Digesting Sunshine

This Saturday morning at 10:00am, Born to Do Science presents... Dr. Rob Burnap, a microbiologist at Oklahoma State University, who will share with us his research on photosynthesis.

So you think you know photosynthesis? We all learn about it in grade school, right? It's easy to get the impression that photosynthesis is all figured out. If that's the case, why aren't we efficiently using the sun's energy to run our world, just like plants do? It turns out there's a lot more to know and Dr. Burnap is one of the many scientists around the world who research this important topic!

We are planning wall-to-wall demonstrations and activities on Saturday to help you understand why photosynthesis is so complex, amazing, and tough to untangle. Please join us at the Stillwater Public Library! The program is designed for kids in 3rd-7th grade and their adults to enjoy together. See you there!!

Photos from the lab:

Green algae are a convenient species to use to study photosynthesis. It is also hoped that we can eventually use algae to produce clean fuel for transportation on a commercial scale.

This equipment measures the Oxygen output from photosynthesis to an incredible degree of accuracy. Such data can be used to better understand how photosynthesis works.

Here is Dr. Burnap, looking a bit green. He often has to work under green lighting in the lab. Can you think why that would be? Be sure and ask on Saturday!

BTDS Podcast Episode 2: "It's Not Fair"

Dr. Jennifer Byrd-Craven shares her research into whether teenagers who co-ruminate increase their stress, with kid host Evalyn, featuring the song "It's Not Fair (When Your Mother is a Scientist)."

Listen / Download the Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes

Feedback, please! 
Please post comments below or write to btds at montyharper.com - What worked for you? What didn't?
I will incorporate your feedback as I tweak the format over the next few episodes.

Also, please post your questions about the science!! They will be answered!

Get the song:

Left Brain, Meet the Right Brain!

Our first program of the new year was Dr. Shelia Kennison, "This is Your Brain on Words!"

If you really think about it, it's an amazing thing that we can get lost in a book the way we humans often do. I mean, look at a page and what do you see? Black squiggles on a white background. Somehow we turn those squiggles into words and those words into sentences and those sentences into stories that envelop us like waking dreams. What exactly are our brains doing to make that happen?

I performed a new song called "Left Brain" in which Left Brian thinks he can read on his own but in the end he has to admit that Right Brain helps. 

Lisa and Evalyn joined me on the stage for the ending which involves three overlapping musical parts for the left brain, right brain, and corpus callosum. Thanks to Dr. Kennison for sending this photo!!

If brain scanners were faster, we might be able to just watch a person's brain light up as they read. But we decode words way too quickly for any current brain scanning technology to record the process. Dr. Kennison uses an ingenious method that brings us baby-steps closer to understanding what goes on inside when we read. She peeks into the workings of our brains - with grammar. 

When we see a singular noun that might not make sense in a sentence, this doesn't bother us much because singular nouns are often used as adjectives. 

For example, "Sally married the computer..." might not seem so weird once you read the entire sentence: "Sally married the computer repairman."

However, if we make the noun a plural, that's different!

"Sally married the computers..."

There's really no way to finish that sentence so that it makes good sense. 

Dr. Kennison investigates whether these types of grammar glitches can tell us anything about how the brain is working, and she has uncovered some very intriguing patterns.

Dr. Kennison

To understand what Dr. Kennison discovered we need to know about the corpus callosum. This is the part of the brain that connects the left and right sides together. It's the only pathway by which the left side of the brain can "talk to" the right side, and visa versa. 

Just like an internet connection has a particular data transfer rate (or speed), so does a corpus callosum. We call that speed the interhemispheric transfer time, or IHTT. We can measure a person's IHTT at a given moment by having them respond to flashes on a computer screen.

Here our first volunteer measures the speed of his corpus callosum.

For a long time we've known that various different language functions are handled by the left brain. However over the past ten years or so the role of the right brain in language has become more apparent. Dr. Kennison believes that the two halves of our brains are probably always working together to decode language.

