Here’s Sarah with a fascinating update to one of her previous posts.

You may recall one of my posts from a few months ago where I encouraged everyone to become involved in CureTogether.  (To summarize, CureTogether is a collaboration of people from around the world volunteering to solve real problems by reporting information about their chronic conditions. Patients self-report and rate symptoms and treatments for over 360 conditions. The top conditions at CureTogether are depression, anxiety, migraine, back pain, and vulvodynia.)  I am pleased to report that I just received an e-mail from Alex Carmichael, one of the co-founders of CureTogether, with some fabulous news about the success of their citizen science projects.

According to Alex, after an analysis of data reported by 324 patients at CureTogether, patients who report infertility are 1.9x more likely to report having asthma than patients who don’t report infertility.  Within the 34 people reporting infertility, 13 (38%) reported having asthma (the remaining 21 out of 34 specifically said they did NOT have asthma). Within the 290 people reporting “no infertility”, 58 (20%) reported having asthma (the remaining 232 specifically reported NOT having asthma).  This 38% vs. 20% relative risk is statistically significant, with a 95% confidence interval of 1.4 – 2.6.

This finding is really important because using only user-reported data, CureTogether has confirmed the infertility-asthma association that has only been explored previously in clinical studies such as the ones I have listed below:

1. Asthma was found to be associated with irregular menstruation.

2. Asthma is higher in women with endometriosis (which also has a high correlation to infertility) than in the general population.

3. The more siblings you have, the less likely you are to have asthma.

4. A big cohort study in the UK found no link between fertility and allergy-related diseases but also said that with asthma in particular there was a different relationship to fertility than with eczema and hay fever.

Obviously, this is a big step for citizen science – REAL disease correlations being confirmed just by people answering a few health questions.  I encourage you all to log on to the CureTogether website and take a few moments to report data of your own!  In the meantime, I have no doubts that they will continue to have more success to share with us in the coming months…

Do you ever wonder what is really coming out of the faucet when you turn on your water?  If you participate in World Water Monitoring Day on September 18, you will be one step closer to finding out!  World Water Monitoring Day is an international education and outreach program that protects the quality of local water resources around the world by enlisting citizen volunteers to conduct basic monitoring of their local water bodies.  This project is organized by the Water Environment Federation (WEF) and the International Water Association (IWA), and they hope to expand participation to one million people in 100 countries by 2012.

Though there are celebrations being held in Washington, D.C. and Atlanta this year on September 18, anyone can organize their own event right in their neighborhood.  An easy-to-use test kit enables everyone from children to adults to sample local water bodies for a core set of water quality parameters including temperature, acidity (pH), clarity (turbidity) and dissolved oxygen (DO). Each test kit, which is recommended to be used in a group of no more than 5-10 people, contains:

• 1 Instruction booklet (English/Spanish)
• 1 Sample collection jar
• 1 pH test tube
• 1 Dissolved oxygen vial
• 1 Secchi disk decal
• 2 Temperature strips (14-40°C and 0-12°C)
• 50 pH reagent tablets (enough for 50 tests)
• 100 Dissolved oxygen reagent tablets (enough for 50 tests)
• 1 Color chart for determining DO, pH and turbidity test results
• 1 Mini pencil
• 1 Material Safety Data Sheet (MSDS)

The results of the study are then reported through the World Water Monitoring Day website. Though World Water Monitoring Day is officially celebrated on September 18, the monitoring window has extended for the first time this year from March 22 (World Water Day) until December 31. Participants are encouraged to celebrate anytime during the extended window, making this a perfect project for classrooms this fall!  (All the materials are even included, so schools and/or their teachers will not have to shell out extra dollars for supplies.)

PROJECT SNAPSHOT:

• Topics: water, analytical chemistry
• Location: at home, close to home
• Duration: until December 31, but if you are going to a local river or stream, probably in the warmer months!
• Cost: free
• Gear:  A test kit, which you can order here
• Level of Difficulty: easy

From Sarah: This photo was taken while I was painting ceramics by the beach of our Cancun resort…and I’m sure you observant readers can detect the sunburn on my face even though we had only been outside for 30 minutes.  (And by the way, don’t think I wasn’t coated in SPF 50 sunscreen!)  I am not one of those lucky people that can tan easily…or at all.  My skin is two colors: as close to albino white you can get without being clinically albino, or bright red…and so, I am indebted to the folks at the Maryland Science Center for studying those pesky UV rays.

