Science by Email 13 April 2012

	Having trouble reading this? Try the online version | Manage your subscription
	13 April 2012
News: Atlas reaches multimillion milestone By Patrick Mahony The Atlas of Living Australia contains valuable information about Australia's biodiversity. An atlas usually contains a collection of maps, showing different places around the world. Another type of atlas, the Atlas of Living Australia, doesn’t just map cities, rivers and mountains in Australia – it also records the animals, plants and even microbes that live there. The Atlas recently reached a significant milestone – its 30 millionth record, making it the largest collection of information on Australia’s biodiversity. The Atlas is the product of a collaboration between the CSIRO and universities, museums and government departments, bringing together specimen collections and data in one place to map out Australia’s biodiversity. Its earliest records include sightings of Australian animals in the diaries of 17th century Dutch explorers, and records continue until the present day. The Atlas is a useful resource as it provides large amounts of information for scientists and researchers. They can see how a species’ range has changed over time, or track the spread of an invasive species. The resource is not just for scientists. The Atlas is available online for use by the public. Anyone can access the website and see which species can be found in their local area. Sometimes local knowledge is a few steps ahead of scientific knowledge: if a survey has never been carried out in an area, scientists may be unaware of what is actually living there. The Atlas encourages people to become ‘citizen scientists’, and to report sightings and upload photos of animals and plants in their area. In this way ordinary people can contribute to the growing bank of scientific knowledge. More information Atlas of Living Australia: Get involved CSIRO link: 17th Century Dutch explorers help the Atlas reach a major milestone - 30 million records! Finalising a definition of ‘citizen science’ and ‘citizen scientists’ Careers link Ace day jobs: Zoologist
You will need these materials.   Fill one lid with water and put a few drops of food colouring in the centre.   Fill the second the lid with water and place a Smartie in the centre. What happens this time?   Try this: Sweet solution   You will need Jar lids Food colouring Smarties Water What to do Fill a jar lid with water. Wait until the surface is perfectly flat, without any waves or ripples. Place a few drops of food colouring in the centre of the lid. Observe for a few minutes. What do you predict will happen? Fill another jar lid with water and allow it to settle. Place a Smartie in the middle of the lid. Observe for a few minutes. What do you predict will happen? What’s happening? When you drop the food colouring into the water, it spreads out a little but stays as one blob of colour in the middle of the dish. When you drop the Smartie into the water, something different happens. At first the water around the Smartie becomes coloured. Over time, the coloured water spreads out to the edges of the lid, creating a ring of colour, while the water around the Smartie is colourless. Smarties have a sugar coating, and the top layer of this sugar coating is coloured. When the Smartie is placed in the water the sugar slowly dissolves, creating a layer of sugar solution around the Smartie. Solutions are denser than pure water, so the water around the Smartie is now denser than the rest of the water in the lid. When there is a difference in densities of fluids, the denser fluid flows towards the less dense fluid. The coloured water around the Smartie flows away from it. When all the colour has dissolved off the Smartie, the uncoloured sugar around the Smartie begins to dissolve. This creates a clear sugar solution around the Smartie which keeps pushing the coloured solution further away from the Smartie, creating the ring that we observe. Applications An example of this phenomenon is in the oceans. In the polar regions, surface water freezes, which creates a layer of water under the ice that is saltier and thus denser than normal sea water. The denser, saltier water sinks to the bottom and more surface water flows in to fill the gap under the ice. Some of this water freezes, again creating denser, saltier water which sinks. This process creates a huge volume of descending water. As it sinks to the bottom of the ocean, it pushes the water already there out, eventually pushing it towards the equator. When it gets closer to the equator it warms up and rises and begins flowing back towards the poles. This current is known as the thermohaline circulation and is involved in a number of the Earth’s ocean and climate processes. By Patrick Mahony Try another Science by Email activity involving Smarties and diffusion More information The thermohaline circulation – the great ocean conveyor belt View the online version Quiz questions 1. What is the name given to a substance which changes the rate of a chemical reaction but isn’t consumed by the reaction? 2. When did the pterosaurs become extinct? 3. How many pairs of chromosomes does a typical human cell have? 4. Converting atmospheric carbon dioxide into stable forms using living organisms is known as what? 5. What is a ruminant? Did you know? The males and females of the eclectus parrot look so different that they were originally thought to be separate species. Research from the Australian National University also showed why they have a preference for female offspring. Websites   Hear it! Ever wondered what your voice would sound like on another planet? These simulations might offer a clue. Hear it! Is your dog right pawed, or left pawed? Find out how to tell in this video! 2012 Australian Museum Eureka Prizes Feeling creative? Why not make a short film on a science topic for cash prizes and fame? All you need to do is communicate a scientific concept in an entertaining way and enter the 2012 University of Sydney Sleek Geeks Science Eureka Prize. Explore your favourite scientific concept, discovery or invention, or test your own hypothesis! See the website for more information and past winners. Entries close midnight AEST Friday 4 May 2012. Events International: Hubble’s Hidden Treasures Contest The Hubble Space Telescope has produced some famous images of space, but that is only the beginning. Thousands of pictures are hidden in the Hubble’s archives, only seen by a handful of astronomers. In this contest, you search the archive, find a picture you think has potential and use the online interface to adjust the contrast and colours of the image. Advanced knowledge is not required to process the data, and the competition is open to people of all ages around the world. If you are under the age of 18 you will need your parent’s or guardian’s permission. More information can be found at the competition website. Insects, Saturday 14 March at 9.00 am on Network Ten Did you know there are more insects in the world than all other animals combined? To find out more facts like this, tune in to this entomological episode of SCOPE dedicated to our creepy crawly friends. Join Dr Rob as he goes on a bug catching expedition and once again proves that the ordinary becomes extraordinary, under the SCOPE. Next episodes: Thursday 19 April: Supersize science Saturday 21 April: Watercraft Want to have your own episodes of SCOPE to watch whenever you feel like it? Click here to download them directly into your iTunes folder, or go here to download iTunes. Charges apply. Quiz answers 1. A catalyst is a substance which changes the rate of a chemical reaction without being consumed by the reaction. 2. The pterosaurs became extinct at the same time as the dinosaurs: approximately 65 million years ago. 3. A typical human cell has 23 pairs of chromosomes. 4. Using living organisms to convert atmospheric carbon into a stable form is called biosequestration. 5. A ruminant is a mammal that has four stomach compartments, and regurgitates partially digested food to chew again. Recent research investigated the feeding behaviour of cattle, a type of ruminant. Science by Email is a CSIRO publication. The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry and bankmecu are proud partners of Science by Email. Editor: Mike McRae | Manage your subscription | FAQ

 

 

---