The first comet landing

By Anya Stacey

On the 12^th of November the first space probe ever landed on a comet, this comet was called Rosetta.

Comets are huge lumps of rock that orbit planets such as earth.  Scientists wanted to explore the comets in more detail than we already have.

This programme has been going on for a very long time and finally a space probe landed. As the space probe landed, the probe projected its landing gears into the nucleus of the comet to keep it attached, however, various reports have said that the probe is already starting to detach.

So, big space programming companies like NASA are getting involved in this operation.

Scientists are excited to find new discoveries such as the elements that the comet contains, and what dangers it could bring to Earth as life goes on.

The space probe will project and take various pictures of the comets surface and maybe even look for bacterial life’s existence, however scientists highly doubt that.

Currently scientists believe that comets are spare or stranded lumps of rock that were left over after the Big Bang was caused, but looking into even more detail can always make new discoveries.

Let’s hope for exciting new discoveries after this overwhelming news!

 

 

Are we alone?

By Olivia Haigh

Since the beginning of time, we have been told about extraterrestrial life such as life on Mars, yet still we haven’t had proof, until now. For centuries, we humans have inhabited the Earth and made it the place we call home. Now, evidence of possible life on Mars has created an even bigger debate for scientists. The real question is, are we alone?

There is a possibility that there are microbes living on Mars. “There is also a possibility that life began on Mars,” stated Professor Brian Cox at a recent STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) day in Lincoln.

Wherever there is water, there are microbes, living forms that could possibly evolve, giving us a new form of life. Probes will be sent to Mars on a new mission to look for underground water. “There is a chance that there is water under the surface of Mars and wherever there is water, like on earth, there will most probably be some sort of life forms,” added Professor Cox.

NASA’s Mars Exploration Rovers, Spirits and Opportunity, are exploring Mars. It began in 2003 and they are there in order to look at the surface and geology. Evidence of a thigh bone was found, meaning this could lead to proof that life began on Mars and possible evidence of dinosaurs.

But why aliens? Why not another form of human being? Think about the word alien, the dictionary definition is ‘belonging to a foreign country’. What’s the first thing you think of when you say alien? We all seem to picture a short green blob with one eye, but what could they really look like? What if we are living amongst aliens, but we don’t notice because we all look exactly the same? Turn to the person next to you; do you know for sure that they’re from Earth? Are we really alone?

 

Schoolboy inventor is given funding for printer idea

By Aydah Ashraf

13-year old Shubham Banerjee has been promised a few hundred thousand dollars to develop his idea by tech company Intel. A Braille printer will provide blind people with the chance to print out and read pages from the Internet as well as other text documents.

 

It has been difficult to develop electronic Braille printers in the past due to their cost but he thinks he has got it. The teenager originally created a prototype of a Braille printer out of Lego when he was just 12.

He was invited to show this early version of the printer at the White House in Washington DC.

The schoolboy from California has secured funding to bring his idea for a low-cost Braille printer to market. This new printer will mean blind people will not need to order Braille read books. Braille is a system of bumps to read.

Shubham originally came up with the idea for a science fair. He then set up his company Braigo Labs with funding from his parents. He is now working with the tech company on a new version using a budget-priced chip and 3D-printed parts. Let’s wish him full success on this.

Rosetta: The Most Daring Landing Ever Attempted

10 years ago, the Rosetta deep space explorer was sent off to begin its long journey into deep space. This journey was long, and along the voyage to the comet it had to get not one, but three gravity assists from earth and one from mars (Using the gravity of the planets to get to the right direction and increase its speed). After that, the comet went into hibernation for a couple of years, before finally embarking on the comet earlier this year. However, (If everything goes to plan that is) today will prove the be a historic event in the history of astrophysics and space travel, as this is both the first time that an orbital spacecraft has ever orbited a comet, and the first time that a lander has attempted to land on one. This could prove to be a historic day for earth and physics, as if the landing is successful, scientist will be able to know a large amount of information about how comets work, and whether they were the reason as to why our planet has an atmosphere and oceans. In fact, even before they have landed scientists have begun to find new and unexplained things, such as a strange noise coming out of the comet, which they believe to be a stream of charged particles coming out of the comet, however the exact reason is not yet fully known (http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sciencetech/article-2830476/Listen-Rosetta-s-comet-singing-Scientists-baffled-mysterious-sounds-recorded-near-67P-ahead-Philae-landing.html, visit that link to hear the singing comet).

