Zika and glaucoma linked for first time in new study

Bridget Sands

Mr. Ippolito

Core Bio H

12/2/16

Citation:

Yale University. "Zika and glaucoma linked for first time in new study." ScienceDaily.

ScienceDaily, 30 November 2016.

<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161130132813.htm>.

Hyperlink: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161130132813.htm

In the article, “Zika and glaucoma linked for first time in new study”, provided to Science Daily by Yale University, who conducted the study, it is proven that glaucoma is associated with the Zika virus. The Zika virus, carried by mosquitoes, has continued to spread to different countries, showing to be the most prominent in Latin and Southern America. The Zika causes birth defects, including microcephaly, a condition which causes under average head size, and guillain-barré syndrome, which causes muscle weakness. Now, starting with a discovery made by a team from Yale, the Zika is being linked to causing glaucoma. Glaucoma is a condition that causes more pressure onto the eyeballs, which therefore causes blindness that gradually gets worse over time. To prove this, the team headed to Salvador in Northeast Brazil, where they found a boy whose mother had been exposed to the virus while he was in-utero. He initially did not experience any problems after birth, but soon after he started to have pain, swelling, and tearing in his right eye. This discovery sheds lights onto the Zika virus, in which little is known.

The Zika is a very serious problem is the current status of the world and affects thousands worldwide. The Zika has really become a big problem within the last year, not spreading as quickly prior to. It is primarily found in South America, and is transported through a very specific species of mosquito, the Aedes mosquito. When infected, a person may pass the Zika along without safe sex. It mostly affects expecting mothers, for their poor babies are affected with birth defects. Because the Zika is more of a recent problem, doctors and researchers are still working for a huge cure, as well as the specific symptoms that cause the Zika. This is why the discovery of the Yale team, the Zika being associated with glaucoma, will help in the discovery and research of the Zika. It is a milestone that will help them relate it to other diseases, and will help find a treatment. Although it was just proved to have an association with the Zika, glaucoma is commonly found in children suffering from microcephaly, which caused a the team to investigate in the first place. The relevance of this discovery is that it will help in the future of the cure and understatement of the Zika.

This report, written by a team from Yale University, was very well written. It explained the importance of the Zika virus, and the how the discovery of glaucoma will affect its future. It tells of the specific details, and how they diagnosed and treated the three-month old boy. Specifics such as these were strengths of the report. Another strength was the seriousness of the report, and how they put it into perspective. However, there were some weaknesses of the article. The report could be considered too early for publication, for the only one link of Zika and glaucoma was cited and found. This may be to premature, for with only one link there is not a certification that there is a link between the two, more data and evidence is needed. Also, I had to produce further research on the background of the Zika, for it was not provided, such as the other birth defects, and the type of mosquito that is a carrier. To make these weaknesses stronger, the team could’ve waited on the publication of their research, and could’ve expanded their research and background, instead of assuming that the readers would have a basic understanding of the problem.

