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Research Question #1 What is an Iphone? Sub question #1.1 Who invented the Iphone?

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Research Question #1 What is an Iphone? Sub question #1.1 Who invented the Iphone?

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Steve Jobs was one of the founders of Apple Inc., one of the most successful companies in the world. As head of Apple, Jobs introduced many popular electronic products,…

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Research Q#A What are Genetic scissors? (Form)

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Research Q#A What are Genetic scissors? (Form)

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CRISPR-Cas9 is a genome editing tool that is creating a buzz in the science world. It is faster, cheaper and more accurate than previous techniques of editing DNA and has a wide range of potential applications.

What is CRISPR-Cas9?

CRISPR-Cas9 is a unique technology that enables geneticists and medical researchers to edit parts of the genome by removing, adding or altering sections of the DNA sequence.

It is currently the simplest, most versatile and precise method of genetic manipulation and is therefore causing a buzz in the science world.

How does it work?

The CRISPR-Cas9 system consists of two key molecules that introduce a change (mutation) into the DNA. These are:

an enzyme called Cas9. This acts as a pair of 'molecular scissors' that can cut the two strands of DNA at a specific location in the genome so that bits of DNA can then be added or removed.

a piece of RNA called guide RNA (gRNA). This consists of a small piece of pre-designed RNA sequence (about 20 bases long) located within a longer RNA scaffold. The scaffold part binds to DNA and the pre-designed sequence 'guides' Cas9 to the right part of the genome. This makes sure that the Cas9 enzyme cuts at the right point in the genome.

The guide RNA is designed to find and bind to a specific sequence in the DNA. The guide RNA has RNA bases that are complementary to those of the target DNA sequence in the genome. This means that, at least in theory, the guide RNA will only bind to the target sequence and no other regions of the genome.

The Cas9 follows the guide RNA to the same location in the DNA sequence and makes a cut across both strands of the DNA.

At this stage the cell recognises that the DNA is damaged and tries to repair it.

Scientists can use the DNA repair machinery to introduce changes to one or more genes in the genome of a cell of interest.

Some bacteria have a similar, built-in, gene editing system to the CRISPR-Cas9 system that they use to respond to invading pathogens like viruses, much like an immune system.

Using CRISPR the bacteria snip out parts of the virus DNA and keep a bit of it behind to help them recognise and defend against the virus next time it attacks.

Scientists adapted this system so that it could be used in other cells from animals, including mice and humans.

What other techniques are there for altering genes?

Over the years scientists have learned about genetics and gene function by studying the effects of changes in DNA.

If you can create a change in a gene, either in a cell line or a whole organism, it is possible to then study the effect of that change to understand what the function of that gene is.

For a long time geneticists used chemicals or radiation to cause mutations. However, they had no way of controlling where in the genome the mutation would occur.

For several years scientists have been using 'gene targeting' to introduce changes in specific places in the genome, by removing or adding either whole genes or single bases.

Traditional gene targeting has been very valuable for studying genes and genetics, however it takes a long time to create a mutation and is fairly expensive.

Several 'gene editing' technologies have recently been developed to improve gene targeting methods, including CRISPR-Cas systems, transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs).

The CRISPR-Cas9 system currently stands out as the fastest, cheapest and most reliable system for 'editing' genes.

What are the applications and implications?

CRISPR-Cas9 has a lot of potential as a tool for treating a range of medical conditions that have a genetic component, including cancer, hepatitis B or even high cholesterol.

Many of the proposed applications involve editing the genomes of somatic (non-reproductive) cells but there has been a lot of interest in and debate about the potential to edit germline (reproductive) cells.

Because any changes made in germline cells will be passed on from generation to generation it has important ethical implications.

Carrying out gene editing in germline cells is currently illegal in the UK and most other countries.

By contrast, the use of CRISPR-Cas9 and other gene editing technologies in somatic cells is uncontroversial. Indeed they have already been used to treat human disease on a small number of exceptional and/or life-threatening cases.

What's the future of CRISPR-Cas9?

It is likely to be many years before CRISPR-Cas9 is used routinely in humans.

Much research is still focusing on its use in animal models or isolated human cells, with the aim to eventually use the technology to routinely treat diseases in humans.

There is a lot of work focusing on eliminating 'off-target' effects, where the CRISPR-Cas9 system cuts at a different gene to the one that was intended to be edited.

Better targeting of CRISPR-Cas9

In most cases the guide RNA consists of a specific sequence of 20 bases. These are complementary to the target sequence in the gene to be edited. However, not all 20 bases need to match for the guide RNA to be able to bind.

The problem with this is that a sequence with, for example, 19 of the 20 complementary bases may exist somewhere completely different in the genome. This means there is potential for the guide RNA to bind there instead of or as well as at the target sequence.

The Cas9 enzyme will then cut at the wrong site and end up introducing a mutation in the wrong location. While this mutation may not matter at all to the individual, it could affect a crucial gene or another important part of the genome.

Scientists are keen to find a way to ensure that the CRISPR-Cas9 binds and cuts accurately. Two ways this may be achieved are through:

the design of better, more specific guide RNAs using our knowledge of the DNA sequence of the genome and the 'off-target' behaviour of different versions of the Cas9-gRNA complex.

the use of a Cas9 enzyme that will only cut a single strand of the target DNA rather than the double strand. This means that two Cas9 enzymes and two guide RNAs have to be in the same place for the cut to be made. This reduces the probability of the cut being made in the wrong place.

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CRISPR-Cas9 is a genome editing tool that is creating a buzz in the science world. It is faster, cheaper and more accurate than previous techniques of editing DNA and has a wide range of potential applications. CRISPR-Cas9 is a unique technology that enables geneticists and medical researchers to edit parts of the genome by removing, adding or altering sections of the DNA sequence.

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What Are Genes? | Educational Videos for Kids

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Sub Question # A 2 Who discovered Genetic Scissors?

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Sub Question # A 2 Who discovered Genetic Scissors?

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Creators of CRISPR genetic “scissors” win 2020 Nobel Prize in Chemistry

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Research Q#2 How do Genetic Scissors work?

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Research Q#2 How do Genetic Scissors work?

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CRISPR-Cas9 is a genome editing tool that is creating a buzz in the science world. It is faster, cheaper and more accurate than previous techniques of editing DNA and has a wide range of potential applications.

What is CRISPR-Cas9?

CRISPR-Cas9 is a unique technology that enables geneticists and medical researchers to edit parts of the genome by removing, adding or altering sections of the DNA sequence.

It is currently the simplest, most versatile and precise method of genetic manipulation and is therefore causing a buzz in the science world.

How does it work?

The CRISPR-Cas9 system consists of two key molecules that introduce a change (mutation) into the DNA. These are:

an enzyme called Cas9. This acts as a pair of 'molecular scissors' that can cut the two strands of DNA at a specific location in the genome so that bits of DNA can then be added or removed.

a piece of RNA called guide RNA (gRNA). This consists of a small piece of pre-designed RNA sequence (about 20 bases long) located within a longer RNA scaffold. The scaffold part binds to DNA and the pre-designed sequence 'guides' Cas9 to the right part of the genome. This makes sure that the Cas9 enzyme cuts at the right point in the genome.

The guide RNA is designed to find and bind to a specific sequence in the DNA. The guide RNA has RNA bases that are complementary to those of the target DNA sequence in the genome. This means that, at least in theory, the guide RNA will only bind to the target sequence and no other regions of the genome.

The Cas9 follows the guide RNA to the same location in the DNA sequence and makes a cut across both strands of the DNA.

At this stage the cell recognises that the DNA is damaged and tries to repair it.

Scientists can use the DNA repair machinery to introduce changes to one or more genes in the genome of a cell of interest.

Some bacteria have a similar, built-in, gene editing system to the CRISPR-Cas9 system that they use to respond to invading pathogens like viruses, much like an immune system.

Using CRISPR the bacteria snip out parts of the virus DNA and keep a bit of it behind to help them recognise and defend against the virus next time it attacks.

Scientists adapted this system so that it could be used in other cells from animals, including mice and humans.

What other techniques are there for altering genes?

Over the years scientists have learned about genetics and gene function by studying the effects of changes in DNA.

If you can create a change in a gene, either in a cell line or a whole organism, it is possible to then study the effect of that change to understand what the function of that gene is.

For a long time geneticists used chemicals or radiation to cause mutations. However, they had no way of controlling where in the genome the mutation would occur.

For several years scientists have been using 'gene targeting' to introduce changes in specific places in the genome, by removing or adding either whole genes or single bases.

Traditional gene targeting has been very valuable for studying genes and genetics, however it takes a long time to create a mutation and is fairly expensive.

Several 'gene editing' technologies have recently been developed to improve gene targeting methods, including CRISPR-Cas systems, transcription activator-like effector nucleases (TALENs) and zinc-finger nucleases (ZFNs).

The CRISPR-Cas9 system currently stands out as the fastest, cheapest and most reliable system for 'editing' genes.

What are the applications and implications?

CRISPR-Cas9 has a lot of potential as a tool for treating a range of medical conditions that have a genetic component, including cancer, hepatitis B or even high cholesterol.

Many of the proposed applications involve editing the genomes of somatic (non-reproductive) cells but there has been a lot of interest in and debate about the potential to edit germline (reproductive) cells.

Because any changes made in germline cells will be passed on from generation to generation it has important ethical implications.

Carrying out gene editing in germline cells is currently illegal in the UK and most other countries.

By contrast, the use of CRISPR-Cas9 and other gene editing technologies in somatic cells is uncontroversial. Indeed they have already been used to treat human disease on a small number of exceptional and/or life-threatening cases.

What's the future of CRISPR-Cas9?

It is likely to be many years before CRISPR-Cas9 is used routinely in humans.

Much research is still focusing on its use in animal models or isolated human cells, with the aim to eventually use the technology to routinely treat diseases in humans.

There is a lot of work focusing on eliminating 'off-target' effects, where the CRISPR-Cas9 system cuts at a different gene to the one that was intended to be edited.

Better targeting of CRISPR-Cas9

In most cases the guide RNA consists of a specific sequence of 20 bases. These are complementary to the target sequence in the gene to be edited. However, not all 20 bases need to match for the guide RNA to be able to bind.

The problem with this is that a sequence with, for example, 19 of the 20 complementary bases may exist somewhere completely different in the genome. This means there is potential for the guide RNA to bind there instead of or as well as at the target sequence.

The Cas9 enzyme will then cut at the wrong site and end up introducing a mutation in the wrong location. While this mutation may not matter at all to the individual, it could affect a crucial gene or another important part of the genome.

Scientists are keen to find a way to ensure that the CRISPR-Cas9 binds and cuts accurately. Two ways this may be achieved are through:

the design of better, more specific guide RNAs using our knowledge of the DNA sequence of the genome and the 'off-target' behaviour of different versions of the Cas9-gRNA complex.

the use of a Cas9 enzyme that will only cut a single strand of the target DNA rather than the double strand. This means that two Cas9 enzymes and two guide RNAs have to be in the same place for the cut to be made. This reduces the probability of the cut being made in the wrong place.

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CRISPR-Cas9 is a genome editing tool that is creating a buzz in the science world. It is faster, cheaper and more accurate than previous techniques of editing DNA and has a wide range of potential applications. CRISPR-Cas9 is a unique technology that enables geneticists and medical researchers to edit parts of the genome by removing, adding or altering sections of the DNA sequence.

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Research Q# 3 Why are genetic scissors important?

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Research Q# 3 Why are genetic scissors important?

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How CRISPR could save lives and end diseases

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 FACTS "Genetic Scissors" Korean researchers.

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 FACTS "Genetic Scissors" Korean researchers.

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SEOUL, KOREA - A Korean research team, comprised of Jin-soo Kim (professor at Seoul National University) and Seok-joog Kim (researcher at Toolgen), has developed new genetic scissors optimized for each of the human genes. The genetic scissors refer to engineered nucleases that cleave DNA in a targeted manner for genome editing in human cells. Since the team's genetic scissors enable observation of cellular changes through the genome editing of disease-causing mutations, they are expected to help scientists have a much better understanding of disease-causing genes.

The team's findings were posted on the online version of Nature Biotechnology (a peer reviewed scientific journal published monthly by the Nature Publishing Group).

The Human Genome Project (HGP) has thus far mapped the approximately 20,000 genes of the human genome, but the functions of them have yet to be identified precisely.

The team has successfully developed genetic scissors (engineered nucleases) that work only towards a targeted gene without impairing the rest of the human genome.

**Article provided by etnews [Korea IT News]

[Reference] : http://english.etnews.com/electronics/2715655_1303.html

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The Development of New "Genetic Scissors" by Korean Researchers

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SEOUL, KOREA - A Korean research team, comprised of Jin-soo Kim (professor at Seoul National University) and Seok-joog Kim (researcher at Toolgen), has developed new genetic scissors optimized for each of the human genes. The genetic scissors refer to engineered nucleases that cleave DNA in a targeted manner for genome editing in human cells.

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Research Question #2 How does an Iphone work?

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Research Question #2 How does an Iphone work?

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iPhone is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. All generations of the iPhone use Apple's iOS mobile operating system software. The first-generation iPhone was released on June 29, 2007, and multiple updated hardware and new versions with new iOS releases have been released since.

The user interface is built around the device's multi-touch screen, including a virtual keyboard. The iPhone has Wi-Fi and can connect to cellular networks. An iPhone can shoot video (though this was not a standard feature until the iPhone 3GS), take photos, play music, send and receive email, browse the web, send and receive text messages, follow GPS navigation, record notes, perform mathematical calculations, and receive visual voicemail.

Other functionality, such as video games, reference works, and social networking, can be enabled by downloading mobile apps. As of 2017 Apple's App Store contained more than 2.2 million applications available for the iPhone.

The original iPhone was described as "revolutionary" and a "game-changer" for the mobile phone industry. Future versions of the iPhone have also garnered praise. The iPhone is one of the most widely used smartphones in the world, and its success has been credited with helping Apple become one of the world's most valuable publicly traded companies. The iPhone attracts users of all ages, and besides consumer use, the iPhone has also been adopted for business purposes.

Apple has released eleven generations of iPhone models, each accompanied by one of the eleven major releases of the iOS operating system. The original first-generation iPhone was a GSM phone.

The iPhone 3G added 3G network support, and was followed by the 3GS with improved hardware, the 4 with a metal chassis, higher display resolution and front-facing camera, and the 4S with improved hardware and the voice assistant Siri.

The iPhone 5 featured a taller, 4-inch display and Apple's newly introduced Lightning connector. In 2013, Apple released the 5S with improved hardware and a fingerprint reader, and the lower-cost 5C, a version of the 5 with colored plastic casings instead of metal. They were followed by the larger iPhone 6, with models featuring 4.7-and-5.5-inch (120 and 140 mm) displays. The iPhone 6S was introduced the following year, which featured hardware upgrades and support for pressure-sensitive touch inputs, as well as the SE -which featured hardware from the 6S but the smaller form factor of the 5S.

On September 12, 2018, Apple officially unveiled the iPhone XS, XS Max and XR at the Steve Jobs theater at Apple Park. The XS and XS Max feature an improved Super Retina Display with Dolby Vision and HDR10 support with the XS Max featuring a larger 6.5" display, improved cameras with Smart HDR, and the A12 Bionic chip.

The iPhone XS and XS Max are IP68 water, liquid, and dust resistant which allow the devices to be submerged in up to 2 meters for a duration of 30 minutes. The iPhone XS/XS Max's IP68 certifications were tested using various liquids such as chlorinated-water, salt water, tea, wine, beer, and juices. Apple also announced the fourth generation of Apple Watch, the Apple Watch Series 4.

Development

Development of what was to become the iPhone began in 2004, when Apple started to gather a team of 1,000 employees (including Jonathan Ive, the designer behind the iMac and iPod) to work on the highly confidential "Project Purple." Apple CEO Steve Jobs steered the original focus away from a tablet (which Apple eventually revisited in the form of the iPad) towards a phone. Apple created the device during a secretive collaboration with Cingular Wireless (which became AT&T Mobility) at the time-at an estimated development cost of US$150 million over thirty months.

According to Steve Jobs, the "i" word in "iMac" (and therefore "iPod", "iPhone" and "iPad") stands for internet, individual, instruct, inform, and inspire.

Jobs unveiled the iPhone to the public on January 9, 2007, at the Macworld 2007 convention at the Moscone Center in San Francisco. The two initial models, a 4 GB model priced at US$499 and an 8 GB model at US$599 (both requiring a two-year contract), went on sale in the United States on June 29, 2007, at 6:00 pm local time, while hundreds of customers lined up outside the stores nationwide. From 2007 to 2011, Apple spent $647 million on advertising for the iPhone in the US.

In February 2012, ComScore reported that 12.4% of US mobile subscribers used an iPhone. Approximately 6.4 million iPhones are active in the US alone.

On September 20, 2013, the sales date of the iPhone 5S and 5C models, the longest ever queue was observed at the New York City flagship Apple store, in addition to prominent queues in San Francisco, US and Canada; however, locations throughout the world were identified for the anticipation of corresponding consumers. Apple also increased production of the gold-colored iPhone 5S due to the particularly strong demand that emerged. Apple had decided to introduce a gold model after finding that gold was seen as a popular sign of a luxury product among Chinese customers.

Apple released its opening weekend sales results for the 5C and 5S models, showing an all-time high for the product's sales figures, with ninemillion handsets sold-the previous record was set in 2012, when fivemillion handsets were sold during the opening weekend of the 5 model. This was the first time that Apple has simultaneously launched two models and the inclusion of China in the list of markets contributed to the record sales result. Apple also announced that, as of September 23, 2013, 200 million devices were running the iOS 7 update, making it the "fastest software upgrade in history."

In January 2012, Apple reported its best quarterly earnings ever, with 53% of its revenue coming from the sale of 37 million iPhones, at an average selling price of nearly $660. The average selling price has remained fairly constant for most of the phone's lifespan, hovering between $622 and $660. Labor costs are estimated at between $12.50 and $30 per unit, with workers on the iPhone assembly line making $1.78 an hour.

An Apple Store located at the Christiana Mall in Newark, Delaware, US claimed the highest iPhones sales figures in November 2013. The store's high sales results are due to the absence of a sales tax in the state of Delaware.

The finalization of a deal between Apple and China Mobile, the world's largest mobile network, was announced in late December 2013. The multi-year agreement provides iPhone access to over 760 million China Mobile subscribers.

In the first quarter of 2014, Apple reported that it had sold 51million iPhones, an all-time quarterly record, compared to 47.8million in the year-ago quarter.

Production

Up to the iPhone 4, all iPhone models, as well as other iOS devices were manufactured exclusively by Foxconn, based in Taiwan. In 2011, after Tim Cook became CEO of the company, Apple changed its outsourcing strategy, for the first time increasing its supply partners. The iPhone 4s in 2012 was the first model which was manufactured simultaneously by two stand-alone companies: Foxconn as well as Pegatron, also based in Taiwan. Although Foxconn is still responsible for the larger share of production, Pegatron's orders have been slowly increased.

iPhone Upgrade Program

Apple announced on September 1, 2013, that its iPhone trade-in program would be implemented at all of its 250 specialty stores in the US. For the program to become available, customers must have a valid contract and must purchase a new phone, rather than simply receive credit to be used at a later date. A significant part of the program's goal is to increase the number of customers who purchase iPhones at Apple stores rather than carrier stores.

The iPhone Upgrade Program is a 24-month program designed for consumers to be able to get the latest iPhone every year, without paying the whole price up-front. The program consists of "low monthly payments", where consumers will gradually pay for the iPhone they have over a 24-month period, with an opportunity to switch (upgrade) to the new iPhone after 12 months of payment have passed. Once 12 months have passed, consumers can trade their current iPhone with a new one, and the payments are transferred from the old device to the new device, and the program "restarts" with a new 24-month period.

Additional features of the program include unlocked handsets, which means consumers are free to pick the network carrier they want, and two-year AppleCare+ protection, which includes "hardware repairs, software support, and coverage for up to two incidents of accidental damage".

Screen and input

The touchscreen on the first five generations is a 9 cm (3.5 in) liquid crystal display with scratch-resistant glass, while the one on the iPhone 5 is four inches. The capacitive touchscreen is designed for a bare finger, or multiple fingers for multi-touch sensing. The iPhone X is the first iPhone to use an OLED display. It has a near bezel-less screen. The touch and gesture features of the iPhone are based on technology originally developed by FingerWorks.

The iPhone has a minimal hardware user interface, with most models featuring five buttons. The only physical menu button is situated directly below the display, and is called the "Home button" because its primary function is to close the active app and navigates to the home screen of the interface. The iPhone X doesn't have a Home button but instead Face ID, a facial recognition authentication method.

A multi-function sleep/wake button is located on the top of the device. It serves as the unit's power button, and also controls phone calls. When a call is received, pressing the sleep/wake button once silences the ringtone, and when pressed twice transfers the call to voicemail. Situated on the left spine are the volume adjustment controls. The iPhone 4 has two separate circular buttons to increase and decrease the volume.

Directly above the volume controls is a ring/silent switch that when engaged mutes telephone ringing, alert sounds from new & sent emails, text messages, and other push notifications, camera shutter sounds, Voice Memo sound effects, phone lock/unlock sounds, keyboard clicks, and spoken auto-corrections. This switch does not mute alarm sounds from the Clock application, and in some countries or regions it will not mute the camera shutter or Voice Memo sound effects. All buttons except Home were made of plastic on the original first generation iPhone and metal on all later models.

iPhones feature a number of sensors, which are used to adjust the screen based on operating conditions, enable motion-controlled games, location-based services, unlock the phone, and authenticate purchases with Apple Pay, among many other things.

