Is Air Pollution Tied to Higher Dementia Risk?

Olivia Conniff

9/24/18

Core Biology 10H

Mr. Ippolito

Current Events #1

https://www.cnn.com/2018/09/18/health/dementia-air-pollution-study/index.html

Howard, Jacqueline. “Is Air Pollution Tied to Higher Dementia Risk?” CNN, Cable News Network, 18 Sept. 2018

I chose to read “Is Air Pollution Tied to Higher Dementia Risk?” written by Jacqueline  Howard for my current event. This article discusses a recently released study, that shows how much exposure to high amounts of air and noise pollution could be linked to an increased risk of dementia. The study found that between older people living in London, the people living in areas with the highest amount of annual air pollution concentration were at a higher risk of dementia compared to those living in areas with the lowest amount. In the study, researchers estimated the amount of air pollution at various areas around London in 2004, using a modeling system called KCLurban. A total of 2,181 adults received a first-time diagnosis of dementia. The researchers then estimated how much traffic noise and air pollutants each adult would have been exposed to annually.Next, the researchers took a close look at dementia diagnoses between 2005 and 2013 among a sample of 130,978 adults, 50 to 79 years old, whose various primary care practices and residential postcodes were within greater London. Iain Carey, a senior lecturer of epidemiology in the Population Health Research Institute at St. George's University of London, and lead author of the paper said the study "should encourage further research to investigate this". Scientists say more research is needed to determine what could be the link between environmental factors such as air pollution and dementia risk.

The number of people living with Alzheimer's disease and other dementias is estimated to be 47 million, and is expected to increase to 75 million by 2030 and to almost triple by 2050, according to World Health Organization. Dementia involves the loss of cognitive functions and behavioral abilities, and it is the seventh leading cause of death in the world. The most common cause of dementia in adults is Alzheimer’s disease. In the United States, about 5.7 million people have Alzheimer's disease, and in the United Kingdom, there are about 850,000 people living with dementia.

Overall, I found this article extremely informative and easy to comprehend. The author used complex, yet not confusing language. The author also included many quotes from experts to back up statements made. The article was also very well organized as it was easy to understand the purpose of each paragraph. One critique I have would be that there was maybe just a little bit too much information included. By the end of the article my brain was practically overflowing with information. I thought the author maybe could have taken out the paragraph about the similar studies, or at least made it shorter. However, for the most part I found this article to be enjoyable to read and has made me much more informed about dementia, its causes, and its effects.

Maya Brinster

9/24/18

Biology C-Odd

Current Event #2

Thompson, Dennis. “Spinal Implant Could Be Breakthrough in Paralysis.” WebMD, WebMD, 24

Sept. 2018, www.webmd.com/brain/news/20180924/spinal-implant-could-be-breakthrough-in-paralysis#1.

For current event number two, I read the article titled “Spinal Implant Could be Breakthrough in Paralysis” by Dennis Thompson. This article describes the creation of a spinal implant, a medical innovation that greatly aids victims of paralysis. In 2013, 29 year old Jered Chinnock was in a major snowmobile accident which resulted in the damage of his spinal cord. He therefore suffered from complete loss of feeling and control below his lower back. However, an implant of an electrode stimulated his spinal cord, which allows Chinnock to control his legs by using his own mind and thoughts. He is now able to walk the full length of a football field, something that he never dreamt of doing before this life-changing invention. Although scientists are not certain as to why the brain can control the legs after the implant, they believe that some nerve fibers which transmit brain signals to the legs remained intact after the accident, which were re-stimulated after the therapy. This has never been done before, and is an immense advancement in medicine.

This medical achievement has a large impact on society. In medicine, it can inspire doctors to create new inventions and even help doctors and scientists who are currently studying even more ways to prevent or cure paralysis. It provides ideas that people can build off of and eventually create something even better. Technology is always advancing, and this invention accelerates it even more. To patients, families, and other people affected by paralysis, it provides hope. Although the spinal implant is still being tested, it will soon be accessible to almost every patient who is interested. Before reading this article, I thought that paralysis was permanent and could not be cured. However when I read about the spinal implant, I realised that victims to this condition can be rehabilitated. This article creates a sense of optimism in society and the medical field.

The author Dennis Thompson has both strengths and weaknesses in his writing. One strength is that he provides readers with many quotes. These quotes are a primary source and make an article stronger. They are a source of information that help to prove the author’s point, which caused Thompson to make a more impactful article. However, he should have made the explanation about the spinal implant more clear. This is the entire subject of the article, however I feel as if a simple and detailed definition of the object during the first paragraphs (instead of explaining it throughout the entire article) would have helped readers understand the article better. Overall, however, I really enjoyed reading this article and am looking forward to reading more about advancements in science for future current events.

Hurricane Florence Strengthens as 1 Million People Are Told to Flee US East Coast

Isabelle Beit
9/13/18
Biology C-Odd
Current Events #1

Hartung, Kaylee. “Hurricane Florence Strengthens as 1 Million People Are Told to Flee US East
Coast.” CNN, Cable News Network, 12 Sept. 2018,
www.cnn.com/2018/09/11/us/hurricane-florence-south-east-coast-wxc/index.html.