How plants measure temperature

Ellie Parson

Mr. Ippolito

Biology

21 November  2016

How plants measure temperature

Before advanced sciences, it had been a mystery how plants were able to recognize and understand temperature. For these types of organisms, it is clearly essential to efficiently respond to threatening changes in climate order to maintain homeostasis. Most plants do not move as frequently as animals do, and are unable to escape unwanted weather patterns. Scientists from Buenos Aires in Argentina, St. Louis in the U.S.A., Cambridge in England, and the University of Freiburg combined their research to locate, explain, and better understand the way plants become aware of temperature. Their data found that a specific phytochrome may be the answer. The author of this piece explains phytochromes as “photoreceptor proteins that control a number of physiological processes” (sciencedaily.com, 1). They take part in functions of plants, including the growth of a young plant and starting the process of opening a flower. Phytochromes can also help a plant move into the sunlight to expose the plant to better measurements of red light and blue light. In response to certain amounts of red light phytochromes are switched on, or switched off by “far red light” (sciencedaily.com, 2). When they are on, the plant is notified of the concentration of red light around them. The specific phytochrome B supports the confinement of expansion of plants. It falls somewhat static in the presence of warmth and the sun, but it does not need light to become dormant. It can be shut off without the factor of light as “plant psychologists from the University of Freiburg” (sciencedaily.com, 2) have found before their most recent research. If they change without the presence of light, it is called dark reversion. There are two types of this reversion: one type requires a longer period of time and happens gradually as the activity of the phytochrome B population in a plant diminishes at night, and the other type challenges the “light activation of phytochrome B” (sciencedaily.com, 2) and then permits the organism to record the daylight. Both processes and dependent on temperature (sciencedaily.com, 2). Scientists used a spectroscopy technique to present that when conditions are warm, phytochrome B is shut down quickly in comparison to at colder temperatures. In the daytime, “the photoreceptors’ active form already in the light phase that was caused by the temperature-dependency of the fast dark reversion promotes elongation growth” (sciencedaily.com, 2). Temperatures increasing cause the phytochrome to go dormant and this version of the plant favors expansion. This further proves that heat or the cold can be felt by plants, but also shows that plants react to the changes in a unique way that keeps them alive. Although the explanations to this phenomenon can seem complex and hard to understand, it holds value in the scientific world.

Today, climate change is scaring the environments of plant species and threatens their existence if they are unable to adapt to new conditions. Evolution may adjust plant species to accommodate change but the species could die out before it takes large scale effect. If scientists somehow tapped into phytochrome B and programed it to work stop working within a plant according to certain temperatures, it could save a species in danger. In areas where temperatures are increasing uncontrollably for the time being, regulated phytochrome Bs could protect the plant from over or under growth due to exposure to light. Now that scientists somehow proved that plants can be aware of the temperature around them, they might be able to figure out if plants react self consciously. Farmers could use this information to quicken the growth of certain plants, as it is now known that growth of a plant could be affected by temperature as well as light exposure. Overall, these findings are relevant to multiple aspects of life. For me, I would be interested into learning further into how scientists use this data to improve plant life on earth. I believe that the war against natural and unnatural warming of climates worldwide will be a fight my generation might take part in.

This review was decent in the way it was written and the size of the it was convenient. It contained complex details and information while defining some terms and elaborating on them. The size was short, but appropriate for the subject being discussed. There was even a summary in the beginning for the reader to read before they analyzed the whole text, allowing the reader to understand some  parts of the main idea before even reading the article. However, there were parts of the article that were lacking. For example, from what I could read I did not find an exact person or group of people to credit as the author of the article (although I could be mistaken). An easy fix to this would be to state the author(s) at the top or bottom of the article. Even though some terms were described, others may not have been quite as clearly. Readers may have to do more research on certain words like spectroscopy to fully understand what they mean in the context of the article. Lastly, the final paragraph or few sentences in the article were dedicated to the people who contributed in the research. This was not exactly a weakness, as it credited the work and research to the respected scientists, but in a way it hardly contributed to the actual data analysis and explanations provided before.

Citations MLA8:

“How Plants Measure Temperature.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 15 Nov. 2016, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/11/161115084337.htm.:

The Pentagon Uses Plant DNA to Catch Counterfeit Parts

Quin Madden

Mr. Ippolito

D Block Odd

21 November 2016

Current Event 8

The Pentagon Uses Plant DNA to Catch Counterfeit Parts.

       Mizokami, Kyle. "The Pentagon Uses Plant DNA to Catch Counterfeit Parts." Popular Mechanics. N.p., 21 Nov. 2016. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

http://www.popularmechanics.com/military/research/a23988/plant-dna-pentagon-counterfeit/

In the Article “The Pentagon Uses Plant DNA to Catch Counterfeit Parts”, by Kyle Mizokami, focuses on new advancements to catch counterfeit parts for the military. This new system uses botanical deoxyribonucleic acid—that is, plant DNA—to mark replacement parts. The mark, in the form of DNA suspended in a tiny dot of epoxy ink, is applied pneumatically (using air pressure to move or work) and heat cured. This allows the military to realize if the parts people are selling them are counterfeit or not. Mizokami states “The plant-based DNA provides a unique signature that counterfeiters can't duplicate, and Applied DNA Sciences claims its DNA-based validation system is unbreakable.”

