Congratulations to Sophia, Samuel and Adam, who imbued their entries with personality and style while adhering to our stringent guidelines. Many of the pieces we read were jam-packed with vocabulary words, but these stood out for their fluid incorporation of words from our word list into three coherent stories.
In our first two months judging this challenge, we have found that our favorite entries are not bogged down by vocabulary words, but rather, they are animated by them. This month’s winners provide fine examples.
Sophia Mensching, age 13, Christa McAuliffe Middle School, Boynton Beach, Fla.
Princess Rosalyn GRIMACED as she stepped into the SQUALID hovel. It was HITHERTO unheard of for someone of her station — a PARADIGM of royalty — to go near a place so UNBECOMING — a house for peasants and their ILK. However, her HUBRIS had caused her to be exiled, so this was her new home.
Samuel Iribe, age 16, Coon Rapids High School, Coon Rapids, Minn.
My NASCENT idea started with a twist of lime, To stray from the STRINGENT PARADIGM. This Starbucks drink would be a unique ILK; The drinkable MANIFESTATION of silk. Upon testing, my manager GRIMACED. One sip, and ABJECT, I ACQUIESCED. My HUBRIS obliterated, I whimpered. The creativity inside me had withered.
Adam Namkung, age 16, Hinsdale Central High School, Hinsdale, Ill.
My coach’s VEHEMENT voice roared across the track. Students GRIMACED as the one kid, whose HUBRIS was HITHERTO unshakable, was carried off the field. The MANIFESTATION of every runner’s fear presented before us. A freshman’s laugh at the sight was UNBECOMING, and others QUELLED his laughter with glares.
This essay, by Maggie Bell, age 16, from Lakeside High School in Atlanta, is one of the top 11 winners of The Learning Network’s second annual STEM Writing Contest, for which we received 3,741 entries. You can find the work of all of our student winners here.
Dishwashers and Dementia: The Brain System You’ve Never Heard Of
The leaning tower of dishes. A greasy conglomeration caked in tomato sauce and fat that is the byproduct of a week’s worth of eating. During the day the brain builds up its own pile of dishes caked with toxins, and runs its personal dishwasher — the glymphatic system.
As if hitting the “begin wash” button, electrical waves, known as slow waves, pulse throughout the brain every 20 seconds. Research suggests that these electrical waves alter blood flow in the brain, creating extra space that is filled with cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), the dish soap. CSF flows between membranes, washing away toxins that are produced during brain function. Just as we are too busy during the day to wash pots and pans, while awake, our brains surge with activity. With little space for CSF to fill, less clearing of toxins occurs. Laura Lewis of Boston University unearthed this method of waste removal and its correlation to brain health in a study just two years ago.
A lack of proper sleep limits the glymphatic system, causing grime to build up and impede brain function. While it may seem that the worst effect due to lack of sleep is putting salt instead of sugar into your coffee, improper functioning of the glymphatic system could be linked to Alzheimer’s and other cognitive degenerative diseases. Patients with Alzheimer’s have an abundance of the toxin beta-amyloid in the brain, a buildup William Jagust, a neuroscientist at the University of California Berkeley, calls “a vicious cycle where amyloid decreases sleep, and decreased sleep results in more amyloid.” Dr. Jagust anticipates that the functioning of the glymphatic system could be a factor in the development of Alzheimer’s and that quality sleep may be a preventive measure. As we age the slow waves that trigger the cleansing cycle decrease, giving a possible explanation for cognitive decline over the years.
Research involving the glymphatic system could lead to a better understanding of psychiatric disorders, as changes in the brain’s electrical impulses and sleep disturbances are common characteristics. Readings on the functioning of the glymphatic system may even serve as a future diagnostic tool or indicator of the likelihood of disease onset. With 51.5 million American adults suffering from a mental disorder, according to the National Institutes of Health, enough people to fill Yankee Stadium over 940 times, this research is promising. While follow-up research is done to confirm the relationship between slow waves and the glymphatic system, Maiken Nedergaard, a neurologist at the University of Rochester, says, “Maybe the most important take-home message is that sleep is a serious thing.” So go ahead, give yourself a cleanse.
The term SQL stands for Structured Query Language. A query language is a programming language that accesses data stored in relational databases. That term may sound technical, but don’t worry — SQL’s structure is relatively simple. Here’s an example:
SELECT firstname, lastname
FROM customers
WHERE state = 'California';
The query above is pretty direct and straightforward. You can probably figure out what it’s supposed to do, even without knowing the language.
If you guessed it was supposed to retrieve the first and last name of every customer from California, you are correct. As you can see, SQL is pretty easy to grasp, even for beginners. Read on for more information about how it works and how it’s used.
