Plan for Progress  

With shows such as Castle and Bones gaining popularity, the field of forensic science have suddenly gained ranking on the popularity ladder too. The sudden emergence of forensic has led many to believe that it is a recent addition to the field of science. But the truth is far from that. What is forensic science, exactly? Forensic scientists have been working alongside detectives and crime inspectors for many years. The field gained prominence back in 1784, when the police found a wad of paper in a victim’s head wound, which incidentally matched the newspaper in the murderer’s pocket, which helped the police to nab him.

The term is an umbrella term that covers broad range of specialities such as physical, digital and biological data and uses scientific techniques for legal purposes. If the term is used loosely, it covers all forms of policing such as food and substance regulation to criminal investigations. It is the application of some basic criminology science to the enforcement of laws within the criminal justice system.

To understand what is forensic science it is necessary to dig deeper, literally. It took a step ahead in the detection and prosecution in the beginning of the twentieth century. It took an even bigger leap in its field when molecular genetics developed enough to concept of technologies of DNA fingerprinting which was pioneered by 1984. Once this technique became common with the police enforcement, it played a major transformative role in detective fiction. This elevated the significance of amateur detectives and the characters of policemen were added as either foil to the detective or as bumbling comic characters, such as Thompson and Thomsons in the comic book Tintin.

The origins of modern forensic science, as mentioned above, dates back to centuries but one of the most significant developments was the creation of FBI forensic science laboratory in 1932. This is one of the largest laboratory dealing with forensics. Not to mention, the various crime labs at state, county, municipal and federal levels are modelled around the FBI laboratory.

What forensic science is, involves capable to change and its disciples should be able to adapt to change. It is challenging and is prone to evolution. If a person is not susceptible of change, he will have to, since this field of science is different from all other fields,. Along with physical exertion, there are psychological factors too. When forensic scientists deal with a crime, they not only establish the time, date and weapon used to commit the crime, but also the reason or motive for the murder. To top that, they also need to establish the psychological profile of the culprit too. Forensic scientists also need to have a working knowledge of the law too, to know if the conclusion they come up with, can be admitted in a court of law.

These scientists also need to every step they take with utmost care and precision. At times, they may be called upon to explain the purpose of their actions. This field is great for people who have an interest in crime and psychology. It is an excellent line if one likes working his/her brain cells and apprehending criminals.

Alien Baby

From as early as the 1950’s there have been reports of people finding alien children both dead and alive and there are some web pages on the world wide web dedicated to suspected alien life forms. These pages display numerous pictures claimed to be images of actual aliens that have been discovered throughout the years.

There are numerous people who think wholeheartedly that these images of grown up and infant aliens are authentic while others believe that they are well organized hoaxes. Some say the babies are mutants, while still a few believe that they are ordinary human babies with diseases or defects.

Whatever they are, the reality is that some movies and images cannot be classified like the video of the alien baby found in 2007 by a farmer in Mexico known as Marao Lopez. He is said to have discovered the alien baby alive and drowned it in a ditch out of fear because it looked so bizarre. Lopez claimed that it took 3 attempts to drown the creature and that he had to hold it beneath the water for a couple hours before it finally died.

The carcass was handed over to university researcher who ran DNA tests and scans to try and identify the carcass. Two years afterwards the scientists released the results of their test that they claimed revealed that the creature is not human. They say the skeleton of the creature has lizard-like features but its teeth do not have any roots such as humans, it has some similar joints like humans, and it would be able to keep under water for an extended period.

The animal’s eyes, ears and brain were said to be larger than that of other primates and it was covered in a thin coating of skin. The rear section of the animals cranium especially was big and therefore researchers concluded that it was very clever. But, by the time the remains of the creature was handed over to researchers they said it had decomposed too far to produce any coherent DNA results.

To further add to the mystery connected to the extraterrestrial infant, Lopez was later found scorched to death in a parked car on the side of the road. It is alleged that the fire was a far hotter temperature than that of normal fires and it is thought that the guardians of the alien infant are the ones responsible for Lopez’ killing as revenge because he drowned the creature.

It is reported that there are many UFO sightings and crop circles in the vicinity where the alien babies were discovered and that there was a another alien present when Lopez found the animal but that the other creature ran off. A few believe that the baby was left behind intentionally by extraterrestrial but there is no explanation as to why.

While there are a few who strongly think that the extraterrestrial baby is real, others are doubtful and do not consider the proof to be sufficient. Check out the images and videos and you decide on your own.

Making a volcano is a fast and simple way to see the principles of a real volcano up close and personal without actually dealing with the dangerous gases and molten lava a real volcano causes. Therefore if you are interested in making a volcano or you have to make one as a science project or something, here is all you have to know to make one using things found in your dwelling.

