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Chemistry Now, week 16: biotoxins

By admin

Posted on 2011-06-28

image of Conus magus sea snail What can be a poison in one form can be therapeutic in another, which begins to explain why researchers would look to the biotoxins produced by warm water dwelling snails for solutions to chronic pain and a host of other neurological conditions in humans.

The venom of some snails has been shown to be 1000 times as powerful as morphine, a potent painkiller. Other snail venoms could be used as potent pharmaceuticals, and could be effective in treating postsurgical and neuropathic pain, and even accelerating recovery from nerve injury. But research into these potential uses is still in early phases. As recently as December 2004, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) first approved a painkiller derived from cone snail toxins  under the name “Prialt.” Other drugs are in clinical and preclinical trials, such as compounds of toxins that may be used in the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, and epilepsy.

We have reached the 16th week of the weekly, online, video series “Chemistry Now,” and we’re sticking with nature as a source of interesting video and lessons. As we’ve written before, please view the video, try the lessons, and let us know what you think.

Photo: Richard Parker

Through the Chemistry Now series, NSTA and NBC Learn have teamed up with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create lessons related to common, physical objects in our world and the changes they undergo every day. The series also looks at the lives and work of scientists on the frontiers of 21st century chemistry.


 

Video: In this 21st Century Chemist profile City University of New York chemist Mande Holford explains her research on the toxins produced by venomous sea snails, and her work to synthesize these long-peptide toxins for eventual use in treating chronic pain in humans.

Middle school lesson: In Vinegar and Baking Soda Investigation, students investigate the chemical reaction of vinegar and baking soda, demonstrating prior knowledge of concepts of chemical changes, and the laboratory skills of measuring volume, mass, and temperature.

High school lesson: In Mystery Solution Identification, students learn about solubility rules and use this knowledge to identify unknown solutions.

You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans:

[contact-form 2 “ChemNow]

image of Conus magus sea snail What can be a poison in one form can be therapeutic in another, which begins to explain why researchers would look to the biotoxins produced by warm water dwelling snails for solutions to chronic pain and a host of other neurological conditions in humans.

 

Preparation for the future….

By Christine Royce

Posted on 2011-06-26

“Ways you promote college preparedness and career readiness skills in your science classroom.” is the topic for this blog….while we always have those items that we “must” teach in the classroom which are based on curricular decisions or standards, there are always those things that are among the “hidden curriculum” that make their way into the classroom as well.  Admit it, we ALL have that one area that we love to include when possible – whether it be the history and nature of science and particular stories associated with scientists or how the topic impacts society today or even a favorite read that can be integrated into science.  These are often the parts that make science real to students….
One of the additional aspects of teaching today often involves answering the time honored question posed by students “but why do we need to know this?”  While not every aspect of science may seem relevant to students and their future pursuits, the strategies and skills that they employ in DOING the science are applicable to their future. 
The MetLife Survey of the American Teacher: Preparing Students for College and Careers identifies several cross curricular skills that have a natural home in the sciences.

  • Critical-Thinking Skills
  • Ability to Write Clearly and Persuasively
  • Ability to Work Independently
  • Ability to Work in Teams
  • Knowledge of Other Nations, Cultures, and International Issues
  • Knowledge and Ability in Higher-Level Science
  • Knowledge and Ability in Higher-Level Mathematics

One of my favorite “additional” parts of the curriculum has always been to try and incorporate writing -whether it be informative or persuasive.  While teaching high school earth and space science during my career, I would often incorporate writing assignments into my course work.  Examples of assignments would include:  Creating a field observation notebook and incorporating information similar to researchers; being creative in their writing by creating an obituary to describe the properties of a particular mineral; or being shown excerpts of video clips and allowing the students to explain their understanding as it connects to the content in class. Regardless of the product that the student produced, I attempted to show them that writing served a different purpose in science class –that of clearly and accurately communicating information to others. –>which is exactly the skill that is needed whether the student enters the work force or continues on their educational journey to college….
So how do you incorporate these skills into your classroom???

