On Halloween, a little science goes a long way

Halloween doesn’t need to be all about ghouls and goblins. In fact, it can be all about science. Here are 3 tricks to make this Halloween a science treat:

Put dry ice on center stage

            Dry ice is actually frozen carbon dioxide, which makes it an extra fun tool for special Halloween effects. As it melts, it immediately turns to CO2 vapor. Use this trick to make your jack o lantern ooze white smoke, or to carbonate a bowl of punch.

1)    Place a cup of warm water inside your jack o lantern. Using tongs or gloves, drop a piece of dry ice in the water and stand back as the vapor pours out of the pumpkin’s mouth.

2)    Drop a few pieces of dry ice into a bowl of punch. The punch will bubble and gurgle until the ice is gone, leaving behind a carbonated drink.

Photo courtesy of chemistry.about.com

Make your own lava lamp

            Supplies:         1 bottle vegetable oil

                                    Water

                                    Alka Seltzer

                                    A plastic or glass jar, with lid

           

Use the polar properties of oil and water to make a quick and easy lava lamp. Fill the jar ¼ full with water. Fill the rest with oil. Add a few drops of food coloring and then toss in half a tab of Alka Selzter. The colored water will form droplets as the Alka Seltzer pushes them into the vegetable oil. These droplets will bounce up and down in the oil while the Alka Seltzer works its magic.

Make your Jack o Lantern glow like a rainbow

            Supplies:         hand sanitizer

                                    Boric acid (or Borax, both available at hardware stores)

                                    1 carved pumpkin

Rub the hand sanitizer on the outside and inside of the carved pumpkin, and then dust with the boric acid or Borax.

Place the pumpkin on a fire-safe surface and then light it with a match. A rainbow of colors will dance across the pumpkin’s surface. Here’s why:

The alcohol in the hand sanitizer turns the flame blue. The boric acid makes it green. Sodium in the pumpkin flesh tints it yellow, and the hollowed out pumpkin glows orange. Wa-la! Rainbow flaming jack o lantern.

The flame will die out fast, thanks to the alcohol.

By Manasseh Franklin

Sources:

http://www.science-sparks.com/2012/09/20/spooky-lava-lamps/

http://chemistry.about.com/od/halloweenchemistry/a/Rainbow-Fire-Halloween-Jack-O-Lantern.htm

http://www.stevespanglerscience.com/lab/experiments/awesome-dry-ice-experiments

Faces of SRAP: Holden Bindl

Holden Bindl, a senior from Fort Bridger, Wyoming is spending his summer studying his favorite subjects – math and science.

“I love knowledge,” he says. “And I also love the ability to understand how things work and behave and why.”

Holden (left) and Dr. Franco Basile

Holden gets to apply his love of knowledge this summer as he works with Dr. Franco Basile in the Chemistry department.

“For my project, I’m studying what is released after bacteria are infected with a virus,” he says. “I hope to learn how to determine different substances based off of what they decay into.”

Researchers typically use mass spectrometers to detect molecules that exist within a sample. The size of the mass spectrometer makes it impossible to use in the field or in other locations outside of the lab, but Holden and Dr. Basile are working to make a smaller unit powerful enough to detect bacteria.

“The one that we want to use is much smaller,” says Dr. Basile. “We need to come up with a way to make the analyses possible with this smaller device.”

Holden’s project has many real world applications and can be used in many areas of study.

“The project itself has the potential to have a lot of impact,” says Dr. Basile. “It’s a real need.”

Holden was a student in the SRAP program last summer, working in the Computer Engineering department.

After he graduates from high school, Holden hopes to attend Harvey Mudd College in Claremont, California to study both math and physics.

SRAP is a six-week, intensive research program for high school students. It is based at the University of Wyoming and is sponsored by Wyoming EPSCoR. To learn more about the program, click here, or search "SRAP" in the archives. 

