Innehållsförteckning för June 2024 från Brainspace

tech TEXT-TO-IMAGE GENERATION One of the most exciting new AI tools is called text-to-image generation. AI-powered art generators, such as DALL-E, Midjourney and Image Creator, can craft original images in seconds, ranging from realistic photos, line drawings, paintings, watercolours and more. Creating your own AI artwork is as simple as writing a description of the image you want. Your description is called a prompt. You could say, “draw a cartoon-style underwater world with vibrant coral reefs, bioluminescent sea creatures, and neon-coloured fish.” If you need to make changes to the result, try adjusting the colours, style, perspective and lighting. HOW DOES IT WORK? Modern text-to-image generators use something called deep learning, in which computers learn through special processes known as algorithms. Some of these processes are also called neural networks.…

engineering Imagine living in a home that doesn't need air conditioning. The walls would be full of tunnels made from materials such as fungi and sawdust to control airflow and maintain a perfectly comfortable air temperature and humidity – never too hot, cold or dry. Swedish architect David Andréen, of Lund University, is attempting to do exactly that, while learning techniques from an unexpected engineer: the termite. Built in warm and humid climates, termite mounds are making some wonder if the innovative termite's engineering could apply to making climate-smart homes for humans. There are nearly 2,800 species of termites worldwide. Some species appear to be able to naturally influence airflow and humidity in the construction of their homes. The science behind it has human engineers curious. David Andréen and his…

engineering The European green crab (Carcinus maenas), pictured below, has been invading Canada's Maritime region since 1987. It has steadily destroyed the vital life forms, including eelgrass, that feed fish and produce oxygen. But scientific research is turning a negative into a positive. The shells of the crab contain a polymer called chitin. Chitin can be combined with sand and processed into a biodegradable plasticlike material used to replace regular plastics in packaging. The discovery of how to use chitin from crustacean shells is not new. However, this knowledge makes the invasive green crab useful. Since 2010, over 2 million green crabs have been harvested from the Kejimkujik Seaside Park in Nova Scotia. Not only has this effort controlled the population of green crabs, and helped produce biodegradable plastics but…

math Holidays. Birthdays. They sometimes bring about greeting cards that have a little cash slipped inside so that you can “buy yourself something.” All of a sudden, you have money. What do you want to do with it? Money always involves decision-making beyond the spending kind. There are decisions to make about saving and investing, as well as how to get money in the first place. Do you get an allowance? How much is it and what do you do to earn it? Can you recognize opportunities to make money? For instance, is a neighbour interested in hiring you to rake leaves? Shovel snow? Some people may want to pay to have their recycling bins and waste containers hosed down after the weekly collection. There may be something you need…

coding YOU WILL NEED ● Scissors ● Stretch cord for beading ● Coloured beads (4 or more different colours) ● Clear nail polish ● Tape ● Printed Morse code sheet (find at www.brainspacemagazine.com and search “Morse code”) 1. Select a bead colour to represent “dots” and a different bead colour to represent “dashes.” Choose a third colour or bead shape to act as a spacer between letters. The fourth colour bead is used to complete your bracelet cord but is not part of the Morse coding. 2. Cut a long piece of cord to use to create your bracelet. 3. Tape one end of the cord to your workspace to keep the cord from moving around and the beads from falling off. 4. Using the Morse code chart, string your beads…

biology Do you have strong likes or dislikes when it comes to the foods you eat? Maybe you're a picky eater. Or maybe you belong to the quarter of the population who are supertasters! For a supertaster, flavours in food taste much stronger than those experienced by other eaters. That's because supertasters have more taste buds than most. They often find foods that other people enjoy to be too bitter. FACT We have anywhere from 2,000 to 10,000 taste buds in our mouths and these numbers vary from person to person. While taste buds are the only part of the nervous system that can completely regenerate, they do become less sensitive as we age. That may be why foods you don't like as a child become more acceptable as you…

environment If you've been to Mexico or Belize, you may have noticed large mats of smelly and thick seaweed washed up on shore. It's called sargassum and it has become an invasive plant in some of the area's coastal regions. Sargassum is a type of brown macroalgae or seaweed that typically floats in large mats on the ocean's surface. Usually found in the Sargasso Sea, sargassum has been spreading in other regions due to fertilizer pollution and the warming ocean. It plays an important ecological role providing habitat and food for fish, turtles, and crustaceans. A square kilometre of sargassum can store more than 1,000 metric tons of carbon dioxide, which is a huge help to our atmosphere. But too much of a good thing can have negative impacts on…

