Maggie McKelvy
11/7/16
AP Bio D Even
Zimmer, Carl. "Ebola Evolved Into Deadlier Enemy During the African Epidemic." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 3 Nov. 2016. Web. 7 Nov. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/11/04/science/ebola-evolution-african-epidemic.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=10&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0>.
In 2014, West Africa was struck with the most deadly ebola outbreak in history. The virus claimed over eleven thousand lives, and the ease of the virus’s spreading has been attributed to the area’s mobile population, poor public health systems, and hazardous burial practices. However, two new studies have shown that a genetic mutation may have played a role in the virus’s ability to spread to humans. One team analyzed 1,489 Ebola genomes and traced the virus’s evolution throughout the outbreak. They showed that a mutation, called GPA82V, arose just as the outbreak began to explode in April. According to the article, “The GPA82V mutation alters the gene that directs production of Ebola’s surface proteins, called glycoproteins. The tips of these proteins contact human host cells, opening a passageway by which the virus enters.” The researchers conducted studies on the mutated gene and found that it made the virus much more effective at attacking human cells, but did not improve the attack on bat, dog, or cat cells. This shows that the virus is adapting to its new primary host— humans (Ebola is originally from bats). Another study analyzed 1,610 Ebola genomes and arrived at the same conclusion regarding GPA82V as the first study. This study also found that people infected with the mutated Ebola were much more likely to die than those who were infected with the original disease. Both studies predict a high level of probability of another outbreak of Ebola in the future.
These studies are extremely relevant to society because of the public health crisis that mutated diseases pose to us. People were panicked over the Ebola crisis two years ago, and finding out that the virus is able to mutate and become more deadly will be very distressing to some. It is also tragic for the people of West Africa, who can expect to face another outbreak of the horrific disease in the near future. These discoveries also impact the development of a vaccine for Ebola, a project many researchers have embarked on to save thousands of lives in the region that is affected by the disease and to quell western panic over the recent Ebola outbreak. While it is obviously not a groundbreaking discovery that viruses can mutate, it is quite relevant that Ebola has begun to mutate in favor of infecting humans instead of animals.
Although this article was informative and well written, it would have been nice for the author to explain how a virus becomes mutated. I also would have liked the author to explain the implications of the GPA82V mutation, especially in terms of developing a vaccine for Ebola. Finally, the author could have used examples of other viruses mutating in the past to give the reader an idea of the commonalty of virus mutations and the implications of such a scenario.
Zimmer, Carl. "Ebola Evolved Into Deadlier Enemy During the African Epidemic." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 3 Nov. 2016. Web. 7 Nov. 2016.
ReplyDeleteMaggie did a great job on her review of “Ebola Evolved Into Deadlier Enemy During the African Epidemic” by Carl Zimmer. I particularly enjoyed Maggie’s overall structure of her review and the chronological steps she included. By giving some history about the Ebola outbreak in 2014 and then bringing up relevant facts and current scientific research the reader really clearly understood what events led to which. By making her review clear and concise the importance of the article and its implications shown through her review. An impressive job indeed as many reviews seem to say a great deal, but in reality say nothing of true importance. Additionally, Maggie did an excellent job of defining key terms. For example, Maggie defined the key term of GPA82V as the “mutation (that) alters the gene that directs production of Ebola’s surface proteins, called glycoproteins. The tips of these proteins contact human host cells, opening a passageway by which the virus enters.” And, carrying on with the theme of excellence the preceding quote came from a well-established research and provided a sense of authority to Maggie’s review. A third element in which Maggie flourished was in “relevance’ paragraph. By reflecting and adding insight on such a major outbreak that occurred just two years ago Maggie provides a intangible knowledge which is influential on her review. Maggie stressed the importance of her article and the current research on Ebola by saying “it is tragic for the people of West Africa, who can expect to face another outbreak of the horrific disease in the near future..discoveries also impact the development of a vaccine for Ebola.”
However, Maggie did have two areas of her review in which she could improve. Primarily, I would recommend that Maggie include more details and specifics about her given topic. For example, I felt that simply saying “One team analyzed...they showed that a mutation” was far too broad. By just saying “one team” I pondered if there were more than one groups of scientists working on the genetic variations that may cause Ebola to spread easily. Although not a major critique I think that being more specific would most definitely make Maggie’s already excellent report into a more comprehensive and informative piece. A second item on which Maggie could improve upon is her use of quotations. This is because Maggie used only a single quotation throughout her review: “The GPA82V mutation alters the gene that directs production of Ebola’s surface proteins, called glycoproteins. The tips of these proteins contact human host cells, opening a passageway by which the virus enters.” And, although this is a great example of Maggie definition the key term of GPA82V from a place of authority, I felt more quotations would have been necessary. This is because I feel that quotations add another layer and expertise to a review that can make it more than a simple summary. Quotations from leading researchers can add emotion and intrigue to the current investigations making for an even more fascinating review. Upon reading the original article there are various quotes from a virologist at the University of Massachusetts Medical School and author of one of the new studies as well as a computational biologists. Both these impressive individuals were directly involved in the research and by including their ideas about the research Maggie could have created an even better review.