Today will be a day that will truly go down in history, and the knowledge gained from the comet should prove revolutionary. Remember to visit the live stream at: http://new.livestream.com/esa/cometlanding

The landing should happen around 3:30 PM GMT, and we should get the first images at around 5:30, as there is a several hour delay from the spacecraft to earth. Make sure to stay tuned!

Damian Bemben
Columnist

A Helping flipper from the Robo-Penguin researcher

By Emily Bonner

On 2^nd November, findings from a report on the behaviour of Emperor penguins in the Antarctic were published thanks to the help of a robotic rover dressed as a penguin chick. The researchers, from the French National Centre for Scientific Research, told BBC news they were trying to find "a less invasive and stressful way to collect data on these species", which are known to be extremely timid.

Dr Yvon Le Maho, who led the study, found that when approached by humans, the penguins’ heart rates would increase considerably, so came up with the idea of using a rover to study them in their normal state. Early models looked a little like remote controlled cars and Dr Yvon explained to BBC news that "Emperors huddle together, because they have no [other] territorial defence… So when they see the rover approaching, they get very stressed.”

Five models later, and the researchers had disguised the rover as a fluffy chick. The penguins seemed much more comfortable around it, even huddling with it and trying to communicate with it.

The scientists wanted to avoid the usual approach of tagging flippers, because they felt it was “unethical” and altered the penguins’ health. They worked with nature filmmakers to come up with a new approach of using under-the-skin transponders, which work like microchips. The rover can recognise the transponders within 60cm of a penguin, providing useful data for scientists.

"Scientists do not generally speak about disturbance they cause," Dr Le Maho told BBC News. “But I have always been very concerned with that - it relates to both science and ethics."

Why the Apple Watch marks the beginning of a customizable revolution

There’s no doubt that people love standing out. Whether it’s using fashion sense, personality or technology, people want to be different.

I’m by no means an apple fan, I don’t own any apple products, but I can’t deny the huge influence that apple has on the technology market. The IPhone revolutionised smart phones, the Macintosh having a giant impact on the customer market, turning people that use computers from people who invested a huge amount of time to get it working, with limited options for the average consumer, to putting computers in the “mainstream” so to say.

I’m not excited by the watch itself, I’m not rich enough to buy it, and the Apple Watch “Edition” which includes a 18 carat gold casing is just a better way of putting a giant  “I’m Rich, Mug Me” target on you then wearing a giant gold medallion saying exactly that. What I am excited for however is the prospects that it brings to the table.

Sure, there’s been smart watches before, Samsung released the galaxy gear earlier this year to a very modest (to say the least) reception. The problem with it was that it looked, well it looked like something a cut and paste business man wears to his meeting, to match with his Bluetooth headset.

 

 

Apple have been really clever in how customizable the watch is. Similar to IPhone cases, you can customize the watch straps in a wide variety of apple owned mechanisms, through classic leather straps to magnetic straps, similar to IPad cases, and the clever thing that they have done is allowed it to be removable, meaning that if you get bored with your normal leather brown strap, you can just replace it with a better looking metallic one, or however you like. You can even customize the clock face.

And if there is anything people want, it’s to look unique. You don’t want to be another face in the crowd, you want to have something that says you. This is why I think that the Apple Watch is marking the start of a great revolution in personalised electronic equipment. Sure there have been others before, but usually personalisation is kept to a minimum, sure you can change the layout of your computer, but it’s still the same, sure you can have a new case for a phone, but you’ll only show it off to your friends once or twice and then they’ll forget about it, and unless you’re extremely unsociable, they won’t see it a lot.

The Apple Watch is the start of a personalised revolution in the both physical and online media. Whether it’s the best Smart Watch it’s left to see, but I’m expecting a lot more customizability in future brand new electronics, and who knows? Maybe soon enough we’ll have complete customizability, set any layout, icon; start up sound, even shape that you want, all it needs is an easy way to do it.