A proximity sensor deactivates the display and touchscreen when the device is brought near the face during a call. This is done to save battery power and to prevent inadvertent inputs from the user's face and ears.

An ambient light sensor adjusts the display brightness which saves battery power and prevents the screen from being too bright or too dark.

A 3-axis accelerometer senses the orientation of the phone and changes the screen accordingly, allowing the user to easily switch between portrait and landscape mode. Photo browsing, web browsing, and music playing support both upright and left or right widescreen orientations. It is also used for fitness tracking purposes.

Beginning with the iPhone 4, Apple's smartphones also include a gyroscopic sensor, enhancing its perception of how it is moved.

All iPhone models starting from iPhone 5S (excluding the iPhone 5C and iPhone X) feature Apple's fingerprint recognition sensor. It is used for unlocking the device and authenticating Apple Pay purchases (since the iPhone 6) using Touch ID. It is located in the home button.

The iPhone X features a facial recognition sensor, named the TrueDepth camera system. It is used for unlocking the device and for authenticating purchases using Face ID. It can also be used for Animojis and AR.

Audio and output

On the bottom of the iPhone, there is a speaker to the left of the dock connector and a microphone to the right. There is an additional loudspeaker above the screen that serves as an earpiece during phone calls. The iPhone 4 includes an additional microphone at the top of the unit for noise cancellation, and switches the placement of the microphone and speaker on the base on the unit-the speaker is on the right. Volume controls are located on the left side of all iPhone models and as a slider in the iPod application.

Apple's own headset has a multipurpose button near the microphone that can play or pause music, skip tracks, and answer or end phone calls without touching the iPhone.

The built-in Bluetooth 2.x+EDR supports wireless earpieces and headphones, which requires the HSP profile. While non-sanctioned third-party solutions exist, the iPhone does not officially support the OBEX file transfer protocol. The lack of these profiles prevents iPhone users from exchanging multimedia files, such as pictures, music and videos, with other Bluetooth-enabled cell phones.

The iPhone did not support voice recording until the 3.0 software update.

The iPhone features an internal rechargeable lithium-ion battery. Like an iPod, but unlike most other mobile phones at the time of its launch, the battery is not user-replaceable. The iPhone can be charged when connected to a computer for syncing across the included USB to dock connector cable, similar to charging an iPod. Alternatively, a USB to AC adapter (or "wall charger", also included) can be connected to the cable to charge directly from an AC outlet. Some models of the iPhone support wireless charging.

Apple runs tests on pre-production units to determine battery life. Apple's website says that the battery life "is designed to retain up to 80% of its original capacity after 400 full charge and discharge cycles", which is comparable to iPod batteries.

If the battery malfunctions or dies prematurely, the phone can be returned to Apple and replaced for free while still under warranty. The warranty lasts one year from purchase and can be extended to two years with AppleCare. Apple reduced the price of an out-of-warranty iPhone battery replacement to $29.

The iPhone 4 introduced a 5.0- megapixel camera (2592×1936 pixels) that can record video at 720p resolution, considered high-definition. It also has a backside-illuminated sensor that can capture pictures in low light and an LED flash that can stay lit while recording video. It is the first iPhone that can do high dynamic range photography. The iPhone 4 also has a second camera on the front that can take VGA photos and record SD video. Saved recordings may be synced to the host computer, attached to email, or (where supported) sent by MMS.

The iPhone 4S' camera can shoot 8-MP stills and 1080p video, can be accessed directly from the lock screen, and can be triggered using the volume-up button as a shutter trigger. The built-in gyroscope can stabilize the image while recording video.

The iPhone 5 and iPhone 4S, running iOS 6 or later, can take panoramas using the built-in camera app, and the iPhone 5 can also take still photos while recording video.

On all five model generations, the phone can be configured to bring up the camera app by quickly pressing the home key twice. On all iPhones running iOS 5, it can also be accessed from the lock screen directly.

The iPhone 8 camera remains largely the same as its predecessor, but it features a larger sensor, and a newer color filter. The camera can also now record 4K at 60 and 24 frames per second, and slow-mo at 1080p in 240 frames per second. The new camera system also enables Portrait Lighting, which defines the light in a scene. It also features a quad-LED True Tone flash with 2× better light uniformity and Slow Sync.

The iPhone X camera is almost the same as the iPhone 8's camera, but the telephoto lens has an aperture of f/2.4 and optical image stabilization. The front camera also has Portrait Mode and Portrait Lighting, due to the new TrueDepth camera system.

The iPhone was initially released with two options for internal storage size: 4 or 8GB. On September 5, 2007, Apple discontinued the 4GB models. On February 5, 2008, Apple added a 16GB model. The iPhone 4S was available in three sizes: 16, 32, and 64GB. When the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus were released, Apple changed the base model storage capacity from 16 to 32GB.

Both the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus have configurations of 32, 128, and 256GB storage. Apple doubled the storage on the iPhone 6S and 6S Plus in two configurations (32 and 128GB), as well as the iPhone SE six months later. The iPhone 8, 8 Plus, and X have 64 or 256GB of storage.

In most countries, the iPhone is usually sold with a SIM lock, which prevents the iPhone from being used on a different mobile network. The GSM iPhone 4 features a MicroSIM card that is located in a slot on the right side of the device. The CDMA model of the iPhone 4, just the same as any other CDMA-only cell phone, does not use a SIM card or have a SIM card slot. The iPhone 5 and later iPhones use nano-SIM in order to save space internally.

Included items

All iPhone models include written documentation, and a dock connector to USB cable. All versions include a USB power adapter, or "wall charger", which allows the iPhone to charge from an AC outlet.

The iPhone runs an operating system known as iOS (formerly iPhone OS). It is a variant of the Darwin operating system core found in macOS. Also included is the "Core Animation" software component from Mac OS X v10.5 Leopard. Together with the PowerVR hardware, it is responsible for the interface's motion graphics. The iPhone comes with a set of bundled applications developed by Apple, and supports downloading third-party applications through the App Store.

Apple provides free updates to the operating system for the iPhone either wirelessly or through iTunes. Major new updates have historically accompanied new models.

The size of the operating system depends on version. While iOS 8 required over 4.5 GB, its successor required only 1.3 GB.

The following iPhone models have been produced:

Images for kids

When making a call, the iPhone presents a number of options, including FaceTime on supported models. The screen is automatically disabled when held close to the face.

The virtual keyboard on the first generation iPhone touchscreen

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iPhone is a line of smartphones designed and marketed by Apple Inc. All generations of the iPhone use Apple's iOS mobile operating system software. The first-generation iPhone was released on June 29, 2007, and multiple updated hardware and new versions with new iOS releases have been released since.

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Research Q #3 What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Iphones?

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Research Q #3 What are the advantages and disadvantages of using Iphones?

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7 ways the iphone has made life worse (opinion) - cnn

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The iPhone came out 10 years ago, a revolutionary product that's changed our lives -- and in many ways that has not been a good thing, writes Kara Alaimo.

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Research Question #A  What is Poaching? (Form)

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Research Question #A  What is Poaching? (Form)

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Poaching refers to the illegal killing or capturing of wild animals. Millions of animals from thousands of species are poached each year.

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What is Poaching?

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Sub Q#A1 What is animal extinction? (Form)

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Sub Q#A1 What is animal extinction? (Form)

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Endangered and Extinct Animals | Video for Kids | Rare Extinct Animals Video

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Research Question # 2 Why do Poachers kill animals? (Causation)

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Research Question # 2 Why do Poachers kill animals? (Causation)

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Skip to main content

Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! We love learning about animals, caring for them and even singing songs about them. Whether they are creatures of land or sea or sky, we should respect the fellow residents of our planet.

But unfortunately not everyone views animal life as beautiful or important. Poaching is when animals are killed, trapped or taken without permission. Most of the time poachers want to get parts of the animals to sell. For example, ivory comes from the tusks of elephants and rhinos. People wear tiger skins as coats or put them on display as trophies. Sharks have their fins cut off for soup and medicine. There are even some plants that are threatened by poaching!

Poaching makes the food chain unbalanced and can lead to species becoming extinct. The good news is that many governments around the world have made laws to protect animals. Concerned people have also started organizations to help put an end to poaching. If you want to take action, start by reading about different endangered species!

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Why do people hurt animals by poaching? - Wonder Wall - TPL Kids

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Skip to main content Lions and tigers and bears, oh my! We love learning about animals, caring for them and even singing songs about them. Whether they are creatures of land or sea or sky, we should respect the fellow residents of our planet. But unfortunately not everyone views animal life as beautiful or important.

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Research Q#3 What are the effects of animal poaching? (Causation)

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Research Q#3 What are the effects of animal poaching? (Causation)

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Research Q #4 What can we do to stop animal poaching? (Responsibility)

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Research Q #4 What can we do to stop animal poaching? (Responsibility)

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International Organization for Animal Protection

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WHY IS IMPORTANT TO TAKE ACTION AGAINST POACHING NOW

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NGO affiliated with the UN Department of Public Information and the UN Economic and Social Council Registration in the Register of Representatives of Interest of the European Commission Processing of personal data Sign OIPA newsletter

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Black Rhino

The Black Rhino is almost extinct in Africa because of poaching, and now they are critically endangered. There are somewhere around 2,500-4,800 rhinos left in the world. Poachers who kill black rhinos and sell their horns make $29,500+ per pound in profit. In fact, the black rhino's horn is worth more than gold. Rhino horn powder is believed to treat hangovers, fevers, and cancer. None of this is true! It just kills rhinos!

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Black Rhino The Black Rhino is almost extinct in Africa because of poaching, and now they are critically endangered. There are somewhere around 2,500-4,800 rhinos left in the world. Poachers who kill black rhinos and sell their horns make $29,500+ per pound in profit. In fact, the black rhino's horn is worth more than gold.

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Wild animals are being poached on a massive scale, with millions of individual animals of thousands of species worldwide killed or captured from their native habitats. Poaching poses a growing threat to elephants, rhinos, and other charismatic animals, as well as to smaller and more obscure creatures, like certain lizards and monkeys.

Poachers sometimes kill or capture animals to sell them locally or for the global trade in wildlife. Wildlife trading is a major black market that has increased alongside rising wealth in Asia-a major consumer of wildlife-and the advent of e-commerce and social media websites.

Some animals, such as birds, reptiles, and primates, are captured live so that they can be kept or sold as exotic pets. Slaughtered animals,

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Wild animals are being poached on a massive scale, with millions of individual animals of thousands of species worldwide killed or captured from their native habitats. Poaching poses a growing threat to elephants, rhinos, and other charismatic animals, as well as to smaller and more obscure creatures, like certain lizards and monkeys.

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The range of ways in which clouds can be formed and the variable nature of the atmosphere results in an enormous variety of shapes, sizes and textures of clouds.

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It's LGBT+ History Month, which is a time to promote the history and celebrate the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The + is an inclusive symbol to mean 'and others' to include people of all identities.

But for some people, having their sexual or gender identity celebrated or accepted hasn't always been easy, and being gay in the UK was once illegal.

For many people it's still very difficult to talk openly about their sexuality because of fear of what people might say or think.

However, due to changes in laws and attitudes, life has become much easier for the LGBT+ community - although in some places there is still work to be done.

What does 'coming out' mean?

Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is when a person shares with others that they are lesbian, gay, bi and/or trans (LGBT).

Coming out can be very different for everyone and it can take some time to get to a point where someone feels comfortable and confident enough to tell other people.

'Our coming out stories'

Newsround spoke to teenagers Lilly, Oliver and Liv and influential LGBT+ figures Michael Cashman, Lady Phyll and Sue Sanders to find out how different it is for a young LGBT+ person to come out now compared to over 25 years ago.

Oliver, aged 16, spoke to actor and member of the House of Lords, Michael Cashman, about how he came out. He explained that "I first told my Mum and she told me that she'd always known that I was gay. And then I made the decision to just post about it on Instagram and tell literally everybody I knew.

"Loads of people were like 'oh my gosh, I'm so happy for you', but a lot of people also treated me differently."

Michael told Oliver that what he did "took real courage" and that "in the United Kingdom it's still difficult to turn around to family and friends because sometimes we worry about what they will say...but becoming yourself without any pressure from anyone is so important".

It was completely illegal to be gay. You had no protections, you could be sacked [or] kicked out of your family, your home.

Michael Cashman, Actor and member of House of Lords

Lilly, aged 15, spoke to Lady Phyll, the co-founder of UK Black Pride, about her coming out experience and said: "I asked my Mum to come up into my room and I said 'I like girls not boys' and she was really excited about it.

"And a few minutes after, I told my Dad and he had to process it a little bit but he's completely fine with it."

But for Lady Phyll, her experience was very different. She told Lilly: "I came out over 25 years ago. I come from a very strict Christian background so letting my mother and father know was probably the worst sin that I could've done.

"My mother was absolutely distraught, she didn't speak to me. I also lost friends.

"Back in the day there was a lot of discrimination, not just around homophobia or biphobia, but also racism. So I was not just dealing with the issues of coming out, but I was dealing with the issues of being a young woman who was black and also identified as a lesbian.

"There was a lot of stigma and shame, but also culturally being from an African family there are laws in Ghana which criminalises same-sex relationships. That's why my parents couldn't and didn't want to understand".

Responding to Lady Phyll's story, Lilly said it makes her "feel really angry that the LGBT community was treated so poorly in the past".

Liv, 17, spoke to Sue Sanders, the co-founder of LGBT History Month, and said: "I didn't explicitly come out with a label, I just told [my parents] that I like girls.

"I feel there's so much pressure on young people to label themselves if they act or feel a different way. It's just who I am and my family don't see me as any different."

Sue told Liv that when she was growing up "lots of schools didn't mention LGBT issues at all". It wasn't until 2003 that the law changed which meant schools were allowed to teach LGBT history.

Liv responded by saying: "Had I been who I am in the past, I probably would've been too scared to say anything".

A history of gay rights

For hundreds of years LGBT+ people have struggled to be accepted and treated the same as people who are not LGBT+.

They have been oppressed and even killed because of who they have feelings for or what gender they identify as.

There were laws that stopped gay people from having the same rights as people who were not gay. For example, gay people couldn't get married or adopt children.

Up until 1967, being gay was a crime and gay and bisexual men could face a maximum sentence of life in prison if they broke the law around homosexuality.

But since then, a lot has changed in the UK - including the laws and attitudes in society.

1967 - The law was changed in England and Wales in 1967 which allowed two men to be in a relationship together without the fear of being arrested. It wasn't until later that the law changed in Scotland (1980) and Northern Ireland (1982).

Even though this happened, there were still many laws in place at the time which meant that gay people did not have the same rights as people who were not gay.

More gay men were arrested after 1967 for things which they would not have been arrested for if their partner had been a woman.

1969 - A series of demonstrations in New York called the Stonewall riots started after the police raided a bar called the Stonewall Inn, which was a popular place for gay people to hang out. It is said to be the start of the movement of people fighting for gay rights in the US.

1988 - A law called Section 28 was introduced which meant that teachers were not allowed to 'promote' gay relationships in schools. Many people argued that this prevented teachers from talking about gay relationships. It wasn't until 2003 that this was overturned.

2000 - A law was changed which allowed lesbian, gay and bisexual people to be in the armed forces.

2002 - A law was changed to allow gay people (and also unmarried couples) to adopt children.

2003 - The ban on 'promoting' homosexuality in schools (Section 28) was overturned.

2004 - This year marked the start of civil partnerships for gay people. This meant that they had similar rights to people who were married, but civil partnerships are not exactly the same as marriage. Some people did not think it was good enough and that gay people should be allowed to get married.

2008 - It became illegal to encourage homophobic hatred.

2013 - Gay marriage was made legal in England and Wales, and later in Scotland.

2020 - People of the same sex are allowed to get married in Northern Ireland after a change in the law.

In 2017, Peter Tatchell - a gay rights campaigner - told Newsround: "We have made fantastic progress. Compared to two decades ago, Britain is almost a different country. All the main anti-gay laws have been abolished. We are now one of the best countries in the world for gay equality."

"Public attitudes are much more supportive, although there are still families who reject their gay children. We still have too much homophobic hate crime, many kids are still bullied and a lot of schools don't have an anti-bullying programme that specifically addresses anti-gay issues.

"There is big progress, but more needs to be done."

Today it is illegal to discriminate against somebody because they are gay, although many gay people face discrimination in their daily lives.

Peter says: "We want to get to a situation where no one cares what sexuality you are; where we accept the person and their right to love whoever they wish - male, female, both or neither."

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LGBT+ History Month: What it means to 'come out' - CBBC Newsround

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It's LGBT+ History Month, which is a time to promote the history and celebrate the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The + is an inclusive symbol to mean 'and others' to include people of all identities.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
It's LGBT+ History Month, which is a time to promote the history and celebrate the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The + is an inclusive symbol to mean 'and others' to include people of all identities.

But for some people, having their sexual or gender identity celebrated or accepted hasn't always been easy, and being gay in the UK was once illegal.

For many people it's still very difficult to talk openly about their sexuality because of fear of what people might say or think.

However, due to changes in laws and attitudes, life has become much easier for the LGBT+ community - although in some places there is still work to be done.

What does 'coming out' mean?

Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is when a person shares with others that they are lesbian, gay, bi and/or trans (LGBT).

Coming out can be very different for everyone and it can take some time to get to a point where someone feels comfortable and confident enough to tell other people.

'Our coming out stories'

Newsround spoke to teenagers Lilly, Oliver and Liv and influential LGBT+ figures Michael Cashman, Lady Phyll and Sue Sanders to find out how different it is for a young LGBT+ person to come out now compared to over 25 years ago.

Oliver, aged 16, spoke to actor and member of the House of Lords, Michael Cashman, about how he came out. He explained that "I first told my Mum and she told me that she'd always known that I was gay. And then I made the decision to just post about it on Instagram and tell literally everybody I knew.

"Loads of people were like 'oh my gosh, I'm so happy for you', but a lot of people also treated me differently."

Michael told Oliver that what he did "took real courage" and that "in the United Kingdom it's still difficult to turn around to family and friends because sometimes we worry about what they will say...but becoming yourself without any pressure from anyone is so important".

It was completely illegal to be gay. You had no protections, you could be sacked [or] kicked out of your family, your home.

Michael Cashman, Actor and member of House of Lords

Lilly, aged 15, spoke to Lady Phyll, the co-founder of UK Black Pride, about her coming out experience and said: "I asked my Mum to come up into my room and I said 'I like girls not boys' and she was really excited about it.

"And a few minutes after, I told my Dad and he had to process it a little bit but he's completely fine with it."

But for Lady Phyll, her experience was very different. She told Lilly: "I came out over 25 years ago. I come from a very strict Christian background so letting my mother and father know was probably the worst sin that I could've done.

"My mother was absolutely distraught, she didn't speak to me. I also lost friends.

"Back in the day there was a lot of discrimination, not just around homophobia or biphobia, but also racism. So I was not just dealing with the issues of coming out, but I was dealing with the issues of being a young woman who was black and also identified as a lesbian.

"There was a lot of stigma and shame, but also culturally being from an African family there are laws in Ghana which criminalises same-sex relationships. That's why my parents couldn't and didn't want to understand".

Responding to Lady Phyll's story, Lilly said it makes her "feel really angry that the LGBT community was treated so poorly in the past".

Liv, 17, spoke to Sue Sanders, the co-founder of LGBT History Month, and said: "I didn't explicitly come out with a label, I just told [my parents] that I like girls.

"I feel there's so much pressure on young people to label themselves if they act or feel a different way. It's just who I am and my family don't see me as any different."

Sue told Liv that when she was growing up "lots of schools didn't mention LGBT issues at all". It wasn't until 2003 that the law changed which meant schools were allowed to teach LGBT history.

Liv responded by saying: "Had I been who I am in the past, I probably would've been too scared to say anything".

A history of gay rights

For hundreds of years LGBT+ people have struggled to be accepted and treated the same as people who are not LGBT+.

They have been oppressed and even killed because of who they have feelings for or what gender they identify as.

There were laws that stopped gay people from having the same rights as people who were not gay. For example, gay people couldn't get married or adopt children.

Up until 1967, being gay was a crime and gay and bisexual men could face a maximum sentence of life in prison if they broke the law around homosexuality.

But since then, a lot has changed in the UK - including the laws and attitudes in society.

1967 - The law was changed in England and Wales in 1967 which allowed two men to be in a relationship together without the fear of being arrested. It wasn't until later that the law changed in Scotland (1980) and Northern Ireland (1982).

Even though this happened, there were still many laws in place at the time which meant that gay people did not have the same rights as people who were not gay.

More gay men were arrested after 1967 for things which they would not have been arrested for if their partner had been a woman.

1969 - A series of demonstrations in New York called the Stonewall riots started after the police raided a bar called the Stonewall Inn, which was a popular place for gay people to hang out. It is said to be the start of the movement of people fighting for gay rights in the US.

1988 - A law called Section 28 was introduced which meant that teachers were not allowed to 'promote' gay relationships in schools. Many people argued that this prevented teachers from talking about gay relationships. It wasn't until 2003 that this was overturned.

2000 - A law was changed which allowed lesbian, gay and bisexual people to be in the armed forces.

2002 - A law was changed to allow gay people (and also unmarried couples) to adopt children.

2003 - The ban on 'promoting' homosexuality in schools (Section 28) was overturned.

2004 - This year marked the start of civil partnerships for gay people. This meant that they had similar rights to people who were married, but civil partnerships are not exactly the same as marriage. Some people did not think it was good enough and that gay people should be allowed to get married.

2008 - It became illegal to encourage homophobic hatred.

2013 - Gay marriage was made legal in England and Wales, and later in Scotland.

2020 - People of the same sex are allowed to get married in Northern Ireland after a change in the law.

