Polar Bears’ Path to Decline Runs Through Alaskan Village

Goode, Erica. "Polar Bears’ Path to Decline Runs Through Alaskan Village." The New York Times. The New York Times, 18 Dec. 2016. Web. 22 Dec. 2016.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/18/science/polar-bears-global-warming.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=sectionfront

The article I chose to review was about how as the ice is thinning and melting in different places in the world, polar bears are suffering. The article looked especially at Kaktovik, Alaska, where polar bears are starting to appear in the cities. Few scientists dispute that in the long run polar bears are in major trouble because of global warming and experts have even predicted that the number of polar bears will decrease with continued sea ice loss. A 2015 assessment for the International Union for Conservation of Nature’s Red List projected a reduction of over 30 percent in the number of polar bears by 2050, however, polar bears continue to remain listed as only “vulnerable,” rather than be moved up to a more endangered category. The main indicator that the loss of sea ice is hurting the polar bear is that instead of staying on the the ice year-round they are coming onto land longer, for example, this year they arrived in August and stayed into November, which is an average of 56 days compared with an average of 20 days two decades ago. A man from Kaktovik stated, “They never used to come into town, or maybe occasionally, like once a year or so,” Mr. Thompson said. “Now they’re in town every night.” Other subtle indicators that scientists have found that shows the species is at an increasing risk are the changes in the bears’ physical condition, body size, reproduction and survival rates. The reason for this increasing risk is that before, the sea ice gave the polar bears ready access to seals, the staple of their high-fat diet. But as the climate has warmed, the spring thaw comes earlier and the fall freezes later. The edge of the pack ice is now over deep water, where seals are few and far between and the distance to land is a long swim, even for a polar bear. James Wilder, an expert who recently completed a study of polar bear attacks on humans stated, “When polar bears are fat and happy and in good condition, they’re not that big of a threat. But when they get skinny and nutritionally stressed, you’ve got to watch out.” Some researchers think that finding a different food source other than seals might resolve this problem of polar bears coming into town. Some scientists have suggested that the bears might learn to survive on other types of food ,snow geese, or that they might learn to catch seals in the water, without relying on the ice as a platform. However, most researchers think this is unlikely. Such changes usually evolve over thousands of year, but the loss of sea ice is taking place over a very rapid time frame so there may not be a lot of time in polar bear generations to evolve in some behaviors that could give them some advantage.

This information about how global warming has become very dangerous for polar bears is very important as it shows and educates the world of the terrible consequences of our actions. I knew that global warming was making the ice melt and thus hurting polar bears, however, I had no idea that it was also hurting humans. This article opened my eyes to this increasing problem. Polar bears have no food, thus they come to where they smell food, towns. This has caused some problems to the people living in these towns as polar bears are hungry. On the whole, this article demonstrates how careful we have to be in our actions so that they don’t come back to hurt us.

Overall this article was well written and interesting. The author had a thorough explanation and details of the consequences of the loss of ice. In addition, a great asset to her article were the numerous quotes and reference to various scientists and researchers she put in. These gave the readers more detailed and informative opinions and showed how this problem concerns many. However, one weakness of the article is that it failed to take this problem out of the small town of Alaska. Since she failed to do this I find it is easier for readers to think of the problem as less important than others. To make this article better I would added a paragraph that talks about other towns, possibly all over the world. On the whole, this article taught me about something I had no idea about and helped me gain a new perspective on the consequences of our actions.

Scientists Say the Clock of Aging May Be Reversible

Wade, Nicholas. "Scientists Say the Clock of Aging May Be Reversible." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Dec. 2016. Web. 17 Dec. 2016. <http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/15/science/scientists-say-they-can-reset-clock-of-aging-for-mice-at-least.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=sectionfront>.

