Titan is a rather well known moon of Saturn. The Cassini mission undertaken by NASA has sent us some beautiful pictures of both the planet and the moon. These have aided the NASA scientists in studying them in more detail. Titan is the only other celestial body in our solar system which has stable bodies of liquid on its surface.

Currently the blocks of hydrocarbon ice found floating in the seas and lakes of Titan have excited the scientists who believe that some form of exotic life in a primitive state may have developed in these blocks. Much like how the early algae was formed on Earth giving life as we know it on our planet a start.

Naturally the kind of life that develops in a cycle which involves ethane and methane rather than water, like on Earth, is likely to be different. In fact till now scientists had assumed that there was no floating ice on Titan as solid methane is denser than liquid methane and would end up sinking.

Since there is evidence to show that the ice made of hydrocarbons is floating on the liquid surfaces on Titan perhaps it is not too difficult a leap of the imagination to think that life of a primitive nature is also embedded in those ice cubes. Only more scientific study will reveal the truth.

The victims of spinal injuries who have been paralyzed may have new hope with medicines that are being developed at Stanford University, California. Researchers at the University have used the experimental drug on mice with no movement in their lower limbs.

They claim that the medicine currently called LM11A-31 has helped the mice to walk with well coordinated steps and even reproduce swimming motions. The mice were given three oral doses of the medication while a control group was given placebos. The medicine was administered at 4 hour intervals to the mice.

The medicine which was repeated for a period of 42 days did not have any toxic side effects on the mice. It did not cause an increase in the pain levels for the animals and crossed the blood brain barrier efficiently. Certain chemicals are unable to do so.

Scientists agree that this is the first time that an oral medication has proved to be an effective therapy for spinal injuries. Most earlier therapies were of a far more invasive nature and did not always guarantee good results. Perhaps the functional improvement found in the mice would be further enhanced when the drug is improved upon in the science project and human trials begin.

With the renewed interest that our astronauts have created with the final frontier it is to be expected that a whole generation has been inspired to want to head out into space. Unfortunately not everyone can be out in space but for every one astronaut there are at least a hundred people involved with the mission on Earth itself.

To be a part of the supporting staff is just as exciting and challenging as it is to be an astronaut. Not to mention much safer as a career option since you never face the uncertainty and risks of space travel first hand. You still get to be in on the plan to explore the moon, another planet or even other galaxies.

As an astronomer you can help to determine the composition of a planet, its atmosphere, and its moons. You can help figure out if it is likely to support life. You can even have plans of relocating human beings to a hospitable planet and you can get to explain it all to a public audience.

You can be part of the force that protects Earth from collisions with other potential treats. By using sensitive radio telescopes to spot comets and asteroids with the potential to impact Earth, you can give early warning orders that can help deal with the threat. There is more than one interesting science project that you can be part of.

This is an simple science experiment that a young student of science can conduct on his own. The objective of the experiment is to blow up a balloon without using air from your lungs to inflate it. Instead you use the carbon dioxide that is produced by the chemical reaction that you will perform to do the trick.

Here’s a list of things that you will need to conduct the experiment. A small empty bottle made out of plastic. Clean and dry it before the experiment. A small balloon which is able to fit over the neck of the bottle. A packet of dry baker’s yeast, a little warm water and some sugar.

Have everything you need? Then lets get started. Fill up the plastic bottle with one inch of warm water.  Next add the packet of dry yeast and give it a swirl to dissolve it. Its the sugar’s turn to go in next. Again shake it around a bit before you place the balloon snugly over the neck of the bottle.

Leave it alone for about half an hour. When you return you’ll see that the yeast has reacted with the sugar and produced enough carbon dioxide to inflate the balloon. You can then repeat the science experiment with honey in place of the sugar to see how that works out.

Studying science can bring some rather unique career options to your doorstep. One such career is as an aquacultural manager. As the word aqua suggests its to do with water. The word culture in science deals with growing living organisms and of course manager is self explanatory.

So as an aquacultural manager you will be essentially doing fish farming. However it doesn’t end with that. You would be also experimenting to look for environmentally friendly ways of farming fish. Or you could actually be employed by a jewellery trader to look after their oyster beds to provide them with the best quality pearls grown naturally.

As you can see its more than fish. You could end up looking after a resort lake which is stocked with fish that fishermen come to fish at for recreation. Or maybe become a specialist stockist for sea food restaurants who look to purchase top grade, fresh sea food from your company.

You need a bachelor’s degree to get started on this rather unique and strangely full filling career opportunity. Of course it would make a lot more sense if you have a natural love of being in water and a certain amount of mechanical aptitude to take up a career which can be essentially a stream of interesting science projects.