She gave her subjects a whole bunch of sentences to read. Some of them had trick plural nouns in them that didn't make sense. Others had weird singular nouns. Others were just regular sentences. She measured if and when each reader slowed down, and by how much. (We're talking about milliseconds here - very small differences in time!)

Here our second volunteer measures his reading speed. He was a quick - I couldn't keep up!

This is what the reading software looks like (projected on our screen). We only get to see one or two words at a time as we move through a sentence. This way the computer can measure our reading speed at each word, and can tell exactly where we might slow down. The software is less detailed than tracking eye movements, but much easier, and gives essentially the same results for the purpose of this experiment.

Then Dr. Kennison measured each of her subject's interhemispheric transfer time. Remember, that's the speed of their corpus collasum. And guess what she found?

The speed of a person's corpus callosum corresponds to the amount they slowed down when reading weird singular nouns. 

What this might suggest is that when we come to an unexpected singular noun in a sentence, the left brain consults with the right brain (via the corpus callosum) to try to make meaning out of the strange word combination. Maybe the right brain is telling the left brain to go ahead and consider the next word because this unexpected noun might make sense as an adjective.

Of course as with any new study, the results are tentative. Dr. Kennison plans to run many more experiments to see if she will continue to observe this interesting effect! And hopefully many more similar experiments will help us better understand how we make meaning out of all those squiggles on a page!

Brain Science This Saturday!!

Howdy, Science Fans!

Our next BTDS program is about studying the brain! How does your brain work?? You might know that it's separated into two halves - the left brain and the right brain, and that the two halves generally specialize in different types of thinking. The two halves are connected by a thick cord of neurons called the corpus callosum.

Most of what we know about which half does what we've figured out from brains that aren't functioning normally. For example if a person's brain is injured and they lose the ability to speak, then we know that the part of the brain that was injured must have something to do with speaking. Studies on people whose corpa callosa has been severed (for other reasons) can tell us a lot about how the left brain functions without the right and how the right brain functions without the left.

But it's a lot harder to find out anything about how the brain works when it's whole and healthy and functioning properly. We can't just watch it do its thing! How and when and why do the two halves "talk" to one another? What does each half contribute when they are working properly together?

Our guest scientist this month has an ingenious way of studying these aspects of our brains!

Dr. Shelia Kennison is a psychologist who uses glitches in language as windows into how our brains function. By carefully studying how people make meaning out of written words, she can reveal communication between the two sides of the brain!

We will get to experience what it's like to be one of Dr. Kennison's subjects, and as always we'll get to "think like a scientist" and explore other ways the mysterious workings of the brain might be understood.

The program starts Saturday morning at 10:00 at the Stillwater Public Library, room 119.
I hope to see you there!!


In the meantime, check out these related websites!

- For a quick overview of left and right brain functions check out this chart from funderstanding.com

- The Split Brian Game - you become a researcher studying "Mr. Split Brainy." See if you can figure out what's going on in his head!

- To find out how left or right brained you are, take this test!

Here are my results - please post yours!

Thank you for taking the Creativity Test. The results show your brain dominance as being: 

Left Brain	Right Brain
53%	47%

Popular Teens, Friendly or Mean?

This past Saturday Dr. Lara Mayeau, a developmental psychologist, came in from Norman to speak to us about her research on teenage popularity. 

Dr. Mayeau explains that being popular is not the same thing as being well-liked.

We had a smaller than usual group - maybe the last weekend before Christmas Break people are busy? - BUT, it was a great group of kids and parents, full of really good questions and insights, as usual!

Dr. Mayeau's research has verified what many of us observed in school - that the popular kids are not necessarily well-liked. She also uses the mathematics of statistics to uncover some unexpected patterns, or correlations in teen popularity. 

For example, popular boys have an easier time staying well-liked than popular girls. Also, popular kids sometimes use physical or social aggression against other kids. These behaviors seem mostly to come about after popularity is achieved. Perhaps it's part of how they stay popular - or perhaps being popular, they can just get away with it more than other kids. (More studies are needed to really understand this!)

Yours truly, pontificating about something.

