Hopkins Scientists Help Find Possible Link between Zika and Birth Defect

Cohn, Meredith. "Hopkins Scientists Help Find Possible Link between Zika and Birth Defect." Baltimoresun.com. The Baltimore Sun, 4 Mar. 2016. Web. 17 Mar. 2016. http://www.baltimoresun.com/health/bs-hs-zika-and-microcephaly-20160229-story.html

 Researchers have just made a major breakthrough in discovering a connection between the unfortunately popular Zika virus and a birth defect called microcephaly. Proving the link could “rule out other potential causes for the surge in babies” with the brain-shrinking fetal disorder. As Zika infections “spread rapidly throughout Latin America and the Caribbean,” more microcephalic babies are born in those areas. Suspicious scientists have compiled several pieces of evidence to corroborate their hypothesis. Two labs at Hopkins produced specialized stem cells that could grow into brain tissue (since the brain tissue of microcephalic babies show nerve cell death and damage)and sent them to other universities to be infected with Zika. Soon after, they found that a specific type of cell was most affected, called a cortical neural progenitor cell; 90% of them were infected and continued to make copies of the virus. These cells failed to divide normally, which “in a fetus would stall brain development--the hallmark of microcephaly.” They have also found that Zika can cause abnormalities in pregnant women; a study found that the fetuses of 12 out of 42 Zika-infected women were subject to “grave outcomes.”
 The connection between a specific virus to a specific disorder is so key to research in general; it’s almost like the virus did all the work for us because it affects certain genes consistently. We can learn more about the functions of cells and and parts of cells, progressing to piece the puzzle of how our biological systems work together. Also, learning about the susceptibility of cortical neural progenitor cells, which direct cortex development, can tell us more about the brain and help in drug production. If these cells are the most vulnerable, then a substance that will not affect these cells certainly should not affect others. Finally, the data will hopefully put an end to microcephaly by encouraging and facilitating a cure, like a vaccine.
The author clearly had a strong knowledge of scientific research. She thoroughly reasoned through every idea and delivered how the research was done very clearly. She kept the reader’s interest with her tone. There was also a lot of evidence for this connection from tons of different sources and organizations, so it was certainly a credible article. With that, however, the report was a bit scattered; the number of sources was a bit overwhelming and weakened the flow of the article. Yet, I would rather read an article with all of this information and to have it be more complex than to read an article lacking these important things.