Earth by Aura is an ongoing research program sponsored by NASA and the Maryland Science Center that focuses on determining how accurate forecasters are at predicting the daily UV index.  Citizen scientist researchers go out into Baltimore’s Inner Harbor daily to take UV radiation readings and interact with other citizens, encouraging them to protect themselves from UV radiation and to get involved with the project.

One of the really neat things about this project is that you do not have to live in Baltimore to participate.  Earth by Aura uses a data-uploading website called Volksdata to coordinate all of their participants.  I personally think my collaborators and I should start using this site – it is wicked cool!  Volksdata is a tool that combines the power of social networking with citizen science data collection.  Using it (from my limited experience this afternoon) also appears to be very easy.  Simply create a free account and log on, and you are able to instantly create online science projects and invite others to add their observations to yours.  Or, you can use their networking tools to look for others who are already working on something that interests you (like Earth by Aura), and join their projects.

If you would like to receive more information about Earth by Aura,  sign up to receive their informative emails by clicking here (and if you don’t want to also hear about museum events, edit your email preferences to include only citizen science).

PROJECT SNAPSHOT:

• Topics: climate, sunshine, UV index
• Location: from anywhere, especially in Baltimore
• Duration: as long as the sun is shining!
• Cost: free
• Gear: computer to submit results, measuring device for UV index (can find out more info when you enroll)
• Level of Difficulty: easy

Citizen Science report from Science Cheerleader reporter Dr. John Ohab.
Are you interested in giving back to the community and advancing environmental science education? Become an EnvironMentor!

EnvironMentors is a mentoring program that helps prepare high school and college students for careers in environmental and related fields. Together, students and mentors develop environmentally-based science projects comprised of hands-on experiments and a scientific research paper. The year-long program culminates with a poster presentation at the annual EnvironMentors Science Fair, during which students are eligible to compete for college scholarships.

Important point: expertise in environmental science or previous mentoring experience is NOT a requirement for participation; hence, why I was able to participate in last year’s Washington, D.C. EnvironMentors program (I had no expertise and limited mentoring experience).

My student, Lalaram, was particularly interested in how microwave radiation impacts living organisms, specifically plant growth. We conducted background research and found that this very topic was the focus of NASA researcher, Dr. JW Skiles, who is investigating the long-term effects of continuous microwave energy illumination of the biosphere. That was pretty much all we needed to design a year-long research project that asked: “Do Microwaves Affect Plants?”

Our experimental design was simple, yet thorough: three groups (water, soil, and wheatgrass seeds) received increasing amounts of microwave exposure (control, 15s, 30s, 1min, 2min, and 4min). In the water condition, microwave-treated water was administered to our wheatgrass on each watering day. In the soil and seed conditions, the soil and wheat grass seeds were microwaved once at their respective exposure time and given regular control water thereafter. We had three measures: 1) the day that sprouts first emerged from the soil, 2) the length of each blade of wheatgrass over time, and 3) the percentage of seeds that sprouted. In other words, we got to microwave the living crap out wheatgrass seeds and “see what happened”.

It was a challenging and rewarding year for both Lalaram and me. He demonstrated persistence, fought through a number of technical challenges, and ultimately produced a final paper and presentation worthy of a college student. As I watched Lalaram grow, I learned a great deal about what it takes to motivate someone, to inspire them to contribute their strengths, and to pursue endeavors that seem at the time beyond their abilities. It was an enormously satisfying experience from start to finish.

If you’re interested in participating as a mentor or a student, I encourage you to check out the EnvironMentors homepage and the seven university chapters, which include Alabama State, Colorado State, NC State, Colleges of Fenway, UC Davis, University of Nebraska and Arkansas State.