If you enjoyed creating flashes of color in the milk pan in the last science experiment described on the blog you may like to convert it into a full fledged science project. All you need to do is have a definite question to answer. For instance you could consider a couple of variables and frame questions like – how does the shape of the milk pan affect the experiment.

Here you need to get an assortment of different shaped baking trays together before you begin the experiment. Now follow the same process of creating flashes of color in the pan by pouring the liquids into the different shaped baking trays. See which shape allows the most spectacular display of colors to be seen. Note down your findings.

Another question that you could seek an answer to is how different brands of dish washing liquids affect the experiment. Use the same shape of baking tray or milk pan in this set of experiments, just change the liquid soap brand as you repeat the process with a minimum of three different types of liquid dish washing soap. Record the observations to see which liquid soap works the best in the science project. You could even try to figure out why one works best or if all work the same way.

Do you find plain old white milk boring? Well here’s a simple science experiment which will make you see milk with flashes of brilliant colors in it. You’ll never look at your cup of milk the same way again. Here’s a list of things that you will need to perform this experiment.

A baking tray that is long and flat, a cookie tray will do fine. A cup of whole fat milk, please note that low fat milk will not work for this experiment as the milk fat plays a key role in it. Liquid food color in three different shades, ideally red, green and yellow. Dish washing liquid soap, a small bottle fitted with a nozzle that allows you to gently drop the liquid in small amounts.

Okay now we’re ready to begin. Place the baking tray on a flat surface where it can not be jolted. The dining table is a good spot. Pour out just enough milk into the baking tray to cover the base. Now add the three different colors of liquid food color in three different locations inside the tray. About eight to ten drops should be enough.

On top of the food color add about five or six drops of the dish washing liquid. Now sit back and watch the flashes of color displayed in the milk filled pan. The liquid soap tries to break down the fat in the milk and scatters the food color in the process. Talk about a colorful science experiment.

Who doesn’t like the sight of  freshly minted coins? The shinny pennies have fascinated more than one child. However did you know that even the old, dull and rather grimy looking pennies can also be made to shine again? Here’s how you would do so.

Collect all the old and dirty pennies that you can find. Your parents are sure to have some in their wallet or purse. Now get a flat plastic bowl or container. Pour some white vinegar into the plastic container and add a spoonful of salt to it. Stir to dissolve the salt and then add the pennies to the solution.

Let it stand for about ten to fifteen minutes. Now remove them from the solution and wash them in regular water from the kitchen tap. Now wipe them off with a paper kitchen towel. All the grime and dirt would have come off leaving you with a few really shinny new coins.

The science behind this trick is simple. The coins have  a layer of copper oxide on them which gets dissolved in the acid from the vinegar as it reacts with the salt.  This chemical reaction is what cleans out all the dull coating from the pennies leaving them in mint fresh condition.

The multicolored blobs of a lava lamp can be quite fascinating to watch. How cool would it be to make something like that by yourself at home? Its a very simple science experiment which you can do with your friends at home. Make sure you ask your mom before you use the materials needed to make these blobs in a bottle from your kitchen.

And here is a list of the things that you will need for the experiment. One clear transparent plastic bottle. You can use a one liter cold drink bottle by taking off the label. One cup of vegetable oil, water, some liquid food coloring and a couple of fizzing tablets. You can use any effervescent tablet that is used for digestive purposes.

Use a funnel to pour the water into the bottle till its 3/4 full. Now add the vegetable oil to the bottle. Add about ten to twelve drops of the food coloring and wait for a while for the water and oil to settle down. Now add the fizzy tablet and watch the lava lamp effect come to life as blobs move in the bottle.

To make it even more fun shine a flashlight from the bottom of the bottle. As the tablet wears out you will need to add another one to keep the spectacular effects going in this science project.

Crystals are stones which have formed as layer over layer of the material they are made of cooled and added to the rock. There are all kinds of different colored crystal stones in the world. The most common one would be the pure white colored crystal stones that a number of people use in prayer beads across the world.

A large number of semi precious stones like agate, amethysts, and cat’s eye are also basically crystal rock formations. So how would you like to make your own edible crystal rock candy? Here’s what all you will need. A glass of water, about three glasses of sugar, a wooden satay stick or chopstick, a tall narrow glass of water or glass jar, and a helpful adult.

Get the adult to boil the water in a pan and then dissolve the sugar in the water. You will need patience to let all the sugar dissolve so its better to add a few spoons at a time. Once the water is super saturated with sugar keep it aside to cool a bit and then pour it into the tall narrow glass.

Next dip the wooden satay stick into the glass and keep turning it every four to five hours as it cools. You will find that the sugar syrup begins to cool off and form a rock candy in crystalline form on the wooden stick. An edible science project is the best kind.