Rachel Roberts
3/27/19
Eschner, Kat. “Your Skin's Melanin Can Conduct Electricity, and Scientists Want to Harness It.”
Popular Science, 27 Mar. 2019, www.popsci.com/eumelanin-conduct-electricity.
For my current event, I decided to read an article titled, “Your Skin’s Melanin Can Conduct Electricity, and Scientists Want to Harness it” by Kat Eschner. The article mainly focuses on a substance known as eumelanin, which is the pigment that colors human skin, hair, and eyes. It has been known for a while that this pigment can conduct electricity; however, not enough to be useful. In its natural form, eumelanin is too untidy on a molecular level to efficiently conduct electricity. Fortunately, an interdisciplinary team of Italian scientists discovered a process that increases eumelanin’s conductivity. Alessandro Pezzella, an organic chemist Italian on the team from the University of Naples Federico II said, “This is the first [stepping] stone of a long process that now can start.” They developed a particular process that organized the molecules in a way that electricity would be able to flow from electron to electron. The process is essentially heating the pigment in a vacuum; it removes the oxygen and water vapor. Without the extra molecules, the pigment becomes much more conductive. Even though this process allows eumelanin to conduct much more efficiently, it is still just a pigment. Its conductivity is much weaker in comparison to metals. However, Pezzella and his team were able to increase the conductivity by more than nine orders of magnitude which allows it to be much more helpful in the scientific field.
Since Pezzella and his team of Italian scientists were able to increase the conductivity of the pigment eumelanin, it can be useful in many more scientific studies. For example, the increase of its ability to conduct caused the pigment to be in a range that is helpful for bioelectronics. Also, organisms including humans do not have any adverse reactions to eumelanin so, it could be used in ways such as to coat medical implants or any other devices meant to go inside the human body. Although it may be a long way off, the ability to use eumelanin could significantly help people who need certain types of bioelectronics and medical implants that may not be available currently.
When reading the article by Kat Eschner, there were many good aspects of her writing.
She explained the information in the article very well. I was able to understand it although I have no previous knowledge on the topic. Also, she integrated the story of finding the process for making eumelanin more conductive into her article while also giving the main details of the research. This allowed me to get a full picture of how important this topic was and how it could affect research, especially in bioelectronics in the future. While Eschner did a good job explaining the research and the story, the article itself could be choppy. There were areas in the article where the focus of the paragraph would flip between two subjects. It often confused me as I wouldn’t know what was being mentioned at the moment. It would be much better if each paragraph had its focus so there could not be any confusion on the topics. Lastly, while her article was grammatically correct, there were several areas where it was very wordy and made me go back and read the sentence multiple times. For example, Eschner wrote, “Eumelanin is much better able to conduct.” When writing articles for a website that is open for anybody of any career or interest to look at, it is much better to stay with more simple syntax and grammar so more people would be able to understand fully.
Tenzing Pixley
ReplyDeleteCore Biology C ODD
Current Event 8
Sunday, April 7th, 2019
Roberts, Rachel. “Current Event 7.” Bronxville HS Core Biology, 1 Jan. 1970,
bhscorebio.blogspot.com/.
I found Rachel’s review of the article Your Skin's Melanin Can Conduct Electricity, and Scientists Want to Harness It by Kat Escher to be very informative. For starters, by beginning with a rundown of how melanin can conduct electricity, it surprised me. Then by following up by how it can be harnessed for energy, it sets a stage for the rest of the essay. By removing oxygen, water, and other extra molecules, it allows for the skin pigment to become much more conductive, therefore increasing its use in future scientific experiments. I also found it interesting how in the future, this harnessing of eumelanin can help with other bioelectronics and medical implants.
There were one or two things that you could’ve changed or explained to a greater degree. The first of which is how you could have elaborated on exactly how eumelanin could be used in implants. When reading that section, I wasn’t entirely clear on how they could be employed aside from the fact that the human body doesn’t react to it all that much. The second is that you could have explained how the electricity within eumelanin could be used in future experiments or for harnessing as stated in the title.
In the end, I found this review to be greatly impactful and surprising. I felt this way because I never knew that melanin had the ability to conduct electricity, and even more so when I read that it could be harnessed.
Ava Chiang
ReplyDelete4/7/19
Bio Odd / C
Current Event Comment 8
Eschner, Kat. “Your Skin's Melanin Can Conduct Electricity, and Scientists Want to Harness It.” Popular Science, 27 Mar. 2019, www.popsci.com/eumelanin-conduct-electricity.
In her current event review of the article “Your Skin's Melanin Can Conduct Electricity, and Scientists Want to Harness It” by Kat Eschner, Rachel did a great job summarizing the article and made important connections between the content of the article and its impact on society. She also used proper grammar and sophisticated vocabulary that added to her credibility as a reviewer. When Rachel summarized the article, she did it in a clear and concise way that’s easy to understand but is also informative. For example; she explained that scientists are now able to harness the conductivity of melanin by reorganizing its molecules through a process that removes water vapor and oxygen. In addition, Rachel made valid but creative examples that related this new discovery to society. For example; she stated that in the future, people may be able to get certain type of bioelectronics and medical implants that technology today can’t give them.
