Pictures Show a Mysterious Planet Get More Surreal Over Time

Peter Brennan

Mr.Ippolito

Core Biology

March 31 2017

Pictures Show a Mysterious Planet Get More Surreal Over Time


In this article written by Nadia Drake titled “Pictures Show a Mysterious Planet Get More Surreal Over Time” is a very important scientific article not because of the findings itself but because of what it will do to society and how people will perceive science. This article talks about the importance of the Juno spacecraft that was launched in order to gain more detailed pictures of Jupiter’s surface and study its topography. In the article Nadia talks about the details of How the Juno receives power through large solar wings and sends information back through a long range receiver. Juno is not their just to make maps though, it is carrying on board some of the most advanced technology in space, it is mapping the gravity field of Jupiter, the auroras that happen at the northern pole of the planet, and mapping out Jupiter's electrical field.They go into more detail however about how special Jupiter is in our solar system, saying that it has some of the most unique whether scientists have ever observed. A scientists in the article by the name of Bolton say that ““Maybe what you’re seeing is the fact that Jupiter is so big that it has triggered some other special dynamics that are star-like, to some extent.” This is a very interesting find and it was based off of the high resolution pictures and the data that Juno is sending back to earth.
    This article is very important to society because it could be something that rekindles america's love for space exploration and research. After the space race the US has lost its want to go out and explore the starts first and is now being left behind by other more invested countries. This document could make the people of America more interested in the other planets of our solar system and maybe get so invested that we start to fund NASA heavily again. The pictures themselves will have an impact in the scientific community because these are some of the most detailed images this close to jupiter's surface and that means more information,action can be gathered from one photo then before.
    This article was very well written by I feel that it did have some flaws. A major flaw in the article is the amount of information that is tossed at the reader, it sometimes become confusing to read after just hearing about a massive amount of details on another topic discussed in the article. I feel that this also contributed to this articles struggle to read because it did not flow well, some discussions were left to short and others to long, this contributed to the articles bad flow and struggle to read.

Citation:
Drake, Nadia. "Pictures Show a Mysterious Planet Getting More Surreal Over Time." National Geographic. National Geographic Society, 30 Mar. 2017. Web. 31 Mar. 2017. <http://news.nationalgeographic.com/2017/03/jupiter-pictures-nasa-juno-storms-space-science/>.

A Search for Clues to What Causes Whale Strandings

Marina Alfano

Mr. Ippolito

Current Event #7

3/30/17

Klein, Joanna. "A Search for Clues to What Causes Whale Strandings." The New York     Times. The New York Times, 16 Mar. 2017. Web. 30 Mar. 2017.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/science/what-causes-whale-strandings.html?_r=0

The article I read, “A Search for Clues to What Causes Whale Strandings” explains how whales who try to flee from humans and predators use all of their energy and end up beached. In a study published on Wednesday March 15, showed that dolphins and whales use more energy to swim fast than to cruise at normal speeds. While this may seem obvious, marine animals are not supposed to get tired from swimming. It was assumed that they had certain physical structures that allowed them to conserve oxygen and store energy, and most of the time this assumption is proven true. This study suggests that the whales are vigorously swimming to avoid threats like humans and predators which eventually leads to them tiring out and becoming beached. Terrie M. Williams, who studies ecophysiology at the University of California has conducted multiple experiments that prove that animals spend only slightly more energy when cruising than when at rest. She did find however, that the dolphins she studies exerted twice their “normal” energy use when they were swimming their hardest. When the whales and dolphins get “spooked” they dive down as quick as possible and some who did this showed signs of decompression illness, which is the same illness some scuba divers develop when they ascend too quickly.

The main reason these animals are becoming beached, besides predators scaring the dolphins and whales, is all because of humans. Dr. Williams applied her data and found out that whales use on average 30% more energy moving their fins after they were exposed to sonar waves or seismic explorations. Specifically, there was an instance in 2002 when a handful of beaked whales wound up stranded in the Canary Islands after trying to escape sonar from naval exercises. Also, man made materials and chemicals are causing increasingly greater pollution throughout the world's oceans which is also leading to the disorientation and confusion of these animals. The man made sonars upset the whales echolocation which then makes the animals get lost and eventually beach themselves. More and more whale beachings are occurring and we need to make an effort to understand what is causing these animals to become stranded so that we can act upon it. The animals in our oceans are helpless without us, and we must protect them with all we have.

