Overview of NIGMS and Computing Life: Computing Life - National Institute of General Medical Sciences Computing Life From text messaging friends to navigating city streets with GPS technology, we're all living the computing life. But as we've upgraded from snail mail and compasses, so too have scientists. Computer advances now let researchers quickly search through DNA sequences to find gene variations that could lead to disease, simulate how flu might spread through your school and design three-dimensional animations of molecules that rival any video game. By teaming computers and biology, scientists can answer new and old questions that could offer insights into the fundamental processes that keep us alive and make us sick. This booklet introduces you to just some of the ways that physicists, biologists and even artists are computing life. What Is NIGMS? The National Institute of General Medical Sciences (NIGMS) supports basic research on genes, proteins and cells.
11 Meaningful Earth Day Activities for Every Grade Level Our students are the future caretakers of our Earth. These fun Earth Day activities help empower kids to have a positive impact on the planet. From recycled art projects to farming simulations, here’s how to roll out the green carpet in your classroom on Earth Day this year. 1. Engineering for Good (6–8) Your middle schoolers know that drinking plenty of H2O is good for them, but they may not realize the impact all those plastic water bottles have on the environment. In this project-based learning unit, they’ll design their own solutions for this issue by using engineering. Bonus: The lessons are aligned with the NGSS Engineering Design Standards. 2. In this art activity, students learn how to take their ideas from paper to reality. Through videos, activities, and lessons, students learn about the importance of recycling. 3. This lesson helps kids understand what could happen to plants and animals if they don’t adapt when their environment changes. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12.
Article: Inviting Global Perspectives into the Classroom Article Produced in Partnership with Cisco Education. As our schools and universities prepare students to make a contribution to the world, it is important to benchmark the emerging critical skills they will need to solve increasingly complex problems. As we accelerate the speed of moving data and communications around the world, one strategic skill emerges that we traditionally have not taught: global empathy. My own introduction to how valued this skill is came from an interview I had with the CEO of one of the largest banks in the world. The executive continued: “It’s not hard to find employees who have high test scores. The boundaries of relationships prescribed by our traditional classrooms typically limit students to conversations with peers sitting next to them. Fortunately, technology makes it extremely easy for today’s students to become globally aware. Here are some of the key aspects of global empathy: Listening. Understanding Different Points of View Not Just for Older Students
Money as You Grow – Kids and Money – President's Advisory Council on Financial Capability Grand Challenges - 14 Grand Challenges for Engineering With input from people around the world an international group of leading technological thinkers were asked to identify the Grand Challenges for Engineering in the 21st Century. From urban centers to remote corners of Earth, the depths of the oceans to space, humanity has always sought to transcend barriers, overcome challenges, and create opportunities that improve life in our part of the universe. In the last century alone, many great engineering achievements became so commonplace that we now take them mostly for granted. Technology allows an abundant supply of food and safe drinking water for much of the world.
Abrupt glacier melt causes Canadian river to vanish in four days Updated A vast glacier-fed river which flowed from Canada's Yukon territory across Alaska to drain into the Bering Sea has disappeared in just four days, in what scientists believe is the first observed case of "river piracy". High average temperatures in the first three months of 2016 caused a dramatic spike in the amount of meltwater flowing from the Kaskawulsh glacier, carving a deep canyon in the ice and redirecting the flow toward the Alsek River in the south, rather than the north-flowing Slims River. That changed the Slims River from a three-metre-deep, raging torrent to a place where "massive afternoon dust storms occurred almost daily", according to a scientific paper published in the journal Nature Geoscience. "We were really surprised when we got there and there was basically no water in the river," lead author Daniel Shugar said of the Slims River. "We could walk across it and we wouldn't get our shirts wet."
