A New Debate Over Pricing the Risks of Climate Change

Tabuchi, Hiroko, and Clifford Krauss. “A New Debate Over Pricing the Risks of Climate             Change.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 26 Sept. 2016.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/27/business/energy-environment/a-new-debate-over-pricing-the-risks-of-climate-change.html

            Companies with major environmental impacts, including Exxon, have recently contested that the economics of climate change are unpredictable and they should therefore not be forced to come up with exact figures regarding their impact. Republicans in Congress are attempting to pass legislation to allow companies to not disclose exact figures. Representative Bill Posey contended that the original bill forcing companies to disclose these figures was passed with deceitful intentions: the bill was passed under the guise of protecting investors, when in reality the bill was passed to shame companies for their environmental impact – according to Posey. Posey further argued that the bill leads to a waste of resources for companies, shareholders, and the S.E.C., and therefore impedes potential economic growth. Posey has, however, accepted donations from oil and gas companies, entirely undermining his credibility on the subject. Advocates of fuller corporate disclosure argued that climate change has a significant economic impact, therefore justifying the bill: a peer-reviewed study in the journal Nature revealed that a 2ºC increase in temperature could wipe out $1.7 trillion of financial assets. Therefore, proponents of the bill argue that the S.E.C must consider climate change. The recent discussion on the issue has been prompted by the ratification of the Paris climate agreement, which will lead to an increase in both the magnitude and frequency of measures taken to prevent climate change. A shift in the global energy landscape has brought about concerns about the viability of future coal, oil, and gas projects: scientists estimate that three-quarter’s of the world’s coal, oil, and gas reserves must remain untouched in order to keep carbon emissions within the confines set by the recent Paris accord. These companies’ reluctance to reveal economic impact stems from concerns regarding the volatility and damage that would ensue. Having such precise figures available to shareholders at any given instant would certainly influence their behavior in buying and selling shares, which would obviously damage any company. This is compounded by the genuine difficulty in predicting future asset valuations: it is impossible to predict future regulations and technologies. As it stands, the US oil industry is under significant financial pressure, and any additional regulation would only add to this pressure. This argument is flawed, as Exxon Mobil has recently stress-tested its major assets and expects that future cash flow would sustain regardless of situation. As all industries have some impact on climate change – whether direct or indirect – efforts are being made to set standards for climate change risks across all industries. While some companies have led the way with full disclosure, others have been far more reluctant. It is certainly clear that there are economic benefits and drawbacks to increased disclosure.

            The topics discussed in this article are especially important. Climate change stands as one of the greatest threats facing biodiversity and the world as a whole, and efforts must be made to prevent further damage. Policy improving conditions must be very delicately balanced, however, as all regulation has an economic impact, and economic health is wholly essential to the health of society. The costs and benefits must be weighed of forcing companies to disclose their impact on climate. Forcing one particular industry to disclose figures puts them at a disadvantage against all other industries. Forcing all companies to disclose exact economic figures could potentially lead to a complete lack of faith in the market and manufacture an economic downturn. At the same time, climate change must be stopped by any reasonable means possible. In many cases, an impasse consequently results when attempting to configure both environmental and economic policy. Businessmen, ordinary citizens, and policymakers alike must have a firmer grasp on the relationship between the environment and the economy (and thus the necessity of each policy discussed) in order to avoid these impasses and maintain progress on both fronts. Clearly, the subject of the article is incredibly important.

            Though the article made many strong points, many of its finer points were either poorly written or addressed. The authors fails to address any data when discussing regulatory history and the history of the policy discussed in the article – such an addition surely would have provided far more insight on the topic discussed. Additionally, the article was poorly structured, and the authors seemed to jump between topics with a lack of structure. The authors could have made a far stronger point had their information been more structured and concise. Otherwise, the article was very well written and addressed important points.

