Patterns for making snowflakes

 by Paula Johanson

If you're studying math, and fractions, sometimes it's hard at first to see the connection between numbers on a page and real life. That's when it's good to do some baking, where bakers use fractions and precise measurements to make wonderful cakes and cookies and pies. "Baking is science for  hungry people," wrote artist and writer Jeph Jacques in Questionable Content, his internet comic strip about friendship, romance, and robots.

There are other ways to use fractions and precision for fun. Do you like cutting paper to make snowflakes? Or do you like learning about marine life, like crabs or salmon or lobsters? How about making paper snowflakes with images of sea life? 

Here's a link to sea life snowflake patterns that can be downloaded for free, printed at home or the library, then cut out carefully to make decorations. Great for a project with budding marine biologists! These patterns were made by Andrea Mulder-Slayer and her husband Geoff Slater at Kinder Art. If you're making paper snowflakes with a mixed group of children and adults, this free set of patterns is a good thing to print out for that craft session.

Obituary for author Diane Swanson

guest post by author Sheryl McFarlane

OBITUARY Carol “Diane” Swanson (April 5, 1944 – November 19, 2021) 

Well-known Victoria, BC children's science writer, Diane Swanson, passed away after a lengthy illness. She was 77. Born and raised in Lethbridge, Alberta, Diane was a self-described ‘nature nut’. She graduated from the University of Alberta with a Bachelor of Arts degree (Honours) in social sciences and taught in the West Indies for two years before moving to Ottawa where she worked in water services research for the Canadian government. Swanson and her husband Wayne moved to Victoria where they raised a family and Diane took up writing. She had a prolific career and published more than 70 books and 450 magazine articles. Adrienne Mason (current managing editor of Hakai Magazine and former editor of KNOW and Yes magazines) said “It was a great delight to work with Diane where she wrote the ‘Bug Beat’ column for YES Magazine, and, for a few years, ‘Know You’ in KNOW Magazine. She was a pro, delivering stellar copy on time.” 

Diane’s Welcome to the World series includes 30 tiles that range from Welcome to the World of Alligators and Crocodiles to Welcome to the World of Whales. Some of her other popular series include: Animals Can Be So…series, Mysterious You series, Nature Detective — The Living World series, Up Close series as well as numerous stand alone titles like Nibbling on Einstein's Brain: The Good, the Bad, and the Bogus in Science and Coyotes in the Cross Walk. 

One educator described Diane as “…such an inspiration to me when I was teaching. I kept many of her books in my classroom library, where they served as a valuable resource. Diane’s author visit to the school was a wonderful experience for the students…” Diane’s books have won or been short listed for numerous awards including: Orbis Pictus Award for Outstanding Nonfiction for Children, The BC Book Prize, Roundtables of Canada, Information Book Award, Red Cedar and Silver Birch Readers’ Choice Awards. 

Diane retired from writing some years ago but she remained an active community member, serving on the board of the SPCA, and as a volunteer at the Royal British Columbia Museum. Diane’s enthusiasm for her geo-caching hobby was so infectious that she inspired fellow author and friend, Kristen Butcher to write a mystery adventure for teens; Caching In (Orca 2013) which is dedicated to Diane. Friends and colleagues alike described her as smart, funny, inquisitive and always kind. 

Diane is survived by Wayne, her husband of 56 years, daughter Carolyn, son Tim and daughter-in-law Bertha, grandsons Jeffrey and Justin, sister Joan, and many nieces and nephews and great nieces and nephews. She is predeceased by her parents Margaret and Wilf Shreeve of Lethbridge, Alberta. Many of Diane’s books can be found at your local library or at Whitecap Books at this link and Kids Can Press at this link.

 

Sheryl McFarlane is a kids’ book author. Waiting for the Whales, Jessie’s Island, A Pod of Orcas and Island in the Salish Sea are a few of her titles. Her next book, The Rocking Horse, will be released in 2022. She lives in Victoria, British Columbia. http://sherylmcfarlane.ca

Vacuuming up eDNA

 by Yolanda Ridge

In crime shows the first thing detectives look for is fingerprints. I’m sure you know why —because every person has a unique pattern on the tips of their fingers. This means anything touched by the criminal could help to identify them.

 

Smart criminals wear gloves for exactly this reason. To stay one step ahead, detectives and scientists figured out how to look for something else that’s unique — DNA fingerprints.