“Ways you promote college preparedness and career readiness skills in your science classroom.” is the topic for this blog….while we always have those items that we “must” teach in the classroom which are based on curricular decisions or standards, there are always those things that are among the “hidden curriculum” that make their way into the classroom as well.  Admit it, we ALL have that one area that we love to include when possible – whether it be the history and nature of science and particular stories associated with scientists or how the topic impa

 

Va-cation, stay-cation, and edu-cation

By Mary Bigelow

Posted on 2011-06-23

But you only work 9 months a year! How many times do teachers hear that? Those who make that comment obviously have never been a teacher or a family member or friend of a teacher. (And I’m not sure where the 3 months off idea comes from. My classes did not end until the middle of June, I spent a few days getting the lab in order before the building was locked up, and then we started up again the week before Labor Day—but that’s another topic).
So what do teachers do in the summer? Even on a family va-cation (Did you ever forget yourself and call them field trips?), we’re always on the prowl for ideas and resources for our classrooms. You can tell who the teachers are at amusements parks (figuring out the physics principles at work), on the beach (identifying shells and other critters), and on the hiking trails at state and national parks (with binoculars and guidebooks). We take our families and friends to museums, science centers, zoos, nature centers, botanical gardens, and arboretums. In our beach bags or backpacks, we might pack a mystery or romance novel, but we’re very likely to also include science-related nonfiction and professional books and journals. Even at historical sites, we can find applications of science to share with our students (for example, while my husband and I were exploring the history of the Gettysburg Battlefield, I was also photographing the lichens on the monuments). We stop the car to photograph interesting rock outcrops or fantastic cloud formations. Our souvenirs include rocks, sand samples, fossils, pressed wildflowers, maps, brochures, books, and thoughts and reflections about improving what we teach.  [SciLinks: Amusement Park Physics, U.S. National Parks, Identifying Trees, Identifying Rocks and Minerals, Clouds.]

For teachers, a stay-cation often involves teaching summer school, working on curriculum updates, graduate classes, workshops, webinars, using social media to form professional learning communities, and independent study. As NSTA members, we can access all of the journals, so summer is a good time to catch up on what’s happening at other grade levels. NSTA’s Science Objects are self-study units related to content, and they’re free to anyone. The summer editions of NSTA journals usually have suggestions for reading. Summer Reading –Its Element-ary in the July 2011 Science Scope has annotated suggestions based on the alchemist’s elements of earth, wind, fire, and water. This issue also has reading suggestions on Current Research, with abstracts of studies relevant to science teaching. Summer Reading Dawn to Dusk in July 2011 issue of The Science Teacher also has book reviews on science-related topics. (See NSTA Recommends for even more suggestions). Too many books, too little time!
Edutopia has a challenge for the summer: recommendations for 80 Online Tools, References, and Resources How many are you familiar with? I’ve noted quite a few that I’d like to investigate. These are general information and utility sites. What science ones would you add?
It would be interesting for us to collectively document the time, topics, and expenses we spend during the summer on upgrading our knowledge, skills, and classroom resources. We could show the public that most educators spend a great deal of our summers on edu-cation.
 
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kbrookes/4960877754/

But you only work 9 months a year! How many times do teachers hear that? Those who make that comment obviously have never been a teacher or a family member or friend of a teacher. (And I’m not sure where the 3 months off idea comes from. My classes did not end until the middle of June, I spent a few days getting the lab in order before the building was locked up, and then we started up again the week before Labor Day—but that’s another topic).

 

Chemistry Now, week 14: flower color

By admin

Posted on 2011-06-21

pink flowersIn a sea of green vegetation, you’ll find reds, yellows, oranges, blues, and purples—a beautiful range of colors that pop out, saying to insects and other pollinators, “visit me, visit me, no, not that one…. me!” Flower colors have evolved to attract  certain kinds of insects and birds, which ensures they can propagate the next generation of pinks, daisies, and other vegetative offspring.

How do they do it? With such pigments as porphyrins, carotenoids, anthocyanins and betalains. In addition to making flowers attractive to specific pollinators, these compounds also help plants sustain photosynthesis by gathering wavelengths of light not readily absorbed by chlorophyll.

We have reached the 14th week of the weekly, online, video series “Chemistry Now,” and chemistry returns to nature as a source of interesting video and lessons. As we’ve written before, please view the video, try the lessons, and let us know what you think.

Photo: T. Brown

Through the Chemistry Now series, NSTA and NBC Learn have teamed up with the National Science Foundation (NSF) to create lessons related to common, physical objects in our world and the changes they undergo every day. The series also looks at the lives and work of scientists on the frontiers of 21st century chemistry.