Though Rachel’s review has many positives, there is still room for improvement. Though I like the examples she gave when relating the new discovery described in the article to its uses in society; I wish she gave more specific examples. For example; what kinds of bioelectronics are required to be coated in melanin before being implanted in the body? In addition, when Rachel wrote “Also, organisms including humans do not have any adverse reactions to eumelanin so, it” the sentence itself isn’t grammatically incorrect but it sounds awkward. Minor mistakes like this interrupts the flow of the review and decredits Rachel as a writer.
I learned a lot from Rachel’s review, I knew before that melanin is the pigment that affects skin, hair, and eye color but I never realized that it could be used in the field of biochemistry. For someone that didn’t have previous knowledge of this subject, Rachel did a great job summarizing the article and including all the important facts. I chose to read this article because I recently read another article on a model with vitiligo and I was curious about other ways melanin can affect humans. This review will change my perception of melanin from something that’s beauty related to something that can affect people’s lives when used to facilitate medical implants.
Ava Chiang
ReplyDelete4/7/19
Bio Odd / C
Current Event Comment 8
Eschner, Kat. “Your Skin's Melanin Can Conduct Electricity, and Scientists Want to Harness It.” Popular Science, 27 Mar. 2019, www.popsci.com/eumelanin-conduct-electricity.
In her current event review of the article “Your Skin's Melanin Can Conduct Electricity, and Scientists Want to Harness It” by Kat Eschner, Rachel did a great job summarizing the article and made important connections between the content of the article and its impact on society. She also used proper grammar and sophisticated vocabulary that added to her credibility as a reviewer. When Rachel summarized the article, she did it in a clear and concise way that’s easy to understand but is also informative. For example; she explained that scientists are now able to harness the conductivity of melanin by reorganizing its molecules through a process that removes water vapor and oxygen. In addition, Rachel made valid but creative examples that related this new discovery to society. For example; she stated that in the future, people may be able to get certain type of bioelectronics and medical implants that technology today can’t give them.
Though Rachel’s review has many positives, there is still room for improvement. Though I like the examples she gave when relating the new discovery described in the article to its uses in society; I wish she gave more specific examples. For example; what kinds of bioelectronics are required to be coated in melanin before being implanted in the body? In addition, when Rachel wrote “Also, organisms including humans do not have any adverse reactions to eumelanin so, it” the sentence itself isn’t grammatically incorrect but it sounds awkward. Minor mistakes like this interrupts the flow of the review and decredits Rachel as a writer.
I learned a lot from Rachel’s review, I knew before that melanin is the pigment that affects skin, hair, and eye color but I never realized that it could be used in the field of biochemistry. For someone that didn’t have previous knowledge of this subject, Rachel did a great job summarizing the article and including all the important facts. I chose to read this article because I recently read another article on a model with vitiligo and I was curious about other ways melanin can affect humans. This review will change my perception of melanin from something that’s beauty related to something that can affect people’s lives when used to facilitate medical implants.
Ava Chiang
ReplyDelete4/7/19
Bio Odd / C
Current Event Comment 8
Eschner, Kat. “Your Skin's Melanin Can Conduct Electricity, and Scientists Want to Harness It.” Popular Science, 27 Mar. 2019, www.popsci.com/eumelanin-conduct-electricity.
In her current event review of the article “Your Skin's Melanin Can Conduct Electricity, and Scientists Want to Harness It” by Kat Eschner, Rachel did a great job summarizing the article and made important connections between the content of the article and its impact on society. She also used proper grammar and sophisticated vocabulary that added to her credibility as a reviewer. When Rachel summarized the article, she did it in a clear and concise way that’s easy to understand but is also informative. For example; she explained that scientists are now able to harness the conductivity of melanin by reorganizing its molecules through a process that removes water vapor and oxygen. In addition, Rachel made valid but creative examples that related this new discovery to society. For example; she stated that in the future, people may be able to get certain type of bioelectronics and medical implants that technology today can’t give them.
Though Rachel’s review has many positives, there is still room for improvement. Though I like the examples she gave when relating the new discovery described in the article to its uses in society; I wish she gave more specific examples. For example; what kinds of bioelectronics are required to be coated in melanin before being implanted in the body? In addition, when Rachel wrote “Also, organisms including humans do not have any adverse reactions to eumelanin so, it” the sentence itself isn’t grammatically incorrect but it sounds awkward. Minor mistakes like this interrupts the flow of the review and decredits Rachel as a writer.
I learned a lot from Rachel’s review, I knew before that melanin is the pigment that affects skin, hair, and eye color but I never realized that it could be used in the field of biochemistry. For someone that didn’t have previous knowledge of this subject, Rachel did a great job summarizing the article and including all the important facts. I chose to read this article because I recently read another article on a model with vitiligo and I was curious about other ways melanin can affect humans. This review will change my perception of melanin from something that’s beauty related to something that can affect people’s lives when used to facilitate medical implants.