toward the center of the body for low tones, and toward the sides of the body for high tones.  This is very important for singers.  

so now next time you scream or sing or talk you know whats happening!!!

New Jersey Special Olympics

This past weekend Wilhemina decided to take a trip to the 2009 New Jersey Summer Special Olympics down at the College of New Jersey.  What a sight it was! People from all over the state came together to contribute, or participate in a great cause.  Throughout the weekend of June 12-14, over 2,000 athletes came together to compete in areas such as aquatics, Bocce, gymnastics, powerliftling, softball, and track & field.

Many of the athlete competing suffer from a disease called down syndrome. Down Syndrome (or Down's Syndrome) is also known as trisomy 21.  This is a chromosomal disorder cause by the presence of all or part of an extra 21st chromosome.  It is named after John Langdon Down, a British doctor who first described the syndrome in 1866. The disorder was identified as trisomy 21 by Jérôme Lejeune in 1959.  

Individuals with Down Syndrome tend to suffer from mild to moderate developmental disabilities.  A small number have severe to profound mental disabilities as well. The number of births estimated with babies born with the disease is at 1 per 800 births.

Wilhemina herself had a great time at the games.  Not only did she learn a lot about genetics, and more specifically Down Syndrome, but she made a bunch of new friends.  She hopes that next year everyone will take a part in this great organization, and get to see some real-world genetics at its finest. 

The Harvard Science Center

Over President's Day Weekend, Wilhemina stopped by the Harvard Science Center in Cambridge, MA. Located on the staircase were the letters (and numbers) "H2N CH2 CH2 OH ." Next to the combination of letters and numbers was a sign, saying "Chain of Life." Turns out, H2N CH2 CH2 OH is the organic compound for Ethanolamine. Because it said "Chain of Life," one would think it may be an Amino Acid, but it is not. It is the second most abundant group for phosopholipids, but the reason why it says "Chain of Life" next to it, remains unclear to us.


Upon further research, we discovered that ethanolamine is used to alkalize water. It's used because it doesn't accumulate in generators and spreads evenly through the steam cycle.




According to http://www.flickr.com/photos/dullhunk/323173954/ , when John Mathers at the Harvard Science Center was asked why this molecule was chosen, he simply said. ""The molecule was chosen by the artist."



When inside the building, we spotted a relatively large plant, with big leaves. the location of the plant was on the top floor, under a glass roof. Given the location of this plant, we knew it was able to grow and flourish because of the sunlight it was getting. The sun would shine through the roof, and the plant would use it for photosynthesis. If you break down the word photosynthesis into "photo" and "synthesis," the word photo means light, and synthesis means to build. Plants need photosynthesis as an energy source. Sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide enter the chloroplasts in the plant cells, and the sunlight and water go to the Grana. This is where light reactions occur. From that, O2, NADPH, and ATP is produced. The O2 is given off by the plant. The ATP moves with CO2 to the Stoma, where the Calvin Cycle occurs. Light Independent Reactions make sugars, along with ADP+P and NADP+. The sugars created are used for energy, in which the Stoma absorbs.. Like most living things, "food" and energy help the organism to grow, like this plant. It appears to have been nourished well, with sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.

Learn more about photosynthesis here!!!
(it's fun!)



Wilhelmina seemed to have a lot of fun learning science at Harvard University, especially spending time with her old classmates, as well as her current ones. :). In the arch of the doorway above, one was able to whisper into the wall at one end, and the other person could hear it crystal clear at the other end of the arch. Of course, the brick in the middle of the arch, holding it up, is a keystone brick- which has a similar purpose as a keystone species! It keeps the arch together, like a keystone species keeps the surrounding environment together.



XOXO,
Wilhelmina

Hershey Park

On May 1st some of Miss Eberhardt’s students attended an Orchestra Field Trip to Hershey Park in Pennsylvania and brought me along for all of the fun! They went to a competition at a high school and then enjoyed the rest of the day going on rides at Hershey Park.

It started raining mid-day, so they decided to go to the Hershey tour. It was fun and educational as well. While on the tour, students learned about how chocolate is made and about cocoa fermentation (an important topic of our studies in biology!) and other topics covered in biology class.

This is the journey that a little cocoa bean takes to become the delicious chocolate from Hershey’s!

Cocoa starts from the cocoa tree (Theobroma cacao). This tree grows in South America, Africa, and Indonesia. This tree grows a fruit about the size of a small pineapple. Inside this fruit are 20 – 40 seeds, otherwise known as cocoa beans.

The beans are harvested from the trunks and branches of the cocoa tree with a curved knife or a long pole. They are harvested when green, as this is when the pods are ripest and the beans will have the best aroma and flavor. The pods are opened with a machete and the pulp and cocoa seeds are removed. The rind is discarded. The pulp and seeds are placed together in bins for about a week. This “sweats” the pulp and seeds and the pulp liquefies as it ferments. They drain the fermented pulp away, and leave the cocoa beans to be collected. Fermenting the beans is where the flavor comes from. Then they dry the beans for roasting.

Then the beans are cleaned and roasted to bring out the flavor. Then, the roasted beans are winnowed. This removes the meat (a.k.a. the nib) of the bean from the shell. Then the nibs are ground and a viscous liquid forms, called chocolate liquor (there is no actual liquor though). This chocolate liquor is pure unsweetened chocolate. It is very bitter. Ingredients are added to the chocolate liquor like sugar, milk, and flavors like vanilla.

The chocolate goes through a machine that mills the chocolate, or massages and blends the ingredients together. This can take from 2 to 6 days.

Then the chocolate is tempered, heating the chocolate slowly, and then letting it cool, allowing the molecules solidify in an orderly fashion. If the chocolate is not tempered properly, the chocolate will separate. The chocolate is poured into molds, cooled, and sent to packaging. Then it hits the stores for everyone to enjoy!

I had a great day with Sara and Julia at Hershey Park. Even though we were on an Orchestra field trip in an amusement park, biology was still in our mines as we gained even more information relating to our in-class studies! See you all soon!

XOXO, Wilhemina