Overall, Maggie did a brilliant job of creating a well-written piece that emphasizes the importance of the continuation of Ebola studies as well as recent findings in the research on it. The review and article is important especially as people begin to forget about the terrible disease even though it is still rampaging western Africa. I initially chose this article, as a matter of fact, because it was the first I had heard and to be brutally honest, had thought about the terrible disease. Ebola has been out of the news so long that when I saw Maggie’s review I immediately wanted to read it. Upon completion of reading Maggie’s review I know understand that no disease goes away, and even if we haven’t found a cure for it we should never stop trying.
ReplyDeleteSophia Dibbini November 16, 2016
ReplyDeleteZimmer, Carl. "Ebola Evolved Into Deadlier Enemy During the African Epidemic." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 3 Nov. 2016. Web. 7 Nov. 2016. .
I read the article and the review of “Ebola Evolved Into Deadlier Enemy During the African Epidemic,” by the New York Times and I really enjoyed it and learned many new things. First, I liked the author of the review included a detailed description and thoroughly explained the mutation, called GPA82V, and how it altered the gene that directs production of Ebola’s surface proteins. This explains why it has turned into a deadlier enemy. Also, I liked how the author included a study that was done to compare the Ebola genomes and GPA82V to find out that people infected with the mutated Ebola were much more likely to die than those who were infected with the original disease. Lastly, I liked how the review of the article ended with explaining how this could affect us and the world in a great capacity, it related this outbreak to people everywhere and that we should become more aware about it. I really enjoyed reading this article and there were many good aspects.
Even though this article had its positives, it also had its negatives. First, I did not like that the author and the author of the review did not talk about how this situation is doing today, because this outbreak occurred in 2014. Also, I did not like how the author nor the author of the review discussed how the virus was mutated, they just stated that it was and this was its effect. Even though this article had its negatives, I really enjoyed reading it.
I learned a lot from reading this article. First, I learned more about a really serious outbreak that became worse due to a mutation, called GPA82V. I learned about GPA82V and how dangerous it become. I feel this article really impacts and effects society because it opens our minds to the troubles people around the world and going through and how this can affect us. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this article and I look forward to learning more about this outbreak and mutation in the future.
ReplyDeleteZimmer, Carl. "Ebola Evolved Into Deadlier Enemy During the African Epidemic." The New York Times. The New York Times Company, 3 Nov. 2016. Web. 7 Nov. 2016. .
I read Maggie McKelvy’s review of the New York Times article, “Ebola Evolved Into Deadlier Enemy During the African Epidemic” by Carl Zimmer and thought that she did a very good job. I particularly liked her summary of the article and its main points. She kept her summary short and concise, which summaries are supposed to be, yet still included enough information for the reader to understand what happened in the article. In addition, I enjoyed her use of quotes in her review. She includes the quote “The GPA82V mutation alters the gene that directs production of Ebola’s surface proteins, called glycoproteins. The tips of these proteins contact human host cells, opening a passageway by which the virus enters.” I thought this was a great way to directly cite the research behind the topic without adding any complex, and possibly confusing, analysis of her own. I also liked how she gave details and exact numbers, specifically when saying,”Another study analyzed 1,610 Ebola genomes”. These numbers helped the reader conceptualize the studies that were performed.
Although Maggie did a very good job in her review, she could use some improvement. For example, she did not talk about the situation currently, as the outbreak occurred in 2014, two years ago. In addition, some of the language was confusing at times and I found myself getting a little bit lost. She could have used some simpler language or a small analysis about what all of the terms meant. However, I still think that Maggie did a very good job in writing this review.
I thought that the review was written very well and Maggie chose a great article to talk about. I think that the topic is very interesting, especially since this was a very prevalent topic that was largely talked about quite recently. Maggie has further educated me on the topic. I never knew this much about the topic before reading Maggie’s review and now feel knowledgeable on this topic. Overall, I really enjoyed Maggie’s review and learned a lot from it.