This is huge because now we won't have a  V-22 Osprey (helicopter), with eighteen Marine infantrymen die because there were counterfeit parts holding the engine together. In 2011 according to the Washington Post, a congressional probe found at least 1,800 counterfeit parts, with an estimated 1,000,000 or more counterfeit parts hiding in the Pentagon's global spare parts system, sold by hucksters making a cheap buck. This was a huge finding because people were just dropping out of the sky and dieing and no one new what was going on. This new product will help save many lives in our military.

After reading this article I found that it was very informative and helped teach me a lot about counterfeit parts in the military. The author did a great job of giving enormous detail throughout the article. One thing I would have changed was the way which the author structured the article, it seemed choppy. I also thought that the author could have used simpler language throughout this article, I found myself having to go and look up many words. Overall, this article was very informative and taught the reader a lot about the war on counterfeit parts.

Telescope That ‘Ate Astronomy’ Is on Track to Surpass Hubble

Alexander New Biology

Current Event 8 11/20/16

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/22/science/nasa-webb-space-telescope-hubble.html

Citation:

Overbye, Dennis. "Telescope That ‘Ate Astronomy’ Is on Track to Surpass Hubble." The New

York Times. The New York Times, 21 Nov. 2016. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

In the article, “Telescope That ‘Ate Astronomy’ is on Track to Surpass Hubble”, Dennis Overbye describes NASA’s next great space telescope, the James Webb Space Telescope. The telescope is named after NASA Administrator James Webb, who led the space agency in the 1960s. “Now, after 20 years with a budget of $8.7 billion, the Webb telescope is on track and on budget to be launched in October 2018 and sent a million miles from Earth”(Overbye). With seven times greater light-gathering ability than the Hubble, the Webb is designed to see farther out in space and deeper into the past of the universe. The Webb will travel a million miles from Earth into the bitter cold of space to search for infrared light. The two-story high set of mirrors will collect infrared light from objects hidden within dark clouds. It will be folded up into a rectangle for launch, but it will expand once it reaches space. In order to see those infrared colors, the telescope must remain very cold, less than 45 degrees Fahrenheit above absolute zero. This is so the telescope’s own heat does not swamp the heat from outer space. It will use a shield to keep the sun off of it, so that it stays cool. For the next two years, the team designing the telescope is going to put it to the test, to make sure it has no faulty equipment or major design flaws. John C. Mather says, “Our telescope is finished. Now we need to prove it works,”(Overbye).

The Webb may solve mysteries about how and when the first stars and galaxies emerged some 13 billion years ago after the Big Bang. The aim is to explore a realm of cosmic history about 150 million to one billion years after time began. Astronomers do not know the universe has become part of existence, they can only theorize. “They (the astronomers) theorize that an initial generation of stars made purely of hydrogen and helium - the elements created during the Big Bang - burned ferociously and exploded apocalyptically, jump-starting the seeding of the cosmos with progressively more diverse materials. But nobody has ever seen any so-called Population 3 stars, as those first stars are known”(Overbye). The stars that the astronomers are mentioning do not exist in the modern universe, so they must look at them in the dim past, which is where the Webb comes into play. Because the Webb telescope sees in infrared rather than in visible light, it will, make “cosmic postcards” in colors no eye has ever seen.

I really enjoyed reading this article because I like learning about astronomy and it’s very interesting to think about the idea of being able to see the past using telescopes like the Webb. I thought the writer did a great job on this article, even though it was rather lengthy. He included many quotes from many different scientists at NASA and he used lots of evidence to tell the reader about how the telescope works. However, he did leave me questioning what the telescope is going to see. I think if Dennis had shortened the article a little, it would have made it easier to understand.

Study finds shark fins and meat contain high levels of neurotoxins linked to Alzheimer's disease

In the article “Study finds shark fins & meat contain high level of neurotoxins linked to Alzheimer's disease”, this article explained how there were high concentrations of toxins in the fins and muscle in 10 different species of sharks. In a new study at the University of Miami scientists found that those toxins are linked to neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's and ALS. This was discovered when fin and muscle tissue samples of the sharks found that there are concentrations of two toxins-mercury and BMAA (β-N-methylamino-L-alanine). These substances pose a threat to human health alone and an even higher risk together. Neil Hammerschlag, a research assistant professor at the UM Rosenstiel school explained, “Since sharks are predators, living higher up on the food web, their tissues tend to accumulate and concentrate toxins,which may not only pose a threat to shark health, but also put the human consumers of shark parts at risk.”