If you’re listening google, I’m expecting a share of the profits. 

Damian Bemben
Columnist

Cousin of Higgs Boson observed in Superconductors

By Damian Bemben

A relative of the Higgs Boson, one that inspired the long hunt for the Higgs Boson in the first place, has been observed properly for the first time.

The Higgs Boson itself was first proposed to exist in the 1960s, and only appeared in the Large Hadron Collider in Geneva in 2012, 50 years later. Peter Higgs and François Englert theorised the existence of the particle, and received the Nobel Physics prize for their hard work and dedication in 2013.

However their ideas were actually inspired by how photons (Particles of Light) behave in superconductors. Metals, when dropped to an extremely low temperature (around -234 Degrees Celsius), allow electrons to move around them with little to no resistance. This produces a lot of extremely cool effects, for example the Meissner effect, which allows a magnet to levitate above a superconducting surface.

However, when the metal reaches around zero degrees kelvin (Absolute Zero, which is the lowest temperature that can possibly be reached) , vibrations are made in the superconducting metal, which in turn slow down photons, making light act as if it has a mass.

This effect is linked very closely to the Higgs Boson, and Ryo Shimano at the University of Tokio who led the team making the new discovery has said that they are the Mathematical equivalent of Higgs particles.

In order to find this new effect, Shimano and his team shook the superconductor with a beam of light, which is a similar method to how particle physicists created the actual Higgs Boson in the Hadron Collider in the first place.

This could prove to be an amazing discovery in physics as by comparing the similarities between the Hadron Collider and the absolute zero superconductor could prove to be very useful in studying the actual Higgs Boson. This is because "One can really do the experiments in a table-top manner, which would definitely reveal new physics and hopefully provide some useful feedbacks to particle physics." Shimano has said.

Unimaginable Technology Restores Senses

A new bionic hand has been created which allows people to grip and manipulate objects. The successful advancement was developed by colleagues at the Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna in Italy and the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne in Switzerland.

Photo: Dennis Aabo Sørensen
completing the sensory tests 

The medical breakthrough was made after an amputee named Dennis Aabo Sørensen had his sense restored while using the invention. The subject traumatically lost his left hand in a fireworks accident during a family holiday around 10 years ago. Last year, the 36 year old Danish man got the opportunity to test out the new prosthetic hand that connected to his nervous system and allowed him to grip and manipulate objects. Even more remarkably, Science Translation Medicine stated that he could physically feel what he was touching for the first time since his accident.

The new innovative design uses an extremely complex set up in order for the sense of touch to be achieved. The involvement of sensors in the artificial tendons that control the fingers of the bionic hand track tension as the hand moves. In turn, the sensors send the information to a nearby computer which translates them into signals which a person’s nervous system can understand. Once thousands of these translated signals reach electrodes implanted in nerves in the subject’s upper arm, a fundamental sense of touch is achieved.

Despite the astounding results of this remarkable discovery, it goes without mentioning the undoubtedly distinctive statement that technology is constantly changing. As predicted in the futuristic film ‘Back To The Future’ which was released almost 30 years ago in 1985, the 21st Century has seen an enormous progression in technology (apart from the optimistic involvement of flying cars in Marty’s trip to 2015...). Considering how much technology such as our phones and televisions have changed within barely a few years, imagine how much things will have changed this time in ten years. The everyday annoyance of not reaching 3G signal on our phones in certain areas could very well be an unexperienced nightmare in years to come with signal found absolutely everywhere following improved technology.

This synoptically links onto the topic of medical technological advances. Aabo Sørensen stated “I didn’t realise it was possible”. His realisation supports that it would have once been the case that the bionic arm would have been considered as a bizarre and unimaginable design. Now that it has now been proven successful, endless possibilities of creating even more advanced designs in the future are increasingly more optimistic.

The process of technological advancement however doesn't complete a quick and easy breakthrough. It took decades for development to be configured and the technology is still far from available on the global market. The complexity of the product generates many risks which may cause more harm than good for the users on a long term basis.

