Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science science essay competition for high school students

The Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science (http://www.dartmouth.edu/admissions/docs/isec-2014.pdf) is sponsoring an international science essay competition for high school students. I am writing to ask your help in sharing this information with students in your schools who may be interested in participating. By providing an interdisciplinary forum for sharing undergraduate research, the Dartmouth Undergraduate Journal of Science highlights the important and exciting work being done by Dartmouth students and faculty. Through the international science essay competition, the undergraduate editorial board seeks to include a broader array of voices in exploring the recent effects and future promise of science in our society. A complete explanation of the contest, along with rules for participation, can be found online (http://dujs.dartmouth.edu/isec-2014) . Thank you in advance for sharing this with your students and best wishes for the new school year. Maria Laskaris Dean of Admissions and Financial Aid Dartmouth College

Biome Brochure Projects

The first project for the fourth quarter required the students to devise a "travel" brochure to tout the marvels to be found in the various biomes on our planet.

Gauging the Intelligence of Infants

I read the article, “Gauging the Intelligence of Infants”. This article describes an experiment that was conducted in 1989 by Joseph F. Fagan on infants and how this experiment relates today. Fagan believed that this test could predict their score on an intelligence test years later, when they started school. “In the test, the infant looks at a series of photographs — first a pair of identical faces, then the same face paired with one the baby hasn’t seen. The researchers measure how long the baby looks at the new face.” This test tests novelty preference. The babies of below average intelligence were found to not exhibit the same attraction to novelty as the smarter babies did. Dr. Fagan's goal was to look for babies at the other end of the intelligence curve, those who would fall behind as they grew up. '“His hope was always was to identify early on, in the first year of life, kids who were at risk, cognitively, so we could focus our resources on them and help them out...”' Twenty-five years later the validity of Dr. Fagan's tests proved to hold up. “Dr. Holland revisited infants they had tested in the 1980s, and found that the Fagan scores were predictive of the I.Q. and academic achievement two decades later when these babies turned 21.”Although his tests worked, Fagan's dream of a widespread screening for infants did not come to pass. This is mainly because of concerns that this test may put labels on children at a young age that would become self-fulfilling prophecies. However, “the numbers become more reliable in aggregate, and the test is widely used in the academic world to quantify the effects of, for example, toxic chemicals on young children.”

These tests, if widespread, could have a great effect on humanity. Knowing and predicting a child's future based on their intellectual ability of an infant could help prepare each child for school by targeting their unique needs. This could help ensure that all educated children will reach the peak of their success. However, I agree that this may also be a way of labeling children, and could be very harmful to those who are not predicted to score high in later years. This could be a way of deterring these children from trying their best. Regardless of labels, I think it is important that these tests be used to test chemicals on young children. This could be a highly successful way of saving children from harmful chemicals and ensuring the environments children grow up in are as safe as possible.

Overall, I really enjoyed this article. It was amazing to me that a test so simple could predict the intellectual success of an individual. This shows be how complex an infants brain is, even though it is very young. I am interested to see if these tests will come into play more in our society.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/08/science/gauging-the-intelligence-of-infants.html?ref=science

Program Gives Bees a Leg (or Six) Up

I read the article, Program Looks to Give Bees a Leg (Or Six) Up, written by John Swartz and published in the April 2^nd, 2014 science times. In this article, Mr. Swartz describes how the bee population has been declining due to habitat loss, parasites, infections and pesticides. “That is taking a toll on crops that rely on bees for pollination, including many nuts and fruits.” Mr. Swartz then goes on to detail how both the federal government and agriculture consultants are targeting the problem by encouraging farmers to grow bee-friendly crops on their unused land in order to stop the decline. “The new program will encourage farmers and ranchers to grow alfalfa, clover and other crops favored by bees and which serve a second purpose of being forage for livestock. Other proposed changes in practices include fencing property for managing grazing pastures in rotation so that they can replenish, leaving living plants for the bees.” The idea is that hopefully bee populations will be less likely to succumb to diseases if they have a stronger nutritional and habitat background. Despite the obvious benefits to the bee population, the challenge will be getting farmers on board with the program as they do not directly benefit.

