Choosing White or Whole-grain Bread May Depend on What Lives in Your Gut

Alisa Fominykh

Mr. Ippolito

Biology 10H D Odd

June 6, 2017

Saey, Tina Hesman. "Choosing White or Whole-grain Bread May Depend on What Lives in Your Gut."ScienceNews. N.p., 6 June 2017. Web. 6 June 2017. <https://www.sciencenews.org/article/choosing-white-or-whole-grain-bread-may-depend-what-lives-your-gut>.

This week I read the short article titled “Choosing White or Whole-grain Bread May Depend on What Lives in Your Gut” by Tina Hesman Saey in which she covers the health responses of various individuals to a variety of bread types. This article surprised me since for years we are taught that whole grains are a significantly healthier alternative to refined or white grains however this article calls that belief to question. The experiment behind this article included 20 individuals who ate white and whole wheat sourdough bread who had their blood sugar levels studied. The average results proved no significant changes however the impact each bread had on a person individually was much more noticeable on a molecular level. Depending on the individual the blood sugar levels unexpectedly increased more prominently with a certain type of bread. Further findings then connected the spike in blood sugar with which microbes were present within the stool specifically bacteria called Coprobacter fastidiosus and Lachnospiraceae bacterium. However, it is still unknown how they exactly alter blood sugar levels.

These results are important since they further support other data from experiments world wide that nutrition advice and diets should be fit to the individual rather than to society as a whole. I chose this article since I only eat whole wheat bread due to the deep rooted teachings that it is healthier than white bread; however after this article am now wondering if my actions of doing so are instead harming my blood sugar as opposed to maintaining it at a balanced level. This also calls to question how other healthy foods may not be ideal for every individual despite what the media tells us.

This article was very informative however it was short thus giving it a feeling of lacking in sufficient information. However, the knowledge which was provided was presented in an easy to read and interesting matter which is vital to engaging the reader. Although the article was short it can be argued that it being so was convenient since it was not a hassle to read or understand. Finally I think the author could have mentioned more about other indications of nutrition needing to be personalized and used examples to further her point.

"Third Gravitational Wave Detection, From Black-Hole Merger 3 Billion Light Years Away."

Sarah Goodell

Mr. Ippolito

Core Bio: Current Event Review

2 June, 2017

Current Event #14

Overbye, Dennis. "Third Gravitational Wave Detection, From Black-Hole Merger 3 Billion Light Years Away." The New York Times. The New York Times, 01 June 2017. Web. 02 June 2017. <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/06/01/science/black-holes-collision-ligo-gravitational-waves.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fspace>.

This week, I read an article called “Third Gravitational Wave Detection, From Black-Hole Merger 3 Billion Light Years Away” by The New York Times author Dennis Overbye. Overbye’s article discussed how in the past few years, astronomers have developed a new system of detecting gravitational waves, called LIGO, or the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory. LIGO is designed to look for changes in gravitational waves, which alternately stretch space as they travel at the speed of light, by using lasers to monitor the distance between mirrors through a pair of antennae. About a week ago, scientists were able to detect gravitational waves from a pair of gigantic black holes that had merged together, which had resulted in a large mass weighing as much as 49 suns. This “black-hole merger” is predicted to have been located three billion light years from Earth, and is said to have shed more energy, in the form of gravitational waves, than all the stars in the observable universe. Since the formation of LIGO, this has been the third pair of merging black holes that has been discovered. Although LIGO’s founders and other astronomers originally did not know if there were any black hole collisions around to detect at all, they decided to test their hypotheses. Their results proved to be accurate based on Einstein’s predictions and equations, which verify that different frequencies of gravity waves all travel at the same speed, or the speed of light. So now, as David Reitze, who is the director of the LIGO Laboratory, said, “We’re starting to fill in the mass spectrum of black holes in the universe,” which had once gone undetectable. France Cordova, the founder of the National Science Foundation, which has provided one billion dollars to LIGO over the past 40 years, responded to the findings, saying, “This is exactly what we hoped for from N.S.F.’s investment in LIGO: taking us deeper into time and space in ways we couldn’t do before the detection of gravitational waves.”