This article explains that scientists at the Salk Institute in California are trying to actually reverse aging by reprogramming a genome, and have actually had success in increasing the age spans of mice by 30%. Although this technique cannot be applied to people because of the genetic engineering technology it uses, this achievement can help scientists better understand why and how aging occurs in humans and how we may be able to reverse or slow this process. Before this discovery, most studies looked at how cells are automatically set back to age 0 at conception (despite the age of the sperm and egg cells), and the genes that are able to reprogram the cell to set it back to age 0. They tried to apply these genes to somite cells in animals, but this was wildly unsuccessful. This new study used these genes to “rejuvenate” the cells rather than reprogram them. The results show that mice who have undergone this procedure, which includes adding extra copies of the “clock resetting” gene to the mice’s cells, which were then only activated if the mice received a certain activating drug in their water, had fewer signs of aging, are generally healthier, and lived 30% longer than mice without the treatment. According to the scientists, this worked because of epigenome, “the system of proteins that clads the cell’s DNA and controls which genes are active and which are suppressed.” Epigenome plays a large role in cell division and is also involved throughout life in maintaining each cell and letting it switch genes on and off as required. According to one of the scientists, he “sees the epigenome as being like a manuscript that is continually edited. ‘At the end of life there are many marks and it is difficult for the cell to read them,’ he said.” According to the researchers, adding the clock-resetting genes was like erasing the marks on the epigenome.

This article is extremely relevant to society because it provides insight about how to slow down or potentially stop aging in humans. People are constantly looking for a “sorcerer's stone” or “fountain of youth,” and the fact that scientists may be on the path to discovering that is exciting and also a bit scary. This issue raises ethical dilemmas about the use of technology to extend one’s life and who these resources should be made available to if they are fully developed. It is probable that this technology would be expensive, and therefore only available to the rich and powerful, which may be an overall drain on society.

Although this article was well written, it was a bit hard to understand and didn’t explain the study very fully. It also did not give any indication about if or when this technology may be able to be used on humans. Finally, it did not identify the factors that would prevent the process currently being used on mice from being used on humans.

"Don’t Call It ‘Smog’ in Beijing, Call It a ‘Meteorological Disaster’."

Tatlow, Didi Kirsten. "Don’t Call It ‘Smog’ in Beijing, Call It a ‘Meteorological   Disaster’." The New York Times. The New York Times, 15 Dec. 2016. Web. 16          Dec. 2016.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/15/world/asia/beijing-smog-pollution.html

            The article “Don’t Call It ‘Smog’ in Beijing, Call It a ‘Meteorological Disaster.” addresses the effects of Beijing’s smog issue. Recently, officials have begun the process of legally classifying smog as a natural disaster: there is support to add smog to the Beijing Municipal Disaster Prevention Statue. However, many are concerned that the classification of murky air as a natural disaster would allow officials to avoid this critical problem. Beijing’s PM2.5 – a measure of particulate air pollution – rose to an average of 100 micrograms per cubic meter in November. This statistic brings concern to the health of Beijing residents. The World Health Organization advises that countries maintain their PM2.5 level below 10 micrograms per cubic meter. The Chinese government has pledged to reduce their PM2.5 levels by 18% by 2020, but have time and again fallen short on similar promises. Chinese scientists recently concluded that outdoor PM2.5 caused 51,000 deaths in China from lung cancer in 2005, but were advised by the government not to publish their study, indicating that the government likely will not address country’s pollution problem. The Beijing News argued against the classification of smog as a natural disaster, citing that it is a problem generated by human activity and calling it a natural disaster would allow the government to pretend otherwise. The Chinese government has continuously ignored this problem as they look to further grow their economy in an effort to further establish their global presence.

            This issue is obviously paramount to the well being of the environment. Pollution in China obviously has effects on the environment on the whole, and thus in relevant to the world as a whole. While the issue of smog may not be as globally relevant as other types of pollution, it is harming the 1.357 billion people who live and China, and is a critical humanitarian issue. China must take measures to reduce their pollution or the lives of its citizens will continue to be in danger. Doubtless, China must adhere to the standard set by all the other developed countries.

            This article was particularly well written. The author did a good job of integration statistics from a number of sources and providing an indication as to the effects of high PM2.5 levels. However, I thought that the author could have focused more on addressing the push back against the classification of smog as a metrological disaster.

"Proteins That Reprogram Cells Can Turn Back Mice's Aging Clock"

Saey, Tina Hesman. "Proteins That Reprogram Cells Can Turn Back Mice's Aging Clock."

Science News. Science News, 15 Dec. 2016. Web. 15 Dec. 2016.