Each table has columns and rows. Each column holds a specifically named value, and each row contains a record. For example, a table of customers would have columns like state, zip_code, and id.
The relational part means that one table can relate to another table. If we have a customers table, we could also have an orders table. By adding a customer id column to our orders table, we can relate our order records to our customer records.
Relational databases give you the power to structure your data however you choose, and SQL gives you the power to access that data however you choose.
You can choose from quite a few relational databases, but they all use a variation of SQL. Some common relational database engines include:
How SQL works
Imagine you own an e-commerce site, and you store your data in a relational database like PostgreSQL or SQLite. In your database, you have three tables: customers, orders, and order_items. Using SQL, you can pull related data from each table.
Say you wanted to query the last name of all your customers in Washington. In that case, you could use a query similar to our first example:
SELECT last_name
FROM users
WHERE state = 'Washington';
This would give you data from one table, which is useful but doesn’t show the full range of SQL’s capabilities. What if you wanted to get all the orders from your customers in Washington? Your query would look something like this:
SELECT *
FROM users
JOIN orders
ON orders.user_id = users.id
WHERE state = 'Washington';
Again, the syntax almost reads like a natural language. The asterisk basically means “every column,” so this query will give you all the data you need.
SQL also has powerful functions like COUNT() and SUM() that apply calculations to data. So, if you wanted to take SQL even further, you could include the order_items table in the query and use SUM to calculate the total value of all the orders from your customers in Washington. And this is just the beginning of all the things you can do with SQL. For an expanded list of SQL’s functions, check out this list of SQL commands.
Careers that use SQL
As you can see, SQL is a vital tool in the collection and manipulation of data. That, coupled with the various ways businesses use data, makes it a valuable skill for both technical and non-technical roles. Let’s take a look at some of the different careers that use SQL.
Data science professionals like data scientists and data analysts collect, organize, and manipulate a business’ data to find actionable insights. To get the data they need, they often have to use SQL to retrieve it from a relational database.
Business analysts and marketers need insights to guide businesses toward better processes, products, and services. Sometimes, they don’t have time to wait for data scientists to provide them. With SQL, they can go directly to the source and write queries that will give them the insights they need in a matter of minutes instead of days or weeks.
Database administrators deal with data all day long. A database administrator (or DBA) manages the database engines that hold an enterprise’s data. They must possess extensive knowledge of both SQL and database software.
Knowing SQL will also give you a step up in most programming roles. Whether you want to be a software engineer or a web developer, you’ll likely have to access a relational database at some point in your career. To do that, you’ll need to know SQL.
Learn more about SQL
While simple, SQL is a powerful programming language and valuable addition to almost any skill set. Ready to get started? Our Learn SQL course will teach you the basics of querying and data manipulation.
This GIF recently illustrated a Guest Essay in the Opinion section. What do you think the essay was about? How does the image relate to or comment on society or current events? Can you relate to it personally? What is your opinion of its message?
Tell us in the comments, then read the related essay to learn more.
Students 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, are invited to comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff, but please keep in mind that once your comment is accepted, it will be made public.
AMMAN, Jordan — Sixteen people accused of a plot to foment unrest in Jordan this month were released from custody on Thursday pending further investigation, a military judge announced, marking a new chapter in an unusually turbulent episode in the normally placid kingdom.
… The move on Thursday appeared to be aimed at restoring Jordan to some degree of normality. At the time of the arrests several weeks ago, the government had hinted of a foiled coup attempt. But in a statement published shortly before the accused were released on Thursday, the king stressed that they had never posed an “imminent threat to the country, since the sedition, as I have said, has been stopped.”
In the same statement, the king also framed the release as a sign of his magnanimity.
“As a father and a brother to all Jordanians,” the king wrote, “and in this holy month of tolerance and solidarity, when we all wish to be with our families, I ask the relevant officials to look into the proper mechanism to have those who were misled into following the sedition, return to their families soon.”
Daily Word Challenge
Can you correctly use the word magnanimity in a sentence?
Based on the definition and example provided, write a sentence using today’s Word of the Day and share it as a comment on this article. It is most important that your sentence makes sense and demonstrates that you understand the word’s definition, but we also encourage you to be creative and have fun.
Then, read some of the other sentences students have submitted and use the “Recommend” button to vote for two original sentences that stand out to you.
If you want a better idea of how magnanimity can be used in a sentence, read these usage examples on Vocabulary.com.
Students ages 13 and older in the United States and the United Kingdom, and 16 and older elsewhere, can comment. All comments are moderated by the Learning Network staff.
Cicadas are know for making noises as loud as a lawn mower, or about 90 decibels. That’s loud enough for the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to require hearing protection. So, be sure to bring your ear plugs if you want to see these little bugs.