Overall, this article was well written and provided credible experiments that supported the subject. One critique I have is that there aren’t enough quotes, throughout the whole article there are several short quotes yet they don’t assist the reader's understanding in any way. Another thing that would have been nice is either a depiction or a graph showing the data that was collected from the experiment the author described. A visual would have furthered the reader's understanding of the study since the way it was explained, was slightly confusing. Something the author did well was having a flow of relevant information, and nothing seemed out of place. This piece flowed nicely and I don’t think anything needs to be taken out, just the above mentioned things could be incorporated into the article to make it even better. Overall, this was a well written article about an interesting and relevant subject which is why I enjoyed it.

A Change in Diet May Have Helped Our Brains Get So Big

Catie Burnell

Mr. Ippolito

Core Biology Honors

March 31, 2017

The article “A Change in Diet May Have Helped Our Brains Get So Big” by BBC’s Melissa Hogenboom gives fascinating insight into the human body’s most complex organism: the brain. Anthropologists have long believed that the reason behind humans’ large brain size is living in social groups - a belief known as the social brain hypothesis - but new findings have disputed this reasoning. “...The social brain theory does not tell the whole story.

Rather, brain size is more accurately predicted by primates' diet, according to their new study published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution” (Hogenboom 2017). This change in thinking comes from a team at New York University lead by anthropologist Alex DeCasien. This team of experts compared the skulls of 140 species of primates, such as lemurs, aye-ayes, and chimpanzees. Researchers studied these skulls to gain information about the species’ brain sizes and supplemented their findings with information about each species’ social patterns, such as social structure and group size, in order to test the social brain hypothesis. Their data, however, excluded species such as orangutans that live in solitary conditions despite their large brain sizes.

The results of the NYU study were surprising: ultimately, the research team found that, contrary to the social brain hypothesis, diet plays a major role in brain size. However, DeCasien’s research team had suspected that this would be the case. “It has long been known that fruit-eating primates (frugivores) tend to have bigger brains than leaf-eating primates (folivores), says Higham” (Hogenboom 2017). Not only are fruits more difficult for the body to digest than leaves, but frugivores often must travel further in order to find fruit than folivores must travel in search for leaves. However, the NYU research team still acknowledges that the social brain hypothesis still does play a factor in brain size, albeit smaller than previously believed. Frugivores, because they must travel larger distances in order to obtain food, congregate in larger social groups along their searches for food. Additionally, varying group sizes play a role in competition for food. James Higham, an anthropologist at NYU’s primatology department and a researcher on DeCasien’s team, says that "If there's another group in that fruit tree, what determines which group ends up holding the fruit is usually just about group size.” The larger group will ultimately win the food simply because there are more of them.

However, these findings have faced criticism, notably from Oxford University’s Robin Dunbar. Dunbar argues that the size of the neocortex - the part of the brain that plays a large role in spatial reasoning, cognition, and language - plays a much more important role than brain size in a primate species. "There is an important distinction between neocortex volume and brain volume… The original social brain analyses showed that social group size does not correlate especially well (if at all) with total brain size, but only with neocortex size… That would be difficult to reconcile with their claim,” says Dunbar. Nevertheless, Dunbar agrees with most anthropologists that social group size is the main deciding factor of a primate’s brain size.

Hogenboom, Melissa. "A Change in Diet May Have Helped Our Brains Get so Big." BBC News. BBC, 27 Mar. 2017. Web. 29 Mar. 2017.

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170327-why-our-brains-grew-so-big

"Reprintable Paper Becomes a Reality"

Caroline Brashear

Mr. Ippolito

Core Biology

3/23/17

Current Event 6: Review

Yin, Yadong, and The Conversation. "Reprintable Paper Becomes a Reality."Scientific American. 01 Mar. 2017. Web. 22 Mar. 2017. <https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/reprintable-paper-becomes-a-reality/>.

