Hannah Beldotti
AP Biology
Current Event #19
March 18, 2018
“Mice Change Their Appearance as a Result of Frequent Exposure to Humans.” ScienceDaily,
This week I read the article, “Mice Change Their Appearance as a result of Frequent Exposure to Humans,” which discusses how domesticated animals have different appearances than those in the wild. Throughout time, animals have been domesticated to be farm animals or pets and have shown certain differences than those in the wild. The author of the article states, “For example, domestic rabbits, dogs, and pigs all have white patches, floppy ears, smaller brains, and shorter snouts,” to introduce the topic of domestication syndrome. Scientists’ knowledge of this came from an experiment by soviet geneticist Dmitry Belyaev in Siberia in 1959. In this experiment, Belyaev tamed wild foxes to investigate their, “evolutionary changes”. He found that over time, their behavior towards people became friends and their fur developed white patches along with their snouts shortening, ears dropping, and tails turning curly. To explore the phenomenon further, researchers conducted an investigation led by Anna Lindholm, a researcher from the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at UZH, on wild mice that live in a barn near Zurich, Switzerland. The researchers observed that in over a decade, the mice developed white patch in their brown fur and shorter snouts. Anna Lindholm then continued to explain their observation by stating, “The mice gradually lost their fear and developed signs of domestication. This happened without any human selection, solely as a result of being exposed to us (humans) regularly.” Scientists eventually found that a small group of stem cells in the early embryo are responsible for these behavioral and physical changes.
Overall, I think the authors wrote a well-written article, however, their are some improvements that can be made. One aspect of the article that I thought was well done, was the introduction paragraph which provided details to help the reader understand the topic at-hand. On the other hand, I thought the rest of the article could have included more specific details. For example, when the authors are discussing the, “Neural crest cells provide link,” they did not go into much detail about the small group of stem cells. Additionally, there was no point at which the authors related the topic in the article to society. The writers could have said that animals play an important role in sculpting human societies. For example, in our history, domesticated animals, such as horses, were used to help farmers plow.
I learned a lot while reading this article. I was initially intrigued by the title because I wondered how human exposure could affect animals appearance. I thought this article was well written and simple to follow along with.
Cindy Kwok
ReplyDeleteCurrent Events
“Mice Change Their Appearance as a Result of Frequent Exposure to Humans.” ScienceDaily,
ScienceDaily, 16 Mar. 2018,www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180316113053.htm.
I read Hannah’s review of the article “Mice Change Their Appearance as a Result of Frequent Exposure to Humans”. One area that was well done was the summary. I liked the amount of details put into her review. Things such as citing “white patches, floppy ears, smaller brains, and shorter snouts” being characteristic that most domesticated animals had (and then seen in the experiments with mice) was helpful in getting a broad overview of what the experiment was about. Another area that was well done was in her inclusion fo quotes by one of the researchers on the experiment. Lastly, she did a good job on her actual review of the article where she pointed out specific flaws and areas that the writers did nicely. I though she did good on diving into the article when pointing out those mistakes (including quotes on specific passages that she was referring to). This made it easier for readers to understand.
One area that could have been done better was with her “relation to the world” paragraph which is not really there. Although it is slightly mentioned just purely based on how the article was all about the relation of human interaction and how it affected the mice, it would have been useful just to write a quick short sentence of two about that. Another area that would have been improved was just using more quotes. Although the one she used was good, having more opinions on the matter would have enhanced the article even more.
Overall, this was an interesting critique to read because the chosen article was also interesting. I liked learning about how out interactions with different animals have changed the way the animals have started to be more domesticated from animals such as dogs and cats (well-known) to less known animals that showed domesticated features (the mice).
Kirsten Ircha 3/7/18
ReplyDeleteAP Biology E/F Even Current Event #18
Citation:
“Mice Change Their Appearance as a Result of Frequent Exposure to Humans.” ScienceDaily,
ScienceDaily, 16 Mar. 2018,www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180316113053.htm.
My fellow colleague Hannah Beldotti wrote an insightful review on the article, “Mice Change Their Appearance as a result of Frequent Exposure to Humans,” from Science Daily. To begin, Hannah does an amazing job of summarizing the article. For example a segment of such summary reads, “ Throughout time, animals have been domesticated to be farm animals or pets and have shown certain differences than those in the wild.” By giving a basic summary, the readers are able to fully understand the background information needed to comprehend the rest of the review. Furthermore, Hannah makes sure to speak about the work of famous scientists in the field. This is seen as Hannah writes, “To explore the phenomenon further, researchers conducted an investigation led by Anna Lindholm, a researcher from the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at UZH, on wild mice that live in a barn near Zurich, Switzerland. The researchers observed that in over a decade, the mice developed white patch in their brown fur and shorter snouts.” By including the work of professionals, Hannah's review is seen as far more reliable and supported by fact. Lastly, Hannah uses simple phrases and words. This allows for all the concepts to be clearly understood by a wide range of audiences. In this way, Hannah's review can be enjoyed by many age groups as opposed to a specific group of individuals with vast amounts of scientific knowledge.
