Thursday, January 12, 2017

"LEDs offer new way to kill germs in water"

The article “LEDs offer new way to kill germs in water” by, Sid Perkins explains how LED lights can be used to disinfect germs. Tiny wires grown on thin flexible metal sheets can now give of UV (ultraviolet light). The light would be able to disinfect the water, because the UV wavelengths range from about 10 to 380 nanometers (the part of the spectrum that can kill bacteria). And the higher the energy of the light the better job it would be at killing germs.
In this article Perkins informs the reader about how helpful these tools would be for new developing nations. It would help them because they would be able to have clean water. Many scientists like Robert Myers express their opinions, Meyers said, “ If we could make UV LEDs that are safe and portable and cheap, we could make safe drinking water wherever we need it”. Many other scientists agree with him, thinking that this new inventions could save lives by providing people with safe drinking water.
I thought this article was well written and Perkins did a good job explaining the possible how LEDs could offer new ways to kill germs. But to make this article better I think that Perkins could have listed more of the studies that found the information he talked about instead of just stating a few examples . Also I think that Perkins could have told the reader more specifics on the new invention. But besides those issues I think that  this article was easy to follow and I learned a lot about this nationwide problem. Hopefully articles like these will be able to raise awareness about the dangers of dirty drinking water.

Citations:
Perkins, Sid. "LEDs Offer New Way to Kill Germs in Water." Science News for Students. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2017

8 comments:

  1. Tommy Purdy
    Mr. Ippolito
    Biology D-Odd
    13 January 2017

    Citations:
    Perkins, Sid. "LEDs Offer New Way to Kill Germs in Water." Science News for Students. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2017
    https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/leds-offer-new-way-kill-germs-water
    "LEDs offer new way to kill germs in water"
    My classmate Caitlin did a made a very good review on the current event article, “LEDs offer a new way to kill germs in water.” One aspect of the review that was very well written was the relevance paragraph. Often relevance paragraphs do not contain that much content, and often feel tedious and boring. Caitlins paragraph, however, includes a lot of interesting ideas on how the LEDs could change our lives. By Caitlin saying, “In this article Perkins informs the reader about how helpful these tools would be for new developing nations. It would help them because they would be able to have clean water.” By Caitlin saying this, it proves that she has a great understanding of the article. Another part of the review that is done well is the critique paragraph. Caitlin talks about all of the aspects of the article that are worth mentioning. She went even further by talking about which parts of the article showed strengths and which areas showed weakness. Another aspect that is very well done is Caitlin’s use of quotes when they can tell important information. For example, Caitlin used the quote by Robert Myers which states, “ If we could make UV LEDs that are safe and portable and cheap, we could make safe drinking water wherever we need it.” By Caitlin using a quote from a professional, I feel that I can have a much stronger reliance on the statements in this article being true about LEDs.
    Though Caitlin’s review was mostly good, there were a few areas that could have been done better. One area is the summary paragraph. The summary paragraph feels very short and barely helps me understand what the main idea to the article is. I even had to go into the original article to get a better idea. This could easily be fixed by adding more information that was in the original article which could help the reader understand the main point of the article. Another area that could use improvement is in the use of an advanced language. Throughout the review, Caitlin uses mostly simple words which makes the article feel more elementary and simple. This could easily be fixed by enhancing the reviews vocabulary which would make it sound noticeably more interesting.
    From this review, I have learned a lot about how useful LEDs truly can be. I originally thought that the only use of light was to light up darkness but now there is a new use to it that can change everybody's life, especially people who are living in developing countries, where there will be less germs with the use of these lights. The reason I chose this to review is because the idea of using light to kill germs seems really interesting because we would be using an object we would never believe could kill germs to kill germs. Now that I have read this review, I now feel that I have a better idea on how we can do things such as kill germs with previously understood concepts, such as LED lights. This is a very important step in biology because we can no start looking at many other everyday objects that can change our lives in positive ways.

