By Sebastian Haas and Everett Smith So what is Minecraft? Well, Minecraft was a game that was created in 2009 and has been flourishing since. Minecraft was created by a Swedish gamer called Markus Persson, or “Notch.” Notch actually got the idea from another game called “Infiniminer” in which you mine underground and collect minerals and resources. Notch originally called Minecraft the “Cave Game” but then later renamed it Minecraft. The very first version of Minecraft was created in just six days from May 10th to May 16th, 2009. But even till this day Minecraft is still a very well known game and is played by tons of famous YouTubers and gamers. So how popular is Minecraft? In May 2012, the game was released for Xbox and sold nearly half a million copies in under 24 hours. According to Visual.ly.com, Minecraft has about a couple million players log on each day to play. But what is the point of Minecraft? Minecraft is a game that takes skill and time. The main point of the game or big part of the game though, is having to survive. There are two main game modes--Creative and Survival. In Survival, the name explains everything. The player, “Steve,” begins completely empty-handed and has to live in a naturally generated world with many resources, some that are hidden and some out in the open. Once the player collects certain resources, they can begin to craft. Crafting is the gateway to survival. The crafting table opens up all the resources to your fingertips and you can basically make any block in the game, given you have the right resources. Example: put in wood to make sticks; put in sticks and wood to craft a sword, a great defense against harmful mobs. Mobs are the AI creatures in the game, many of which will try to kill you. There are six main mobs in the game including Creeper, Zombie, Skeleton, Spider, Enderman and Slime. All of these mobs do different things to try to kill you. As the game has evolved, there have been new mobs added to the game such as the Husk, Baby Zombie, Zombie villagers, Elder Guardian, etc. Creative is the other game mode. In this mode you can literally control the game. You spawn with a full inventory of each and every resource in the game, not to mention you are invincible and can fly. Many people use creative mode to build massive structures and contraptions, create incredible maps and just explore the world without the burden of being hunted or starving. With this game mode, you can literally build anything with no hassle of worrying about death. With being invincible, that means you can try and explore everything with no mobs attacking you. This game mode can come in handy when building and exploring. All in all, Minecraft is a building and exploring open-world game played by millions each day. It is available on many platforms, including PC, mobile, ps4, Xbox, wii u, and more. It features online play so you can join the game with other players, and more exciting updates are coming in as often as once a month, not to mention the billions of user-made mods. It has being running steadily since 2009 and been growing in its popularity ever since. By Aiden Shiu What if you could use genetic engineering to solve problems facing us? Can these creations turn out to be bad? In this article I will be talking about GMOs. GMOs are living organisms whose genetic material has been manipulated and altered by people in a laboratory through genetic engineering. There is a lot of controversy around GMOs. Today I will give you some reasons why GMOs are both good and bad, so you can make up your own mind on the topic. In the U.S.A, corn, sugar beets, canola, and cotton are all over 85% GM crops. Sometimes, we can even use genetic material from other organisms such as bacterias or other animals. We can put this material into what the scientists want to genetically modify to give the crop or animal a certain trait or ability. GMOs can also be called transgenic organisms due to this. Now let’s get to the point. What good can GMOs do? In 1992, a terrible discovery had been made in the district of Puna in the Hawaii islands where 95% of Hawaiian papaya were grown at the time. It was a virus. A virus that infected papayas named the Papaya Ringspot Virus (PRSV). In two years, the virus became widespread, threatening to wipe out the Hawaiian papaya. So, what did we do about it? Using genetic engineering, we developed a new Hawaiian papaya that was resistant and pre-vaccinated against the virus. This saved Hawaiian papaya and the papaya industry. What would have happened without this GMO? From fitnessreloaded.com (“10 Reasons to Eat GMOs and Feel Grateful For It” by Maria), the writer states,” It’s no secret that GMO crops can produce more with less. Talk about being efficient. So your acre will get you more fruit/veggies if it’s planted with genetically engineered seeds rather than with conventional ones. A UK report states, “Between 1996 and 2012, crop biotechnology was responsible for an additional 122 million tonnes of soybeans and 231 million tonnes of corn. The technology has also contributed an extra 18.2 million tonnes of cotton lint and 6.6 million tonnes of canola,” which is basically saying that GM crops are more efficient and can therefore feed more people than before. What about the bad of GMOs? How can GMOs affect health? In the article by Responsibletechnology.org (GMO Education) the writer states, “Genetically modified foods have been linked to toxic and allergic reactions, sick, sterile, and dead livestock, and damage to virtually every organ studied in lab animals. The effects on humans of consuming these new combinations of proteins produced in GMOs are unknown and have not been studied.” Once again on Responsibletechnology.org (“10 Reasons To Avoid GMOs”) the writer says, “GM crops and their associated herbicides can harm birds, insects, amphibians, marine ecosystems, and soil organisms. They reduce bio-diversity, pollute water resources, and are unsustainable. For example, GM crops are eliminating habitat for monarch butterflies, whose populations are down 50% in the US. Roundup herbicide has been shown to cause birth defects in amphibians, embryonic deaths and endocrine disruptions, and organ damage in animals even at very low doses. GM canola has been found growing wild in North Dakota and California, threatening to pass on its herbicide tolerant genes on to weeds,” which means that our environment is at risk because of certain GM crops reducing biodiversity, polluting water, and threatening to pass off their herbicide tolerant genes to weeds. What side do you pick in the argument on GMOs? Do you love them? Do you hate them? Or do you have some other third opinion? Sources: https://fitnessreloaded.com/eat-gmos/ http://responsibletechnology.org/gmo-education/10-reasons-to-avoid-gmos/ By Anya Sleeper Sheppard and Eva Ciobanu
1. What is your favorite breed of dog? a. Corgi b. Pug c. Husky d. Poodle e. Chihuahua f. None, I hate dogs 2. What is your favorite breed of cat? a. None, I hate cats b. Hairless (Sphynx) c. Persian d. Bengal e. Ragdoll f. Siamese 3. What is your opinion on dogs? a. OMG I LOVE THEM SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!! b. I like dogs a lot. c. Dogs are pretty cute. d. Dogs are ok. e. Ew. f. I hate all dogs!!! 4. What is your opinion on cats? a. I hate all cats!! b. Cats are so gross. c. They’re ok. d. Cats are nice. e. Cats are adorable. f. CATS ARE THE BEST THING EVER!!! 5. Your parents finally let you have a pet, what do you choose? a. A dog all the way!!!! b. Probably a dog. c. BEG for both a cat and a dog. d. Maybe a cat, maybe a dog. e. Probably a cat. f. A CAT, YES!!! KEY Mostly a’s: you a dog person through and through Mostly b’s: you like dogs a lot Mostly c’s: you love both cats and dogs the same Mostly d’s: you could have either as a pet Mostly e’s: you like cats a lot Mostly f’s: you are a cat person all the way |
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October 2022
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