Scientists Inspect the Great Barrier Reef, From 28,000 Feet Above

Innis, Michelle. "Scientists Inspect the Great Barrier Reef, From 28,000 Feet Above." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 26 Sept. 2016. Web. 28 Sept. 2016. http://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/09/27/science/great-barrier-reef-nasa-australia.html?_r=0

Scientists are putting together a collection of data from the Great Barrier Reef using aerial images from 28,000 feet above the reef. Using a NASA gulfstream jet, a sensor called a Prism (Portable Remote Imaging Spectrometer) picks up light that bounces off of the various objects in the reef. Each object has it’s own wavelength, and the Prism converts these wavelengths into bands of color, using the color to make a high resolution image of the reef. Prior to this technology, people could only study reefs through small scale scuba diving trips and studies— however, these cannot be extrapolated to the entire reef due to the fact that the Great Barrier Reef is the size of Germany. Recently, there has been a problem with coral bleaching, which occurs when the water warms and the coral evict algae, which normally has a symbiotic relationship with the coral because the algae are photosynthetic and make food for the coral. Scientists hope to find out how reefs adapt to man-made and natural stresses, how they calcify, and how much photosynthesis takes place on reefs and where.

Reefs are important to study and understand because they provide food and shelter to a quarter of the ocean’s species, protect coastal communities from hazardous weather, and provide revenue from fishing and tourism. It is imperative for agencies like NASA to fund reef studies because many of the countries that border these reefs are unable to pay for equipment to monitor and preserve the reefs. The data collected from this study will be plotted against the effects of wave stress, rising sea temperatures, and pollution and overfishing in order to give people a definitive explanation of how and why human activities are causing coral bleaching, and hopefully suggest a way that people can stop the destruction of biodiversity in the reefs.

Overall, I found this article to be informative and compelling. The author explained the study well and gave the reader an understanding of why it is so important to study reefs. However, the article jumped around and was hard to follow. The author switched back and forth between reef science and the study being discussed, which was confusing. The author also did not give the dates that this study is taking place. Finally, I would have liked for the author to explain exactly why coral bleaching damages biodiversity in the reefs.

For Evelyn

Evelyn Kluemper

September 29, 2016

AP Biology C Odd

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/health/birth-of-3-parent-baby-a-success-for-controversial-procedure.html?action=click&contentCollection=science&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

Kolata, Gina. "Birth of Baby With Three Parents' DNA Marks Success for Banned Technique." The New York Times. N.p., 27 Sept. 2016. Web.

The first baby to use genetic material from a donor in addition to that of its parents was born.  This controversial method was used to avoid mitochondrial disease that is genetic on the mother’s side.  The couple had two naturally produced children in the past who had both died of Leigh’s syndrome, a mitochondrial disease where babies lose their ability to move and breathe.  The DNA of the mother was placed in the egg of a healthy egg donor and then fertilized.  The donor’s DNA was removed from her egg cell so her genetic material would not be passed on to the child.

This new process, although advantageous, is controversial and to some, unethical.  Some parents may feel ashamed that they must depend on a donor for a child.  Others are concerned that the child will receive genes from the donor.  However, mitochondria does not carry genes, which is in the nuclear DNA.  Donors may be of a different race than that of the parents of the child, but the baby will not have traces of the donor’s features.

This article, although short, was very interesting.  Readers sympathize and follow the story of a Jordanian couple who fought to have a child without a fatal mitochondrial disease, following the death of two previous unhealthy children.  More quotes from experts may have been helpful to understand the article better and include in my review.

Tasmanian Devils Evolve Resistance to Contagious Cancer

Saey, Tina Hesman. "Tasmanian Devils Evolve Resistance to Contagious Cancer." Science News. Society for Science & the Public, 30 Aug. 2016. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.

In 1996, in the northeastern top of Tasmania an epidemic began. This epidemic is a contagious facial cancer that is decimating present day Tasmanian devil populations. Particularly concerning is that in some places up to 95% of the devils have succumbed to the facial tumors, spread when the devils bite each other. In total the virulent tumor has wiped out nearly 80 percent of the global Tasmanian Devil population. The possibility and reality of decreasing Tasmanian devil numbers is a huge problem. Devils are important to the ecosystem of Tasmania and serve as secondary consumers. The loss of all devils would alter the food chain and result in serious imbalances that may lead to even more imbalance. However, this article asserts that there may still be hope for the survival of these important marsupials, in the form of genetic variation. It has been hypothesized, through numerous studies, that a variation in the devil’s single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) may be the answer to the problem of cancer. Researchers have stated that the “Two regions of the genome in all three of the devil populations contained SNPs that fit the profile. Because the two regions changed in all three populations, the change probably didn’t happen by chance.” These resistant variants do not appear to be new mutations due to the fact that there has not been enough time for a helpful mutation to arise and spread across the island. Most likely the variants were already present in the local population, albeit a minority previously, and when the disease arose the genetic individuals rose to prevalence through the process of natural selection. However, researchers still aren’t exactly sure which genes boost survival of the devils or how they work. In fact, researches such as evolutionary geneticist Andrew Storfer have even hypothesized that, “The variants don’t necessarily make devils completely immune to the tumor; the results would look the same if the variants just allow infected individuals to live long enough to pass along their genes, says Storfer. More undiscovered genes may also contribute to the devils’ survival,