Although I enjoyed the peace, a few areas could be easily improved in order for the review to seem more professional. The most critical issue was Hannah's use of personal pronouns, such as “I”. This makes the piece seem very informal and casual. As the review was supposed to be more academic, I feel that Hannah's work would be perceived better if no personal pronouns were included. This issue could be solved quickly through peer editing. The other issue I found throughout the piece was that many words were often very simple. Although this is not a major issue, the piece would be seen as far more advanced if basic words were replaced with more advanced words. These changes could be made easily through the use of additional synonym and peer editing. With these suggestions, the piece would be seen as a more developed and complex.
What shocked me most is when Hannah states, “Anna Lindholm then continued to explain their observation by stating, “The mice gradually lost their fear and developed signs of domestication. This happened without any human selection, solely as a result of being exposed to us (humans) regularly.” The statement is so surprising because previously I thought that all forms of evolution occured on more of a biological level. However, is interesting to see how experiences, such as being exposed to humans, can allow mice to act in a more domesticated manner than their wild counterparts. These findings will change my life as I am very interested in this topic and will continue to read articles and updates on this issue in the future.
Julia Pabafikos
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
AP Biology
March 26, 2018
“Mice Change Their Appearance as a Result of Frequent Exposure to Humans.” ScienceDaily,
ScienceDaily, 16 Mar. 2018,www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180316113053.htm.
Hannah Beldotti did a great job reviewing her article “Mice Change Their Appearance as a Result of Frequent Exposure to Humans.” published by Science Daily. I particularly enjoyed how Hannah went into detail to summarize her article by giving examples of how animals have been domesticated on farms and why they have certain behavioral and physical differences. Additionally I enjoyed that Hannah states the different researches and scientists working on this study, saying “An investigation led by Anna Lindholm, a researcher from the Department of Evolutionary Biology and Environmental Studies at UZH, on wild mice that live in a barn near Zurich, Switzerland” By doing this, Hannah consequently builds credibility for her reader. Lastly, I enjoyed how Hannah has short and concise paragraphs that got to the point fairly quickly and makes it very easy for her reader to follow along with her arguments.
However, I do believe that Hannah had two areas in her review in which she could improve upon. Primarily, I would recommend that after she states the term “domestication Syndrome” she should go into further detail and describe it so that her reader could follow along and really understand the issue. Additionally, I would encourage Hannah to add another quote besides the one that she uses in her introduction which describes certain characteristics of animals. By adding another quote, Hannah would be able to give her reader insight on the original article statements and therefore would build additional credibility.
Overall, Hannah did a great job creating a well written review that illustrates the interactions between animals and humans and the effects these interactions have on the appearance and behavior of the animal. Through reading about this research I believe it provided me with a clear understanding of the role humans can have in creating a sort of evolution on other species.
Ava Austi
ReplyDeleteAP Biology
Current Event #20
3/26/18
University of Zurich. "Mice change their appearance as a result of frequent exposure to humans." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 16 March 2018.
https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/03/180316113053.htm
Hannah wrote a great review based off the article "Mice change their appearance as a result of frequent exposure to humans" by the University of Zurich from Science Daily. The article discusses how domesticated animals have different appearances than those in the wild. Throughout the review of the article, there were many aspects that Hannah did well in order to write a great review. Firstly, Hannah did a great job of providing the audience with a concise summary of the article that she read. She went into detail to summarize her article by giving examples of how animals have been domistacted on farms and why they have certain behavioral and physical differences. This detailed summary allows the reader to understand the main point of the article without any confusion. Hannah also did a excellent job of stating the different researchers and scientists working on this study. By doing this, Hannah built credibility for her reader and allowed them to have multiple opinions to look at. Lastly, Hannah did a great job of pointing out specific flaws and areas that the reader could improve on while also including many things the author did well. Hannah successfully wrote a clear and interesting review of the article she read.
Although Hannah presented a great review of the article, there were some aspects where she could have improved. Firstly, Hannah would have benefited if she wrote a stronger paragraph regarding how this topics relates to the world. It was slightly mentioned about the relation of human interaction and how it affected mice but it would have been better to go more in depth about that discovery. Also, Hannah would have benefited if she included more quotes from the article she read. Having more evidence present in the reading makes the review stronger overall. These issues are both easy to fix in order to make Hannah’s review even better. Even though there were some parts of the review that Hannah could have improved, I think she wrote a great review of the article.
I thought Hannah did a great job in writing her review and I really enjoyed reading it. I found it intriguing to see how experiences, such as being exposed to humans, can allow mice to act in a more domesticated manner than their wild counterparts. I chose to read this review because prior to reading this I had a weak understanding about this discovery. It was very interesting learning how our interactions with different animals have changed the way the animals have started to be more domesticated from well known animals such as dogs to less known animals that showed domesticated features like mice. After reading Hannah’s review, I want to learn more about this topic. Overall, I think Hannah successfully wrote a clear and detailed review of her article.