'Universal' Vaccines Could Finally Allow for Wide-Scale Flu Prevention

            In this article we read about how scientists are researching about the flu vaccine. They found that the universal vaccine could for the first time allow for a long term prevention of the flue by limiting the influenza virus' ability to mutate and grow. At many different labs these flu strains are being developed and tested in clinical trials. Scientists say that the flu vaccines are created each year by a prediction of what will dominate a particular flu season but does not take into consideration that the flu virus is evolving and so vaccines must be changed and added onto each year. The new flu vaccines being tested are made to target different viral components but are all made to slow viral transmission under different varieties. Researchers in 2006 explained how the cross-protective vaccines could combat those strains that cause flu epidemics. By doing this they ran their model and the researchers found that in both cases the vaccine reduced the severity of symptoms such as coughing and sneezing which primarily brought down the chances of the virus being transmitted.

            This article effects everybody's life because the flu is a thing that has not been completely prevented. Even with the flu shot some people still get the flu. Of course the severity of it differs between people but either way it is dangerous and for scientists to finally being testing of new vaccines that  could cure the flu for a long term period of time is simply amazing.

            I thought that this article was very informative, it was very specific and presented several examples of the flu and its symptoms and what the scientists were trying to prevent. The article was very clear with the direction in which it was going and it presented very well what the present day flu vaccine prevents and what the new being tested vaccine could present. I thought it was very interesting and fun to read about.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/02/120227111536.htm

Posted for R. Dubinski 

Aging of Eyes is Blamed for Range of Health Woes

            With age comes inevitable decrease is health as well as an increase in ones tendency to contracts diseases and medical conditions such as memory loss, slower reaction times, insomnia, heart disease and others. In the article, “ Aging of Eyes is Blamed for Range of Health Woes,” Dr. Patricia Turner and Dr. Martin Mainster of the University of Kansas School of Medicine discuss how these conditions are a direct result of the aging of the eye. As you get older, your pupil narrows and therefore less sunlight is allowed in. In the retina, there is a cell that regulates the body’s internal clock or circadian rhythm. Circadian rhythms help you go through the daily process of waking up, working, then calming down in the evening. Studies have found that when out of sync, people are at greater risk of disease. Exposure to light helps cells connect with a part of your brain called the suprachiasmatic nucleus or S.C.N for short. In the morning, your body knows to release the hormone cortisol and at night, melatonin. Melatonin is very beneficial to our health and without a regular amount of it in our bodies, we are much more likely to contract diseases. The cells in the retina that send messages to the S.C.N. respond best to the blue light, the same blue light that is filtered by an aging lens as we get older. By the time and adult reaches the age of 55, they receive only 37% of the light necessary for the circadian system to function correctly. In other studies, it has been seen that adults who have had cataract surgery to remove their clouded lenses reduce the chance of contracting diseases associated with old age. By removing these lenses and replacing them with clear ones, more light is absorbed and therefore more melatonin is produced.

            This article is very relevant to the human race because as time passes and we advance scientifically, I think this information will eventually help to extend the life span of human beings and prevent many from contracting these diseases. I also believe this will help to promote cataract surgery and more people will opt to undergo this surgery.

            I really enjoyed the way this article was written and organized. While providing enough detail to explain the scientific terms and processes, the author did not bombard you with too much information. This article was also very well organized, the author split up his paragraphs into concise summaries of each chunk of information.

Link:

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/21/health/aging-of-eyes-is-blamed-in-circadian-rhythm-disturbances.html?scp=1&sq=aging%20of%20eyes&st=cse

Citation:

Tarkan, Laurie. "Aging of Eyes Is Blamed for Range of Health Woes." Www.nytimes.com. 20 Feb. 2012. Web.

Posted for M. Donovan

Pacific Sea Otters’ Failure to Thrive Confounds Wildlife Sleuths

            I read the article “Pacific Sea Otters’ Failure to Thrive Confounds Wildlife Sleuths” by Ingfei Chen, which appeared in the New York Times on February 27, 2012. This article describes scientist’s anger because sea otters growth rate is continuously decreasing and scientists do not know exactly why. Dr. Tim Tinker run experiments in Washington on sea otters and their habitats. He has ideas of why the otters have trouble living, but it is extremely hard to capture an otter for experimentation. The only way to catch an otter is by trained scuba divers and if they are sound asleep, otherwise they will dive away at the sight of a human. Otters used to be the prime source of fur, but it became illegal to hunt otter in 1911. Scientists like Dr. Tinker believe that water pollution is infecting invertebrates and sea urchins, sea otters’ main source of food. With an infected food source sea otters are contracting diseases and infections. Other scientists like Dr. David Jessup, a veterinarian retired from the state wildlife agency, believes that disease causing parasites transmitted from feces from opossums and cats. This would destroy immune defenses and make contracting diseases much more likely. The thread through all the ideas is human activities. Humans are inadvertently damaging wildlife, which is directly affecting the animals that live there, including sea otters.

