Images of 300 million old insects revealed, Science is phun yo!

http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2012/09/26/images_of_300_million_old_insects_revealed.html

I read the article, “Images of 300 million old insects revealed”. This article was very interesting to me because I take an interest to paleontology. The story came from Philip Withers a professor at the University of Manchester. The scientists used a CT scanner to reconstruct the image of an insect 305 million years old. The insect was a fossilized rock with three-dimensional holes in it. The scientists put the fossils in the CT scanner and took 3,000 x-rays from various angles. This formed 2,000 different slides showing the fossil in cross section, which is the intersection of a 3 dimensional body with a plane. Using these slide they made a 3D digital reconstruction of the insect. From this they could determine the biology and diet of the insects. The paleontologists suspect the insect fed from the rotting litter of the forest floor. They are a new species and genus which no longer exists; even though it is extinct it is closely related to the cockroach. They both belong to a group called the Polyneoptera, which consists of roaches, crickets, and grasshoppers.

I found this article very interesting mainly because I always find it fascinating when a group of scientists discover something so old, yet well preserved. The method of technology is also very interesting because this year we learned about electron or SEM microscopes. Although the CT scan and the SEM scan aren’t the same I find them very similar, because they both create a 3D image. This article was mind blowing for me and I was very surprised to hear that they found a new species that lived millions of years ago; I personally find it very impressive. 

Growth-promoting antibiotics: On the way out

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/339418/title/Growth-promoting_antibiotics_On_the_way_out%3F

In the article “Growth-promoting antibiotics: On the way out”, writes about the story of growth-promoting antibiotics in the use of livestock. A study in the 1950s showed for the first time that the use of potent antibiotics in livestock feed could increase meat yields by up to 50%. This lead to the widespread use of trace amounts of these potent antibiotics in livestock feed, which had some unexpected results. In addition to increasing meat yields, it also had a more negative affect on humans. The bacteria that these antibiotics were supposed to kill were able to build a gradual resistance to the antibiotics because they were exposed to it in only small amount. This caused many health problems for humans, because these bacteria and their relatives can no longer be as easily fought off by these potent antibiotics. Now, exactly 62 years after the release of the original study, a federal judge has ordered the Food and Drug Administration to resume efforts to outlaw the nonmedical use of antibiotics.

            This has a very large impact on the lives of all living people. The use of strong antibiotics like penicillin is much less effective than they were in the past, and therefore cannot fight of bacteria as easily. Because of this, it poses as a major health issue for humankind. That is why a federal judge has ordered the FDA to renew its efforts to ban nonmedical use of antibiotics, which has caused this problem.

            In telling this fascinating tale, the author does use a good amount of sophisticated vocabulary that he should have defined or not used at all, so that it would be more easily understandable. Also, it would be nice if the author told specific dates of when some things happened, such as the original study showing the benefits of nonmedical use antibiotics. Other than those two things, however, the author did a good job of relaying this story.

Study links Chemical BPA to Obesity in White Children

     Bisphenol A also known as BPA is a chemical agent widely used to protect aluminum food cans from corrosion and to strengthen plastic bottles, toys and containers. In recent years, alarm has grown among consumer groups and public health officials in the middle of developing evidence that BPA readily accumulates in the body's fat stores and can disrupt hormones that play crucial roles in sexual development, energy use and fat deposition. Study links chemical BPA to obesity in white children. Bisphenol A, a large new study has linked high levels of childhood and adolescent exposure to the industrial chemical to higher rates of obesity but, in white children only. In the Journal of the American Medical Assn., measured bisphenol A, or BPA, levels in the urine of a diverse group of 2,838 Americans ages 6 to 19. Researchers from New York University also reviewed data on the participants' weight, dietary intake, physical activity and their backgrounds. Compared with children and teens with the lowest apparent exposure to the ubiquitous chemical, those with the highest exposure were roughly 2.5 times more likely to be obese. The researchers found that for African Americans and Latinos, the link was so small it could have been a statistical fluke. White children with the most BPA in their urine, were six times more likely to be obese, than those with the least. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reiterated its belief that BPA is safe for use in food containers. The agency said it would no longer support the use of BPA in baby bottles and sippy cups. After the American Chemistry Council declared that its members had discontinued use of the chemical in such products.
  