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  2. Thomas Bender
    Mr. Ippolito
    Biology
    Current event
    1/12/17

    My classmate Caitlin Mooney did a fantastic review and summary of the article “LEDs offer new way to kill germs in water”. This review had some absolutely great aspects. For starters, the article was very well chosen, as it is from a reputable source. Another great aspect of the review is that it is not linguistically challenging, and so does not in any way baffle the reader. Above all else, the best aspect of the review is the relevance paragraph, it is so amazing because it manages to present a simple solution to the problem of the third world not having enough clean drinking water.
    Although the review was fantastic over all, it did have some problems. The largest of the problems being that the review is very short and does not go into much detail. This could be remedied by adding more information about the discovery of the technology, or its uses. Besides that one large problem is the issue that there are a few very minor typos. The best way for this to be fixed would be to proof read the review.
    When reading this review i was quite impressed by the uses of LEDs. i previously had no idea that they could have such a large impact on global health. After reading this review i also wonder if there are any other common household items that could be repurposed for a global benefit.

    Perkins, Sid. "LEDs Offer New Way to Kill Germs in Water." Science News for Students. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2017
    https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/leds-offer-new-way-kill-germs-water

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  3. My fellow classmate Caitlin Mooney wrote a very solid current event. She wrote about the article, “Leds Offer New Ways to Kill Germs” by Sid Perkins. One thing she does very well i this article is that she uses a quote. The quote helps give credence to what she is saying because a credible source is backing it up. This makes the reader more trustworthy of her statement. She also kept her current event short and consis which is good because it avoids boring the reader and gives the reader more incentive to read it in the first place. She also did a very good job critiquing it. She says that he needs more sources and that he should have given more specific information on the subject. Her critique is good because it because she lists genuine things that the author needs to improve.
    While she did a very good job with her eview overall there is still some flaws. I thought that she did not end the current event very strongly when she said that she hopes the article could help spread awareness. She could of talked about how it could end disease from drinking water in poor countries. This would have been more impactful to the reader. She can fix this by changing her last sentence to something more impactful. I also thought she could have added one more sentence to her summary of the article. This would have given the reader more information to go off of. She can fix this by adding more detail to the summary.
    This current event taught me that ending disease in poor countries will be easier with this new technology. I chose this current event because i was interested on how the LED lights actually kill the germs which I never learned. This article is impactful because it shows that the fight on diseases is as rampant as ever.

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  4. Bridget Sands
    Mr. Ippolito
    Core Bio H
    1/13/17

    Citation / Hyperlink found on review:
    Perkins, Sid. "LEDs Offer New Way to Kill Germs in Water." Science News for Students. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2017
    https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/leds-offer-new-way-kill-germs-water

    I read my classmate Caitlin’s report on “LEDs offer new way to kill germs in water”. Overall, I think Caitlin did a good job reviewing and analyzing the article. Some subjects that she specifically excelled in were: the overall report was well-written and used advanced diction, she had a clear understanding in the way which they could help, and her analysis. Caitlin’s paper was well written because she used many of the same words that the scientists used, making it official, and wrote with a sophisticated overall tone. She also had a clear understanding of the subject matter, for she explained clearly the way in which a higher amount of nanometers killed more bacteria. Finally, her analysis was well impressive. She asked well-thought out questions, and her feedback on what the researchers should explain more was right on point.
    Although Caitlin did a good job, there are some areas of improvement. She could have furthered her research and explained specifically where the LEDs were needed to help the drinking water most, and the impact it would have on a society that needed it. She also left out the key element of how accessible the LEDs would be to a society that needed it, how much it would cost and how they would be able to recharge and use the LEDs daily.
    While reading Caitlin’s review, I had an “ah-ha moment”. This came when I realized that something as simple as LED lights could improve the poverty of the world, when they have been clearly overlooked as just a light source in the past. I find it both impressive and innovative in the way in which the researchers were able to discover this purpose.