The article “Reprintable Paper Becomes a Reality,” published by Scientific American introduces a new type of paper with a nanoparticle coating that may allow the material to be erased and reused over 80 times. Even with the increasing usage of technology, paper is still commonly used, and global consumption is predicted to grow. The author mentions that, “Worldwide, the pulp and paper industry is the fifth largest consumer of energy and uses more water to produce a ton of product than any other industry,” (Yin, Reprintable Paper). The paper industry is damaging to the environment, but a new method uses nontoxic ingredients and allows repeated use, thus reducing the environmental impact. The nanoparticles involved are made of two different materials, Prussian blue and titanium dioxide, that can change from clear to visible and back again. The method includes combining the nanoparticles into a solid coating on conventional paper. When an ultraviolet light is shone on it, the titanium dioxide produces electrons. The Prussian blue particles then receive those electrons and change from blue to clear. The paper can be later erased by heating to about 120 degrees Celsius.

As previously mentioned, this is a significant environmental breakthrough since paper use has environmental and sustainability issues, which is why the creation of paper that can be reprinted without having to be industrially recycled first comes with many advantages. Additionally, the Prussian blue nanoparticle used is highly chemically stable. Not only is this a scientifically important advancement, but also economically, because money can be saved by using the same pieces of paper multiple times.

The article was very interesting and well-written, and provided a learning experience for the reader about a new method in producing environmentally-efficient paper. It was a strong piece of writing in that the methods used to create the paper were thoroughly described, as well as advantages that the new paper could bring. Although, the article was bias because it only discussed the benefits of producing this new product, and didn’t talk about any potential drawbacks. Also, the author refrained from talking about if this product could become available, and how much it would cost to own a special printer for this method. Lastly, I think the article would’ve been better if the author mentioned the economic impacts that this new product would yield. Overall, the article was a worthwhile read and discusses a topic that is relevant to the current needs of our environment.

Heart tissue grown on spinach leaves: Researchers turn to the vascular system of plants to solve a major bioengineering problem blocking the regeneration of human tissues and organs..

Bailey Barton

Mr. Ippolito

Biology; Current Event 6

March 22, 2017

Worcester Polytechnic Institute. "Heart tissue grown on spinach leaves: Researchers turn to the vascular system of plants to solve a major bioengineering problem blocking the regeneration of human tissues and organs.." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 March 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/03/170322152753.htm>.

I recently read the article “Heart tissue grown on spinach leaves” from the Worcester Polytechnic Institute. Essentially, a group of researchers stripped a spinach leaf of it’s plant cells, leaving behind the leaf’s vasculature. This is a process called decellularization, done by using detergent. When the plant cells are washed away, the remains is made of primarily cellulose, which is natural and not harmful to people. Not only is it not harmful, but cellulose is used in many medicine applications. Current bioengineering techniques cannot comprehend the branching network of blood vessels to the capillary scale. This network of blood vessels is necessary in order to deliver the oxygen, nutrients and essential molecules needed for tissue growth in a human. The research team at WPI, the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and Arkansas State University-Jonesboro have recognized this issue, and have turned to plants. The team explains that plants and animals use different methods of transporting fluids however they are very similar in their vascular network structures. By decellularizing plants for scaffolding, they opened the potential for a whole new start of investigations of the similarities between plants and animals. After extensive experiments, the team was able to culture beating human heart cells on spinach leaves (decellularized leaves). The spinach was able to flow fluids and microbeads, all accurately representing human blood cells in size, through spinach vasculature. In addition to flowing fluids and microbeads, the seeded the spinach veins with human cells. These experiments done on spinach leaves create the possibility to using multiple leaves to grown layers of healthy heart muscle to help treat heart attack patients.