How To Build A Volcano

Required Tools

Brushes

Required Materials

6 cups of flour

2 cups of salt

4 tablespoons of cooking oil

2 cups of tap water

Warm water

Baking soda

Red food coloring

Dishwasher detergent

Vinegar

Baking dish/plywood

Plastic soda bottle (2 liter or smaller)

Paint

Plastic decorations (trees, shrubs, rocks, etc)

Instructions

Start with the dough, which will become the mountain of the volcano. You can purchase play dough or some other kind of pre-made dough if you choose however, because these guidelines are for things you probably have readily accessible at home. You can make your own dough using the flour, salt, cooking oil and tap water. Your dough must be smooth and firm so that it is simple to shape.

Lay the baking dish/plywood on a flat surface to function as the base of your volcano (a baking dish might be best as it will contain the lava when it overflows and reduce the quantity of lava you need to clean up).

Place the soda bottle on the base you choose and start shaping the dough around it to make a mountain. If you do not have adequate dough to wad the mountain and make it as large as you wish you can put cardboard, wads of newspaper or like things around the sides of the bottle to fill up some of the space.

Take the cover off the bottle if you have not already done so and mold the dough all the way up to the top of the bottle so that the bottle is totally invisible. You can create trenches in the side of the mountain for lava to flow down, or whatever else you desire to make the mountain more realistic.

Allow the dough-mountain to dry completely and then use brushes to paint the mountain or spray it with spray paint. You can then place the plastic decorations around the mountain and on the sides to decorated it to your liking, then it is time to move on to the eruption of the volcano.

Fill the bottle to about ¾ with the warm water and add the red food coloring. Put in about 6 drops of the dishwashing detergent to make the foam part of the volcano, 2 tablespoons of baking soda, and then pour about a ¼ cup of the vinegar into the bottle and stand back and witness the eruption happen!

You may use and reuse the volcano as many times as you would like, all you need to do is use a rag to clean up the lava flow and it is ready to go again.

Tips and Warnings

Be careful not to drop dough inside the bottle as you construct the mountain since the dough can obstruct impede the mix used to make the volcano erupt.

The water in the bottle does not need to be hot however, the warmer it is, the greater the explosion will be.

If you want orange-colored lava, add a few drops of yellow food coloring besides the red coloring in the bottle.

Add more than 2 tablespoons of baking soda if you want an even larger explosion but be prepared for the extra clean up!

Do not try to cover the bottle after you put in the vinegar since pressure may build up inside the bottle and make it explode.

Learning build a volcano is an interesting and exciting science project to take up!

Formic acid systematically called methanoic acid is the simplest form of carboxylic acid and also a aldehyde, Its chemical formula is HCOOH or HCO2H. Its name derives from the Latin expression for ant, which is formica, associated with its early isolation by the distillation of ant bodies. It can be naturally found in the venom of bees and ant stings and is also an important element in chemical synthesisand ester can be taken from it named formate.

Formic acid is mainly used in the food production as a additive and antibacterial agent in livestock feed. It also used for spraying on fresh hay or other silage, to eradicate certain decay processes and cause the provision to further retain its nutritional properties, so it is widely used to maintain winter feed for cattle. It is sometimes added to chicken feed to exterminate salmonella bacteria.

Outside of the food industry Formic acid is also used within the chemical sector as a chief source for a formyl group such as the formylation of methylaniline to N-methylformanilide in toluene and in synthetic organic chemistry, as a source of hydride ion and also as a originator of hydrogen in the hydrogenation production. It is used to fabricate sap into raw rubber. Beekeepers use formic acid as a pesticide against the Tracheal (Acarapis woodi) mite and the Varroa mite. It is also utilized in the textile business for tanning leather. Some formate esters are unnatural flavorings or colognes as well as an effective element in some kinds of domestic lime scale remover. It is used in research centers as a solvent enhancer for HPLC and CE separations of peptides and proteins, particularly when the sample is being arranged for mass spectrometry analysis. Formic acid has also been supposedly used to make fuel cells.

Like formic acid, another chemical called oxalic acid can be used by beekeepers as a miticide against the parasitic Varroa mite. Oxalic acid is a chemical substance known as a dicarboxylic acid which is a colorless solid which is around 3,000 times stronger than acetic acid. Oxalic acid is mainly found as the dihydrate and along with oxalates are found plentiful in many plants. Oxalic acid’s is particularly used as a cleaning or bleaching solution, especially for pulpwood and for the extraction of rust or iron from minerals samples. Many domestic chemical products contain oxalic acid, especially rust proofing treatments. About 25% of the oxalic acid produced is used as a mordant in the dyeing processes. Oxalic acid is also an important reagent in lanthanide chemistry.