Overbye’s article is relevant to society in that this is a topic that we have been trying to dive deeper into for years now. Black holes have continuously remained one of the greatest mysteries regarding space, given that they are not easily identifiable by telescope. The gravitational wave detections used to track the merging black holes can pave the way for future astronomical developments regarding what is still unknown and regarding space travel. Dr. Stanek, a co-leader of these discoveries working at Ohio State, wrote, “I am obviously biased, but I think this is a very important discovery, and one that the community is not yet fully ‘groking’ in how it will impact a number of things, including LIGO results.” Dr. Holz, who works at the University of Chicago, also said that “...this might be a channel for ‘heavy’ black hole formation...now in some sense we get to watch both the birth and the death of the black holes,” which is an amazing discovery for our society on Earth as a whole.

As I read Overbye’s article, I originally thought that it was very confusing and a bit too long. I had to read through his article multiple times just to understand the basics of the experiments being performed at LIGO. I also thought that he could have organized it better and put it into simpler terms to help the reader understand this concept at a deeper level. Although it was a more difficult read, the author was able to include quotes from a multitude of credited sources. Overbye also attempts to answer the ambiguous question he addresses: “Where did such massive black holes come from?” He takes two or three paragraphs after posing this question to suggest several possibilities, and even discusses how future research may be done to identify black holes’ origins. Overall, Overbye taught me a lot about black holes and about the research that is being done. I also learned about how that research will eventually change our society and our understanding of Earth.

"SpaceX Successfully Launches Used Dragon Cargo Ship in Historic First."

Susie Goodell

Mr. Ippolito

Core Biology

6/3/17

Weitering, Hanneke. "SpaceX Successfully Launches Used Dragon Cargo Ship in Historic First." Space.com. N.p., 03 June 2017. Web. 03 June 2017. <http://www.space.com/37072-spacex-first-used-dragon-launch.html>.

Current Event 14

For this current event, I read the article, “SpaceX Successfully Launches Used Dragon Cargo Ship in Historic First” by Hanneke Weitering. In this piece, Weitering discusses the launch of the Falcon 9 rocket at the Kennedy Space Center in Florida on June 3rd. This rocket, headed to the International Space Station with supplies, launched at 5:07 pm and 8 minutes later, the first-stage rocket booster returned to Earth at the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. Just over 10 minutes after launch, the Dragon cargo craft attached to the top of the rocket separated from the Falcon 9 and in three days will reach the ISS. The Dragon capsule was first launched to the ISS on September 21, 2014. The company who created this capsule, SpaceX, are hoping to create a rocket with 100% reusable parts. A month after its first launch, the capsule landed in the Pacific Ocean and underwent extensive inspection and refurbishing to prepare it for its next flight. On the flight this weekend, the Dragon is bringing food, clothes, water, and a multitude of science experiments for the astronauts aboard the ISS. These experiments vary from biological research to technology demonstrations to educational activities for students to take part in. There is also a new, experimental type of solar panel being flown up. The Dragon capsule is extremely important in bringing new materials to the ISS for technological and scientific advancements.

This successful launch is an important step towards SpaceX’s goal to use completely reused rockets. This company still has a long way to go before it creates a 100% reusable rocket, including the major barrier of refurbishing the second-stage rocket booster, however they are making great strides. Reusing the parts makes it much cheaper and easier for the companies to launch, therefore making launches more frequent. “‘For [SpaceX], it’s the seventh launch this year, and you can tell we picked up the rate significantly,”’ said Hans Koenigsmann, Vice President of flight reusability at SpaceX. With increases in flights comes more discovery and new technological advancements.

This article was very well-written and informational. Weitering relayed the information clearly, using words that are easy for readers to understand. She also included many quotes from scientists working on the project, which strengthened her claims. However, the author did not provide many details about which parts of the rocket were reused and which were not. She also doesn’t give any background information about how the rockets are reused and the process that made researchers want to make this possible.