This article is relevant to society today because the health of our nation’s agricultural products is obviously very important as they make up not only our food supply but also a substantial portion of our economy. A decline in fruit and nut production could depress the agricultural economy and lead to a downward spiral in many other areas of the American economy much like the great depression in the 1920s. Thus it is of the utmost importance that we catch the problem before it is too late.

This article was extraordinarily interesting as it is really cool to study how a problem in nature can affect the economy. I thought the author did a really great job overall explaining what the problem was and what potential solutions might be enacted. I would have liked to know more about what was killing the bees, especially in relation to pesticides. Furthermore, I wish the author could have included more information about the small results of the programs which have already been put in place.

Schwartz, John. "Program Looks to Give Bees a Leg (or Six) Up." The New York Times. The New York Times, 02 Apr. 2014. Web. 08 Apr. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/03/science/program-looks-to-give-bees-a-leg-up-or-six.html?ref=science>.

A Strad? Violinists Can’t Tell

I read the New York Times article, “A Strad? Violinists Can’t Tell” by Pam Belluck. I am thoroughly interested in classical music so this article which combined music and science was perfect for me. This article hypothesized that the age and type of violin, in the end, doesn’t really matter as the two types are basically indistinguishable. Professional violinist, soloists and acclaimed artists from around the world participated in an experiment in which violinist were given a variety of violins (both old and new) and asked which was their favorite. One such line of research was “new-versus-old research in 2010, asking 21 players at an international competition in Indiana to put on goggles that obscured their vision, and try three new violins and three old. Thirteen chose a new violin as their favorite; the least favorite of the six was a Stradivarius, researchers reported.” Many believe that the hundred year old instruments made by Stradivarius or Gesu are better than any new instrument. “Researchers looking into this belief beg to differ. In a new study, they report that internationally accomplished violinists could not distinguish between old and new in a blind playoff, and that many chose a new instrument as their favorite.” Although further tests need to be conducted, the conclusion for now is that the Stradivarius violins aren’t necessarily better than newer instruments. 

This article is important to our modern society as well as to the classical music world. The experiments detailed in the article show that “old” and “acclaimed” instruments aren’t necessarily the best. This is important for young musicians, both amateur and professional, who don’t have the funds to pay for a multi-million dollar violin. 

Although this article was informative and interesting I felt that more evidence concerning the scientific and experimental aspects of this phenomenon could have been included. The article mentions a more in depth experiment that was recently completed and it would have been nice to have those results. 

Scientists Solve the Riddle of Zebra Stripes: Those Pesky Bugs

I read the article entitled Scientists Solve the Riddle of Zebra Stripes: Those Pesky Bugs. This article is about the fact that scientists have been searching for many years to discover why zebras have black and white stripes. There has never been a clear, proven hypothesis until now. Researches and the University of California Davis have discovered that the reason that zebras have evolved to have black and white stripes is because they ward of bugs. Their statement of research is: “The scientists found that biting flies, including horseflies and tsetse flies, are the evolutionary driver for zebra's stripes. Experimental work had previously shown that such flies tend to avoid black-and-white striped surfaces.” (Caro, 2014) Scientists have been studying the phenomenon of zebra stripes for hundreds of years, proposing hypotheses such as their camouflage, their confusion for attackers, heat management, and their display for social interaction, but nothing has been proven until the hypothesis regarding bugs. The team at UC Davis’ research included travelling to many different areas of the world known to house many wild zebras and testing each hypothesis and comparing them to results from elsewhere in the world. After many trials, the only hypothesis left standing was that the zebras have evolved with stripes because they repel bugs. They found that in areas of higher insect population, there is more striping on the body of local zebras. The only part of this discovery that still confuses scientists is why these flies avoid black and white striped areas.