In 2017, Peter Tatchell - a gay rights campaigner - told Newsround: "We have made fantastic progress. Compared to two decades ago, Britain is almost a different country. All the main anti-gay laws have been abolished. We are now one of the best countries in the world for gay equality."

"Public attitudes are much more supportive, although there are still families who reject their gay children. We still have too much homophobic hate crime, many kids are still bullied and a lot of schools don't have an anti-bullying programme that specifically addresses anti-gay issues.

"There is big progress, but more needs to be done."

Today it is illegal to discriminate against somebody because they are gay, although many gay people face discrimination in their daily lives.

Peter says: "We want to get to a situation where no one cares what sexuality you are; where we accept the person and their right to love whoever they wish - male, female, both or neither."

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LGBT+ History Month: What it means to 'come out' - CBBC Newsround

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It's LGBT+ History Month, which is a time to promote the history and celebrate the lives of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people. The + is an inclusive symbol to mean 'and others' to include people of all identities.

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You love your video games, but how much is too much? Find out in this article for kids.

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After a long day of school and an after-school club, you finally get home. You tackle your homework while you gobble down a healthy dinner. When you finally have some free time to , you grab a controller and get ready to go for a virtual drive or defend a planet from an invasion.

Playing video games is a popular for kids of all ages. For most kids, the video game journey begins at the video game store and ends at the . But have you ever given any thought to all the work that goes into creating the video games you love?

Some people see video games as simple electronic toys that do not take long to produce. In reality, though, the most popular modern video games are productions that the biggest summer blockbusters created by Hollywood movie studios. Video games can take a year or longer to be made!

Video games might have started out as chasing around a moving dot across a black screen, but today's modern games are interactive marvels that resemble movies and allow for game play across a wide variety of settings.

Every modern video game begins with a story. Whether it's a simulation of a historical or role-playing in a future fantasy world, the story drives the action of the video game and creates a strong between the player and the characters in the game.

Writers, artists, designers, and programmers must collaborate to create all the parts of the story, including the characters, the settings, the music and other sounds, and the possible paths the story can take. Unlike movies, which contain a single , video games must account for all the potential paths intense gameplay can take.

Today's gamers expect life-like video games with the best graphics possible. Characters are expected to move like real people would and objects are usually expected to loosely follow the laws of physics. Settings must look like the real world...or whatever fake world exists in the video game. The level of detail that artists and designers must achieve is challenging. That's why it could take over a hundred people to develop a single video game!

Once all the elements of the video game have been designed, it's up to computer experts to put it all together to make it work effectively as a video game. All the characters, settings, sounds, and gameplay elements must be programmed to work together seamlessly.

Computer programmers must write millions of lines of computer language instructions - called code - that control all aspects of the game. Code can be written in a variety of different computer languages, such as C++, Python, Visual Basic, and Perl.

If you think about controlling a particular in a game, there's a seemingly endless variety of things you can do with that . Code must be written to account for all the possible choices you can make with your . Each move you make leads to changes in the setting, as well as a whole new set of options for your next move. computer code controls all these factors and makes playing the game a seamless experience for the user.

Once a video game is nearly finished, it enters the testing phase, where players test every element of the game in order to find and fix any errors - called bugs - before the game is released. Upon release, the game is marketed to the general public and you get to enjoy the fruits of the thousands upon thousands of hours that went into making the game!

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We hope all you crafty miners will answer the call of duty and join us for today's Wonder of the Day!

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What Is Narrative Writing? A Guide | Grammarly Blog

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Narrative writing is, essentially, story writing. A narrative can be fiction or nonfiction, and it can also occupy the space between these as a semi-autobiographical story, historical fiction, or a dramatized retelling of actual events. As long as a piece tells a story through a narrative structure, it's narrative writing.

Types of narrative writing

There are multiple ways to write a narrative. The right kind of narrative for your story or essay depends on your goals for the piece you're writing.

Linear narrative

With a linear narrative, a story's events are told in chronological order. Most books, movies, TV shows, and other pieces of media are linear narratives. With a linear narrative, each scene is followed by the next logical scene. There can be gaps between scenes, such as a book's third chapter taking place two years after its second chapter's events.

One specific type of linear narrative you may be familiar with is the quest narrative. This kind of narrative tells the story of a character's quest to reach a goal. Often, this quest involves traveling to a far-off location and overcoming obstacles to achieve the goal. is an example of a quest narrative. In addition to following the standard quest narrative structure, also satirizes many of the tropes associated with this kind of story, like a princess locked in a tower guarded by a dragon.

Another specific type of linear narrative you may have encountered is the historical narrative. A historical narrative follows a linear timeline to tell the story of an actual event or series of events.

Nonlinear narrative

In contrast to a linear narrative, a nonlinear narrative presents its story's events in nonchronological order. A well-known example of a nonlinear narrative is House of Leaves, a novel told through first-person narration, recovered documents, and footnotes throughout the book.

By choosing a nonlinear narrative for your writing, you can emphasize your characters' emotions and perspectives on the events in the story. You can also highlight key events and include scenes that provide necessary details that wouldn't fit into your story's timeline otherwise.

Viewpoint narrative

A viewpoint narrative focuses on the narrator's perspective of the story's events. Generally, these kinds of stories are more character driven than plot driven . The Catcher in the Rye is one of the most popular examples of a viewpoint narrative. By putting the reader in protagonist Holden Caulfield's head, author J. D. Salinger created a unique perspective that allows the reader to experience Holden's romp through New York City firsthand and feel what he feels as the narrative unfolds. Imagine if the novel was a linear narrative told through a third-person point of view-reading it would be a very different experience, wouldn't it?

Through a narrative viewpoint, you can explore facets of your protagonist's personality and expose your readers to their thoughts. This kind of narrative is an effective choice for personal essays and stories with perspective and personal growth themes.

Descriptive narrative

In a descriptive narrative, the focus is on how the story's setting, characters, and objects look and feel. The goal here is total immersion in the world of the story; this is different from how a viewpoint narrative strives to create immersion in a character's inner world, a limited perspective on the world of the story. A well-known example of a descriptive narrative is Edgar Allan Poe's short story The Tell-Tale Heart. After murdering a victim and hiding his heart beneath a floorboard, the narrator hears a heartbeat-like thumping, which gets louder and louder until they confess to their crime. The narrative is structured like a conversation between the reader and the narrator, with the narrator's distressed mental state and strong emotions expressed through Poe's word choice, sentence structure, and manner of addressing the reader.

If you're assigned to write a descriptive essay , you'll use descriptive narrative techniques to discuss the topic you're covering. These include using vivid imagery to introduce specific objects and ideas, personification, and similes.

Characteristics of narrative writing

Each has its own unique characteristics, and type of writing narrative writing is no different. Here are key characteristics you'll find in most narratives:

Descriptive language: This type of language evokes feelings rather than directly stating facts. Descriptive language techniques include metaphors, similes, personification, and onomatopoeia.

Characters: A story might have just one character, or it can have a huge cast of characters. In some stories, the narrator is the only character present. The narrator is the figure from whose point of view the story is being told, and they might (or might not) interact with the other characters.

Among the characters, nearly every narrative needs to have a protagonist. The protagonist, also known as the main character, is the character whose story is being told as they work toward a goal or face a challenge.

Another character found in nearly every narrative is the antagonist. The antagonist isn't necessarily the "bad guy"; they are simply the character or force imposing obstacles for the protagonist to overcome. In many narratives, the antagonist is a person, a force of nature, the protagonist's society, or even an aspect of the protagonist's personality.

Plot: The plot is the series of events that happen in your narrative. A plot can be simple, with only one or two events, or it can be complex and multi-layered.

Narrative structure: Every narrative, even nonlinear narratives, is organized in some way. This is how the main character pursues their goal or faces the challenge presented to them. No matter how you structure your narrative, it has three distinct parts:

The beginning: This is where the reader meets your writing. Hooking their attention at the beginning is crucial.

The middle: The middle of your story or essay is where the action happens. This is where your protagonist faces one or more conflicts and reaches the climax, the point where the narrative pivots to the falling action after the protagonist either meets or fails to meet their goal.

The end: After the narrative's climax, the ending wraps up loose story threads, satisfies readers' remaining curiosities, and positions the protagonist for life after the story's events.

Tips for awesome narrative writing

Use your narrative to build characters

When you're writing in the first-person point of view, your story's narrator is one of the characters in the story. Use this role as an opportunity to shape their character through their word choice, perspective, and reactions to the events in the story. Your narrator doesn't have to be omniscient, nor do they necessarily have to be trustworthy or even the story's only narrator-experiment with things like an unreliable narrator, a limited point of view, or alternating narrators (which gives the reader a taste of each character's perspective).

Listen to how people tell stories

Next time your friend tells you about their day, pay as much attention to they tell the story as you do to the story itself. Listen for the jumps forward and back, asides, tangents, and how your friend's volume and animation level change at different parts of the story. You'll notice that certain parts get "fast-forwarded" while others split from the logical, linear narrative and involve more abstract, descriptive language.

When you sit down to write your next narrative piece, keep these storytelling ebbs and flows in mind. Think about where your friend slowed down to build suspense and where their tone changed to communicate how they felt at different points in the story. You can create these effects in your writing through thoughtful word choice and pacing.

Mix and match narrative styles

Writing a linear narrative doesn't mean you can't incorporate elements of a descriptive or viewpoint narrative. If your nonlinear essay about the five best summers of your life calls for a passage that shows the reader everything you saw, smelled, and swatted away one year at camp, write that passage.

Play!

Give yourself permission to play. Make up your own onomatopoeia. Put yourself in two different characters' heads and describe the same building from each character's perspective. Then write the characters' conversation with each other about the building. Follow your stream of consciousness as far as it can go and see where you end up.

This playful kind of writing is called . It's a fun way to get yourself into a creative mind frame and create a world on the page. There are no structure rules and there's no reason to worry about freewriting grammar -the writing you produce during a freewriting session is the raw content you'll shape and polish into a coherent narrative later. For now, give yourself permission to play.

Make your writing shine

Grammarly can help you tell your story-any story-with confidence by ensuring that your writing is mistake-free and conveys the exact tone you intend. Consider it a built-in editor that helps you hone your craft as you write.

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Narrative writing is, essentially, story writing. A narrative can be fiction or nonfiction, and it can also occupy the space between these as a semi-autobiographical story, historical fiction, or a dramatized retelling of actual events. As long as a piece tells a story through a narrative structure, it's narrative writing.

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Dyscalculia is a math learning disability that makes it hard to make sense of and work with numbers. Read about what dyscalculia means, symptoms, and how to help.

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With protests and demonstrations taking place around the globe in recent weeks and people talking about removing old statues, it's likely you've heard the word 'racism' a lot recently.

Racism is where someone treats another person differently because their skin colour is not the same as theirs, they speak a different language or have different religious beliefs, for example.

In this guide, you're going to find out what racism is, where it comes from and what you can do if you see or suffer from racism.

What is racism?

Racism can be most simply understood as someone behaving differently to another person based on the colour of their skin or culture.

Some people are picked on because they look different or speak a different language.

Some people wear certain styles of clothing because of their religion and may get bullied because of this.

Racism includes picking on people who are from a different country too.

Racism is felt by lots of different groups.

The UK is full of people who follow lots of different faiths and religions.

Most of the time they all get along and people are free to live the way they want to.

However, some groups are targeted because of their beliefs, and because of events that people blame them for - even if this is incorrect.

For example, Islamophobia is when Muslims are the victims of attacks just because of their religion.

It is a crime to be racist to someone in the United Kingdom.

According to UK law, a person is committing a 'hate crime' if they direct hostile behaviour at someone based on that person's race and they can face criminal charges.

In 2019, there were almost 80,000 hate crimes in the UK. That's 10% more than the year before.

Useful terms to know:

One of the biggest anti-racism charities in the UK is Show Racism the Red Card (SRTRC).

It says the main reason why it's wrong to be racist is because "for the person experiencing racism it can be really damaging to their wellbeing".

Why are some people racist?

"Nobody is born racist", according to SRTRC.

The charity says that there are three main things that influence people to act out or say racist things:

Our experiences in life.

The people we interact with.

The society we grow up in.

For example, if someone in your family says racist things while you're growing up, you might start to think that's acceptable behaviour.

Unless something is done about that behaviour, you may keep those views throughout your life.

You might also grow up around people - and go to school with people - who are from the same culture as you, speak the same language as you and have the same interests as you.

That sense of belonging to a group has both positive and negative outcomes.

The negative outcome is that it can set up differences between other groups and, over time, might lead to you to thinking that your group is better than others.

If you grow up in a society where you have advantages over people from other groups, this also could lead to you thinking you are better than others.

Where does racism come from?

Some people believe that they are better than others - just because of the colour of their skin.

But racism can come from ignorance too - some people might not even know they are being racist in how they are acting.

That's because they might have made assumptions based on another person's colour or culture. This is sometimes called 'racial discrimination'.

A lot of racism comes from history - for centuries, white Europeans were in charge of much of the world and thought they were better than people from other countries.

Over time, their white culture was seen as 'normal' and anything else seen as different.

Black history expert, Professor Kehinde Andrews, says racism is built into British society and is "the product of centuries of history".

He said a lot of where racism comes from is to do with what children in the UK are taught in schools.

Learning about non-white history is not something that has to be taught in British schools - but some people are campaigning to change that.

"I think sometimes we focus on the individual racist attitudes rather than the bigger problem because it's harder to pin down the wider problem," Professor Andrews added.

Racism in history - slavery

History is very important when looking at racism.

For hundred of years, until the 1800s, millions of black people were taken from Africa and transported by white Europeans to become slaves.

Slave ships from Britain left ports like London, Liverpool and Bristol for West Africa, carrying goods such as cloth and guns to be traded.

These goods were traded for men, women and children who had been kidnapped then sold to slave traders or bought from African chiefs.

Millions of families were separated. They were then tightly packed onto slave ships and travelled for months to the Caribbean or to North and South America. Many people died on the journey because the conditions were so bad.

It is thought at least 24 million Africans were sold to slave traders around the world.

There were lots of attempts by enslaved people to fight back against slave owners.

In 1832, an enslaved Jamaican man called Sam Sharpe led the biggest ever slave rebellion called the "Baptist War".

20,000 enslaved people fought in the conflict and it took over a month for the British Empire's army to gain back full control.

Experts believe that this rebellion, and others like it, helped bring about the abolition of slavery across the British Empire by 1838.

Racism in history - Windrush

After World War Two, lots of people from the Caribbean - many of whom were descendants of slavery - moved to Britain to work.

They had been encouraged by the British government to come over after the war to take jobs that could not be filled by British people.

Even though they were citizens under British law, many of them experienced racism and discrimination and often found it hard to get proper homes to live in and to make friends with British people.

They were joined by lots of other people from different ethnic backgrounds who moved to Britain in search of work and new opportunities.

It wasn't always easy for the new arrivals to get jobs. Some companies said they didn't want black or other ethnic minority people to work for them.

Racism in history - Stephen Lawrence

There was a huge investigation into his death which resulted in a really important document being published called the "Macpherson Report".

The report concluded that the police treated Stephen's case differently because he was black - and that some officers acted in a racist way, which led to the murder trial against the suspects collapsing.

This incident was just one example of the difficult relationship between police and non-white people in the recent history of the UK.

What is institutional racism?

Racism in history - protests

Protests against racism have often brought change - in the late 18th Century a movement called the abolitionists campaigned for an end to slavery, though it took many years for that to happen.

In the United States in the 1960s, the civil rights movement successfully campaigned for laws to be changed to bring about more equality - black people were still treated as second class citizens with fewer rights than white people.

This was the case in the UK as well.

In 1963, the West Indian population of Bristol led a four-month boycott of buses in the city after the Bristol Omnibus Company refused to employ any Black or Asian workers.

At that point in time, there was nothing in law to prevent racial discrimination when hiring people for jobs.

Two years later, this was made illegal through the establishment of the Race Relations Act in the UK.

Find out more about the history of protests in America here:

However, racism is still widespread and in recent years there have been many more protests as people continue to fight for an end to racism.

It was set up following a number of deaths of black people at the hands of police.

In 2020, protests were held by BLM all over the world following the death of an unarmed black man called George Floyd after he was stopped by police in the US.

Find out more about the case of George Floyd here:

If you've experienced racism, you shouldn't keep it to yourself. There are lots of websites where you can find help and advice.

On its website, Show Racism the Red Card says: "If you think someone is being unfair to you or is bullying you because of your race or colour, you should tell somebody as soon as possible."

This could be your parents, a teacher or another adult that you trust.

Remember, being racist is against the law and your teacher or parents may choose to get the police involved.

The children's charity, Childline, says it's really important you stay safe: "If someone is being racist towards you, walk away to keep safe and don't retaliate or respond."

Adding to this advice, SRTRC, say: "Even though you might want to, you shouldn't rise to the problem. Answering back or getting into fights will only make things worse. Instead, try to get help and talk to someone about it."

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What is racism - and what can be done about it?

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Everything you need to know about the term 'racism'.

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With protests and demonstrations taking place around the globe in recent weeks and people talking about removing old statues, it's likely you've heard the word 'racism' a lot recently.

Racism is where someone treats another person differently because their skin colour is not the same as theirs, they speak a different language or have different religious beliefs, for example.

In this guide, you're going to find out what racism is, where it comes from and what you can do if you see or suffer from racism.

What is racism?

Racism can be most simply understood as someone behaving differently to another person based on the colour of their skin or culture.

Some people are picked on because they look different or speak a different language.

Some people wear certain styles of clothing because of their religion and may get bullied because of this.

Racism includes picking on people who are from a different country too.

Racism is felt by lots of different groups.

The UK is full of people who follow lots of different faiths and religions.

Most of the time they all get along and people are free to live the way they want to.

However, some groups are targeted because of their beliefs, and because of events that people blame them for - even if this is incorrect.

For example, Islamophobia is when Muslims are the victims of attacks just because of their religion.

It is a crime to be racist to someone in the United Kingdom.

According to UK law, a person is committing a 'hate crime' if they direct hostile behaviour at someone based on that person's race and they can face criminal charges.

In 2019, there were almost 80,000 hate crimes in the UK. That's 10% more than the year before.

Useful terms to know:

One of the biggest anti-racism charities in the UK is Show Racism the Red Card (SRTRC).

It says the main reason why it's wrong to be racist is because "for the person experiencing racism it can be really damaging to their wellbeing".

Why are some people racist?

"Nobody is born racist", according to SRTRC.

The charity says that there are three main things that influence people to act out or say racist things:

Our experiences in life.

The people we interact with.

The society we grow up in.

For example, if someone in your family says racist things while you're growing up, you might start to think that's acceptable behaviour.

Unless something is done about that behaviour, you may keep those views throughout your life.

You might also grow up around people - and go to school with people - who are from the same culture as you, speak the same language as you and have the same interests as you.

That sense of belonging to a group has both positive and negative outcomes.

The negative outcome is that it can set up differences between other groups and, over time, might lead to you to thinking that your group is better than others.

If you grow up in a society where you have advantages over people from other groups, this also could lead to you thinking you are better than others.

Where does racism come from?

Some people believe that they are better than others - just because of the colour of their skin.

But racism can come from ignorance too - some people might not even know they are being racist in how they are acting.

That's because they might have made assumptions based on another person's colour or culture. This is sometimes called 'racial discrimination'.

A lot of racism comes from history - for centuries, white Europeans were in charge of much of the world and thought they were better than people from other countries.

Over time, their white culture was seen as 'normal' and anything else seen as different.

Black history expert, Professor Kehinde Andrews, says racism is built into British society and is "the product of centuries of history".

He said a lot of where racism comes from is to do with what children in the UK are taught in schools.

Learning about non-white history is not something that has to be taught in British schools - but some people are campaigning to change that.

"I think sometimes we focus on the individual racist attitudes rather than the bigger problem because it's harder to pin down the wider problem," Professor Andrews added.

Racism in history - slavery

History is very important when looking at racism.

For hundred of years, until the 1800s, millions of black people were taken from Africa and transported by white Europeans to become slaves.

Slave ships from Britain left ports like London, Liverpool and Bristol for West Africa, carrying goods such as cloth and guns to be traded.

These goods were traded for men, women and children who had been kidnapped then sold to slave traders or bought from African chiefs.

Millions of families were separated. They were then tightly packed onto slave ships and travelled for months to the Caribbean or to North and South America. Many people died on the journey because the conditions were so bad.

It is thought at least 24 million Africans were sold to slave traders around the world.

There were lots of attempts by enslaved people to fight back against slave owners.

In 1832, an enslaved Jamaican man called Sam Sharpe led the biggest ever slave rebellion called the "Baptist War".

20,000 enslaved people fought in the conflict and it took over a month for the British Empire's army to gain back full control.

Experts believe that this rebellion, and others like it, helped bring about the abolition of slavery across the British Empire by 1838.

Racism in history - Windrush

After World War Two, lots of people from the Caribbean - many of whom were descendants of slavery - moved to Britain to work.

They had been encouraged by the British government to come over after the war to take jobs that could not be filled by British people.

Even though they were citizens under British law, many of them experienced racism and discrimination and often found it hard to get proper homes to live in and to make friends with British people.

They were joined by lots of other people from different ethnic backgrounds who moved to Britain in search of work and new opportunities.

It wasn't always easy for the new arrivals to get jobs. Some companies said they didn't want black or other ethnic minority people to work for them.

Racism in history - Stephen Lawrence

There was a huge investigation into his death which resulted in a really important document being published called the "Macpherson Report".

The report concluded that the police treated Stephen's case differently because he was black - and that some officers acted in a racist way, which led to the murder trial against the suspects collapsing.

This incident was just one example of the difficult relationship between police and non-white people in the recent history of the UK.

What is institutional racism?