By Robin Rasmussen

Photo by Robin Rasmussen

Faces of SRAP: Natalie

From: Wyoming

Ravichander and Natalie

Natalie Blaise, a junior from Guernsey, Wyoming loves science.

“I just like it a lot,” she says. “I really like my teachers, Mrs. Watson, and Mr. Beck.”

Her love of science and her experience with good teachers has inspired her to think about a career as a science teacher.

For her Summer Research Apprentice Program project, Natalie’s research has serious, real-world application possibilities.

“I’m in the Chemistry department, and right now we’re working with a process called ELISA,” Natalie says. “It detects certain proteins that you might have in a mixture.”

Natalie is working in Dr. Debashis Dutta’s lab, with Ravichander Peesara.

“ELISA is a quantitative technique that can detect various biologically important proteins, such as cancer markers” says Ravichander. “We are trying to develop ELISA so that it can better detect proteins in as low concentrations as possible, making it more helpful to patients.”

SRAP is a six-week, intensive research program for high school students. It is based at the University of Wyoming and is sponsored by Wyoming EPSCoR. To learn more about the program, click here, or search "SRAP" in the archives. 

By Robin Rasmussen

Photo by Robert Waggener

Microfluidic devices, West Nile Virus and revolutionizing traditional practices

Confidence building through science: A glimpse into SRAP research life
The Student Research Apprenticeship Program (SRAP) is a paid summer research program at the University of Wyoming for high school students in tenth through twelfth grade. It is sponsored by Wyoming EPSCoR and funded by the National Science Foundation. This is the ninth of eleven stories about the laboratories where this year’s SRAP students are working.

Javier Pena (front) and graduate student Naoki Yanagusawa work in Dr. Dutta's lab.

Microfluidic devices are used for a variety of purposes in the scientific and medical fields. Some are used to test blood in cancer patients, some are used in labs to filter fluids and some are used for separating particles in chemicals. This summer, Javier Pena working on building a microfluidic device with a very specific purpose: it needs to test blood for West Nile Viral antibodies, be built simply and inexpensively, and produce more accurate results. To do this, Javier is using glass plates, a cell phone camera, and three bioreagents.
 Javier is working in Dr. Debashis Dutta’s lab with graduate student Naoki Yanagisawa. Together they are working on designing a small glass plates with spots that change color when West Nile Viral antibodies are present in a blood sample. A cell phone camera is used to detect changes in color after chemicals are added to the blood. The goal is to make sampling for the antibodies more efficient.
Currently, in order to test for antibodies a blood camp must be set up. This means bringing in medical professionals, asking donors to come to you, and drawing samples of blood that exceed the amount necessary to perform the test. Blood camps are an expensive and timely process, but with microfluidic devices like the one Javier is working on, the process can be simplified. The glass plates cost less than 15 cents, Dr. Dutta says, they require only a drop of blood and they can be sent to the donor. This streamlines the process and makes acquiring samples easier. In his presentation, Javier will propose that these devices can replace traditional instruments and revolutionize the process.
Javier’s presentation will be the final step in his internship. For Dr. Dutta, the presentation and the experience Javier has in his lab are instrumental parts in helping students decide what they want to study in college.  “SRAP is an introduction to what professional science is about,” Dr. Dutta says. “This is an opportunity where students get to work with real scientists who are passionate about their research, they get do real lab work, and they get to make a choice about if this is really what they are interested in or not.”
Dr. Dutta aims to ensure that his SRAP students get a true scientific experience in his lab. To do so, he works to design a project that will both challenge and stimulate the student. This is both the most challenging part and his favorite part of doing SRAP.
“The challenging part for me is to come up with a project that the student can contribute to without a significant background in science or engineering,” Dr. Dutta says. “I really enjoy this part.”
While Javier may not have had a significant scientific background upon beginning his work in Dr. Dutta’s lab, he is definitely leaving with a one. His contribution to the microfluidic device project and his proposal that these devices could replace current instruments are irreplaceable experiences for a young scientist.

By Kali S. McCrackin

Photo courtesy of Dr. Dutta