Isabella Dibbini
AP Biology
Current Event #1
September 12, 2017
“Brain Cancer Could be Treated With Zika Virus”
Cohut, Maria. “Brain Cancer Could Be Treated with Zika Virus.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 5 Sept. 2017, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319272.php. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.
Zika is a virus transported by way of mosquitos, that is particularly common in South America. It mainly affects pregnant women, who often give birth to babies with severe birth defects. Because the Zika virus tends to both target and destroy neural progenitor cells, babies born from mothers with this disease, are often born with microcephaly. However, recent studies have shown that the Zika virus may be a possible cure to brain cancer. This article discusses how this virus tends to target and kill brain cancer cells. As of now the results are looking good, however, more research and experiments need to be done in order to have safe and effective treatment. Studies conducted by Drs. Michael Diamond and Milan Chheda, from Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis, MO, and Dr. Jeremy Rich, from the University of California School of Medicine in San Diego, have worked to uncover the true potential of this virus. Zhe Zhu is a postdoctoral fellow who hypothesized that the Zika virus could target and kill cancerous cells. To test this hypothesis, the team conducted experiments using glioblastoma specimens that they obtained from tumors that had been surgically removed. The results were as they expected; the virus had targeted and killed glioblastoma stem cells, rather than any other types of brain cells. Based on these results Dr. Diamond states, “It efficiently infected and killed the cancer stem cells but did not infect well the differentiated tumor cells or the neighboring healthy cells.” Therefore, cancer patients would not have to worry about this virus destroying healthy cells, but simply hope that it could kill their cancer cells. In addition, a second experiment was performed on mice, which were injected with a modified strain of the Zika virus. The results from this experiment showed that the virus reduced the speed of the tumor growth, allowing the animals’ life expectancy to increase. To better understand this virus, the team examined the West Nile virus, which belongs to the same genus. Similar to the Zika virus, the West Nile virus also has the ability to kill cancer stem cells but, unlike the Zika virus, it also kills healthy neurons. However, in order to finalize these findings, more experiments must be conducted, and a better understanding of the virus’s mechanism is necessary.
More than seven million people die each year from cancer. For decades, scientists have studied different types of cancers, as they search for possible cures. This is a life threatening disease, and more people are diagnosed with it everyday. Finding a treatment for one type of cancer could be just the beginning. If the Zika virus is able to target cancerous cells, it will be able to save numerous patients, thus prolonging their lives. Finding the cure to brain cancer may also allow other scientists to study these finalized reports, allowing them to obtain new information. Researchers may be able to then use this information, to help them in the process of developing treatments for other types of cancers.
Throughout this article, the author makes statements and supports them with concrete evidence. For instance, after she states that the Zika virus may be a cure for brain cancer, she discusses the experiments performed by Drs. Michael Diamond and Milan Chheda in the lab. The results that these doctors obtained supports the idea of the possible treatment for cancer. Also, the structure of this article is well planned out. The author starts out by describing the Zika virus, and then introduces the idea that it can possibly be a treatment for brain cancer. Then, evidence is provided, supporting her claim, as she provides information on the labs that were completed to test this hypothesis. It was interesting to see at the end of the article, that the author incorporated additional plans on how scientists would further this study. She discussed how, to better understand Zika, they must gain a greater understanding of the virus’s mechanism. While this article was well written, there are a few things that the author could have done, to make her story more compelling. Most of this article talks about the fact that the Zika virus can ultimately, kill cancer stem cells. However, the author did not put forth any information regarding negative effects of using this as a cure. One suggestion that can be done to improve this article would be to further explain the effect of Zika on the brain. The authors discuss that it may kill cancer cells, but does not explain how this is possible. Overall, this article was interesting and very well written.
Charlie Gay
ReplyDelete9/12/17
Mr. Ippolito
AP Biology
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319272.php
Cohut, Maria. "Brain Cancer Could Be Treated with Zika Virus." Medical News Today. MediLexicon International, 05 Sept. 2017. Web.