            This article is important to science because it has proven a reason for the evolution of a very common and striking animal. Everyone knows that a zebra is striped, but until now, no one knew why. This can prove that evolution is very complicated and can even take professional scientists many years to uncover. A discovery like this could lead to more improvement on the discovery of the evolution of other animals, which could change the way we see an evolutionary tree now. This will also allow us to dive deeper into the evolution of these specific flies and hopefully help discover why certain bugs dislike black and white striped surfaces.

            I think this article was very interesting and was written very well. I especially liked how the author described all of the hypotheses that the team had made and described that they had gone through a trial and error process to discover the true reason for the stripes on the zebra. It made this article much more relatable knowing that scientists discover things in the same way that many of us do and the same way we do in the classroom. Overall, I really enjoyed reading about this topic and I hope that in the near future research will be started about the bugs’ dislike for black and white striped surfaces.

Caro, Tim. "Scientists Solve the Riddle of Zebras' Stripes: Those Pesky Bugs." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 1 Apr. 2014. Web. 01 Apr. 2014. <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/04/140401112111.htm>.

Flies That Do Calculus With Their Wings

I read the article “Flies That Do Calculus With Their Wings,” by James Gorman. This article talked about how researchers at Cornell investigated the paths fly wings go through when faced with environmental disturbances, such as the wind. These researchers “glue tiny magnets to the flies and use a magnetic pulse to pull them this way or that,” which enables them to control the wind-like force in the the lab. Three cameras were then set up to observe the flies from different angles, and the data collected was reconstructed so it could be analyzed. Leading scientist on the project, Dr. Cohen, said that they found “within three wing beats that sucker has recovered completely.” Flies are able to right their path of flight so quickly because at the base of each of their wings is a bundle of neurons, part of the haltere system, that are able to instantly calculate the change needed to be made and to execute it almost as quickly.

This is significant because it gives us a better understanding of how flies and possibly other animals re-adjust to environmental factors. It’s also interesting to see the many ways the complicated patterns and logic of calculus are essential and built into different parts of nature. Most importantly, Gorman says that the “math the neurons in the haltere system use is something for neuroscientists to investigate further.” He says that we could possibly use our understandings of the flies’s neurons in human neuroscience.

I would have liked if the author had gone into more detail about the importance of the research to the world and into how exactly this is important to neuroscience researchers. It would have been nice to know more about the study, and specifically what prompted researchers to investigate this behavior in flies and more details about the study. However, as is, this article was interesting and I learned more about the frequency calculus, which I think of as man-made, is found in nature.

Gorman, James. "Flies That Do Calculus With Their Wings." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Mar. 2014. Web. 19 Mar. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/19/

science/flies-that-do-calculus-with-their-wings.html?ref=science&_r=0>.

A Tumor, the Embryo's Evil Twin

Johnson, George. "A Tumor, the Embryo’s Evil Twin." The New York Times. The New York Times, 17 Mar. 2014. Web. 18 Mar. 2014.

I read George Johnson’s article “A Tumor, the Embryo’s Evil Twin”.   It is based off of Susan Sontag’s book “Illness as Metaphor” which discusses many comparisons between an embryo and a tumor.  Before this book, similarities were suggested but no one thought the research would be this extreme.  Through many years of mutations, many gene behaviors of an embryo can be excited and create a tumor instead of a newborn child.  The genes that guide the fetal cells in an embryo are also the ones that drives a cancer.   Another gene, sonic hedgehog (SHH) creates bilateral symmetry in a body’s organs, brain, and skeleton, but if it gets uncontrollable it can interact with a gene like SMO to cause a form of brain cancer.   Similarities even occur early on in the primitive embryo.  By using the enzyme protease, the group of cells creates a spot in the uterine lining where it can plant itself for the rest of the pregnancy.  The molecules used in that process are the same ones a cancer uses to settle on spot.  As immune systems attack the embryo and the cancer, they both send chemical signals to stop the attack.  