About 16 % of the world's shark species are threatened with extinction, but now that we understand how consuming shark aparts may be harmful the shark population may be saved. Although consuming sharks could harm people, the outcome is positive because these toxins are saving a overfished species. But many people could see this discovery as negative because it could ruin their favorite food or bring them out of their line of work.

Overall I thought that this article was well written I still think there are some ways the author could have improved his/her writing. The first way that the author could have improved the article was if he/she included his/her name because it is impossible for someone to correctly credit the text. Also I think the the author was a little biased, because he/she only talked about the positive effects for sharks after finding the toxins. But besides those issues I think that  this article was easy to follow and I learned a lot about this worldwide problem.

Citations:

"Study Finds Shark Fins & Meat Contain High Levels of Neurotoxins Linked to Alzheimer's Disease." Study Finds Shark Fins & Meat Contain High Levels of Neurotoxins Linked to Alzheimer's Disease. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2016.

http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2016/08/29/study_finds_shark_fins_meat_contain_high_levels_of_neurotoxins_linked_to_alzheimers_disease.html

"US Military Successfully Tests Electrical Brain Stimulation to Enhance Staff Skills" Current Event

Samantha Huss

Mr. Ippolito

D Block Odd

9 November 2016

Current Event 7

Sample, Ian. "US Military Successfully Tests Electrical Brain Stimulation to Enhance Staff Skills." The Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 07 Nov. 2016. Web. 09 Nov. 2016. <https://www.theguardian.com/science/2016/nov/07/us-military-successfully-tests-electrical-brain-stimulation-to-enhance-staff-skills>.

The article, “US Military Successfully Tests Electrical Brain Stimulation to Enhance Staff Skills,” by Ian Sample, focuses on new advancements in unconventional technology within the military. Specifically, electrical brain stimulation used to help keep soldiers and staff alert, awake, and productive while working in high stress situations. These waves, when sent through the human body, help to keep staff clear minded and stable during high pressure situations. The waves work by sending five weak electrical currents through the skull and directly into parts of the cortex. This helps neurons to fire throughout the brain and, by doing so, help to improve cognitive ability. The electrodes have no known negative short term effects. However, it is unsure of whether there could be long term effects on the users. Furthermore, the ideas and tools needed to complete brain stimulation are available to the public. Its sail is currently unregulated, and this could prove to be very dangerous as it is unsure of the effect of the waves when handled by non professionals. The brain waves, although helpful to improve certain tasks, such as those which are performed in the military, may have a damaging effect in the long run. No tests have been able to confirm or deny this possibility, so it is unclear if they are safe to use.

The electrical brain stimulation, although intended to help, could hurt our society as well. It is open to the general public, and, because of this, could be very risky. Although it is safe when administered by a professional, it is potentially very dangerous if the waves are incorrectly administered. Also, the long term effects are unclear, and it could be harmful to people who use this technology. There are, however, some positive effects which it could have on our society. It was designed to help our military carry out important tasks more efficiently and successfully. If used correctly, it could be very beneficial in doing this and by extension helping to defend and protect our country. On a smaller scale, if used correctly and proven to not have long term negative effects, it could eventually be helpful to everyday citizens. The same benefits could be provided for people who need to complete hard tasks or stay focused for prolonged periods of time.

After reading this article I found that it was very informative and helped teach me a lot about electrical brain stimulation. The author did a great job of remaining neutral throughout the piece and did not choose a side nor write with bias. One thing I would have changed was the way which the author structured the article. It seemed to not flow very well and I found myself having to go back through the article to fully understand some of the points which were made. In order to change this, the author should have grouped together his arguments with more sufficient evidence to back his claims. Overall, this article was very informative and taught the reader a lot about the potential benefits and risks of electrical brain stimulation.

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