 

Video: Roses are red; violets are…well, violet – but why? “The Chemistry of Flower Color” explains how pigment molecules – carotenoids and anthocyanins – give flowers the colors we see. Also in this collection: news stories from the archives of NBC News and Scientific American on desert wild flowers, pollination, the cut-flower industry, and why flowers have scents.

Middle school lesson: In What Color Is Your Flower? (middle school), students separate the pigments in red flower petals and determine if all red flowers contain the same pigments.

High school lesson: Students go a step further in What Color Is Your Flower? (high school) and determine which of the pigments they separate out exhibit acid–base indicator properties.

For another great pollination activity, see “Please Pass the Pollen,”  through which your students learn the sorts of pollinators that visit plants around your school and which flowers are most often visited, and then they return to the classroom and report their findings.

You can use the following form to e-mail us edited versions of the lesson plans:

[contact-form 2 “ChemNow]

pink flowersIn a sea of green vegetation, you’ll find reds, yellows, oranges, blues, and purples—a beautiful range of colors that pop out, saying to insects and other pollinators, “visit me, visit me, no, not that one….

 

Science tech tools

By Mary Bigelow

Posted on 2011-06-18

I teach seventh grade science and am currently putting together my wish list for next year. I’m looking for information on data collection devices such as Vernier, RED (Really Easy Data) or Log It. In particular, I would like to use the devices for labs on motion, force, pressure, and temperature. I have not worked with probeware before so I want to start small. I have considered just purchasing one kit to get myself acquainted and then perhaps applying for a grant eventually.
—Rana, Avenel, New Jersey
It’s really exciting to see how these tools can engage students. But, as you suggest, it’s important to select the right equipment for your situation. I’ll share some input from those who have experience with these tools.
From Martin Horjesi, author of NSTA’s Science 2.0 blog:

Suggesting a particular product is a little tough since it is hard to compare much besides specs. My life with tech has taught me that it is not what tech you have, but what you do with what you have.


The three brands of probeware mentioned are just three of maybe five to seven options. Since these kids are in seventh grade, I assume they will catch on quickly to the potential of real-time data collection and hit some limits of the RED system without jumping through additional financial and device gymnastics.

Personally, I think the Vernier Go sensors with LoggerLite are a great introduction that can do much more than the basics. They are also work with LoggerPro, a powerful application that could run a small country. Additionally, the Go stuff is similar or below the cost of the RED system. But again, it is not just the tech, but what you do with the tech. There is an old adage in photography that the amateur has the best equipment, but the professional has the best pictures. I have seen classrooms filled with powerful tech tools, yet little more than the mundane was practiced. I’ve also visited other rooms where the teacher has pushed the limited tech beyond the normal and into the realms of creativity, innovation, and constructivist exploration.



A needs assessment would be a great place to start. How many students? What subjects? What are your goals and objectives? How much will they be used? Are there any existing sensors/software in the school/district? Will they be used as standalone, with laptops, desktops, iPads/iPods? How much training time is available? How many individual sets are needed? Will this be part of a larger integration plan? And so on.

From Tom Jenkins, via the Middle School Portal:

We use Vernier Labquests in our building.  The flexibility that they offered sold us.  That being said…They were more expensive as compared to some of the others, so we had to buy fewer units.  Had them for three years and have used motion, pH, and temperature sensors with my fifth through eighth graders.  I’m glad that we bought them.  As far as the competitors, I can’t offer a practical comparison.  Hopefully others will chime in….


I’m also hoping others will indeed “chime in” with comments on how they decided on a type of probeware  and suggestions for using probes in middle school science.
I’ve worked with teachers and technology for quite a few years. I’ve heard many teachers say that they won’t “let” students use a technology tool until and unless they themselves have mastered it. So projects that start small often stay small (or disappear) as the technology changes rapidly and the teachers struggle just to keep up.
I’d suggest jumping right in and learning along with the students. After all, these are the same students who have mastered cell phones, MP3 players, and the intricacies of video and computer games. Figuring out how to use a probe shouldn’t be too much of a challenge for them.
You could start with an activity you’re already comfortable with, substituting the probes for traditional measurement devices and techniques. Or if you have a few inquisitive students, you could ask them to figure out a probe and then teach the rest of the class. When I used this strategy, I asked the “instructors” to create a one-page handout with step-by-step directions to share with the other students. Their directions were more student-friendly than the original manuals (or my directions).
With these probes, students will have authentic experiences in measurement and data collection. The probes will not provide “answers.” Students will still have to learn how to analyze the data and draw their conclusions—that’s where your role as teacher is important.
Additional resources:
Probeware Tools for Science Investigations
Science 2.0: Probeware—Illuminating the Invisible

I teach seventh grade science and am currently putting together my wish list for next year. I’m looking for information on data collection devices such as Vernier, RED (Really Easy Data) or Log It. In particular, I would like to use the devices for labs on motion, force, pressure, and temperature.