By using plants as the base for tissue engineering has economic and environmental benefits. Plants can be easily grown under controlled environments, unlike synthetic, complex composite materials. These studies on spinach decellularization has shown there is a solution for pre-vascularized tissue engineering scaffolds. These studies finding similarities between plant and animals have shown to be very beneficial because there is cost-cut-down in the case of using this process for medical use rather than using synthetic materials. Looking forward, the research is scheduled to continue, attempting to further distinguish how different cell types grow while attached to and nourished by plant-based scaffolds. In addition to their already discovered areas of research, they plan to explore a secondary vascular network for the outflow of blood and fluids from human tissue. In addition to research, Joshua Gershlak, the paper’s first author, will present the technology and results at the National Academy of Inventors Inaugural Student Innovation Showcase in Boston.

I found this article very informative and innovative. I thought that the authors/researchers did a great job in explaining their project in easily comprehensible ways. I would have liked more information on the synthetic methods used in terms of scaffolds, like a comparison of the two (plant vs synthetic) focusing on medical strengths and weaknesses. In the future I hope to see a follow up on the research, hopefully with great strides towards spinach becoming a legitimate resource for heart attack treatment.

Large Sections of Australia’s Great Reef Are Now Dead, Scientists Find

Julian Thomet

Mr. Ippolito

Bio IH D135

23 March, 2017

Cave, Damien, and Justin Gillis. "Large Sections of Australia’s Great Reef Are Now Dead, Scientists Find." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Mar. 2017. Web. 17 Mar. 2017. <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/15/science/great-barrier-reef-coral-climate-change-dieoff.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=5&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0>.

Large Sections of Australia’s Great Reef Are Now Dead, Scientists Find

The article “Large Sections of Australia’s Great Reef Are Now Dead, Scientists Find” presented us, the readers, with very disturbing information about the state of Australia’s Great Barrier Reef. Essentially, the article discussed how scientists have found that the reef is dying at a faster rate than anyone expected. The mass dying off, or bleaching, or coral reefs has been happening, on and off, for twenty years now, across the world. This latest mass bleaching of coral reefs is the most damaging that scientists have ever seen. In some parts of the Great Reef, as much as 83% of the coral is dead or dying. Since 1998, every part of the reef, save for 9% has managed to avoid some damage, though the damage has varied greatly. The reason for this bleaching has to do with a rise in the ocean temperature. Although corals thrive in warm water, they are hypersensitive to changes in temperature. Even a fluctuation as small as two to three degrees can have dramatic impacts on the coral’s health. The cause for this change in ocean temperature, rather predictably, is climate change. Scientists studying the coral reefs have known, and warned, about the risks of continuing to burn fossil fuels for years now. Australia is the biggest exporter of coal in the world. It is not clear at this time whether this increase in ocean temperature will cause coral to go completely extinct, but it is assured that mass bleachings, such as the one happening right now, will become much more frequent in future.

This article should concern every human being with an interest in the future of this planet. Although the death of one of the most beautiful natural wonders in the world may not be cause for concern, the phenomenon causing it is relevant to everyone. The mass dying of these reefs are just another sign that our actions are causing irreversible damage to our planet. Since the early 1900s, the entire ocean’s temperature has increased by 1.5 degrees fahrenheit, with greater increases in some locations where the reefs are common. On a more local level, the reefs are a huge source of tourism in Australia. The Reefs are one of the greatest tourist attractions in Australia. Furthermore, there are several hundred million people who dependent on fish, who are, in turn, dependent on the reef. If the reefs dies, the fish will die, and at that point, there will be a humanitarian crisis, because several hundred million people will have lost a vital food source. Although Australia has a plan in place, entitled “Reef 2050”, this plan may be too farsighted. There may not be any coral left by 2050.

This article did a fantastic job explaining the death of the Great Coral Reef, and reefs in general, to the layman. The article was not confusing in any way, and the article made it abundantly clear that this issue is relevant. It was also remarkably well written. There were no grammatical errors, giving one the sense professionalism. There is really not much that could be improved about this article. The only thing that could have been improved upon was the conclusion, which ended abruptly with a quote. The quote basically assured the reader that there are more problems to come for corals, but it never discussed what, if any, solutions are available to fix the problems which are laid out in such great detail throughout the rest of the article. The article doesn’t have to provide good news, if there is none to offer, but it would have been nice to know what our options are going forward. Aside from this though, this article is a great summary of this crisis, and I strongly recommend that anyone who wants to learn more about this topic reads it.