Racism in history - protests

Protests against racism have often brought change - in the late 18th Century a movement called the abolitionists campaigned for an end to slavery, though it took many years for that to happen.

In the United States in the 1960s, the civil rights movement successfully campaigned for laws to be changed to bring about more equality - black people were still treated as second class citizens with fewer rights than white people.

This was the case in the UK as well.

In 1963, the West Indian population of Bristol led a four-month boycott of buses in the city after the Bristol Omnibus Company refused to employ any Black or Asian workers.

At that point in time, there was nothing in law to prevent racial discrimination when hiring people for jobs.

Two years later, this was made illegal through the establishment of the Race Relations Act in the UK.

Find out more about the history of protests in America here:

However, racism is still widespread and in recent years there have been many more protests as people continue to fight for an end to racism.

It was set up following a number of deaths of black people at the hands of police.

In 2020, protests were held by BLM all over the world following the death of an unarmed black man called George Floyd after he was stopped by police in the US.

Find out more about the case of George Floyd here:

If you've experienced racism, you shouldn't keep it to yourself. There are lots of websites where you can find help and advice.

On its website, Show Racism the Red Card says: "If you think someone is being unfair to you or is bullying you because of your race or colour, you should tell somebody as soon as possible."

This could be your parents, a teacher or another adult that you trust.

Remember, being racist is against the law and your teacher or parents may choose to get the police involved.

The children's charity, Childline, says it's really important you stay safe: "If someone is being racist towards you, walk away to keep safe and don't retaliate or respond."

Adding to this advice, SRTRC, say: "Even though you might want to, you shouldn't rise to the problem. Answering back or getting into fights will only make things worse. Instead, try to get help and talk to someone about it."

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
What is racism - and what can be done about it?

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Everything you need to know about the term 'racism'.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Last night, England's football team took on Andorra in a World Cup qualifier at Wembley.

It was the first time they've played at Wembley Stadium since the Euro 2020 final - which was overshadowed by racist abuse directed at three of England's black players.

Among those who suffered abuse was Bakayo Saka who last night marked his 20th birthday by netting the fourth goal in a 4-0 win which was greeted by huge roars from the crowd.

But last week England's players were again racially abused by sections of the crowd during their match in Hungary last week.

This was the latest episode of racism in football - something which has long been a problem in the sport. So how do young fans feel about it? De-Graft went to speak to some.

Lots of England's young black players were the stars at Euro 2020 as the team made it to the final - the furthest they've got in a tournament for more than 50 years.
But when they lost the final to Italy on penalties, some of the players including Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho were all targeted online and on social media after missing penalties in the decisive shootout.
De-Graft spoke to young people in Manchester - not far from where Marcus Rashford's mural was defaced.

They told us that they don't feel positive about racism around football and think that despite investigations into those doing the abusing, racism would show its face again.

"I would like to see it end," said one. "But I just don't think it will."

They also felt it was down to lots of different parts of the community to stop it happening. They suggested teachers and parents have a role to play, as do social media companies in how they treat the accounts of people who commit racist abuse.

All felt there needed to be consequences for those who racially abuse others in real life and online.

Although racist abuse in football is sadly not new, racism and the England men's team has become a major talking point.

Over many years, England's black players have suffered at the hand of supporters of other teams, but also from England fans themselves, with players targeted in the stadiums and online.

In 2020, the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement became known across the world after George Floyd was killed by a police officer in the US and many footballers in the UK and Europe began to take the knee before games.

The team have said, time after time that for them the act of kneeling is to show solidarity for campaigns against racism and to support calls for equality for black people in Britain and around the world.

But the association with the Black Lives Matter movement has caused some controversy and It has led to some fans in the stadiums booing the players as they take the knee. Lots of people - including players in the game - have accused these fans of being racist.

Some fans who are unhappy about players taking the knee say that the booing isn't racist, instead they say the act of kneeling is too political and is diverting attention away from sport and football.

Getty Images

Following England's penalty defeat to Italy in the Euro 2020 final in July, racism dominated the headlines again as Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho were all targeted on social media.

After the three black players missed their penalties in the final shootout, they received thousands of racist messages online.

A mural of Rashford in his home town of Withington in Manchester was also vandalised.

England manager Gareth Southgate and Prime Minister Boris Johnson both spoke out and condemned the abuse but fellow England player Tyrone Mings accused government minister Priti Patel of failing to support the players enough when some fans booed their decision to take the knee before games.

Saka hit out at social media companies, including Twitter, Instagram and Facebook, for not doing more to protect people from racist abuse.

"I don't want any child or adult to have to receive the hateful and hurtful messages that me, Marcus and Jadon have received this week," he said.

"I knew instantly the kind of hate that I was about to receive and that is a sad reality that your powerful platforms are not doing enough to stop these messages."

Getty Images

Following the Euro 2020 final, there were calls for social media companies to ban anonymity on their platforms.

Social media company Twitter said "ID verification would have been unlikely to prevent the abuse from happening" because 99% of account owners were identifiable. Following an investigation, 11 people in the UK were arrested for online racism.

In July, the government announced plans to ban people who abuse footballers online from stadiums for up to 10 years. Boris Johnson also revealed plans to fine social media companies who fail to stop racist behaviour on their platforms.

In their first match since Euro 2020, England's black players were targeted with racist abuse by sections of the crowd during a match against Hungary.

England were playing Hungary in Budapest as part of the World Cup 2022 qualifiers.

Fifa has launched an investigation into the racial abuse aimed at the England players during the Hungary match.

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has urged Fifa "to take strong action against those responsible to ensure that this kind of disgraceful behaviour is eradicated from the game for good."

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Racism in football: What do young people think after Euro 2020? - CBBC Newsround

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As England start playing again after the racism suffered by Marcus Rashford, Bukayo Saka and Jadon Sancho at Euro 2020, Newsround hears from young people about what needs to happen to get racism out of the game - and who's job that is.

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CBBC’s Jamie Johnson is tackling racism in football - CBBC Newsround

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CBBC show Jamie Johnson is highlighting racism in football in some of its latest episodes.

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Clothes - we wear them for practical reasons to keep warm but they are also a great way to express our individuality.

The way we look in public is important to lots of us and some feel pressure to keep up with the latest fashion trends.

But, making clothes comes at a big cost. The fashion industry is a major source of the greenhouse gases that are overheating the planet.

Second-hand shopping expert Kavita gives us her advice on how to be both fashionable and environmentally friendly at the same time.

Getty Images

Kavita says buying second hand or swapping clothes is a great way to be sustainable.

"There are so many amazing things you find in charity shops, for as little as £1 to £5," says Kavita.

Charity shopping is also good because you are helping a good cause by donating to charities.

Another idea is to swap clothes with family and friends. Some people have clothes swap parties, as a way to get together and exchange clothes you no longer want, for some of your friends' items.

Getty Images

Do you have clothes that are damaged? Maybe there is a hole in your jumper. Well why not try ask a grown-up to help you fix it.

"Look at different ways you can fix it or decorate it", says Kavita. Maybe if you buy something second hand but it isn't quite your style you could "add buttons, collars or gems", to make it your own.

It's better for the environment if you fix and decorate clothes, rather than throw them away. When you throw them away, they could end up in landfill sites where the clothes can be burned, releasing gases into the air which are bad for the planet.

What is fast fashion?

Fast fashion is when shops make clothes that are available quickly and cheaply, so the latest trends are available and don't cost much.

But this has a huge impact on our environment, as according to the United Nations, it is the second biggest polluter.

The types of factors that cause damage is:
Read more about this here.

Tip 3 - Treat like treasure

Kavita talks about the importance of looking after your clothes so they last longer.

"It doesn't matter where you buy something from, as long as you're wearing it all the time, it actually gets its value and means it's not going to waste as quickly," she says.

Kavita told Newsround another tip is "don't throw things away, you could give clothes to a charity shop or sell them at a car boot sale."

"Environmentally friendly fashion can be so much fun and so affordable," says Kavita.

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Sustainable fashion: How to be fashionable without harming the planet - CBBC Newsround

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Clothes - we wear them for practical reasons to keep warm but they are also a great way to express our individuality. The way we look in public is important to lots of us and some feel pressure to keep up with the latest fashion trends. But, making clothes comes at a big cost.

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Why is fashion a BIG problem for the environment? - CBBC Newsround

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There is a growing call for people to practice what is called ‘repeat dressing’ to do reduce the fashion industry’s impact on the environment.

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Global hunger - UN Sustainable Development Goal 2: No hunger - 3rd level Geography Revision - BBC Bitesize

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Learn about the United Nation Sustainable Development Goal of ending global hunger by 2030. BBC Bitesize Scotland Sustainability, Third and Fourth Level CfE

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Each spring, guided by the full moon, hundreds of thousands of horseshoe crabs clamber onto beaches across the U.S. mid-Atlantic to lay their eggs. For hungry birds, it's a cornucopia. For drug companies, it's a crucial resource for making human medicines safe.

That's because these animals' milky-blue blood provides the only known natural source of limulus amebocyte lysate, a substance that detects a contaminant called endotoxin. If even tiny amounts of endotoxin-a type of bacterial toxin-make their way into vaccines, injectable drugs, or other sterile pharmaceuticals such as artificial knees and hips, the results can be deadly.

"All pharmaceutical companies around the world rely on these crabs. When you think about it, your mind is boggled by the reliance that we have on this primitive creature," says Barbara Brummer, state director for The Nature Conservancy in New Jersey.

Every year, pharmaceutical companies round up half a million Atlantic horseshoe crabs, bleed them, and return them to the ocean- after which many will die. This practice, combined with overharvesting of the crabs for fishing bait, has caused a decline in the species in the region in the past few decades.

In 1990, biologists estimated 1.24 million crabs spawned in Delaware Bay, a main egg-laying spot and prime collection point for the companies. By 2002, that number had dropped to 333,500. In recent years, numbers of Delaware Bay spawning crabs have hovered around the same amount, with the 2019 survey estimating about 335,211. (The pandemic canceled the 2020 crab count.)

Catching crabs and harvesting their blood is time-consuming, and the resulting lysate costs $60,000 per gallon. In 2016, a synthetic alternative to crab lysate, recombinant factor C (rFC), was approved as an alternative in Europe, and a handful of U.S. drug companies also began using it.

But on June 1, 2020, the American Pharmacopeia, which sets the scientific standards for drugs and other products in the U.S., declined to place rFC on equal footing with crab lysate, claiming that its safety is still unproven.

Starting in July, Swiss-based Lonza will begin manufacturing a COVID-19 vaccine for human clinical trials-and they'll have to use lysate in the vaccine if they plan to sell it in the U.S. ( Here's how we'll know when a COVID-19 vaccine is ready.)

Human health and safety, especially for something as high stakes as the coronavirus vaccine, is paramount, says Brummer. But she and other conservationists fear that without rFC or other alternatives available, the ongoing burden on horseshoe crab blood for COVID-19 vaccines and related therapeutics may imperil the crabs and the marine ecosystems that depend on them.

A written statement from Lonza says that testing the company's COVID-19 vaccine will not require more than a day's worth of lysate production from the three U.S. manufacturers.

One of those three- Charles River Laboratories, based in Massachusetts-gave National Geographic the same statistic. The laboratory's John Dubczak explained in an email that to make five billion doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, 600,000 tests will be performed, which will use the amount of lysate created in a single day.

"This places no undue burden on the [lysate] supply chain or horseshoe crab populations," said Dubczak, executive director of reagent development and pilot program operations.

Blue bloods

Nearly unchanged for hundreds of millions of years, horseshoe crabs have some unusual traits. Despite their name, these creatures are more closely related to spiders and scorpions than crabs. They also have nine eyes-two compound eyes and seven simple ones. ( Read more about how horseshoe crabs evolved.)

In 1956, medical researcher Fred Bang noticed another strange characteristic: When horseshoe crab blood interacts with endotoxin, cells called amebocytes clot and form a solid mass. Bang realized that these amebocytes-part of the crab's ancient immune system-could detect deadly bacterial contaminants in the rapidly expanding array of pharmaceuticals designed to enter the human bloodstream.

Scientists eventually figured out how to use the amebocyte lysate to test drugs and vaccines, and in 1977, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved horseshoe crab lysate for this use.

Since then, each May the helmet-shaped creatures are brought en masse to specialized labs along the U.S. East Coast, where technicians extract the blood from a vein near the heart before returning them to the sea. (Their blue blood comes from the metal copper in their oxygen-transporting proteins, called hemocyanin.)

In the 1980s and through the early 1990s, the process seemed sustainable. The pharmaceutical industry claimed that only three percent of the crabs they bled died. Population surveys showed that the crabs were plentiful, and conservationists didn't place much value on the species, says Larry Niles, a biologist with the Conserve Wildlife Foundation of New Jersey.

But by the early 2000s, the picture began to shift. Annual horseshoe crab counts during spawning season revealed smaller numbers, and a 2010 study found that as many as 30 percent of the bled crabs ultimately died -10 times as many as first estimated.

"What we're fighting isn't just a battle about horseshoe crabs. It's about keeping ecosystems productive," says Niles, who has spent his career researching the environment and species of Delaware Bay.

Lonza, the Swiss corporation, says it is "committed to protecting the welfare of the horseshoe crab," for instance by "actively supporting conservation efforts."

According to the statement from Lonza, Charles River Laboratories and another lysate maker, Associates of Cape Cod, Inc., raise horseshoe crabs in hatcheries and release them into the ocean. Lonza reports that in 2019, the Cape Cod company reintroduced 100,000 juvenile crabs into the waters around Massachusetts and Rhode Island.

Lonza's statement says the company would also prefer to use lysate alternatives and has trademarked its own rFC, called PyroGene. But, as the American Pharmacopeia decision illustrates, "regulatory hurdles remain. We remain hopeful that the barriers preventing drug developers from using the synthetic alternatives are starting to fall," the statement says.

Disrupting the food chain

Meanwhile, conservationists are monitoring the impact to the species that rely on horseshoe crab eggs as vital food sources.

Sport fish that once were numerous, such as striped bass and flounder, have plummeted in number in the region, in part due to fewer horseshoe crab eggs, Niles says. Diamondback terrapins, a type of reptile that's vulnerable to extinction, also depend on this seasonal buffet.

Both Niles and Brummer are particularly concerned about migratory shorebirds, such as red knots and ruddy turnstones, which stop at Delaware Bay on their 9,000-mile journey from iTierra del Fuego in Chile to Arctic breeding grounds. These birds need tremendous amounts of energy for their long-distance flights, and calorie-rich horseshoe crab eggs are the perfect fuel. ( Read how climate change is shrinking red knots.)

During their two-week sojourn on Delaware Bay, red knots nearly double their body weight to prepare for the final leg of their voyage. This year, however, cool temperatures delayed crab spawning, and only 30,000 red knots stayed in the bay, a drop from an estimated 40,000 birds in 2019.

Niles cautions that a weakening of one link in the food chain can reverberate, with potentially disastrous consequences. The depletion of horseshoe crabs could ultimately eliminate benefits that tourists, fishermen, and others get from enjoying the bay.

"The value of a natural resource," he says, "doesn't belong to companies that are exploiting it. It belongs to us."

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Horseshoe crab blood is key to making a COVID-19 vaccine-but the ecosystem may suffer.

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Each spring, guided by the full moon, hundreds of thousands of horseshoe crabs clamber onto beaches across the U.S. mid-Atlantic to lay their eggs. For hungry birds, it's a cornucopia. For drug companies, it's a crucial resource for making human medicines safe.

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Abstract

The similarities between certain animals and humans mean that animal research can be very useful in understanding how the human body works and in developing and testing new medicines. Many major medical breakthroughs have been made with the help of animal experiments, including the invention of antibiotics, vaccines, and cancer treatments. However, some research can result in pain and suffering for the animals, and although there are laws in place now to protect animals, it would be better if we had alternative ways to move medical science forward. Scientists are working on new approaches that replace, reduce, and refine (improve) animal experiments. This is known as the 3Rs of scientific research. Some of this work focuses on improving the housing for the animals, while other work involves using cells in a test tube or computer models as animal substitutes. The three Rs are a step in the right direction for medical science.

Introduction

It would be risky to try a new medicine out on humans before checking that it is safe and that it works-people could get very sick or even die in the process. Because there are many similarities between animals and humans, and they often get the same illnesses, animal experiments can help us to understand different diseases and to design and test new treatments for diseases. Mammals like mice, rats, and rabbits have the same set of organs including a brain, heart, and lungs that work in the same way they do in humans. That means the animal experiments can give us a reasonable idea of what might happen in a person. Even simple animals like fruit flies and worms can be used to understand how our and work.

Many major medical breakthroughs have been made due to animal experiments. For example, in the 1920s, a surgeon discovered he could relieve the symptoms of in dogs by injecting them with insulin. Before that, people with diabetes got very sick and did not live for long, but now with the help of insulin, diabetics are able to control the level of sugar in their blood and live normal lives. Animals have been used to develop to prevent diseases that previously killed billions of people, including polio and meningitis. Animal experiments also allowed us to develop crucial medical practices we now take for granted, like anesthetics to put people to sleep during surgery, cancer treatments, and antibiotics. While a person born 100 years ago would be expected to live for 30 years, people born these days live around 70 years. Discoveries resulting from animal experiments have a lot to do with that increase in lifespan.

However, animal research comes at a cost to the animals, and it is sometimes unavoidable that they will experience pain and suffering. For example, the animals might be given injections, surgery, or an illness like cancer, in order to test new medicines. The procedures carried out on animals are classified as "mild," "moderate," or "severe" depending on the level of suffering. About two-thirds of animal experiments are carried out on mice, and 8% of these are considered severe.

The Law

In the past, there were no laws in place to control how animal experiments were carried out and some of those experiments caused unacceptable suffering to the animals. Thankfully, in 1876, the UK Parliament passed the "Cruelty to Animals Act," which meant researchers had to follow a list of rules and would be regularly inspected and would face consequences for cruelty. This act also meant that animal experiments could only be performed if they were absolutely necessary and would help to save human lives, not just because the scientists were curious.

In the 1980s, the law was updated, and there are now very precise instructions on how to care for the animals as well as which experiments can and cannot be done. Scientists have studied animals to work out the best living conditions for them, and this information is used when writing the rules that scientists must follow. All research plans get judged beforehand to make sure the pros outweigh the cons, and these plans must be approved by specialist vets. There are also laws banning the use of great apes like chimpanzees and gorillas in UK research; almost all experiments are done on mice, rats, fish, and birds. Testing of cosmetics (like shower gel and shampoo) and household products (like detergents) is now illegal in many countries, including Europe and India.

In the United States, the Animal Welfare Act was introduced in 1966 and is a federal law that protects mammals used in scientific research.

The 3Rs

Although important discoveries have been made and there is much improvement in how laboratory animals are treated, we would all prefer it if we did not have to use animals in experiments at all. So, are scientists doing anything to find alternatives? The answer is a resounding yes! 50 years ago, Bill Russell and Rex Burch wrote a book that introduced the "3Rs" for scientific research []. Rather than reading, writing, and arithmetic (as you may have come across in school), Bill and Rex were referring to replacement, reduction, and refinement. Replacement is about finding different options for experiments, other than animals, and reduction is about developing methods so that fewer animals are needed in each experiment. Refinement is concerned with improving current animal research so that the animals suffer as little as possible.

The 3Rs are now used in deciding the laws around animal research, and these days no experiment can be performed if there is an alternative available that does not use animals. Each experiment has to use the minimum possible number of animals, and the method has to result in the least pain and suffering for the animal. Research using animals in the United States is regulated by the US Department of Agriculture. In the UK, there is a specialized organization called the National Centre for the 3Rs (NC3Rs), which supports work to develop new research methods that replace, reduce, or refine the use of animals.

Replacement

The ultimate replacement for animal experiments would be to use humans or human blood or tissue samples, as the results of human experiments would be the most accurate and relevant to humans. This is not possible in many cases because of the risks involved, but a method called "micro-dosing" is being developed, in which people are given tiny amounts of new medicines to look at how their immune systems respond. Animals like mice and rats can also sometimes be replaced with other living things that are not thought to be able to experience suffering, like fruit flies. Worms have recently been used to discover new antibiotics.

One option for replacing animals is to use in vitro models. " In vitro" literally means "in the glass" and refers to studies performed in a test tube in the laboratory, rather than inside a person or animal (which would be called in vivo). Using in vitro models, complicated systems in the body are simplified so that scientists can concentrate on the one part they are interested in and they can run lots of experiments in a short amount of time. In vitro work has resulted in many important discoveries, including the identification of antibodies, which are a key part of the immune system that recognizes microbes and helps to destroy them.

In our laboratory at the University of Oxford, we are developing an in vitro model to test new vaccines. Normally, to test if a new vaccine works against a certain disease, for example, , scientists would immunize animals with the vaccine and then infect them with tuberculosis to see if they are protected. With our in vitro method, we infect cells (often human cells) in a test tube so that no animals need to get sick. We can compare whether cells from vaccinated animals or people are better at killing the tuberculosis bacteria than are cells from non-vaccinated animals or people []. Other scientists use similar systems to test new medicines and check if they are safe and if they work.

One of the problems with in vitro models is that they may be too simple and therefore might not predict what would happen inside an actual body. For example, a medicine that kills a virus in a test tube might not kill it inside an animal, because the virus can hide away in certain parts of the animal's body. Or the medicine might appear safe in vitro, but cause side effects in parts of the body that were not represented in the test tube. Scientists are now trying to overcome these problems by building 3D in vitro models. These are more complicated and involve lots of different types of cells that come together to form something similar to a whole organ, like a liver or a heart.

