Let our Powers Unite!

This week I have to go away from my normally outrageously creative blog topics and focus on an analysis of my team members. And then they get to read it :o lucky they don’t know where I live, well I hope they don't anway!?

Ami absorbed a number of roles, she was like the Pitbull of the team (the singer not the dog); she was involved in everything! I’d say her main roles fell under the leadership categories; she took the monitor evaluator and shaper roles. She was very focused on getting the job done, making sure all ideas could be implemented. Overtime it seemed she also took over the Coordinator role demanding the final work to be done by certain dates in order to make sure we finished in time. She was very logical and seemed to make impartial judgements when required. One issue was at times it was her way or the highway. She would state what was happening and if anyone argued she would almost bully them into submission, and when I say bully I don’t mean she gave everyone wedgies  she more just argued until she got her way. That being said if she was in minority she would back down which meant it didn't turn into much of a problem. She also took the role of ‘Completer Finisher’, editing everyone’s work and creating the final product. A tough job for one and perhaps more should have chipped in to create a more polished error free piece of work.

Rose was assigned with the leadership role, she was the Co-ordinater. Rose has to learn that the role of leader is not simply assigning roles and setting deadlines, although everyone listened to her it felt she could have done more and taken a more assertive approach to get better results from everyone. Her communication skills need work with people at times not knowing what their jobs were. Ami seemed to take over this role at times, near the end and it seemed Rose turned into more of a figurehead kind of like the Governor General of the team.  She also took the role of Shaper, I’d always get texts reminding me of deadlines and asking how my work was going which was annoying, I don’t like getting asked to do things when I’m already doing them, but this was much needed within the group creating a slight pressure on the group to finish things on time. I think Rose also absorbed the team worker role, she was always trying to create meetings and stay in contact with everyone.

Kelly was no doubt the Resource Investigator. She was the one who got two out of three of our surveys interviewing professionals who had an informed opinion on preventative healthcare.  These interviews were vital to the assignment. Although providing interviews they seemed to be handed in late, pushing the assignment deadline.

Virginia was definitely the implementer; she did what was asked of her on time and to good quality. I did notice she didn’t really provide much more work than her question section. Everyone seemed to have multiple tasks bar her.  I noticed a few times she may of held a view but didn’t speak up to avoid confrontation with someone that had the opposite view to her.

Are we supposed to review ourselves? Because if so I’m awesome, but seriously. It’s a lot easier to review yourself because you know what roles you tried to adopt when others may not have noticed. I think I fell into the implementer role, like Bane off batman not the new one but the old-school one who just did what poison ivy told him to. I love that movie solely because of Arnie playing Mr Freeze.  At the beginning I tried getting things started and tried absorbing a leadership role but failed due to missing the role assigning meeting due to having surgery for my broken arm. Quick tip don’t break your arm because it’s really quite uncomfortable! I also tried taking on a completer-finisher role because I knew one person couldn’t do it by themselves.

Our team lacked a plant and a specialist which didn’t make the job any harder in my opinion. In the beginning I thought maybe everyone could take a specialist role, being tasked with a specific job each, maybe like a researcher and a writer and an interviewer etc., but instead jobs were split up to the people. The lack of a specialist didn’t hinder the team’s performance in my opinion. The nature of the report didn’t require a plant because it was quite a black and white assignment, we needed to think of what side of the fence we were going to sit and then the different topics were split between everyone to write about. Is it just me or does the plant role sound like  Groot from Guardians of the Galaxy, not just because he’s a plant but he just seems laidback with a bunch of unreasonable ideas . I AM GROOT!

Everyone seemed to do what they were assigned and generally on time. There was no “my dog ate my laptop excuses” which was good. Everything seemed to run smoothly and although pretty rushed at the end it seemed like no one was afraid the report wasn’t going to be submitted on time. That being said everyone could’ve been freaking out because I sadly lack the ability to mind read! Wouldn’t that be both awesome and awful at the same time!

The main weakness was definitely communication, at times people seemed confused about what they were supposed to do and by what date. That being said communication could’ve been a lot worse, everything still got done. It was definitely not as bad as talking to Consuela on the phone, only family guy watchers would get that! A lack of an awesome team name was also a massive weakness, team 16 just didn't have a good ring to it. Maybe something like 'Power Rangers'? Or Planeteers because we did a report on health which is kind of close to the environment, Let our powers unite!

All up I think the team was quite efficient, everything was on time, most of the time everyone knew what they were doing and people chipped into different tasks when required. It was handed in on time with little fear that it wasn't going to be handed in on time. Definitely could've been way worse!

Hope no one gets angry at me after reading this and turns hulk because if I have one fear in this world it is a giant green monster fuelled by rage coming after me. Oh and sharks, have you seen shark week because they are some vicious creatures!