science Do you know how many batteries your family uses each year? Probably not. But when you start thinking about battery-operated devices in our lives, the list adds up pretty quickly: computers, smart phones, remote controls, flashlights, smoke detectors, video game controllers, laptops, battery-operated tools and toys… Maybe your family has an electronic car, e-bike or cordless lawn mower. We will use even more battery-operated devices (particularly e-vehicles) in the near future as more countries move towards a carbon-neutral economy. That transition will greatly reduce the amount of greenhouse gases coming from our use of non-renewable fossil fuels such as gasoline, natural gas, coal, and oil. But, there's a problem. Battery production requires special minerals like cobalt, nickel, manganese and lithium. So while we'll need more and more of these…

chemistry A MONOMER is a type of molecule that – when conditions are just right – interacts with other monomers to become a variety of unique substances. Monomers are named after the Greek words mono (one), and meros (parts or units) meaning “one unit.” The substances they build are called polymers, meaning “many units,” as polys comes from the Greek for “many.” POLYMERS CAN BE VITAL. They are a big part of everyday life – in fact, start with your own body. As just one example, your muscle protein is a polymer made of many monomers called amino acids. So is the hemoglobin that transports the oxygen within your blood. Sometimes, different types of monomers combine to make a polymer, such as the sugar lactose in the milk you drink,…

botany It's important to understand the fascinating world of plants, and to have an appreciation for nature and biodiversity. Plants play a vital role in our ecosystem and they support life on Earth. They provide food, oxygen, medicines, and materials for everyday life. Understanding plant-based nutrition encourages healthy eating habits and environmental stewardship. To learn more, conduct these experiments to understand how plants eat, grow, and interact with their environment. Leaf Chromatography: Plants produce chlorophyll to make food. Materials • 3-4 green leaves • Small jar with a lid • Rubbing alcohol • Shallow dish • Coffee filter • Hot water Use Zappar to watch this video for a step-by-step demo of the experiment. 1. Rip up the leaves and place them in the jar. Pour enough rubbing alcohol into…

media The human brain functions by sending waves of information back and forth between various parts of the body. This information is carried by chemical messengers known as neurotransmitters. There are approximately 20 neurotransmitters in the human brain. Different neurotransmitters do different things: some send information that enables us to move our bodies, while others release signals whenever we experience feelings such as pleasure or pain. For example, when you eat ice cream and you enjoy the taste, neurotransmitters carry this information to your brain to signal what a great time your mouth is having! The same thing happens when you get a notification or like on social media, thanks to a neurotransmitter called dopamine. This chemical messenger sends signals to our brain's reward centre whenever we have a positive…

language A HYENA'S SMELL The sound of a hyena's chuckle and cackle is ominous to prey across the plains of Africa. But as powerful as that laughter is, it's the smelly microbes in its scent glands that are a hyena's most effective form of communication. The stink supports a hyena's well-being and behaviour. The microbes are secreted through the skin as a musky, sour-smelling paste that smears onto the tall grasses a hyena wanders through. This chemical communication leaves a trail of information for the up to 80 other hyenas in their group. It helps them identify their rank, age and health status. A PARROT'S NAME Our parents name us when we're born. We name our pets and they respond when we call them. But what about an animal's biological…

It starts with Alleles Alleles are a few different versions of genes. For instance there's an allele responsible for blue eyes, one for green and another for brown. What's fun is that alleles might play a part in determining our quirky abilities too! Here are a few examples: taste buds Did you know that the ability to taste bitter phenylthiocarbamide (PTC) present in foods like cabbage and pepper is a dominant genetic trait? Sensitivity to PTC is a common genetic test used to trace family lineages and migration patterns. You can also test with cilantro or broccoli. If you taste a bitterness or soapy flavour, you are part of the 70% who have an adverse reaction. Odds are high that a parent reacts the same way you do. GENETICS OR…

zoology Use Zappar to watch this video DID YOU KNOW that a hummingbird can fly upside down? In fact, it can fly in any direction. Birds typically get liftoff and speed when their wings flap down, but hummingbirds get strength in speed and liftoff with both their upward and downward wing flaps. The tiny feet of hummingbirds are almost useless. If hummers want to travel two inches, they must fly or shuffle. Hopping isn't possible. Hummingbirds lift from perches without pushing off; they rise entirely on their own power, flapping their wings at almost full speed before lifting off. Hummingbirds remain upright when hovering and flap their wings in a figure-8 pattern. When swung back, their wings briefly lie flat before they are drawn forward again. It is the same…