Prosthetic Hand Restores Touch, Heals Phantom Pain

Nathan Revadigar

Mr. Ippolito

Biology

3/14/17

The article “Prosthetic Hand Restores Touch, Heals Phantom Pain” By Tanya Lewis was a well written article with a few down sides. The author of the article made a heading which catches the eye. As I, have a personal connection with amputations and prosthetics since my grandfather had an amputation and has a fake leg so I was tempted to see what was going on. Throughout the article, the research and reference to the subject was mainly referred to two test subjects, a group of surgeons, and one scientist. This information is from only one company, there is proof to announce to the world saying that you can bring back sense to the amputated arm and/or limb. The data collected was only about how good the product was and that according to the article, there was not a single mention about how there might be side effects or that something bad will happen. Throughout the whole article, there weren’t any step by step procedures of how they were able to make the product.

Basically this article was about the ability to have feeling when you add a prosthetic body part. When an amputation occurs, you lose all sensation in the area of the surgery. As of late, there has been new light that has showed that with special equipment you can bring back these feelings. For example, the new prosthetics gave the people feelings where if they held an item it would feel the same if they held it in the normal hand or the same for texture. One of the many things that really ruin a person is the knowledge that they lost the feeling in their arm to bring it back is a beautiful thing. After an amputation has occurred there have been reports of phantom pains. Phantom pains are pains that are felt after the surgery is done of the preexisting problem and any new ones around the area. With the development of these new prosthetics these scientists have found that the phantom pains go away.

The author of the article actually works for the company creating this project. She has been working for the company for a year now and specializes in writing stories about neuroscience. Lewis included one passage in the article where Tony says, “We don't believe the way we're stimulating the nerves is exactly natural, but if there's something close, the brain likes to interpret it as something it knows.” This shows that the scientists don’t know a 100% what's happening to the body and how it reacts to the new things that are getting attached. The author did a good job of answering most of the big questions to help readers, but she didn’t include some questions like how much it will cost, or how durable it is, or if it comes in contact with water, is your body in danger of getting a shock? These were some important questions that would ensure safety to people, and safety comes first. the author doesn’t explain the research that was put together in order for this to be successful. Going back to the quote in the previous paragraph, it may cause problems if the scientists don’t know what is happening when the complete the operation.

At the end of the article, the conclusion was mediocre. By the end of the article, the author describes how the subject said that there was almost no pain in his arm after the new change and the conclusion is in the category while wrapping up the sub-topic and the whole article. When the conclusion was written, I was convinced that the new advancement in prosthetics was going to help future people and that with only a few more years of finishing work, they can create a product that can sense many more textures and that too technology will help them cruise along. One main thing that convinced me that this was real was that there was a video showing a test subject name the certain texture against the amputated hand while it was wired to his arm.

Citation

Prosthetic Hand Restores Touch, Heals Phantom Pain." Fox News. FOX News Network, n.d.

1Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

http://www.foxnews.com/health/2014/10/09/prosthetic-hand-restores-touch-heals-phantom-pain

It Might Soon Be Legal for Employers to Force You Into a Genetic Test

Ryan Staunton

Mr Ippolito

13 March 2017

Core Biology IH

Current Event

In the article, It Might Soon Be Legal for Employers to Force You Into a Genetic Test, Sy Mukherjee discusses a house GOP-sponsored bill that is called HR 1313, or the Preserving Employee Wellness Programs Act. This is a bill that would allow companies to demand your genetic information if passed. If you declined, your health insurance rate could climb up by 30%.  This amount would increase by 50% if you are a smoker! It is unsure/unspecified about which genetic information test employees would go through, but it could range anywhere from a simple “23andme” test to a specific diagnostic testing. However, a problem with passing this bill is the ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) and the GINA (Genetic Information Nondiscrimination act.) These acts stop companies from even asking their employees to test for a genetic test.