This article is extremely important to people today, even here in New York. Although Australia is located across the globe, just like everywhere else, it has an ecosystem which is important to the Earth’s biome as a whole. As Tasmanian Devils keep dying at an alarming rate,  a great number of worries that have arisen. The pressure is on to try and find a cure/end of the spreading of such a terrible and debilitating disease. If Tasmanian Devils are decimated completely such a disappearance could have immense effects on the ecosystem. As secondary consumers disappear,  prey populations may rapidly expand, and producers decrease. There will be an extreme imbalance, which is not beneficial on a local or global scale. Besides the environmental impact of species loss, a greater importance is that scientists studying the marsupials may be able to learn how the creatures have essentially become immune to cancer. By observing more closely the genetic variation of facial cancer survivors vs facial cancer non-survivors, perhaps scientists will be able to derive a certain gene or series of genes that essentially combats cancer. A genetic disease, cancer is the one of the top causes of death across the globe. Therefore, these Tasmanian Devils could hold the key to a larger epidemic throughout the world. With the rapidly advancing field of genetic modification, perhaps one day our genes could be altered in order to prevent cancer, and it would all be because of these little marsupials.

The author of this article, Tina Hesman Saey, overall wrote a wonderful piece. I particularly enjoyed her use of quotes as well as her evident in-depth research about the topic. In addition, Saey used a great infographic/map that displayed how the contagious tumor has spread throughout Tasmanian Devil populations. This infographic/map enhanced the numbers of the article with a more qualitative approach. However, there are a few areas upon which Saey could improve. Primarily, I felt there should be more quantitative data. Now, perhaps there was not a lot of data available, but regardless there was still some as the original study had been published in a well-regarded scientific journal. Saey should perhaps view the study more intently and add data as relevant. Additionally, I felt Saey could have added more about the ecosystem impact that losing Tasmanian Devils would cause. This is an important issue and a lack of analysis on environmental effects is a good opportunity missed. By simply researching how secondary consumers affect ecosystem it would have been easy to include at least a paragraph discussing this important side of the research.

Alexander Plaza

9/28/16

AP Biology

Mr.Ippolito D Block Even

Chang, Kenneth. "Elon Musk’s Plan: Get Humans to Mars, and Beyond." The New York Times. The New York Times, 27 Sept. 2016. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/28/science/elon-musk-spacex-mars-exploration.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

The article I reviewed is about the recent announcement made by Elon Musk, billionaire founder of SpaceX rocket company, at the International Astronautical Congress.According to the article, Elon Musk provided engineering details, timelines, and a video representation of a spaceflight to Mars. Musk estimates that the rocket will cost $10 billion to develop and he generously estimates that the passengers will be able to fly to Mars by 2024. Musk’s goal is to create a self-sustaining civilization on Mar and his ultimate goal is to make the human species a multiplanetary species in order to keep the human race alive even after cataclysmic events on earth, such as an asteroid strike. A former NASA official, Scott Pace, commented on Musk’s plans saying that it was “Possible, but not probable” to reach Mars. Pace highlighted that Musk did not explain why governments, corporations or other organizations would fund the effort.” The article goes on to talk about the competition Musk is receiving from the rocket company Blue Origin owned by another billionaire Jeff Bezos. Bezos has his own vision of having millions of people live in space. The article also talks about NASA’s own ambitions with Mars explaining that NASA has their own plans for crewed Mars mission around 2030.