For this current events, I read the article, "Hurricane Florence Strengthens as 1 Million People Are Told to Flee Us East Coast." This article discusses the monster storm that is currently barring down the Carolinas. The storm is considered one of the strongest to slam into the East Coast in decades. It is a Category 4 hurricane and officials have issued a warning for more that 300 miles of the coastline. The latest development is that the storm is going to continue, moving slowly inland. At this point in time, states of emergency were declared in the Carolinas, Virginia, Washington DC, and Maryland. This article is mainly about the mandatory evacuations occurring and the horrible effects on residents.
The storm has had an unimaginable impact on millions of people, especially those living in the Carolinas. Over 1 million have faced the choice to stay home and take their chances with the storm or compete with heavy traffic and leave their belongings behind. "Once you leave, (it will be) hard to get back in to check on damage, my home is all my wife and I have, materially speaking, a lifetime of stuff," said Tim Terman, him and his wife live in Bald Head, North Carolina. According to the National Weather Service, Hurricane Florence is bringing life-threatening rain fall to both the Carolinas and Mid-Atlantic states.
For the most part, I believe that this article was well written. Not only did it initially hook the reader, all statements were backed up with strong evidence from outside sources. The author also supplied readers with several visual demonstrations, such as: maps and several videos. The only critique I have is that all of the information seemed almost too spread out. It was hard to stay focused because it seemed like there was a new picture between every few paragraphs, which occasionally threw me off. Overall, I really liked this article and recommend it to anyone interested in Hurricane Florence.

Hurricanes Are Getting More Intense-but Should We Add a Category 6?

Isabella Bouvard
Core Biology 10H|Block C-Odd
Mr. Ippolito
9/14/18
Current Events #1

Griggs, Mary Beth. “Hurricanes Are Getting More Intense-but Should We Add a Category 6?” Popular Science, 13 Sept. 2018, www.popsci.com/category-6-hurricane.

In this article, Mary Beth Griggs describes the growing concern as to the addition of a category six hurricane onto the Saffir-Simpson scale. For years, scientists have utilized this scale to classify specific hurricanes from the storms that cause less damage to theoretically "total destruction" being a category five. However, this has been in much debate for some time. Although storms have been increasing in strength the scale is very broad, and some argue that it really isn't necessary to add another category to the scale itself. Others look at the increasing winds speeds (sometimes even reaching over two hundred miles per hour) and the 'super typhoon' category (as it has increased by twelve percent in the past thirty years) and infer that it is necessary for the addition of this category. This has been an ongoing issue because of the stronger storms that have been seen throughout the past decades.
This article helps society in which it describes the ongoing debate over one the most destructive ecological issues and how we can communicate this with the people whereas such events are happening. This scale is used so commonly and a large portion of people rely on it for the safety of themselves and their families if such an event were to occur in their areas. The addition of a sixth category on the scale might give additional evacuation procedures and give people more of an idea of what they are dealing with. However, it may even not be as necessary as we think it might be as the category five procedures and descriptions have proved useful to people experiencing destruction hurricanes in the past.
This article was very well written, as it included many useful quotes and information but did not overly include too much text about specific facts. However, I feel like it should've included a little more information as to the problem since it was a little short and was more of an overview as to the situation. I think that the author could've talked more between the distinctions of this new category six hurricane and the category five hurricane. It was very convenient to understand with the paragraph spacing and the conciseness of it, and I overall enjoyed using it as my article for this project.

New Discovery Reveals How Plants Communicate Between Themselves

Nicolas Baror 9/14/18

Core Biology    Current Event #1

In this article by Eric Hamilton, the author talks about how researchers at the University of Wisconsin
are learning how plants communicate with each other over long distances. Simon Gilroy, a professor
working in the labs, revealed how a substance called Glutamate, an abundant neurotransmitter in
animals, activates a wave of calcium when something wounds a plant, like an animal for example.
Researchers already knew that plants had a systemic signalling system, which would create an electric
charge and a propagation moving across the plant. But what they didn’t know, is how this electric charge
got created, and how it moved throughout the plant. They thought calcium would be one candidate, but
they needed a way to prove that. So, they created a whole new plant which would show calcium under a
fluorescent light. In a video, recorded at the time of the experiment, shows plants lighting up as calcium
moves from the damaged leaf up to other leaves at about one millimeter per second. This is actually
quite fast in the plant world, and the entire plant would know about this attack in a few short minutes.
Therefore, the plant could now increase their defensive strategies, like increasing the amount of noxious
chemicals to keep animals away. This study, connects decades worth of research to reveal how plants
detect and retaliate against attacks.
This article helps society in a big way, by showing how many living things, including humans and plants,
have evolved over time to adapt to their environment. When humans would attack a fort, for example,
the whole army would know in a few days. Essentially, this is the same thing happening in plants, just in
a smaller scale. This also shows how all living things are connected to each other in some way. For
example, we have a neural network in our brains that essentially do the same thing as these plants,
sending information to other parts of the body so they can know what is happening, and update their
defenses accordingly.
I think this article was well written, as I liked that the author took a couple paragraphs to explain what’s
happening inside the plants, when they detect an attack. I also like that the author did his best, in simple
words, to try and explain some of the terms and the context of the article. I would like to see a connection
or an example of this in the world, so it can be easily compared to something that many people would
know about, but I do think he did a good job trying to explain it. I would also like to see more context,
for example, maybe a recap on past research when he mentions that this discovery connects decades
worth of research. And finally, I would have liked to see the video that he was referring to linked
somewhere in the article, so I could see it for myself.

Hamilton, Eric. “Blazes of Light Reveal How Plants Signal Danger Long Distances.” ScienceDaily,
ScienceDaily, 13 Sept. 2018, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180913142026.htm.