The announcement of this phenomenal advancement enlightens a wider perspective into how we take things for granted. We are constantly and subconsciously using our senses to complete day-to-day tasks and it is gratifying to imagine how many benefits the bionic hand will provide for an extensive amount of people internationally, especially with the additional prospects of making even more advancements in the future.

Jade Chadburn,

year 13

Angry Birds Spies

Do you have a mild addiction to this popular game? Don’t worry, you’re not the only one! 
The popular game has been downloaded 1.7 billion times. But did you know that US and British spy agencies can routinely gain access to personal data from Angry Birds and other mobile applications?  The mobile app enables spies to access your location, check websites you have visited, access your contacts and your gaming and social networking applications. The agencies deny all however documents leaked by Edward Snowden, an American computer specialist and former CIA employee, prove that this information is true.

Later the NSA stated that the rumours were true but they were not interested in data beyond “valid foreign intelligence targets”. However in some cases, the intelligence agencies appear to have been hacking into the companies – for instance their internal data links – without knowledge or permission.

In the latest case concerning the Angry Birds and Squeaky Dolphin apps it appears that the NSA and GCHQ are effectively taking details off customer data that the companys' designing softwares – whether Rovio or Google – collect themselves and without the companies knowing.

The report, published by the New York Times, ProPublica and The Guardian says that the NSA and Britain’s GCHQ have worked together since 2007 to develop ways to gain access to information from applications for mobile phones and tablets.

One 2008 document from the British intelligence agency is quoted as saying that the joint spying programme “effectively means that anyone using Google Maps on a smartphone is working in support of a GCHQ system”.

Other applications mentioned by the documents include the photo-sharing site Flickr, movie-based social network Flixster and applications that connect to Facebook.

So the next time you use an application, think about all the data you are giving away.


Virginia Mitreva
year 8

A Sweet New Gadget Prints Edible 3D Treats!

Every January, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) is held in Las Vegas to show off new electrical appliances. This year, the show saw one of the sweetest ideas yet - literally! American firm 3D Systems revealed their delicious 3D printers that are able to print edible 3-dimensional goods, including sweets and chocolates that would otherwise be virtually impossible to make.

“Food is an incredible platform for creativity, experimentation and celebration and we are thrilled to place these powerful 3D printers in bakers and chef’s kitchens,” Liz von Hasseln, Creative Director of Food Products at 3D Systems told the Independent, adding “We invite leading pastry chefs, restaurateurs and event planners to join us in bringing 3D printing into the kitchen.”

 

The printer will be available to buy later in the year and will come in two models; the   ChefJet, and the ChefJet pro, so that both cutting-edge confectioners and ambitious amateurs can use and appreciate this amazing appliance in their restaurants and bakeries. The manufacturers will also be releasing a smartphone app for it, called The Digital Cookbook, with instructions on how to make a fair few treats and goodies for those who’d rather play it a little safer and stick to a recipe than make a mess of their kitchen.

Although 3D printing isn’t an entirely new concept, the ChefJet is the only product of its kind to be able to commercially produce food, taking kitchen gadgets to a whole new level. Therefore, as you can probably imagine, it doesn’t come cheap. The basic model costs around £3000, with the advanced version costing double that.

So, how does it work? Well, after you’ve inputted a file of your chosen design from your PC or smartphone, the printer spreads very thin layers of chocolate or sugar on top of each other to make complex and futuristic-looking sweets. Also, by infusing the sugar with anything that takes your fancy, like vanilla or cherry for example, there is no end to the different treats that are now, thanks to the ChefJet, possible for humans to create!

Willy Wonka, eat your heart out!

 

By Emily Bonner,

year 8

 

What Impacts do ICT Games have on our Society?

Since computer games have been developed over the years it has certainly affected our society. There are many advantages and disadvantages to ICT games which I am going to discuss in this article.

Positive

There are many positive aspects of ICT games: 

Hand to Eye Coordination

Many games now involve hand to eye coordination ranging from virtual tennis to training real pilots to fly a plane but not risking lives.  Hand –eye coordination is a useful key in life and by playing games, some reports say that surgeons that play ICT games regally have become more skilled in their practice. Also sports players can simulate a real game through ICT games. An example of this is the Wii baseball game in which uses actual motion of the remote to hit the ball. Games are now also being used to train pilots and drivers in a simulation game as though it is real which reduces the risk of endangering the life of the learner or instructor.

