In the Science notes. there were some mentioning of ectopic pregnancy but they were very vague, thus I decided to do a bit of research on ectopic pregnancy.

An ectopic pregnancy is a pregnancy that occurs outside the womb (uterus).  It is a life-threatening condition to the mother. The baby (fetus) cannot survive. Ectopic pregnancies occur in 1 in every 40 to 1 in every 100 pregnancies. The most common site for an ectopic pregnancy is within one of the tubes through which the egg passes from the ovary to the uterus (fallopian tube). However, in rare cases, ectopic pregnancies can occur in the ovary, stomach area, or cervix.This is severely threatening to the life of not only the foetus but also the mother. The foetus would be unable to develop properly and would cause the rupturing of the fallopian tube in the long run. Fortunately there are some symptoms to find out if someone has ectopic pregnancy. These symptoms include abnormal vaginal bleeding, low back pain, mild cramping on one side of the pelvis and more. If detected the mother should be immediately sent to a hospital for treatment immediately.

Those were just some very basic facts that I have uncovered during the research and have indeed brought me some great information

The september holiday is almost over and I would like to reflect a bit on my progress of science throughout the year. Firstly, I feel that the 3 terms studying the different branches of science was both fun and memorable. The different practicals that were went through ranging from the foul smelling ammonia to the testing of lights. My results were of considerable standard throughout the year and I hope that I will do well in the biology mock test. I have spent quite a long time studying for it. During the holidays I also did a bit of research on ectopic pregnancy which i will cover in my next post

During the sabatical week i went to Science Eureka due to its intersting description. However since the first day I actually found quite boring with only A FEW interesting experiments. The topics taught were on the acidity of different liquids and chemical reactions. They explained it to us using many different chemical equations that were actually quite hard to understand. I feel that it should be for Sec 3s instead as even the instructor said that we would only learn this in Sec 3 or 4. However, on the second last day it was more interesting as the topics were related to light and other things that we are familiar with. The chemistry segment was much more complicated then we actually knew and I had trouble understanding what was actually happening during the lessons. In conclusion i would gladly recommend this to people in Sec 3 as they would have a better background knowledge on these topics and would thus be better able to appreciate it.

Recently I have read an article on forensic science and I remembered my module done on it last year. Below is a brief summary of the article and my feelings. I realised how much these enrichment courses can indeed be applied to our life despite us not knowing.
Scientists led by Todd Pataky at Shinshu University in Tokida, Japan, showed they could identify individuals with 99.6% accuracy by the way their bare feet strike the ground in a paper published in Britain's Journal of the Royal Society Interface.

Using 3-D image processing and a technique called image extraction to analyze the heel strike, roll-to-forefoot, and push-off by the toes among 104 volunteers, the scientists proved the theory was sound. Next they will examine if similar results are possible when the test subjects wear shoes.

Pataky said the technology would be useful in security checks, but only in situations where an individual wants to be recognized, since people can consciously modify their gait.

From this article you can tell that it is very easy to identify a person using this technology. Anyone commiting a crime can now be easily identified if he unknowingly leaves a footprint behind. This would allow the police to trace the cu;prit more easily. However, it also has its disadvantages. The culprit can easily modify his gait such that he would not be traces. It also has not been tested if it works with shoes on. If it does not this might not be very useful as most people would usually wear shoes.  This is still a major improvement in terms of forensic science and now the police have an additional method to track down people.  

This article is reminding us how now technology is so advanced that it can be used in forensics in order to reduce crime rate and help the police.

As I was browsing through the web for infomation for my science project on respiration, I so happen came across this website which contains many interesting facts bout science. These facts may range from being about dinosaurs to humans. One of the interesting facts is that humans can breathe 23000 times ,on average, a day. And in 1 minute of breathing a human can make approximately 0.6g of carbon dioxide. I feel that although these infomation might not be very useful in terms of exams but to know these random facts are also good as it builds our knowledge of science

"Why do we sneeze?" is a very common question but have you wondered why when you sneeze, your eyes will be closed? Well firstly it is because sneezing is a reflex action. Reflex actions are actions done by the body that we cannot control. Because sneezing is a reflex action thus closing our eyes is also another reflex action. Some people think that closing ones eye when sneezing is to prevent germs and bacteria from going into our eyes but it is not true. The actual reason for closing our eyes is because it is an act of our involuntary muscles or it may also be because our body does not want the water droplets released through sneezing to enter back into our body through our eyes. Some people can sneeze with their eyes open because they might remind themselves not to close their eyes when sneezing and with practice this can be acheived.
Resourses: http://www.letusfindout.com/why-cant-we-sneeze-with-our-eyes-open/

Today I came across an article in the newspaper talking about cells so I decided to do a little research on cells to find out more.
The organelles are basically the cell parts that carry out a certain duty. A very common one that most of us know of is the chloroplast. Its function would be to convert light energy into chemical potential energy through photosynthesis. However this cell part is usually only found in plants.

Another common organelle would be the vacuole. Its main purpose is for storage. In both plant and animal cells these vacuoles contains substances that the cell may need for performing other functions.

There is also the nucleus which the "brain" of the cell. This means that it is able to control all the processess in the cell. It also contains DNA which can be altered to change the properties of the cell.

There are also cell parts that are unfamiliar with me.Firstly, there is the mitochondria. The mitochondria is like our respiratory system and is in charge of cellular respiration. They are likethe"engines" of the cell and without them the cell would probably not be able to carry out other basic functions.

Next, there is the ribosomes with is in charge of protein synthesis. This is basically the process whereby the DNA encodes for the animo acids and proteins.

There is also the smooth and rough edoplasmic reticulum. Typically edoplasmic reticulum closer to the nucleus is rough and that further away is smooth. Smooth eroplasmic reticulum is a transition area where chemicals like proteins that the cells are manufactured are stored in the lumen for transportation elsewhere in the cell. Rough eroplasmic reticulums and its associated ribosomes are involved in protein synthesis.