Mairead Cain
Mr. Ippolito
A.P. Biology
16 November 2017
University of Tennessee at Knoxville. "Potential cell receptors to reduce antibiotic resistance identified." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 November 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171115155620.htm>.
For my current event report, I decided to read and analyze the article “Potential cell receptors to reduce antibiotic resistance identified” from the online news source Science Daily. The article discusses the discovery of certain chemical receptors by scientists at UT-Oak Ridge National Laboratory Joint Institute for Computational Sciences. The chemical receptors at hand could prevent infection from the common bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa which is “the leading cause of hospital-acquired infections.” Prior to this discovery, Pseudomonas aeruginosa was infamous for antibiotic resistance, in which it would adapt to the drugs used to attempt to kill it. Igor Jouline, a researcher involved in the project, described how the bacteria had to be tricked rather than killed as drugs designed to kill bacteria make it more likely for antibiotic resistance to occur. In particular, the team examined the bacteria’s chemoreceptors, which were described as being, “sensory units that respond to chemical stimuli by collecting information about the environment and feeding it to four signaling pathways, which then control cellular responses.” Through extensive research on different chemicals and bacteria cells, the team discovered that Pseudomonas aeruginosa could be deceived by delivering false information to the chemoreceptors. This crucial information brings scientists one step closer to discovering a proper antibiotic that will not be affected by antibiotic resistance.
Considering the fact that this article describes the research of new possible ways that scientists can prevent antibiotic resistance, it is evident that the chemoreceptor tricking technique discovered will have a profound effect on the future of treating different cellular viruses.
Igor Jouline, one of the researchers responsible for the crucial discovery, discussed the aid the newfound knowledge could pose to the medical world. “This study will help in choosing novel targets and designing strategies for potential new antibiotics design.” Future studies involving test trials with the technique could lead to further scientific advancements in the fight against certain bacterias and common viruses. Igor Jouline continued to discuss the future use of the chemoreceptor tricking technique. “If a future drug aims at preventing the pathogen from moving across surfaces of a cell as part of the infection process, then a single protein -- the chemoreceptor feeding information into the pathway controlling surface movement -- can be targeted.”
Overall, I believe the article “Potential cell receptors to reduce antibiotic resistance identified” was very well written and equally informative. The authors easily simplify the advanced science behind the technique discovered. Many of the terms used are also defined and described such as the complex chemoreceptor which plays a critical part in the discovery.
The authors go into amazing description when discussing how exactly antibiotic resistance works, what causes it and how it negatively affects patients suffering from the infections caused by the bacteria Pseudomonas aeruginosa. In an effort to improve the article, the authors should have discussed how, exactly, the researchers involved in the project were able to identify the chemoreceptors of the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria. It would have also been beneficial to ask the researchers responsible for the crucial discovery about how they plan on educating the world on the new, possibly lifesaving, technique. Also, the authors should have included more quotes in the article because it would have given readers a further insight on the information at hand.
Peyton Kinon
ReplyDeleteCurrent Event Comment
AP Biology
11/16/17
Citation:
University of Tennessee at Knoxville. "Potential cell receptors to reduce antibiotic
resistance identified." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 November 2017. .
Hyperlink:
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171115155620.htm
Mairead’s article was very well written. She mostly did a very good job with using the complex language in a way that it wouldn’t get confusing. For example, when she was giving the background information on the bacterium, she stated it very clearly, even though it used very complex language like “Pseudomonas aeruginosa” and “chemoreceptors.” Mairead also did a good job at explaining how the scientists performed the experiment. She explained very clearly how the scientists at UT-Oak Ridge were able to trick the bacterium’s chemoreceptors in order to deceive the bacterium so it won’t hurt anybody. Mairead also did a very good job stating the profound implications of this experiment. She stated that this experiment is one step closer to finding an antibiotic which bacteria are unable to develop a resistance for, which would be revolutionary in treating Pseudomonas aeruginosa and other bacteria like it.
Even though Mairead’s article was very well written, there are a couple of minor mistakes. For example, in paragraph four, she uses the “description” where she should have used the word “detail”. For instance, the sentence “The authors go into amazing description,” isn’t grammatically correct. This is relatively minor, though, and could have been fixed with simple proofreading. Also, another mistake that Mairead makes is that her article can get a little redundant at times. For example, she introduces Igor Jouline, one of the main researches in the experiment, two times throughout the article, once in the first paragraph and once in the second paragraph. This makes the article slightly redundant and could have been fixed with a change in wording.
I learned a lot from Mairead’s current event. I knew that some bacteria were antibiotic resistant, but I never knew that scientists were coming up with ways to combat that. I chose this article because I thought it sounded interesting and I wanted to find out how scientists figured out how to stop antibacterial resistance in certain bacteria. This will change my perception if I ever become a doctor and have to worry about my patients getting antibacterial resistant infections, because I know that I will be able to save their lives and stop the bacteria from hurting them.
Jack Kochansky
ReplyDeleteAP Biology EF Even
Mr. Ippolito
16 November 2017
“Potential cell receptors to reduce antibiotic resistance identified”
By the University of Tennessee at Knoxville
Reviewed by Mairead Cain
University of Tennessee at Knoxville. "Potential cell receptors to reduce antibiotic resistance identified." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 November 2017.
