Rainfalls

Author: Stephen Ornes
Date Published: November,30,2011
http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2011/11/dirty-clouds-change-rainfall/

Everyone has heard of the water cycle, with all the different steps, evaporation, condensation and precipitation.We know whatever goes up finds it way down.Some studies about "airborne particles" suggest they affect weather and clouds. Aerosols occur naturally and are made up of dirt and some other particles, however these also do come from humans. Studies have shown some connections between weathers and where they occur:
Dry place/lower: clouds hold in the water longer causing droughts
Moist/high areas: faster/more often precipitation
In Oklahoma some studies have been taking about 10 years concentrating on the connections to weather. A clear answer is not yet been discovered, but we have learned that rainfall depended on the amount of aerosols in the cloud and the type of cloud.  In low plains, if clouds would have too many aerosols they would condense but no precipitation would be happening, in higher plains, the water molecules evaporate, and due to the cold weather they freeze becoming heavier and easier to fall down to earth.

"Climate scientist Daniel Rosenfeld told Science News that an abundance of aerosols in clouds can double the chance of heavy rain. Rosenfeld, who studies the science of clouds and rain at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, also worked on the new study."
I found this topic interesting because it had some explanation about why clouds are how they are and how aerosols affect them. The writing wasn't too long so I thought it would be fun to read, and it wasn't something my classmates had already posted about. \

Brains Usage In Basketball!

By Stephen Ornes
January 18,2011
Science News For Kids
http://www.sciencenewsforkids.org/2012/01/the-brain-behind-the-game/

Basketball is a team game that nearly every one loves to play even thought they might not know how to. We know that basketball requires an ability to shoot the ball at the right angle with the right speed for it to go into the basket, but how exactly does the brain have anything in common with the predictions fans, coaches and pro players make about shots? Simply, during a critical moment a players brain thinks different than a fans or coaches, this allows them to predict what the next move of the opponent will be. Salvatore Aglioti, a neuroscientist at Sapienza University of Rome, studies brains and been trying to figure this out. He was suggesting mirror neurons take place in this process, these are special brain cells which work when a person does an action or is watching someone do an action.  Mirror neurons allow players to predict the opponents next move so the player has time to think of what to do. To test these prediction, Aglioti compared the way the cells work in fans and pro basketball players during a basketball match. He was observing what the spectators would predict and what the pro players would predict, if the ball would make it into the basket or not. “Compared to novices and scouts, elite athletes were better at predicting the outcome of a shot after watching the body motion of basketball players,” Aglioti told Science News.
Continued tests, also showed athletes predict better/ more accurate due tot he body motion that they observe.


I personally never knew that mirror neurons had anything with how predictions are made, and I never knew that scientists were trying to find out what it is that makes basketball pros so good, but I found this article very interesting.  I love basketball which is why I decided to write about it, and this way I even learned about something and now I will have something to talk about at practices :) However I think any scientist or anyone interested in sports would enjoy reading this article because it includes different examples and it talks about both sides, fans and players. After all, basketball is a game you just ahve to love,and it has many connections to science.