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  5. I read my classmate Caitlin’s review of the article “LEDs Offer New Way to Kill Germs in Water,” by Sid Perkins. There were three things that stood out as particularly good. Firstly, her opening paragraph is short and concise, while still giving enough information to allow the reader to understand the topic. Secondly, she includes quotes from specific scientists, adding depth to the points being proven in her review. Finally, her critique of the article itself provided detailed insight into the article itself, providing detailed information on how it could be improved or changed.
    Despite these good aspects, there were two things that could have been changed to make the review even better. Firstly, more detail could have been added to the analysis paragraph, in order to allow the reader to further understand this topic’s relevance. In addition, she could have added one or two more sentences to the summary in order to allow the reader to fully understand the topic.
    Overall this review was very well written, and gave me a lot of information regarding LED lights and the ways in which they can disinfect germs. I never knew that the UV wavelengths of LED lights are within the range that can kill bacteria.

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  6. Sarah Whitney
    Mr. Ippolito
    Biology D-Odd
    13 January 2017

    Perkins, Sid. "LEDs Offer New Way to Kill Germs in Water." Science News for Students. N.p., n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2017
    https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/leds-offer-new-way-kill-germs-water


    My classmate Caitlin wrote a review on the article "LEDs Offer New Way to Kill Germs in Water." There were some factors that helped to improve the strength of the review. First, I think it was good that Caitlin included that UV is an abbreviation of Ultra Violet for those who may not know. Another thing that Caitlin did well was her use of quotes. This is good to include because it strengthens your review and gives the author credit. Lastly, the review wasn’t too long and complex, making it easy for readers to learn about the topic and not lose their focus.
    Though there were many good aspects, there were two things that could be improved upon to strengthen the review. First, Caitlin stated, “Hopefully articles like these will be able to raise awareness about the dangers of dirty drinking water.” this sentence could be expanded upon to give more insight to the topic. Also, though it could be good to have a short summary paragraph, it could be a little longer to explain more about the topic.
    After reading this review, I have learned about how useful LED could be and how it could fix a serious issue. I chose this review because this topic could be a great discovery that could help people in areas with unclean water. This will change my perception because this could change many people's lives and lead to more scientific discoveries.

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  7. Peter Brennan

    Mr.Ippolito

    Biology core

    Current event comment

    3/6/17

    I read an article written by a previous student titled “LEDs offer new way to kill germs in water". This article brought to my attention the possibility of using leds to purify water. This critique of the article did a very good job in disclosing prominent information, information such as the light spectrum that will kill most bacteria. Another thing the critique did well was putting information from the article talking about how scientists other scientist perceive this new finding and why they believe it could be used for. Another good thing the writer did was talking about the applications these cheap leds could do for more impoverished nations. This technology could be used on a much larger scale in water treatment plants in poorer nations that can not afford the more expensive treatment options as used here in the western world.
    Despite this article's great inclusions I do feel that some information was left out that would play a very prominent role in the technology's implementation. One thing such as price per led or for a small sanitation device would have been nice to compare to other methods such as chlorine. Another thing this article left out is where is his technology currently being used or how is it being used.
    I learned a lot from this critique, I knew that this kind of technology was being used in vertical farms to grow plants year around. I chose this article because I believe that making clean water available for everyone is a way to make the world a better place. This article made me think more about how farming could be made vertices to save more space, it also made me think about the future of clean water and water storage.

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  8. Zip Malley
    Mr. Ippolito
    CoreBioH / Current Review #6 Comment
    23 March 2017

    Perkins, Sid. "LEDs Offer New Way to Kill Germs in Water." Science News for Students. N.p.,
    n.d. Web. 12 Jan. 2017


    This review of Sid Perkins’ Science News for Students article titled, “LEDs offer new way to kill germs in water” by classmate Caitlin Mooney, was thoroughly explained and examined. One well thought out aspect of Caitlin’s review was her analysis and understanding of the article. I liked how she noted ways in which the author could have improved Science News for Students article. I also appreciated how Caitlin used the author’s words, citing quotations from the article to emphasize a particular point. Finally, her wording throughout the review was carefully chosen to reflect scientific thinking.
    Even though this was a well written review, I believe it could have been improved in a couple of spots. One thing she could have improved on was to go into greater detail of the actual process in killing the germs in the water. Another area she could have improved was stating how accessible these LEDs would be for a region or country that needed cleaner water.
    While reading this review, my thoughts jumped immediately to areas of the world where clean water is not readily available. Oh how an invention like this could change the lives of the people who live in those areas!

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