       BPA is a chemical that has been proven with harmful side effects.  BPA is used in products that many use on a day to day basis. It is products like baby bottles and tupperware. With babies being so delicate we don’t want any harmful chemicals in their systems. Now that the Food and Drug Administration is disapproving of this product it is becoming more and more known about the dangers of this harmful chemical. A few side effects to this chemical other than obesity are hyperactivity, diabetes, and increased aggression. Scientists are now deepening the side effects of BPA and more obesity in our nation is not something we need, especially in our youth.

     The article is about a study that begs the question: is there a link between the chemical known as BPA in our cans, water bottles, and children's toys, that causes a hormonal imbalance which causes a disturbance in our hormones ultimately leading to obesity. This article sheds light on a new study, putting new thoughts and research into the attention of the public and the companies that make these products. Ultimately this article is sharing that scientists are looking more closely at what goes into the mouths of the people and that chemicals are going to be reevaluated, and reveal what products like BPA is and what it does to our bodies. This is just the beginning to what scientists are going to be looking for in products, because there is a possible correlation between the “harmless chemicals” we use in our day to day lives and our obesity problem that needs to be addressed in the US.

 http://www.latimes.com/news/science/la-sci-bpa-obesity-20120919,0,1451209,print.story

posted for S. Frayne

Genetic Mutation may have allowed humans to migrate throughout Africa

            I read the article “Genetic Mutation may have allowed humans to migrate throughout Africa”. This article was very interesting and provided lots of interesting facts on how there is a fatty acid that could have been transferred to the brain and used to increase brain size. Archeological investigations conclude that homo sapiens appeared on earth around 180,00 years ago but stayed in central Africa for about 100,00 years. Homo sapiens stayed in Africa because there was a significant amount of DHA found in the shellfish to support brain complex brain function. This research was supported by National Institutes of Health grants, P50 AT002782 and a Clinical and Translational Science Award grant to The Johns Hopkins Medical Institutions. Additional support was received from the Wake Forest Health Sciences Center for Public Health Genomics. Additional support came from the Mary Beryl Patch Turnbull Scholar Program and the MOSAIC initiative of Johns Hopkins University.

            "This may have kept early humans tethered to the water in central Africa where there was a constant food source of DHA," Chilton said. "There has been considerable debate on how early humans were able to obtain sufficient DHA necessary to maintain brain size and complexity. It's amazing to think we may have uncovered the region of genetic variation that arose about the time that early humans moved out of this central region in what has been called the 'great expansion.'" This article had lots of interesting facts on this genetic mutation that occurred in Africa and provided me with new knowledge. 

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120919190100.htm

"When it Rains, It Pours: Intensification of Extreme Tropical Rainfall with Global Warming Modeled"

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "When it rains, it pours: Intensification of extreme tropical rainfall with global warming modeled." ScienceDaily, 17 Sep. 2012. Web. 17 Sep. 2012.

<http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/09/120917124208.htm>

         In “When it Rains, It Pours: Intensification of Extreme Tropical Rainfall with Global Warming Modeled,” the reader learns that there is a correlation between global warming and how heavy the rain is.  Green house gases, such as carbon dioxide increase the air temperature, which also means that the amount of water vapor in the atmosphere will also increase.  This is a problem because the increase in humidity causes heavier rain, especially in tropical areas.  Studies show that for every 1-degree (Celsius) rise in temperature, tropical regions have 10 percent heavier rainfalls.  Heavier rain can have catastrophic impacts, as it increases the risk of flooding in tropical areas.  Scientists have been able to develop models and stimulations showing how global warming effects rain in places outside the tropics, such as the United States.  However, models are not successful in predicting how global warming effects rain in tropical areas because tropical regions have more quick, strong storms, compared to the United States, which often has larger storms that can span from Great Britain all the way to The United States.  Scientists do not no the full effect of global warming on rain in tropical areas, but they do know that the effects are extreme.  Scientists have gathered this information by looking at weather patterns and the rain intensity during El Niño. El Niño and global warming are similar in the fact that they both make an increase in the air temperature.  Since rain is extremely heavy during El Niño, scientists can conclude that global warming will extremely increase the heaviness of rain in tropical regions.  This is a relatively new research, so scientists do not know the full statistics.