Although there are many similarities between an embryo and a tumor the key difference is normal cells know when it is necessary to die, while cancer cells avoid the signals and keep multiplying, resulting in a tumor formation.  At the end of this article the reader learns Sontag’s purpose of writing her book was to “explore how the language we invent for illness reflects society’s own diseases — its fairy-tale attitudes toward death, its addiction to unrestrained growth, consumption and violence”.  Although Sontag did not talk about her treatment for breast cancer in the book, she hoped that these similarities would somehow lead to a better treatment. 

This topic is extremely important because these similarities can lead to some advancement in finding a better cure.  Sontag was dealing with many forms of cancer, and when she died in 2004 there was no, “softening of the militaristic imagery as gentler therapies were developed, ones that stimulate the body’s own natural defenses” as she hoped for.  Scientists are now starting to find the promising results Sontag hoped for in immune system therapy.  Hopefully by continuing to study the way cancer reacts on cellular levels new, gentler therapies will be created and there will be more successful treatments of cancer. 

I thought this article was very well written and informative.  It shared many similarities of tumors and embryos, which I had never heard of.  The only thing that I thought Johnson could’ve improved on was referring to more sources, not just Sontag’s “Illness is a Metaphor”.  I think it would’ve been interesting to find what scientists have to say on the comparison of tumors and embryos, what they are using this information for, and what people could expect sometime in the future.  

Machinery of an Energy Dream- Andrew Walter-McNeill

Machinery of an Energy Dream

                I read the article “Machinery of an Energy Dream” by Kenneth Chang, which talks about the possibility of harnessing nuclear fusion as an energy source. Nuclear power is nothing new, we all live near Indian point, a facility that has been operating since the 70s. However, today’s nuclear power is created by nuclear fission, the breaking apart of atoms (usually uranium) into lighter ones. However, this process produces lots of nuclear waste, and requires a fuel that is not easy to get. Nuclear fusion, the merging of two lighter elements to form a heavier one, not only produces much more energy, but requires only hydrogen as a fuel source. It is the process that produces the heat from the sun- so you know it’s legit. In addition, nuclear fusion is safer than fission, and is completely non-polluting. Fusion, understandably, has long been the dream of young nuclear physicists everywhere, and the quest for fusion has just taken a promising step forward. Led by Dr. Omar A. Hurricane, a team of scientists at the National Ignition Facility were able to produce a fusion reaction that produced 5 times more energy than previous tests. Granted, even this was only “the equivalent of what a 60-watt light bulb consumes in five minutes,” but the result is encouraging nonetheless. The scientists produced this energy by shooting 192 high powered lasers at a piece of gold the size of a “pencil eraser” coated in 2 hydrogen isotopes (one heavier, one lighter), until it compressed and the isotopes fused to form regular hydrogen.

                This is important to the world for a lot of reasons. Should nuclear fusion become a viable energy source- scientists hope it will be as soon as 2030- the world could begin the long journey on the path away from fossil fuel dependence. The ramifications of such an event are revolutionary: the slowing of climate change, habitat re-development, higher air quality, better international relations, the list goes on and on. If nuclear fusion becomes the fuel source so many dream it will be, the transition may prove to be world saving.

                I think this article was well written. The author chose to include some twitter quotes, which I thought were pretty funny: “Awesome science story, but there’s a zero percent chance that a fusion laser scientist named Dr. Hurricane isn’t a supervillain.”  I thought this was a good way to keep me interested in the midst of all the technological jargon. Even without the comic relief I thought it was a good article. I do think the nature of the topic (its extreme relevance) made it easier for me to stay engaged and read- overall I really enjoyed it.

Low Saturated Fat Diets Don't Curb Heart Disease Risk or Help You Live Longer

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140305191429.htm

 

BMJ-British Medical Journal. "Low Saturated Fat Diets Don't Curb Heart Disease Risk or Help You Live Longer." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 Mar. 2014. Web. 15 Mar. 2014.