Project Snapshot:
Topics: environmental science, mentoring
Location: multiple locations throughout country
Duration: academic calendar
Cost: free or low cost
Gear: computer, scientific supplies
Level of Difficulty: moderate-difficult

In Chicago August 4-7th? Check out Georgette’s report on a citizen science workshop at the Adler Planetarium.

For 175 years scientists have been baffled by a star in the constellation of Aurigae, the charioteer.  The star is an eclipsing binary variable star, which means it circles another star around their joint center of mass.  From our perspective on Earth, there are long periods of time about every 27 years when the secondary star eclipses the other much brighter star.  Instead of appearing generally brighter from Earth, epsilon Aurigae appears dimmer.

What is this secondary star? Theories have ranged from black holes, to semitransparent stars to dark clouds of dust…

Take on the mystery of epsilon Aurigae with the American Association of Variable Star Observer’s Citizen Sky project. The project will use citizen observations to unravel the truth behind the seemingly invisible secondary star during its extremely long eclipse of epsilon Aurigae. The wealth of reading material on the Citizen Sky website is a good place to start if you’ve never done any observation before, I personally recommend walking through the 10 star training and then reading the section on “Visual Observing” to learn how to estimate the brightness of a star (its easy!). As the summer progresses, more information will be added about submitting your data and how to analyze your results in preparation for the Fall and Winter, when epsilon Aurigae will be visible to the naked eye in the Northern hemisphere. If you’re in the Chicago area, the first workshop will be taking place at the Adler Planetarium from August 4th-7th, 2009.  If not, follow along through the forums and blog, all located off of the main Citizen Sky website.

Project Snapshot:
Topics: astronomy, citizen science
Location: from anywhere
Duration: Fall-Winter, as long as you want
Cost: free
Gear: computer to submit results, telescope (not required)
Level of Difficulty: can be easy or difficult, depending on your level of involvement

Proteus Gowanus is calling all citizen scientists in the area to help them map out the distribution of crickets and katydids throughout the five boroughs of New York City on September 11, 2009 (rain date: September 12, 2009) from dusk to 1:00 am.  Crickets and katydids, like many of the other natural creatures I have blogged about in the past, are part of urban ecosystems, but are fading fast as their resources disappear.  Creating a distribution map of their locations through New York City will speak volumes about the types of habitats needed to sustain their survival.

Very little training is required to discern a cricket call versus that of a katydid, but the organizers will be providing a brief online training for participants prior to the crawl, as well as in-person demonstrations at the headquarters before the crawl begins.  Throughout the evening, volunteers would listen for the calls of crickets and katydids and document their observations with pencil and paper. (Or, those citizen scientists that are more technically saavy than I am can ditch their pencil and paper and submit their findings via text messaging for real-time analyses at Cricket Crawl headquarters.)

Signing up for the crawl is easy!  Just e-mail cricket_crawl@yahoo.com for more details.  Also, if you are interested in volunteering beyond just recording the calls of crickets, you can play a larger role in the organization of Cricket Crawl by creating a Cricket Crawl website, Facebook page, or a Twitter network.  And for those citizen scientists with an artistic side, Proteus Gowanus is also looking for artists to create pieces in connection with the crawl that could be posted in an online gallery.  Interested artists should e-mail info@proteusgowanus.com for more details.

PROJECT SNAPSHOT:

• Topics: crickets, urban ecosystems
• Location: at home or close to home, if you live in NYC
• Duration: one starry night, from dusk to 1 am
• Cost: free or low cost
• Gear: pencil and paper, and/or a phone with text messaging capability
• Level of Difficulty: easy

A first-person account of a citizen science project, from our very own, Georgette.

Last weekend, I gave my first go at searching for ladybugs to photograph for the Lost Ladybug Project. The project looks for local evidence of a few native species of ladybugs that have become quite rare in recent years, being quickly replaced by more exotic species. Ladybugs are important and beneficial predators; they eat harmful insects like aphids that damage plants. This project aims to collect photographs and raise awareness for the many important questions this change poses for agriculture like, Will these new exotic species be less able to protect farms from harmful insects?

