Stuff YOU Should Know
Bowl Game Mania!
If you’re from Ohio, Alabama, Oregon or Florida, you likely spent the New Year rooting on your home team. For the rest of you, better luck next year. At the end of the college football season, there are many bowl games played during the weeks leading up to Christmas and through New Years Day. There are six of these bowl games that have the most prestige–the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California, the Sugar Bowl in New Orleans, Louisiana, the Orange Bowl in the Miami, Florida area, the Cotton Bowl in Arlington, Texas, the Fiesta Bowl, in Tempe, Arizona, and the Peach Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia.
This year, in addition to these games (and the remaining 32 games not mentioned!) a selection committee made up of thirteen people decided the four teams that would play in the first-ever college football playoffs.
This year, the #2 ranked Oregon Ducks beat #3 ranked Florida State Seminoles in the Rose Bowl and the #4 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes beat #1 ranked Alabama Crimson Tide in the Sugar Bowl. Then Oregon faced off against Ohio State in the first championship game. Ohio State was ultimately victorious with a score of 42-20, making them the 2015 national champions.
What Do You Think? Did you watch any of the bowl games? If so, which ones? If not, who do you root for and why (or why not?)
Mysteries of Tickling
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Do you know why we laugh when someone tickles us? It’s because when something comes into contact with our numerous nerve endings under our skin, two parts of our brain–the somatosensory cortex and the anterior cingulate cortex–work together to analyze the data and generate a response. Have you ever wondered why when someone else comes at you with an intent to tickle, you lose your composure but a brush with your own fingers across the bottom of your foot hardly cracks a smile?
It’s a question researchers at Monash University in Australia have been asking themselves as they study the brains of self-ticklers in a lab. They’ve discovered plenty. For example, whenever we move our arms and legs, the cerebellum part of our brain kicks in and predict what might happen next. This action reduces the level of activity in the somatosensory cortex. However, researchers did discover that people who suffer from schizophrenia are reportedly capable of tickling themselves. This is likely caused by a disability in the schizophrenic’s brain that make them unable to properly detect some “self-initiated” actions.
Dig Deeper Researchers from the University of Maryland say that the key to self-tickling could help in the development of artificial intelligence. Do some of your own research and find out what they mean by that. How close are they?
Latest on Air Asia Crash Recovery
Air Asia flight QZ8501 disappeared on its way from Surabaya, Indonesia to Singapore on December 28. The plane, carrying 162 people, disappeared from radar just 42 minutes into the flight. Two days later, a section of the plane’s tail was found in the Java Sea, just off the coast of Borneo. So far, the bodies of forty-eight passengers have been recovered. The exact cause of the disaster has not been confirmed, although bad weather is considered a factor. Air traffic control reported that the last communication with the pilot was a request to change course to avoid large storm clouds. It is unclear whether permission was granted. The plane did not issue a distress signal.
Rescuers, who have been searching diligently for the plane’s black box, were successful in locating it on January 12. The black box, designed to survive a crash, emits a signal so that it can be located underwater. This device is important feature on all planes because it contains the flight data recorder, all of the recorded conversations between the pilots and any air traffic control personnel, as well as technical information such as the plane’s altitude and speed.
Dig Deeper Do some research and find out what investigators have discovered from the black box recorders.
Free Community College?
Earlier this month, President Obama announced a plan to make the first two years of college free for any American who has the interest and maintains sufficient grades. In his plan, each state would pay for 25% while the federal government would cover the rest. It would take a reported $60 billion over ten years. There are currently 1,600 community colleges around the country.
Opinions about the proposal are divided among Democrats and Republicans. Perhaps the biggest concern is the issue of how it will be funded. Those in favor say that in today’s economy, a high school education is no longer enough to secure a living-wage job. Just like public school is free to Americans, they believe that this opportunity would raise the skill level of Americans, which would in turn lead to better jobs. Those opposed believe the plan does not properly address some of the bigger problems facing higher education and that the burden on taxpayers is too high. They also believe that the demand will drive up the cost of tuition.
What Do You Think? Do you think the president’s plan is a good one? Why or why not? If adopted, would you take advantage of the opportunity? Why or why not? Learn more about President Obama’s upcoming State of the Union address by clicking here.