If you were alive in 2004, you might remember the constant buzzing and the exoskeletons that the cicadas left behind. However, if you missed it then, your best chance of seeing a cicada will be in the South, but they will be as far north as New York.
Although they might be annoying, cicadas are perfectly harmless. If you get really hungry at some point this summer, don’t hesitate to take a big, juicy bite of a cicada because they are edible. In fact, they are great sources of protein and very low in cholesterol. Though you might think this sounds pretty gross, people in ancient Greece and Rome considered cicadas a delicacy. Cicadas have been known to be cooked into tacos, pizzas, pies and even dumplings.
Just like Rapunzel, cicadas spend the first 17 years of their life away from the world for their safety. However, cicadas don’t need Mother Gothel to tell them to stay hidden from the outside world. They do it voluntarily. Cicadas will only come out when the conditions are just right. The soil temperature has to be above 64 degrees Fahrenheit (about 18 degrees Celsius), and it cannot be raining. Large groups of cicadas will emerge together when the time is right. However, according to Howard Russel, an entomologist (an insect scientist), “No one knows what mechanism they use to trigger their mass emergence.”
For humans, your 17th birthday is just that awkward one between your Sweet 16 and your big 18 I’m-finally-an-adult birthday. For a periodical cicada, 17 is the most important one. So, get your party hats on, because it’s about to be the biggest birthday of the bug world in 17 years.
This essay, by Nicola Myers, age 17, from Boise High School in Boise, Idaho, is one of the top 11 winners of The Learning Network’s second annual STEM Writing Contest, for which we received 3,741 entries. You can find the work of all of our student winners here.
And the Grammy Goes to … Fin Whales?
The hottest music of this year might just belong to fin whales. Well, at least in the opinion of seismologists. Named for the smooth fin that juts from their backs, fin whales span an impressive 80 feet in length and have long been composing melodies deep below the ocean’s surface. These noises are so loud that the marine geophysicist William Wilcock likened them to those of a “big container ship.” While conducting seismic research, scientists viewed the whales’ songs as a vociferous inconvenience, failing to recognize the potential behind the hubbub. The seismologist Václav Kuna, however, was intrigued by the constant chatter of the fin whales. He decided to investigate these odd sounds further and stumbled upon a discovery larger than fin whales themselves.
Seismologists such as Dr. Kuna study seismic waves (energy waves created when rock fractures in Earth’s crust) to better understand earthquakes. Air guns have been the go-to tool for the documentation of seismic activity in oceanic crust. Yet they have one major downfall: Air guns contribute to the human-induced noise-levels of oceans, creating a stressful environment for marine life.
Dr. Kuna, along with John Nabelek, a professor at Oregon State University, found and recently published an alternative method to air guns, one that relies on help from fin whales. How can these majestic mammals assist seismologists? The process is simple: Energy from the hums of fin whales zips through the water and echoes off the ocean floor, transforming into seismic waves. Seismometers then capture the noises, similarly to how the vibrating sound waves of air guns would be recorded. “Fin whale seismology” has helped to uncover rock layers in the ocean, seemingly giving scientists the superhuman power of X-ray vision to see through 8,200 feet of the obscure seafloor. Though fin whale seismology is not as accurate as the air gun approach, Dr. Kuna still calls the discovery a “win-win” and believes that the method can “complement” traditional ways of obtaining seismic data. And best of all, the harmonies of fin whales are sounds already native to aquatic life.
Jackie Caplan-Auerbach, who studies volcanoes and seismology at Western Washington University, explains that she first saw the constant blabber of fin whales as nothing more than a nuisance to her research. She now calls the findings of Dr. Kuna and Dr. Nabelek “awesome,” asserting that their study demonstrates how scientists can derive data from natural sources instead of conducting experiments with man-made technology. The full potential of fin whale seismology will come with future studies, but for now, here’s what’s certain: Fin whales deserve the award for best new artist at the “Underwater Grammys” for wowing seismologists and marine life alike with the power of their melodic voices.
This essay, by Sophie Araten, age 15, from Millburn High School in Millburn, N.J., is one of the top 11 winners of The Learning Network’s second annual STEM Writing Contest, for which we received 3,741 entries. You can find the work of all of our student winners here.
Unleash the Tests: The Four-Legged Future of Covid-19 Testing
She’s got pointy ears, a long snout and four strong legs. Meet your new Covid-19 test.
For years dogs have been used to detect bombs and drugs at airports, but our canine friends can also detect certain diseases, such as cancer and Parkinson’s disease, years before the onset of symptoms.
How can they do this? A dog’s nose has between 125 and 300 million scent glands, compared to a human nose, which only has about five million. As a result, a dog’s sense of smell can be up to 100,000 times more sensitive than a human’s. If there were a juicy steak 10 miles away, your dog’s nose could find it. So, when diseases cause people to emit slightly different odors, dogs can detect them.