Another way of replacing animal experiments is by using computers or mathematical models. These use calculations based on previous research to predict which medicines might be effective or which side effects might occur if the medicines were given to humans. Recent advances in technology mean that computers can simulate real biological processes in a virtual reality. Such methods have been used to develop vaccines based on information about bacterial genes and have also been used in cancer research to model tumors. One group at the University of Oxford built a computer model to test how drugs might affect the heart []. The different ways of replacing animal experiments are summarized in Figure 1.

Figure 1

Summary of the different ways of replacing animal experiments with other types of experiments. * The Nuremberg code - a set of research ethics principles for human experimentation - requires that human experiments are based on the results of animal experiments, in order to protect humans from harm. However, there are some situations in which human volunteers may be used in place of animals - for example we can sometimes study the immune response in people who have been naturally infected with a disease rather than infecting animals experimentally.

Reduction

To reduce the number of animals used in research, experiments have to be carefully designed and analyzed. If too few animals are used in an experiment, any difference between groups (for example, if an experiment was testing groups of mice receiving different medicines to see which was safest) might be unclear and the experiment would have to be repeated. Repeating the experiment would use even more animals in the long run.

Scientists are also trying to maximize the amount of information they can get from each animal. For example, if they are looking at the progression of a tumor, they might need to sacrifice different animals each week to look inside at the size of the tumors. By scanning the tumors instead, the same animals can be assessed each week and fewer are used overall.

Sharing results between different groups of researchers and organizations, by writing articles and giving presentations, makes it less likely that the same experiments get repeated unnecessarily by different people. Publishers of some scientific journals are helping with this by agreeing to share results that might not otherwise be available. The different ways of reducing the number of animals used in experiments are summarized in Figure 2.

Figure 2

Summary of the different ways of reducing the number of animals used in experiments.

Refinement

Refinement is about minimizing pain and suffering and improving the health and happiness of the animals. Refinement includes making sure the animals have comfortable housing conditions that support their natural needs like socializing, hiding, gnawing, and nest building. There are now rules in place about the size of cages needed and the kinds of toys, hiding places, and bedding material that should be provided. Scientists at the University of Liverpool have been studying the best way to pick up mice to minimize their stress []. Others at the University of British Columbia found that rats prefer to have burrowing materials and the opportunity to climb [].

One important refinement in animal experiments is using instead of invasive techniques like surgery or taking blood. Rather than ending an animal's life to observe how a disease has spread inside the body, pictures can be taken with minimum disturbance while the animal is alive. Imaging can be done with X-rays or scans, or by making parts of the animal's body "glow in the dark," using chemicals that occur naturally in algae and jellyfish. Many scientists now monitor cancerous tumor growth and infections with viruses or bacteria in this way. They can even use these methods to look at where medicines travel in the body. Making experiments shorter and using better pain relief are also methods of refinement. The different ways of refining animal experiments are summarized in Figure 3.

Figure 3

Summary of the different ways of refining (improving) animal experiments.

Conclusion

Many important medical discoveries have resulted from animal research and countless human lives have been improved or saved by experiments using animals. Animal testing has come a long way since the unregulated experiments of the last century and there are now strict laws in place to protect animals and prevent suffering. However, everyone would prefer it if we could stop using animals in medical research altogether.

Scientists around the world have been working hard to find new methods to replace the use of animals, reduce the numbers of animals used, or improve the experiments to minimize animal suffering. This is in line with the 3Rs principles of scientific research. Most research is now carried out using alternative methods and the number of laboratory animals used in the UK has been reduced by half in the last 30 years, but animals still need to be used in many situations. Bodies are so complicated that we cannot always know how they will react to a disease or medicine just by looking at cells in a test tube, or at a computer program or fruit flies. However, as technology advances in the future and scientists continue to work on the 3Rs, there is hope that one day laboratory animals will only be found in history books.

Glossary

Conflict of Interest Statement

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Acknowledgements

I would like to thank Daniel McShane for his critical reading of this article and the NC3Rs for their support of my research.

References

[1] ↑ Russell, W., and Burch R. 1959. The Principles of Humane Experimental Technique. Wheathampstead, UK: Universities Federation for Animal Welfare.

[2] ↑ Brennan, M. J., Tanner, R., Morris, S., Scriba, T. J., Achkar, J. M., Zelmer, A., et al. 2017. The cross-species mycobacterial growth inhibition assay (MGIA) project, 2010-2014. Clin. Vaccine Immunol. 24(9):e00142-17. doi:10.1128/CVI.00142-17

[3] ↑ Britton, O. J., Bueno-Orovio, A., Van Ammel, K., Lu, H. R., Towart, R., Gallacher, D. J., et al. 2013. Experimentally calibrated population of models predicts and explains�intersubject variability in cardiac cellular electrophysiology. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 110(23):E2098-105. doi:10.1073/pnas.1304382110

[4] ↑ Gouveia, K., and Hurst, J. L. 2013. Reducing mouse anxiety during handling: effect of experience with handling tunnels. PLoS ONE 8(6):e66401. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0066401

[5] ↑ Makowska, I. J., and Weary, D. M. 2016. The importance of burrowing, climbing and standing upright for laboratory rats. R. Soc. Open Sci. 3(6):160136. doi:10.1098/rsos.160136

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The 3Rs: What are Medical Scientists Doing about Animal Testing?

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The similarities between certain animals and humans mean that animal research can be very useful in understanding how the human body works and in developing and testing new medicines. Many major medical breakthroughs have been made with the help of animal experiments, including the invention of antibiotics, vaccines, and cancer treatments.

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Individual moves and entire games can be recorded using one of several forms of notation. By far the most widely used form, algebraic (or coordinate) notation, identifies each square from the point of view of the player with the light-coloured pieces, called White. The eight ranks are numbered 1 through 8 beginning with the rank closest to White. The files are labeled a through h beginning with the file at White's left hand. Each square has a name consisting of its letter and number, such as b3 or g8. Additionally, files a through d are referred to as the queenside, and files e through h as the kingside. See Figure 1.

Moves

The board represents a battlefield in which two armies fight to capture each other's king. A player's army consists of 16 pieces that begin play on the two ranks closest to that player. There are six different types of pieces: king, rook, bishop, queen, knight, and pawn; the pieces are distinguished by appearance and by how they move. The players alternate moves, White going first.

White's king begins the game on e1. Black's king is opposite at e8. Each king can move one square in any direction; e.g., White's king can move from e1 to d1, d2, e2, f2, or f1.

Each player has two rooks (formerly also known as castles), which begin the game on the corner squares a1 and h1 for White, a8 and h8 for Black. A rook can move vertically or horizontally to any unobstructed square along the file or rank on which it is placed.

Each player has two bishops, and they begin the game at c1 and f1 for White, c8 and f8 for Black. A bishop can move to any unobstructed square on the diagonal on which it is placed. Therefore, each player has one bishop that travels only on light-coloured squares and one bishop that travels only on dark-coloured squares.

Each player has one queen, which combines the powers of the rook and bishop and is thus the most mobile and powerful piece. The White queen begins at d1, the Black queen at d8.

Each player has two knights, and they begin the game on the squares between their rooks and bishops-i.e., at b1 and g1 for White and b8 and g8 for Black. The knight has the trickiest move, an L-shape of two steps: first one square like a rook, then one square like a bishop, but always in a direction away from the starting square. A knight at e4 could move to f2, g3, g5, f6, d6, c5, c3, or d2. The knight has the unique ability to jump over any other piece to reach its destination. It always moves to a square of a different colour.

Capturing

The king, rook, bishop, queen, and knight capture enemy pieces in the same manner that they move. For example, a White queen on d3 can capture a Black rook at h7 by moving to h7 and removing the enemy piece from the board. Pieces can capture only enemy pieces.

Each player has eight pawns, which begin the game on the second rank closest to each player; i.e., White's pawns start at a2, b2, c2, and so on, while Black's pawns start at a7, b7, c7, and so on. The pawns are unique in several ways. A pawn can move only forward; it can never retreat. It moves differently than it captures. A pawn moves to the square directly ahead of it but captures on the squares diagonally in front of it; e.g., a White pawn at f5 can move to f6 but can capture only on g6 or e6. An unmoved pawn has the option of moving one or two squares forward. This is the reason for another peculiar option, called en passant-that is, in passing-available to a pawn when an enemy pawn on an adjoining file advances two squares on its initial move and could have been captured had it moved only one square. The first pawn can take the advancing pawn en passant, as if it had advanced only one square. An en passant capture must be made then or not at all. Only pawns can be captured en passant. The last unique feature of the pawn occurs if it reaches the end of a file; it must then be promoted to-that is, exchanged for-a queen, rook, bishop, or knight.

Castling

The one exception to the rule that a player may move only one piece at a time is a compound move of king and rook called castling. A player castles by shifting the king two squares in the direction of a rook, which is then placed on the square the king has crossed. For example, White can castle kingside by moving the king from e1 to g1 and the rook from h1 to f1. Castling is permitted only once in a game and is prohibited if the king or rook has previously moved or if any of the squares between them is occupied. Also, castling is not legal if the square the king starts on, crosses, or finishes on is attacked by an enemy piece.

Relative piece values

Assigning the pawn a value of 1, the values of the other pieces are approximately as follows: knight 3, bishop 3, rook 5, and queen 9. The relative values of knights and bishops vary with different pawn structures. Additionally, tactical considerations may temporarily override the pieces' usual relative values. Material concerns are secondary to winning.

Object of the game

When a player moves a piece to a square on which it attacks the enemy king-that is, a square from which it could capture the king if the king is not shielded or moved-the king is said to be in check. The game is won when one king is in check and cannot avoid capture on the next move; this is called checkmate. A game also can end when a player, believing the situation to be hopeless, acknowledges defeat by resigning.

There are three possible results in chess: win, lose, or draw. There are six ways a draw can come about: (1) by mutual consent, (2) when neither player has enough pieces to deliver checkmate, (3) when one player can check the enemy king endlessly (perpetual check), (4) when a player who is not in check has no legal move (stalemate), (5) when an identical position occurs three times with the same player having the right to move, and (6) when no piece has been captured and no pawn has been moved within a period of 50 moves.

In competitive events, a victory is scored as one point, a draw as half a point, and a loss as no points.

A move can be recorded by designating the initial of the piece moved and the square to which it moves. For example, Be5 means a bishop has moved to e5. There are two exceptions: a knight is identified by N, and no initials are used for pawn moves. For example, 1 e4 means White's first move is a two-square advance of a pawn on the e-file, and 1 . . . Nf6 means Black's response is to bring a knight from g8 to f6. For both White and Black, castling kingside is indicated by 0-0, while castling queenside is notated by 0-0-0. Captures are indicated by inserting an x or : between the piece moving and the square it moves to. For pawn moves, this means dxe5 indicates a White pawn on d4 captures a piece on e5. En passant captures are designated by e.p. Checks are indicated by adding ch or + at the end of the move, and checkmate is often indicated by adding # or ++ at the end of the move. Notation is used to record games as they are played and to analyze them in print afterward. In annotating (commenting) on a game, an appended exclamation mark means a very good move, two exclamation marks are occasionally used to indicate an extremely good move, a question mark indicates a bad move, two question marks indicate a blunder, and the combination of an exclamation mark and a question mark on the same move indicates a double-edged or somewhat dubious move.

Conduct of the game

Competitive chess is played according to a set of rules that supplement the basic laws governing how the pieces move. Among the more important rules are those governing completion of a move, recording of games, time controls (see The time element and competition), and penalties for illegal moves and other infractions.

Tournament and match chess is distinguished from casual games by the strict provisions for completing a move. Unless preceded by the warning "I adjust" (French: "j'adoube"), a piece touched must be moved or captured (if legally possible), and a completed move may not be retracted. The players also are obligated to record their moves. Only after making a move can they stop their allotted time from elapsing, usually by depressing a device on the chess clock used in competitive play.

A player can be penalized in a variety of ways, including forfeiture of the game, for consulting another player or any recorded material during the game, for analyzing the game on another board, or for distracting the opponent. Any player who realizes during a game that an illegal move has been made may demand that the position before the infraction be reinstated and that play proceed from there. If the illegality is discovered after the game is completed, the result stands without penalty.

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Chess, one of the oldest and most popular board games, played by two opponents on a checkered board with specially designed pieces of contrasting colours, commonly white and black. White moves first, after which the players alternate turns in accordance with fixed rules, each player attempting to

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Dyscalculia and maths difficulties - British Dyslexia Association

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Dyslexia can occur in association with dyscalculia. Co-occurrence of learning disorders appears to be the rule rather than the exception and is believed…

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The ancient Egyptian civilization, famous for its pyramids, pharaohs, mummies, and tombs, flourished for thousands of years. But what was its lasting impact? Watch the video below to learn how ancient Egypt contributed to modern-day society with its many cultural developments, particularly in language and mathematics.

Subjects

Anthropology, Archaeology, Social Studies, Ancient Civilizations

Idea for Use in the Classroom
The world of ancient Egypt is different from students' contemporary lives in many respects. The Ancient Egypt 101 video (above) is an ideal place to start them on their exploration of that civilization. Before they watch the video, have student volunteers to share any information they already know about ancient Egypt. Ask: What do you know about the pyramids? Are you familiar with any Egyptian pharaohs? After watching the video once, as a whole class, watch it a second time, section by section, and make a list of topics reflecting the major themes of the video. Discuss how students' prior knowledge fits into this schema. Your class list may look something like this:

Dates

Locations

Development into an empire

Important leaders and their roles

Religious beliefs

Practices related to religious beliefs

STEM innovations and their uses

Writing system innovations and their uses

How the empire ended

For each topic, discuss how thorough students feel their knowledge is after the video. Divide the class into three groups to brainstorm ancient Egyptian topics they would like to know more about. Ask: What are some topics that the video did not cover, or covered only a little? For example, the students may note that they would like to know about ancient Egyptian economics, relationships with neighboring states, social structures, or the arts beyond pyramids and tombs. Have each group record the results of their brainstorming in a list. After each group presents its list to the class, have each student use the discussion to generate a research question to explore during the study of ancient Egypt.

Media Credits

The audio, illustrations, photos, and videos are credited beneath the media asset, except for promotional images, which generally link to another page that contains the media credit. The Rights Holder for media is the person or group credited.

Director

Tyson Brown, National Geographic Society

Author

National Geographic Society

Production Managers

Gina Borgia, National Geographic Society

Jeanna Sullivan, National Geographic Society

Program Specialists

Sarah Appleton, National Geographic Society, National Geographic Society

Margot Willis, National Geographic Society

other

Last Updated

October 19, 2023

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The ancient Egyptian civilization, famous for its pyramids, pharaohs, mummies, and tombs, flourished for thousands of years. But what was its lasting impact? Watch the video below to learn how ancient Egypt contributed to modern-day society with its many cultural developments, particularly in language and mathematics.

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Science in Ancient Egypt & Today: Connecting Eras - Lindau Nobel

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Egyptian scientist Hossam Elanzeery uses the ingeniosity of the Ancient Egyptians as an inspiration for his own research.Egyptian scientist Hossam Elanzeery uses the ingeniosity of the Ancient Egyptians as an inspiration for his own research.

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In politics, humanitarian aid, and the social sciences, hunger is a condition in which a person does not have the physical or financial capability to eat sufficient food to meet basic nutritional needs for a sustained period.

In the field of hunger relief, the term hunger is used in a sense that goes beyond the common desire for food that all humans experience, also known as an appetite. The most extreme form of hunger, when malnutrition is widespread, and when people have started dying of starvation through lack of access to sufficient, nutritious food, is called famine.

Throughout history, portions of the world's population have often suffered sustained periods of hunger. In many cases, hunger resulted from food supply disruptions caused by war, plagues, or adverse weather. In the decades following World War II, technological progress and enhanced political cooperation suggested it might be possible to substantially reduce the number of people suffering from hunger. While progress was uneven, by 2014, the threat of extreme hunger had receded for a large portion of the world's population. According to the FAO's 2021 The State of Food Security and Nutrition in the World (SOFI) report, the number of people suffering from chronic hunger began to rise gradually between 2014 and 2019. In 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a massive increase, resulting in nearly 770 million people suffering from malnutrition.

While most of the world's people continue to live in Asia, much of the increase in hunger since 2015 occurred in Africa and South America. The FAO's 2017 report discussed three principal reasons for the recent increase in hunger: climate, conflict, and economic slowdowns. The 2018 edition focused on extreme weather as a primary driver of the increase in hunger, finding rising rates to be especially severe in countries where agricultural systems were most sensitive to extreme weather variations. The 2019 SOFI report found a strong correlation between increases in hunger and countries that had suffered an economic slowdown. The 2020 edition instead looked at the prospects of achieving the hunger related Sustainable Development Goal (SDG). It warned that if nothing was done to counter the adverse trends of the past six years, the number of people suffering from chronic hunger could rise by over 150 million by 2030. The 2021 report reported a sharp jump in hunger caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Hunger relief organisations

Many thousands of hunger relief organisations exist across the world. Some but not all are entirely dedicated to fighting hunger. They range from independent soup kitchens that serve only one locality, to global organisations. Organisations working at the global and regional level will often focus much of their efforts on helping hungry communities to better feed themselves, for example by sharing agricultural technology. With some exceptions, organisations that work just on the local level tend to focus more on providing food directly to hungry people. Many of the entities are connected by a web of national, regional and global alliances that help them share resources, knowledge, and coordinate efforts.

Images for kids

WFP's HungerMap LIVE monitors food security and predicts the status of crisis-hit areas where data is limited, World Food Programme, 2021

Unemployed men outside a soup kitchen in Chicago, 1931

In Spanish: Hambre para niños

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Ancient Egypt was a civilization that lasted from 3300 to 525 B.C.E. This is probably where the concept of health started. Some of the earliest records of medical care come from ancient Egypt.

The ancient Egyptians believed in prayer as a solution to health problems, but they also had natural, or practical, remedies, such as herbs.

It was a structured society with tools such as written language and mathematics, which enabled them to record and develop ideas, and it meant that others could learn from them.

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The ancient Egyptians had basic medical equipment, and they also believed that the gods controlled life and health. This picture shows Isis on a birthing stool,

The ancient Egyptians thought that gods, demons, and spirits played a key role in causing diseases.

Doctors believed that spirits blocked channels in the body and that this affected the way the body worked. They looked for ways to unblock these channels. They used a combination of prayer and natural - or non-spiritual - remedies.

Most healers were also priests, but, in time, the profession of a "doctor of medicine" emerged.

The fact that ancient Egyptians had systems of letters and numbers meant they were able to record and develop ideas and make calculations. Documented ancient Egyptian medical literature is among the oldest in existence today.

The ancient Egyptians had an organized economy and system of government, a settled population, social conventions, and properly enforced laws. Before this, the local people mainly lived a nomadic life.

This stability allowed medical research to develop.

In addition, there were also relatively wealthy individuals in ancient Egyptian society. They could afford some health care and also had time to ponder and study.

The ancient Egyptians were also traders. They traveled long distances, coming back with herbs and spices from faraway lands.

Research and learning

The ancient Egyptians' practice of preserving deceased people as mummies meant that they learned something about how the human body works.

In one process, the priest-doctor inserted a long, hooked implement through the nostril and broke the thin bone of the brain case to remove the brain.

Kings and queens from faraway lands sought Egyptian doctors because of their reputation for excellence.

Archaeologists have found a number of written records that describe ancient Egyptian medical practice, including the Ebers papyrus.

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The ancient Egyptians probably learned something about the human body through mummification.

This document contains over 700 remedies and magical formulas and scores of incantations aimed at repelling demons that cause disease.

The authors probably wrote them around 1500 B.C.E., but the document may contain copies of material dating back to 3400 B.C.E. They are among the oldest preserved medical documents in existence.

The scroll provides evidence of some sound scientific procedures.

Doctors appear to have had fairly good knowledge about bone structure and some awareness of how the brain and liver worked.

The heart: According to the Ebers Papyrus, the center of the body's blood supply is the heart, and every corner of the body is attached to vessels. The heart was the meeting point for vessels that carried tears, urine, semen, and blood. Researchers writing in 2014 described ancient Egyptian understanding of the cardiovascular system as "surprisingly sophisticated, if not accurate.

Mental illness: The document describes in detail the characteristics, causes, and treatment for mental disorders such as dementia and depression. The ancient Egyptians appear to have seen mental diseases as a combination of blocked channels and the influence of evil spirits and angry Gods.

Family planning: The scroll contains a section on birth control, how to tell if a person is pregnant, and some other gynecological issues.

There is also advice about:

skin problems

dental problems

diseases related to the eyes

intestinal disease

parasites

how to surgically treat an abscess or a tumor

In addition, there is evidence that doctors knew how to set broken bones and treat burns.

Medical advice

Some recommendations that physicians made then seem fairly sound to us now.

They advised people to wash and shave their bodies to prevent infections, to eat carefully, and to avoid unclean animals and raw fish.

Some, however, are less familiar. Putting a plug of crocodile dung into the entrance of the vagina, for example, was a method of birth control. People also used dung to disperse evil spirits.

Dentistry

The Egyptians also practiced dentistry. Caries and tooth decay appear to have been common.

Remedies included:

cumin, incense, and onion to treat swollen gums

opium, possibly, to treat pain pain

drilling holes into the jaw to drain an abscess

However, they do not seem to have extracted teeth.

Everyday life in Egypt involved beliefs and fear of magic, gods, demons, evils spirits, and so on. They believed that the gods created and controlled life.

Heka was the goddess of magic and medicine, while Bes, another god, protected women during pregnancy. People called upon Serket if they had a scorpion bite.

Angry gods or evil forces caused bad luck and disaster, so people used magic and religion to deal with these forces and to treat people.

Priests and doctors were often one and the same. Many healers were priests of Sekhmet, an Egyptian warrior goddess and the goddess of healing, curses, and threats.