Improvements in genetic testing are allowing people to be diagnosed early for many different types of cancers to mental disorders. They can even test for the probability of baldness. But with all these improvements, we have to ask ourselves when we’re on infringing other people's privacy, and many people are advocating for the government to protect the rights of citizens, and not to take advantage of these new findings. Many people are comparing the HR 1313 bill similar to a science-fiction movie, Gattaca, a movie that depicts a society where people get their jobs based on their genes. I think it's very important to look at articles where science can impact you directly, and how the government deals with these discoveries.

Overall I found this article very insightful and interesting, but they mainly focus on how this would affect a company or employer, not the science behind this. I also author did a very subpar job at actually explaining the background of the bill. I had to do a lot of outside research to help convey their point, like going directly to congress’ website, and looking up which kits test for diseases. This was probably due to the website not being a site that covers science.  I did find that they do an amazing job about the setbacks of this bill. They described how GINA and ADA could possibly prevent this bill. In the future, I would recommend this article to focus on all aspects, like the direct science as well as the already detailed explanation for how it impacts society.

http://fortune.com/2017/03/10/genetic-testing-workplace-wellness-bill/

Mukherjee, Sy. "It Might Soon Be Legal for Employers to Force You Into a Genetic Test." GOP Bill Would Allow Genetic Testing Demands By Employers | Fortune.com. Fortune, 10 Mar. 2017. Web. 13 Mar. 2017.

"From Flight 370 Hunt, New Insight Into Indian Ocean’s Unknown Depths."

Luke Redman

Mr. Ippolito

Core Biology Current Event

March 13th, 2017

St. Fleur, Nicholas. "From Flight 370 Hunt, New Insight Into Indian Ocean’s Unknown Depths."

The New York Times. The New York Times, 10 Mar. 2017. Web. 12 Mar. 2017. <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/10/science/mh370-malaysia-airlines-indian-ocean-seafloor-maps.html?action=click&contentCollection=science&module=NextInCollection®ion=Footer&pgtype=article&version=column&rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftrilobites>.

The article I read, “From Flight 370 Hunt, New Insight Into Ocean’s Unknown Depths”, was about the information that was gathered as a result of the disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight 307. The aircraft and its 239 passengers and crew vanished over the Indian Ocean in early March of 2014. A massive three-year search for remains or wreckage of the airplane took place, and as a result produced a massive database with information about the Indian Ocean. Scientists were able to access and record data in over 100,000 square miles of the Indian Ocean. The search for the flight provided rare details of the geological workings in the Indian Ocean. Millard F. Coffin, a marine geophysicist said, “I’ve been working in this part of the Indian Ocean for 30-plus years and over many voyages, in the eastern Indian Ocean I’ve never seen this level of resolution.” Dr.Coffin led a team of scientists to collect the seafloor data for signs of the airline. As their search through the Indian Ocean continued, they were constantly reminded that the data they were collecting was because of a major tragedy. The Indian Ocean’s quality before the search was about 5 kilometers, with photos being taken with satellites. After the search, the quality of the photos was down to centimeters.

These researchers were able to obtain massive amounts of data about a large portion of the Indian Oceans, some of which was unknown before the search took place. With these new findings, researchers can learn even more about Earth’s vast oceans and expand our limited knowledge on the ocean floor. Flight 370 is not the only flight to disappear over uncharted waters, and as of right now, will probably not be the last. With these vast oceans, pilots can easily get lost without certain geological landmarks and 3D maps. However, with this intense research, more pilots can safely cross over these waters without worrying about getting lost in the giant, featureless ocean.

The article, written by Nicholas St. Fleur, had multiple strong points. It was very short and precise, giving the reader enough information to understand the topic while keeping it short enough to keep the reader’s attention.  The article also included links to the studies and interviews referenced throughout the article, which allows the reader to further their knowledge if they want. The language used in the article was very well written, bordering on the line between too advanced and not detailed enough, which made the article an enjoyable read. However, I believe that the article could have been better if the author had included more information about the process of the research, such as where the team of researchers started and more of their findings. I also would have liked confirmation on if any evidence of the plane crash was found, which the author did not provide. Although the article had some faults, overall it was very informative and well written, and I enjoyed reading it.