            This article should be important to people because human activity is one of the main reasons why these harmless animals are falling in numbers. Once again, pollution in our environment is destroying habitats which are causing animals to “…reach a point of extreme nutritional stress… they will succumb to whatever particular stressor they encounter first” Whether it is a parasite or a shark attack, the weak immune system of an otter will not be able to handle the stress, and humans are a main reason behind it. Even in the Northeast, otters are losing food sources and this could be at nearby lakes or at a summer lake house.

           Although I enjoyed reading this article, there are some critiques I have for the author, Ingfei Chen. One was the process in which they determine how the otters are being infected. He mentions that the otters are being tracked and tested by retrieving samples of whiskers and examining of organs, after they are dead. I would want to know how the parasites are hurting the sea otters and what a scientist will do with the samples to determine the problems in their habitat. Also the description of the capturing of a sea otter could have been described well. Chen basically said that scuba divers sneak up on otters while they are asleep and capture them with nets. I would have enjoyed a more in depth descriptions of how otters and captured and tested. 

Posted for J. Flannery

Concern Over Rare Rhino Rouses Clean Energy Drive in Malaysia

The article, “Concern Over Rare Rhino Rouses Clean Energy Drive in Malaysia” by Jeff Smith of National Geographic, hits points of animal extinction, renewable energy and energy issues in poorer nations.  Initially the article explains how renewable energy such as hydropower, geothermal and waste from the region of Malaysia’s abundant oil palm mills is just as costly as coal. However, despite the high cost, animal activists won the battle against the government from constructing a new coal fired plant in the area.  By doing so, the activists are saving the area from deadly pollution but have yet to set up a renewable energy source, leaving the area depleted of needed energy.  Malaysian officials such as Masidi Manjun have argued the importance of utilizing natural gas in its accessibility and abundance.  This is why the Malaysian government will go with natural gas to fuel their immediate energy needs while making moves towards renewable energy, opposed to using coal fueled plants. Natural gas is highly abundant around Malaysia, typically offshore. Gas is a clean fuel and the plant will be in an industrial area far from the ecosystems that ignited the coal dispute.  However, debates are still discussing controversy as many areas of Malaysia have come to be known solely for their biodiversity and beauty. The coal plant that was planned to be built along Sabah’s coastline is where the endangerment of the Sumatran rhinoceros comes into play.  The Sumatran rhinoceros is the world’s smallest rhinoceros at around 4.3ft. Currently, they are the most critically endangered species on Earth with roughly around 200 remaining, alive.  In Borneo alone, poachers, hunters and encroaching habitats have trimmed the number of rhinos down to a mere 30 to 50. Fortunately, the people have fought for the small species of rhinos and have saved the survivors from sure death due to the horrible pollution of coal-operated facilities. Although making steps to cleaner and safer energy, fossil fuels still account for about 90 percent of the power capacity in Sabah.  The real challenge now is the mixing of green ideas in an economically viable way. 

            This article is very relevant to issues abundant today, not just in poorer countries but also in industrialized and wealthy countries such as our own.  As our world wide population steadily rises as well as the demand for food and goods, pollution has become more and more of an issue that it endangers our well being as a whole.  This is why steps for green energy and ideas are a necessity in order to sustain the earth and keep our plant from plummeting into certain doom.  The protesting of coal burning power plants to save animals dependent on the ecosystem around them is just the first step in a long journey in committing our world to smarter and greener ways of renewable energy.  Ultimately, this article should act as a example of what needs to be done worldwide and what kind of actions the people should start taking in order for our world to be sustained.  

            Overall, I think this article did a great job summarizing the issue in Malaysia, in both the energy crisis as well as the endangerment of the small rhinoceros species.  However, I do feel more time could have been spent on getting into greater detail about the rhino, such as how they are affected and why they are affected, as the article is key on them specifically. If greater care was given the species of rhinos the article is named about, I think that would truly complete the article and give the readers an overall sense of satisfaction on what they came for to read.

