Mia Gradelski
Mr. Ippolito
AP Biology
November 5, 2017
PLOS. “Shifting Bacterial Communities in the Stomach May Influence Cancer Risk.”
ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 2 Nov. 2017
After reading this informative and recently released article on the new controversy regarding additional research to the leading causes to cancer, I’ve obtained lots of informative data and viewed many different opinions from scientists around the world regarding this fascinating new discovery of the gastric tumor. At the start of the article, the author briefly states what the microbial community of the stomach is and how it is related to the different risk levels of cancer which are associated with tumors done by PLOS Pathogens. Throughout the first few paragraphs, readers are introduced to the Autoimmune disease or infection with Helicobacter Pylori Bacteria, which according to the article, “damages the stomach and reduces gastric acid secretion.” Not only this raises questions to readers regarding what the circumstances of these conditions are, but what tumors are found. Next, the article goes into depth about the gastric tumor and how there are certain inhibitors such as the proton pump that can reduce this gastric acid secretion. Researchers from around the globe constantly discussed their finding upon the changes that these microbial communities have shown especially in the most concentrated test reported in the article from the University of Liverpool, U.K. The article soon transitions from the hypothesis of microtubules living in the stomach as a proposal, to the differences in the tumor risk and the causes of reduced gastric acid that was found in another test done by a group of random people receiving the inhibitors. In a concise matter, this article not only provides readers with a range of hypothesizes gathered by researchers who have performed tests with people receiving inhibitors, but examples of how these differences in these processes can occur in those who had similar microbial communities in their stomach versus healthy people.
As stated in the title of this article: Shifting Bacterial Communities in the Stomach leads readers to conclude that there is an evident connection between the research conducted from multiple studies done on the gastric tumor in the stomach and the living breathing community that is on Earth. Everyday, thousands of Americans die from a certain type of cancer which commands us to become more hesitant and curious about how we can further prevent it. At the start of the article, PLOS constantly refers to the effects that society has based upon the conditions that are seen with having a higher risk of a different type of gastric tumor. As society becomes more advanced, we are constantly connected to our cellular devices which release CO2 and lead to the question of health. According to the article, “Every healthy stomach is known to be home to bacterial communities, but reduced gastric acid can alter the stomach environment and cause changes in amount and type of microbes.” In addition to the word “community” which is constantly used inside the article to display a sense of trust in research shared throughout the world on these new findings, the article tries to display this research as a tool to help others with their effects on their own stomach which “could help explain why H. pylori is more commonly associated with a cancer type known as gastric adenocarcinoma, while autoimmune disease is linked with neuroendocrine tumors” as a piece of evidence found from a group of people. Inside the article, research is being refuted, confirmed, and built upon one another to lead to new ways to prevent cancer by the contribution of society and most importantly the effect in has on the “manipulating microbial community of the stomach” which is growing with information from societies gathering new information by comparing from “95 people with different conditions.”
Throughout this article, there is strong evidence being presented by researchers in Liverpool, U.K. which brings new discoveries and evidence to be displayed by the conducted experiments. The article did a good job on displaying background information on the questionable and broad topic of cancer and what causes it. In the beginning of the article, I immediately could interpret how the autoimmune disease or infection with Helicobacter pylori bacteria can not only damage the stomach and reduce gastric acid secretion, but how it can be prevented. I understood this topic clearly and where the article was headed due to the concise and logical explanation of research conducted and presented by different types of people in these microbial communities. Yet, this leads the public to question why healthy people are not experiencing this autoimmune disease compared to people with the H. pylori infection who had lower amounts and few types of bacteria seen in healthy people. Having this evidence presented towards the middle of the article, leads readers to understand it vaguely due to the way statistics were presented to the reader. To improve upon this there should’ve been a clear explanation of how the effects on the stomach could help explain why H. pylori is more commonly associated with a different cancer type. It would of been better if the author had explained how the effect of microbial communities being seen in each type of patient is different and if there is a connection to other types of cancers initiating in different parts of the body, which was vaguely mentioned. Yet, this article leads readers to not only be introduced to a not so widely talked about type of tumor, the gastric tumor, but how damage to the stomach can reduce gastric acid secretion no matter if your stomach is a healthy one or not.
Gigi Chrappa
ReplyDeleteNovember 16, 2017
AP Biology
Current Events
PLOS. “Shifting Bacterial Communities in the Stomach May Influence Cancer Risk.”
ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 2 Nov. 2017
I read Mia’s review of “Shifting Bacterial Communities in the Stomach May Influence Cancer Risk.” Her review was extremely informative and well thought out. The layout of her review is phenomenal. She clearly organizes the topics addressed in chronological order. This allows the audience to read with ease and this also creates a more organized tone overall. In addition to this, Mia uses important time markers such as ‘next’ and ‘finally’ to help organize her review. I find this extremely helpful as it allows for the audience to organize our thoughts and understand the topics addressed better. Sometimes when reading current events, one may ask, “well why does this matter” or “well how does this affect me”? But Mia successfully relates a broad topic (which seemingly does not relate on a larger scale to us) and demonstrates the importance in our lives today. This was done exceptionally well. Finally, in addition to writing a stellar review, Mia successfully critiques the article. She does this in a professional way; not attacking the author nor stating what is ‘wrong’ with the article. Simply, she explains what may be improved upon or items that could be altered in the future.
Although Mia wrote an incredible review, there were a few areas in which she could improve upon. For example, in the future, Mia may want to explain certain quotations in depth. At points, since the topic she read about was very complex, it was difficult to understand points of the essay. For instance, Mia mentions PLOS Pathogens in depth. However, I still do not clearly understand what the pathogen is responsible for and what it is. Lastly, if Mia wanted to take her review to the next level, she could perform some outside research and look into what ‘the future of tumors’ may look like. It might be interesting to see what else could be found out about the future of tumors and how it may influence our lives as we get older.
In conclusion, Mia wrote a wonderful review and addressed topics important to society. Her layout was wonderful and the review was easy to follow. She did many things wonderfully and there were a few things she could improve on in the future. I am so excited to read the article in the near future.