 

Force and motion and humor

By Claire Reinburg

Posted on 2011-06-14

NSTA Press author Bill Robertson has extended his popular Stop Faking It! series with the new teacher resource Companion Classroom Activities for Stop Faking It! Force and Motion (Grades 5–9). Teachers have responded enthusiastically to the lively mix of clear explanations and irreverent humor that are the hallmarks of Robertson’s original series. In the new book, Robertson presents 23 classroom activities in which students investigate, discuss, and apply new concepts to everyday situations. Robertson’s wit and illustrator Brian Diskin’s clever illustrations will keep students and teachers entertained while they tackle motion basics, vectors, acceleration, Newton’s laws, net or unbalanced forces, gravitational forces, and mass and weight. Browse the June 2011 issue of NSTA’s Book Beat and download the free chapter “Acceleration,” which includes activities that will help students describe and demonstrate methods for changing the speed and/or direction of a moving object. If you’re in search of more physics resources, these NSTA Press books are also rich in activities (each has a free chapter posted): Force and Motion: Stop Faking It! Finally Understanding Science So You Can Teach It; Predict, Observe, Explain: Activities Enhancing Scientific Understanding (Grades 7–12); Uncovering Student Ideas in Physical Science, Volume 1: Force and Motion (Grades K–12); and Take-Home Physics: 65 High-Impact, Low-Cost Labs (Grades 9–12).

NSTA Press author Bill Robertson has extended his popular Stop Faking It! series with the new teacher resource Companion Classroom Activities for Stop Faking It!

 

1st and 2nd grade students collecting and analyzing data, 7th graders too!

By Peggy Ashbrook

Posted on 2011-06-10

Collecting and analyzing data follows observational steps in science inquiry. To get inspired about expanding your students’ science experiences, read about the data collection by first and second grader teams who are National Elementary School Winners for Grades K-2 of the 2010-2011 Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge!
The different teams:

  • Idling of vehicles is prohibited.Used stop watches to measure how long it takes for a car to move through the parking lot, calculated how much gas was burned by idling cars waiting for student pickup, and analyzed queues (lines) with the goal of making them move faster and more efficiently,
  • Analyzed plant use of water and soil types, mapped to see where the water runoff goes to find out where the water flows after the rainfall, and found out how much water is used for the school yard.
  • Gathered data from one local landfill, and counted plastic bag use at grocery stores.

Congratulations to the Concord Hill Greenies, the From Plastic to Fantastic team, the Water Rescuers team, and all participating teams on successfully taking on the Siemens Challenge! Maybe some of their teachers will share their experience at a National Science Teachers Association conference.
On the NSTA General Science list serve, teachers are sharing ideas and resources for projects that “make a difference with science.” Chicago teacher David White of Louisa May Alcott School  reports that three of his 7th grade Science students volunteered to create a No Idling PowerPoint presentation, designed to convince parents not to idle their cars when they are dropping off or picking up their kids at school. They presented it to the Local School Council, which then decided to adopt a no-idling policy.
“The girls felt very good about making a difference in our school, and when I asked them if I could share their presentation with the NSTA group, they felt even better – knowing that what they did may eventually make a difference at other schools, as well.”
No idling. Children breathing.
The South Carolina Department of Health and Environmental Control supports school efforts to decrease idling and publishes an information sheet on collecting data for this project. 
 Hooray for data collection at every age and for sharing resources,
Peggy

Collecting and analyzing data follows observational steps in science inquiry. To get inspired about expanding your students’ science experiences, read about the data collection by first and second grader teams who are National Elementary School Winners for Grades K-2 of the 2010-2011 Siemens We Can Change the World Challenge!
The different teams:

 

Getting started as a sub

By Mary Bigelow

Posted on 2011-06-09

I recently graduated from a teaching program with a biology certification. With the current economic situation, I’m not sure I’ll get a full-time teaching position. What should I know about substituting?
—Alex, Chattanooga, TN

