Gail and Russ
Mrs. Daye Science?
This week at Orange High School a number of scientists from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill came to Ms. Morley’s 5th and 6th period biology classes to help the students to learn about viruses more in depth. Some of the scientist who came to help these students were: Rich Superfine (physicist), Russ Taylor (computer scientist), Gail Jones (science educator), and Tom Andre (educational psychologist/science educator).
These students went from station to station learning about different areas of science, how an Atomic Force microscope works, and about how the nanomanipulator is used in education. Also in these stations they used simulators and interviewed scientists and graduate students who were studying different fields of science.
From Day 1 to Day 4 these students were kept very busy. Most of them had an enjoyable learning experience, others not so enjoyable. This is one prime example of how learning has changed over the years.
The Invasion of Viruses in Biology
On November 16th, 1999, we, the students of Orange High School, got to work with a machine called a nanomanipulator. You are probably wondering what a nanomanipulator is. It is a machine that can pick up viruses, and you can see it on a computer. You can flip it and do a lot with the virus. We stay at school and work with it. The nanomanipulator is at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. To get back on track, we are interviewing scientists that work at UNC, writing this paper, and getting to work with a simulator.
Our group is the yellow group. Our group leader is Ms. Bev Faircloth. She is very smart and so funny, too! Bev was very helpful in many different ways. For example, she got a graduate student named Neil Snyder to go over some of the interview questions with one of my group members, Shannon, and Neil was very nice and very helpful. Bev did great.
Another station we worked at was the simulator taught by Rich Superfine, a physicist at UNC-CH. He is a very intelligent man. He was telling us how it cuts through a virus!
All in all I learned a lot about the nanomanipulator and how it works and a lot about viruses. When other people get to work with the nanomanipulator like we did, they will think about viruses and biology in a whole different way.
On November 15th a professor, Rich from UNC, came to talk to us about how big a virus is and exactly what they do with viruses to try and figure out cures. Rich told us that a virus is actually 50 nanometers, about as thick as one strand of hair. Mike let us use an atomic force microscope that was back at UNC and sent it through the computer so that we could see it here. We got to see the viruses in 3-D so we could see what they actually look like. I also got to use a nanomanipulator which was like a pen that we used to touch the virus. When I pushed it into the virus it stopped, and I could actually feel the force like I was really touching it. That was awesome. I have never done anything like that before.
Rich showed us how to use a simulator. A simulator was really just a totally cool way of showing us how the atomic force microscope sees the virus. The simulator had to start at the DNA and go over top of it. Then we used it to trace the virus. The simulator must never leave the virus. It showed me that the reason why the viruses always look like a hill is because the microscope cannot get underneath the virus, but it can go over top. That causes it to look like a hill.
Russ Taylor, a computer scientist, told me that the difference between science in school and the science he does now is that when you are in school you learn about what other scientists have discovered or figured out. In the science he does now, he gets to discover things for himself and help create different things.
Moving Viruses
When my biology teacher, Ms. Morley, asked our class to be part of an experiment on viruses no one really wanted to do it. We were all encouraged to do it though. Ms. Morley made us do this, and as I look back I see it was worth it. Dr. Jones, who works at UNC-Chapel Hill, and Tom Andre were the experiment leaders.
On the day of the study I went to a man named Rich’s group. He was showing us how the nanomanipulator would make the virus look and how much DNA was in the virus. Then I went to interview with scientist #1, where I learned that computer scientists are actually engineers and we learned that scientist are actually normal people. They have similar hobbies and different styles of science.
On Day 2 I did the nanomanipulator, the virus mover. It was an interesting experience. You could actually feel the cells surface and you could see the viruses under the cell membrane. We were actually looking at a magnified micron with embedded viruses in it. We were some of the first people in the world that actually got to move and experiment with viruses. So if you ever get the chance to do this, don’t turn it down. It could mean more to you than you think.