How does Dr. Mayeau uncover these patterns of teenage life? By asking! We all got to fill out a survey similar to the one she used in a longitudinal study of kids as they went from fifth grade through 9th. The survey includes a roster of names attached to codes. For each question we listed the codes of the kids who fit. The questions included: Who do you like? Who is popular? Who do you not like? Who pushes other kids? Who excludes other kids?

The difference with our survey was that the names on our roster were not fellow students, but famous actors, characters, athletes, musicians, etc - just for fun. Guess who was most often selected as popular but not well-liked? Justin Bieber. Ouch.

My usual photographer and lovely wife Lisa couldn't be with us on Saturday, so my daughter Evalyn stepped into the role. Thank you Evalyn, for taking photos!!

Really, Evalyn? Really?

Popular Teens This Saturday

Dr. Lara Mayeux

Howdy Friends!

You do not want to miss our next Born to Do Science program, because it's all about you! This Saturday the 17th, 10:00 am at the Stillwater Public Library: "Popular Teens, Friendly or Mean?"

Our guest scientist is coming all the way from Norman. She is Dr. Lara Mayeux, a developmental psychologist from the department of psychology at OU.

Dr. Mayeux will speak about her research on social status among teens. We'll discuss a study she ran following students from 5th through 9th grades to determine what kinds of kids become popular.

Her research explores many questions, including: Is there a difference between being popular and being well-liked? What are the benefits and risks to being popular? How do teens' social status change over time? What role does aggression play in gaining and keeping popularity? Does all this work differently for boys than it does for girls?

We'll be asking what methods Dr. Mayeux uses to study teens, and what further questions might she explore. We'll take a survey similar to the kind used in actual research, and with Dr. Mayeux's guidance we'll design our own research on teenage popularity.

As always, I'll kick things off with a brand new song, and I've been having a lot of fun writing this one. It's called "I Wanna Be Popular!"

Please register with the library if you plan to come. Even if you've registered before - they want to know how many to expect. The program is open to kids in 3rd-7th grade and their adults. It's a rare opportunity to enjoy something with your tween-ager! We hope to see you there!

For more information about Dr. Mayeux you can check out her blog: Mayeux Research: Conversations about Peer Relations, Popularity, Developmental Psychology, and Aggression.

Second Podcast Episode Recorded

Many thanks to everyone who has downloaded BTDS Podcast Episode One - more than twelve hundred so far! And extra thanks to those who let me know they liked it! We are off to a great start!

I recorded Episode Two on Saturday with kid host, Evalyn, and guest scientist, Dr. Jennifer Byrd Craven, a developmental psychologist. I'm editing now and I will post the new episode here sometime this week! Please tell your friends!

Kid Host, Evalyn

Dr. Jennifer Byrd-Craven

Evalyn, Monty, Jennifer - photo by Eli

Podcast Episode 1: "My Molecular Eye"

Dr. Wouter Hoff shares his research into how bacteria sense light, with kid host Liza, featuring the song "My Molecular Eye."

Listen / Download the Podcast

Subscribe on iTunes

Feedback, please! 
Please post comments below or write to btds at montyharper.com - What worked for you? What didn't?
I will incorporate your feedback as I tweak the format over the next few episodes.

Also, please post your questions about the science!! They will be answered!

Get the song:

Podcast Launch - 11/28!
The first episode of the Born to Do Science Podcast has been recorded!

I will post it here on Monday, November 28, for free download.

I want to gather the biggest audience possible for Episode 1.

Please Help! 

These are my goals for November 28, updated every day:

- 100 supporters on Causes.com (need 46 more!) 

- 52 subscribers to the podcast email list (need 43 more!)

- 100 likes on the BTDS facebook page (need 59 more!)

OR

- 75 followers on Twitter (need 54 more!)

Please share with your friends:

Rewards For All!

If we reach any of the above goals by November 28, then along with the podcast I will also post the featured song, "My Molecular Eye," as a FREE download for one day! 

But wait there's more! If we double any one of these goals, OR if we reach all four goals - I will post the entire Songs From the Science Frontier CD as a free download for one day!!!