Substitutes are underappreciated members of the education community. They get pre-dawn phone calls with requests to appear that day. They can be the target of students’ jokes and misconceptions. They may show up in a classroom to find no plans or resources indicating what the teacher expects of them. They’re not sure where to park or where to sit in the teachers’ lunchroom. And yet they’re expected to maintain order and provide learning activities.
Many teachers start their careers as substitutes. Substitutes with experience in a school are often considered when a long-term or full-time position becomes available. To get on the substitute list, you’ll probably go through an interview or screening process and be asked to provide copies of appropriate clearances and certificates.
If you’re unfamiliar with a school, check out the website before you sub there the first time. Learn the names of the principal and the office staff. Download a copy of the student handbook, mark the bell schedule, building map, and school rules. Create a file for each school (including its address and driving directions) and have a bag ready for those early morning calls. Include a few extra pencils, a notebook or your laptop, a coffee mug and/or water bottle, and change for the vending machines. As you find or develop lesson ideas and resources, add them to the bag.

Arrive early if you can, and be sure to look professional. You’ll probably be given a guest badge to wear; you could also create a permanent nametag for yourself (and keep in your bag). Some schools have procedures in place to welcome substitutes, show them to the classroom, and provide a set of resources, including a guest login to the network. But others do not, so be ready to ask a lot of questions.
At the end of the day, leave a report for the teacher (and keep a copy for yourself) indicating the activities you did, a list of absentees, any student issues, and commendations for students who were cooperative and on-task for each period. If you deviated from a provided lesson plan, explain your rationale. Stop at the office on the way out to return you guest badge and thank the principal for the opportunity.
In an ideal situation, the teacher knows when he or she will be out of the classroom (for a conference or planned personal event) and provides detailed plans for the class periods, a seating chart, a bell schedule, and a school map. Other times, the teacher has to be out of the classroom for a sudden illness or personal emergency. The teacher may have an “emergency” folder in the desk for these situations. In the worst-case scenario, there are no plans or resources. Whatever the situation, it’s your responsibility as a substitute to provide (or try to provide) a productive learning environment.
Even though you’re a credentialed science teacher, you may feel uncomfortable doing a lab activity with the students, especially if it involves chemicals, live specimens, flames, or projectiles. You may not be familiar with the teacher’s safety rules, his or her lab routines, and the classroom’s safety equipment. In this case, do an alternate activity and explain in your report why you did so.
If there are no plans, or if the plans say “study hall” or “video,” you’ll need to have a few tricks up your sleeve to keep students focused. As a beginning teacher, you’re still in the process of developing a repertoire of strategies and activities. Use the articles in NSTA journals and online resources for ideas. Keep a folder of ideas in your bag and indicate when and where you used them.
Two of my favorite non-lab activities relate to vocabulary. These can be used in any subject with any grade level. Collect the students’ work to share with the teacher.

  • Word Splash—Using a prepared set of words or a list that the students generate (perhaps from a current event or a picture), teams of students write sentences that include two or more of the words. Ask the teams to choose two to three of their “best” sentences to share with the whole class to debrief.
  • Word Sort—Give word lists to teams of students to categorize with a rationale of their thinking.

From the teacher’s perspective, a good substitute is worth his or her weight in gold. It’s reassuring to know that lesson plans and routines will be followed. When I taught seventh grade science, I let my principal know “Mr. H” was my preferred sub. He was a former science teacher who kept students on-task in a friendly manner. When I returned, the students would grumble how Mr. H. made them work!
 
Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/judybaxter/3310525306/sizes/z/in/photostream/

I recently graduated from a teaching program with a biology certification. With the current economic situation, I’m not sure I’ll get a full-time teaching position. What should I know about substituting?
—Alex, Chattanooga, TN

 

I wanna see some NATURE!

By Mary Bigelow

Posted on 2011-06-06

Last weekend, I did volunteer work at a county park nature center. Many people were taking advantage of the beautiful weather: walking the trails, birdwatching, biking, running, and picnicking. When a family came in to the building to see the displays, I said hello and asked if I could help them find something. The little girl (about 3 years old or so) looked up and said in a matter-of-fact tone, “I wanna see some NATURE!” (emphasis on the word nature).
Her enthusiasm got me thinking—how many children are encouraged to “see some nature,” whether in a schoolyard, park, nature center, wildlife refuge, zoo, arboreteum, botanical garden, or even their own backyards and neighborhoods?  How many children get the chance to plant a garden or even a single plant and watch it grow? How many children are encouraged to observe cloud formations, study the behavior of bugs, or collect rocks? How many can identify common birds and trees in their communities?