 

            The article, “Low Saturated Fat Diets Don't Curb Heart Disease Risk or Help You Live Longer,” reports the argument made by Dr. James DiNicolantonio, a leading US cardiovascular research scientist and doctor of pharmacy. Dr. James DiNicolantonio argues that diets containing a low amount of saturated fats fail to reduce the chance of heart disease or to lengthen the lives of people. In addition, he argues that the recommendation to replace saturated fats with carbohydrates or omega 6-rich polyunsaturated fats is built on flawed and incomplete data from the 1950s. He insists that dietary advices need to be reviewed and improved upon to prevent human deaths. The negative evaluation of saturated fats, which said that there was a connection between high dietary saturated fat intake and deaths from heart disease, was in 1952. To support his argument, DiNicolantonio says that the study’s author made his conclusions based on data from six countries and ignored the data taken from the other sixteen countries. Apparently, the author chose not to use the data from the other sixteen countries because it did not support his hypothesis. The public supported the study and continued to believe its conclusion, specifically after Eisenhower had a heart attack. DiNicolantonio believes that Eisenhower’s heart attack also generated the public to immediately support the theory that saturated fats increase overall cholesterol leading to a greater risk of heart disease. Even though a low fat diet lowers LDL, there are two types of LDL: pattern A and pattern B. Pattern A is LDL that are large floating particles that do not have the ability to cause atherosclerosis. Pattern B, however, consists of small particles that have the great potential to cause arterial plaques and increase the risk of heart disease. Switching to carbohydrates can increase pattern B, the LDL that is more dangerous than pattern A. DiNicolantonio also says that analysis of a published trial has shown that substituting saturated fats and trans fatty acids with omega 6 fatty acids, without a parallel rise in omega 3 fatty acids, increases the risk of death from coronary heart and cardiovascular diseases. DiNicolantonio suggests people to have a diet low in refined carbohydrates, sugars, and processed foods.

            The information in the article clearly connects to humanity because countless people care about their diets and suffer from health problems. Having dietary misconceptions does not help humanity’s health. Furthermore, this article relates to the scientific world. The information presented shows that although people believe the conclusions of one study, they can still test results and see whether they get similar results (even if the study was done in the 1950s). Also, it makes the scientific audience realize that although conclusions are made, the experiment must be thoroughly analyzed. They must question whether the author left out data to his or her advantage, whether the groups were set up properly, whether the experiment could have been improved to get better results, etc. Lastly, it reminds scientists to always stick to their results and not be biased.

                The article, overall, was well-written. It could have been improved, though, if the author explained the two different types of LDL cholesterol. Since the author did not, prior to writing this review, I had to research and learn the two types of LDL in order to understand the article more.

Take a Breath and Thank a Sponge

James Donohue

I read the article, “Take a Breath and Thank a Sponge,” by Carl Zimmer. The article is about how the sponge influenced the creation of the animal Kingdom. For years scientist have known about life, however there was little explanation as to where the all the oxygen came from to support such large quantities of life with functioning organs. Oxygen originally being released after cells evolved to absorb sunlight and release oxygen. “But, for reasons that remain unclear, oxygen remained very low for billions of years afterward. With so little oxygen on earth, animals could not evolve, Dr. Nursall argued.” There was an experiment done to see how little oxygen was needed for our original animal ancestors, the sponges, to survive. The team of scientist continued to lower the oxygen rate until it was around 4%, the lowest their machine was able to go. However even at these low levels the sponges were still able to survive just fine. The article explains that due to the sponges the animal kingdom was able to get a footing to become an important part of our world and evolution. The way in which the world oxidized was by photosynthetic bacteria that completely covered the earth’s water surface. As soon as these single celled organisms began to get larger, they began to sink and thus began oxidizing the water. When sponges evolved they, “trapped organic matter, they lowered vital nutrients in the water, among them phosphorus. Without phosphorus, photosynthetic bacteria couldn’t grow.” This enabled the algae to be more populous and create oxygen.