Please tell your friends! Thanks!!

Guest Scientist, Dr. Wouter Hoff, Host Monty Harper, Kid Host Liza

Discussing the "script."

Setting up microphones.

Muons, Electrons, and Quarks, Oh My!!

We had a great program Saturday! (I always say that, but it's true.)

My song was called "Quarks and Electrons." Everything we can touch or see in the universe is made of quarks and electrons. Yet that represents only 4% of what we know is out there!

For the first hour Dr. Flera Rizatdinova spoke with us about the Large Hadron Collider - the world's largest machine! - and the Atlas Detector. We also explored the Standard Model of particle physics and learned about some mysteries of the universe such as: What is dark matter? and How do particles get their mass? These are questions the LHC was designed to help answer.

Dr. Rizatdinova describes the superconducting magnets inside the ATLAS detector.

Then we took a break to look for muons! Muons are elementary particles similar to electrons, but heavier. They are formed when high energy protons (cosmic rays) smash into the Earth's upper atmosphere. A shower of particles are created. This is basically the same thing that happens inside the ATLAS detector! Muons happen to live a relatively long time, so they are the ones that make it all the way down to the Earth's surface. There are thousands of muons passing through your body every second. They are way to small for us to see or feel them.

Peering into the cloud chamber looking for muon trails!

So if they are too small to see, how were we looking for them? With a detector of our own - a cloud chamber. This is a tank filled with alcohol vapor. The vapor is cooled at the bottom of the tank by dry ice until it's almost ready to condense. The cooled vapor is so unstable that a muon passing through it triggers the condensation. What you see then is a cloud of alcohol droplets. Each cloud appears spontaneously, taking the shape of the path of the muon that triggered it - usually a straight line - then drifting to the bottom of the tank.

It takes a while for your eyes to adjust their focus to the right area of the tank, near the bottom.

We could see two or three events happening every second or so!

It isn't hard to make your own cloud chamber. You can find instructions on YouTube.

After our break, for those who were interested in learning more, Dr. Rizatdinova spoke about her particular role in the LHC and the research that's being done there. The ATLAS detector is like a giant camera that records each proton collision, tracking all the hundreds of particles that fly out. There are about six hundred million collisions per second to record, and the data fills 15 million gigs of hard drive space every year!

Dr. Rizatdinova's team designed a piece of electronics that converts electric signals from passing particles into light, which is piped out of the detector in fiber optic cables and then converted back to electric signals. Why is this necessary? There are 80 million channels of data coming out of each pixel module! If these were each carried out by wire, well you can imagine the mess - there isn't room for it!

Dr. Rizatdinova's team also wrote the software to interpret these signals, determining whether top quarks are present. Top quarks are heavy particles that might indicate the presence of a Higg's Boson.

The Higg's Boson is one of the reasons the LHC was built. It's the last of the fundamental particles in our Standard Model of the universe that hasn't actually been observed yet. If it really exists, as we think it does, the LHC will find it. The Higg's is important because it is thought to explain how particles get their particular masses.

Here's how the searching works. The LHC accelerates protons to very close to the speed of light and then smashes the together and records all the particles that come out. Even though protons are relatively lightweight, much heavier particles can pop out when you collide them at such high energies. This is due to the conversion of that energy into mass.

The heavy particles that are formed don't stay around very long at all - nearly instantly they decay into a shower of smaller particles, which also decay into showers and on down the line. The detector isn't fast enough to actually "see" a Higg's Boson before it decays, but it can see the top quarks and other particles that it decays into. If the right pattern is detected, we'll know the Higg's was there!

As I said, it was a great program! Everybody's head got stretched a bit, and many great questions were asked. As I reminded the audience several times, it's natural to have trouble picturing all this! Sub-atomic particles are unlike anything in our human-scale experience. Even particle physicists have trouble visualizing what's going on down there in the quantum world! I sure enjoy trying, though, and I think the kids yesterday did as well.

Our next program is about something almost as difficult to fathom: Teenager Psychology!! Please join us December 17!