That Cuddly Kitty is Deadlier Than You Think

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/30/science/that-cuddly-kitty-of-yours-is-a-killer.html?ref=science

In the article,  “That Cuddly Kitty is Deadlier Than You Think”, the author discusses the new finding that cats are far deadlier than anyone realized. Scientists from the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute and the Fish and Wildlife Service estimated that domestic cats in the United States, both pets and strays, kill a median of 2.4 billion birds and 12.3 billion mammals a year; Most of the mammals are native mammals like shrews, chipmunks and voles rather than introduced pests. These findings position the domestic cat as one of the single greatest human-linked threats to wildlife in the nation. The report even said that more birds and mammals die due to cats than from cars, pesticides, and other anthropogenic causes. Because of these reports environmentalists have been debating what to do about this issue. All agree that pet cats should not be allowed to prowl around the neighborhood at will. One idea to manage the 80 million stray or feral cats is to use the trap-neuter-return programs in which unowned cats are caught, vaccinated, spayed, and if no home can be found for them, returned to the outdoor colony from which they came.

This is very interesting since it is important that we do not allow certain mammals to become scarce because of certain predators, one of them surprisingly being cats. It is important that people learn to deal with this problem before it gets too out of hand.

I believe that the author did a great job with the article. The article covered an issue that is very surprising but also interesting. Overall I enjoyed this article because I thought it was very informative.  

Previously Unknown Mechanism of Memory Formation Discovered

The Scripps Research Institute. "Previously Unknown Mechanism of Memory Formation Discovered." ScienceDaily, 30 Jan. 2013. Web. 30 Jan. 2013.

Erica Choi

            The article “Previous Unknown Mechanism of Memory Formation Discovered” discusses the role of unique molecules known as microRNAs in memory formation. MicroRNAs were previously associated with protein production, but Courtney Miller’s researches have revealed their bigger roles. Miller’s research revolved around the rapid genetic testing on a large scale of a human while learning was occurring. Results revealed that the level of microRNAs decreased while learning was occurring. Such suppression of microRNAs is a main supporting factor in the formation of long-term memory in the amygdale of the brain and also in regulating protein synthesis during memory consolidation. More than half of all known MicroRNAs (specifically, miR-182) are found in amygdale of the human brain. The MicroRNAs are also significant in repressing (DNA binding) proteins that control actin, which is a major component of cytoskeleton. Cytoskeleton holds the cells together.

            This article reveals an interesting and important study about human memory. This research remains rudimentary at most, and the majority of the memory formation process remains a mystery to us. For instance, we are still not sure how the suppression of microRNAs formulates memory. However, this research still has immense medical significance. Miller has stated that she will look more deeply into the correlation between memory loss at old ages and accumulation of microRNAs. Overexpression is thought to prevent not only the formation of memory but also lead to a decrease in the ability to adapt to changes. Thus, finding the methods for regulating the amount of microRNAs could be a revolutionary step in the medical field.

            This article was overall well-written, but was confusing at some points. This was mainly because the author incorporated many specific, advanced medical terms without giving their definitions. The part about microRNA’s role in regulating cytoskeleton was especially confusing and seemed irrelevant to memory formation. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/17/science/mouse-study-discovers-dna-that-controls-behavior.html?ref=science&_r=0

This article “Mouse Study Discovers DNA That Controls Behavior” describes a research team that is led to believe that the behavior of animals, and humans, is dictated by the complex genetic coding. Studying the burrows of deer mice scientists have concluded that four major sections of DNA “tell a mouse how long a burrow to dig and whether to add an escape tunnel.” Hoekstra believes that this research will lead to a better understanding of the internal system of the deer mice, and could account for the behavioral variation in humans. This team is applying over a decade of work on ecology and evolutionary biology to study unusual and more complicated behavior than mating, which we understand to be governed by genetics in worms and such. Dr. Hoekstra’s study she observed two species of deer mice, one being the oldfield deer mice, and another, Peromyscus maniculatus. They determined that the tunnel length would be a physical or measurable trait, like a tail. The oldfield deer mice created long tunnels without escape tunnels, unlike the Peromyscus maniculatus, which created tunnels with escape tunnels. They bred the two species and observed the results to “show a blend of characteristics, varying in length and with and without escape tunnels.” They compared variations in tunnels to variations in DNA and found that three sections of DNA determined the tunnel length, and a separate gene determined if there would be an escape tunnel or not. While the research group is not saying that the four DNA are responsible for the entire length of the tunnel, the tunnel length is 30% inherited. And they derived if a short burrow mouse had long burrow DNA it would be 40% more likely to dig an escape tunnel. Still, Dr. Bargmann says while this is great progress in behavioral genetics, it is not the actual genes which is the eventual goal.

