Tag: grade 4

Health Technology

Remote Community Gets High-Tech Pharmacy

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Curve Lake is a First Nations community half an hour north of Peterborough.

People who live there no longer have to go all the way into the city when they run out of their medicine and need a prescription filled.

They can get their medicine from a machine, similar to a bank machine – except that what comes out isn’t money, it’s pills.

Curve Lake gets a lot of snow in the winter.

In bad weather, it can be difficult for the community’s residents to get to the nearest pharmacy if they run out of their medication.

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News

The Small Horse With The Heart Of Gold

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Hickstead, the stallion, was not Eric Lamaze’s pet.

In fact, Lamaze wasn’t even Hickstead’s owner. But he was Lamaze’s work partner and best friend.

So after a race last week in Italy, when Hickstead began to fall over with Lamaze on his back, the horse turned to make sure his rider was clear before he fell all the way down. He didn’t want to hurt his best friend.

The gold medal-winning Hickstead died instantly of heart failure, without pain.

Hickstead and Lamaze were a good match. Both came from troubled backgrounds. Horse experts said Hickstead was too small for international competition and had a temper that no one could tame. Many said he would never be a winner.

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News Science Technology

Phobos-Grunt Mission To Mars Misfires

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In the 1970s, a space project called the Phobos-Grunt project was proposed by Russian space experts.

At the time, it represented a dream for the Russian space program. To build a vehicle that could go all the way to Mars, to collect information from one of its moons, Phobos. It would be Russia’s first deep-space mission, developed entirely in the post-Soviet era.

The project had lots of problems over the years. They include mismanagement, political issues and serious technical problems, according to Russian journalist Anatoly Zak.

However, the Russian space agency persisted, and eventually the Phobos-Grunt became a reality.

The Phobos-Grunt launched on Nov. 9.

Unfortunately, the unmanned vehicle would not make it to Mars.

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News

Toronto To Get New Streetcars

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Toronto is getting 204 new streetcars.

The Toronto Transit Commission (TTC) says riders wanted better streetcars.

They wanted more seats and better accessibility for people who are physically challenged.

The new streetcars have a floor that is lower, so they are easier to get on and get off, especially for people with physical challenges.

They have more seats, larger windows and wider doors, including a third door for bicycles.

They are about twice the length of the current streetcars, and can handle 251 passengers.

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News

Flood Wreaks Havoc In Thailand

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For months, Thailand has been experiencing a devastating flood.

The waters are wreaking havoc in 25 provinces, flooding farmlands, homes and businesses.

The water gathers in the country’s central plains and makes its way south to the sea, going through Thailand’s capital city, Bangkok, on its route.

More than 500 people have died in the floods.

It is estimated that more than three million people have been affected.

At least a fifth of Bangkok is now under water. Bangkok has many canals and rivers that cut through it.

The polluted water is a health hazard; it is up to chest-high in some areas of the city.

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Arts Entertainment

Throw Spears, Sing, Dance At Polynesian Culture Centre

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You may have seen pictures of Hawaii on postcards, with its beautiful beaches, lush gardens and fascinating volcanoes.

But the Hawaiian islands are also rich in history and culture.

On the north shore of Hawaii’s island of Oahu you’ll find the Polynesian Culture Centre. There, each group of Hawaiian islands is represented in the form of a mini-village from that particular island chain.

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Entertainment Lighter

Toronto’s Mayor Gets A Surprise Visit

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Toronto’s mayor, Rob Ford, was caught off-guard by a comedy team called This Hour Has 22 Minutes.

One of the fictional characters on CBC’s This Hour is Marg Delahunty.

She plays a “warrior princess journalist” who often confronts politicians in a funny way.

She “ambushes” them and talks to them about the issues of the day. It’s meant to be funny but often insightful, too.

Last week she tried to ambush Toronto Mayor Rob Ford in the driveway of his home.

There are two sides to the story of what happened next.

According to Marg Delahunty (comedian Mary Walsh in real life), their camera crew ambushed the mayor at 8:30 a.m., in daylight, and in her typical loud-mouthed way she started offering the mayor some advice.

She was trying to tell him that “we bombastic buffoons should stick together.”

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Science

The First Mummy In 3,000 Years

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The body of Alan Billis, who died of cancer recently will be the first one in the modern world to be mummified like the ancient Egyptians were.

While he was terminally ill with lung cancer, Billis—a taxi driver in the UK—signed up for the procedure.

Dr. Stephen Buckley is a scientist who has been working for nearly 20 years to figure out how to mummify bodies in the same way Egyptian bodies like Tutankhamun’s were preserved.

His process was filmed for a television documentary on Britain’s Channel Four TV station.

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Arts Lighter Sports

Quidditch Tournament In Ottawa This Weekend

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The Ryerson University quidditch team is going to a tournament in Ottawa this weekend.

You heard right – the Ryerson quidditch team.

You may remember quidditch as the game Harry Potter and his friends play in the popular series of books by J. K. Rowling.

She invented the game, just as she invented Harry Potter’s world.

Fans of Harry Potter in England, the United States, Canada and other countries have created a “muggle”* version of the game.

One Ryerson player says it’s kind of a mish-mash of rugby, flag football, basketball and hide-and-seek all rolled into one great game.

Players don’t fly, of course, but they do have to run on the field with brooms between their legs. Not only is that difficult, but it can make the game a bit rough.

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Health Politics

We Are Turning Seven Billion Strong

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The population of the world is about to hit a new milestone.

As of Oct. 31, demographers say there will be seven billion people living on earth.

Back in 1804, we hit the one-billion mark. It took another 123 years to reach two billion.

By 2083, the population rate could be much faster or slower, depending a few factors including average life expectancy.

It is the poor who are always hit hardest by population increases, researcher John Bongaarts told The Globe and Mail newspaper.

There are more people drawing on the earth’s resources—food and energy, for instance.

More than 900 million people in the world don’t get adequate nourishment.

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