This is extremely significant to the scientific community and to those studying evolution. It shows how one of the simplest life forms was able to make such a major contribution to the rest of the oxygen breathing world. Without the sponges large celled organisms would not have been able to evolve due to the lack of oxygen. The early development of sponges, which were created at low levels of oxygen helped raise the oxygen level and an extremely high rate, than seen previously.

I thought the article was a well written article. It provided great background for the original thought behind the process of the experiment. It also went into how the scientists use fossil records that are nearly a billion years old to help them get an estimate of how old the species is. I also appreciated how the article said that some scientists were doing their own experiments to see how important sponges were and how the earth became so oxygen rich. Overall the article was a good read and very informative. It also goes great with the evolution chapters we just read!

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/18/science/take-a-breath-and-thank-a-sponge.html?ref=science

Convergent evolution: New fins evolve repeatedly in teleost fishes

      Convergent evolution: New fins evolve repeatedly in teleost fishes

The adipose fin, a small appendage which is situated between the dorsal fin and tail, was originally believed to be useless and vestigial. However, a new study analyzing its origins finds that these fins, which exist on more than 6,000 types of fish, arose repeatedly and independently in multiple species. Scientists at the University of Chicago conducted research using convergent evolution and a new model for analyzing the evolution of vertebrate limbs and appendages.  They used ancestral-state reconstruction and developed an evolutionary tree showing the relationships between those fish who have an adipose fin and those who do not have one. Their data pool included over 200 ray-finned fish and fossil data from different points in time. By revealing repeatedly that the adipose fin evolved independently, the scientists showed that this structure might be valuable to some fishes. This shows that different routes to building new appendages exist and that they are not always predictable and repeatable. This research questions prior conclusions on how new fins and limbs evolve. 

            I think that this article is important to the real world. On the simplest level, this article is important to the world today because it adds to our understanding of evolution, which is central to the understanding of biology. If we do not understand one, we cannot fully understand the other. As Theodosius Dobzhansky said, "nothing in biology makes sense except in the light of evolution." More specifically, it questions past assumptions that the adipose fin is useless. Understanding how limbs evolved over time enables us to analyze their importance and the evolution of their functionality. In addition, the methods that Coates and Stewart used in their experiment could be used by other scientists to study other structures. Lastly, the fact that something that has been so widely accepted was successfully challenged could influence other scientists to challenge other claims that are also currently common knowledge.

            The article does a good job of explaining how Coates and Stewart studied the evolutionary origins of adipose fins in a way that the average person can understand. Also, the article explains the importance and significance of the research and potential conclusions. For example, the author wrote, "these results challenge what was generally thought for how new fins and limbs evolve, and shed new light on ways to explore the full range of vertebrate limb and fin diversity.” Likewise, I like how the author included several quotes from the scientists, Michael Coates, PhD, chair of the Committee on Evolutionary Biology at the University of Chicago, and Thomas Stewart, graduate student in organismal biology and anatomy at the University of Chicago, who performed the study. However, there are some areas that the author of the article could have improved on. For example, the author does make some assertive statements without explaining why. He states that, “It’s exciting because it opens up new questions.” However he does not explain how this new development may assist scientists in the future?  It leaves the reader hanging about how this valuable information could help us in the future. Also, the author includes very little specific quantitative data. How many times did the adipose fins originate in catfish and other groups of ray-finned fish? What was this data compared to?  Likewise, the author wrote that the scientists used a new “technique known as ancestral-state reconstruction” to study the evolutionary origins of this fin. However, the author never completely explains this technique. For the sake of clarity, the author should have given a detailed explanation of this technique. Overall, however, I really enjoyed reading the article and learned so much about this new discovery.

Citation: University of Chicago Medical Center. "Convergent evolution: New fins evolve repeatedly in teleost fishes." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 5 March 2014. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140305084406.htm>.