What is DNA? It’s the alphabet used to write the instruction manual on how all living things develop, grow and function. A copy of this instruction manual is contained in every single cell of our body. Which means that if a criminal leaves a piece of hair of a speck of spit at the scene of the crime, scientists can examine the DNA within the cells to try and identify a suspect.

DNA fingerprinting has been available for a while but now there’s something new on the scene — environmental DNA. Better known as eDNA, environmental DNA is DNA that’s been shed by an organism into the environment. And it’s found almost everywhere — water, soil, ice and even air.

 

 

Environmental DNA is not being used to fight crime — at least not yet. But over the past ten years it’s been used to do some cool stuff including:

• verify a new whale species in Mexico

• monitor endangered fish species like the dwarf Galactus in Australia

• determine whether there’s enough food for tigers in Bhutan

• research biodiversity and native species in areas like Columbia

• track polar bear populations and movement in the arctic

• detect invasive species such as Asian carp, American bullfrogs and New Zealand mudsnails

• detect microbes dangerous to plant, animal and human health in waterways around the world

More recently, scientists showed they could vacuum eDNA directly from the sky. To prove it, two different research groups identified DNA from animals at a nearby zoo in samples of the air.

 

To find out more about eDNA, check out these YouTube videos:

1. EnviroDNA (Australia): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TQdTV1rAlWY

2. From the World Wildlife Fund: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4YXfZvEvUgc

And keep following science blogs like this to learn more about how eDNA gets used in the future. It’s coming soon to a crime scene near you (but hopefully not too near you!).

Yolanda Ridge is a middle grade author, science writer and knowledge translation co-ordinator from Rossland, BC. Visit her website at www.yolandaridge.com to find out more.

Photo credits:

Fingerprint image by Stux from pixabay.com

DNA by Jerome Walker from Wikimedia Commons

eDNA image from Biological Conservation via ScienceDirect

Cloud DNA by Andrew Brumagen via Freethink

References:

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2014.11.019

https://www.freethink.com/environment/environmental-dna-whale

https://www.science.org/content/article/dna-pulled-thin-air-identifies-nearby-animals

https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKEwiz6Ob40Kr0AhUBHzQIHR5lDP8QFnoECAMQAw&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.usbr.gov%2Fresearch%2Fprojects%2Fdownload_product.cfm%3Fid%3D2513&usg=AOvVaw07mx_aLfvVMelg5lPygWdF

 

What Happens When Scientists Give Their Discoveries Away?

The work that scientists do is real work. It takes time, careful effort, training, and applied knowledge. Sometimes there are hours of tiring or boring work. There can even be heavy lifting or danger! And always, the work of a scientist must be recorded accurately and shared among other scholars. 

So, what is the work of a scientist worth? There are lots of ways to answer that question, from the wages of a researcher working for a corporation or the complex roles of tenured professors and their colleagues at universities. What about their discoveries  -- what are those worth?

There's one example well worth remembering. A hundred years ago, when Frederick Banting, Charles Best, and James Collip discovered how to make insulin, a treatment for diabetes, they patented their discovery, and then sold the rights to the University of Toronto for a dollar each. Banting felt it was unethical for a doctor to profit personally from a lifesaving discovery. Best and Collip wanted to be sure that those who needed insulin would be able to afford it.

Here's another example from an article published this autumn, by Luke D. Lavis. He and his research team developed a new fluorescent dye. It's particularly useful for biologists studying cells. As Lavis wrote in his article, his team agreed to give samples of the dye to any researcher who asked. Over the next four years, they gave thousands of sample of over 50 kinds of dyes. The result has been great for researchers using the dyes, who have done complicated work with living cells stained to show tiny details. The result has also been great for the institute where Lavis and the team work. Read all about it at this link.

Soaking Up Storms

 by Megan Clendenan

Where I live, in the Pacific Northwest, autumn means rain and plenty of it. The rain pours down and flies sideways, soaking your cuffs and everything else if you’ve forgotten an umbrella.

If you’re out walking during a storm in a city, you might notice rainwater soaking the streets, skidding across parking lots and sidewalks and then pouring into drains – if they aren’t clogged by soggy leaves or other debris. All that storm water draining into the sewer mixes with oils, heavy metals, pesticides and other pollutants that are on our roadways. In cities, where impermeable surfaces such as concrete sidewalks, roads and parking lots are common, a significant portion of rainfall ends up in the sewer system alongside whatever chemicals it has picked up along the way. Then, depending on the city’s location, it runs into nearby waterways, lakes or oceans.
 