Progeria is an extremely rare genetic disorder (fewer than 1000 US cases occur per year) in which symptoms resembling aspects of aging are manifested at a very early age. Often present in humans and publically exposed by documentaries and charities like the Progeria Research Foundation many are fighting to find a way to reverse this disease’s progress. As such, this article demonstrates a study concerning research being done on Progeria through xenografts derived from mice. This new study suggests that, “four proteins can transform adult cells into embryonic-like ones” which effectively results in an ability to turn back the aging clock. According to researchers as of December 15, “partial reprogramming of cells within prematurely aging mice’s bodies extended the rodent’s average life span from 18 weeks to 24 weeks.” Even normal mice, without progeria-like symptoms of premature aging, seemed to benefit as well. Muscles and pancreas cells healed better in middle-aged mice who got these rejuvenation treatments in comparison to those that did not. This experiment demonstrates possible evidence that epigenetic marks (chemical tags on DNA and proteins that change with age, experience, disease and environmental exposures) are a driving factor of aging. A biologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota,  Jan van Deursen, who studies diseases of aging, stated “It’s an inspiring paper.” Although he gave the paper an “A” for sparking imagination, he allotted lower marks for the practical applications of the study to human aging because it would involve gene therapy and could be risky. Furthermore, stating “It’s all cool, but I don’t see that it could ever be applied in medicine. We could be terribly wrong. Hopefully we are.” Clearly a bit of a pessimist, but always a realist, Jan van Deursen states the obvious. Just because the technique works in mice, further toxicity studies and research must be done before any experiments involving human patients take place. In regards to the specific molecular makeup of the genetic engineering it is as follows. The researchers reset the mice’s aging clock by genetically engineering the animals to make four proteins when the rodents were treated with the antibiotic doxycycline. These four proteins, Oct4, Sox2, Klf4 and c-Myc, are known as “Yamanaka factors” after Shinya Yamanaka. The article provided detail that Yamanaka is “The Nobel Prize‒winning scientist demonstrated in 2006 that the proteins could turn an adult cell into an embryonic-like cell known as an induced pluripotent stem cell, or iPS cell” in order to demonstrate his significance and therefore the validity of this new research.

This new research into Progeria-like conditions in mice is extremely influential on our society. Although a rare disease, those affected by Progeria have their lives, and lifespans, defined by it. By performing this incredible research there is a hope that those with the debilitating conditions may someday be “normal.” It is terrible to think that children as young as eight have arthritis and other old age-related problems in the first decade of their life. And, to make it even worse, many of these children have extremely short lifespans, living an average of just 13 years old. This is incredibly impactful, especially to us in high school. Most of us are 16, 17, or 18 and we often forget how fortunate we are that we are healthy. Science can be a wonderful thing and hopefully this study proves to be a step closer to a cure of medication to slow the process of aging caused by Progeria.

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. She included key details such as listing the “Yamanaka factors” and giving a little background on Shinya Yamanaka, whom they were named after.  In addition, Saey used a great graph that displayed the increased survival rate for mice treated with the cell reprogramming. This graph allowed any reader to understand the study even without advanced biological knowledge. However, there are a few areas upon which Saey could improve. Primarily, I felt there could have been more background on Progeria. I, for example, in the beginning of this review, wrote about the significance of the study in regards to the rare disease. Saey however just jumped right into the science. I believe her article would have been for effective had she appealed to the aristotelian appeal of “pathos” or emotion. Additionally, I felt Saey could have added more about the details of the experiment. This is because besides stating and analyzing the proteins in depth, I felt I did not know the procedure. Of course, Saey is not expected to go incredibly in depth, but a few sentences about how the cell reprogramming would have been appreciated. By simply researching how the study occurred procedurally and adding some information about progeria, Saey’s article would have been more effective and therefore more comprehensible for the reader.

For Evelyn

Evelyn Kluemper

12/16/16

AP Biology

Schlossberg, Tatiana. “Feeling a Chill? Blame the Polar Vortex. And Global Warming.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 15 Dec. 2016, www.nytimes.com/2016/12/15/science/feeling-a-chill-blame-the-polar-vortex-and-global-warming.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience.

In the article “Feeling a Chill? Blame the Polar Vortex. And Global Warming” by Tatiana Schlossberg summarizes how the impact of global warming will make this winter much colder.  The polar vortex is the result of polar jet streams that encircle the north and south poles.  This effect is caused by low-pressure and cold air.  A change in pressure will push the cold air, causing low temperatures in areas that are farther, such as the northeast of America, and warm temperatures in the poles, particularly Alaska.  People have the misconception that global warming will cause warmer winters, but it has the opposite effect due to the disturbed polar vortex.

This article was alarming and informative, as I did not understand why global warming resulted in colder winters.  Since I live in the Northeast, I am somewhat accustomed to colder weather.  However, I have noticed that the temperatures are fluctuating greatly, including very cold days followed by moderate ones.  Today was below freezing and meteorologists issued a high wind warning.  However, this weekend will reach up to 60°F.  I am not anticipating future extreme temperatures.

