Monthly Archives: December 2011

A New Element or Two

by Nicole Feldbaum Posted on December 14, 2011

Attempting to pronounce ununtrium (113), ununquadium (114), ununpertium (115), ununhexium (116), ununseptium (117), and ununoctium (118) has officially come to “the beginning of the end.” As of November 4th, unununium (111) was changed to Roentgerium, ununnilium (110) to darmstadtium , and ununbium (112) to copernicium. These elements’ new names are now officially recognized, and Periodic Tables everywhere will be changed. The changing of elements 110-112 seems to have started a sort of domino effect–on December 1st, the names of two other elements were also approved for the possibility of a name change. New names for elements Ununquiadium (114) and ununhexium (116) were officially entered into IUPAC‘s (International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry) name approval process with the respective suggestions of  flerovium and livermoreium. Although the names are still pending approval, the public is welcome to … Continue reading →

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Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight Has Some Competition

by Marlena Rubenstein Posted on December 14, 2011

Have you ever read a book that was so exciting that you literally started dancing? Last week, I was finishing The Dead Girl’s Dance, the second book in Rachel Caine’s The Morganville Vampires series. I was jumping around enough to get the attention of another student, who gave me a weird look. I told her that I was reading a book, but she didn’t seem to understand that a book could really be so good. In the past week, I’ve read the first three books of the series, and I am addicted! When I started the third book and realized that it wasn’t the last of the series, I panicked—how could I finish the book and not have the next one  already waiting to be opened? You might be wondering why this series is so captivating. 16-year-old … Continue reading →

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White Flour- Talk About Toxic!

by Sarah Rodeo Posted on December 10, 2011

Imagine a food that is natural, wholesome and nutritious. Imagine the protein, vitamins and minerals that surge through your body as you eat this nourishing entity. Now imagine processing and bleaching this food, stripping out all of its nutrients, and leaving in its place an artificial product, a scrap of what it was before. Ladies and gentlemen, I refer to the changing, or rather, destruction, of whole grains into refined ones. You already know about the inferiority of the latter to the former, but after reading about this horrifying destruction process, you will hopefully never again be tempted to allow the entrance of this foodstuff into your body. Whole grain wheat seeds are first sprayed with fungicide and pesticides. Using high-temperature rollers, manufacturers remove the bran, the six outer layers, and the germ (embryo), which contains 76% of the original vitamins and minerals and … Continue reading →

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The Timeless Rebecca

by Zoe Stoller Posted on December 9, 2011

“Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again” is the iconic opening of Daphne Du Maurier’s 1938 romantic suspense novel Rebecca. Rebecca was also adapted into a movie, and it was directed by Alfred Hitchcock. Rebecca was nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won two: Best Picture and Best Cinematography.  In the movie, the same line, “Last night I dreamt I went to Manderley again,” is used as the opening. After this line, the reader or viewer is immediately drawn into the mystery of Manderley – What is Manderley? Why did the speaker leave? And why did she dream of returning? I was ecstatic to learn that Rebecca is being adapted into a musical, which is set to open on April 22, 2012. The New York Times has already announced that Tam Mutu and … Continue reading →

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High Fructose Corn Poison

by Sarah Rodeo Posted on December 5, 2011

Most of us put it into our bodies all the time without ever really being aware of it. What is this mysterious substance? Oxygen? No – high fructose corn syrup. High fructose corn syrup is a synthetic sugar derived from cornstarch. To make the sweetener, the corn’s starch molecules are chemically altered and spun into a syrup that is 45% fructose and 55% glucose. Sodium hydroxide, used to separate the corn starch from the kernel, can be contaminated with mercury, which has been linked to gastrointestinal, kidney, neurological, and respiratory damage; cancer; and death. High fructose corn syrup yields the same number of calories and sugar grams as the sucrose present in table sugar. All refined carbohydrates are quickly converted to fat once they are released into the bloodstream. Any type of added sugar has been linked to health conditions such as dental cavities, high blood … Continue reading →

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