Brain Training

There are now a range of games which include brain training but in a fun game format, making it much more fun than normal classroom learning. The brain training ranges from strategy, maths, logic, spellings and many more, improving the brain all round.  Because games have scores and a continuous tracking of your progress it can get the player to want to improve their score so improving their overall learning. Brain training does not just help children at school but also adults in general life.

Decision Making and Thinking Skills

Games such as war games are very helpful for thinking skills as you cannot just move the character, but it takes thinking time and making quick decisions to decide where to go next. This can link into real life as often you have to make quick hard decisions. Also games such as football games in which you have to be a manager require good thinking skills as it takes serious planning and thinking to make sure that you win matches, all the team is injury free, you have the right players on the pitch and so on. Again, these skills can come into real life as you may have to have team management at school or work.

Negative

Not only are there positive points for ICT games, but there are also lots of negative points that have bad impacts on society:

Addiction

Some games can become very addictive because the player begins to get obsessed with the game and wants to improve their score constantly. This could be a good point in small doses however it can become something that people do constantly.  This could lead to people missing important things such as school, work and meetings as they are playing ICT games.  Also it can make people tired as they have lost vital sleep through playing on them.

Social Isolation

Following from gamers playing ICT games for too long, this can lead to social isolation as if gamers play for hours and hours without communication with others humans they can become isolated from the outside world. Gamers could suffer from bad communication skills and social skills this could be bad on their life and people may not want to talk to the gamer as they can’t hold a very good conversation. However, game makers say that there are online friends but this cannot overrun real life humans as they can begin to believe that their life is actually in the virtual life. Also online friends could not be who they say they are, leading to trust issues.

Cost

As there is such a high demand in ICT games the costs are constantly going up and not everyone can afford to purchase the ‘latest’ games. There are new releases all of the time and gamers could like all of the new games and game consoles to keep up with other people so they don’t get bullied as they don’t have the latest edition. It can put great pressure on the parents to buy all of the games to keep their child happy.

ICT games have many different effects on society, both good and bad, but overall ICT games have positive impacts on society as long as they are not played excessively.  There is a great potential for ICT games to have even more positive in the future and technology is improving all of the time such as the Xbox having a remote control free game which makes the games even more realistic.

Nesta Baxter,

year 9

Not One, But Two New iPhones!

After months of rumours and seemingly endless speculation Apple have finally revealed what we have been anticipating to see, the iPhone 5S and the iPhone 5C.

The iPhone 5C is considered to be a ‘cheaper’, more affordable option compared to the previous iPhone’s. Having a body coated in colourful plastic Apple reassuringly state, ‘Colour. Yet another reason to love an iPhone’. Coming in five anything-but-shy colours, suitably labelling it as the most colourful iPhone yet. Demanding you to make a statement with their new iPhone 5C coming in colours such as, blue, green, pink, yellow and white. The ‘cheaper’ iPhone 5C ironically comes with a lavishly steep price tag being £469, still being twice as expensive as the Google Nexus 4- an Android smartphone with comparable features.

The iPhone 5S introduces the start of excitable futuristic technology with a fingerprint identity sensor that lets you unlock the phone without entering a password. “It simply makes more sense to teach iPhone how to take a great picture rather than teach people how to be expert photographers.” Apple daringly declares, as the world’s most popular camera gets even better. Ultra fast wireless is another thing Apple hasn’t hesitated to howl to the public, as the new Phone 5S supports more networks than ever before. So now, even more of us can experience fast download and upload speeds, that’s if you purchase one. As well as costing near enough £549 the iPhone 5S is available in three elegant expressions being gold, silver and space grey.

Apple hope that this ‘less expensive’ iPhone  5C could aid them in competing with other handset companies, such as, Samsung and Nokia, as more than half of all smartphones sold so far this year were Android handsets.

So do you think you’ll be investing in the new iPhones? 

Lolly Atherton, year 13
Columnist