Thanks for reading everyone 

bye bye now

Deflategate: The Mystery of Magically Disappearing Air

The biggest scandal since ‘Watergate’ occurred last weekend, Watergate being when  Sean Payton, Saints coach, put hits out on players, not mafia hits but more like target that guys knee because he needs surgery at the end of the season hits. In the Patriots 45-7 victory over the Colts, in the conference final, 11 out of 12 of Patriots allocated game balls were underinflated by 2 PSI from regulation. This scandal was cleverly titled ‘deflategate’, NFL have started to name their scandals ***gate since Patriots first scandal of their era known as ‘Spygate’.  I thought I’d scientifically discuss the advantages the quarterback and wide receivers have with a deflated ball in this week’s blog!

To put it simply you get a clear advantage from a deflated ball when it comes to throwing and catching. Miguel Morales, an associate professor at the University of Washington, stated a deflated ball was more easily gripped and deformed meaning a quarterback could throw the ball more accurately. A deflated ball will also decelerate less quickly allowing for higher yardage on throws. Add in the rain and wind factor that occurred in New England on game day and you have a hell of an advantage. Morales stated that “when the ball is slick, the squeezing action becomes more important.” A receiver also has the advantage when catching those tough catches, with a deflated ball a receiver is more easier to grip the ball with their hands and pull it into their chest and complete the catch.

Brady and Belichick both claim ignorance asking why would they do such a thing? The evidence is clear, they would’ve done it for a clear advantage in the wind and rain. There is a scientific explanation for what could’ve happened on the other hand. There is the chance that the pressure of a football filled in a warm room will drop once it is taken outside into the cold. Colder gas molecules move more slowly, and hence the pressure is less. That reason seems very unlikely as no other team this year has faced this issue or in recent memory for that matter, and it didn’t happen with the Colts balls who played in the same game.Teams play in the snow and there are no problems with deflation!

The Patriots will most likely get a hefty punishment but no one will ever know if they purposely did it or not. Maybe a ghost did it, or a leprechaun, or a football fairy? Where are the Scooby Gang when you need them!? (Got scooby on the brain after watching it yesterday!)

Thanks for reading everyone!

Damn really wish I could think of a scooby doo saying!

Bye bye now!

Teenage Magnet Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

Heroes in a half shell

Turtle power!

I think that’s how that theme song starts anyway! You may be wondering why I’m talking about a bunch of human sized turtles, the reason being is that I was reminded of those freaky turtles in something I read today. It has been proven that sea turtles use the earth’s magnetic field to determine where to nest. I don’t know why it reminded me of large talking turtles that fight using ninja weapons but it did, using a magnetic field to find their nesting spot is just as amazing as talking fighting turtles right?

In a study of loggerhead sea turtles it shows they leave their home beaches, migrate over entire ocean basins before returning to their home beaches when they’re of age and nesting season occurs (Brothers & Lohmann, 2015). I don’t know about you but I couldn’t find the place I was born even if I had a map and a Sherpa! This study occurred over 19 years to get an accurate result which is a long time to follow turtles in my opinion!

It was shown that sea turtles nesting density vary with slight changes in Earth’s magnetic field. If a magnetic field grew smaller the turtles nesting became more condensed and if the magnetic field grew further apart the nesting became more spread out (Brothers & Lohmann, 2015). Those results show that sea turtles use geomagnetic cues to find their nesting beaches. The most likely explanation is that they imprint on their natal beaches unique magnetic signature and then use that imprint it find that beach when nesting season occurs (Brothers & Lohmann, 2015).  Similar mechanisms may explain natal homing in diverse long-distance migrants (Brothers & Lohmann, 2015), so other animals may also use the earth’s magnetic fields which are amazing!

 These little guys swim an oceans distance away and still find their way home, that’s as amazing as talking turtles and even more amazing because it’s actually true, that being said maybe the ninja turtles are just good at hiding in that sewer of theirs!? 

                              Teenage ninja turtles have nothing on sea turtles pretty much

                               using magnets to find their way home!

Thanks for reading,

Bye bye now

P.S. Go Greenbay, that’s relevant because their green like turtles!

 Brothers, J. R., & Lohmann, K. J. (2015). Evidence for Geomagnetic Imprinting and Magnetic Navigation in the Natal Homing of Sea Turtles. Amsterdam: Elsevier

Halving your workout in one easy step!

Hey everyone!

I’ve broken my arm and I’m a keen gym enthusiast so naturally I scoured the internet for some magical way that I could continue gyming. Of course I can still do legs but that’s no fun and I originally  thought it impossible to do any other upper body exercises without ending up with a popeye arm on one side and a twig on the other but guess what? I was wrong! For the past twenty years more and more studies have investigated what is called ‘cross education,’ basically speaking you work out one side while the other increases in strength. Is everyone amazed as I am? I hope so because from now on your workouts will be cut in half! (Ok that's a lie but still it's amazing)

This phenomenon has been proven but hasn’t been conclusively explained yet but there seems to be one theory which many have used to explain it. This theory is that unilateral resistance training induces adaptions within the motor areas that are namely involved in controlling the movements of the trained limb. When one side is worked out the untrained limb may access these modified neural circuits during voluntary contractions in ways which are similar to motor learning. Basically speaking your brain tells your untrained muscles that they should get stronger because the other side is, MIND BLOWN!