"Before Vaquitas Vanish, a Desperate Bid to Save Them."

Zip Malley

Mr. Ippolito

Core Bio H / Current Event 4

6 March 2017

Malkin, Elisabeth. "Before Vaquitas Vanish, a Desperate Bid to Save Them." The New York Times. The New York Times, 27 Feb. 2017. Web.

<https://www.nytimes.com/2017/02/27/science/vaquitas-dolphins-mexico-extinction.html?src=mv&_r=0>.

I read the New York Times article titled “Before Vaquitas Vanish, a Desperate Bid to Save Them” by Elisabeth Malkin for this week’s current event. This article covers a incredibly upsetting situation that humans have created. It is a story of greed and crime, with defenseless victims.
Scientists, government officials, and marine biologists are working to reverse the situation ultimately saving the vaquitas from extinction. Vaquitas are a rare species of porpoise native to the northern part of the Gulf of California. The totoaba, another endangered fish, is being hunted illegally as a delicacy for wealthy Chinese with the Vaquita ending up in the nets. Since 2011, poachers involved in the illegal wildlife trade have killed 90 percent of the vaquita population leaving only 30 vaquitas in the wild. Researchers have a plan. The Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is working to keep this species of porpoise alive. To do so, the vaquitas will have to be located, captured, then taken to a temporary pool while the researchers build a sea pen in their habitat. Finally, the vaquitas would be transported back to their safe home. As with all science, there are lots of unknowns. Will the researchers be able to find and catch the vaquitas? How will the porpoises react? Keeping these small dolphins captive may be a last resort to save this far beyond endangered species.
This article shows how fragile our planet is and how everything we do is connected. Food choices in China has an impact on the biodiversity in Gulf of California halfway around the world. Greed is driving this extinction. If there wasn’t a demand for the totoaba, the vaquitas would be alright, they would not be harmed. This article also brings to light the collaboration and commitment of conservation organizations needed to understand and successfully save a species.
This article gave an amazing overview and put a conservation situation we know nothing about into context. Now we know the entire story. The extensive plans thought up by the researchers seem as though they may not work, putting a sad filter onto this human-forced tragedy.

"The Cosmic Explosions That Made the Universe"

Woo, Marcus. "The Cosmic Explosions That Made the Universe." BBC News. BBC, 21 Feb. 2017. Web. 05 Mar. 2017.

<http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20170220-the-cosmic-explosions-that-made-the-universe>

The article I read, “The Cosmic Explosions That Made the Universe” by Marcus Woo, discussed the fact that, in the early years of the universe, there is three times less lithium in our universe than there should be, and in the current universe there is four times too much lithium. The reason for this is unknown, however, several theories exist, though none of them are complete. One theory that explains why there might be too much lithium blames “cosmic rays: high-energy particles – mostly protons – that whiz around space. As a cosmic ray zooms around, it can crash into stray atoms like oxygen. The collision shatters the oxygen atom into pieces, fragmenting it into a flurry of smaller elements, including lithium.” This theory, however, only explains roughly 20% of the excess lithium. Another theory states that the lithium could have been produced by asymptotic giant branch stars which are dying “low- to intermediate-mass stars – no heavier than about 10 suns”. Another theory suggests that the excess lithium is due to novae, explosions on the surfaces of white dwarf stars. Most scientists believe that the lithium is due to a combination of all three of these things.

Much of modern technology is based on lithium. It is a crucial part of batteries in particular. Without it, pretty much any rechargeable device, such as phones and laptops, would be extremely difficult, if not impossible, to make.

I found this article extremely interesting. It explained everything in adequate detail, as well as providing quotes from the scientists who discovered the possible sources of excess lithium. It explained the history of minor discoveries and theories that led to the three latest ones. Its only major flaw was that its tone was a little bit too conversational.

"Rising Antibiotic Resistance in Children Has Infectious Disease Experts Scared"

Kevin Leka

Mr. Ippolito

Core Bio H

6 March 2017

Wapner, Jessica. "Rising Antibiotic Resistance in Children Has Infectious Disease Experts Scared." Newsweek. N.p., 02 Mar. 2017. Web. 05 Mar. 2017. <http://www.newsweek.com/antibiotic-resistance-children-562575>.