With rising global temperatures and changing weather patterns, more than 50% of the world’s population now reside in cities, on the front line of climate change. How can cities cope? One strategy is to learn from nature, and adapt urban buildings, infrastructure, and surfaces to work with the surrounding ecosystem.
 

Take Seattle, Washington, a city with significant annual rainfall. In 2017, a nonprofit group called Urban Greenprint teamed up with engineers, biologists, and city planners to study how they could design buildings and infrastructure to help mimic the evaporation rate of the Pacific Northwest forest to help reduce flooding as well as reduce polluted runoff from washing into the nearby Pacific Ocean.

 

Can you count all the layers? Photo by Megan Clendenan

The forest consists of thousands of layers, which work together to slow the rain and retain moisture before it reaches the ground. Moss and tree bark can hold water like a sponge. Douglas fir trees, common to the area, have needles that spear raindrops, breaking them into smaller parts, increasing the amount of evaporation and decreasing soil erosion.
 

With thoughtful design, urban buildings and other infrastructure can mimic layers found in the forest. Living walls can slow rainfall as it moves from the roof, through the textured green wall, absorbing moisture during each stage of the process. Canopies, awnings, screens and wire sculptures can mimic the ability of pine needles to split raindrops and increase evaporation. Green rooftops and ‘rain gardens’ planted next to sidewalks can soak up water like sponges.

A rain garden next to a sidewalk also shields pedestrians
from the cars. Photo by Megan Clendenan

So next time I’m out during a big rainfall, I’m going to keep my eyes open for places where my city is soaking up the storm – and where adaptations could be made.

Design Concepts Learned from Pacific Northwest Forests, Urban Greenprint, Seattle
https://issuu.com/urbangreenprint/docs/urban_greenprint_seedkit_v1
https://www.asla.org/climatemitigation.aspx
https://www.nrdc.org/stories/green-infrastructure-how-manage-water-sustainable-way 

Climbing Volcanoes

Climbing Volcanoes

By Elaine Kachala

I waited…and waited. One by one, people descended the mountain. They looked sweaty, red-faced, and they were breathing heavily. But where were my husband and daughter? They’d woke early to hit the trailhead at 6 am. But it was going on twelve hours since they’d left our campsite to hike Mount St. Helens—an active volcano in Washington State. 

The mountain stands at 8,363 (f) (2,549 m). The hike is 10 miles (16 km) with an elevation gain of 4500 ft (1,372 m). At first, the hike seems innocent enough with a gradual 1000 ft (305 m) climb. But it’s no ordinary hike! After the first two miles through forest and open meadows, the challenge to the summit begins. The next 2500 ft. (762 m) is a climb through mega boulder fields dusted with ash and pumice that can shred your skin. Did they remember to take gloves? The last 1000 ft. (305 m) climb to the crater rim is through ash and small rocks. Did they pack enough water and snacks?  At the summit is a cornice—an overhanging ledge caused by layers of wind-blowing snow. If you step on it, it could collapse with any weight. Even standing on rock or dirt near the cornice is risky. How close to the edge did they step for the perfect view? When Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980 it was one of the most destructive volcanoes in US history. It erupted again in 2008, and it’s still active. When will it erupt again? Scientists are monitoring it carefully. A lot of questions ran through my mind as I waited.

 

Photo by Dylan Klinesteker and Mount St Helens Institute

Alas! Twelve hours and 33 minutes later, they emerged, exhausted but satisfied. At first, they were quiet. I guess they were still processing the experience. They’d climbed a phenomenal beast of a mountain. And, they’d endured the most intense physical test of their lifetime. Back at the campsite, there was an eruption of a different sort: words and photos. 

I heard about their agonizing climb over the boulders and the endless trudge through deep ash. But at the summit, spectacular views were the reward, as Mount. Rainier appeared in the distance.

 

Photo by Dylan Klinesteker and Mount St Helens Institute

Mount St. Helens and Mount Rainier are part of the Cascade Range, also known as the Cascade Volcanic Arc. It’s a 1,200-mile (1,931 km) line of volcanoes from British Columbia to northern California.

Washington State has five volcanoes that are part of the Cascade Range, and that have a high or very high potential of blowing. They are Mount St. Helens, Mount Rainier, Mount Adams, Mount Baker, and Glacier Peak. Mount St. Helens is the youngest and most active.  