            This is article is relative to the topic of genetics we are studying currently and therefore thought it was a great article to review. While I never believed that behavior was determined by specific DNA or genes this article insist that from studying the deer mice and their building of tunnels, that this is in fact true. It’s a cool concept to think that how we act is inherited entirely from our genes, and that in the end our DNA is all chance of how the genes shuffle and pair. By this study scientists believe we are closer to finding a way to correlate our behaviors to our DNA, and possibly even genes.

            Overall I enjoyed this article and its description of the study. One thing I believed could’ve been improved is including the exact results or the statistics after the breeding between the two species of deer mice.  Another is the description of the actual study and what DNA they found to determine the building of tunnels. 

This Was Supposed to Be My Column for New Year's Day

“This Was Supposed to Be My Column for New Year’s Day,” By John Tierney

< http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/15/science/positive-procrastination-not-an-oxymoron.html?ref=science&_r=0>

            This article, although not at all revealed by its title, is about the idea that procrastinating can actually be beneficial for people, rather than a detrimental aspect of a person. The author starts by explaining how he always meant to publish a New Year’s Day column for a resolution on “The Power of Positive Procrastination,” but “January 15^th is close enough,” hence the title. Next, the article goes into a researcher of the topic, Dr. John Perry, who is a philosopher at Stanford. In his published book, he explains how procrastination is beneficial when structured. The main idea is that a person, when confronted with a to-do list will often procrastinate on the highest priorities, but decide on working on the lower topics. From this, Dr. Perry proposed that procrastination is useful when one puts almost impossible tasks at the top of their lists, so he or she will actually do their normal work that they would otherwise procrastinate on. In other words, anyone can do any amount of work, provided it is not the work he or she is supposed to be doing at that moment.

            This article highly connected to myself, and can be a guideline to many procrastinators. Throughout high school, I have realized that procrastination runs rampant in many students, including myself. Who can say they have not spent at least one night staying up to work on an essay or project or study for a test? From Dr. Perry’s research, it can be possible to utilize procrastination itself. This idea is clearly beneficial for any person who tends to procrastinate. I know I will be able to use Dr. Perry’s proposal to help myself work better in school, as well as work better in general.

            I only had a few problems with this article. One issue I found was that the author only references Dr. Perry, and does not include any other researchers. It would be interesting to hear from other researchers what they think and/or have discovered. Also, since the author chose to focus on Dr. Perry, it would have been nice to know more background on the doctor himself, like what got him into researching such an abstract idea. Other than this, I thought the article was written nicely.

New Outlook for Colorblindness

New Outlook for Colorblindness by Melinda Beck

<http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970204349404578100942150867894.html#project%3DCOLORBLIND1112%26articleTabs%3Darticle>

“New Outlook on Colorblindness” discusses both what people who are colorblind experience on a day-to-day basis and how the world has (and in some cases, has not) changed to adapt for those who are colorblind.  Nowadays, there are Apps from the iPhone, tinted glasses and contact lenses, and even special video games adapted for colorblind people.  Approximately 32 million Americans are colorblind, mostly males.  The recessive colorblind gene is carried on the X chromosome, and although it typically shows up in males (because they have only one X chromosome, so if their mother is a carrier, the defective gene shows itself readily) it can show up in a female when her mother is a carrier and her father is colorblind.  Some people do not realize they are colorblind, and the degree to which people are colorblind can vary.  Additionally, the type of colorblindness can vary, with Red-green colorblindness being more common than blue-yellow colorblindness. 

The article discussed the need for better testing for children when they are younger that will prevent them from being identified as “learning-disabled” by using shape-based diagnosis as opposed to number-based diagnosis.  Also, the article mentioned that there are some things, such as the lights on a battery charger that have yet to be adapted for colorblind people.  Society needs to be informed of these challenges as those who are not colorblind might not realize the challenges those who are colorblind face.  This article is particularly relevant to our Biology class from a genetic standpoint as I found the explanation of how colorblindness is passed from generation to generation to be very helpful.

The idea that most colorblind people live in a “black-and-white TV show” is a common misperception and I think that this article was effective in that it demonstrated that in a clear and informative manner.  In particular, the interactive graphics (see top of page), video, and images along the side were very interesting.  I would have been interested in reading more about the potential cure for colorblindness that was briefly mentioned, including how soon it could be used in human patients, however overall I was very satisfied with this article.

AP Biology students using Labquest2 Tablets in their study of Cellular Respiration

The Bronxville Foundation generously provided the funds for the science department in the high school to purchase the Vernier LabQuest2 tablets. These tablets are used with the existing data probes in the school to collect. These tablets are Bluetooth enabled, so students can capture the data simultaneously on the devices and send it in real time to their mobile devices where they can capture as an image the final graph or data tables. The complete data can be emailed from the LabQuest2 tablets to their homes where they can use the Logger Lite program to carryout further analysis of the data in the comfort of their homes.

