Charles Darwin's On the Origin of Species Celebrates 150 Years

On the Origin of Species, published on 24 November 1859, is a seminal scientific work, considered to be the foundation of evolutionary biology. Darwin's book introduced the theory that populations evolve over the course of generations through a process of natural selection. It presented a body of evidence that the diversity of life arose by common descent through a branching pattern of evolution. Darwin included evidence that he had gathered on the Beagle expedition in the 1830s and his subsequent findings from research, correspondence, and experimentation.

Though, Darwin's book did not address directly the question of human evolution, saying only that "Light will be thrown on the origin of man and his history", the possibility of linking humans with earlier apes by descent became clear after 1859 with the publication of On the Origin of Species which argued for the idea of the evolution of new species from earlier ones.

At the time, ideas about the transmutation of species were controversial as they conflicted with scientific mainstream and religious beliefs that species were unchanging parts of a designed hierarchy and that humans were unique, unrelated to animals. As a result, Darwin's evolution theories were met with ridicule by the scientific community and hostility by the Church before moving to the front line of science.

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Science Fair Project Information
Title: The kangaroo rat and its adaptations for survival in a desert habitat
Subject: Zoology
Grade level: Primary School / Kindergarten - Grades K-3
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Descriptive
Cost: Low
Awards: 1st place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2005)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2005
Description: Main topics: kangaroo rat's adaptation to desert habitat; why its population status is threatened; what humans can do to protect it; quiz; pictures.

Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2005/blac5b0/public_html/

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Marie Curie (1867 – 1934) was Was Born

Marie Skłodowska Curie was a physicist and chemist of Polish upbringing and, subsequently, French citizenship. She was a pioneer in the field of radioactivity, the first person honored with two Nobel Prizes, receiving one in physics and later, one in chemistry. She was the first woman to serve as professor at the University of Paris.

Her achievements include the creation of a theory of radioactivity (a term she coined), techniques for isolating radioactive isotopes, and the discovery of two new elements, polonium and radium. Under her direction, the world's first studies were conducted into the treatment of neoplasms (cancers), using radioactive isotopes.

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Science Fair Project Information
Title: Nuclear Energy
Subject: Physics
Grade level: High School Grades 10-12
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Descriptive
Cost: Low
Awards: 1st place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2003)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2003
Description: Main topics: nuclear history, nuclear energy (fission, fusion), nuclear reactors, nuclear accidents (Chernobyl), nuclear waste storage (Yucca Mountains), food irradiation.
Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2003/chiuw3w/public_html/index2.html

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The Dog Laika Is Launched Into Space - November 3, 1957

The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 2, which carried the dog Laika, the first living creature to be shot into space and orbit the Earth. Sputnik 2 was not designed to be retrievable, and Laika died a few hours after launch, presumably from stress and overheating, probably due to a malfunction in the thermal control system. However, the experiment proved that a living passenger could survive being launched into orbit and endure weightlessness. It paved the way for human spaceflight and provided scientists with some of the first data on how living organisms react to spaceflight environments. On April 11, 2008, Russian officials unveiled a monument to Laika. A small monument in her honor was built near the military research facility in Moscow which prepared Laika's flight to space. It features a dog standing on top of a rocket.

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Science Fair Project Information
Title: Which planet in our solar system (other than the Earth) has the safest environment for humans to live on?
Subject: Astronomy / Space Exploration
Grade level: Elementary School Grades 4-6
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Descriptive
Cost: Low
Awards: 1st place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2008)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2008
Description: This project explores the environmental, weather, temperature and atmosphere conditions on the planets Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus and Neptune and their suitability for sustaining life.
Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2008/foge8m2/

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Pelé (1940 - ) Was Born

Edison Arantes do Nascimento is a Brazilian football (soccer) player, best known as Pelé by which he has become a sporting legend. He was given the title "Athlete of the Century" by the International Olympic Committee. In 1999 Time Magazine named Pelé one of the 100 Most Important People of the 20th Century.

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Science Fair Project Information
Title: Test if air pressure will affect the dynamics of a soccer ball bouncing.
Subject: Sports engineering
Grade level: Elementary School Grades 4-6
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Low
Affiliation: Science Buddies
Description: Different soccer (football) ball pressures will be measured with an air pressure gauge. Then the bounciness of the ball will be tested by using a video camera with a tripod and a metric plastic tape measure.
Link: http://www.sciencebuddies.org/science-fair-projects/project_ideas/Sports_p007.shtml

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Thomas Alva Edison, the Inventor of the Light Bulb, Died

Thomas Alva Edison (1847 – 1931) was an American famous inventor, best known for the invention of the light bulb, phonograph, motion picture camera, power station and other 1093 patents and inventions.

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Science Fair Project Information
Title: Does an incandescent bulb produce more heat than a fluorescent bulb?
Subject: Electricity
Grade level: Middle School Grades 7-9
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: Low
Awards: 2nd place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2005)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2005
Description: Incandescent and fluorescent bulbs were lit in an insulated box for same periods of time; temperature measured.
Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2005/patt5e0/public_html/

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2009 Nobel Prize Winners in Chemistry are Announced

The winners are Americans Venkatraman Ramakrishnan and Thomas Steitz and Israeli Ada Yonath for studies of the structure and function of the ribosome (composed of RNA) that translates the DNA code into life.

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Modifying Plant Characteristics Using RNA Interference
Subject: Biology / Biotechnology
Grade level: Middle School - Grades 7-9
Academic Level: Advanced
Project Type: Experimental
Cost: High
Awards: 1st place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2008)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2008
Description: The objective of this project is to demonstrate how RNAi modifies the expression of genes which affect pathogen growth during plant infection.
Link: http://www.odec.ca/projects/2008/adam8s2/

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2009 Nobel Prize Winners in Physics are Announced

Charles K. Kao was awarded for his contribution involving the transmission of light in fiber optics; Willard S. Boyle and George E. Smith were awarded for inventing the CCD - the Charge-Coupled Device, an electronic light sensor used in digital cameras.

Science Fair Project Information
Title: Investigate the CCD: Heart of the Digital Camera and other Optical Devices
Subject: Electronics
Grade level: Middle School - Grades 7-9
Academic Level: Ordinary
Project Type: Descriptive
Cost: Low
Awards: 2nd place, Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (2006)
Affiliation: Canada Wide Virtual Science Fair (VSF)
Year: 2006
Description: Main topics: digital photography basics, CCD basics, timeline of digital photography, movie and digital photography glossary.
Link: http://www.virtualsciencefair.org/2006/krol6s2/47AD999D-2AC3-4F47-A948-436A1318840A.html

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