Getting children interested in nature can lead to lifelong learning. This phrase is in many schools’ mission statements but is often just that—a statement. After the little girl and her family left for the trails, I saw some active examples of lifelong learning related to nature. A woman came in and gazed intently at the list of bird sightings. She noted that someone had seen a “common moorhen.” She was perplexed because her bird guide used the name “common gallinule.” We looked at several guides at the center, and depending on the publication year, different common names were used for the same bird.  But we saw that the scientific name was the same in all of the references.
A 20-something man came in next. It was his first visit to the park, and he was excited about seeing some frogs and a salamander. He wasn’t sure what they are, so he took some photos with his cell phone. We identified the  frog (green) and the salamander (dusky).  He took a copy of the center’s guide for his next visit.
How do we foster an interest (and a passion) for lifelong learning? Citizen science projects such as those sponsored by the Cornell Lab of Ornithology are popular ways to make science interesting and they can lead to lifelong interests. A popular program at our nature center is Adopt-a-Turtle. Modest donations are used to fund a college study in which small microchips are embedded in resident turtles. Periodically they are monitored for their growth and behavior patterns, and donors will get reports on “their” turtles.
As you’re planning classroom activities for next year (or your own vacation events), NSTA journals have many articles related to nature study, complete with lesson ideas and examples of student work. Many of these activities take place right in the schoolyard or nearby parks or green spaces. You can search the SciLinks database for web-based resources related to plants, animals, the environment, and ecological topics. Most parks and nature centers have websites and post updates and events on Facebook and Twitter.
When it started to rain later in the afternoon, the little girl and her family came back to the nature center. She was so excited to describe the NATURE she had seen—turtles, egrets, geese, and chipmunks. I think we have a future naturalist in our community. I hope that the schools are ready for her.

Last weekend, I did volunteer work at a county park nature center. Many people were taking advantage of the beautiful weather: walking the trails, birdwatching, biking, running, and picnicking. When a family came in to the building to see the displays, I said hello and asked if I could help them find something.

 

Cell phones and cancer? A modern science debate

By Martin Horejsi

Posted on 2011-06-05

Do cell phones cause cancer?

Those five words have been floating around for over a decade, but only recently has it caught the attention of mainstream cell phone users, some of whom out of fear have changed their usage habits.
My take on this, and I’ll get it out of the way up front so I can get on with my real point here, is that I have no idea if cell phone use causes cancer, but I do feel confident in saying that I sincerely doubt that holding a radio frequency transmitter of the power of a cell phone up to the side of one’s head is conducive to the long-term wellbeing of the individual.
There. I said it. Standing out on my limb, I feel certain that some types of cell phones use could be dangerous to the health of the user.
But don’t just take my word for it, here is a more informed perspective:
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-naATQX5Jo4[/youtube]
My real point here is that we as teachers are now able to take a public tour into the very heart of big science—complete with all the personal biases, desired outcomes, and endless questions that muddy the scientific waters to the point where it often takes years before the answers settle out. We have studies. We have measurements. We have correlations. We have plenty of opinions. And most of all, we have an extremely large amount of personal involvement in the outcome of this grand test as we experiment upon ourselves.
This would be a great time to collect digital documents for a classroom debate about the interworkings of science, the methods, the measurements, the controlled variables, the depending and independent variables, the confounding variables, and of course, the interpretations of all of the above based on the data.
I won’t suggest that money, lobbyists, Fortune 500 companies, and personal desires should cloud the science classroom exercise, but depending on the sophistication your audience, you might share why some things are just not quite as simple as we would like them to be.
In the end, the large-scale study of something that affects billions of people including the very students and teachers in your school,  with just few days of reading, discussing and concluding might be the springboard for an intellectually rich fall semester filled with real-time science.
Oh, and a personal note. My uncle was a heavy cell phone user beginning with the toaster-sized bricks of 80s, as well as the paperback book-sized handhelds of the early 90s, and so on. He is recovering as well as can be expected from a rare form of jaw cancer.
Here are some links to get started.

Do cell phones cause cancer?

Those five words have been floating around for over a decade, but only recently has it caught the attention of mainstream cell phone users, some of whom out of fear have changed their usage habits.

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