Tag: grade 8

News Science

Canadian Nobel Winner Allowed To Keep Award

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A Canadian-born scientist recently won the Nobel Prize in Medicine.

The Nobel Prize in Medicine is one of five Nobel Prizes given out each year for achievement in various scientific fields.

This year, a very unusual situation occurred – one that required a special emergency meeting of the Nobel Prize committee.

When the Nobel Foundation announced that it was giving the award to three scientists: Bruce Beutler, Jules Hoffmann and Canadian Ralph Steinman, it didn’t realize that Steinman had died from cancer three days earlier.

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News Politics

Ontario Students Elect The NDP (Adult Voters Re-Elect Liberals)

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If it was up to Ontario’s students, the province would have woken up to an NDP minority government.

More than 321,000 students under the voting age, cast ballots in a “parallel election.” In that “election,” the NDP won, with 26.6% of the votes and 41 seats in the legislature.

The Liberals came in a close second, with 39 seats (25.8%), the Ontario PCs third with 24 seats (21.1%) and the Green party took fourth place with 3 seats (16.6% of the votes cast).*

Across the province, candidates had dropped in on classrooms to talk about the issues and present their platforms to kids.

One grade 5 student in Toronto said he enjoyed listening to the candidates, learning about the electoral process and voting.

“It was great,” he said. “I now know what they stand for and why they’re politicians. I feel like I understand the parties a lot better.”

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News Politics

Fourth Straight Majority For NDP In Manitoba

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Manitoba had a provincial election on Wednesday.

The province’s New Democratic Party made history yesterday by winning its fourth straight majority.

A “majority” is when a party has more seats in the legislature than the other parties combined. (Seats in the legislature means the number of Members of Provincial Parliament, or MPPs, in the provincial government.)

Greg Selinger, the leader of the Manitoba NDP, will remain the province’s premier, a position he has held since 2009.

Selinger defeated the Progressive Conservatives. Its leader, Hugh McFadyen, said he will step down as soon as his party can find someone to replace him.

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News

Saudi Women To Vote, Run For Office

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History was made in Saudi Arabia last week when King Abdullah announced that starting in 2015, Saudi Arabian women will be able to vote and to run for office.

It is a big step in a country that does not grant women equal rights to those enjoyed by men.

Saudi Arabia is the only country in the world in which women are banned from driving an automobile.

Last July a woman, identified only as Shema, was found guilty of driving and sentenced to 10 lashes.

(Many women defy the ban by driving in spite of the fact it is not legal in the country. By driving, they are protesting what they feel is an unfair rule.)

Last week, the king surprised the country by stopping the punishment for Shema. She will not have to endure any lashes.

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Health News

Terry Fox’s Marathon Of Hope Still Running

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In 1980, Terry Fox started a Marathon of Hope.

His hope was to raise money for cancer research and eventually help to find a cure for the disease.

After losing a leg to bone cancer, Terry Fox wanted to help other people. To raise money, he began a fundraising run across Canada. His famous run-hop stride is well known to Canadians and people around the world.

Terry Fox ran more than 5,300 kilometres – half-way across Canada – when the cancer spread to his lungs. He died at the age of 22, in 1981.

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Politics

Alberta’s First Female Premier

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Alison Redford will be Alberta’s first female premier.

Her political party, the Alberta Progressive Conservatives, voted her in as their leader on Sunday.

She replaces Ed Stelmach, who had stepped down. He was the leader of Alberta’s Progressive Conservative party, and the premier of the province.

By replacing Stelmach, Redford will not only be the party’s leader but the province’s premier as well – at least until the next provincial election (likely in 2012) when the public will help to choose who the premier will be.

Until she is sworn in as premier, her title is Premier-Designate.

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Lighter Science

Mummies With Hair Gel

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The Ancient Egyptians probably used hair gel to style their hair, new research on mummies shows.

Scientists at the University of Manchester, UK published an article in the Journal of Archaeological Science that said, “…in cases where the (mummies’) hair was styled, the embalming process was adapted to preserve the hairstyle.”

In other words, when the bodies were turned into mummies, the embalmers made sure their hair didn’t get mussed.

The researchers studied hair from 18 mummies who lived around 300 B.C. in Egypt.

Under a microscope, the scientists noticed that the hair on nine of the mummies had a coating on it. When they analysed it, it turned out to be made of plant and animal fats.

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Politics

Young People Can Get Involved In Upcoming Election

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Ontario, like four other Canadian provinces, will hold a provincial election this fall.

Members of Provincial Parliament (MPPs) and the Premier of the province will be chosen.

Depending on the province and district, other positions will also be elected.

In one of Ontario’s districts, Scarborough-Agincourt, Soo Wong is running for MPP.

TKN asked her what young people can do to feel part of the political process when they’re not yet old enough to vote.

“It is the responsibility of every Canadian to understand what elections are about,” she said. “All of the young people will sooner or later become adults. It’s not just about today, but about moving this province forward.”

She said that young people need to be knowledgeable about the candidates and the issues so that when it is their time to vote, they are prepared.

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Breaking News Politics

Where Is Moammar Gadhafi?

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The leader of Libya has fled his country and is in hiding.

No one knows where he is, but many people are looking for him.

Earlier this year, the people of Libya demanded that Colonel Gadhafi step down as leader of the country because, since the 1960s, he has used bullying and violence to make the people do what he wanted.

The United Nations International Criminal Court has charged him with “crimes against humanity.”

A war broke out in Libya between the people who support Gadhafi and the people who want him out – the “rebels.”

The war continues to this day, although the rebels have taken over most of the country including Tripoli, the capital city, and they are creating a government of their own.

Gadhafi and his supporters are not giving up.

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Science Technology

Space Junk Re-Enters Earth’s Atmosphere

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A bus-sized chunk of space trash fell out of the sky on Friday or Saturday, and NASA isn’t quite sure where it landed.

They say it likely landed in the Pacific Ocean off the west coast of the United States. They are fairly certain that it didn’t cause any injuries.

The space junk was made up of fragments of a 6.3 tonne satellite that is no longer in use.

The Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite (UARS) was sent into space in 1991 and hasn’t been used since 2005. Its job was to collect information about chemicals in the atmosphere.

As many as 26 pieces of the satellite weighing up to 135 kilograms likely survived re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. Most fragments burned up before reaching earth.

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