Musk is providing very exciting news. It is possible that within our generation, a human will be able to travel to and step on the face of Mars. The development of the rocket provides the possibility of greater space exploration putting the other planets and moons in our solar system within our reach. The most important factor is the possibility of  making the human species a multiplanetary species. The Earth's resources will not be able to support us forever. Making the human species a multiplanetary species will definitely aid in increasing the longevity of the human race as it will be able to withstand cataclysmic events on Earth. Although this development will not directly affect our lives today, it will most likely affect future generations.

Overall I thought this article was very informative and well-rounded. The article includes accurate information on the goals of Elon Musk as well as explores different points of view by including information on what other companies are doing such as Blue Origin and NASA. However, the article does not examine the space flight in detail. The article does provide a video of what the stages of the space flight might look like but it would be helpful to describe a summary of the details and timeline within the flight to Mars within the article. This would shift the focus from the business aspect of the Mars flight to the scientific aspect. Nonetheless, this article does a fine job at informing me on the future of spaceflight to Mars.

In the Wild, Goldfish Turn From Pet to Pest

Yin, Steph. "In the Wild, Goldfish Turn From Pet to Pest." New York Times. N.p., 22 Sept. 2016. Web. 26 Sept. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/09/23/science/discarded-goldfish-invasive-species.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront>.

The article I choose to review was about how goldfish are becoming an invasive species around the world but especially in Australia. The theory of how they became an invasive species in Australia, given by the researchers at Murdoch University, is that two decades ago some people who were tired of their goldfish threw them away in a creek in southwestern Australia. Since the goldfish were not native to Australia and were domesticated pests, they did not have any predators. In addition, females can produce up to 40,000 eggs each year, which is a much higher number than most freshwater fish. They also have the capability to interbreed with other species of wild carps and since they have no natural predators, a large portion of goldfish offspring survive to reproductive age, which as said in the article, “continues a cycle of rampant overpopulation”. Thus, with all of these factors in place, quite rapidly a feral goldfish invasion started in the creeks and rivers of Australia with the highest density being in the Vasse River. Furthermore, goldfish that have been put back into the wild are not at all like the cute little fish that are seen in aquariums. First of all, they have quite a different size, with some fish growing as long as 16 inches and weighing up to four pounds. They also lose their bright orange coloring, reverting back to their original natural yellow and brown colors. Their effect on ecology has become a nightmare. Since goldfish swim at the bottom of the rivers, they uproot vegetation, but more importantly disturb the sediment, releasing nutrient which in turn triggers excess algal growth. Moreover, they eat a large of food, from algae to small invertebrates and fish eggs. Most importantly, they can transmit exotic diseases and parasites. And to top off their notoriousness, once goldfish are established in a river, eradicating them is a “notoriously difficult undertaking” and biologists are having a hard time trying to come up with solutions to this growing problem.  

This information about how dangerous just throwing away goldfish in streams and rivers is very important to the whole world. The Earth is being ripped apart by humans and their actions and this problem is just another example of how if we are not careful about our actions, the consequences might become much more disastrous then expected, and might not be reversible as seen with the invasion of the goldfish. I have never had a fish but I remember that in every children’s book I used to read, the goldfish would be flushed down the toilet. This article shows just how disastrous this action can be and how it can lead to horrible consequences for the environment. I never knew an action that simple could have such a horrible outcome and this article showed me that clearly it can be.

Overall this article was well written and interesting. The author had a thorough explanation of the consequences of the goldfish invasion which was a great asset to the article and made it on the whole very informative. Steph Yin also put in many quotes from different biology professors, expanding from those at Murdoch University, giving the readers many different opinions about this problem, so that they could formulate their own opinion about the topic. However, one weakness of the article is that it focused too much on Australia. Although it did state some other places where the goldfish had also become an invasive specie, it did not elaborate on them. To make this article better I would divide the article better between the different places of the invasion, and would not just talk about Australia. On the whole, this article taught me about something I had no idea about and helped me gain a new perspective on the damage humans can cause to the Earth and its environment.

AP Biology George Daskalakis

Current Event 2 9/20/16

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/22/science/robots-that-can-match-human-dexterity.html?ref=science&_r=0

Markoff, John. "New Approach Trains Robots to Match Human Dexterity and Speed." The New

York Times. The New York Times, 21 May 2015. Web. 18 Sept 2016.

