The Genographic Project: Following Our Genetc Footsteps

To help us learn about our ancestry and how they migrated, National Geographic has created the Genographic project. The Genographic Project is a non-profit and non-medical five-year-long anthropology study, led by Spencer Wells, a National Geographic Explorer-in-Residence, and a crew of renowned international scientists and IBM researchers. The program collects and analyzes DNA samples and charts human migration routes. Collaborating with traditional and indigenous peoples around the world, its main goal is to "understand our human genetic roots."

As you may know, all of our ancestors came from Africa. About 60,000 years ago, groups of Africans left their homeland. From there, they crossed land bridges and traveled to foreign lands.

These DNA studies are derived from Charles Darwin's On Origin of the Species, explaining that all humans are traced from common ancestors. The Genographic Project is going even into more depth.

For US$100, you can find out about your own family's ancestry with a self-testing kit that includes a buccal swab and it is analyzed on an Internet database. More than 300,000 have already purchased theirs.

Sources:
The Genographic Project, Wikipedia
by Brigette W.

Vampire Squid -- Needing Our Help

National Geographic shows a vampire squid who lives from 330 feet down into the ocean to 6 miles down. The vampire squid is dying off because of human activity off shore. The squid could also turn itself inside out to protect themselves from enemies.

This is a video of a giant salamander who could grow up to 5 feet long and weighs up to 80 pounds.

This video shows you a short documentary on the vampire squid.

http://video.nationalgeographic.com/video/player/news/latest-news/squid-vampire-threatened-vin.html

The International Photo Contest

Are any of you out there who are interested in photography? If you are, I think it would be a great idea to check out this International Photo Contest held by The National Geographic.

The National Geographic has held an annual International Photo Contest for four years. Each year, people from all over the world such Italy to Japan, all send in photos that they have taken. Additionally, you can also mention people who have taken photos in the contest. There are also three categories of winners: Worldwide, English Edition, and English Edition Viewer's Choice.

The winners in the Worldwide section include ............. Debra Jansen in the US, Gemma Collier in New Zealand, and Laurent Mercey in Great Britain. Their pictures were unique and had great quality. The winners in the English Edition section include ......... Eve Wolf, Christopher De Bruyn, and Casey Johnson all in the US. You can view more winners at this link.

Sources from The National Geographic Website

The Funny Game

Today at National Geograpic.com I play funny game called Funny Fill-In.

You just pick a bunch of words sort of like Mad Libs. Next you wait for a couple sec. to load. Finally the words that you type in will go into a paragraph.

You can send the paragraph to a friend or print your paragarph and this game is very education because kids can learn new words.

By Brandon

Pick and Then Write About An Animal

Pick an animal, and then report on it using the National Geographic Kids site.

Remember to include links and image, as well as sources

Take a Pic of a PeeP

Student Assignment: Anya

Peeps! In all the odd places. Write a story and include a lot of images about this contest from National Geographic Kids. You should also look at the images from the Washington Post and include images from this site. Also, make a list of possible places for students to take pictures of a peep. If you have time, create an Animoto slide show.

Again, remember to include a lot of images (and don't forget photo credits!).