This past week at Orange High School, students experimented with viruses. Physicists, computer scientists, chemists, biologists, and other types of scientists came to help us learn more about how viruses work and about their structure. Rich Superfine, a physicist; Russ Taylor, a computer scientist; Gail Jones, a science educator; and Tom Andre, an educator/psychologist were just a few of the people who came from the University of North Carolina.
On Monday, Rich Superfine showed the students the many things there is to know about viruses. The students spent the whole session learning about their size, structure, function, and how viruses come into cells. The virus lands on the cell and finds a place to enter the cell. It then breaks off and is brought into the cell.
The nanomanipulator is a computer activity in which the students experienced actually feeling a virus and moving to another place in the cell. The nanomanipulator blew the virus up to make it look bigger so you could actually see what you were doing. The viruses felt very rocky and the surface was very bumpy. The viruses are very small, almost like a strand of hair. Physicist Rich Superfine says, "If the cell wall were the size of a school room, the virus would be about 100 manometers." Imagine moving something that small and doing it on the computer.
Computer technology has really helped scientists observe what an object looks like, the size of it, and how it has formed. It is really amazing how computers have grown to be so important.
The students at Orange High interviewed various types of scientists during this past week. Russ Taylor, a computer scientist, was interviewed. He believes it is not correct to call him a scientist because what he does is make it easier for scientists to research things by using the computer. Russ has graduated from the University Of North Carolina. Computers are used in this case to look at viruses and it work like this: the computer blows the virus up and then light bounces off of it giving it a sort of plastic look.
Students also evaluated viruses and made a model of a virus in the simulation station. The student made a model, making it look like a twenty-sided dice, and then put yarn into it for the DNA. After students were finished with their models, they traced over the models just like the nanomanipulator. The nanomanipulator does it by going over it several times with each side.
I believe students should have more opportunities to do experiments like these. It might project a better learning environment. More hands-on projects need to be done in the classroom because students seem to enjoy them more extensively, and they seem to learn more from them. Shouldn’t we make school more fun for kids by letting them learn in different ways? I think the people at UNC did a wonderful job of putting this together.
Studies Related to Viruses
Tuesday, November 16th through Thursday, November 18th, 1999 professors and Ph.D. students from UNC came in to help us get a better understanding of how cells are made, how they work, and what they feel like. The scientists set up a few different stations: the nanomanipulator, simulation of a virus, and interviews with scientists.
The nanomanipulator was my favorite station. There were two computers set up to show us how the cells look through a microscope. We also got a chance to move a virus by using a phantom pen, called that because at first you do not feel anything and then all of a sudden you feel something. Plus you get to see the virus in 3-D views. The scientists push the viruses around to see how strong they are and how much friction there is. The virus is really, really small. Mike was the graduate student who helped us out. He was very friendly and willing to answer a lot of my questions. To me, it is not really possible to feel a virus, but in this experiment I could feel the stiffness of the virus. If you ever get a chance to try out a nano virus activity, then you can feel a virus and get a better understanding of it.
The second station that I enjoyed was the simulation of the virus and Atomic Force Microscope. We made a paper model of to make the icosahedral shape of an adenovirus We then put DNA inside of it. Then we used the simulator which included a tip which we raised and pushed across the table to make a graph of the motion we were making. I found out they still have not tried to turn a virus over but that there is no need because the virus is the same all the way around. This experiment helped us to see how the microscope works. I enjoyed this experiment, and it gave me a better understanding of how scientists test viruses, what they do with viruses, and how they find things out about viruses.
Last but not least, we got to talk to a few scientists. I got to observe/talk to only two of them. The two that I got a chance to talk to were Amy and Atsuko. They were very friendly, and they told me a lot of information and things I did not know. My first question to them was what is their definition of a scientist. Their response was that a scientist is a person who tries to explain how things work. They both informed me that math is very important for a scientist to know, and I can see why because scientists have to work out things dealing with time, fractions, money. I have always thought that the things I learn in elementary, middle and high school were things I would need when I got out of school or later in life. The scientists said they used things they learned in school to help them with things now. I also learned that there are some fields that are very complex so when someone goes into a field like biology, there are many different things one can study. Amy is a graduate student studying computer science, and Atsuko is a graduate student studying to be a bio-physicist. These were two very intelligent young ladies, and I enjoyed talking with them.
