First Lego League Girona

Almost 50 teams from across the country participate in an event that aims to promote scientific and technological vocations among young people

First Lego League Girona

More than 10,000 students between 10 and 16 years have participated in the tenth edition of the First LEGO League (FLL) in Spain. Just over 500 of them, divided into 48 teams, will travel to Girona next weekend, 12 and 13 March, to take part in the Grand Final of this competition is an educational and scientific, that in this year participants poses a challenge related to waste management.

The aim of this competition is to promote scientific and technological vocations among young people, at a time of growing demand worldwide and especially in countries like Spain-professional profiles related to engineering, programming and physical sciences and mathematics .

According to the report of the European Commission’s New skills and jobs in Europe (pdf) employment needs in these areas will grow by 14% by 2020, a figure that far exceeds the average increase in global demand for workers to end of the decade in Europe (which is expected 3%). In Spain, the gap between the number of university students who are training in these areas and expected demand for employment is very significant.

Thus, in addition to recreational and educational component, the First LEGO League aims to play an important role in the growth of the 80 countries worldwide where it is held. “In addition to developing skills and competencies, children learn to work together, to communicate, to make decisions and acquire an entrepreneurial spirit among many other things,” says Berta Roca, head of communications for First LEGO League in Spain .

Each year, the organization presents a scientific challenge related to a current problem. This year is about waste management. Participating teams must identify a real problem and develop a scientific project that offers a concrete solution. In addition, all teams must program a LEGO MINDSTORMS robot to exceed, in a time of two and a half minutes, a series of missions related to waste on a board built for the occasion.

This part of the competition, the game Robot, is one that arouses more enthusiasm among young participants, mechanical engineering. But it is also a strategic objective of learning. In fact, the advantages of teaching robotics in schools are being explored in many countries, already included in the curricula of their schools subjects related to mechanical devices that can be programmed for children.

First Lego League Girona 2

In addition to solving the scientific project and the challenge of the robot, participants must demonstrate to have acquired other no less important values: commitment to colleagues, cooperation, inclusion, professional courtesy and respect. So the FLL is #muchomasquerobots, as can be seen through the hashtag collecting trace on social networks this educational adventure:

Spain is the first European country in number of participants in the First Lego League teams, and the second worldwide behind the United States. Of the 16 teams participating in the 2006 edition, the first held in Spain, has gone to more than 1,350 teams this year. Worldwide, 233,000 young people have participated. Many of them are scientists and entrepreneurs of the future pillars of economic and human development of countries.

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Exercise is medicine

Spanish scientists and health groups join the international campaign ‘Exercise is Medicine’ for doctors to prescribe it as a treatment

Exercise is medicine

The Spanish Society of Primary Care Physicians, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics, the Research Network on Physical Activity and Health (Exernet), the Spanish Agency for Health Protection in Sport and the Professional School of Medicine Physical Education and Sport have been the National Center EIM-Spain to join the international initiative Exercise is Medicine (EIM) that promotes the use of exercise not only as a habit of healthy life but also as a medical treatment for people with cardiovascular disease, mental illness, bone, metabolic, cerebrovascular, respiratory, or even cancer.

 

“The aim is to encourage physicians and pediatricians to include in routine inquiries valuing physical activity performed by patients – as now wonder whether they smoke or measure the tension, and when they see that do not get enough, prescribe them physical exercise, and not in a generic way, but with a concrete program of work according to their characteristics and conditions, “sums Jose Antonio Casajús, director of the center and Exernet. He quickly adds that, for these recipes to succeed, “doctors also prescribe have to be coordinated with local suppliers of exercise,” that is, with sports centers, gyms, recreation centers and seniors and professionals undertake actions aimed at the area to enable these people to carry out the program prescribed by the doctor. For example points out that, for a person with diabetes, the prescription will improve insulin resistance through aerobic work and improving muscle strength, information that should also have professionals who lead physical activity design exercises proposed.

“We have a lot of scientific evidence that exercise is a very powerful health, cheap and accessible tool because it can be performed in a great workout in a park, but are not being used effectively and the prevalence of inactivity and pathologies related to it are constantly increasing, so we need a greater involvement of all healthcare workers but also the municipalities, exercise professionals and many other institutions to exploit synergies and start working so coordinated, because the resources already exist, “says Casajús.

In this line, the center of EIM-Spain plans to promote the dissemination of scientific advice regarding the benefits of physical exercise on chronic noncommunicable diseases most prevalent in Spain, and offer specific programs for different pathologies activity through GUIDELINES available on its website, seminars and workshops aimed at improving the training and knowledge of doctors and sports trainers.

EIM strategy to coordinate all the groups and institutions that can contribute to a society more active was launched by the American College of Sports Medicine in 2008 and has had a great impact worldwide, achieving representation in countries on five continents as United States, Canada, China, United Kingdom, Norway, Germany, South Africa, Australia and now Spain.

Great benefits

During the public presentation of the EIM initiative in Spain last Thursday in Zaragoza, Casajús said some of the scientific evidence existing on the benefits of physical exercise on health. Among them, demonstrating that include physical activity in the therapy of children with cystic fibrosis or cancer reduces the side effects of medication, which should be considered by medical professionals who deal with them to prevent a excessive overprotection keep them inactive. “According to the results of a recent study in children with acute leukemia linfoplástica, incorporating physical exercise to improve your fitness therapy between 15% and 20%, and the same goes for children with cystic fibrosis, who see reduced its possibility of entry by 10% “, experts corroborate the Spanish Association of Pediatrics in a statement.

Casajús also cited studies showing that physical activity reduces 30% doctor visits and protects up to 40% against stroke, type 2 diabetes, colon cancer and breast cancer, and prevent obesity and metabolic syndrome. And for preventive health benefits, say the specialists-, simply perform 30 minutes of moderate five days a week exercise. However, physical inactivity is growing. Statistics indicate that 54% of Spaniards do not exercise enough and that 12% of Spanish children are sedentary, a reality directly related to the fact that childhood obesity has tripled in the last thirty years.

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Christmas day, full moon and asteroid

A huge asteroid ‘rub’ Earth on Christmas night

 

At Christmas play at the sky. And matching two notable astronomical phenomena: a huge asteroid will skim the earth on a night dominated by a nearly full moon it will be to complete the 25th over 30 years did not have a Christmas full moon, a phenomenon It will not happen again for another two decades. The asteroid 163899, only five times smaller than that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs, go to 11 million kilometers of Earth but only be visible with large telescope.

It is becoming common to all special nights we visit an asteroid. If Halloween did the Great Pumpkin, on Christmas Eve it is his turn to asteroid 2003 163899 or SD220. Discovered in 2003, this asteroid will pass on Christmas Eve to about 11 million kilometers at the time of closest approach. This is a pretty big subject of more than two kilometers wide “only five times smaller than that caused the extinction of the dinosaurs,” explains Salvador Ribas, Scientific Director of Parc Astronomical Montsec.

Its size could cause serious damage to the earth in case of impact, something that will not happen because it happens about 27 times the distance between Earth and the Moon. Therefore, Ribas reminds fans that will not be visible with a home telescope.

Scientific record

The large study of 163899 have enabled “retail” their behavior and know their way. All this information has led to “a good scientific record”. This is the first of five planned for this asteroid approaches in the next 12 years.

The walk of the asteroid and the distribution of gifts from Santa Claus will be illuminated by a nearly full moon will be full on Christmas day. The special coincidence of a full moon on December 25 had not happened since 1977, according to NASA, will not happen again until 2034.

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