physics At first, the ground feels solid beneath your feet, but you soon become aware of a sinking sensation. You try to take a step, but you are unable to raise your foot out of the muck. The more you try to wriggle free, the farther down you sink. First your feet, then your legs, and soon you are up to your chest in the liquid earth. As the sludge rises to your chin, you wonder if this will be the end! For years, movie directors have used the perils of quicksand to put our heroines and heroes into danger. Indiana Jones, The Princess Bride and even the good guys of Star Wars have had to find ways to escape its clutches before being sucked down to their doom. Quicksand…

chemistry Use Zappar to watch this video for a step-by-step demo of the experiment. WHY DOES THIS HAPPEN? The chemical reaction occurs between the borax, the cornstarch and the chemicals in the glue resulting in a polymer. The strong bonds formed by the molecules of each of these substances allow the mixture to form a rubber-like material! Materials • 2 tbsp hot boiled water • ½ tsp borax powder • 1 tbsp white or clear liquid glue • 1 ½ to 2 tbsp cornstarch • Food colouring (optional) • Two small glass bowls • 2 small spoons, for stirring • Rubber gloves 1. Label one bowl “borax” and the other “glue.” 2. In the “borax” bowl, add 2 tbsp hot water, followed by ½ tsp of borax powder. Stir…

culture GREECE: Statues Players 4+ Instructions: You will need to choose a player to be “It.” The “It” player must stand with their eyes covered and count to the number 10 or higher. The “It” player can count to whatever number they wish, but only they know when they will stop counting, surprising the other players. While the “It” player is counting, the rest of the players must scatter around until the “It” player yells “Agalmata!” (Greek for “statue”) or the word “statue!” When this is yelled by the “It” player, the other players must freeze in positions resembling statues and try to remain still when the “It” player tries to make them laugh or move. If they move, they're tagged by the “It” player and out of the game.…

craft YOU'LL NEED ● Beeswax (pellets) ● 100% cotton fabric (size can vary) ● Scissors ● Medium-sized paintbrush ● Parchment paper ● Baking sheet ● Ruler 1. Choose what size beeswax food wraps you'd like to make. We recommend: • Small (15 cm x 20 cm): Perfect for single pieces of fruit or other small snacks. • Medium (25 cm x 30 cm): Will cover a bowl or a block of cheese. • Large (40 cm x 40 cm): Will cover a larger bowl or a sandwich. 2. Cut your fabric to size. Draw the lines using a ruler to keep things straight. 3. Preheat the oven to 200°F (93°C). 4. Line your baking sheet with parchment paper and then place your fabric on top. If your fabric only has…

biology As humans evolved, our sense of taste helped us choose which foods to consume and which ones to avoid. Taste begins as soon as food breaks down in your mouth. As you chew, enzymes in saliva reduce food to identifiable molecules. The job of analyzing those molecules falls to the taste buds, flower budlike receptors found within papillae (puhpil-ee), those tiny bumps found on the tongue and throughout the mouth. Receptors in your mouth identify five specific tastes: savoury, sour, sweet, bitter, and salty. TASTE BUDS are made up of about 10 to 15 cells grouped together in bunches similar to orange segments. Tiny finger-like hairs stick out from the cells, reaching out to direct molecules into taste pores where they are analyzed. Once a molecule has been identified,…

zoology Why do fish school? To stay alive! According to scientists, schooling developed as a way to avoid predators. But… but… wouldn't a predator just have to open its big mouth and swim straight into a school of fish for an easy bellyful? No. It turns out that it's easier for predators to pick out and zero in on fish swimming alone. The coordinated and sudden movements of big schools of fish seem to confuse predators. To save energy Recent research showed that fish actually use less energy while swimming in schools. Scientists put fish in a water tank shaped like a racetrack and measured their oxygen use while swimming. They found that fish swimming in small schools used half as much oxygen as fish swimming alone, and they also…

zoology What's the most colourful bird you can think of? Did you think of a parrot, or maybe a toucan? Even though we do have some very colourful birds in Canada (like the Baltimore oriole or the scarlet tanager), most people think tropical birds have the most vibrant colours. But up to now, that's been a subjective impression. It turns out that birds that live closer to the equator really are more colourful than their more northerly and southerly cousins – and not just to our eyes, but also to each other. Using museum specimens, researchers in England took digital photos of over 4,500 songbird species from around the world. Using a special computer program, they extracted information from the thousands of pixels in each photo, measuring the shade, intensity…