For this weeks current event, I read, “Rising Antibiotic Resistance in Children Has Infectious Disease Experts Scared,” written by Jessica Wapner and published on Newsweek. Bacteria in our bodies have now grown to resist the antibiotics we are being prescribed and a new study claims and confirms the extent of infections with multidrug-resistant (MDR) bacteria and highlights the alarming rapid increase in numbers of bacteria (that can cause disease) that the current medications no longer can treat. Although this may not seem significant, it is a growing concern for disease experts worldwide. There was a case recently in the US, where a women with a urinary tract infection, had tried every single antibiotic that could help treat her symptoms and none of them worked since her bacteria had grown resistant to those antibiotics. The study went on to investigate MDR bacteria in 48 children’s hospitals across the United States. After using diagnostic and billing claim codes, they were able to identify the bacteria that seemed to be categorized as MDR. Out of 107,000 diagnoses in a bacterial infection, Enterobacteriaceae, 724 cases had MDR bacteria. Although that is less than one percent of the cases (0.68%), epidemiologist Sharon Meropol, the leader of the study says, “For infectious disease experts, it is ominous.” The article also revealed a scary fact, “That most of the MDR infections were present in the children before they arrived at the hospital,” meaning that there has been a large amount of MDR bacteria increasing and circulating in U.S. communities.

Wapner’s review on MDR bacteria and the study has brought attention to a lurking threat that is growing rapidly. Although this concerns scientists worldwide, it should concern members of the public who may not be able to treat simple diseases with antibiotics. David Cameron, the British Prime Minister from 2010-2016, says that antibiotics have stopped working for some people and these people are dying from simple conditions and infections that could have been cured by antibiotics like tuberculosis. This is extremely alarming as a global issue and even if were a still having slight changes in the United States, we need to act urgently before this grows into issue we cannot handle by identifying the outbreaks for infections more efficiently. Although Sharon Meropol made a good point by saying a 1.3 percent change in infections resistant to antibiotics “may not mean a lot [for the general public],” it is a growing concern globally and must be addressed effectively and urgently. Just imagine growing up in a society where simple infections are killing people because we are overusing antibiotics to the point where our body is resisting them. America has a large issue with antibiotics and the CDC has said, “At least 30 percent of antibiotics prescribed each year in the U.S. are unnecessary,” meaning that the extra antibiotics in our bodies allows the rapid increase of bacteria straining on our systems that a person can withstand during treatment.

This informative article was very well-written and scientific. The most impressive aspect of the article was the way in which Wapner was able to explain the study that took place and break down the results from the study. Wapner explained the study conducted by Meropol in the US over the course of eight years. However, the explanations of the study where lengthy at times and included sophisticated scientific vocabulary that needed to be defined. For example, when the article explains how extra antibiotic may affect you, “The excess presence of antibiotics enables the proliferations of bacterial strains that can withstand these treatments,” it is difficult to understand. If there were simpler words used in such a complex study than it would be easier for the reader to follow along. But, since this article was so intriguing and had an interesting topic it was worth the read. The author had great detail that drew my attention to reading through the lengthy paragraphs. Wapner should have provided a clear way for the reader to understand the study, the significance of MDR bacteria and what can be done in the future. A great aspect of Wapner’s article was how she used an immense amount of statistics and studies that helped support the urgency behind stopping MDR bacteria. Wapner referred to well established organizations that had conducted research in the past and used this facts as proof for the article. Another good aspect was that Wapner identified the strengths and weaknesses of the research by looking at possible bias and vulnerability behind the research. The article could improve by explaining the study instead of citing the study in the first paragraph. The article could also improve by answering the question, what can community members do to help stop MDR bacteria and what alternatives could there be to antibiotics. The article did not answer these questions either clearly or directly and if they were to fix this issue, explain the sources/the study and use less scientific vocabulary than it would greatly improve the article and not take away for the important topic being addressed regarding antibiotic resistant bacteria.