To sum it all up, (I learned a lot about cells and was very happy to know that the scientists wanted to help us get a better understanding of viruses. All of the stations-the interviews, the nanomanipulator, and the simulation of the virus helped a lot. I did learn what a virus feels like, how they work, and how they are set up. I enjoyed this learning process and this learning environment.
Super Fine Days with Viruses
It all started when Ms. Morley asked me to be a part of a virus study. Like always, I said yes. They told us that we would work with a microscope and learn about viruses.
My group was the first group to work on the nanomanipulator. The first thing was that the live virus would not show up on the screen. The scientist that worked on the nanomanipulator was Mike Falvo. The second day, the live virus was on the screen. I cut the virus in half and pushed another off the screen. My group was all girls and one guy.
We also got to make a virus and put DNA inside it. We worked with a simulator and made a mold of what the virus and DNA would look like. Rich Superfine was the person who helped us and talked to us. He told us how to work with the simulator.
My group got to interview four scientists. They told us things about their work, life outside their jobs, The hours they had to work, and some of the different things they do at work. Some talked about their families. One even talked about how one time he packed up his family and moved and all of the crying and leaving his friends.
Over all I really enjoyed working with the team of people that came to help me learn about viruses. I really enjoyed working with the hands-on project. Thanks to all of the people that made this happen.
My experiences with viruses
This week some biologists and other scientists from UNC came to Orange High School. They showed us how viruses work and what they are made of. We got to interview different scientists and learn about what they do for a living. For example, Amy is a computer scientist. She talked about how she accomplishes her job and what she does for this virus project. Another one was a professor who was helping by doing the networking for all the computers. Dr. Superfine gave a lecture on how the virus works.
He talked about how if you blew up a cell to the size of this room, a virus would be the size of a softball. I never thought about viruses that way, as machines, but I guess that work like machines. The DNA inside a virus is actually two times the size of a football field. How does it fit inside such a small place? Well, it is wound into a tiny ball and stuffed inside the virus. It is a shame that interesting things like viruses cause so many problems.
We made a model of a virus that was cool. But what was really cool was the nanomanipulator. It let you interact with a real virus. I thought that was pretty cool. When you push a button, you could move the tip around and touch the virus. You felt bumps and it moved. That was awesome. I actually squished one a little. I can’t believe how we are one of the few classes that have actually been able to use one of these things! If I had another chance to use the nanomanipulator, I would jump at the chance. We should have one in every science class!
Did you know that viruses are twenty sided. I did not until this week. There are so many things you can learn about viruses by using the nanomanipulator. I want to use one again. I hope that these scientists come back so we can use the nanomanipulator again. I know you must be sick and tired of me going on about the nanomanipulator, but it is so fun. You should try it. If you don’t, you are missing out.
Nanomanipulator: Have you experienced it?
My name is Thomas C. Miller. The people my group consists of are Ashley and Crystal. Our activities occurred on the week of November 15th through the 19th. It happened in Ms. Morley’s, soon to be Ms. Daye’s, biology class at Orange High School.
The nanomanipulator is a device in which scientists can perform experiments on viruses. It is made of a coffee can sized thing that has a point so small it detects viruses as it moves up and over a virus creating an image on a computer. Since the class cannot take a field trip to the actual labs, they connected the actual control stick to the computer we have here at Orange High. The people that helped us use it were people like Dr. Rich Superfine. Dr. Superfine explained to us how the Atomic Force Microscope (AFM) works. He did this with an AFM simulator.
When the time came, we got to actually use the nanomanipulator. Can you believe they actually let us, high school students, use this expensive equipment? To put it in plain words, it was the trippiest experience I have ever had. The powerful motors resisted when the tip touched a virus. The fact that we knew that we were actually touching a live virus that was somewhere else was half the trip.
What I found weird was that we could only move the virus when Mike programmed the AFM to let us.