The site provides tons of useful and interesting information, from how to make your own sweep net, to illustrated ladybug identification pictures, to bookmarks, pamphlets and even a coloring book page for kids to join in on the fun!

I set out on my expedition on Saturday, heading for the BioPond at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia. Ripe with beautiful greenery and wildlife, I figured this was a sure spot for finding some spotted friends. With sweep net and bug box in hand I searched the area, but was unsuccessful. My lack of success continued for the next two days. Despite having certainly seen ladybugs in Philadelphia, finding them out in the wild seemed to be quite a challenge. Perhaps they really are disappearing?!

My search will certainly continue. I’ve planted some cilantro and fennel in my own garden to attract the lovely critters (ladybugs are particularly fond of those herbs). In any case, I had fun and learned a lot about  ladybugs in the process. If you happen to come across a ladybug, scoop it up and snap some pictures to send in to the Lost Ladybug Project. Send us (Science Cheerleader) your thoughts on the experience as well. And I’ll leave you with this lovely ladybug tune.

PROJECT SNAPSHOT:

Topics: ladybugs, nature, outdoors

Location: anywhere

Duration: any

Cost: free

Gear: sweep net (wire hanger, pillowcase, duct tape), camera

Level of Difficulty: easy

A citizen science alert from Georgette.

If you’re near Durham, NC this weekend (July 19), join the Plant Stalkers training session and help track and monitor invasive species of plants near the Eno River.  Invasive plants range from those that do not provide adequate shelter or food for local animals to those that actually harm native plants. Watch the Plant Stalkers in action then join in on the hunt! Look for Japanese Stiltgrass, Privet trees, English Ivy, Chinese Lespedeza and other invasive species and then mark the location with a GPS device. They’ll provide instruction in finding the plants, using GPS and submitting your data through Google Earth…and even certify you to contribute to the project on your own!

Project Snapshot:

Topics: citizen science, plants, nature

Location: involves a trip

Duration: several hours

Cost: free or low cost

Gear: GPS device (you can also borrow one of theirs), computer

Level of Difficulty: easy

Cornell Lab of Ornithology presents this year’s contest in Celebrating Urban Birds, Funky Nests in Funky Places! Do some bird-watching and get creative with a photo, painting, quilt, sculpture, story…or any other medium that inspires you. And if the thought of getting outside and getting those creative juices flowing wasn’t enough, they’re giving away some great prizes like a digital camera, signed birding books, and HUMM hummingbird feeder!

PROJECT SNAPSHOT:

Topics: bird-watching

Location: anywhere

Duration: until July 31st, 2009

Cost: free

Gear: whatever you choose!

Level of Difficulty: easy

Here’s Dr. John, with a new twist on the classic game of Frogger.

The Vancouver Aquarium has re-imagined the classic arcade game, Frogger, to better reflect the global decline in the amphibian population. The new version, Frogster, retains the spirit of the original game (e.g., horrendous controls and even more horrendous graphics) but now offers a myriad of new dangers, including loss of habitat, pesticides, pollution, and other human factors. The game also provides informative “Did you know?” facts about the amphibian population; for instance, did you know that air pollution is deadly because frogs breathe through their skin? Neither did I!

Frogster is advertised as “The Hardest Game You’ll Ever Play”, and they aren’t kidding. Navigating through car exhaust, polluted water, and human interference is a lot harder when you’re a helpless little frog.  In fact, it was so frustrating to watch my frogs repeatedly drowned or flattened by oncoming traffic that I was compelled to help.

FrogWatch USA makes it easy! Since 1998, they’ve leveraged citizen scientists to monitor the health and behavior of various frog species around the country. In as little as 20 minutes a week, you can monitor frogs and toads in your own neighborhood wetlands and help scientists develop practical ways to help conserve these important animals. You can even learn to make your own frog calls — great fun at parties!

So play Frogster, get motivated, and let’s start monitoring some frogs!

• Topics: frogs
• Location: neighborhood
• Duration: 20 minutes or more
• Cost: low cost
• Gear: pencil, flashlight, thermometer, watch
• Level of Difficulty: easy