Smith, Jeff. "Concern Over Rare Rhino Rouses Clean Energy Drive in Malaysia." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 22 Feb. 2012. Web. 27 Feb. 2012. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/energy/2012/02/120223-sumatran-rhino-and-clean-energy-in-malaysia/?source=hp_dl2_news_rhino20120224

Scientists Make Major Advance in Decoding DNA of Extinct Human Fossils

 
     This article describes the accomplishments of Dr. Svante Pääbo and his colleagues who developed a highly sensitive new technique to sequence the genome of extinct humans known as Denisovans. The Denisovans and their “sister group,” the Neanderthals, are the closest extinct relatives of modern humans. Dr. Pääbo extracted DNA from less than 10 milligrams of the finger bone of a Denisovan fossil discovered in Denisova Cave in Southern Siberia. Using this small sample, Dr. Pääbo’s team was able to accurately map the complete DNA sequence of the Denisovans with such high level resolution that even small differences between the copies of genes that the individual inherited from its mother and father are distinguishable. The genome represents the first complete genome sequence of an extinct human group and is therefore a major advance in the study of extinct human forms. The level of detail in the genome is so precise that it has fewer inaccuracies than most genomes from present day humans. Biologists hope to be able to use the Denisovan genome to discover genetic changes that allowed the development of modern human culture and technology that enabled modern humans to leave Africa and travel around the world starting around 100,000 years ago.

 
     I chose this article because I found it interesting that DNA could be extracted from a fossil. Also, it’s impressive how sufficient DNA could be extracted from a mere 10 milligram sample and how this DNA could then be used to obtain a complete genome of a human species that hasn’t existed for over 100,000 years. I also found it interesting that this genetic information could then be compared to the genome of modern day humans to demonstrate how humans have evolved over the last 100,000 years. Finally, I was fascinated by how this genetic information could be used to explain the development of modern human culture and technology.

 I felt this article was insufficient because it was vague and provided very little specific information. The article didn’t explain how DNA was extracted from fossilized material or how the genome was mapped. Plus, the article didn’t explain how the new techniques used to obtain the more precise genetic mapping of the Denisovan genome compared to the prior, less precise method. Finally, the article didn’t explain what genes were mapped and how those genes are relevant to determining the evolution of Denisovan culture.

http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2012/02/07/entire_genome_of_extinct_human_decoded_from_fossil.html

THE HUNGER BLOGS: A Secret World Of Teenage ‘Thinsperation’”

            The article, “THE HUNGER BLOGS: A Secret World Of Teenage ‘Thinsperation,’” addresses how websites, such as Tumblr and Facebook, are becoming pro-anorexia and promoting eating disorders. These blogs are known as “thinspo” blogs, or blogs that are “thin-spirational” and include pictures of stick-thin girls and models as well as pro-anorexia quotes. When teenage girls view this blogs and see the photos of the super skinny models, for most girls, it makes them believe that they need to be that skinny too. One girl posted on her Tumblr pictures of “skinny, happy girls” and how when she sees pictures, of skinny girls, it makes her feel happy too. This same girl said that the fact that the model’ bones are visible in the pictures is “the most beautiful thing ever.” With the success of Tumblr, these pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia blogs are becoming more and more popular. “Fitspo” blogs, blogs that include photos of athletic girls and fitness-related quotes, have also been created and are promoting girls to try to look as fit as the photos on the blogs. When girls see pictures of extremely thin girls, for most girls, not only does it make them want to look skinny, like the models, but also it also sometimes makes girls think that it is good to be that skinny and that being that skinny makes you look beautiful. Especially, now a day, girls are so caught up in their appearance that many girls will do practically anything for them to look “beautiful.” Some of these Tumblr blogs include tips on how to starve off your hunger, such as chewing gum or eating ice. Some girls even blog about their weight loss goals. For example, one seventeen year old, 5’10” girl, blogged about her weight goal, which was 115 lbs., the average weight for a 4’10” girl. This adds to the negative idea that other girls are much skinnier and weigh less than you, so you should loose weight too. One girl, who was interviewed in this article admitted that these blogs are helping with weight loss ideas but they will not make her have an eating disorder, and she said, “I’m not afraid. I’m ready to risk for perfection.” I interpreted this that her idea of being perfect is being super skinny and that she is willing to risk anything, such as becoming anorexic of bulimic, in order to become “perfect.” Many girls think that blogging about eating disorders and pro-anorexia is okay, but it’s not. Someone blogged on Tumblr, “Your stomach isn’t grumbling, it’s applauding.” I found this extremely inappropriate and repulsive that someone would actually blog something like this. According to Eating Disorders Review, in a Chicago eating-disorder treatment center, “between 30 and 50 percent of its teen patients actively use social media to support their eating disorders.” Sadly, by these teens, as well as many others, it effects more and more teens that read the blogs. In addition to websites and blogs, some teenagers are now becoming addicted to using phone apps to track their daily calorie intake and/or daily fitness plans and calories burned, and then these results are blogged for others to see. Thankfully, the promotion of eating disorders on the internet, on websites such as Facebook and Tumblr) has come to the attention of NEDA, the National Eating Disorders Association, has started to take actions, trying to stop all the pro-anorexia and pro-bulimia blogging.

