“Our goal as teens of this community is to inform the public in the Triangle area about our generation’s view on topics
in our world. We hope to connect with others of our age and allow them to voice their opinions on relevant issues.
Above all, we would like to encourage our peers to do their part as active members of this society.”
Hello everyone! We hope you are all having a fantastic February so far! Obviously, this issue’s theme is Valentine’s Day,
hence the colors. This month, we would like to spread the message of love. It’s something that is very important in the
lives of many people, and has proven to be the strongest motivation. This holiday, we encourage you to take a moment
to appreciate your loved ones, and those who love you. They are, by far, the most important things you will ever have.
Thank you! We appreciate you! Enjoy your read!
Current Events
By: Shrihan
- February 11: Cary Players presents “Almost, Maine” by John Cariani
Award-winning author John Cariani creates witty and heart-warming moments of love and friendship in a
mythical northern town beneath starry skies and the northern lights.
- February 16: Share & Care has to offer! People with disabilities, parents and care providers are invited to this
FREE event for a time of resource sharing and networking. Service animals are permitted. Community
organizations and agencies that offer services for persons with disabilities will be on hand to share information
about what they have to offer to the community.
- February 17: Pole Sport Organization presents the Triangle Pole Championship
Be inspired by the athleticism, grace, mobility, and fluidity of dance - on a pole. Join Pole Sport Organization,
the world's largest professional and amateur pole dance competition, where over 100 dancers will perform at this
regional event. Cheer for beginners taking the stage for the first time, to professionals vying to move on to the
U.S. National finals.
- February 18: Friends of Page-Walker Concert Series: Brian Reagin
Brian Reagin, violinist and Concertmaster of the North Carolina Symphony, returns as a favorite to the Friends
Concert Series. Reagin, who captivates audiences with his brilliant performances, will treat concert-goers to a
classical repertoire on his Lorenzo and Tomasso Carcassi violin made in Florence, Italy in 1763.
- CHECK FEBRUARY 23rd FOR A HUGE LIST OF EVENTS:
http://www.townofcary.org/connect-engage/calenda/-cum-2/-cury-2017
Super Bowl: The Final Football Game
By: Sumant
As you all know the Superbowl occured on February 3, 2018. After the game, the Philadelphia Eagles won by 41
to 33, against the Patriots. This is the first Super Bowl game the Eagles have won, which makes the team proud of
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their efforts. Thank you for those singers who performed at the halftime show; Justin Timberlake, Pink, and Leslie
Odom Jr., who sang. Congratulations to the Philadelphia Eagles for winning their first Super Bowl!
Boy Scouts work with Girl Scouts
By: Sumant
Boy scouts reversed their rule of not allowing girls into their club, which makes many Boy scouts outraged. Some
girls were enraged, because they already have a club and their own award ceremony. Boy scouts allowed Girl scouts to
join the club so they could earn their Eagles, which many people think is quite rude and offensive to the Girl scout
Organization.It shows embarrassment to girls all around the world, who participate in Girl scouts. Boy scouts feel it is
not fair for Girls to earn their eagles. For those who participate in Scouts, what is right for these Girl scouts to do? You
can check the link below for more information.
https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/10/how-will-the-boy-scouts-decision-affect-the-girl-scouts/543204/
Charity of the Month
By: Amuktha Dasari
Cancer is one of the leading causes of death in the world. February 4th, 2018 is being recognized as World Cancer
Day, to raise awareness and increase funding for the next generation of cancer research. In their lifetimes, almost every
person will be affected by cancer in some way. Relatives, friends, and spouses are lost; lives are disrupted and families
torn apart. The faster we find a cure for cancer, the faster we can ensure that everyone can live their lives peacefully
and safely. To support the cause, there are many things you can do. The simplest action to take is to donate. Donating
to charities that support cancer research can help us progress towards our goal. You can find a list of charities to
donate to here.
You can also learn more about cancer and how it affects our world here.
