Ally Bruno

Mr. Ippolito

AP Biology D Even

December 20, 2018

Grady, Denise. “How Can We Unleash the Immune System?” The New York Times, The New York Times, 20 Nov. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/11/19/health/cancer-immunotherapy-drugs.html.

The article “How we can Unleash the Immune System” by Denise Grady delves into the idea the human immune system can be manipulated to attack cancer. Grady opens her article by acknowledging the fact that immunotherapy treatments have only been in less than half of all its patience but she remains hopeful for the future. Grady goes on to discuss the current experiments the are being performed to “fine-tune the treatments”. Grady opened her argument by differentiating between the two types of immunotherapy cancer treatments. Both Checkpoint inhibitors and CAR-T cells work to activate a specific type of white blood cell that can removes cells that have become malignant and cancerous.  She then goes on to cite a doctor from Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center who is optimistic about immunotherapy research that might one out of his facility. She even includes an example of year old cancer patient who has been in remission and thriving from his treatments.

After reading Grady’s article, the reader can tell that she is clearly invested in her topic. She did a great job of evoking emotion from her readers by including and patients successes and statistics about the lives that could be saved if this treatment proves to be useful. I do not however, believe that Grady did an adequate job of providing enough information about the new research programs that are testing immunotherapy. While, she described the types of  immunotherapy in a very clearly and sufficiently, she never explains what types of research is being performed to enhance the understanding of immunotherapy and possible treatment options.

Since cancer is one of the most deadly diseases in the US, any type of innovation in the treatment options is vital to the scientific worlds. The topic is so important because it discusses it gives an optimistic and positive outlook on the possibility of improving the way patients with cancer are able to leave their lives. Chemo treatments are effective today but are detrimental to the over health and lifestyle of cancer patients and immunotherapy seeks a new way of  increasing patients survival rates helping them maintain stable and fulfilling lives while they are being treated.

Scant Evidence Behind the Advice About Salt.

Joseph Daher

Mr. Charles Ippolito

December 19, 2018

AP Biology D-Even

Carroll, Aaron E. “Scant Evidence Behind the Advice About Salt.” The New York Times, The

New York Times, 17 Dec. 2018,

www.nytimes.com/2018/12/17/upshot/salt-diet-heart-failure-little-evidence.html.

In an article published by the New York Times, Aaron E. Carroll highlights how despite a number of studies published by health scientists have questioned the usefulness of very low-salt diets, many health organizations continue to recommend them. Carroll cites the limited scope and mixed results of the few studies that sought to see if reduced sodium intake was associated with a lower risk of heart disease. He argues that health and dietary organizations are overconfident in their advice that simply reducing sodium intake has significantly lower risks of heart disease when exercising and eating more healthfully. Carroll calls for more controlled trials to prove the worth of dietary advice that amounts to largely hearsay, and to step back from the contrived notion of sodium restriction, concluding his article by stating that “it seems the assurance with which we speak should match the quality of evidence behind our recommendations”.

Despite the limited evidence supporting the benefit of a low-sodium diet, many different health organizations spread this unsubstantiated claim stating that it lowers the risk of heart disease. Heart disease is an endemic health problem in our modern society of industrialized and processed foods; about 5.7 million people in the United States suffer from heart failure every year. Thus the need for lowering the risk of heart disease is widespread and useful; but comparatively very little data has been collected on low-sodium diet. As Caroll points out, instead of selling fad diets like low-sodium diets, health organizations could and should push for more healthy holistic lifestyle changes in general.

Carroll’s article was a pointed summary of the debacle of unsubstantiated low-sodium fad diets, and how weak studies have contributed to the largely mythological notion of the association of heart disease and sodium intake. Carroll could have been more precise in what healthful lifestyle changes amount to besides reducing sodium intake, or the specifics of what would constitute more credible scientific studies to support the association of reduced sodium intake and reduced risk of heart disease. Otherwise, Carroll successfully used the scant evidence behind the advice about salt as a platform to advocate for more holistic lifestyle changes and point out how dietary advice is often based upon unfounded or weakly verified claims.

AP Biology Cell Energetics Projects

The students were asked to create a banner, cartoon, collage, diorama, model, storyboard, video reenactment that illustrates/makes sense of a complicated component/process/pathway of photosynthesis/respiration.

R. Muchenbach's Presentation comparing Anaerobic and Aerobic Respiration

S. Szabo's Website comparing Homolactic and Alcoholic Fermentation

C. DeMalgalhaes's Presentation on the C3 Photosynthesis Pathway

C. Cagliostro's Presentation comparing Cyclic vs. Noncyclic Photophosphorylation

J. Hoag's Website on the process of Oxidative Phosphorylation 

S. Ladas' Presentation on the Kreb's Cycle of Aerobic Respiration

J. Parzick's Presentation on the Evolution of Cellular Metabolic Pathways

H. Villanueva's Pesentation on Pigments and Photosystems

A. Goldbaum's Presentation on  the C4 Photosynthesis Pathway

P. Magaud's Presentation on Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Respiration

C. Hutchins' podcast on the CAM Photosynthesis Pathway 

A. Demetrios' podcast on Glycolysis

J. Haher's Presentation on Cyclic vs. Noncyclic Photophosphorylation

C. Mooney's Presentation on Electron Transport in the Mitochondrion

A. Lee's Website on Chemiosmosis. 

Huge Brain Study Uncovers “Buried” Genetic Networks Linked to Mental Illness

Cassidy Mullen

Ippolito C Even

Current Event #11

December 11, 2018

Geddes, Linda. “Huge Brain Study Uncovers ‘Buried’ Genetic Networks Linked to Mental