Here the AP Biology class is completing a Cell Respiration Lab comparing the rate of cellular respiration by measuring the output of carbon dioxide. They compared results using ungerminated peas, germinated peas, and glass beads.

Labquest2 Tablet in the center is sending data as it collects it to the students' mobile devices. Here these AP Biology students are measuring the production of carbon dioxide from the peas in the bottle in the upper right corner of the picture.

Alexis stabilizes her group's jar with the germinating peas as the Labquest2 collects the data and sends it to the students' mobile devices.

AP Biology Meiosis, Fertilization and Reproduction Lab Exercise

This exercise simulates the segregation of alleles and their homologous chromosomes in the meiotic production of monoploid gametes and the return to the diploid state when the homologous chromosomes from a male and a female are recombined in the process of fertilization.  Over the Winter Holidays the students interviewed their families in an attempt to determine their genotypes for a number of different human traits.

CHROMOSOME PAIR	CHARACTERISTIC
1	Tongue Rolling
1	Face Shape
1	Skin Pigmentation
2	Mid Digital Hair
2	Chin Type
2	Skin Pigmentation
3	Chin Shape
3	Hair Color
4	Skin Pigmentation
4	Red Hair Color
5	Hair Color
5	Cleft Chin
6	Bent Little Finger
7	Hair Texture
8	Hair Line
9	Eyebrow Thickness
9	Forehead Freckles
10	Hair Color
10	Eyebrow Placement
11	Eye Color
11	Eye Placement
12	Eye Color
12	Eye Size
13	Eye Shape
14	Nose Shape
15	Eye Lash Size
16	Dimples
17	Mouth Width
18	Hair Color
18	Lip Thickness
19	Nose Size
20	PTC Tasting
21	Cheek Freckles
22	Ear Lobe
Sex Pair (Y chromosome)	Hairy Pinna
Sex Pair (X chromosome)	Red Green Colorblindness

 

This exercise allows the student to examine the following genetic concepts:

dominant and recessive alleles;

sex linkage;

gene linkage;

independent assortment of alleles as it occurs during meiosis and gametogenesis;

polygenic inheritance;

how one gene can influence the affect of another gene (epistasis);

genotype and phenotype;

recognize that this variation of genes results in the production of offspring with unique phenotypes.

 
The students achieve this by putting their alleles on paper representations of their chromosomes. Each half of the chromosome representation is one member of a homologous pair. When the chromosome is folded and dropped only one allele found on one member the pair is passed to the child via the gamete.

By combining their chromosomes with the chromosomes of a classmate the new individual that would be formed receives the two alleles need to express a trait.   By completing this exercise twice the students see how their traits might combine in the production of an offspring. As the students complete this exercise they should come to appreciate the richness of variation that occurs as a result of the recombination of alleles during fertilization.

Student chromosomes

Samantha and Erica are preparing to rejoin their homologous chromosomes.

Each student in a pair drops their chromosomes to form a gamete and then the bring the chromosomes from each pile together matching homologous pairs as they would reform after fertilization of an egg by a sperm. They then tabulate the alleles to determine the traits of the new individual.

Cyrus and Malika are lining u heir homologous pairs.

Nastaran and Gina do the same. As the class does not have equal numbers of boys and girls some pairs had to be formed with two students of the same gender. In their to trials they alternate using male/female homologous pairs.

Andrew and Argentina are lining up their chromosomes.

 

Flu Widespread, Leading a Range of Winter's Ills

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/10/health/flu-widespread-leading-a-range-of-winters-ills.html?ref=science&_r=0

In the article, “Flu Widespread, Leading a Range of Winter’s Ills”, written by Donald G. McNeil Jr., was a very interesting piece in the New York Times, involving the controversial subject of the flu and how even with the vaccination, during the season of winter people are still being affected by this ailment. There have been seen this season that there are three types of this flu epidemic with an aggressive virus, a new norovirus, and a “whooping cough”. An interesting way to track the course of this virus during the flu season is seen through Google’s national flu trend map, where people have the ability to see the solid widespread red occurrences of flu areas being abundant. The flu can also be considered influenza in hospitals, and those even exhibiting symptoms such as a mild cold will be asked to wear masks and avoid the maternity wards at hospitals. There have been 532 patients this year at Mass Gen. Hospital diagnosed with influenza, with 167 patients admitted, which can show an even greater quantity than the swine flu pandemic of 2009-2010. Also this flu can prove to have detrimental effects on the population seeing as the predominant flu strain circulating is the H₃N₂, which was the same strain that was raging during the relatively 2003-2004 “Fujian flu”.  However, the flu shots have seen to be relatively effective this year, as seen from this year’s flu shot that is well-matched to the strain. In addition to this the norovirus, or stomach flu, has also been affecting the public, and has been including new strains and first appeared in Australia and is known as the Sydney 2012 variant. It seen that this norovirus can be very contagious and in Maine there have been hospitals forced to shut down whole wards in order to decontaminate. 