As well as science, treatment involved the use of magic, incantations, amulets, aromas, offerings, tattoos, and statues.

The religious and magic rituals and procedures probably had a powerful placebo effect, so they may have resulted in healing.

The "channel theory" came from observing farmers who dug out irrigations channels for their crops. It allowed medicine to move from entirely spiritual cures towards practical, natural ones.

The doctors believed that, as in irrigation, channels provide the body with routes for good health. If blockages occurred, they used laxatives to unblock them.

The heart was the center of 46 channels, seen as types of tubes.

It is true that human veins, arteries, and intestines are types of tubes. However, the Egyptians did not understand that these channels had different functions.

Blockages in the human channels were thought to result from the doings of Wekhedu, an evil spirit. When Wekhedu came to the surface of the body, it showed as pus.

This idea that bodily function played a role in health was a breakthrough in the history of medicine.

Channels and the heart

The ancient Egyptians believed that the body consisted of a system of channels, or "Metu."

One researcher notes that they believed that bodily fluids could enter this system, including feces. This would have a negative effect, and enemas became an important method of treatment for many conditions, including malaria and smallpox.

The Ebers Papyrus notes that vessels run from the heart to all four limbs and every part of the body.

When a doctor, Sekmet priest, or exorcist places their hands on any part of the body, they are examining the heart, because all vessels come from the heart.

Channel theory holds that:

The heart is the source. It speaks out to each part of the body.

When people breathe in through the nose, the air enters their heart, lungs, and then the belly.

The nostrils have four vessels, two of which provide mucus and two provide blood.

The human body has four vessels, which lead to two ears. The "breath of life" enters the right ear and "breath of death" enters the left ear.

Four vessels that lead to the head cause baldness.

All eye diseases come from four vessels in the forehead, which supply blood to the eyes.

Two vessels enter the testicles and provide semen.

Two vessels in the buttocks supply them with vital nutrients.

Six vessels reach the soles of the feet and six lead down the arms to the fingers.

Two vessels supply the bladder with urine.

Four vessels supply the liver with liquid and air. When they overfill the liver with blood, they cause diseases.

Four vessels also supply the lungs and spleen with liquid and air.

The liquid and air that come out of the anus come from four vessels.

The anus is also exposed to all the vessels in the arms and legs when they overflow with waste.

Egyptian physicians underwent training and could successfully fix broken bones and dislocated joints.

Basic surgery - meaning procedures close to the surface of the skin or on the skin - was a common skill, and doctors knew how to stitch wounds effectively.

They used bandages and would bind certain plant products, such as willow leaves, into the bandages to treat inflammation.

However, they did not perform surgery deep inside the body, probably because there were no anesthetics or antiseptics.

Circumcision of baby boys was common practice. It is hard to tell whether female circumcision existed. There is one mention, but this may be a mistranslation.

Surgeons had an array of instruments, such as pincers, forceps, spoons, saws, containers with burning incense, hooks, and knives.

Prosthetics existed, but they were probably not very practical. People may have used them to make deceased people look more presentable during funerals or simply for decorative purposes.

Egyptian doctors said there were three types of injuries:

Treatable injuries: They dealt with these immediately.

Contestable injuries: The doctor believed these were not life-threatening and that the person could survive without intervention. The doctor would observe the patient. If they survived, the doctor would decide in time whether to intervene.

Untreatable ailments: The doctor would not intervene.

Common complaints included:

A remedy for headaches, mentioned in the Ebers Papyrus, appears to advise the following:

Mash together flour, incense, wood of wa, waneb plant, mint, a horn of a stag, sycamore seeds, mason's plaster, seeds of zart, water. Apply to the head.

People used aloe vera in ancient Egyptian times to heal burns and skin diseases.

Another remedy is to use poppy seeds or aloe.

Asthma: Honey and milk, sesame, frankincense

Burns and skin disease: Aloe

Pain: Thyme

Digestive problems: Juniper, mint, garlic, and sandalwood

Bad breath: Mint, caraway

Epilepsy: Camphor

Vomiting: Mint to stop it and mustard seeds to cause it

Other conditions and treatments include:

The cure for a cold was an incantation.

Early concepts of homeopathy

Some treatments used products or herbs or plants that looked similar to the illness they were treating, a practice known as simila similibus, or similar with similar.

Today, homeopathy follows a similar principle.

In Egyptian times, people used ostrich eggs to treat a fractured skull.

Cleanliness was an important part of Egyptian life, and homes had rudimentary baths and toilets. Appearance and the use of make-up were important.

The main aim was to meet social and religious requirements, although many people wore make-up around their eyes to protect them from disease.

People used mosquito nets during the hot months, whether to protect against malaria and other diseases or to avoid bites. Malaria was a common problem.

Priests washed themselves, their clothing, and their eating utensils regularly. This helped to protect their health, although they did it for religious reasons.

There was no public health infrastructure as we know of today. There were no sewage systems, systematic medical care, or public hygiene.

The ancient Egyptians were probably the first people to have professional doctors, and it was a respected occupation.

According to the Ancient History Encyclopedia, they had to be literate and clean in body and spirit. There were doctors all over Egypt.

The earliest ever record of a male physician was Hesy-Ra in 2700 B.C.E. He was was "Chief of Dentists and Doctors" to King Dioser.

The first record of a female doctor was probably Peseshet in 2400 B.C.E., the supervisor of all female doctors, but there may have been female doctors as early as 3000 B.C.E.

The top doctors worked in the royal court. Below them, inspectors would supervise the work of other doctors. There were specialists, such as dentists, proctologists, gastroenterologists, and ophthalmologists.

A proctologist - or possibly the giver of enemas - was called "nery phuyt," which translates as the "shepherd of the anus," according to an article published in the Journal of Vascular Surgery.

The ancient Egyptians had sophisticated methods of practicing medicine that combined the supernatural with the natural, such as herbal remedies and surgery.

Their written records have allowed their knowledge to pass down through the ages. While not always accurate, some of their theories and practices were not very different from those in use today.

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Ancient Egyptian medicine: Influences, practice, magic, and religion

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Ancient Egyptian documents are probably the earliest records of healthcare practice. The ancient Egyptians knew something about the human body and they sought healing through both herbal medicine and incantations. They also practiced basic surgery. Both male and female doctors were important. Find out more.

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Music | Art Form, Styles, Rhythm, & History

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Music, art concerned with combining vocal or instrumental sounds for beauty of form or emotional expression, usually according to cultural standards of rhythm, melody, and, in most Western music, harmony. Learn about the history of music and about theories of musical meaning since the 19th century.

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https://www.raisesmartkid.com/3-to-6-years-old/4-articles/34-the-good-and-bad-effects-of-video-games?noamp=mobile

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Updated January 29, 2022
by Ronaldo Tumbokon

Contents:

Are video games good or bad for you? It can be both

Video games are frowned upon by parents as time-wasters, and worse, some education experts think that these games corrupt the brain. Playing violent video games are easily blamed by the media and some experts as the reason why some young people become violent or commit extreme anti-social behavior. But many scientists and psychologists find that video games can actually have many benefits - the main one is making kids smart. Video games may actually teach kids high-level thinking skills that they will need in the future.

"Video games change your brain," according to University of Wisconsin psychologist C. Shawn Green. Playing video games change the brain's physical structure the same way as do learning to read, playing the piano, or navigating using a map. Much like exercise can build muscle, the powerful combination of concentration and rewarding surges of neurotransmitters like dopamine strengthen neural circuits that can build the brain.

According to Marc Palaus, author of the study published in Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, there is a broad consensus in the scientific community that playing video games not only changes how the brain performs, but also its structure.

Below are the good and bad effects of video games - their benefits and disadvantages, according to researchers and child experts:

Are Video Games Good for You? The Positive Effects of Video Games

When your child plays video games, it gives his brain a real workout. In many video games, the skills required to win involve abstract and high level thinking. These skills are not even taught at school.

The main benefits of playing video games involve enhancing mental skills that include:

1. Problem solving and logic - When a child plays a game such as The Incredible Machine, Angry Birds or Cut The Rope, he trains his brain to come up with creative ways to solve puzzles and other problems in short bursts

2. Hand-eye coordination, fine motor and spatial skills. In shooting games, the character may be running and shooting at the same time. This requires the real-world player to keep track of the position of the character, where he/she is heading, his speed, where the gun is aiming, if the gunfire is hitting the enemy, and so on. All these factors need to be taken into account, and then the player must then coordinate the brain's interpretation and reaction with the movement in his hands and fingertips. This process requires a great deal of eye-hand coordination and visual-spatial ability to be successful. Research also suggests that people can learn iconic, spatial, and visual attention skills from video games. There have been even studies with adults showing that experience with video games is related to better surgical skills. Also, a reason given by experts as to why fighter pilots of today are more skillful is that this generation's pilots are being weaned on video games.

3. Planning, resource management and logistics. The player learns to manage resources that are limited, and decide the best use of resources, the same way as in real life. This skill is honed in strategy games such as SimCity, Age of Empires, and Railroad Tycoon. Notably, The American Planning Association, the trade association of urban planners and Maxis, the game creator, have claimed that SimCity has inspired a lot of its players to take a career in urban planning and architecture.

4. Multitasking, simultaneous tracking of many shifting variables and managing multiple objectives. In strategy games, for instance, while developing a city, an unexpected surprise like an enemy might emerge. This forces the player to be flexible and quickly change tactics.

Cognitive researcher Daphne Bavalier talks about how video games can help us learn, focus and, fascinatingly, multitask.

5. Quick thinking, making fast analysis and decisions. Sometimes the player does this almost every second of the game giving the brain a real workout. According to researchers at the University of Rochester, led by Daphne Bavelier, a cognitive scientist, games simulating stressful events such as those found in battle or action games could be a training tool for real-world situations. The study suggests that playing action video games primes the brain to make quick decisions. Video games can be used to train soldiers and surgeons, according to the study. Importantly, decisions made by action-packed video game players are no less accurate. According to Bavelier, "Action game players make more correct decisions per unit time. If you are a surgeon or you are in the middle of a battlefield, that can make all the difference."

6. Accuracy - Action games, according to a study by the University of Rochester, train the player's brain to make faster decisions without losing accuracy. In today's world, it is important to move quickly without sacrificing accuracy.

7. Strategy and anticipation - Steven Johnson, author of Everything Bad is Good For You: How Today's Popular Culture is Actually Making Us Smarter, calls this "telescoping." The gamer must deal with immediate problems while keeping his long-term goals on his horizon.

8. Situational awareness - - Defense News reported that the Army include video games to train soldiers to improve their situational awareness in combat. Many strategy games also require the player to become mindful of sudden situational changes in the game and adapt accordingly.

9. Developing reading and math skills - The young gamer reads to get instructions, follow storylines of games, and get information from the game texts. Also, using math skills is important to win in many games that involves quantitative analysis like managing resources.

10. Perseverance - In higher levels of a game, the player usually fails the first time around, but he keeps on trying until he succeeds and move on to the next level.

11. Pattern recognition - Games have internal logic in them, and the player figures it out by recognizing patterns.

12. Estimating skills

13. Inductive reasoning and hypothesis testing - James Paul Gee, professor of education at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, says that playing a video game is similar to working through a science problem. Like a student in a laboratory, the gamer must come up with a hypothesis. For example, the gamer must constantly try out combinations of weapons and powers to use to defeat an enemy. If one does not work, he changes hypothesis and try the next one. Video games are goal-driven experiences, says Gee, which are fundamental to learning.

14. Mapping - The gamer use in-game maps or build maps on his head to navigate around virtual worlds.

15. Memory - Playing first person shooter games such as Call of Duty and Battlefield series enables the player to effectively judge what information should be stored in his working memory and what can be discarded considering the task at hand, according to a study published in the Psychological Research.

16. Concentration - A study conducted by the Appalachia Educational Laboratory reveal that children with attention-deficit disorder who played Dance Dance Revolution improve their reading scores by helping them concentrate.

17. Improved ability to rapidly and accurately recognize visual information - A study from Beth Israel Medical Center NY, found a direct link between skill at video gaming and skill at keyhole, or laparoscopic, surgery. Doctors who spent at least three hours a week playing video games made about 37 % fewer mistakes in surgery and performed the task 27% faster than non-gaming surgeons. Another study found that people who play video games on a regular basis are better at registering visual data and are therefore quicker visual learners. They are also more resistant to perceptual interference, and are therefore able to learn for a longer period of time in distracting environments.

18. Reasoned judgments

19. Taking risks - Winning in any game involves a player's courage to take risks. Most games do not reward players who play safely.

20. How to respond to challenges

21. How to respond to frustrations

22. How to explore and rethink goals

23. Teamwork and cooperation when played with others - Many multiplayer games such as Team Fortress 2 involve cooperation with other online players in order to win. These games encourage players to make the most of their individual skills to contribute to the team. According to a survey by Joan Ganz Cooney Center, teachers report that their students become better collaborators after using digital games in the classroom.

24. Management - Management simulation games such as Rollercoaster Tycoon and Zoo tycoon teach the player to make management decisions and manage the effective use of finite resources. Other games such as Age of Empires and Civilization even simulate managing the course of a civilization.

25. Simulation, real world skills. The most well known simulations are flight simulators, which attempt to mimic the reality of flying a plane. All of the controls, including airspeed, wing angles, altimeter, and so on, are displayed for the player, as well as a visual representation of the world, and are updated in real time.

26. Non-English speaking players report learning English by playing games.

See also List of Video Games That May Be Good for the Brain

More Benefits of Video Games:

Video games introduce your child to computer technology and the online world. You should recognize that we are now living in a high-tech, sophisticated world. Video games make your child adapt and be comfortable with the concepts of computing. This is particularly important for girls who typically are not as interested in high technology as much as boys.

Video games allow you and your child to play together and can be a good bonding activity. Some games are attractive to kids as well as adults, and they could be something that they share in common. When your child knows more than you, he can teach you how to play and this allows you to understand your child's skills and talents.

Video games make learning fun. Your kid likes games because of the colors, the animation, the eye candy, as well as the interactivity and the challenge and the rewards of winning. The best way to learn is when the learner is having fun at the same time. That's why video games are natural teachers. Having fun gives your kid motivation to keep on practicing, which is the only way to learn skills. Video games is also capable of making difficult subjects such as math fun.

Video games can make your child creative. A study by the Michigan State University's Children and Technology Project found a relation between video game playing and greater creativity, regardless of gender, race or type of video game played. (In contrast, use of cell phones, the Internet and computers other than video games was unrelated to creativity, the study found).

Playing video games is shown to provide young people with a route into reading and improve their confidence in reading skills, encourages their creativity through writing, support positive communication between family and friends, increases empathy, and supports mental wellbeing, according to a study by the UK's National Literacy Trust.

University of Geneva scientists who tested an action video game for children found out from their study that playing the action video game enhances reading skills - even though the game did not require reading activity. The skills that players improved on included "vision, the deployment of attention, working memory, and cognitive flexibility", according to Angela Pasqualotto, the first author of the study. These are the same functions essential to the mastery of reading. In fact, the scientists found a 7-fold improvement in attentional control in children who played the game vs. those who didn't, and this was maintained at a follow-up test 6 months later.

Video games can improve your child's decision making speed. People who played action-based video and computer games made decisions 25% faster than others without sacrificing accuracy, according to a study from the University of Rochester. Other studies suggests that most expert gamers can make choices and act on them up to six times a second-four times faster than most people, and can pay attention to more than six things at once without getting confused, compared to only four by the average person. Surprisingly, the violent action games that often worry parents most had the strongest beneficial effect on the brain, according to cognitive neuroscientist Daphne Bavelier, who studies the effect of action games at Switzerland's University of Geneva and the University of Rochester in New York.

Action video game players have an increased ability to be mentally flexible, that is, being able to switch from one task to another, compared to non-gamers according to a study. This skill is important in a world that's highly dependent on technology which allows distinct task to be available on a single device such as a smartphone or computer.

Video games increase your child's self-confidence and self-esteem as he masters games. In many games, the levels of difficulty are adjustable. As a beginner, your kid begins at the easy level and by constant practicing and slowly building skills, he becomes confident in handling more difficult challenges. Since the cost of failure is lower, he does not fear making mistakes. He takes more risks and explores more. Your kid can transfer this attitude to real life.

Video games give your child a feeling of happiness or well-being, which is a human psychological need, according to Berni Good, a cyberpsychologist. In addition to giving your child a sense of competence or mastery when he progresses through game levels, video gaming also helps him relate to others in a meaningful way when he shares his gaming experiences with others in multiplayer gaming or in social media. It also gives him a feeling of being a master of his own destiny.

Games that involve multiple players encourage your child to work cooperatively to achieve his goals. Your kid learns to listen to the ideas of others, formulate plans with other kids, and distribute tasks based on skills. Some online games are even played internationally, and this can introduce your kid to players of different nationalities and cultures. This fosters friendships among different people.

Video games that require your child to be active, such as Dance Dance Revolution and Nintendo Wii Boxing, and games that use Kinect, give your kid a good workout. When playing these active games for 10 minutes, your kid spends energy equal to or exceeding that produced by spending the same amount of time on a three miles an hour treadmill walk.

Video games make players' visions become more sensitive to slightly different shades of color, according to a University of Rochester study. This is called contrast sensitivity, and observed particularly in first person shooter games players. "When people play action games, they're changing the brain's pathway responsible for visual processing," according to lead researcher Daphne Bavelier. The training might be helping the visual system to make better use of the information it receives.

Video games may improve eyesight. Studies have shown that video gaming have better than average eyesight. A study performed by researchers from McMaster University has also found that playing video games could help improve eyesight by teaching the brain to spot small details, follow movements and spot subtle light changes, at least for people with visual difficulties. Another study by vision scientists at the University of Rochester and Vanderbilt University found that children with poor vision see vast improvement in their peripheral vision after only eight hours of training via kid-friendly video games.

In addition, one neuroscience research suggests that expert players of action real-time strategy games like League of Legends become better at allocating brain resources between visual stimuli that compete for attention. The study shows that these players have faster information processing, allocate more cognitive power to individual visual stimuli and allocate limited resources between successive stimuli more effective through time. Moreover, the effect seems to have a long-term effect on the brain, and the study's author concludes that these games can be a powerful tool for cognitive training.

Video games help children with dyslexia read faster and with better accuracy, according to a study by the journal Current Biology. In addition, spatial and temporal attention also improved during action video game training. Attentional improvement can directly translate into better reading abilities. Another study suggests that just one hour of gaming can improve visual selective attention, which is how scientists refer to the brain's ability to focus while simultaneously disregarding less relevant information.

Dr. Adam Gazzaley, a neuroscientist at the University of California states that playing first person shooter games such as Call of Duty have shown to have a "benefit on high congnitive abilities" including focusing for long periods and multi-tasking. He even suggests that these games can be prescribed to children who are struggling to focus in class.

Kids are not necessarily drawn to video games because of their violence. The attraction lies in their being rewarded by awesome displays of explosions, fireworks, and yes, blood splattering. Also, violent games have the most emotional appeal for kids. But these factors are only secondary to what kids actually enjoy in these games - the opportunity to develop and master skills and have the freedom to make choices in the game universe.

Violent video games may act as a release of pent-up aggression and frustration of your kid. When your kid vents his frustration and anger in his game, this diffuses his stress. Games can provide a positive aggression outlet the same way as football and other violent sports. A research suggests that the outlet provided by violent games may make gamers with violent tendencies less likely to commit real world crimes

Playing video games is safer than having your teens do drugs, alcohol and street racing in the real world.

Experts believe that parents playing video games with their kids can boost better communication between them.

A study done by researchers at North Carolina State University, York University and the University of Ontario Institute of Technology concluded that playing online games do not replace offline social lives, but is expanding it. Loners are the outliers in gaming, not the norm.

A 2013 study by the Berlin's Max Planck Institute for Human Development and St. Hedwig-Hospital found a significant gray matter increase in the right hippocampus, the right prefrontal cortex and the cerebellum of those who played Super Mario 64 for 30 minutes a day over two months. These regions of the brain are crucial for spatial navigation, strategic planning, working memory and motor performance. Indeed, the increased gray matter in these parts of the brain is positively correlated with better memory. Decreased gray matter is correlated with bipolar disorder and dementia. What's also striking is that those who enjoyed playing the game has a more pronounced gain in gray matter volume. The study suggests that video game training could be used to counteract known risk factors for smaller hippocampus and prefrontal cortex volume in, for example, post-traumatic stress disorder, schizophrenia and neurodegenerative disease.

Another group of researchers from the Chinese University of Electronic Science and Technology and the Australian Macquarie University in Sydney found a correlation between playing action video games and increased gray matter volume in the brain.

The benefits of improving memory in video gamers extend for years, even after players don't play anymore. According to Marc Palaus, one of the study's authors, "People who were avid gamers before adolescence, despite no longer playing, performed better with the working memory tasks, which require mentally holding and manipulating information to get a result." Although different genres of video games affect cognitive functions differently, all games involve elements that make people want to continue playing, and that they gradually get harder and present a constant challenge. "These two things are enough to make it an attractive and motivating activity, which, in turn, requires constant and intense use of our brain's resources."

Other studies found that playing video games change the structure of the brain. Brain regions involved in attention were more efficient in gamers, and regions related to visuospatial skills that were both bigger and more efficient.

Another study published in Scientific Reports have found that Action Video Gamers have more gray matter and better integration of brain networks associated with attention and sensorimotor function.

A Bristol University research shows that the "gamification" of learning can reduce the activity of a particular brain network which is responsible for mind wandering. When designed and developed properly, computer-based games can have a beneficial effect on learning.