Current Events Review #1
I really enjoyed reading Isabella Dibbini’s review on the article “Brain Cancer Could be Treated With Zika Virus.” I thought that her review was very informative and on a very interesting topic. I really liked how Isabella explained the multiple experiments that were talked about in this article, rather than just showing us the final results. For example, she explained how there were experiments conducted using two different stems of this virus that belonged to the same genus: the Zika virus and the West Nile Virus. She explained how these viruses were used on glioblastoma specimens and on mice to see how effective they were in killing only a certain type of cells. Explaining the experiments to the reader allows the reader to form their own opinion about how effective this treatment could be based on the given results. I also liked how Isabella included a quote in her review from Dr. Diamond. On top of including a quote from Dr. Diamond she also told us his credentials, which shows us why his view should be valued. I thought the use of a quote added to the credibility of Isabella's review and was a good change of pace from the rest of her summary of the article. Lastly, I really enjoyed Isabella’s critique of the article at the end when she says that she wishes they had explained how the Zika virus affects the brain and if there are any negative effects on the brain. When I was reading this review I thought that it sounded almost too good to be true and was wondering if their are any negative effects. I thought that Isabella did a great job of questioning the article and wondering whether or not this article was hiding the negative effects the Zika virus may have on the brain.
One thing that I think that Isabella could have done better was explain some of the more complicated biological terms that she used in her review. It was necessary to include these words in order to maintain the tone and credibility of the article in her review. However, I wished she had defined or explained words like microcephaly or neural progenitor cells. These words are not words that a person who is not familiar with the topic or biology would necessarily know. Another thing that I think Isabella could have done better is to have made the beginning of this review less choppy and easier to read. This is partly because of the use of words like the ones referred to above and the long list of credentials that she gives for the doctors. In order to fix this she could have given the doctor's credentials right before she was about to use their name instead of all at once. This would also allow the reader to remember the specific doctor's credentials when they are reading a quote from them.
Overall, this review was very well written. I chose this review mainly because of the title of the article:"Brain Cancer Could Be Treated with Zika Virus." I was amazed at the entire idea of the article. I had no idea that Zika was being tested as a cure to cancer; I thought that Zika was just a deadly disease. This is an example of the endless possibilities for cures of diseases and shows that the more research that goes into studying diseases, like cancer, the more likely we are to reaching a cure. This review changed my perspective on the Zika virus and I now view it as a virus with endless possibilities for the future, rather than just a deadly disease.
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9/12/17
Current event #1
Cohut, Maria. “Brain Cancer Could Be Treated with Zika Virus.” Medical News Today, MediLexicon International, 5 Sept. 2017, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319272.php. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.
There were many aspects of this review completed well. One aspect of the review which made it very strong was her ability to add multiple examples of the experiments done by researchers in the lab. Including a lab done by Dr. Diamond and the team which found that "The results were as they expected; the virus had targeted and killed glioblastoma stem cells, rather than any other types of brain cells.”. Another example of an experiment she added to her review was one that showed the effects on cancerous mice which found" The results from this experiment showed that the virus reduced the speed of the tumor growth, allowing the animals’ life expectancy to increase."Then finally she added a third example of an experiment that showed how west Nile disease, which also kills cancer cells, affected tumors. All of these examples made her review stronger through allowing the reader to trust this study because of all the tests that were done. Also it allowed the reader to understand clearly what the article discussed in a condensed form. Another aspect of the review which was done well was her ability to describe what effect these finding have on people. For instance she described how"If the Zika virus is able to target cancerous cells, it will be able to save numerous patients, thus prolonging their lives." This made her review better because it allowed the reader to understand how this article connected the real world and what affects this solution could have on the world in proving cancer. The final aspect that was done well was the details she discussed about the weakness and strengths of the article. This she constructed in a way that allowed to understand that this article as not done particularly well. Also it allowed you to understand what her opinion of the article was which is important to know when reading this review.