This article can be related to my life and the actions that are encircling in our community because as seen from the possible declaration by New York City from the city health department, this is not going to be labeled an emergency so that people do not panic, but there are those who are mildly sick showing symptoms. This is affecting our community, because I recently received my flu shot for this year and I am relieved that I am being vaccinated for a possibly lethal strain of a flu that could affect my life. In addition to this, in the town of Bronxville the stomach virus is circulating, as seen from the recent illness of Cyrus Adamiyatt, our own Biology student. Therefore, it is very important for the town to be aware of the possibility of a sickness such as the flu and to seek treatment if one feels ill. 

This article was very effectively laid out by Donald McNeil because he was able to begin with interesting points about the flu, and even the different types of flus that are affecting the people today. He then continues on to illustrate the ways in which the flu has been able to tracked and then the extent and power to which this flu has showed to the public, such as a strong construction worker. This article was also helpful in describing how the flu shots work and how there is a possibility that the flu can be relatively ineffectual if the patient is elderly and thus the antibodies may not be strong enough. 

-Grace O'Toole

"Not Even Close: 2012 Was Hottest Ever in U.S."

Samantha Past 

p://www.nytimes.com/2013/01/09/science/earth/2012-was-hottest-year-ever-in-us.html?ref=science&_r=0

“Not Even Close: 2012 Was Hottest Ever in U.S.”

                               By Justin Gillis

                  The article “Not Even Close: 2012 Was Hottest Ever in U.S.” written by Justin Gillis provides an in depth discussion pertaining to the year 2012 in regards to the extraordinarily odd climate, one the United States has never previously experienced. Last year’s 55.3 degree average, was an entire degree higher than that of the previous hottest temperature  observed in 1998. (Generally, the temperature differences between years are measured in fractions of a degree.) Mr. Gillis includes in his article a statistic from the federal temperature records stating, “34,008 daily high records were set at weather stations across the country, compared with only 6,664 record lows,” with regards to the year 2012. Over the years the temperature of the country has been increasingly warmer, however never quite as warm as the temperatures seen last year.  While many scientists describe such temperature fluctuations due to natural variability, many also put the blame on global warming due to the human release of greenhouse gases.  According to  research, many scientists predict the 10 warmest years on record all fell within the past 15 years, therefore showing how much the planet has warmed.  From the start of last year, the United States experienced an unusually warm winter, with little snow, followed by a hot March where “trees burst into bloom and swimming pools opened early.” The soil dried in March due to the heat, therefore lending itself to a drought that occurred during the warmest July on record.  In addition to discussing the drastic warm climate of 2012 the author of this article, includes information regarding the disasters that occurred within the year. “In addition to being the nation’s warmest year, 2012 turned out to be the second-worst on a measure called the Climate Extremes Index, surpassed only by 1998.” So far 11 disasters in 2012 have surpassed a threshold of $1 billion in damages, including several tornado outbreaks; as well such disasters as Hurricane Isaac and Hurricane Sandy. The derecho, or a line of severe, fast moving thunderstorms, struck central and eastern parts of the country beginning on June 29, killing more than 20 people.  Aside from the various disasters experienced in the country, the summer heat wave affected many people too. A third of the nation’s population experienced 10 or more days of summer temperatures over 100 degrees Fahrenheit. At the beginning of January, 61 percent of the country was still in moderate to severe drought conditions.  As the article, signifies, many researchers and scientists believe 2012 was most likely a foretaste of the future, as the country will experience continued warming.

                   Such an article as this pertaining to the increasingly warm climate in the United States is important for people to read in order to learn about the effects of global warming on the country’s environment.  By reading articles in regards to unnaturally hot temperatures the United States, one may gain knowledge regarding the changes occurring in their country, and hopefully therefore have a desire to try and change or help the situation at hand.  As the article states, many researchers and scientists saw last year’s drastic increase in temperature, as a precursor for years to come, therefore it is important for people of the United States to acquire knowledge regarding this issue, so they can work on ways to improve it.

                  Overall, this was an interesting, well written article, that drew my attention. I enjoyed the way the author decided to also include information pertaining to the many natural disasters the United States experienced in 2012, aside from solely discussing the major changes in temperature.  However, an aspect of the article that may have been made better is if the author discussed possible solutions to the problem, or perhaps some tips for his readers as to things they can do to try and decrease the effects of global warming. Likewise, if the author possibly discussed a little more of the direct effects of such temperature fluctuations, readers would be able to better understand why these changes are so relevant, and why things need to be done in order to try and mend the issue.