Suicide Prevention
By: Pranay Koneru
Over one million people commit suicide every year. That means that there is about one death every 40 seconds
or about 3,000 per day. So what can we do to help? Well according to the National Suicide Lifeline there are five steps
that anyone can take to help someone who is suicidal. First of all, you should ask them if they are contemplating
suicide. Although it may be a hard conversation to have, just remember you are trying to save a life. Second, listen to
that person. Listen to why they want to commit suicide. Ask them why they are so unhappy. Third, be there for them
when they need you. Loneliness can make a person feel as if no one cares for them. This can cause them to become
depressed and eventually become suicidal. By being there for someone you are not only showing them that you care
about them, but you are also giving them a reason not take their own life. Four, help the person reconnect with
estranged loved ones or friends. By doing this you helping them establish meaningful and important relationships that
they can depend on for support. The last step is to check in on them every once in a while to make sure that they are
okay. This is another way to show that person that you care about them and want to help them. There are also many
impactful stories about suicide survivors that can help give some insight as to what is going through people’s minds as
they are contemplating suicide. One such story is that of Kevin Hines. In September of 2000, Mr. Hines jumped off of
the Golden Gate Bridge at the age of 19. He was lucky enough to survive the jump which has been an attempted
method of suicide for over 2000 people. Now 18 years after the day he almost died, Mr. Hines is using his experience to
help people and prevent more suicide based deaths. If you want to know more about Kevin Hines’s story you can read
the whole thing here: http://www.kevinhinesstory.com/bio/. We here at Horizon hope that by educating more people
about suicide prevention we can help to save lives. If you or someone that you know is experiencing suicidal tendencies
please call the suicide hotline at 1-800-273-8255.
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Health
By: Pavitra Madala
In you regular life, you most likely forgot some things. Say you forgot to do your homework or you forgot that
you were going to go somewhere. This behavior is customary for all humans. Although, there is a disease that causes
you to forget things.
Alzheimer’s is a disease that makes a person experience memory loss, and other mental functions. Confusion is
one of the symptoms as well. Previously, it was a disease with no cure, but you can take medications in order to
improve symptoms, but now, researchers have found a treatment; Vitamin B-3.
Researchers have concentrated on how nicotinamide riboside (NR), a form of Vitamin B-3, affects the brain’s
capability of repairing DNA, something that works for Alzheimer’s. They have done this research on mice. They added
NR to the mice’s water, for 3 months, and after that, they noticed a difference. Compared to the controlled mice, the
NR-treated mice’s brains were able to repair its DNA when it learn new things, stores new memory, or gets damaged.
This new information can help them generate a cure that can treat Alzheimer’s.
To learn more, visit https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/320879.php.
Science Olympiad
By : Harvik Kolla
Recently, the Regional Middle School Science Olympiad competition took place allowing only 7 teams out of 40
to advance to the state tournament. The Regional Tournament allows kids and schools to express their knowledge of
science into many events. The events range from Anatomy and Physiology to Hovercraft and Optics. The events go from
pure knowledge and studying to constructive thinking and creativity. Kids have the chance to represent their school in
The NC Science Olympiad Competition and get individual prizes as well as team trophies for demonstrating excellence in
their designated events. The results this year were outstanding with almost every school getting at least 7 medals. So
many schools to choose from but only the best of the best get provided a chance to go to the state competition.
Whether it's the school’s resources , the coaches encouragement , the parent’s worrying or the student’s academic
capability, the top schools are ranked at : https://app.avogadro.ws/nc/raleigh--regional-b/
Congratulations to all the schools that participated to enhance knowledge in STEM and provide experience . A hearty
applause to the top 10 and the schools that advanced to compete in the NC Middle School Science Olympiad. In addition
to this, NC is hosting the 2020 National Science Olympiad Competition.
If you want to know more, visit h
ttps://www.sciencenc.com/
Technology
By: Harvik Kolla
Google’s DeepMind technology has been developed to help diagnose eye disease. The London based DeepMind has
to go through data of retinal scans to help match disease efficiently and effectively. Scientists claim that this might be
the first significant use of AI in healthcare. Deepminds algorithm has been trained use 3-D retinal scans to match the
scans provided by MoorFields. Since the data has millions of pixel information, this is very accurate and can learn to
diagnose the three main eye disease : “ Glaucoma , Diabetic Retinopathy and Age-Related Macular degeneration”. The
talk has arised whether this should be implemented in hospitals. “Peng Tee Khaw, director of research and development
at Moorfields, said: “I am optimistic that what we learn from this research will benefit people around the world and
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help put an end to avoidable sight loss.” ( Financial Times). This can be a very promising improvement or a waste of
time, money and effort. Keep up to the news to see what the future will hold.
