Homo what-now?

I was going to write about Pluto, but then I got my National Geographic, and the cover story was Homo naledi, so I decided to write about Homo naledi instead.

 Homo naledi was discovered earlier this year, in Rising Star cave, which is near Johannesburg, South Africa. Two recreational cavers entered  Rising Star cave on September 13, 2013. They were just hoping to find a less trodden passage, and they discovered a new cave. In that cave they found the bones of Homo naledi.

They do not know the exact age of Homo naledi, but they estimate around two or two and a half million years.     

The hand of Homo naledi compared to a human hand

Homo naledi males at their full height are five feet tall and females are even shorter.


This an exciting discovery because it changes the way we think about our evolutionary family tree.






Wikipedia: Homo naledi

This face changes the human story. But how?



See you next week!

A possible  hominin timeline.

Welcome Back, Science Fans!

So, I haven't  written my blog in a while, because I've been busy doing some things.For example, I went to New York City, went to a concert, went camping, and I also went to the beach and went berry picking a few times.

   

But that doesn't mean that I don't have anything to tell you, because I do! 

                                                  Summer Science:

 Here are two (well, really three) stories I've been following:

New Human Species

Pluto Fly-by

Ospreys


I added the Osprey because near our house there is a place where the ospreys nest.

This is an osprey.

See you next week with a story about the Pluto flyby!

Stomach Flu

And now, for today's exciting theme.. Stomach Bugs!!!



We call this a stomach flu,(Also known as gastroenteritis) but it is not really a flu. It is normally caused by bacteria or viruses. Some people call it a stomach bug, since it is not really the flu. The most common cause for stomach bugs is Norovirus. Here is a picture of Norovirus.

This is food poisoning Norovirus. This might have been the bug that hit our house.

When the stomach bug hit our house,
everyone got sick except me.
I earned two pairs of earrings for being helpful.
I am glad I did not get this stomach bug.
It seemed quite nasty.

Click here for the Norovirus Wikipedia

Click here for Gastroenteritis Wikipedia

And finally here is an interesting article highlighting the differences between the food poisoning bug and the other kinds of stomach flu. Until next time scientists, look around you and open your senses to the world of everyday science and wonder!

Billion-Year- Old Rocks

Yes, there are rocks that are billions of years old. We have one close to our house! And it has quartz  in it! We were walking along one day and I saw the rock that I once did a flip from. Then I saw the rock next to it. It had crystals in it! Then, I learned that it was probably from when the dinosaurs were alive or even older!It had lines in it that showed that it was really old. It was really cool. Here are some pictures:

Here are the crystals I found in the rock.

If you look close enough, you can see the lines.

Here is the rock, which is by the entrance to a park near our house.

Click here for a great explanation of how rocks are formed with Bill Nye the Science Guy

Bye, and keep on rocking! Stay tuned for more Everyday Science in the very near future! 

                                                                             

                                                                    

Hello World!

This is our first post (as you can see). So, we should tell you a little bit about it. We are a father-daughter team who loves science, and one day, I thought it would be fun to make a blog, so, here it is! We are going to write posts about science that we come across every day. We will have pictures, info, and a story about how we found whatever we are writing about. Hope you like the posts!

Here's me, with my microscope that I got for Christmas (and a cool picture behind me).