Transcript Science
Science Fact V.S. Fiction Science • Science (from Latin scientia, meaning "knowledge") is a systematic enterprise that builds and organizes knowledge in the form of testable explanations and predictions about the universe. Fiction • Fiction is the form of any work that deals, in part or in whole, with information or events that are not factual, but rather, imaginary and theoretical—that is, invented by the author. Science fact or fiction? • It’s not safe to use microwaves excessively or stand too close to them due to the radiation that is emitted by them. Fiction • Microwave ovens don’t make foods radioactive. They just heat them. Microwave ovens heat food by producing radiation which is absorbed by water molecules in the food. This makes the water molecules vibrate and produce heat, which cooks the food. • Radiation is the release of energy from any source. There are many different sources of energy around us. For example, our bodies give off heat, which is a form of energy. Energy is also released from everyday things such as • • • • Household electrical appliances Heaters The sun X-ray machines • Not all radiation is harmful. It depends on the type of radiation and how much exposure to it you have. There are several types of radiation. All of which can be grouped under either • Ionising radiation • Non ionising radiation Let’s take a look at radiation • Studies have looked at the possible link between microwave ovens and cancer. Some results suggest there may be a link but other studies haven’t been able to prove this at all. • Microwaves do produce a magnetic field while they are in use. This drops sharply the further you are from the oven and doesn't last long, as you tend to cook in microwaves for very short periods. • Most experts say that microwave ovens don’t give off enough energy to damage the genetic material (DNA) in cells so they can’t cause cancer. Microwaves heat food, but do not make any changes to it that aren't made in any other cooking method. So they do not make food any more likely to cause cancer. Science fact of fiction? • Generic Drugs Are Bad for You Fiction • In 2004 the U.S. Centers for Disease Control estimated that at least 47 percent of Americans had a prescription filled each month. Besides ordering brand-name pills, powders and sprays from Canada, some people are trying to cut costs by turning to generic medications. • A generic drug contains the same active ingredient, which provides therapeutic benefit, as does the brand-name version. But having the same medicinal component does not mean the two pharmaceuticals are identical. They may contain different inactive ingredients, including those for pill coatings and color or to bind the constituents into tablet form. • A 2009 FDA study showed that of 2,070 orally administered generic drug products approved by the agency between 1996 to 2007, generics differ in bioequivalency from brand names, on average, by about 3.5 percent Science fact or fiction? • The sun is a ball of burning gas. Fiction • The sun isn’t burning at all. It derives it's power from nuclear fusion. • These are the steps: • 1. Two pairs of protons fuse, forming two deuterons 2. Each deuteron fuses with an additional proton to form helium-3 3. Two helium-3 nuclei fuse to create beryllium-6, but this is unstable and disintegrates into two protons and a helium-4 4. The reaction also releases two neutrinos, two positrons and gamma rays and is emitted as heat, light and radiation. The fate of the sun (and ultimately Earth) Comparison of the Sun's apparent size Science fact or fiction? • You Must Drink 8 Glasses of Water Daily Fiction • There is no scientific evidence supporting the notion that healthy individuals need to consume large quantities of water. • In 2008 Dan Negoianu and Stanley Goldfarb reviewed the evidence for the Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. "There is no clear evidence of benefit from drinking increased amounts of water." Science fact or fiction? • Raw veggies are healthier than cooked ones Fiction • A study published in The British Journal of Nutrition in 2008 found that a group of 198 subjects who followed a strict raw food diet had normal levels of vitamin A and relatively high levels of beta-carotene (an antioxidant found in dark green and yellow fruits and vegetables), but low levels of the antioxidant lycopene. • Lycopene is a red pigment found predominantly in tomatoes and other rosy fruits such as watermelon, pink guava, red bell pepper and papaya. Several studies conducted in recent years (at Harvard Medical School, among others) have linked high intake of lycopene with a lower risk of cancer and heart attacks • Cooked carrots, spinach, mushrooms, asparagus, cabbage, peppers and many other vegetables also supply more antioxidants, such as carotenoids and ferulic acid, to the body than they do when raw (if they're boiled or steamed). • The downside of cooking veggies : it can destroy the vitamin C in them. Science fact or fiction • Elephants Never Forget Science fact • Remarkable recall power, researchers believe, is a big part of how elephants survive. Matriarch elephants, in particular, hold a store of social knowledge that their families can scarcely do without, according to research conducted on elephants at Amboseli National Park in Kenya • Other researchers, who studied three herds of elephants during a severe 1993 drought at Tanzania's Tarangire National Park, found that they not only recognize one another but also recall routes to alternate food and water sources when their usual areas dry up. • Elephants also apparently recognize and can keep track of the locations of as many as 30 companions at a time, psychologist Richard Byrne of the University of Saint Andrews in Scotland and other researchers discovered during a 2007 study at Amboseli.