Submissions
Can video games be good for you?
By: Abhiram Dasari
The only thing any kid wants is to prove his/her parents wrong. Whether its the incredulous stories they told
them when they were little, or the superstitions and fake information they got them to believe, parents have fooled kids
for too long. However, there is one thing that bothers kids most of all: the “fact” that playing video games is bad for
you. This article will decide once and for all whether that statement is fact or myth.
Let’s start with the eyes. Lots of parents say that video games place too much strain on your eyes. According
to EssilorUSA, a glasses company, “Excessive use of digital devices like tablets and computers can lead to eye strain,
headaches, and dry eye”[1]. However, the company says, certain measures can be taken to reduce these side effects. “To
help prevent eye strain, make sure you have proper lighting to reduce glare, take frequent breaks to rest your eyes and
blink often,”[1] it says on their website. But that’s not all. The company states on their website that “playing 3D video
games can actually help identify early warning signs of ocular disorders; difficulty perceiving 3D game images can be a
sign of eye problems that might otherwise go unnoticed and undiagnosed.”[1]. This means that while many tests might
have to be done to make the final diagnosis, playing video games can help identify some of these problems. Also,
according to the National Institute of Health, “studies prove that playing action video games enhances key aspects of
visual processing, including spatial resolution - meaning gamers can actually see things easier and clearer. And some
doctors have even successfully used video game therapy to treat and correct amblyopia, better known as lazy eye.”[1]
This just shows that when played in moderation, video games aren’t all that bad for your eyes.
Now let’s go to the rest of the body. If you are a kid, you’ve probably heard the phrases “sit up” and “stop
slouching” many times in your life. If you’re a gamer, you’ve probably heard it even more. The thing is, those are good
pieces of advice while gaming. If you game while extending your neck forward, hunching your back, and sitting on the
edge of your seat for a long time, this can really start to affect your posture, and not in a good way. The muscles can
start sagging, and the spine curves. But there’s more to this than you might think. You might not think that you have
that bad of a posture, but only have a slight ache in your neck after playing for an hour or more. Chiropractors like
Adam Fields disagree. “That's postural syndrome, or more specifically what we call upper crossed syndrome,”[2] Fields
says. "It's caused by tightness of the trapezius and levator scapulae on the dorsal side, and tightness of the pectoralis
major and minor. Your trapezius is the main one—it's the huge muscle in your upper back that's responsible for raising,
rotating, and stabilizing the scapula along with extending the neck."[2] However, as always, there is a way to fix it.
While you are gaming, you should use correct posture, and put the least amount of strain on your muscles as possible.
"Sit up straight, put your shoulders down and back, and tuck your chin,"[2] he says.
If you learn one thing from this, learn that everything should be in moderation. Too much of anything can lead
to problems. Even if you use all these tips, sitting in one place for a long time can and will hurt you, both physically
and mentally. While video games can be good for you in some ways, they are still bad for you in unnecessary quantities.
And that doesn’t count for the social quotient; while you are cooped up in your room playing video games, you could be
going out with your friends. So, the overall consensus: sadly, our parents are right on this one.
Virtual Reality: A New Frontier
By: Vibhu
Virtual Reality. It’s been popping up for the past years and many people have grown accustomed to the fact that
we can experience a reality aside from our own and control it. Many people own VR sets but aren’t aware how it
works.Virtual reality tricks your brain into believing you are in a 3D world using many features. The first way it does
this is with the stereoscopic display. This works by displaying two slightly different angles of the scene to each eye to
make the viewer think he sees depth.There are also other components that go into the whole VR experience including
Field of View and latency. Field of view or Latency is the extent of the visible world that can be seen at any given
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time. Eye tracking is possibly the final piece of the VR puzzle. An infrared sensor monitor's your eyes in the headset so
it knows where your eyes are looking in virtual reality. The main advantage of this is to make depth of field more
realistic.
VR is also planning to be used throughout the work environment. Many companies are using VR to give
employees a real-life experience of the work-setting to train workers. The way VR works is a very smart combination of
different technologies all working together to create a great experience. From stereoscopic viewpoints to 3D audio, VR is
here to stay.
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