            We all know that with the ice caps melting amongst other things, the danger of flooding is high.  Now if you add the research about global warming affecting the heaviness of rain, especially in tropical areas, everyone around the world must try even harder to prevent global warming.  There are a billion different ways to help stop global warming, most of which kids, like ourselves cannot follow.  For example, people say to use less air conditioning and heat in the house, but children don’t really have much say in the temperature of the house, and it not like people are going to start wearing big, heavy jackets in the house.  But, there are still so many ways that kids can help.  For instance, people in Bronxville can easily walk to school.  And even if you are too lazy to get up ten minutes earlier to walk, you can walk home from school.  In addition, try to carpool with your friends to sporting events or schools, so then fewer cars have to be used.  A third way to help prevent global warming is to turn off the lights when you leave a room.  These three things are quick, easy things to do, but together can make a huge difference.

         Even though I knew a lot about the effects of global warming before reading this article, I did not know that it makes heavier rain.  I think this topic is very interesting and want everyone to know about it.  I know that this is relatively new information, but to improve the article I would have liked to see more statistics, facts, and examples.  For example, I would have likes to know which cities are in danger of flooding and how much heavier the rain will get in the 10 years.  In addition, I would have likes to know some ways that I can help the scientists’ progress in their research.  But overall, this article was extremely interesting and informative.

"Our Brains Make Men and Women See Things Differently."

Mary Clare Connor                                                                                                        Core Bio IH

September 10, 2012                                                                                                Article Review

Glynn, Sarah. “Our Brains Make Men And Women See Things Differently.” Medical News Today. 04 Sep 2012. <http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/249844.php>.

In the article, “Our Brains Make Men and Women See Things Differently” Sarah Glynn writes of a new study that proves men and women have much different ways of viewing things. The study, published in BioMed Central’s open access journal Biology of Sex Differences, verifies that there are differences with how the two different sexes view the world. Scientists believe that while women are better at differentiating colors, men are more sensitive to details and rapidly moving stimuli.

            The reasons for these differences are the dissimilarities in male and females’ brains. There is a large amount of the male hormone receptors throughout the cerebral cortex in the brain and especially in the visual cortex, which controls how the brain processes different images. Males actually have 25% more neurons in the visual cortex than females because during embryogenesis the male hormones are responsible for controlling the development of those specific neurons.

            These ideas on the separate genders’ brains were put to the test in an experiment by a group of researchers from Brooklyn and Hunter Colleges of City University of New York. The scientists observed people over the age of 16 from both high school and college. Both genders had to have regular color vision and perfect sight to partake in the study. The scientists absorbed that the color vision of men was slightly weaker than women’s. Also, that the male subjects needed a longer wavelength to see the same hue as the female subjects. This means that it is definitely harder for men to differentiate between colors than it is for women, which means that men have a wider range of colors in the center of the spectrum.

            The scientists also measured the contrast-sensitivity functions of vision, they did this by using a picture of dark and light bars, either vertical or horizontal, and asking the subjects to choose which one they saw. The image was made to seem as if it were flickering when the light and dark bars were changed in each image. The researchers found that at reasonable rates of image changing the subjects lost their sensitivity for the bars that were put close together and gained sensitivity for the bars that were farther apart. They did this by varying how quickly the bars staggered or how close together they were to one another.  Both men and women struggled resolving the images of any width when the changing was fast. Yet, the male volunteers had a much easier time than the women when resolving the fast changing images that were close together.

            This article was written very well because it gave all of the facts about the differences in the brains of men and women and also the outcome of the study performed by a team of researchers. The elements and evidence used to prove what was stated was presented very nicely. The topic of this article was interesting to me because the brain and how it impacts our vision has always been fascinating to me, considering I’m practically blind.  Also, the fact that gender impacts how we view things, such as color and detail is riveting. The author of this article used many sources and gave great background on the material and overall wrote a good, stimulating piece.

The Baffling Nexus of Climate Change and Health

Briana Alberghine                                                                               September 9, 2012

D Block Even                                                                                      Mr. Ippolito

Walsh, Dylan. "The Baffling Nexus of Climate Change and Health." Green Blog. N.p., 6 Sept. 2012. Web. 09 Sept. 2012. <http://green.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/09/06/the-baffling-nexus-of-climate-change-and-health/>.

