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.
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ReplyDeleteMcMaster University. "Researchers find overwhelming evidence of malaria's existence 2,000 years ago." ScienceDaily, 6 December 2016.
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Sophia did a great job in writing a succinct and thoughtful review of the article “Researches Find Overwhelming Evidence of Malaria’s Existence 2,000 Years Ago.” In her current event report, Sophia clearly expressed the subject of the article and stated that recent tests have proven that malaria was present in the Roman Empire. She did a good job of explaining that scientists were able to reach this conclusion by analyzing the DNA within the teeth of ancient Italian remains. Through this description, readers are able to understand how scientists were able to achieve this important discovery. I also appreciated the information she included about why the conclusion was not reached earlier. Sophia explained that “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.” She also did an excellent job of including facts and statistics that emphasize the importance of research on malaria and support her claim that the world should be more focused on the deadly disease, especially because it causes nearly 3,000 deaths a day, of which many are young children.
Her current event report of the article published on Science Daily was pretty good, but there are definitely areas that could be improved. Sophia includes a quote from presumably one of the scientists involved in the research who stated, “There is extensive written evidence describing fevers that sound like malaria in ancient Greece and Rome, but the specific malaria species responsible is unknown.” However, later in the review, Sophia describes a strain of malaria called P. falciparum. This is confusing to the reader because it is difficult to understand whether they know the specific strain of the disease or not. Sophia could easily fix this by clarifying or explaining her evidence. The report also would have been more thorough and interesting if Sophia could have described the implications of the disease in the ancient world, which was the focus of the article.
From reading this review, I learned that researchers have reached the conclusion that malaria was responsible for many deaths in the Roman Empire. It is fascinating to learn how scientists were able to reach this conclusion by analyzing DNA and it adds to my understanding of the ancient world. It is both interesting and tragic that malaria has existed and killed for thousands of years, and I agree with Sophia that the diseases should become a greater focus for citizens who are not directly affected by it. After reading this article, I will definitely pay closer attention to malaria’s prevalence and any updates on research being conducted on ancient remains in search of diseases.
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