Tag: science

What Did Dinosaurs look like?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Although humans have lived on Earth for a long, long time, there are still many species of animals that go undiscovered and may be lurking in the shadows for long.

Therefore, consider how many myths from the past still exist now. For instance, how did dinosaurs actually look like?

As a result of movies like Jurassic Park, people have compared dinosaurs to lizards, crocodiles, and other animals, which has shaped our concept of these prehistoric creatures.

Recently, scientists have discovered that dinosaurs are actually more feathery than reptilians, and although this information has been spread a lot more recently, many still think dinosaurs are scaly beasts.

What other aspects of the past are unknown to us if many people are mistaken about what they believe dinosaurs to be?

To find out more, let’s watch this video.

Discussion Questions:

  1. How many animals or species do you think we’ll never discover?
  2. Based on the information from this video, would we know if humans were to go extinct?
  3. What other animals do you think would disappear from history if they went extinct?
  4. How do you imagine the world would be like if we shared one environment with these extinct animals?

Why Parrots Can Talk Like Humans

B2 – Upper Intermediate

There are many types of birds that exist in our world and one of them are parrots. They are some of the most famous birds to ever exist. There are many reasons as to why this is the case, but the most significant is the fact that parrots can speak the human language.

Monkeys and humans are very similar creatures with very similar physical features. However, monkeys cannot speak the human language, so why and how can a bird, more specifically, parrots speak like us?

To find out more, let us watch this video.

Discussion Questions:

  1. If other birds were to start using their tongue while speaking, do you think they would be able to speak the human language as well?
  2. Do you think that parrots could imitate other animals as well as they speak human language?
  3. In the future, do you think we could fully teach parrots our language? How about other animals?
  4. What are your thoughts on animals having the capability to perform human-like skills?
  5. Would you like to own a talking pet/animal? Why or why not?

Why Do Humans Cry?

B2 – Upper Intermediate

All animals cry just like humans so that they can clean their eyes tor lubricate their eyes, but only Humans cry emotionally, why is this?

Babies crying makes sense because they can’t speak, so they have to find another way to show emotions and this carries on to adulthood, and during this time, people also want to comfort us, like when we used to cry as a baby.

There are a few reasons this can happen, in order to find out these reasons, let us watch this video:

Discussion Questions:

  1. When you see another person cry, how do you feel about it/them?
  2. What are other reasons we cry?
  3. In your opinion, is emotional crying beneficial to humans? Explain why or why not.
  4. Which moments make you cry your heart out?

The Science of Spiciness

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Studies show that there is no such thing as a spice-loving gene; no one is born loving hot sauce. Instead, the love for spicy food is learned, a result of repeated exposure to spices.

It means those who hate spice can actually train themselves, over time, to love the stuff.

Watch the video to know more information about how our bodies handle spicy food.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Do you like eating spicy food?
  2. Are spicy foods healthy or dangerous?
  3. What are the benefits of spicy foods?
  4. Do you know someone who can eat extremely spicy food?
  5. Do you think eating spicy food increases metabolism?



Habits that Damage Your Brain

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Your brain is obviously a very important part of your body. It carries a lot of information around and has the main control for every function that happens in your day-to-day life.

Watch the video to know some of the considered brain-damaging habits.

Discussion Questions:

  1. Which habits are you guilty of?
  2. Why do you think lack of socializing can be harmful for you?
  3. How do you take care of your brain?

The Plant that Grows Meat

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Genetically modified organisms (GMOs) are living organisms that have had their genes altered in some way. Genetic engineering can be done with plants, animals, or even bacterias.

In Iceland, researchers are growing genetically modified barley plants inside a greenhouse to create lab-grown meat. They believe that this cutting-edge approach can lower costs, enhance food production and quality, and eliminate dependence on live animals.

Let’s watch the video to learn more about the process of genetically modifying barley plants to grow meat.

https://www.bbc.com/news/av/technology-58709069

Discussion Questions:

  1. What are your thoughts on this process of genetically modifying plants to create lab-grown meat?
  2. Do you think GM food is safe to eat? Explain your stand.
  3. People in the US have been eating genetically modified food for many years without ill effects. Why do you think some people in the rest of the world still have doubts?
  4. Is GM experimentation “unnatural”? Are all “unnatural” things bad? Elaborate on your stand.
  5. How can GM food solve the global problem on food shortage?

Ethical Problems with Human-Monkey Chimeras

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Netflix’s new sci-fi series entitled “Sweet Tooth” is a story about a world where crossbreeding between humans and animals is possible. In real-life, it is a lot more complicated.

Although the development of the first ever human-monkey embryos proves to be a massive achievement in science, it might be cause for some ethical issues in the long run.

Listen to the audio and read the transcript about chimeras and the ethical issues surrounding their development.

https://theconversation.com/first-human-monkey-embryos-created-a-small-step-towards-a-huge-ethical-problem-159355

Discussion Questions:

  1. Does it make sense to make chimeras? Elaborate on your opinion.
  2. Do you think it was a good idea to destroy the produced human-monkey hybrid? Support your stand.
  3. Why is it important to continue researches on chimeras in the future? 
  4. How do you feel about chimeras? 

Biodegradable Plastic

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Sad to say but humans have been continuously contributing to the environment’s degradation. For one, our excessive use of plastic materials pollute the earth so much. It might be high time to reconsider our actions and pay more attention to this environmental issue and start finding ways to resolve this problem before it’s too late.

Find out more about the new technology that could make plastic material compostable and degradable.

A new technique could make some plastic trash compostable at home

Discussion Questions:

  1. What is the new technique that could make biodegradable plastic decompose? What do you think of this new technique?
  2. Why is this breakthrough important? 
  3. What are other ways to resolve our problem with plastic wastes?
  4. Do you practice composting? Why or why not?
  5. How much plastic do you think you consume? How can you reduce your plastic use?

Sea Slugs Regenerate Bodies After Decapitation

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Some animals have the ability to regrow body parts that have been cut off. In a new study, it reveals an amazing discovery of regeneration where Japanese sea slugs can regrow hearts and whole new bodies after their heads have been cut off.

Read more about the Japanese sea slugs regeneration.

https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/heads-sea-slugs-grow-new-bodies-decapitation-rcna366

Discussion Questions:

  1. Explain the significance of this scientific breakthrough. What are your thoughts on this discovery?
  2. What did you know about sea slugs before reading this article? What have you learned about them so far?
  3. Is it possible to discover the technology to regrow (human) body parts? Why or why not? Discuss. 
  4. If it ever were developed, how would the technology to regrow human body parts impact our lives?
  5. Sea slugs developed the ability to regenerate their body parts to fight off parasites. What do you think about this?

Cure for Baldness

B2 – Upper Intermediate

Hair is considered as a person’s crowning glory. Some even spend loads of money in the salon for it. However, millions of people around the world are balding or losing their hair. There are different ways to hide bald spots, but the closest one you could get to natural hair would cost you a hefty amount of money.

Scientists are now developing a way to cure baldness that could replicate natural hair growth.

Click the link and read the article to learn more about this up-and-coming baldness cure.

https://breakingnewsenglish.com/1907/190702-baldness-cure.html

Discussion Questions:

  1. What do you think about this recent breakthrough baldness cure?
  2. Why do you think hair is considered as a person’s “crowning glory”?
  3. How important is hair to you? Would you consider spending $50,000 for a hair implant?
  4. How often do you go to the salon/barbershop to pamper your hair?