            As a teenage girl, I think I can speak for most of us teenagers that media has effected our own body image and us. To begin with, girls are pretty competitive with each other when it comes to beauty, their body image, and looks. To add on top of all that, the media we see daily, whether it’s from commercials on TV, advertisements in magazines or on billboards, all the women and girls tend to be beautiful and skinny. This puts teenage girls, in a position that most of us do not want to be in, but no matter what, can’t get ourselves out of it, which forces some girls to become anorexic or bulimic.

            I thought this article was really well written and had a great overall message. There was no tough vocabulary, in the article, which is perfect for high schoolers, the main age group as to whom this article was directed towards. I could see how adults, and even some teens, might find some of the terminology, such as “thinspo” and “fitspo,” confusing, but even that, the article did a great job explaining what all those terms meant. Overall, I think this was a great article and every teenager, especially girls, should read it.

Gregoire, Carolyn. “THE HUNGER BLOGS: A Secret World Of Teenage ‘Thinspiration.’” Huffingtonpost.com, 9 Feb. 2012. Web. 10 Feb. 2012. <
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/02/08/thinspiration-blogs_n_1264459.html?page=1>.

Yeast Experiment Hints at a Faster Evolution From Single Cells

It took single-celled organisms about 3 billion years to evolve into multi-cellular organisms. In a laboratory at the University of Minnesota, brewer’s yeast cells can evolve primitive bodies in about two weeks. The human body has more than 200 types of cells, and each type has a specific job. Humans are a fine example of multicellular organisms. We have evolved from single celled organisms in order to adapt to the world around us. In this experiment, scientists raised brewer’s yeast, a single celled organism that feeds of sugar and budding off daughter cells to reproduce. The scientists placed yeast in 10 flasks of broth. They shook the flasks for a day then let the yeast settle. They then removed a drop of the settled yeast and transferred it to a fresh flask where the yeast continued to grow. In this experiment, natural selection would favor any new mutation that would let the yeast fall quickly. Yeast that remained floating would not be transferred into the new flask. After several weeks of repeating this process, the yeast began to fall faster, and it would form clouds at the bottom of the flask. After examination of the yeast under a microscope, the scientist discovered that the yeast was no longer growing as single cells. Instead, the broth was full of snowflake shaped clusters of hundreds of cells stuck together. They weren’t clumps of unrelated cells. Instead of drifting away, newly budded yeast cells remained stuck to their parents. By clumping together, these yeast cells fell to the bottom of the flask faster than the individual yeast cells. The clumps would grow until they broke apart, then those broken clumps would repeat this new form of reproduction. In nature, the process of natural selection wasn’t nearly as rigorous as the conditions in the laboratory. However, in nature, multicellular organisms were slightly favored over single celled organisms. As time progressed, organisms evolved into more and more complex beings, such as humans, which have trillions of cells in our bodies.

This article relates to the human race because it gives us information on how we came to evolve from single celled organisms. The leap from single celled life to multicellular life is nearly as big as the origin of life itself.  This article also relates to me because we are currently observing the behaviors of yeast in our lab experiments. This article affects humanity in general because it gives us a greater understanding of our past, and it may give us some insight into the future of the human race. This article provides a very clear example of natural selection, the process by which humans came to be, and further proves the theory of evolution. Humans have shown how they can accelerate the process of evolution in yeast, now it would be interesting to see how they can accelerate the process of evolution in animals or plants.

I liked this article because it gave me a better understanding of the basics of evolution. I was surprised to see how a process that took 3 billion years in nature can be replicated in a lab in only 2 weeks. The author of this article gave a good description of the experiment that was performed, but he gave little background on yeast, a topic that most people don’t have a very good understanding of. Also, the author didn’t say much about the significance of this experiment Overall, it was a solid article that taught me a lot about evolution, natural selection, and the scientific process.

Zimmer, Carl. "Yeast Experiment Hints at a Faster Evolution From Single Cells." New York Times. 16 Jan. 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2012.