In the article, “New Approach Trains Robots to Match Human Dexterity and Speed” by John Markoff touches on the steps that have been taken to make robots perform more and more humanly activities. Putting it in simpler terms, robots are doing things like picking up objects as well as putting together pieces of a large Lego set. This study took place at the University of California Berkeley and these robots took years to create and is installed with certain types of specific software that allows the robot to adapt to these human activities without much training at all. This software is so special that the robot can do so many specific human tasks, which really makes this a major step in modern technology.

This article affects humanity in two ways. One way it affects humanity is by what advancement it brings to the robotics field. Robots have been taking years to develop, and knowone really knows the capabilities of a robot, or if it can recreate human activities. This article and study prove that there was a big step forward in robotics and even bigger steps to come. The second way this affects humanity because like a typical Sci-Fi movie would go, robots might take over the world. It seems crazy at first, but seeing what these robots are capable of, it goes to show that before you know it, you might see a robot in a house or walking down the street, pretty scary!

Lastly, there are a few things I would point out in this article that could have been better. One thing I would like to point out was that there are obviously a lot more universities with other advancements in robotics, but they really only focused in on the University of California Berkeley study, rather than touching on any other studies. Another thing I would have liked in this article if some tougher words were elaborated more, because some of those technology pieces are a mouthful.

New Approach Trains Robots to Match Human Dexterity and Speed

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/22/science/robots-that-can-match-human-dexterity.html?ref=science&_r=0

Markoff, John. "New Approach Trains Robots to Match Human Dexterity and Speed." The New

York Times. The New York Times, 21 May 2015. Web. 18 Sept 2016.

In the article, “New Approach Trains Robots to Match Human Dexterity and Speed” by John Markoff touches on the steps that have been taken to make robots perform more and more humanly activities. Putting it in simpler terms, robots are doing things like picking up objects as well as putting together pieces of a large Lego set. This study took place at the University of California Berkeley and these robots took years to create and is installed with certain types of specific software that allows the robot to adapt to these human activities without much training at all. This software is so special that the robot can do so many specific human tasks, which really makes this a major step in modern technology.

This article affects humanity in two ways. One way it affects humanity is by what advancement it brings to the robotics field. Robots have been taking years to develop, and no one really knows the capabilities of a robot, or if it can recreate human activities. This article and study prove that there was a big step forward in robotics and even bigger steps to come. The second way this affects humanity because like a typical Sci-Fi movie would go, robots might take over the world. It seems crazy at first, but seeing what these robots are capable of, it goes to show that before you know it, you might see a robot in a house or walking down the street, pretty scary!

Lastly, there are a few things I would point out in this article that could have been better. One thing I would like to point out was that there are obviously a lot more universities with other advancements in robotics, but they really only focused in on the University of California Berkeley study, rather than touching on any other studies. Another thing I would have liked in this article if some tougher words were elaborated more, because some of those technology pieces are a mouthful.    

Posted for G. Daskalakis

Sophia Dibbini September 20, 2016

Current Event #2

UF Health. "New mosquito-borne disease detected in Haiti." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 September 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/09/160915164905.htm>.