Ok earlier I may have oversold this concept, strength increases in the unworked side are only 5-25% while the other increases 25-35% and it does not seem to effect the hypertrophy of the untrained side. Still it is amazing to think that without doing anything the untrained side can get stronger, it’s like a magic pill that makes you lose weight without eating any better or working out!

                                           This might happen but at least the small side will

                                           get stronger!

You work out one side and the other doesn't fade away while getting stronger, guess I am doing more than just study until my arm heals.

Thanks for reading everyone,

Bye bye now

American Football Pitchers

Hey everyone, once again I'm going to go off topic and choose something interesting I saw relating to science this week, I use the term science very loosely. I'm going to push the boundaries on what comes under science, I'm going to discuss the implications of pitching in baseball can have on quarterbacks throwing techniques. It must slip under the science genre, it has physics and stuff in it!

The show 'Sports Science', you know that awesome segment on ESPN that shows how amazing certain sports player are, discussed how being a baseball pitcher in the past has affected two current quarterbacks. They claim two elite quarterbacks, Russell Wilson and Colin Kaepernick, the elite term being very debatable and an argument for another time (all Kaepernick can do is run and kiss his biceps if he gets a touch down (both not in a normal quarterbacks job description).

What Kaepernick does have is a pretty fast arm, in high school he clocked a 92 mph pitch and in the NFL combine he threw the second fastest throw recorded in the past seven combines at 59 mph. This extra speed can be linked to the increased rotation of the shoulder of baseball pitchers, 50% more compared to quarterbacks. Personally Kaepernick should stick to baseball and no that is not a personal opinion caused by what Kaepernick and his running game did to the Packers in the finals in 2012.

Russell Wilson, a far better quarterback than Kaepernick, brings a lot more from his relief pitcher days. Pitchers hold their elbows twice as far back as quarterbacks and cock their elbows 13 degrees less. Wilson holds his elbow quite a lot further back than normal quarterbacks and cocks his elbow  five degrees less which  creates a longer lever and more torque. Baseball pitchers, and Russell Wilson, hold their shoulders 10 degrees further back than the normal quarterback which creates more distance and therefore a higher traveling velocity on release. Wilson is definitely the better quarterback, all Kaepernick can do is pass faster which is great if the pass actually goes to the right person.

See lots of sciencey words were used like torque so this is obviously a blog about science! Quarterbacks in the pro footballs hall of fame, from both high school and college, are made up of 60% of ex or current baseball pitchers showing pitching can definitely create excellent quarterbacks. Hope you learned a lot today, the main fact being that Kaepernick is overated.

                                                            Russell WIlson in mid throw

                                         Pretty much a baseball pitcher right there, ok I lied I
                                         personally see no difference compared to other
                                         quarterbacks but the science is there!


Thanks for reading everyone :)

First world problems: Athletes wasting money on stem cells?

Hello everyone, now that first assignment is done we don't have to do anything until the day the second assignment is due (that was a joke so don't worry guys!). This week I'm going to go off track and choose my own topic, this will probably happen every week I get the option.

The use of stem cells to heal injuries in the NFL has resurfaced this week so I thought I'd chuck my two cents in on the topic. Basically hundreds of injured NFL players are spending thousands of dollars, both in the US and overseas, on getting stem cells taken from their own bodies and getting it injected into injured knees, hips etc. The problem is this use of stem cell in injury recovery has never been properly studied so therefore unproven and may not even work. NFL teams refuse to pay the bill and hundreds of NFL players are having to pay for something that may not work.

Many are coming out and arguing that the NFL should fund a study on the affects this procedure has on athletes much like they did on the use of steroids and the long term affects of concussions and head trauma. This is much different to the other examples though, no one is suggesting harm can come through stem cell injection. The only issue is on the NFL players wallets which doesn't seem like much of a problem. These players get millions of dollars a year to train and play a handful of games so it's easy to dismiss the issue but still I wouldn't like to go to the doctor, and spend the same percentage of my wage, and be given orange peels to heal my broken leg (I'm assuming this doesn't work but maybe I've just come across a new cure for broken legs!).

With such a competitive sport any period on the sideline can lead to losing your starting job or even losing your spot in the team because some other player has shined in your role which is why this new procedure has got so many trying it. There are even rumors that Peyton Manning, yes the Peyton Manning arguably the best quarterback playing at the moment (a stupid argument because Aaron Rodgers is clearly number 1), had stem cells injected into his neck which had kept him out of the 2011 season. It seems anyone will give this new procedure a go in the right circumstances but I don't know if a loss in money for athletes is enough of a reason for the NFL to pay for an extensive study into the issue.

                                 Above is of course the infamous Johnny Football doing his
                                 money symbol, thought it was relevant here

That's my rant over
 Bye bye for now everyone