Oxalic acid is also used for restoring old wood. It is utilized for its reducing qualities in platinotype and the early photographic platinum/palladium printing practice. Six percent of oxalic acid, known as vaporized oxalic acid, is used in sugar syrup. Hydrated lanthanide oxalates forms rapidly in strongly acid agent in a densely crystalline easily filtered form, mainly free from contamination by non-lanthanide elements. When lanthanide oxalates is ignited and metal oxalates decays it is transformed to the oxides, which are the most popular form in which the lanthanides are marketed.

The main health hazard of formic acid is exposure to skin and eye from concentrated vapor or liquid. Most of formic acid is not inflammable and diluted formic acid is on Americas Food and Drug Administration list of food preservatives. Formic acid can be easily metabolized and secreted by the body even though its toxins can still cause effects. The formic acid and formaldehyde produced as metabolites of methanol are able to cause optic nerve injury which causes loss of sight seen in methanol contamination. There are also a number of chronic effects associated with formic acid shown in experiments which have demonstrated as a mutagen. Chronic exposure may ultimately cause liver or kidney damage as well as skin allergies that manifest after re-exposure to the chemical.

Learn about the basic differences between acids and bases.

Hydrochloric acid is a solution of hydrogen and chlorine, also known as, hydrogen chloride (HCl) that can be found in water. This chemical is a highly corrosive, potent, mineral acid which is naturally found in gastric acid which is one of the primary elements that works in the intestinal tract to break down food and dispose of secretions. Gastric acid also works in the body as a shield against bacteria in order to prevent infection. The gastric acid comprises mainly of hydrochloric acid which acidifies the stomach contents. Chloride (Cl−) and hydrogen (H+) ions are excreted individually in the stomach section which rest at the top of the belly by parietal cells of the gastric mucosa into a secretory network called canaliculi prior to entering the stomach lumen. After leaving the stomach, the hydrochloric acid of the chyme is neutralize in the duodenum by sodium bicarbonate. The stomach itself is guarded from the strong acid by the secretion of a thick, protective mucus layer, and by secretin induced buffering with sodium bicarbonate. If hydrochloride is present in the esophagus, it can irritate the coating of the esophagus and result in the feeling like peptic ulcers or heartburn.

Outside of being naturally produced in the body, hydrochloric acid is commonly used as a powerful inorganic acid in many industrial processes. During the Middle Ages, it was utilized by alchemist in the pursuit of the philosopher’s stone, and later on by European scientists such as Davy, Glauber and Priestley in their scientific researches. Historically it was called ‘muriatic acid’ or ‘spirits of salt’, developed from vitriol and regular salt. Hydrochloric acid became popularly used at the start of the Industrial Revolution, when it was employed in the chemical industry as a chemical agent in the extensive manufacturing of vinyl chloride used to make PVC plastic, and MDI/TDI for polyurethane.

Hydrochloric acid is mainly used to create chlorides, for filtering ore in the manufacturing of tin and tantalum, for the pickling and cleaning of metal produce, in electroplating, in eliminating scale from boilers, to deactivate basic systems, as a laboratory agent, as a catalyst and solvent in organic syntheses, in the fabrication of fertilizers and dyes, for hydrolyzing starch and proteins in the preparation of various food products and in the photographic, textile, and rubber business. It is also used in numerous smaller-scale application, including domestic cleaning, production of gelatin and other food preservatives, descaling, and leather processing. Around 20 million metric tons of hydrochloric acid is produced annually.

Potassium nitrate which is a chemical compound is also used to safely store food as a regular component of salted meat since the Middle Ages, but its use has been mostly discontinued and replaced by sodium nitrate (and nitrite) because they are more reliable in protecting food against bacterial infection. But it is still used in some food applications, such as charcuterie and the brine used to make corned beef. Potassium nitrate was also used in the past for a number of burning fuses, including slow matches, stimulant in amateur rocket propellants, and in several fireworks including smoke bombs. The major commercial source of the nitrate ion during the Late Middle Ages and throughout the 19th century is omposing urine.

As a fertilizer, potassium nitrate is used as a contributor of nitrogen and potassium, which is two of the major minerals for plants.

Potassium nitrate is also the key component for tree stump remover because it accelerates the natural decomposition of the stump. It is used as a solvent in the heat treatment of metals in the post-wash. It works well as a quick-fix rust inhibitor because of its capability to oxidize, water solubility at a affordable rate. It has also been used in the production of ice cream and can be identified in some toothpaste especially made for sensitive teeth. Potassium nitrate is also one of the three components of black powder, along with powdered charcoal and sulfur, where it acts as an oxidizer.

Many people aren’t aware that oxalic acid is a less corrosive acid.