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Contact: Chitwan Khosla, Features Editor

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Earth's rotation, oceans, and genes

Chitwan Khosla
Features Editor
© features@theotherpress.ca

Science is about questions and
looking for their answers. If
Newton hadn't wondered and
looked for why the apple fell to
the Earth instead of going up,
we might have never found out
about gravity. So, like Newton,
this section is a quest to find
answers in the field of science,
logic, and theories. If you

have a question about science
that youd like answered, send
it to Chitwan at features@
theotherpress.ca

ry does the Earth
rotate clockwise?

Actually, we can’t determine the
direction of Earth’s rotation on
its axis and there is no correct
answer to this question. We
can’t determine its direction
because it depends on our
reference point and from where
we see it. If we observe earth's
rotation from above the

North Pole, we will see that its
direction in counter-clockwise.
If we observe the rotation

: from above the South Pole, it

: will appear to be a clockwise

: motion. As to why the earth

: rotates, many believe that its

: motion is due to how it came

: to be. The Big Bang theory

: states that earth, like other

: celestial bodies, was formed

: when a huge cloud collapsed.

: The earth started spinning

: thereafter at a given speed, and,
: since according to Newton’s

: first law of motion “A body at

: rest will remain at rest, and a

: body in motion will remain in

: motion unless it is acted upon

: by an external force,” the earth

: remains spinning as no external :
: force is present to stop it.

: Why don’t the oceans freeze
: during winters while the

: rivers do even though they

: have high speed water

: currents?

: Even though the oceans seem

: calmer than the rivers, the

: water is constantly moving at

: greater depths at a very high

: speed and at a greater volume.
: This is a pretty complex thing

: to understand if you are not

: familiar with the geographical
: water currents and their

: direction of flow. The water

: currents from warmer regions
: also flow in the direction of

: colder regions; this is based

: on the theory of transfer of

: energy. Energy flows froma

: high concentration region to

: a lower concentration region.

: Heat energy from warm water
: regions thrusts the currents

: to flow to colder regions. This
: plays a key role in keeping the
: oceans warmer because rivers
: don’t come in contact with

: these currents.

Also, the presence of high

: salt concentrations lowers the
: freezing temperature for the

: oceans. Oceans are very deep

: and the ocean beds are several
: metres below the Earth’s outer
: crust. As we know that Earth’s
: inner layers radiate Earth’s

: internal heat, deeper is warmer
: (past a point). So it is actually
: quite cozy and warm near the

: ocean beds and thus, prevents
: the freezing of the water.

Rivers, on the other hand,

: are shallower with fresh water
: and generally freeze at zero

: degrees Celsius (or below).

: They have a lesser volume of

: water which loses heat energy
: much faster.

One more thing to keep in

: mind is that oceans do freeze

: in regions like the Arctic and

: Antarctica. Icebergs and ice

: caps are formed but the whole
: ocean doesn't freeze. This is

: because of a number of reasons: :
: enough warm water currents
: don’t reach these regions, the
: top ice crust forms as insulation :
: for the water below, and water is :
: saltier as we go deeper. :

Biosciences for Farming in

: Africa, a non-profit initiative

: to improve farming conditions
: in African countries defines

: gene banks as biological

: repositories—collections of

: samples of DNA or genes of

: plants and animals produced by :
: preserving their reproductive

: tissues, which can used for

: breeding purposes in future.

: Seeds, parts of plants that can

: propagate, and sperm and eggs

il

Photos by (L to R) hdwallpapersinn.com, wikimedia, and thinkstock

: of animals are stored in artificial
: environments and kept viable

: for reproduction. The samples

: are often periodically checked

: and replaced if needed.

Robert Lamb—a writer at

: HowStuffWorks and a blogger—
: in his article on gene banks

: compared the gene banks with

: Noah's efforts to preserve the

diversity of life. We know that

: human activities pose a great
: threat to wildlife and plant life

on Earth. Lamb mentioned that
according to the US Fish and

: Wildlife Service, more than 900
: : species of animals are currently
: What are gene banks and why :
: do we need them?

endangered. He further stated

: that to avoid their extinction,

: scientists want to preserve their
: genes for cloning and artificial

: breeding in future. According to
: the above mentioned sources,

: gene banks are useful for

: ensuring the conservation of

: animal and bird species that are
: on the verge of extinction and

: for ensuring healthy breeding

: of plants or crops. These also

: provide an insight to the natural
: world and its functioning.

 

Got some scientific Q’s you want A’d? Need a Bill Nye-type in your life to clear up your burning scientific
questions? Email your science-based questions to Chitwan at features@theotherpress.ca.

Your question could be answered in a future article!

 

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