A number of research, including the one done in Ruhr-University Bochum show that video gamers have an advantage at learning compared to non-gamers. In their test, video gamers performed significantly better than non-gamers in a learning competition, and gamers showed an increased activity in the brain areas relevant for learning. According to the lead author Sabrina Schenk, "Our study shows that gamers are better in analyzing a situation quickly, to generate new knowledge and to categorize facts - especially in situations with high uncertainties."

A study published in the journal Social Psychiatry and Psychiatric Epidemiology in 2016 suggests that "video game use is not associated with an increased risk of mental health problems. On the contrary, the data presented here suggest that video games are a protective factor, especially regarding peer relationship problems for the children who are the most involved in video games. Finally, video games seem to be linked to better intellectual functioning and academic achievement."

Another study suggests that playing some video games may even overcome the cognitive skills affected by poverty like focus, self-control, and memory, and may help reduce the achievement gaps related to poverty that are seen in school.

In 2020, after reviewing data from multiple studies in more than 600 children, the US Food and Drugs Administration approved a video game for the first time as a treatment. The game, called EndeavorRx, can be prescribed for kids with combined-type ADHD, or who have difficulty staying focused or paying attention, and the prescription can be covered with insurance. The game is meant to act as delivery system for algorithms that can strengthen neural networks in the brain connected to ADHD. In 2021, a University of Utah study found that games reduced isolation and depression in depressed patients aged 60-85. This could be a start for other games to be developed and considered as a therapeutic for other mental conditions which may include anxiety or depression, as well as many types of mental illnesses.

A study that compares media use with video gaming suggests that media multitasking specifically, that is, consuming media like movies or music while doing another activity, was mostly correlated with negative mental health, while playing video games was associated with faster responding and better mental health.

A study by the Oxford University using industry data on actual play time for Plants vs Zombies: Battle for Neighborville and Animal Crossing: New Horizons suggests that time spent playing games with social features, where players interacted with game characters controlled by other humans, is positively associated with well-being. Experiences of competence and social connection with others through play may contribute to this. Professor Andrew Przbylski further states that "Our findings show video games aren't necessarily bad for your health; there are other psychological factors which have a significant effect on a persons' well-being. In fact, play can be an activity that relates positively to people's mental health - and regulating video games could withhold those benefits from players."

Games like Fortnight, although having violent aspects, actually promotes pro-social behavior, according to a study. The researchers hypothesized that this is probably caused by the violent game yielding positive emotions or overall satisfaction of psychological needs, which is an outcome of enjoying the game.

Video games can stimulate your child's interest in technology, and can be gateway to learn technological skills such as coding or programming.

Also, video games may actually help your child find a job in the future. Employers from various industries are actually find résumés that include backgrounds in making or playing videogames a positive because they think video gamers have online collaboration, problem solving and other critical workplace skills.

Finally, according to a study, gamers actually tend to be more social, more successful and more educated than people who make fun of them.

Considering all these, be reminded again that the type of genre affects the brain differently, and one should not generalize that all video games have the same effect or benefit. For example, the researchers of a study hypothesize that playing strategy games result in improving memory tasks, while playing action games that stimulate the limbic area and elicit emotional arousal might be beneficial to those with mood disorders.

Are Video Games Bad for You? The Negative Effects of Video Games

Most of the bad effects of video games are blamed on the violence they contain. Children who play more violent video games are more likely to have increased aggressive thoughts, feelings, and behaviors, and decreased prosocial helping, according to a scientific study (Anderson & Bushman, 2001). A number of studies across different cultures suggest that children who play violent video games become physically aggressive in their daily lives. Also according to Dmitri A. Christakis of the Seattle Children's Research Institute, those who watch a lot of simulated violence, such as those in video games, can become immune to it, more inclined to act violently themselves, and are less likely to behave emphatically. Another study suggests that chronic exposure to violent video games is not only associated with lower empathy, but emotional callousness as well.
This, however, is still hotly debated because there is also evidence that shows that excessive use of video games does not lead to long-term desensitization and lack of empathy. A 2017 study published in Frontiers in Psychology, for example, didn't find any long-term effects of playing violent video games and empathy. Another study from University of York and another by the Royal Society found no evidence to support the theory that video games make players more violent, and another study suggests that there is no increase in the level of aggression of players who had long-term exposure to violent video games. A 2020 reanalysis of a number of independent studies did not find a clear link between video game and both violence and agression in children. This finding was again confirmed when no evidence was found that violence against other people increases after a new violent video game is released, although some children do display aggression by destroying objects, not attacking people.

Although politicians oftentimes declare video games as a cause of gun violence, there is currently little scientific evidence that links playing video games, even the "gruesome and grisly" ones, to violence.

On the other hand, The American Psychological Association (APA) concluded that there is a "consistent correlation" between violent game use and aggression, but finds insufficient evidence to link violent video play to criminal violence. An open letter by a number of media scholars, psychologists and criminologists, however, find APA's study and conclusion to be misleading and alarmist. Many experts including Henry Jenkins of Massachusetts Institute of Technology have noted that there is a decreased rate of juvenile crime which coincides with the popularity of games such as Death Race, Mortal Kombat, Doom and Grand Theft auto. He concludes that teenage players are able to leave the emotional effects of the game behind when the game is over. Indeed there are cases of teenagers who commit violent crimes who also spend great amount of time playing video games such as those involved in the Columbine and Newport cases. It appears that there will always be violent people, and it just so happen that many of them also enjoy playing violent video games.
Also, a meta analysis conducted by the Stentson University psychologist Christopher Ferguson, that examines 101 studies found that "violent video games had little impact on kids' aggression, mood, helping behavior or grades." According to Ferguson, "Any claims that there is consistent evidence that violent video games encourage aggression are simply false." Others like Benjamin Burroughs, a professor of emerging media at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas found that there are no longitudinal studies that show a link between violence and video games, and although players experience short-term increase in aggressive thoughts and feelings after playing video games, it doesn't rise to the level of violence. Also, men who commit severe acts of violence actually play video games less than the average male, according to Patrick Markey, a psychology professor at Villanova University.

Also, in 2018, an analysis of 24 studies involving 17000 youngsters from countries including the U.S., Canada, Germany and Japan and published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences found those who played violent games such as "Grand Theft Auto," "Call of Duty" and "Manhunt" were more likely to exhibit behavior such as being sent to the principal's office for fighting or hitting a non-family member. According to Jay Hull, the study's lead author "If your kids are playing these games, either these games are having a warping effect on right and wrong or they have a warped sense of right or wrong and that's why they are attracted to these games. Either way you should be concerned about it." Hull's previous research suggests players may also practice riskier behaviors such as reckless driving, binge drinking, smoking and unsafe sex.

Other studies that seem to indicate that playing video games have a connection to aggressive thoughts and behavior are those done by Anderson & Dill, 2000 and Gentile, Lynch & Walsh, 2004.

Some experts who believe that there is a connection between video games and violence blame the games' interactive nature. In many games, kids are rewarded for being more violent. The act of violence is done repeatedly. The child is in control of the violence and experiences the violence in his own eyes (killings, kicking, stabbing and shooting). This active participation, repetition and reward are effective tools for learning behavior.

Another study saw that participants who spent an average of 6.38 hours per week playing Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3, classified as a violent video game, experienced habitual desensitization to painful images. The researchers suggest that this happens because players of violent video games has to suppress their empathy to improve their game performance.

Kids can be addicted to video gaming. The World Health Organization in June 2018 declared gaming addiction as a mental health disorder. A study by the Minneapolis-based National Institute for Media and the Family suggests that video games can be addictive for kids, and that the kids' addiction to video games increases their depression and anxiety levels. Addicted kids also exhibit social phobias. Not surprisingly, kids addicted to video games see their school performance suffer. Neuroimaging research suggests heavy use of certain video games may cause brain changes linked to addictive behaviors. Also, MRI scans reveal that addictive video games can have a similar effect on kids' brains as drugs and alcohol. A series of studies by California State University found that the impulsive part of the brain, known as the amygdala-striatal system was more sensitive and smaller in excessive game players. According to Professor Ofir Turel, heavy game players between 13 and 15 whose self-control system is not yet well-developed can have increased susceptibility to other forms of addiction and can be more predisposed to impulsive and risky behaviors later in life.
Click here for more info on video game addiction, how to treat it, and tips on how to avoid getting your kids addicted to video games.

A study from the Université de Montréal suggests that playing action video games like Call of Duty may actually harm the brain. Most study participants mainly use an area of the brain called the caudate nucleus. These players navigate through the game terrain using in-system navigation tools or on-screen GPS, relying on navigational "habit" instead of active learning. It appears that this causes an increase in the amount of gray matter in their caudate nucleus, while it decreases in the hippocampus. Reduced gray matter in the hippocampus has previously been linked to higher risks of brain illnesses, including depression, schizophrenia, PTSD, and Alzheimer's disease. However players who play games that requires players to navigate using spatial strategies like the 3D Super Mario games have increased grey matter in the hippocampus.

Too much video game playing makes your kid socially isolated. Also, he may spend less time in other activities such as doing homework, reading, sports, and interacting with the family and friends. On the other hand, a study by researchers at the North Carolina State University, New York and the University Of Ontario Institute Of Technology points out that gamers usually do not replace their offline social lives with online game playing, but rather it expands them. In fact, among gamers, being a loner is not the norm.

A study involving college students has found that games with "pro-social" content, where playing requires non-violent cooperation and coordination with others in order to win, influence students to exhibit helpful behavior in real life (while those playing "violent" games exhibit hurtful behavior).

Some video games teach kids the wrong values. Violent behavior, vengeance and aggression are rewarded. Negotiating and other nonviolent solutions are often not options. Women are often portrayed as weaker characters that are helpless or sexually provocative. On the other hand, a University of Buffalo study suggests that violence and bad behavior played in the virtual world may be contributing to better behavior in the real world. Gamers who play violent games may feel guilty about their behavior in the virtual world and this may make them be more sensitive to the moral issues they violated during game play.

Games can confuse reality and fantasy.

Academic achievement may be negatively related to over-all time spent playing video games. Studies have shown that the more time a kid spends playing video games, the poorer is his performance in school. (Anderson & Dill, 2000; Gentile, Lynch & Walsh, 2004). A study by Argosy University's Minnesota School on Professional Psychology found that video game addicts argue a lot with their teachers, fight a lot with their friends, and score lower grades than others who play video games less often. Other studies show that many game players routinely skip their homework to play games, and many students admitted that their video game habits are often responsible for poor school grades.

A 2019 study found that among screen-based activities, playing video games and television viewing are the ones most negatively associated with academic outcomes.

Although some studies suggest that playing video games enhances a child's concentration, other studies, such as a 2012 paper published in Psychology of Popular Media Culture, have found that games can hurt and help children's attention issues - improving the ability to concentrate in short bursts but damaging long-term concentration.

Dr Philip A Chan and Professor Terry Rabinowitz, writing in the Annals of General Psychiatry, concluded that: "Adolescents who play more than one hour of console or Internet video games may have more or more intense symptoms of ADHD or inattention than those who do not." This negative effect may lead to problems in school.

Video gaming may also have bad effects on some children's health, including eye strain, headaches, and video-induced seizures. It is also found to cause obesity in teens. Sitting in front of the screen for hours on end prevents the player from getting exercise. Some gamers are found to consume more food while playing video games.

Excessive gaming may also cause postural, muscular and skeletal disorders, such as tendonitis or "gamer's thumb", nerve compression, carpal tunnel syndrome. Excessive gaming may lead to repetitive stress injuries of hands and arms. Overly-repeated use of muscles and tendons cause pain and inflammation, which may progress to numbness, weakness and permanent injury.

When playing online, your kid can pick up bad language and behavior from other people, and may make your kid vulnerable to online dangers. Often posing as children, sexual predators and other bad actors are meeting kids online through multiplayer video games and chat apps

Kids spending too much time playing video games may exhibit impulsive behavior and have attention problems. This is according to a new study published in the February 2012 issue of the Journal of Psychology and Popular Media Culture. For the study, attention problems were defined as difficulty engaging in or sustaining behavior to reach a goal.

According to Catherine Steiner-Adair, a Harvard-affiliated psychologist and author of the best-selling book "The Big Disconnect: Protecting Childhood and Family Relationship in the Digital Age", if kids are allowed to play "Candy Crush" on the way to school, the trip will be quiet, but it's not what kids need. "They need time to daydream, deal with anxieties, process their thoughts and share them with parents, who can provide reassurance."

About the author:
Ronaldo Tumbokon is a researcher/writer who works in media, and writes about the effects of technology, toys, books and others on children's minds.

See also:
Educational Toys and Gift Ideas to Help Make Your Kids Smart
The Best Educational Apps for Toddler and Babies

Related: Positive and negative effects of social media on children.

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25+ Positive & Negative Effects of Video Games, According to Studies - Raise Smart Kid

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Updated January 29, 2022 by Ronaldo Tumbokon Contents: Video games are frowned upon by parents as time-wasters, and worse, some education experts think that these games corrupt the brain. Playing violent video games are easily blamed by the media and some experts as the reason why some young people become violent or commit extreme anti-social behavior.

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https://kidshealth.org/en/parents/cyberbullying.html

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What Is Cyberbullying?

Cyberbullying is when someone uses technology to harass, threaten, embarrass, or target another person. It happens on devices like smartphones, computers, tablets, and gaming systems. Cyberbullying hurts people, and in some cases is against the law.

Sometimes cyberbullying can be easy to spot - for example, if your child shows you a text, comment, or post that is harsh, mean, or cruel. Other acts are less obvious, like posting someone's personal information, or using photos or videos that hurt or embarrass another person. Someone might make a fake account or screen name to harass and bully, so you don't know who the bully is.

What Are the Effects of Cyberbullying?

Kids have almost constant access to their devices, so cyberbullying is hard to escape. Kids and teens can feel like they never get a break and feel the effects very strongly.

Kids who are cyberbullied can struggle to concentrate in school, which can affect how well they do there. Cyberbullying that is severe, long-lasting, or happens a lot can cause anxiety, depression, and other stress-related disorders in victims and bullies. In rare cases, some kids have attempted or died from suicide.

Cyberbullies also can be suspended or expelled from school or kicked off of sports teams. Depending on the severity of the cyberbullying, kids also might be in legal trouble.

What Are the Signs of Cyberbullying?

Many kids and teens who are cyberbullied don't want to tell a teacher, parent, or trusted adults, often because they feel ashamed or fear that their devices will be taken away at home.

Signs of cyberbullying vary, but may include:

being emotionally upset during or after using the Internet or the phone

being very secretive or protective of one's digital life

spending more time than usual in their room

withdrawal from or lack of interest in family members, friends, and activities

avoiding school or group gatherings

slipping grades and "acting out" in anger at home

changes in mood, behavior, sleep, or appetite

suddenly wanting to stop using the computer or device

being nervous or jumpy when getting a message, text, or email

avoiding discussions about computer or phone activities

How Can Parents Help?

If your child is being cyberbullied

Offer comfort and support. Talking about any bullying experiences you had in your childhood might help your child feel less alone.

Let your child know that it's not their fault. Bullying says more about the bully than the victim. Praise your child for doing the right thing by talking to you about it. Remind your child you're in this together. Reassure your child that you'll figure out what to do.

Notify the school. Tell the principal, school nurse, or a counselor or teacher about the situation. Many schools, school districts, and after-school clubs have rules for responding to cyberbullying. These vary by district and state. But before reporting the problem, let your child know that you plan to do so, so that you can work out a plan that makes you both feel comfortable.

Encourage your child not to respond to cyberbullying. Doing so just makes the situation worse.

Keep records. Keep screen shots of the threatening messages, pictures, and texts. These can be used as evidence with the bully's parents, school, employer, or even the police.

Get help. If your child agrees, meeting with a therapist may help work through feelings. A counselor or mediator at school may work with your child alone or together with the bully.

Other things that may prevent future cyberbullying:

Block the bully. Most devices have settings that let you electronically block emails, messages, or texts from specific people.

Limit access to technology. Although it is hurtful, many kids who are bullied can't resist the temptation to check websites or phones to see if there are new messages. Keep the computer in a public place in the house and put limits on the use of cellphones and games. You might be able to turn off text messaging services during certain hours, and most websites, apps, and smartphones include parental control options that give parents access to their kids' messages and online life.

Consider monitoring your child's social media use. Programs and apps are available that can monitor kids' social media accounts and alert parents to any inappropriate language or photos. Some can give detailed reports of a child's browsing history and tell a parent how much time they spent online and on each site. Consider your child's age and digital behavior when deciding whether to monitor devices. Then, if you choose to monitor, talk to them about it and explain why it's important.

Know what sites your child uses. This is your chance to encourage kids and teens to teach you about something they know well - technology! This shows your child that you are interested in how they spend their time online, while helping you understand how to best monitor their online safety.

Be part of your kids' online world. Ask to "friend" or "follow" your child on social media sites, but do not abuse this privilege by commenting or posting anything to your child's profile. Check their postings and the sites kids visit, and be aware of how they spend their time online.

Put it in writing. Write smartphone and social media contracts for your kids that you're willing to enforce.

What Else Should I Know?

What if it's your kid who's behaving badly? While that can be upsetting, it's important to deal with the problem and not expect it to go away. No matter what's causing the bullying, tell your child that it's unacceptable. Set and enforce consequences if it continues. If needed, talk with teachers, guidance counselors, and others who might be able to help.

As always, be a role model for your kids. Help them understand the benefits and dangers of the digital world. If you don't get upset and use angry words in your own posts and replies, they're less likely to. Talk about healthy ways to respond - or not - when you disagree with others.

You can learn more about how to stop bullying at Stopbullying.gov.

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Cyberbullying is the use of technology to harass, threaten, embarrass or target another person. Here are some suggestions on what to do if online bullying has become part of your child's life.

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If you're lost for the perfect words to express your feelings, read on. Many words and terms of affection will be defined below that will help you say the right thing. We also give you some ideas for showing how much you care too.

Definitions of Love Terms

Let's start by looking at the definitions of terms used to refer to people in love or love itself.

Expressing Love in Words

Hopefully the previous definitions helped you on your quest to find words to express love. Here are some ways to say, "I love you":

Sometimes you can say, "I love you" by telling the other person what they are to you or what they mean to you. Here is a list of possible things to say that all start with "You":

You: complete me, mean the world to me, cast a spell on me, light up my life, stole my heart, hold the key to my heart, lift me up, rock my world, and make my heart skip a beat.

You are: the light of my life, a dream come true, all I want, the apple of my eye, the best thing that ever happened to me, my perfect match, the one I've always wished for, and the one for me.

You are my: everything, heart's desire, life, world, treasure, one and only, sunshine, one true love, strength, and reason for living.

Other Ways to Express Love

Since we have covered so many ways to say, "I love you" or to express love, here are two sets of ideas for ways to show love.

The first set is other things to say and ways to act:

The second set is things to do together:

As you can see, there are many ways to talk about love, tell someone " I love you," and show how much you care. Can you think of more?

Love: Expressions in Words

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If you're lost for the perfect words to express your feelings, read on. Many words and terms of affection will be defined below that will help you say the right thing. We also give you some ideas for showing how much you care too.

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https://www.getepic.com/app/read/69036

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Instantly access over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids on Epic

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Love is a never-ending art project. It isn't something we just "discover" and cling to, but something we must deliberately create together on a daily basis.

Today more than ever before we understand the science behind "love."

While we still have much to learn, we know that love (specifically "romantic love") is often driven by a range of factors including: physical attractiveness, cultural/personal similarities, socio-economic status, evolutionary biology (the instinct to survive and reproduce), and - on a neural level - a cocktail of chemicals in the brain that make us feel intensely connected with another person.

But no matter how much we learn about "love" through science, it still remains a complicated and elusive concept in our everyday lives.

Theoretically, you can learn all about what "love" is in a science book, but still have no idea how to create or practice love in the real world. And despite all we now know about love, people still struggle finding it for themselves.

One of the main themes behind the classic psychology book The Art of Loving by Erich Fromm is that "love" will always be a type of art - like painting, or sculpting, or poetry.

If you want to be a painter, it helps to learn different theories and techniques, as well as the history of different styles of art. But at the end of the day, if you really want to be a painter: you have to practice creating art of your own.

Love works in a similar way. You can learn all about it, but the only way to really get good at it is to turn it into a daily practice. And like all art, that will take focus, time, effort, and learning as you go.

Love is a product of what you put into it. It isn't just a passive thing that happens to you - something that you "fall into" or "fall out of" helplessly - but rather an activity that you must deliberately practice to become a master at.

This is true whether you've just started dating someone new or you've been married to the same person for over 50 years. Love is a never-ending art project.

Our first experiences of love are often as a child deeply connected to his or her mother. In this stage of our development, we just receive love from our mother (through attention, food, and comfort), but we haven't yet learned how to give love.

"For most children, before the age from eight to ten, the problem is almost exclusively that of being loved - of being loved for what one is. The child up to this age does not yet love; he responds gratefully, joyfully to being loved. At this point of the child's development a new factor enters into the picture: that of a new feeling of producing love by one's own activity. For the first time, the child thinks of giving something to mother (or to father), of producing something - a poem, a drawing, or whatever it may be. For the first time in the child's life the idea of love is transforming from being loved into loving; into creating love."

According to Fromm, those who expect to only "receive love" and never "give love" are stuck in a state of emotional immaturity.

Of course, this can manifest itself in many different forms of dysfunctional relationships (which I don't want to get into). However, the main feature is this: the person becomes dependent on others to "create love" for them because they don't know how to create it on their own.

This is like the "painter" who never paints. They only consume other people's work of art, but don't produce anything new themselves. They haven't become an artist of their own - they haven't yet started to experiment, to fail, to learn, to grow, and to hone their craft.

But all of these stages are necessary to master the art of loving, just as they are necessary for mastering any other type of art.

