Jump! Mag

Science, Nature and Tech

It’s genetic, isn’t it?

Genetics is the study of how genes are inherited in a population. A scientist interested in genetics is a geneticist. If something is genetic, that means it is passed to you by your Mum and Dad. You inherit genes from your parents.

Genes control most aspects of human life, from eye colour to how fast you can run. There are some fun ways to demonstrate genetics in your own family.

Take tongue rolling. The ability to roll your tongue is what we call a dominant trait. If you have the gene for tongue rolling you will be able to roll your tongue.

Language & Literature, Written By You

My Multilingual Life – Written By You

‘Do you speak English?’

For British and American girls who travel to a different country, that question is often the first sentence we learn.

‘Sprechen Sie Englisch’

‘Parlez-vous Anglais’

‘habla usted Inglés’

‘Вы говорите по-английски’

‘您说英语吗’

What is it like for the estimated two thirds of the world’s population who speak at least two languages? The people who we refer to as ‘bilingual’, if they speak two languages, and sometimes as ‘multilingual’, if they speak more than two languages.

The researcher and writer David Crystal estimates that of the approximately 570 million people in the world who speak English, over 41% are bilingual in English and some other language.

Today’s contributor knows all about speaking more than one language.

Sports

Stories from the Stables – Part 3 – Ziggy and Ned

At the large livery yard I used to work at, I rode a range of bigger horses and exercised show jumpers and ex-racehorses for owners who were on holiday. Two in particular will always be in my memory as they were both utterly bonkers.

Home, Health & Style

Tomboys and Girly Girls

The mother of eight year old Isabella wrote about buying toys without glitter, and searching for ‘girl’ clothes in colours other than pink, which got us thinking about the term ‘tomboy’.

What do you call a girl who isn’t a girly-girl? Some people would say, ‘a tomboy’, but does that imply that the girl isn’t a real girl, and do we need a label for this anyway?

Perhaps we should let toys be toys, as this campaign demands, and sell clothes without ‘boy’ or ‘girl’ labels. What do you think?

Home, Health & Style

What Happens After Someone Dies?

Parental information – this article contains a frank factual interview about what happens to a person procedurally after they die.

Have you ever wondered what actually happens after someone dies? And what is it like to work in this area?

This subject can be a difficult and emotional one, but the whole mystery surrounding death can be better understood with a clear explanation of what happens, step by step.

Carolyn Ward talks to Anna, a mortuary assistant or ‘Anatomical Pathology Technologist’, about what happens when somebody dies, and what led her to choose such a potentially sad career.