The Inverted Triangle

1. The Inverted Triangle

2. Straight Forward Ledes A new life form has been discovered on planet Earth or a sample of bacteria has been misidentified. I am trying to recover from being so depressed. I only get depressed every other week when my moody ways start to kick in.  I am 16 years old and I was diagnosed with mild depression in December 2010. According to reports, Apple Inc. is turning to the cloud for this year’s innovation in music. Cloud computing is Internet-based computing, whereby shared resources, software, and information are provided to computers and other devices on-demand.

3. Dramatic Ledes • “I was only the eighth person diagnosed at that time,” she tells SciJourner. “I was relieved to have a diagnosis and sad that there was no cure.” (Rare Diseases) • In April, 2009, my grandfather, Christopher Dalton, age 56, made “the hardest decision” of his life. (Quitting smoking) • Each year, when they obtain their driving permit, thousands of teenagers are asked if they will consent to become an organ donor. What teenage drivers do not realize is a simple “yes” to becoming an organ donor could save the lives of at least eight other people, according to health-first.org. (Recycle Yourself)

4. Surprising Ledes • RING! The school dismissal bell sounds, forcing you out of your nap and back into consciousness. • Have you ever wondered why every time you open a brand new can of tennis balls you hear a pop! sound? • Compact Fluorescent Light bulbs, known as CFLs, are famous for saving energy and lowering electric bills. However, they can negatively affect the environment and humans. Pretty ironic?

5. Bad lede, bad lede • When the word mutation comes to mind what do you think of? Radioactive spiders, toxic waste, or maybe even a science experiment gone wrong. • A high school football star is running down the sideline, when out of nowhere a 200 lb lineman blindsides him, smashing him head first into the ground. The massive blow causes his brain to hit the front of his skull and then bounce back … • Bioluminescence is the production and emission of light by a living organism as the result of the chemical reaction during which chemical energy is converted to light energy. It is generated by enzyme-catalyzed chemo luminescence reaction, wherein a luciferin[a kind of pigment] is oxidized by a luciferase [a kind of enzyme].

7. In June of 2010, the Environmental Working Group published an analysis concluding that a form of Vitamin A, called retinylpalmitate, that is found in approximately 41% of sunscreens may accelerate the development of cancerous skin tumors and lesions when applied to the skin. • In the World Cup, a major international soccer tournament that takes place every four years, goalkeepers correctly predict the direction penalty kicks will be shot 57% of the time, but only save 22% of the shots, according to ESPN’s Sports Science. Now, scientists are using technology to teach goalkeepers to read certain movements that a shooter makes.

9. Context (Background Info) • In a 2009 report by Raymond Cloyd, Associate Professor for the Department of Entomology Extension at Kansas State University, the loss of honeybees in the U.S. was estimated at 30-90%, depending on the area. • According to the Department of Vascular and Endovascular Surgery at Loyola University Medical Center in Chicago, there are more than 200,000 cases of Deep Vein Thrombosis in the United States every year. Furthermore, there are at least 50,000 cases that are complicated with pulmonary embolism.

11. Details • Tap water for St. Louis County and St. Charles County comes from the Missouri and Meramec Rivers. According to the 2010 St. Louis County water quality report, there are traces of lead, copper, and arsenic in tap water, but these amounts are so small that they can barely be detected. • If my grandpa does not smoke for five years, his chances of having a stroke will be back to that of a nonsmoker, according to the CDC.

13. Reactions • “I agree that the school is currently inefficient and not very eco friendly,” says School Principal Dr. Chris Greiner. “But the new building that is currently being built scheduled to be completed 2011 is much more efficient as far as lighting, and HVAC …” • Although the teachers as a whole did not think their students become more tired throughout the day, over 85% of the surveyed students admitted to feeling at least somewhat more fatigued as the day continues.

15. Endings (NO CONCLUSION!) • I plan on talking to a therapist about my depression. I hope I do not have to take medication because of the negative side effects that comes with it. • “One thing that I can learn from this experience is that keeping a good attitude through the hard times in life will take you a long way” says Raj. “Even though I’m not fully cured yet, I have the confidence that I will heal completely. I am positive that one day, when I look in the mirror, I will see the man that I saw in the picture from not so long ago.”

16. What is SciJourner? Not a writing project, but writing can be key. Grammar and spelling not important, but content is. Journalistic articles, but if content is good then a report can be transformed into an article during editing. Don’t like to write? No problem…photo captions, podcasts, video, Google maps, infographics…

17. …And a last bit of advice • What happened to the 5 W’s—who, what, where, when and why (and sometimes how)? • They “fall out” naturally when the author pays attention to details (just like writing a lab report). • Journalists tell a “story”, not dump facts or random thoughts.