The Wonderment Inevery Crea: Recursos Puebla se consolida como uno de los principales destinos turísticos de México... Cuando se tienen políticas claras y objetivos serios como los del gobernador Rafael Moreno Valle y del gobierno federal, es posible consolidar a Puebla como uno de los principales destinos turísticos culturales de México, destacó la secretaria de Turismo, Claudia Ruiz Massieu, al inaugurar con el mandatario estatal y el alcalde Tony Gali, los trabajos de conservación de la Catedral de Puebla, reconocida como Patrimonio Cultural de la Humanidad y orgullo de los mexicanos. Por su parte, el mandatario estatal ratificó que continuará trabajando para fortalecer este sector y así atraer más turistas, inversiones y desarrollo para la entidad. La secretaria federal y el mandatario poblano coincidieron que para detonar y fortalecer el turismo es necesario diversificar su oferta, por lo que la visión de ampliar destinos resulta atractiva y benéfica para el país.
iPad Graphic Calculator Apps April 12, 2016 Below are some very good graphing calculators for math teachers and students. Learners can use these apps on their iPads to perform complex mathematical equations, plot graphs, and visualize math notations. For those of you looking for graphing calculators to use on Chrome, check out this page. 1- Desmos Graphing Calculator This is one of the most popular graphic calculator out there. 2- Quick Graph ‘It is a powerful, high quality, graphic calculator that takes full advantage of the multitouch display and the powerful graphic capabilities of the iPad and iPhone, both in 2D and 3D. 3- Good Grapher This is another excellent scientific graphing calculator. 4- Scientific Graphing Calculator 2 This is an upgraded version of Scientific Graphing Calculator.
What the World Would Look Like if All the Ice Melted This story appears in the September 2013 issue of National Geographic magazine. The maps here show the world as it is now, with only one difference: All the ice on land has melted and drained into the sea, raising it 216 feet and creating new shorelines for our continents and inland seas. There are more than five million cubic miles of ice on Earth, and some scientists say it would take more than 5,000 years to melt it all. If we continue adding carbon to the atmosphere, we’ll very likely create an ice-free planet, with an average temperature of perhaps 80 degrees Fahrenheit instead of the current 58. North America The entire Atlantic seaboard would vanish, along with Florida and the Gulf Coast. South America The Amazon Basin in the north and the Paraguay River Basin in the south would become Atlantic inlets, wiping out Buenos Aires, coastal Uruguay, and most of Paraguay. Africa Europe London? Asia Australia Antarctica
Gapminder: statistics for a fact based world view Video Resources for Teaching Math With Pi Day coming up, we wanted to shout out to all the amazing YouTube creators who are making math videos! (Of course, if it's Pi Day videos you want, check out our "Hooray for Pi Day" post.) Math may not seem like a natural fit for the visually-driven medium of video -- but you'd be amazed by the creativity of some of these creators who bring the complexities of all levels of math to life on the small screen. Math teachers, this one's for you! Video Playlist: Best YouTube Channels for Math Teachers Watch the player below to see the whole playlist, or view it on YouTube. The Infinite Hotel Paradox - Jeff Dekofsky (05:59) Want to show your students the math behind online dating? More Resources for Engaging Kids in Math I hope this playlist has inspired you to find some creative ways to get your students excited about math, or at the very least provided some great resources for homework help.
What the World Will Look Like 4°C Warmer Micronesia is gone – sunk beneath the waves. Pakistan and South India have been abandoned. And Europe is slowly turning into a desert. This is the world, 4°C warmer than it is now. But there is also good news: Western Antarctica is no longer icy and uninhabitable. Smart cities thrive in newly green and pleasant lands. This map, which shows some of the effects a 4°C rise in average temperature could have on the planet, is eight years old, but it seems to get more contemporary as it ages (and the planet warms). Few serious scientists doubt that climate change is happening, or that it is man-made. Those on the fact-based side of this argument should realise that continuously bombarding the opposition with doom and gloom is likely to reinforce their resistance to accepting the new paradigm. This map offers an alternative: lots of misery and disaster, but also plenty of hope and solutions. First, the bad news. Orange is not much better: 'Uninhabitable desert'. But there is a flipside.
Facing the Future | Big Ideas All students need opportunities to explore sustainability big ideas in a variety of contexts and disciplines. High quality education for sustainability helps students investigate the meaning and implications of these ideas and to incorporate these ideas into their own thinking, problem solving, and decision-making. Big ideas come in many shapes and sizes, including broad topics or themes difficult problems, or ongoing debates or issues. Sustainability big ideas often involve perspectives and information from multiple ways of knowing, multiple disciplines and multiple cultures. [Note: The following discussion of Big Ideas was adapted from Nolet (2016) Education for Sustainability: Principles and Practices for Teachers.]