Link: http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/03/140305084406.htm

Protein That Culls Damaged Eggs Identified, Infertility Reversed

Ramanujan, Krishna. "Protein That Culls Damaged Eggs Identified, Infertility Reversed."Cornell Chronicle. Cornell University, 11 Mar. 2014. Web. 11 Mar. 2014. <http://www.news.cornell.edu/stories/2014/01/protein-discovery-may-lead-infertility-treatment>.

            The article “Protein that culls damaged eggs identified, infertility reversed” by Krishna Ramanujan, is about how a new protein was discovered by Cornell University researchers that can help post-chemotherapy patients be fertile again. The protein, kinase 2, tags damaged eggs in the ovaries with damaged DNA and destroys them during meiosis. By taking away the protein in radioactively infertile mice, the body is given more time to try and fix these damaged eggs. The paper’s senior author, John Schimenti, says “There are genes responsible for killing defective oocytes, but we didn’t know what they were. We wanted to identify this genetic quality-control mechanism.”

            The identification of this protein helps to allow chemotherapy patients to have children again. Researchers are now attempting to find ways to inhibit this protein by using known drugs. Although is has not been tested in humans, the inhibition of this protein stops cancer from preventing basic parts of life in its survivors. The identification of this protein can also possibly begin research on how the body identifies damaged cells and how it destroys them. This has the possibility to be used in cancer treatment in the future.

            Although the article is interesting and informative, the writer could have included more about the research process and how exactly researchers identified the protein. It would have been interesting to see how the researchers were able to look for this exact protein and what procedures they used. Despite this drawback, the article is still a very good read.  

"Study Gives Hope of Altering Genes to Repel H.I.V."

Grady, Denise. "Study Gives Hope of Altering Genes to Repel H.I.V." The New York Times. The New York Times, 05 Mar. 2014. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/health/study-gives-hope-of-altering-genes-to-repel-hiv.html?ref=science

       I read the article, “Study Gives Hope of Altering Genes to Repel H.I.V.” written by Denise Grady. In the article, she discusses how the possibility of altering genes to resists the virus that cause AIDS which was previously though to be impossible, is now possible as shown by recent studies. The research was done by taking 12 people infected with H.I.V. and scientists used the technique of  “gene editing” to get rid of a protein on the patients’ immune cells that the virus must latch onto to invade the cells. The “cells were removed from the patients, treated and then dripped back into their bloodstreams through an intravenous line.” Scientists believe that if enough cells are engineered to resists the AIDS virus then this disease could be cured. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases said that “It’s exciting, interesting, elegant science. But a lot of ‘ifs’ need to be addressed before you can say ‘Wow, this could really work.” Dr. Fauci also discusses if this is the most effective form of treatment because the “gene editing” is a very complex treatment, whereas the anti-viral pills are fairly simple. The study obtained it basis from a discovery in 1990. The discovery found that a small percentage of people are resistant to H.I.V. thanks to a lucky mutation that causes their immune cells to lack CCR5, a protein that gives the virus a foothold. In people with one copy of the mutated gene, the infection progresses more slowly than in those who have normal CCR5. People who have inherited two copies of the mutated gene, one from each parent, are highly resistant to H.I.V. and may never become infected despite repeated exposure.

            For the people that are affected by H.I.V. this research could be the different between life and death. About 1.6 million people die a year from H.I.V./ AIDS. This option may be an improvement from the anti-viral medications because they have bad side effects. The research on gene editing, while it is still in the primary stages, is something that should be considered as a long-term solution for this virus.

            This article was very well written and I enjoyed reading it. The author used specific information about the studies and how scientists are trying to find a cure for H.I.V. She also included specific quotes, which enriched the article. I am interested to see what the results of this research will be. Overall, the article taught me that the process of “gene cutting” can be used to change the genes in cells and then put them back in the body. Maybe this can be used to cure other disease in the future if it is successful.