.
In her most recent current events review, Mairead did a great job addressing all aspects of the article. In particular, she was sure to use the right amount of quotes in order to give an accurate representation of the findings of the study. Often, reviewers include too many or too few quotes, which can blur the main ideas of the passage or avoid detailed analysis. She also gives as a good description of the main ideas of the findings and the context surrounding it. For example, she explains exactly what the Pseudomonas aeruginosa bacteria is and why it is so prominent in hospitals. By doing so, she made it clear why it was important to find a solution to it. She is also sure to give a good, balanced review of the article, including its strengths and weaknesses, even though she seemed to have a generally positive opinion of it. Often, reviewers lack in their documentation of strengths or weaknesses if they have a very positive or very negative view of the findings. She also included a few valid suggestions for improvement, which indicates a deeper understanding of the article, including what it contains and does not.
There are not very many things that Mairead could have done better in this current events review. However, she could have offered a few more details on the larger impacts of this research. While she does highlight the importance of this particular bacterial strain in some hospitals, it would have been even better if she had expanded to further implications of this research. That would have helped to reaffirm a larger understanding of the context as a whole. It might have also strengthened her review if she had explained more of the methods that the researchers used to determine their conclusions. That might have helped readers to better understand how exactly the scientists are able to determine who a bacterium’s chemoreceptors can be “tricked”.
By reading this review, I learned more about the nature of antibiotic-resistant strains of bacteria in hospitals. Previously, it had been a fairly abstract concept to me, although I did recognize that it can be very dangerous for patients in care who are already suffering from other diseases and thus have weakened immune systems. However, the fact that a specific strain was examined helped me to better understand the significance and application of new research such as this. I had never known that a bacterium’s chemoreceptors could be “tricked”, and that made me realize that there are lots of opportunities for similar research and breakthroughs for similar types of strains. This study represents the beginning of a possibly breakthrough set of research to deal with antibiotic-resistant bacteria.
Robby Schetlick
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
AP Biology
17 November 2017
Citation: University of Tennessee at Knoxville."Potential cell receptors to reduce antibiotic resistance identified." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 November 2017. .
Mairead Cain’s current event article review for November 17 was for the article, "Potential cell receptors to reduce antibiotic resistance identified” by ScienceDaily. Her review was well written, especially because she was very thorough in her work. Mairead uses plenty of details, including specific scientific names, places, and species. This makes her work much more reliable and useful to the reader. She also uses plenty of evidence and quotes from the article, especially in her first paragraph. Quoting scientists such as Igor Juliane really adds to the quality of the article by not letting any details get away unrecorded. Finally, the third aspect that she does well is take a stance. Even though this wasn’t a debate article, she still did the research and decided on an optimistic stance on the article throughout her review. This proves that she was invested in the topic, and really cared about exploring all the outcomes.
Cain could improve her review by making it more digestible for the reader. The first way that she could do this would be to combine and then shorten her paragraphs. She goes above the normal 3 paragraph structure, which is fine on its own, but extends her points out very far, which makes it a difficult read because it is so long. There comes a point where it is easier to read the original article, and that just destroys the purpose of the review. Secondly, she can implement some analogies and relatable stories into her review to explain the difficult concepts better. Although Cain does a thorough job of describing the advanced scientific terms and concepts, she gives the explanation the article gives, which may not work for some people.
The article was interesting for me because it introduced me to an idea or tactic in modern medicine that I had not considered. Humans have already become masters of evolution, as we control who lives or dies and who gets to reproduce. We are also on the verge to controlling the genes that we express as babies and children. Taking his idea into account, Cain points out who the idea is similar to the new tactic of controlling the medicine arms race. As medicine proves, so does the bacteria it was created to kill. By fooling the bacteria, we can simply influence the reaction while not suffering any side effects in children.
Isabella Dibbini
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
Current Event Comment
26 November 2017
University of Tennessee at Knoxville. "Potential cell receptors to reduce antibiotic resistance identified." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 15 November 2017. .
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171115155620.htm
Mairead wrote an insightful review of the article “Potential cell receptors to reduce antibiotic resistance identified” from the online news source Science Daily. Mairead created an excellent summary of the article, including all the key points. She highlights the discovery of certain chemical receptors and references the scientists who worked on this study. In addition, she incorporates quotes into her review, making it more interesting. For example she includes a description of the bacteria’s chemoreceptors, which were described as being, “sensory units that respond to chemical stimuli by collecting information about the environment and feeding it to four signaling pathways, which then control cellular responses.” After this, she explains the significance of this quote. Also, I was impressed by the connections Mairead made between the article and its affect on society.
Mairead wrote a great review of this article, however there were a few areas in which she could improve upon. I noticed that she incorporated multiple quotes from the article into her review. However, I wish she had further elaborated on the significance of these quotes. Also, if she wanted to take her review to the next level, she could include outside research, which would make her review more interesting. Overall, Mairead wrote an excellent review, but one way she could improve her review would be to add more detail.
By reading the article “Potential cell receptors to reduce antibiotic resistance identified” from the online news source Science Daily, I was able to further my knowledge of biology. Mairead made many interesting points and supported them with direct quotes. Overall, Mairead’s review is very good and shows a great understanding of this article.