OHS Students Play with Viruses
Scientists from UNC-Chapel Hill came to Orange High School last week and helped Ms. Morley’s class run tests on viruses. We made purple virus balls with numbers and letters that were black on them. The simulator was pretty cool. We used a machine to feel viruses. We put a bunch of yarn in the 3-D model virus we made. I think we put eleven meters in the model. They were pretty weird people, and they were really goofy. I bet they make a lot of money!
We got to play with viruses on an IBM computer which pushed the viruses under a microscope. We changed the color of the virus many times. There was a camera linked up to the computer that went to the computer where the virus actually was. Some internet people came in and we were talking to them about trying to speed up the internet connections and figuring out how email works.
The Yucky Viruses and the Scientists who Study Them
For one week, my biology class had scientists visiting us. They came to conduct an experiment. They wanted to see if we knew what viruses are and how they work. Some students had an idea, but I just knew that they made me feel yucky when I get sick.
The scientists talked to us about viruses. They asked us questions and really related to the class. After they asked us questions, we got to interrogate them. They told us what they do in the labs and also if they enjoy their jobs. Most replied that they love their jobs and that hey have lots of fun doing them.
I realized that I had really been fooled by a false stereotype of what a scientist had to look like. There were all different kinds of people here, of different ages as well as of different races. But they all share the same goals, to learn as much viruses as they can.
You see, I thought when you went to do an experiment, you would just take your tools and do what ever it was you set out to do. Boy, was I wrong! I never realized that you don’t always have the tools you need. But they explained to us that there are different scientists doing different things. One scientist, an experimental scientist, decides on what it is that they need to do an experiment. Then the experimental scientist tells a computer scientist what it is that they need. The computer scientist goes and makes the tool so then the experimental scientist can conduct the experiment. They all work as a team, and their work is very beneficial to them all.
The scientists gave us all an idea of what a virus looks like and what it does. I personally think they look like robots from another planet – yucky! But they taught us what they contain and how they work. I understand viruses a lot better now that the experiment is over.
We did a lot of "hands-on" activities. I think that really helped us to comprehend all of the information given to us. I enjoyed my experience learning about viruses. It opened my mind to a possible new path to a career as a scientist and gave me a definite new outlook on viruses. Although I do believe this experiment was a little too beneficial, because after learning about viruses, I caught one!
This experiment was very educational, and I think every student should have the chance to participate in an activity like this. We will never really be able to understand viruses until w know how they work. But I hope that there are a lot of people out there that are working really hard to understand and cure viruses.
So I would like to thank UNC for giving me this opportunity and a big "thanks" to all the scientists out there studying those yucky viruses.
On Monday, November 15, Rich came to Orange High to talk to my class about science. First he gave us a questionnaire and then we went over it. After that, he explained how the use of a beam can be bright on some objects and can be dim on other objects. The he ended it up with a coin. We closed our eyes and rubbed the coin with our fingers and tried to tell how or which way the head was pointed. This was a nice experiment I think, and I think it is helpful for people who want to do science later on. He also talked about how big a virus is and about how they look. All in all, I think he was a good instructor to us and to any other student who listened that day.
Tuesday, November 16, Rich, who came in yesterday, had an experiment for everyone to test out. It had to do with using a scale and a model of a virus with many points. The virus was to sit still. Meanwhile, with the scale there was a pen with some cardboard to mark information. Also, there was a big point which, when you moved it, was to barely touch the highest point. First, I went to the left a bit. Then I went up and over at the same time and then I came down and over at the same time. Then I came straight across the bottom, went over the last strand of the virus and ended the tracing. This experiment was alright. When I looked at my little graph of the virus, it was alright, but my lines were swervy and crooked. So this project was alright.