I read the article “New Mosquito-borne disease detected in Haiti,” from Science Daily. The article announced that University of Florida researchers have identified a patient in Haiti with a serious mosquito-borne illness that has never before been reported in the Caribbean nation. This virus, known as the “Mayaro virus,” is very closely related to the chikungunya virus, which is a virus transmitted to people by mosquitoes. Whether this case signals the start of a new outbreak in the Caribbean region is still unknown. While much attention has been focused on the Zika virus, this outbreak raises much concern and may be starting to circulate throughout the Caribbean. Researchers hope to not see the same massive epidemics for this virus that they saw with the chikungunya, dengue and now Zika. However, these findings underscore the fact that there are additional viruses 'waiting in the wings' that may pose threats in the future, and for which we need to be watching. The article then discusses how this discovery was found, stating that the outbreak was identified from a blood sample taken in January 2015 from an eight-year-old boy in rural Haiti. The patient had a fever and abdominal pain but no rash or conjunctivitis. Because faculty from the UF Emerging Pathogens Institute were in the region during and after the 2014 chikungunya outbreak, plasma samples were obtained from febrile children and analyzed for the presence of chikungunya virus RNA using a genetic identification technique known as reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction. The plasma samples, which were examined by UF's Maha Elbadry, Phd., in Gressier, Haiti, were then sent to EPI for additional virology and molecular analyses, focusing on the detection of chikungunya, dengue and Zika viruses. Dengue virus was detected in the patient, in addition to a "new" virus that was subsequently identified as Mayaro. John Lednicky, Ph.D., an associate professor in the environmental and global health department at the UF College of Public Health and Health Professions and the study's lead author, commented on this discovery by saying “The virus we detected is genetically different from the ones that have been described recently in Brazil, and we don't know yet if it is unique to Haiti or if it is a recombinant strain from different types of Mayaro viruses.” The symptoms of Mayaro fever are similar to those of chikungunya fever: fever, joint pain, muscle pain and rashes. Abdominal pain is also a feature of Mayaro fever, however, and joint pain can last longer. Even though this discovery is not seemed as major as Zika and other worldly viruses, finding a source and solution to this outbreak is necessary to preventing the spread and potential deaths.

The outbreak of widespread disease, such as Zika and Ebola, have resulted in numbers of death all around the world. Although new and outbreaking diseases have not caused major problems yet, the ignorance to this disease can result in severe disasters. This problem can worsen quickly because of the ability of mosquitoes to easily travel throughout places and its high numbers all throughout the world. The Mayaro virus can affect our society in a much negative way because we do not know of its effects yet. Instead of putting this discovery off and waiting for an event to happen, we should look into this virus immediately and find ways to prevent it and ways to treat it. Overall, even though this virus is not as severe as others, finding a source and solution is crucial to preventing the spread and infection in the Caribbean, and possibly the world.

This article provided a lot detail about this discovery. First, it provided a lot of information about how the virus was found in the first place and what researchers did to test the samples. The connection to this virus to other viruses stated in this article shows and emphasizes how important this outbreak is. Also, the article thoroughly stated the Mayaro’s connection to other dangerous viruses, showing the connection with Zika and its quick ability to spread and worsen. Although this article provided good information, it also had its weaknesses. For example, the author of the article could have explained the impact this virus could have on the Caribbean more and how this virus could possibly affect not only the people of Haiti, but everyone in the world. Also, the author could have stated what researchers are doing now to further test and examine this virus and what they are doing to prevent the spread of it. Providing more information on the researchers’ objectives on treating this outbreak would have strengthened the article much more. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this article and I look forward to staying updated about the status of this virus.

"Nanotech Can Help Distinguish Lung Cancer Cells from Health Cells

Margaux Frohlich

Current Events

Sept. 19th 2016

@KnowridgeSci. "Nanotech Can Help Distinguish Lung Cancer Cells from Healthy Cells |

Knowridge Science Report." Knowridge Science Report. N.p., 18 Sept. 2016. Web. 19

Sept. 2016.

https://knowridge.com/2016/09/nanotech-can-help-distinguish-lung-cancer-cells-from-healthy-cells/

Researchers from the University of Colorado Boulder created a new technique to see the difference between lung cancer cells and healthy cells by nanoparticles. A nanoparticle is a small object that behaves as a whole unit in terms of its transport and properties (news-medical.net). This new synthetic polymer can deliver a drug into the lung cancer cells while leaving the healthy lung cells without any damage. This drug is RNA based and can stop the growth of cancer cells by getting rid of the proteins in those cells. In this new technique, cancer cells are selected based on their physical and chemical features. In order to start this process, researchers had a difficult time. They tested many materials before finding the cells that could respond to a synthetic polymer differently. They tested this originally on mice which showed that the cancer selective nanoparticles could stay in the cancer cells for more than 1 week while the nonselective nanoparticles could only exist for a few hours. It was stated that future research will apply to this new technique to clinical fields to improve its effectiveness and lessen the side effect of cancer therapies.