Illness.” Scientific American, 14 Dec. 2018,

www.scientificamerican.com/article/huge-brain-study-uncovers-buried-genetic-networks-linked-to-mental-illness/.

Pinpointing how gene variants contribute to diseases has been a large setback in the past, but recently discovery has given doctors insight into the driving force of brain conditions such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. These are neuropsychiatric disorders that involve hundreds of genes which interact with their environment and contributes to only a small amount to the overall disease risk. In the last ten years, many genetic variants have been identified which are associated with these disorders, but it’s unclear how the DNA sequence changes the ways the genes function. Researchers recently uncovered networks of genes that have been unidentified in the past along with the discovery of elements buried in the ‘dark matter’ of a genome which regulates gene expression and could contribute to disorders relating to brain conditions. In addition, there are regions in DNA which, were previously considered useless, that do not code for proteins.  Inside these areas are elements that regulate gene expression and could have a powerful influence on a person’s risk for a disease.

A molecular biologist at Yale University, Mark Gerstein acknowledges that they have not figured out the “underlying mechanism of these diseases, or how you would go about designing drugs,” but they are “highlighting genes, pathways and also cell types that are associated with these diseases.” By taking brain tissue from 1,866 cadavers and using genomic-sequencing techniques to study them, the researchers were able to make connections between specific genes and noncoding DNA variants which have been linked to neuropsychiatric diseases in the past. This makes it easier to find the variants that actually alter how genes function and contribute to brain conditions.  Clearly, the search for the root of the problem is still underway, but discovering new possibilities and eliminating options could lead to a possible cure in the future. Once the specific cause of neuropsychiatric disorders is found, it will be much easier to find a cure that specifically targets and eliminates the problem.

I thought that this article was very interesting. I was upset by the fact that this idea is still very underdeveloped because there is lots more research to be done and the cause of brain disorders is still unknown, so I think that the title, “Huge Brain Study Uncovers “Buried” Genetic Networks Linked to Mental Illness.” gave me a little bit of false hope. This article was a little bit difficult to follow because it used a lot of specific medical vocabulary, but it also explained some of the terms used which was helpful. I appreciate the fact that Gerstein acknowledges, “We’re not claiming in the remotest way to have figured out the underlying mechanism of these diseases.” This contributes to the credibility of the article.    

The First Successful Uterus Transplant from Deceased Donor Leads to Healthy Baby.

Anabel Maldonado

Ippolito C Even

Current Event #11

December 11th, 2018

Weintraub, Karen. “First Successful Uterus Transplant from Deceased Donor Leads to Healthy Baby.” Scientific American, 5 Dec. 2018, www.scientificamerican.com/article/first-successful-uterus-transplant-from-deceased-donor-leads-to-healthy-baby/.

Our society constantly discovers new ways that can save thousands of lives: vaccinations, transplants, treatments, etc. Yet, in these past years, we have invented ways that can help “create” lives. Several years ago, a woman received a uterus from a transplant, and was ultimately able to give birth - after more than a year had passed. This was the first time in our history that a woman with a transplanted uterus was able to give birth! These discoveries can help many women that have medical conditions involving their uterus, or were born without one. Although this was a success, this procedure was much more complicated than normal ones. For instance, the doctor wanted to deliver the baby earlier than expected to avoid problems that could arise in the future.  In addition, our society has to think about controversy involving transplants. Some may schedule transplants - such as kidneys. However, if a person (who is an organ donor) dies, the topic of which organ to remove first is complicated. Some doctors strongly believe uterus’ should be removed first as they state “he wants to focus on helping more women have a single child rather than on one woman having more than one. For future procedures he hopes to cut down on the time to transplant by removing the uterus before other organs, like the heart and kidneys.” Although it is possible that transplants can not go well, it is worth the effort to try and help a mother

This topic is very impactful for our society. Treatments to save lives are very significant for science. Yet, helping create more lives is, also, VERY important. In fact, I chose this topic because my mother is an Obstetrician Gynecologist and constantly speaks about the women who are unable to have babies because of problems such as these. Discoveries and successes such as these not only give hope to patients such as hers, in addition our society will have a better understanding of pregnancies and uterus’.