Today, November 18, during 5th period we went to a center where you could feel viruses. It was nice because you would never think that you could feel a virus. Mike Falvo was the instructor. He told me exactly what to do, and it was fun. We could also see the actual lab at UNC-Chapel Hill where Garrett Mathews talked with us and explained how things worked along with the program. All in all, I think this was and is a good start of a world wide program for any and everyone. If I could, I would have stayed at that station all day. That is how fun it was. When I compare it to labs and other working assignments, it was the best thing we have done here in our class ever. Mike told me that if I wanted to I could come back after class and work with the program some more, and if I get the chance, I think I will. If I don’t get a chance, I know that the next group that does get to do this will have the same expression of excitement as I did my first time. I hope and I think that this program will be a success, as long as the members stay focused and are patient enough.
The experiences I had with the UNC visitors
We are doing a project with a nanomanipulator in my 6th period biology class. So far I have met different people from the university. First I talked with Asuko who attends the University of North Carolina. Asuko studies viruses because she is an experimental scientist. Asuko uses an atomic force microscope to study the viruses that she chooses.
Asuko has a little solution with the virus in it. She takes a little drop and applies it to a chip, and she can then push something across the surface of the chip and feel the chip. After Asuko, we met with Michele Clark, she is a computer scientist. Michele deals with how to make the internet faster, meaning she helps to make the web page you may need for a school project come up faster. She also told our group that if she had the chance she would not change her profession. I kind of look up to her because she is like me. When I have my mind set on doing one certain thing, I do it. I’m not the type of person to change what I’m doing. Michele does not have to work, or, if you would, call it schooling, all night; she usually gets home at about five to six p.m. Michele lived in a dorm while she was an undergraduate student, but now she lives in Durham. Michele told us that she loves meeting new friends at the university. She also said that she loves to learn some of their different backgrounds. Most of Michele’s friends are computer graphics majors so she doesn’t have much in common to say to them when they get to chatting over a nice cup of hot coffee.
After talking to all of the students, we actually got to work with the real nanomanipulator. It was a very weird feeling the virus when it was fifty miles away. I had a lot of fun and hope to do it again.
Viruses – they are everywhere
On November 15, 1999, Ms. Morley’s biology class had a run in with Dr. "Spiffy" Superfine. He told us that size is eventually going to change into the metric system. Most of the people in the class did not like the idea because they are so used to the American inch and foot. I guess we are just going to have to get over it.
Dr. Superfine (which by the way is his real name) is a physicist on a team of doctors and scientists. The team is working on a nanomanipulator which is a microscope that lets you manipulate a virus. You can squish, splat, mutilate, pull apart, or just about do anything humanly possible to the virus. It was the most interactive experience that I have ever had with a virus.
The people who are working with the nanomanipulator are quality people who have either a medical or science degree. They enjoy doing everything that an average person would do, especially the ones from 23-26. You can’t imagine what they do in their spare time. Let’s just say they enjoy dancing and music.
I interviewed all of the scientists and the graduate students, and by comparison they are all working to achieve the same goals. They all want eventually to make everything easier for the scientists to work with. They all seem eager to build things, develop new tools, or help people out by means of the scientists being able to study viruses very closely.
When I worked with the nanomanipulator, I saw the work of all the members of the team working together. I saw computer graphics from the computer scientists and the data input from the physicists. Everything that I saw was the result of a team effort. The educators were superior too. They helped coordinate and organize the program.
In the course of a week, I have learned so much. Coming into this experiment we knew so little about viruses, and now we can describe their size, some of their characteristics, and how viruses infect you and make you sick. The visiting scientists have inspired me and so many others to join a field in science. They have lit a flame that cannot be put out.
There are so many unanswered questions out there just looking for a solution. This experiment is just the beginning of a long line of discoveries. What a "spiffy" group of people.
Mike Byrd
On November 15, 1999 a man named Rich came to our class and talked about the experiment that colleagues and students were going to do. The next day, when I got in class, we split into groups, and I went to station 6. There we listened to Rusty talk about science work and viruses, how games are made, and movies like A Bug’s Life and Toy Story.
Today we have seen what DNA does and seen and felt viruses. We also went to the lab and played with a virus. I talked to a man from UNC-CH. It was so cool! It made me want to be a scientist because it was so fun.
Mrs. Daye mashes a virus!