Will my husband and daughter venture to climb other volcanoes? Yes, actually. They attempted Mount. Adams (12,277 (f) 3,742 m)…but that’s another story!   

Are you ready for an epic volcano climb? If so, don’t wait too long! Strap on your boots, fill your water bottle, and expect the adventure of your life! Even if you’re not ready to climb to the summit, you can still experience these fascinating volcanic monuments with hikes around the mountains.

More about Mount St. Helens:

• It began growing before the end of the Ice Age.

• Captain George Vancouver of the British Royal Navy named the mountain in 1792 in honor of his friend, Alleyne Fitzherbert, a British diplomat.

• Researchers call it a “living laboratory.” For three decades, scientists have been studying how land and life return after eruptions, and how to forecast future hazards. 

References

History. https://www.history.com/topics/natural-disasters-and-environment/mount-st-helens

Mount St. Helens Institute https://www.mshinstitute.org/about_us/

NASA Science. https://spaceplace.nasa.gov/volcanoes2/en/

Smithsonian https://volcano.si.edu/

USGS. Science for a changing world. https://www.usgs.gov/

Washington State Department of Natural Resources. https://www.dnr.wa.gov/

Washington Trails Association https://www.wta.org/go-hiking/hikes/mount-st-helens-monitor-ridge#trailhead-map

Where Does The Green Go?

 by Kim Woolcock

It’s autumn where I am, and the leaves are turning. They look like they’re setting themselves on fire before they fall, going out in a blaze of glory. Crispy husks carpet the forest floor, ready to be turned into next year’s nutrients. 

 

Leaves of Acer palmatum subsp. matsumurae (Koidz) Ogata

Photo credit: 松岡明芳

I love it, but it also seems extravagant. Why don’t leaves just stay green until they fall?

It turns out the trees are being thrifty. The leaves are full of chloroplasts, which contain lots of chlorophyll, the green light-harvesting pigment that lets plants spin sunlight into sugar. Chlorophyll is expensive, nutrient-wise. It’s loaded with nitrogen, and so trees tuck it away for winter. They break down the chloroplasts, pack the nutrients for transport, and send them to the trunk and roots. When they’re done collecting what they need, they build a waxy wall between the branch and the leaf and then let the leaf drop.

Packing up the green pigment lets the yellow and orange pigments, carotenoids, shine through. They were there all along, helping the leaves capture light of different wavelengths, but they were masked by the green. As the chlorophyll is removed, the carotenoids pick up some of the slack, making as much energy as they can with the last rays of autumn.

Not all leaves turn yellow or orange—some turn flaming red, thanks to anthocyanins. These pigments aren’t there in the summer, but are made specially in the fall. They act as sunscreen, protecting other leaf molecules from sun damage after the chlorophyll’s gone. That’s why they’re brightest in areas where fall days are sunny. They’re also made from leftovers. As the days get shorter, leaves keep producing sugar and sending it to the roots. But when nights get too cold, sugar transport is slowed, and some sugar gets stuck in the leaves, where it’s made into anthocyanins instead.

 

The green is almost gone. Image credit: Sander van der Wel

It’s a big job, getting ready for winter. Consider a single aspen tree (Populus tremula). Researchers made a detailed calendar of fall events for this tree, tracking components such as pigments, metabolites, nutrients, and photosynthesis rate. The tree has several million leaves, each of which contains ~30 million cells. Each cell contains ~40 chloroplasts. So every autumn, the tree has to synchronize the dismantling and transport of 10¹⁵ chloroplasts (one quadrillion, or the total number of ants on earth, just for scale), all in about a month. That’s just one tree. No wonder they look like they’re on fire.

So that’s where the green goes. It’s stashed away in trunks and roots for the winter, waiting to be remobilized in spring. Winter has always seemed drab compared to fall, to me. But knowing this makes me look at winter tree trunks differently – they are actually full of secret green. 

 

Kim Ryall Woolcock is the co-author of Design Like Nature: Biomimicry for a Healthy Planet (Orca, 2021) with Megan Clendenan. Her next book Tough to be Tiny is coming out from Flying Eye Books in July 2022. You can find out more at www.kimwoolcock.com
 

Resources:

John King. 2011. “Reaching for the Sun: How Plants Work, second edition.” Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 298 pp.

Johanna Keskitalo et al. 2005. “A Cellular Timetable of Autumn Senescence.” Plant Physiology, 139:4, 1635–1648. https://doi.org/10.1104/pp.105.066845

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/1997/10/971005050137.htm