Tag: grade 8

News Science Technology

DNA Reveals Clues About “Ötzi The Iceman”

Scientists studying a 5,000-year-old mummy have learned that the man had brown eyes and hair and that he couldn’t digest milk. They also think he may have relatives alive today.

The mummy is nicknamed “Ötzi the Iceman.” He was discovered in 1991 by two people hiking in the Alps in Italy.

By examining the body, scientists found that Ötzi (pronounced “`oetsi”) died from an arrow wound about 5,300 years ago. His body was preserved by ice and snow.

They discovered that he about 45 years old when he died, 1.6 metres tall and weighed 50 kilograms. He wore a goatskin coat, had shoes made from grass and deerskin, and he carried a bow, an arrow and some tools.

Recently scientists have learned even more about the Iceman, by studying his DNA. DNA is a collection of molecules that contains information about the characteristics of an individual plant or animal. This information is stored in the cells that make up each individual.

Breaking News News Sports

Football Superstar Peyton Manning Signs With Denver

Football fans are pretty excited in Denver, Colorado this week.

That’s because football superstar, Peyton Manning, has decided to join the Denver Broncos.

Manning is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks to ever play the game. He is the only player in the NFL to be named Most Valuable Player (MVP) four times.

Because he’s so good, the 35-year-old could choose just about any team to play for. He chose the Broncos because he thinks they can win the Super Bowl. He wants another Super Bowl ring.

Breaking News News Politics

The Robo-Call Scandal Continues

The robo-call scandal is not going away. In fact, it’s getting bigger.

During the last federal election, many Canadian voters said they received automatic voice-mail messages (robo-calls) directing them to the wrong polling station.

CBC News is reporting that they have found voters across Canada who say they got misleading robo-call messages because they were not voting for the Conservative Party.

In other words, according to CBC News, people who weren’t voting Conservative were called and directed to the wrong polling station. (If people can’t find their polling station – the place where they vote – then they may not be able to vote, or they may decide it’s too much of a hassle to find the right polling station.)

This points the finger for the robo-calls at the Conservative Party and Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

Health Lighter News Science

Chocolate May Be Good For Your Heart

Chocolate – eaten in moderation – may actually be good for you, according to a new study.

The study, published in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, said that people who ate small amounts of dark chocolate instead of other high-fat treats, had slight improvements in the health of their heart.

For some participants, their blood pressure came down slightly. Some people had lower insulin levels.

The researchers, at the Norwich Medical School in the UK, studied more than 1,000 people. They asked people to eat chocolate (or not eat chocolate) and then they monitored them to check for changes in their blood pressure and cholesterol levels. Cholesterol is a type of waxy fat; too much of it can cause damage to the heart.

Sports

Toronto Impresses In Its Biggest Soccer Game Ever

It was arguably the biggest soccer game in Canadian history.

Certainly it was the biggest and most exciting game the Toronto soccer team, Toronto FC, had ever played.

Last night, Toronto FC played LA Galaxy, which has superstar midfielder, David Beckham (#23) on its team.

Beckham is not just one of the world’s best soccer players; he’s also a world-famous celebrity.

The teams met to play a quarter-final match in the CONCACAF Champions League, which is a tournament featuring teams from North America, Central America and the Caribbean.

It was the first time a Canadian team had been in the CONCACAF playoffs.

Image on this page: Ryan Johnson, Toronto FC; Image courtesy of TorontoFC.ca.

News Politics

Protests and Accusations – The “Robo-Call” Scandal Continues

Canadians marched through the streets of Vancouver last Saturday to protest the use of misleading “robo-calls” during the federal election last May.

More than 31,000 people have complained to Elections Canada about the automatic voice-mails they received, directing them to go to the wrong polling station to vote.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says that his party had nothing to do with the robo-calls.

Representatives from the Liberals and the NDP have urged the people responsible to come forward.

The Liberals and NDP have also denied having anything to do with the potentially illegal calls.

Many Canadians want to know who placed the calls, and they want the party responsible for them to be held accountable.

Kids News Technology

New Video Game Helps Kids With Autism

An amazing new “video game” is helping kids with autism show their emotions in their facial expressions.

Autism affects the brain’s development of social and communication skills.

People with autism typically have difficulty recognizing facial expressions and emotions.

The new video game, called FaceMaze, was developed to help kids with autism recognize what certain emotions look like, and what they mean—for instance, smiling, frowning or looking sad.

The video game looks and plays a lot like Pac-Man, a popular video game from the 1980s.

Breaking News News Politics

Two Canadian Political Parties In Hot Water Over Use Of Technology

During elections, people often get a recorded message on their telephone that reminds them to vote and tells them where to go, to vote.

These messages, which use pre-recorded voices, are known as robo-calls.

Canada’s federal Conservative party is being accused of using robo-calls to mislead the public, during last year’s election.

The RCMP and Elections Canada (the group that makes the rules for elections), are looking into accusations that some robo-calls steered voters to the wrong polling station, or to polling stations that didn’t even exist, which would be illegal.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper says he doesn’t know anything about the illegal robo-calls.

Breaking News News Politics

Scotland May Hold Independence Referendum

For the first time in three centuries, the united part of the United Kingdom may be in trouble.

The Scottish National Party (SNP), the party that runs Scotland day-to-day, is urging the Scottish people to support independence from Britain. However it still wants to keep the Queen as official leader.

Last week, British Prime Minister Gordon Cameron went to Scotland to argue that Scotland should not separate from Great Britain.

Scotland and England have been together since 1707 when the Kingdom of Great Britain was formed under the rule of the British. Ireland and Wales were already under British rule at that time.

News Politics

Syria’s “New Constitution” Ignites Further Conflict

Syria is a country in the Middle East.

Many Syrians have been protesting against its government, which has been accused of doing terrible things to its own people.

The leader of Syria is President Bashar al-Assad.

The fighting between the Syrian government and its opponents this year has been intense and very violent.

Many Syrians want al-Assad to step down as leader. They want to be able to elect a new leader. (Bashar al-Assad’s family has ruled Syria for more than 40 years.)