The article was interesting to read.  The author did a great job describing what a polar vortex was.  The summary provided was brief but informative.  It would have been interesting to include additional facts about global warming.

SpaceX’s Next Frontier: Landing a Rocket on Earth

AP Biology George Daskalakis Current Event 10 12/07/16

Chang, Kenneth. "SpaceX’s Next Frontier: Landing a Rocket on Earth." The New York

        Times. The New York Times, 07 Dec. 2016. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

http://www.nytimes.com/2015/01/05/science/space/next-frontier-for-spacex-and-elon-musk-landing-a-rocket-on-earth.html?ref=science&_r=0

        In this article, Kenneth Chang, wrote about the next step in space travel. He wrote about landing a rocket on Earth. This may sound like it is an easy objective, but no rocket has ever been up to space, and landed on land. All other cases of rockets returning into Earth’s atmosphere have ended with the rocket landing in the middle of the ocean, making it unable for reuse. Mr. Musk, the chief executive of the Space Exploration Technologies Corporation, stated, “Reusability is the critical breakthrough needed in rocketry to take things to the next level.” In a attempt to land a rocket from space on land, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket is to life off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, and land on a landing platform, that is 300 by 170 feet. Mr. Musk predicts the chances of success is less than 50%, but they are going to continue many attempts throughout 2016.

        This is a very significant idea to humanity, as it will save a lot of money in space travel. It costs millions each year to make the rockets that go into space. If the rockets will be able to land and are reusable, fewer rockets will have to be made, therefore saving billions.

        In this very well written article, the one criticism that I have is that there were a few words that one might only know with prior space knowledge. As I did not have much prior space knowledge, I had to look up the words to understand the sentence. This however was a very well written article and I enjoyed learning about this topic.

Climate Change Will Bring Wetter Storms in U.S., Study Says

Isabel Caton December 7, 2016

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/science/global-warming-extreme-storms.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0

Schlossberg, Tatiana. "Climate Change Will Bring Wetter Storms in U.S., Study Says." The New York Times. The New York Times, 06 Dec. 2016. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

I read the article “Climate Change Will Bring Wetter Storms in U.S., Study Says” by Tatiana Schlossberg. I thought this article was very interesting and I was able to learn a lot. Research has suggested that climate change will lead to an increase in big storms that cause flash floods, landslides and other natural disasters. A new study by Dr. Prein from the National Center for Atmospheric Research in Boulder, Colorado showed that intense precipitation will increase across the continental United States. Rainstorms may become more frequent and intense if greenhouse gas emissions remain at current levels. The study shows that these intense storms could become five times as frequent, and there could be 70 percent more rain, potentially turning into a heavy storm something close to a “biblical flood.” The Pacific Northwest is already wet, and the central United States might become drier on average, but even there extreme rainfall is likely to intensify, the researchers said “that means there could be both an increased risk of droughts and of flash floods.” It seems like the big rainstorms will help alleviate drought in the Midwest or somewhere else, but the opposite can actually happen. If a heavy rainstorm occurs during a drought, it can lead to soil erosion, which washes away the plants that help the soil absorb moisture. This study found that humidity was a key factor, because extreme precipitation is likely to increase with rising temperatures because of growing atmospheric humidity, leading to a higher risk of flash flood nationwide.

This article is very important for the future, and knowing what might come. With so much rain it can cause more harmful mudslides, landslides and other natural disasters. This can cause the destruction of many habitats and of cities and towns. The United States needs to prepare, Dr. Prein said that this research show that many areas of the country need to build or restore infrastructure, including reservoirs and storm sewers. Without regular, gentler rain to restore the soil, conditions will continue to worsen. This can harm the farms and make it harder to plant and harvest crops.

This article taught me a lot about the new research that the scientists are doing to predict what climate change will bring in the future. The author provided good information and elaborated on the issue. However, the article was a little hard to follow because it gave out a lot of information and didn’t describe or explain it thoroughly. I also think that the author went into more detail about how they are doing this research and what we can do to stop or prevent this from happening. But overall I thought that this article was very interesting and I am curious to see what happens in the future.