            The article “The Baffling Nexus of Climate Change and Health” by Dylan Walsh declares that the accelerated change in climate over the past fourteen years has influenced the health of the people of the United States. Studies shown by meteorologist, who study the atmosphere, and ecologist, who study the relationship of living organisms with their environment, have seen a sudden change in unpredictable healthcare challenges across the country. The change in climate has been acknowledged as one of the most severe causes of public health threat encountering the United States. Recently, there has been an outbreak of West Nile virus sweeping across the country, putting people in life-threatening conditions. As recorded, this year’s outburst of West Nile virus has broken the countries record for worst case of the virus. Along with West Nile virus, other infectious diseases have been factors resulting from the climate change. Depending on the location in which you live, the severity of the “infectious diseases, waterborne and foodborne pathogens, air pollution, allergies, violent weather, and extreme heat waves” affect the public’s health differently. With the risk for the countries health problems being high, beneficial plans in response to the outbreaks have gone into effect. Though health care isn’t politically cared for, public health remains important to the people and they feel as if it should be greatly protected.

            Today, healthcare isn’t an important factor politically and is usually looked passed as irrelevant. The health threats our country is facing is causing nation wide testing on new disease, cures, and solutions to many of these issues. The society we live in wants to know that they are protected and without having a stable health care plan, many people feel as if they aren’t safe. People’s lives are being put at risk and could be solved by creating a few healthcare polices involving research and planning for the future. I find the medical side of science very interesting and when I found out that healthcare problems were erupting across the United States, I knew that I would be excited to read about it. The importance of medical care has a strong impact in the everyday lives of people, effecting how their lives will continue.

            This article was written very well which made it intriguing for me to read. The details and evidence used to back up stated claims was very well presented. The topic of the article was of interest to me because it does have a strong effect on everyone’s lives. The author, some from scientist, doctors, and government reports, gave many different sources and opinions to this issue. Towards the end, the author gives an update and a prediction on how the health care world will be in a few years. As far as what could have been improved, I think data from medical findings could have been interesting to read about. Overall I think the article displayed many different components to how the climate change can affect the overall standing point of the United States.

Sports Promote Healthy Weight in Teenagers

By Ralph Chrappa

O'Connor, Anahad. "Sports Promote Healthy Weight in Teenagers." Nytimes.com. New York TImes, 17 July 2012. Web. 08 Sept. 2012. <http://well.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/07/17/sports-promote-healthy-weight-in-teenagers/>.

     In the article “Sports Promote Healthy Weight in Teenagers” by Anahad O’Connor, we learn that about one out of every three high school students are either overweight or obese. By walking or biking to school, and playing on a team, children are less likely to be overweight or obese. In a study by the Geisel School of Medicine, it is shown that if all adolescents played on two sports teams per year, then obesity rates would plunge 26 percent. Everyone is supposed to get at about one hour of at least moderate activity, but most people do little of that. Since the regulations for gym class are not that strict, gym is not considered as a way of being active. Dr. William Stratbucker, the medical director of the Helen DeVos Children’s Hospital Healthy Weight Center in Grand Rapids, Michigan says, “If the parents are enjoying an active lifestyle themselves, that’s modeling behavior that leads to children participating in activity to the levels that that need to be.” He means that if your parents are active daily, they can set as role models to help you be active. “Playing on one sports team is definitely better than playing on zero, but I would say at least two or three is probably ideal.” says Dr. Drake, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Hood Center for Children and Families. Even if you are not the most athletic, you can join intramural or club sports. 

     This article shows that it is not hard to stay fit and active. It is very easy to walk to school  in Bronxville since the town is only one square mile long. So, if you walk to school at least half the time, then you are putting yourself at less of a risk of being overweight. Also, there are many clubs and teams to join at our school that help you become active daily. All of our high school teams meet after school Monday through Friday, which enables everyone on the team to get that hour of moderate to vigorous activity a day. And if you are not the athletic type, you could go for a walk or take a bike ride with your friends. My family is very active. Both my parents run and all of my siblings as well as myself play sports. We realize the importance of an active lifestyle and its effect on obesity. 

     I found this article very interesting because I learned that almost one out of every three high schoolers are overweight or obese. I never though it would be that high. Even though the article is a little long, it is great in giving many examples of how to become fit and not overweight. However, there are other areas of the article that could be improved. Such as, the article does not discuss the importance of diet and nutrition and its relevance on obesity. Perhaps a sample diet could have been included in the article. The article also fails to discuss the link between obesity and genetics.