This new technique could change the world of lung cancer. It could even help change the world of cancer overall and reduce the rate at which cancer grows. If this works the way that it is supposed to, inhibiting the growth of cancer in the lungs, it could help save some lives. The only worrisome side of this, are the possible side effects. This research and experiment could possibly lead to other successful experiments on cancer. Since this could stop the growth of a lung cancer cell, what if it could lead to diminishing the growth of different types of cancer not only lung cancer? Breast cancer, being one of the most popular forms of cancer in humans along side lung cancer could possibly be benefitted by this. Another known cancer is that is popular is prostate cancer.  This new development could decrease the growth of those cancer cells. If this research were to be elaborated a little more, maybe this could be the cure to cancer…Not to only slow down the growth of the cells but to make them smaller until they are less risky and/or go away . This could be the cure to cancer that we have been waiting for. Of course there is always the risk of the cancer coming back but that could be another step towards the research. Once the research is complete, there is the possibility of it leading to further improve this new technique into helping cure cancer once adn for all.

Overall, this article was very interesting and easy to read. Although this article was easy to read and quite short, I wish that there had been more detail on the research that had been done. In the article it said that  the experiment was mostly based on mice but gave no further explanation. It would have been interesting if the author had had explained the process. Another improvement that the author of this article could have made was including quotes from the researchers and their names. Since this is from a university I would understand if they wouldn't want to give their names out but possible quotes from those researchers could have been really interesting to the reader. Due to this articles shortness, the quotes could have made it a bit longer as well as a further explanation on the mice testing. The article could have also gone a bit more in depth on the topic of the side effects of this new technique. The author mentions it once but never continues. A positive side of this article is that the vocabulary used is very clear to understand especially for a high school student making the article less overwhelming to read. It  allows the reader to easily grasp the concept and main idea of the article.

Allison Barker

September 13th, 2016

News, BBC. "Plastic Microbeads to Be Banned by 2017, UK Government Pledges." BBC News. BBC, 3 Sept. 2016. Web. 9 Sept. 2016. <http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-37263087>.

The article that I chose was about microbeads, or small plastic particles that are put into everyday objects such as toothpaste, body scrubs, and face wash that are now widely thought to hurt the environment, and the increasing efforts at public and legislative levels to ban them from production. Recently, the United Kingdom government announced plans to ban microbeads by 2017, and a consultation on the logistics of such a ban will begin later this year. Microbeads are extremely popular in many cosmetics, although a number of companies have volunteered to phase out their microbead use by 2020. Although these beads serve a cosmetic purpose, the toxic plastic particles often are washed down the drain and into the ocean, where unwilling animals can involuntarily consume them. In fact, 100,000 plastic particles can enter the ocean due to a single shower. Because these particles are so small, they are more likely to be ingested by animals and move up the food chain than larger pieces of plastic, and it has been said that a plate of six oysters can contain up to 50 particles of plastic. It is widely believed that the cost of these beads outweighs the benefit, especially due to the fact that harmless alternatives to microbeads can be used to achieve the same effect. Although the exact ecological cost of widespread microbead use is unknown, the environment committee believes that more research is required because more than 280 marine species are known to ingest microplastics. Due to these findings, the US recently became the first country to announce an impending microbead ban in cosmetics, which pressured other countries into taking action. Currently, the European Commission is developing proposals to ban microbeads in the EU.

The ban of microbeads has a large impact on the lives of many Americans, including me. Microbeads are in almost every product that one can think of, such as shampoo, toothpaste, and body wash. In fact, the face wash that I use contains microbeads. I had no idea that they were so bad for the environment, and I think that it is important that the public is educated about this important issue because many people may be just as unaware about the harmful effects of their actions as I was. Further, this article ties into our study of biological magnification, as the toxic chemicals in the plastic ingested by the animals on the lower trophic levels would go on to effect the entire food chain. The recent bans on microbeads will have a large impact on the use of cosmetics in many countries and will hopefully set a precedent for putting the health of the environment over profit.

I thought that this article was well-written and informative. The author concisely and clearly described the results of many studies that showed the damage that microbeads did to the environment and gave many examples of how easily these particles are ingested. However, the author was unclear in the last few paragraphs about who Theresa May was. The author described how important she is, and included quotes of others about her, but never explained who she is or what she did. If I were to change this article, I would make the last section more clear. Overall, though, this article informed me on a topic that I did not know very much at all about.