Children’s Headphones May Carry Risk of Hearing Loss

Louis, Catherine Saint. "Children’s Headphones May Carry Risk of Hearing Loss." The New

York Times. The New York Times, 06 Dec. 2016. Web. 07 Dec. 2016.

http://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/06/health/how-loud-are-your-apple-iphone-headphones.html

Wearing headphones at a young age can be dangerous for a young person’s health. Now a days, even a three year old could be wearing headphones 24/7. Parents do not enjoy their children blasting music but is wearing headphones really the safest way to listen to music? “The New York Times Company, has found that half of 30 sets of children’s headphones tested did not restrict volume to the promised limit. The worst headphones produced sound so loud that it could be hazardous to ears in minutes”. It is said that 8 to 12 year olds listen to music daily and the more they listen to music at a high volume, the more unsafe it becomes. If the volume is high, then the amount of time spent listening to music should be reduced. When cranked all the way up, modern portable devices can produce sound levels from 97 to 107 decibels, a 2011 study found. A decibel is a unit used to measure the intensity of a sound or the power level of an electrical signal. Today there are bluetooth headphones that help.

I found this article very interesting. Who would know the danger of wearing headphones. The thought that headphones can increase the loss of hearing sounds obvious yet when they put it into statistics it is very surprising. Now that  I wear headphones, I think that I will think twice before making the volume very loud. This discovery could help the future. Now maybe parents will think twice before before making their children listen to music with headphones. This could also possibly lead to new headphones. Improving the way and limit to volume on headphones could help as well and hopefully now headphone companies will think twice before making new headphones and make adaptations that are necessary to improve this. 

Overall, I really enjoyed this review. I like how the author used quotes from experts and statistics. I wish that the author could have interviewed a parent as well to make see their point of view on it, whether they believed the statistics or were careless.

"Researchers find overwhelming evidence of malaria's existence 2,000 years ago."

Sophia Dibbini December 7, 2016

McMaster University. "Researchers find overwhelming evidence of malaria's existence 2,000 years ago." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 6 December 2016. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2016/12/161206111728.htm>.

I read the article “Researchers find overwhelming evidence of malaria’s existence 2,000 years ago,” by ScienceDaily, and I found out it very interesting and I learned a lot. An analysis of 2,000-year-old human remains from several regions across the Italian peninsula has confirmed the presence of malaria during the Roman Empire, addressing a longstanding debate about its pervasiveness in this ancient civilization. The answer is in mitochondrial genomic evidence of malaria, coaxed from the teeth of bodies buried in three Italian cemeteries, dating back to the Imperial period of the first to third centuries Common Era. The genomic data is important because it serves as a key reference point for when and where the parasite existed in humans, and provides more information about the evolution of human disease. "There is extensive written evidence describing fevers that sound like malaria in ancient Greece and Rome, but the specific malaria species responsible is unknown," says Stephanie Marciniak. Marciniak sampled teeth taken from 58 adults and 10 children interred at three Imperial period Italian cemeteries: Isola Sacra, Velia and Vagnari. They were able to extract, purify and enrich specifically for the Plasmodium species known to infect humans. Usable DNA is challenging to extract because the parasites primarily dwell within the bloodstream and organs, including the spleen and liver, which decompose and break down over time. P. falciparum remains the most prevalent malaria parasite in sub-Saharan Africa and the most-deadly anywhere, responsible for the largest number of malaria-related deaths globally, nearly 3,000 deaths every day, most children under the age of five.

This article was important because malaria is a very dangerous and widespread disease today, killing one child every thirty seconds. 3.2 billion people (half the world’s population) live in areas at risk of malaria transmission in 106 countries and territories. Finding connections that relate with malaria to ancient civilizations in Greece and Rome are very crucial because it shows how impacting malaria has been for hundreds of years. In order to progress global education, is it important to be knowledgeable about malaria and its history and to find out as much about it as possible. The study of malaria does not receive as much attention as it should, and this discovery is very significant and progresses our knowledge. Overall, this finding is very important and we should continue to research malaria and its effects.

This article taught me a lot about a new discovery that much furthers scientific discovery. The author of this article provided good and thorough information about this new discovery and investigation regarding malaria. I also like how the author gave a very detailed history they found about malaria and how this relates to the study today. However, the author should have talked more about what scientists are planning to do with this discovery, like if they are doing any more tests regarding the history and study of malaria and where they are going to take this information. Also, I did not like that the author provided good information about the history of malaria, but could have provided better information to help us better understand the significance. Overall, I really enjoyed reading this article and I look forward to learning more about this investigation.