I read the New York Times article “A Revolutionary Surgery, Now as Typical as a Sinker,” written by Mike Tierney. In this article, the author talks about how widespread “Tommy John” surgery has become. He says that it, “…now extends to pitchers at multiple levels of the game, as well as tennis players and javelin throwers, from athletes as young as 14 to those nearing retirement.” The surgery grafts a tendon from the forearm into the elbow to act as a ligament. More and more people are getting this surgery, including young athletes. While it has most definitely been beneficial for athletes, there are questions about whether or not people should get it if their ligament hasn’t been torn. Athletes seem to think that it makes their elbows stronger, but that could also be attributed to that fact that they are doing more exercises and getting physical therapy. In recent years the surgery has been advanced to involve a different way of grafting and a less invasive procedure.

            There is no doubt that the operation is effective, but should this many people be getting it? The author said, “…baseball patients were amazed to learn that the condition was not caused by an improper pitching style. ‘Really, really good technique increases it the most,’ he said, adding that as players got bigger and stronger, the need for surgery would only increase.” What does this say about our society? We are driving people, even kids, to compete in sports that are rapidly breaking down their bodies and destroying their elbows. It is only through the discoveries of modern medicine that these people can move their elbows without severe pain. There is so much pressure on athletes to be successful that they are ruining their bodies. The question should not be “What can we do to cut down the recovery time of the procedure?” but “What can we do to stop the harm done on our bodies in sports?”

            I thought that the author did a good job writing a readable article, but I think that he touched on too many topics and didn’t go in depth enough on any of them. I would like to know more details about what the surgery involves, and what it is about the sports these athletes play that causes the injuries. It would have been a better article if the author had talked more about the controversy of the operation, because I believe that there is more to it than what he mentioned.

Tierney, Mike. "A Revolutionary Surgery, Now as Typical as a Sinker." The New York       Times. The New York Times, 07 Mar. 2014. Web. 09 Mar. 2014.     <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/08/sports/baseball/how-tommy-john-surgery-   has-evolved-since-frank-jobe.html?ref=science&_r=0>.

   I read Early Treatment is Found to Treat HIV in a 2^nd Baby, by Donald G. McNeil Jr. This article was about how the second baby was successfully treated for HIV by injecting antiviral medication for the first 48 hours of life. This was similar to the first “Mississippi Baby” who was said to go from positive to negative testing. The long Island baby, the second HIV cured child, is allowing for a larger clinical study of 60 babies. If successful, this could mean that all 250,000 babies born with HIV could be cured right away. However, it is an integral part of the trial that these babies are still HIV free by the age of two, and eventually through childhood, before scientists can even consider spreading this treatment throughout the world. A University of California, San Francisco scientist agrees that this second baby seems to have been cured, which can potentially lead to a changed future.

            This article is really important because it gives us a sense that we are nearing the day HIV becomes a curable disease. Although this article states that this is only the second baby to have been cured, we have a sense of hope that research will allow for first more babies to be born cured of HIV and eventually adults can be cured. Scientific research has come far since HIV/AIDS were discovered. Now there are preventable measures one can take, as long as medication to prevent the spread of HIV into the AIDS virus. This is a very important article for the fascinating world of science.

            I thought the author wrote this article very well. It was difficult at first to understand this cure, however, I think I did grasp a majority. For a person who is not in the field to understand that much, it is because of a well-spoken author. I thought the author could have improved his use of scientific terminology. Although he did explain some, there was clearly a lack of explanation elsewhere. I found that there were a few things I had to Google in order to me to fully understand what he was saying.

Mcneil, Donald G. "Early Treatment Is Found to Clear H.I.V. in a 2nd Baby." The New York Times. The New York Times, 05 Mar. 2014. Web. 06 Mar. 2014. <http://www.nytimes.com/2014/03/06/health/second-success-raises-hope-for-a-way-to-rid-babies-of-hiv.html?ref=science&_r=0>.