Love is an art project: Everyone expresses it in different ways

One key thing to remember about love is that - like art - it can be expressed in many different ways.

Just as two painters can have very different styles, two couples may be in equally healthy and loving relationships, but those relationships can look drastically different to an outside observer.

Some expressions of love are more open and outgoing, while other expressions of love are more reserved and subtle. Some couples may be very affectionate and physical, while others are more intellectual and conversational.

What's most important, however, is that the exchange is being appreciated and reciprocated.

Often our expressions of love can be small and simple, but still very effective: a genuine compliment, listening to someone talk about a rough day without judging them, preparing a meal together, or sharing time doing something you both enjoy, etc.

How exactly love is created and expressed isn't as important as actually putting in the effort to create it. And hopefully, if your message is sent clearly and genuinely, the other person will receive it and appreciate it.

And if people don't reciprocate your love, that's okay too - because you know how to create it on your own - and therefore you can share it with anyone you choose to.

In this article I've mostly discussed "romantic love," but Fromm writes about plenty of other types of love too ("motherly love," "fatherly love," "brotherly love," "love for God").

At their core, however, all types of "love" require the basics of mutual respect, caring, and admiration. And this type of love can be extended to anyone:

"If to love means to have a loving attitude toward everybody, if love is a character trait, it must necessarily exist in one's relationship not only with one's family and friends, but toward those with whom one is in contact through one's work, business, profession."

If love is part of something you "do" and you "create" (and not something you "find"), then it's possible to act lovingly toward anyone in your life, even toward random strangers.

Just like art, relationships require creativity if they are to be genuine and meaningful.

When you build a connection with someone, it's not just about following a social script, or going through daily pleasantries, or simply doing what is expected of you. You have to be yourself, be engaged, and participate in the present moment.

Active participation is what creates genuine moments and meaningful connections.

A big part of this is reducing the amount of mindless "small talk" we do on a daily basis. Fromm writes briefly about this, referring to some people as "zombies." However, he says it's possible to override these automatic responses in others, by first overcoming them in ourselves:

"I mean also [to minimize] the company of zombies, of people whose soul is dead, although their body is alive; of people whose thoughts and conversations are trivial; who chatter instead of talk, and who assert cliché opinions instead of thinking. However, it is not always possible to avoid the company of such people, nor even necessary. If one does not react in the expected way - that is, in clichés and trivialities, but directly and humanly, one will often find that such people change their behavior, often helped by the surprise effected by the shock of the unexpected."

Good conversation - like good art - is creative, spontaneous, and unscripted. And when you're good at it, it can grab people's attention, wake them up, and thrust them into the present moment. It breathes life into zombies.

If you act real and genuinely toward others, it will bring out more realness from them too. This is why you must ultimately pay the costs of being yourself if you want to master the art of love. This includes learning how to love in your own way.

The Art of Loving has taught me that love is an active process that we must participate in, and not just something passive that we wait to happen to us. Love is a never-ending art project - it isn't something we just "discover" and hold onto, but something we must deliberately create on a daily basis.

Stay updated on new articles and resources in psychology and self improvement:

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Love Is An Art Project: We Must Create It On a Daily Basis

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Love is a never-ending art project. It isn't something we just "discover" and cling to, but something we must deliberately create together on a daily basis. Today more than ever before we understand the science behind "love."

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https://www.facinghistory.org/sites/default/files/GLSEN_LGBTQ_History_Timeline.pdf

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https://www.getepic.com/book/82993924/sewing-the-rainbow-the-story-of-gilbert-baker-and-the-rainbow-flag?utm_source=t2t&utm_medium=link&utm_campaign=content&share=28149364784

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Read Sewing the Rainbow: The Story of Gilbert Baker and the Rainbow Flag on Epic

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Author: Gayle E. Pitman, PhD , Illustrator: Holly Clifton-Brown

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Read Sewing the Rainbow: The Story of Gilbert Baker and the Rainbow Flag on Epic

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Instantly access Sewing the Rainbow: The Story of Gilbert Baker and the Rainbow Flag plus over 40,000 of the best books & videos for kids.

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https://kids.britannica.com/kids/article/gay-rights-movement/630026

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In 1970, on the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots, several hundred demonstrators marched past the Stonewall Inn. It is considered the first Gay Pride march. At first, Pride demonstrations focused only on participants being proud to declare their identity. However, by the 1980s, members of the LGBT community began to use the events to call for more rights.

Gay Pride, or Pride, is now an annual celebration of LGBT identity. In many places Pride takes place in June to remember the Stonewall riots. Pride typically involves a series of events, such as concerts and social events. It often concludes with a parade involving marchers from the LGBT community and its supporters and colorful floats. In cities such as Paris, London, and San Francisco, Pride events usually attract several hundred thousand to more than a million celebrants every year.

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In 1970, on the first anniversary of the Stonewall riots, several hundred demonstrators marched past the Stonewall Inn. It is considered the first Gay Pride march. At first, Pride demonstrations focused only on participants being proud to declare their identity. However, by the 1980s, members of the LGBT community began to use the events to call for more rights.

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https://amaze.org/video/sexual-orientation-how-to-be-a-lgbtqia-ally/

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Adolescence can be an exciting and challenging time when both young people's bodies and minds are going through lots of changes. Having at least one trusted adult they can talk to about sensitive topics, such as puberty, their feelings and growing up, really helps. Trusted adults can be parents, grandparents, other relatives, caregivers, teachers or coaches. Even a young person's friends' parents can provide advice, answer difficult questions, share their values and/or faith traditions. Regardless of who a trusted adult is, what matters is that this person provide the support a young person needs and deserves. This is especially true for young people facing additional physical, emotional or social challenges.

Young people can feel awkward and nervous about talking with adults, especially if they know adults are going to judge or lecture them. While an adult may want to do all of the talking and tell a young person how to feel and what to think, this is a sure way to have a young person withdraw. An adult who listens to what young people have to say and respects their experiences and perspectives will earn their trust. If a young person does not feel judged, that young person is more likely to be honest with an adult and seek out help if they get into trouble, feel uncomfortable at a party or need help handling a tough situation.

CONVERSATION STARTERS

Effective communication is the foundation of healthy relationships, and this is true for relationships between young people and their parents, caregivers or other trusted adults. As a parent or trusted adult, you can help your child or another young person practice good communication skills by demonstrating healthy communication skills in your conversations with them and being a supportive listener when a young person needs help.

The easiest way to start conversations about communication is to talk about it as it comes up in everyday life, like while watching a show or movie together.

Here are some ways to start these conversations:

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Sexual Orientation: How To Be A LGBTQIA+ Ally - amaze

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Adolescence can be an exciting and challenging time when both young people's bodies and minds are going through lots of changes. Having at least one trusted adult they can talk to about sensitive topics, such as puberty, their feelings and growing up, really helps. Trusted adults can be parents, grandparents, other relatives, caregivers, teachers or coaches.

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https://www.phc.edu/learnphc/why-narrative-writing-is-worth-pursuing#:~:text=Narrative%20writing%20will%20help%20hone,you%20in%20researching%20argumentative%20papers.

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Whether you're interested in writing essays, becoming a journalist, or studying literature, learning about narrative writing can help you in many different ways. Here's why!

1. You'll gain more writing skills

Narrative writing will help hone your writing skills for many different genres! Learning how to structure a story will help you artfully craft essays. Gaining an attention to detail will aid you in researching argumentative papers. Studying style and clarity will help in all of your work, even genres outside of narrative.

2. It will teach you more about other people

Understanding character development is a large part of narrative writing. By learning how to either create fictional or depict nonfictional characters, you'll learn how to think through experiences that you never would have encountered otherwise.

3. You'll be able to better analyze books, plays, and movies

By learning more about how to craft an artful narrative, you'll be able to better analyze literature. Since you'll be able to identity the narrative's structure, motifs, and character development, you can identify what message the author is trying to convey through the narrative.

4. You can learn more about Scripture

Several books of the Bible - including Esther, Jonah, the Gospels, and Job - are in a narrative format. There are characters, plot developments, conflict, and resolution. Understanding how narrative works will help you better appreciate instances of narrative in Scripture. The stories become a lot more meaningful when you recognize how God gives us His word in terms of stories.

5. You'll learn more about yourself and your faith

Just as God's Word comes in the form of stories, God, as the master story-teller, has written your life story. You might see how He's woven motifs, conflicts, and resolutions into your life. Understanding storytelling helps you better appreciate their role in your own life-and that can help you better appreciate God.

Interested in learning about narrative writing and other storytelling methods? Consider coming to our Multi-Media Journalism camp! For more information, check out our teen leadership camp description and sign up today!
Multi-Media Journalism camp is taught by author and PHC journalism professor, Dr. Les Sillars. The camp is held July 1 to 7.

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Whether you're interested in writing essays, becoming a journalist, or studying literature, learning about narrative writing can help you in many different ways. Here's why! 1. You'll gain more writing skills Narrative writing will help hone your writing skills for many different genres! Learning how to structure a story will help you artfully craft essays.

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국내 1등 어린이신문 어린이동아

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국내 1등 어린이신문 어린이동아

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From working with communities to prevent clashes between people and wildlife, to putting pressure on governments to help fight the illegal wildlife trade, we're making a difference. In fact, in Nepal over 70% of snow leopard habitat is now protected, and wild tiger numbers have increased in India, Nepal and Russia.

We can protect big cats. But we can only do it together.

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From working with communities to prevent clashes between people and wildlife, to putting pressure on governments to help fight the illegal wildlife trade, we're making a difference. In fact, in Nepal over 70% of snow leopard habitat is now protected, and wild tiger numbers have increased in India, Nepal and Russia.

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But Why is a show led by you, kids! You ask the questions and we find the answers. It's a big interesting world out there.On But Why, we tackle topics large and small, about nature, words, even the end of the world.Have a question? Send it to us!

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https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-emotion#how-to-evoke-emotion-in-your-writing

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https://www.wikihow.com/Describe-and-Express-Feeling-in-a-Story

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How to Describe and Express Feeling in a Story

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Expressing feeling when writing fiction can be difficult. It requires empathy, a good vocabulary, and the ability to convincingly describe emotions in a wide variety of scenarios. Adding emotional depth to your writing makes for more...

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10 Steps to Express Yourself Better in Writing

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Expressing yourself in the written form is not easy. Even the greatest writers past and present have their frustrations. However, here are 10 tips to express yourself better in your writing.

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What counts as gaming addiction, and how to help

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What counts as gaming addiction, and how to help

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The World Health Organization declared that compulsively playing video games is a mental health condition. Calling this " gaming disorder ", this term will apply to people who play excessively and of "sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning and would normally have been evident for at least 12 months".

Kids who are really addicted are those who spend most of their time gaming over doing other things in their life, their gaming behavior escalates or persists despite negative consequences, and they suffer withdrawal effects when they stop. For example, they skip school, don't do their homework, do not involve in sports or outdoor activities, socialize, or have lost interest in other life activities.

The American Psychiatric Association (APA) concluded that there is still insufficient evidence to include video game addiction as a unique mental disorder. When people refer to "video game addiction", especially when it comes to children, they mean spending too much time playing video games - sometimes for more than 12 hours a day!

Most of the time though, when gamers admit to themselves that they are "addicted", they do not mean so in a clinical sense, but they are doing it excessively, and at times compulsively, because they enjoy it. Real video game addiction, when a player acquires a gaming habit that interferes with important normal functioning. is extremely rare, happening to less than 1 percent of players.

Scientists have also observed that unlike other addictions, too much video gaming goes away on its own, even without treatment. Most video gamers just experience a short, obsessive bursts of interest like in Minecraft, Pokemon Go and Fortnight, and the obsession fades away on its own.

Why Your Child is Addicted to Video Games

Game creators work hard to hook players to their games. They use predictive algorithms and principles of behavioral economics to make the gamer binge.

Games become "addictive" because it triggers the brain's reward system, and shapes a child's behavior. Studies made by the California State University found that video games can have a similar effect on children's brains as drug abuse or alcoholism. The impulsive part of the brain, known as the amygdala-striatal system was smaller and more sensitive in excessive users so that it processed the stimuli of games faster.

Massive multiplayer online role-playing games or MMORPGs immerse the player in real time because of the seemingly endless possibility of discovering more powerful loot or items. He is also enticed to complete events and achievements that requires a lot of gaming time.

Gamers who play games with social aspects, such as the World of Warcraft, spend the most time playing, sometimes for more than 40 hours a week - even more than a full-time job. The social element makes gaming even more compulsive, and hard to quit. Social gaming satisfies the human need for being in charge, feeling competent, and feeling connected with others. Some online gamers even feel that they are "duty bound" to go online because others rely on them - or their "clan" needs them for a "scrim".

In many other games, the gamer works hard towards achieving a goal and quitting the game prematurely would waste everything the gamer has worked for.

Symptoms and Bad Effects of Video Game Addiction

Although the existence of video game addiction as a disease is not yet settled in the scientific community, it has been observed that even excessive video game playing have serious negative effects on many kids. Here are some of the bad effects of video game addiction:

Obsessive behavior - Always preoccupied with getting back to the game and displaying irritable, restless and aggressive behavior when not playing.

Lack of sleep - Kids who play excessively do so up to the wee hours of the morning. This results in sleep deprivation, which is more harmful to minds that are still developing. When they have school the next day, it affects their attention and learning. Their lack of sleep also causes them to have headaches and feel fatigued throughout the day.

Lack of physical exercise - Also kids who play excessively exercise less, if at all. This results in other health problems, as well as losing the opportunity to develop brain since exercise is good for the brain.

Other Physical problems - Overuse of mouse or controller may lead to carpal tunnel syndrome. Other complain of dry eyes, migraine headaches, and back aches. Other gamers also neglect their hygiene.

Social isolation - Excessive playing takes time away from kids to interact with family members and friends. Being isolated most of the time deprive a child from developing social skills that he could learn from hanging out with friends. Although online games are mostly social, the skills kids can learn from it are very limited because they are not face-to-face interactions.

Having gaming as his only focus in life - A child can be so obsessed with gaming that he is only motivated by it, talks about it all the time, and most of his thinking centers on playing.

Neglect of school activities and responsibilities - Because of games, some kids are truanting from school to play (Keepers, 1990; Grifﬁths & Hunt, 1998), not doing homework/getting bad marks at school (Grifﬁths & Hunt, 1998; Phillips et al, 1995)

Lack of interest in reading and other hobbies that have educational benefit - When a child plays excessively, he is less interested in other hobbies that make him develop intellectually such as reading a variety of books and engaging in creative activities or other skills he would need in the future.

Escaping life problems instead of confronting them - Some kids who lead stressful lives find escape in a game's imaginary world. By escaping, the kids are prevented from facing their problems and finding solutions, which is an important life skill to develop while young.

Irritability, depression and annoyance when unable to play - Being deprived of playing time for some kids make them act up and gets emotional about not being able to play. A very small minority experience withdrawal symptoms like cold sweats and anger; developing migraines and back problems and, sometimes even death

Feeling guilty for wasting time that could have been spent in doing something productive - Of course time is not wasted playing games if one enjoys it and do it in moderation, but when kids do this excessively, they may regret not doing something else. In the future they may realize that they have wasted time and opportunity, and this could lead to regret and feeling guilty.

Being deceitful - Excessive gaming can lead a child to be dishonest or deceitful to his parents about time spent on video gaming. In some cases they may even steal physical video games or money to be spent on gaming. This could lead to serious personal troubles.

Diminished personal hygiene in severe cases

Also, individuals who have other psychiatric disorders like depression, anxiety, and ADHD are found to be more at risk for gaming disorders.

How to Break Your Child's Video Game Addiction

In moderation, video games can have a lot of benefits. However, when video game playing is excessive to the point that it brings about the bad effects above, parents should seriously consider limiting their kids' gaming time.

Here are some tips to break your child's video game addiction:

Talk to your child to put his video gaming in perspective - Explain to him that it is an entertainment or a past time, and is not what his life is about. Make him be aware that success in the gaming world is virtual or imaginary, and has nothing to do with real life success. It is more worthwhile to earn points in real life (by getting good grades, earning real money, learning a real life useful skill) than in fantasy worlds.

Determine a reasonable time for your child to play in moderation - A good time would be one hour on a school day, and 2 - 3 hours maximum on weekends.

Set specific rules for gaming time limit and be firm about it - Make it clear to your child specifically how much time you are allowing him to play (one hour, two hours, only until 9 pm), and make sure that you strictly enforce it. Giving him leniency every once in a while can become a slippery slope, and your child will not take the rule seriously anymore.

Create consequences for not following your rule - You can ban your child for gaming for a week if he exceeds your time limit.

Make game time a reward - Make your child's gaming time contingent to his actually fulfilling or failing a goal. For example, you can allow your child to play on school days if he maintains a certain grade, but if not, he can only play on weekends. Or allow your child to play only if he has done his chores.

Track your child's game time - Games, especially the great ones, are designed to be immersive, and your child can easily lose track of time playing them. Most games also entice your child to keep moving up levels, or to keep trying until he succeeds in a level, and this could make him so engaged that what seems like an hour of play is actually already 3 hours. Logging your child's game time can also make him aware of how much of his time is spent playing games. If he really play games excessively, it can be a wake- up call for him, and that would motivate you to cut back.

Use tools to set limits for his game time - Use tools such as a kitchen timer to limit his playing. If that fails, buy a timer that automatically turns off his computer after a given amount of time. Other ways to set limit is to allow him to play on certain days only, play only with specific persons, or allow him to buy only specific games. There is also a software called "Cold Turkey Blocker" that can be used to automate blocking of games in the computer.

Be ready for "I'm in the middle of a game" protest - Teach your child to save a game mid-level. Make your child aware that his gaming time is almost over, and that if he goes over, there will be consequences, like not being able to play the next day.

Discourage your excessively gaming child to avoid giant open-ended exploration games, RPGs and other games that is hard to stop or pause. Choose games instead that he can play in short bursts of time.

Put your child's gaming console or computer where you can see it - this will make him aware that you are monitoring his gaming hours and you can see if he is playing excessively.

Introduce your child to other fun things to do that offers a variety of enjoyment, and could even earn him real life points - These can range from physical activities like playing sports, biking or running to less physical, like reading, learning to play an instrument, coding, or going out with friends.

Recruit your child's sibling or friends to help him take his mind away from gaming, and indulge in other fun activities.

Make your child quit cold turkey - In a worst case scenario, when your child becomes dysfunctional as you are trying to limit his gaming, you can lock away the game or uninstall it from the gaming computer until your child realizes that he can live without video games.

In extreme cases, consult a therapist or pediatrician to cure your child's "addiction" to video games. Intervene early and decisively.

Ways To Make Your Child Avoid Getting "Addicted" to Video Games in the First Place:

Monitor video game play the same way you need to monitor television and other media.

Be a loving, attentive parent who disciplines your child well. An aggressive child is more a product of dysfunctional parenting than anything else, including violent games and TV. According to Los Angeles-based psychotherapist Robert Butterworth, PhD, dysfunctional parenting, children with little guilt, and accessibility to firearms with little parental supervision can create violent children. "Most children who commit violent crime show an early combination of personality and family factors that include having trouble getting along with playmates in preschool," Butterworth says. "By second or third grade they're doing poorly in school, and have few friends. By the age of 10 they're picking fights and getting labeled by their peers as social outcasts." What's more "they typically come from families where parents are poor at disciplining because they are indifferent, neglectful, too coercive or they use harsh physical punishment with little love."

Although playing video games can be a learning experience, give your kid a variety of entertaining things to learn from, so your kid will not be addicted to just one thing. Be sure to make him read books, play sports, interact with other kids, and watch good TV. Everything should be taken in moderation. The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that children not spend more than one to two hours per day in front of all electronic screens, including TV, DVDs, videos, video games (handheld, console, or computer), and computers (for non-academic use). This means seven to fourteen hours per week total.

Consider limiting your child's video game playing to an hour a day. A study by Oxford University in fact suggests that children who play video games for up to an hour are happier, more sociable and less hyperactive than those who do not play at all.

Monitor the effect of video games on your child. Observe his behavior. If it appears that he is becoming more aggressive with his siblings or friends during the period that he is playing violent games, stop him from playing the games. If he becomes interested in history after playing historical games, then the game is beneficial to him.

Limit your child's video game playing when you see him spending less time doing homework and that he is getting lower grades.

Limit your child's video game playing when you observe him having a sedentary lifestyle, and not engaging in sports and exercise. You can let him play video games that require physical action as there are a number of games that can be as physically intense for younger gamers as playing outside. But this shouldn't take replace his actual engaging in outdoor play and exercise.

Limit your child's video game playing if he displays sign of addiction and experience "video game withdrawal".

Instead of letting your child indulge in watch TV, let him play a good video game instead on the console or the tablet. For young children, playing video games is better than watching TV, according to Queensland University of Technology Games Research and Interaction Design Lab. Some games encourage kids to be moderately active, and some also exercise kids' cognitive skills. According to Dr. Penny Sweetser, such games "can improve academic performance, social skills and self esteem". He recommends, though, to let your kid play with parental interaction and supervision.

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How to Treat your Child's Video Game Addiction - Raise Smart Kid

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The World Health Organization declared that compulsively playing video games is a mental health condition. Calling this " gaming disorder ", this term will apply to people who play excessively and of "sufficient severity to result in significant impairment in personal, family, social, educational, occupational or other important areas of functioning and would normally have been evident for at least 12 months".

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Understood | For learning and thinking differences

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Copyright © 2014-2020 Understood For All Inc. All rights reserved. "Understood" and related logos are trademarks of Understood For All Inc. and are used with permission. This website provides information of a general nature and is designed for information and educational purposes only and does not constitute medical or legal advice.