Science Current Events #1

The article I read is about new viruses that were discovered in Antarctica. A virus is DNA surrounded by a capsule structure. They are parasites, so in order to survive, they must infect the hosts cells. Nearly 10,000 species were discovered, coming from 12 different families, some which were never discovered before. The Antarctic lake is more diverse than many aquatic environments around the world. Weather also has an affect on the viruses. In the winter, when the lake is completely frozen up, there were only small viruses. In the summer, the lake was inhabited by large viruses.
I am surprised. I didn't think Antarctic lakes had such a diverse microbial ecosystem, even if it's just viruses. That would probably explain why there was few animal life in those lakes. If there were a lot of animals, they would most likely be infected by the viruses. This is a good article because it expands my thinking of ecosystems. It makes me realize an ecosystem can simply be just microbial organisms such as viruses.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33676044/ns/technology_and_science-science/

Summer Reading Question

Q: What kind of person do you imagine the author to be (from My Side of the Mountain)?
A: I imagine the author to be a very experienced person. I think the author has been in this situation where he has had problems with his family and ran away too, so he decided to write about it. I imagine the author to have lots of knowledge on the wilderness and surviving on your own.

Bullying (Man's Inhumanity To Man)

Some people like to bully other people because they feel insecure about themselves. Or they might be having some problems so they take out their anger on other people. It's hard to put an end to it because not everyone thinks the same or makes the right choices. We can't control other peoples actions or emotions. In Lord of the Flies, everyone is scared of Jack because he is violent. Jack enjoys picking on people, especially Piggy. He likes to have authority and always be the "brave one" that everyone can depend on, even if he's not.

Welcome, Beta Scientists!

My favorite subject is literature because I enjoy reading fiction novels.
The best book I ever read was the Clique series.
My favorite food to buy in the cafeteria are chocolate chip cookies!
On the weekend, when all my chores are done, I like to relax and hang out with my friends.
If I won a free airline ticket to any place I wanted, I would go to New Zealand because it's very beautiful and scenic.
My favorite colors are blue and green.
If I had a pet, it would be a dog and I would name it Cliff.
This year, if I work hard enough, I hope to make new friends and get good grades.