With Covid-19 occupying the minds of scientists around the world, it was only a matter of time before researchers put dogs to the test to see if they could sniff out the novel coronavirus. Lucky for us, they can. Indeed, researchers have started to train dogs to detect Covid-19 in human sweat samples, and many countries are looking to dogs for cheap, reliable and rapid testing.
It is believed that dogs can recognize a scent produced by volatile organic compounds generated by catabolites, substances produced during replication of the Covid-19 virus. Catabolites exit the body in the form of sweat, which then carries a scent that dogs can detect and be trained to identify.
Dogs in recent trials could pick up the scent of Covid-19 in asymptomatic carriers, and many could even detect Covid-19 earlier than a PCR test could. As Cynthia Otto, the director of the Penn Vet Working Dog Center at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, explained to me in an interview: “PCR identifies the RNA associated with the virus. It requires sufficient virus to capture that signal. The dogs pick up the odor of the person’s response to infection. That response could be activated before the virus is in sufficient numbers in the sample collected.”
Another drawback of PCR testing is its speed, often taking several days to get results back. In contrast, dogs could screen hundreds of people in a matter of minutes in busy places such as airports and sports stadiums. Beyond their speed, dogs are also accurate, with the ability to identify positive samples about 95 percent of the time and with a false negativity rate of around one percent in trials. Dr. Otto worries, however, that “If a dog is trained but inadvertently does not actually recognize Covid, then use of this dog would result in false negatives, which would provide inaccurate information and could result in greater spread.”
For this reason, Dr. Otto suggests that “Dogs potentially could be used for screening, rather than diagnosis,” which would allow for “rapid identification of people who need further testing.”
Either way, there is great potential for dogs to help control the pandemic. These inexpensive and quick canine testers could help us get back to a pre-Covid normal.
When it comes to learning data science, a question we hear a lot is, “Should I learn R or Python first?” If you’re at the very beginning of your journey, you might be wondering the same thing.
At a high level, R is a programming language designed specifically for working with data. Python is a general-purpose programming language, used widely for data science and for building software and web applications.
It’s not uncommon for data professionals to be well-versed in both languages — using R for some tasks, and Python for others. But if you’re just starting out on your journey, focusing on one language can help you learn the data science skills you’ll need to pursue a career in data, or to see a project through. Plus, once you’ve picked up one language, you’ll be able to pick up other languages more easily.
In this article, we’ll take a look at R and Python in more detail, to help you decide which programming language is right for you.
What is R?
R is a powerful statistical programming language built for data analysis and data science. It’s great for exploring patterns and trends within your data, building statistical models, and creating beautiful data visualizations.
Most people learn R for the purpose of working with data, instead of for building software applications. Because it’s designed with this purpose in mind, the data structures and variable types in R are easy to use for data manipulation and analysis. Plus, R comes with many built-in data science functions, so you don’t have to worry about installing libraries when you’re just getting started.
As you get more accustomed to working with R, you’ll want to familiarize yourself with packages like tidyverse, dplyr, ggplot2, and caret. Packages are pieces of code that help you do all sorts of things with your data, such as organizing your data, creating beautiful graphics, training machine learning models, and more. Working with existing packages means you don’t have to write these data science functions from scratch.
Getting started with R
Interested in learning more about R? We suggest checking out our free Learn R course, where you’ll learn the fundamentals of data science, while picking up basic programming concepts in R. You can also dive in and learn how to manipulate large data sets, build statistical models, create beautiful visualizations, and explore machine learning with our Analyze Data with R Skill Path.
What is Python?
Python is a versatile, general-purpose programming language, praised for being concise and easy to read. It’s great for extracting large amounts of data from the web, building machine learning algorithms, and integrating data science tasks into larger software projects.
Python plays an important role in data science, web development, and a variety of software applications. Many people choose to learn Python for data science because they already know the language, or have used Python for a previous project. But even if you’re new to programming, Python is a beginner-friendly language that’s easy to learn once you get set up.
Setting up Python can take some time. To start doing any data science, you’ll need to download separate packages. Some key packages to know are pandas and Numpy for manipulating data, Matplotlib and seaborn for visualizing data, and SciPy, scikit-learn and statsmodels for hypothesis testing and model fitting. With many libraries being created for data science, Python has become a growing language within the data science world.
Getting started with Python
Interested in learning more about Python? We suggest checking out our Learn Python 3 course, where you’ll learn the most up-to-date version of Python, while picking up foundational programming concepts. We also recommend the Analyze data with Python Skill Path, where you’ll dive into statistics, data manipulation, data visualization, hypothesis testing, and more.
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