<
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/01/17/science/yeast-reveals-how-fast-a-cell-can-form-a-body.html?ref=biologyandbiochemistry>

Widespread Plasticizer Clouds Doping Tests of Cyclists

     This article details the issues with recent attempts to catch professional cyclists for drug use. Just last week Alberto Contador, a three-time Tour de France champion from Spain, was found guilty of using performance enhancers. But the interesting part was that they also found a plasticizer in his system, which is commonly used to soften plastic bags or tubes, prompting allegations that Contador might have had illegal blood transfusions. The problem is that drug testing is getting so high tech that athletes are not only being tested for illegal substances or procedures, but also for evidence in things like the residue from IV bags. Many argue that since these plasticizers are so widespread in food and common household items already, there’s no telling how they would have gotten into an athlete’s system. On the other hand, some say that sharp spikes in the quantities of these chemicals in a cyclist’s body are an indicator that he was using IV bags for blood doping, or illegally boosting one's red blood cell count to carry more oxygen to the lungs and muscles. The World Anti-Doping Agency funded research to look into controversial cases like Contador’s, but have thus far yielded underwhelming results. The plasticizer, or phthalate, in question is called bis(2-ethylhexyl)phthalate, or DEHP. Shanna Swan, a reproductive epidemiologist at the Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York who has studied the effects of phthalates on infant boys, says that 98% of Americans have measurable levels of DEHP, as is can come from food and is found in many medical supplies. Also, a national survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention from 2001 to 2001 found that DEHP's first metabolite is present at 37.9 micrograms per liter in the 95th percentile of men, which means that just "5 percent of U.S. men had a value higher than this," Swan said. Not to mention it is possible that a rare acute exposure from occupational or diet sources can significantly elevate levels. And in cyclists, this gets even more complicated because many things might cause their levels to spike, like hydration status and time since last meal. Because of the varying explanations and complication surrounding DEHP exposure, the WADA discontinued funding for the plasticizer test in November, a year after Contador was implicated in blood doping.

            These new discoveries in DEHP examining are relevant to my life as I am an athlete and DEHP is so prevalent in most every American’s environment, including—and especially—what we eat. Many researchers note that there is a growing body of data to support the theory that the absence of chemicals like this in our environment would also have positive health consequences. For example, animal studies have shown how these chemicals can alter developmental and reproductive processes. As an athlete, this also concerns me because performance enhancement is something I don’t endorse and feel has gotten out of hand. The fact that officials have had to go to such lengths as to test for plasticizers and residue from IV bags, not just enhancement drugs, is disturbing.

            I really enjoyed reading this article. I thought the author did a good job summarizing the recent findings on this topic, though I would have liked to know more about other cyclists that have been convicted of blood doping in this way. It’s interesting to me that these organizations like WADA would even look into using the testing of a substance as ubiquitous as DEHP and other phthalates to find drug-using athletes because it’s obvious that there’s no way to actually prove the chemicals’ origins. Even claiming the large spikes in these chemicals shows something is a weak case because those spikes can be alternatively explained as well.

CITATION

Israel, Brett. "Widespread Plasticizer Clouds Doping Tests of Cyclists" Scientificamerican.com. Scientific American Magazine, 9 Feb. 2012. Web. 12 Feb. 2012. <

http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=widespread-plasticizer-clouds-doping-tests-cyclists>.

New Findings on the Formation of Long-Term Memory

    The article “Making Memories Last” is one that describes the brain’s ability to contain short and long-term memory. Up to this point, the information relating to this topic was very vague, and this is rather newly discovered. Basically, due to studies based in fruit flies, we have found groups or oligomers of synapse protein that are believed to be significant in the storing of long-term memory. This could very well be useful for research on Alzheimer’s and other memory-related diseases, along with the possible discovery of how to keep spreading oligomers under control and from causing such diseases. Dr. Kausik Si, an associate investigator at the Stomers Institute, back up these claims as well as doing constant research and experimentation to learn more.

     In my opinion, this information is valuable to my family and I considering a few of my grandparents suffer from both minor, and major cases of Alzheimer’s. It’s a disease that affects our entire family, and it’s helpful to have some reassurance scientists are making progress on the issue at hand due to the article I have just read. I’m sure others will find this article useful, due to its relationship to Alzheimer’s.

      Although the language was a little hard to understand, and many terms were not described, I did not have an issue looking up these terms to find out more and further learn about the finds upon the topic of long-term memory formation. I do think they did a decent job of describing some of these biological terms, so that helped me through the reading as well. This article was interesting for the most part due to the relevance to the common disease, Alzheimer’s, which affects many people around the world.

http://www.stowers.org/media/news/jan-27-2012

Making Memories Last | Stowers Institute for Medical Research." Stowers Institute for Medical Research. Stowers Institute, 27 Jan. 2012. Web. 02 Feb. 2012. <http://www.stowers.org/media/news/jan-27-2012>.