Although there were many positives about this review there were some areas for improvement. One thing that could have been improved was her description of Zika virus and West Nile disease. Although the definitions for both were correct she could have added more details on how they collect this virus and what effect this virus could have on other parts of the body. She could fix this by describing more about these viruses and the effects they have on people. Another part of the review that could have been improved was adding more quotes from the article to the review. Although she does have some for the labs that were conducted to make her article even stronger would be to add more quotes. This is important because it would allow the reader to understand more the opinion of the people writing the article. Some places and statements she could of added quotes was when she discussed “Because the Zika virus tends to both target and destroy neural progenitor cells, babies born from mothers with this disease, are often born with microcephaly.”
This review was overall written very well. Her review was written clearly and smoothly which allowed the reader to learn about the topic more easily and understand the experiments conducted. I enjoyed reading this review because I learned something new about research into solutions to cancer. Also I would not have expected Zika as a solution to cancer so I enjoyed learning about what it's effect could have on the body. Overall I liked how she illustrated the main points of the article in shortened way that allowed any reader to understand the topic and the importance of this topic is to the world.
Jack Kochansky
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Mr. Ippolito
13 September 2017
“Brain Cancer Could Be Treated With Zika Virus”
By Maria Cohut
Reviewed by Isabella Dibbini
Cohut, Maria. “Brain Cancer Could Be Treated with Zika Virus.” Medical News Today,
MediLexicon International, 5 Sept. 2017,
www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319272.php. Accessed 10 Sept. 2017.
In this article review, Isabella addressed all of the key points, explaining her reasoning in each case and analyzing several components of the article. In addition to citing specific details provided by the writer, she clearly understands the wider context and unusual hope that Zika possesses to be a cure or treatment for brain cancer. One of the most important aspects of Isabella’s review is her attention to detail, especially when she lists the names of specific professors and universities that were involved in the research or have some of expertise in the issue. She also went through the specific methods that the researchers carried out in order to reach their experimental conclusions. Another of her strengths was the understanding of the way that Zika could be helpful compared to other mosquito-borne illnesses, like West Nile Virus. She explains that the Zika virus attacks cancerous brain cells, which slows the growth of dangerous tumors. However, they generally leave normal brain cells unaffected, a unique characteristic. This careful explanation of Zika’s potential to slow cancer growth helped me to understand it well. Finally, Isabella wrote a strong contextual paragraph that highlights the importance of this new treatment if it is actually proven to be useful. She points out that even though studies are only being done on brain cancer, all research completed on one type of cancer is very helpful to other researchers in finding cures and treatments for various other strains. It is always important in science to look at the wider context of new discoveries or hopeful discoveries to understand how it affects a broader range of issues, and Isabella does so very well.
Because this review is well-written, there are not many clear suggestions I can make to improve it. However, one thing that quickly jumped out at me is that there were grammatical errors throughout much of the writing, which made it a little more difficult to understand some of the good points that she made. In particular, the commas were sometimes in the wrong location, and words or phrases were repeated close to each other. I think that these problems could be fairly easily remedied through a few more read-throughs to catch these errors or through the use of peer editing. After reading the review, I also would have liked to have seen a bit more detail on the ways that the article could improve. She did address the issues at the end of her review, but it was relatively short in comparison to the positives she found regarding the article and several of the other elements of the review. Overall, though, all parts of Isabella’s review were very strong.
For me, I found that the most informative detail of the review to be when Isabella explains how and why Zika has the potential to cure or treat brain cancer. When I read the headline, it did not make any sense that a dangerous disease that we have worked so hard to squelch could potentially benefit medicine. She explains that while Zika viruses tend to attack cancerous brain cells, they do not typically attack normal, healthy brain cells. This would be a breakthrough type of treatment because unlike most types of therapy available today, it would affect only the cancer cells without harming the rest of the body. Common cancer treatments, such as chemotherapy or radiotherapy, have low rates of success and tend to make the patients miserable because the slowly kill the rest of the body. When I learned that this was a possibility, it helped to change my view of cancer treatment and consider the idea of more out-of-the-box methods of curing the disease. This discovery, if proven to have merit, could complete reshape the medical industry.
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