While neurons actively use electric currents in the body to relay messages to the brain, the strand of DNA is not alien to the concept of electric conductivity either. Science experiments at the Warwick University of UK have shown that the DNA identifies faulty activity in itself by the change in its conductivity patterns.

The millions of defects which occur within the DNA molecules each day are constantly being corrected by an army of enzymes. This repair work happens as the mechanics get dispatched to the site of the problem based on the mutations which occur. The mutations are identified by the body seeing the change in DNA conductivity of the damaged section.

Think about it like a house alarm which goes off each time the circuits trip or a window or door is opened without disarming the alarm. In a way the DNA conductivity is a similar alarm for the human body.  However even the body’s alarm system is not fool proof.

In case of some mutations the change in conductivity is not enough to trigger a repair alarm leading to defects which may even cause cancer if they persist. Still in many ways the inner workings of the body are as fascinating as the working of the universe outside.

We use electricity in a number of science projects and think of it as something that is man made or artificial. Just how untrue that is gets proved when we see that most living animals have neurons which work on electrical currents.

These specialized cells of the body move information from organs to the brain in electrical form. This helps the brain keep better control over the body. In a blink on an eye the brain knows that it has stubbed its toe from the pain receptors being activated by such electric currents.

Hands know that a surface is hot when touched for a fraction of a second. Again thanks to the neurons which quickly transmit the information to the brain. The hands are then guided away from the source of the heat by the brain so that they will not be hurt.

The best part is that all these actions and electric currents flow through the human body without ever actually engaging the conscious mind. Like a well tuned machine functioning on auto pilot. It goes through the entire process with no problems at all. Wish all machines were so easy to handle.

The kitchen is a great place to do science experiments. You can actually turn your kitchen into a laboratory without too much difficulty. Most of the ingredients are already there, you just need to know how to use them. And of course have an adult around for safety purposes.

Here is a simple Kitchen experiment that can be great fun to do. You will need a balloon, a small pint sized bottle, a packet of active dry yeast,  a cup of warm water and two or three spoons of sugar. Take the balloon and blow it up a few times. Make sure that it does not have any small holes from where the air may leak out.

Now in the cup of warm water add the packet of yeast and the spoons of sugar. Stir till they both dissolve in the water. Now pour this water into the bottle. You will notice that  the carbon di oxide bubbles start forming in the water as soon as the yeast and sugar begin reacting.

To the mouth of the bottle now attach the balloon. Keep it away for a while. After some time you will see that the balloon has begun to inflate thanks to the air being generated. Try out more fun science projects here.

As far as science projects go, this little science experiment is great fun to do. Imagine getting a hard boiled egg into a bottle with a mouth that is actually smaller than the egg. It demonstrates a number of  science principles at work. The utilization of oxygen to burn a match, the creation of depression due to air pressure being the two most noteworthy.

Here is what you need. A hard boiled egg, which has been shelled. A bottle with a mouth that is marginally smaller than the diameter of the hard boiled egg. And a box of matches. You are set to go.  Just make sure that you have an adult around to help you with the matches.

What is to be done is really simple. You light a match and throw it into the bottle. Then immediately cover the opening of the bottle with the hard boiled egg. As the match uses up the oxygen present inside the bottle it will eventually suck down the egg into the bottle due to the difference created in air pressure inside the bottle and outside.

Now if you are looking for more science experiments involving air pressure you may enjoy these.