In this article, Weinberg succeeds when connecting with her audience, as she personalizes the article. In the beginning she happily introduces the topic by telling the story of a Brazilian women whom had a transplant, yet also ahd birth. In addition, she was successful when finding quotes from scientists and explorers - which impacted the audience tremendously. For instance, “he wants to focus on helping more women have a single child rather than on one woman having more than one.” (O’Neil). On the contrary, Weinberg could improve when presenting her thoughts. She jumped from new ideas to new ideas. She continually was inconsistent when explaining this discovery. In order to improve, she could have first given a background explanation of the transplant then explain the new success: a uterus transplant and childbirth.

James Apostolatos      12/11/18

Current Event 11 AP Biology

Citation:

Saey, Tina Hesman. “Biologists Are One Step Closer to Creating Snake Venom in the Lab.”

Science News, 11 Dec. 2018, www.sciencenews.org/article/biologists-snake-venom-glands-organoids.

Hyperlink: www.sciencenews.org/article/biologists-snake-venom-glands-organoids.

This article discusses how researchers have learned to grow organoids that mimic the venom glands of snakes. According to Harvard Stem Cell Institute, Organoids are “tiny, self-organized three-dimensional tissue cultures that are derived from stem cells.”. These researchers wanted to know if they could make organoids producing venom from snakes. A team of researchers produced venom-gland organoids from at least seven species of snakes. The organoids have survived in the lab for up to two years and have shown successful results.  Harvesting venom from the organoids can provide a new way to receive venom samples in large quantities. The growth of organoids and experiments using snake venom can be the next step in using venom to create drugs and antibodies.

This topic is important because it is connected to stem cell research. Recent experiments using stem cells have the potential to become many different types of cells in the body. The connection to this article is that the use stem cells may allow researchers to make venom in the lab instead of extracting it from the actual snake. In this experiment, if scientists can extract venom from the lab-grown glands, that venom might be used to create new drugs and antidotes for bites. This is also connected to the use of snake farms. Learning about snake venom is important considering up to 2.7 million people worldwide are estimated to be bitten by venomous snakes each year according to the World Health Organization. The study of snake venom can lead to antivenoms and cures. According to the article “If scientists can extract venom from the lab-grown glands, that venom might be used to create new drugs and antidotes for bites including from snakes that aren’t currently raised on farms” (Saey,2018,1). Further research of these antibodies can help a bitten person recover.

I would have liked to see more details about the actual method, the researchers used to extract the venom. I would also have liked to learn more about the different types of snakes in the experiment. There also should have been more information about the scientist's background. I also wanted to learn how successful the data was and how they used the data for this specific experiment. It also would have been nice to show the future experiments that can take place.

Earth's Mysterious 'Deep Biosphere' May Harbor Millions of Undiscovered Species

Anton Tarazi

AP Biology

Mr. Ippolito

12/11/18

Specktor, Brandon. “Earth's Mysterious 'Deep Biosphere' May Harbor Millions of Undiscovered Species.” NBCNews.com, NBCUniversal News Group, 11 Dec. 2018, www.nbcnews.com/mach/science/earth-s-mysterious-deep-biosphere-may-harbor-millions-undiscovered-species-ncna946531.

In his article “Earth's Mysterious 'Deep Biosphere' May Harbor Millions of Undiscovered Species,” Brandon Specktor discusses the abundance of life that is existing under the surface of the Earth. While we are well-aware of all the life that exists on the surface of this planet and the upper part of the oceans, there is actually so much more hidden in the depths of both land and sea. Scientists at the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCP) are digging and digging to find new life forms in the dark, seemingly inhospitable land under our feet that is actually teeming with microorganisms and has biodiversity rivaling that at the surface. There is an estimated 17 to 25 billion tons of organic carbon underground, approximately 300 to 400 times as much carbon biomass as there is on the surface, and houses 70% of the Earth’s microorganisms. These microorganisms are challenging traditional beliefs of where life can exist, some thriving at temperatures as high as 121 ℃.

The realization of how much life is yet to be discovered in the depths of our planet is quite startling. There are perhaps millions of new species lurking beneath our feet, life forms that have never before been observed, bacteria with unique characteristics, or perhaps diseases that should never reach the surface. By studying these life forms, scientists will learn more about life in extreme conditions, expanding our knowledge of how creatures survive and flourish in these environments. For instance studying the organisms underground can help scientists establish better criteria for determining whether other planets can support life.

I felt that this article was brief but did not leave out any information. Specktor did a good job of describing the extent of the life that exists in the deep biosphere by giving statistics using multiple comparisons to the ecosystem aboveground. For instance Specktor says, “Data from these sites suggest that the world's deep biosphere spans roughly 500 million cubic miles (2.3 billion cubic kilometers) — about twice the volume of all the Earth's oceans — and houses about 70 percent of all the planet's bacteria and single-cell archaea.” He gives his audience both raw numbers and a comparison so we can put the immensity of the life underground into perspective. One weakness that I found in the article is that the nature of the life underground was not thoroughly described. While Specktor did say that there were millions of undiscovered species of bacteria and single celled archaea, he did not say much about them beyond that. While of course we do not know much about these bacteria, it would be worth addressing these questions, such as are they pathogenic? Or what are their similarities and differences to the bacteria we are familiar with? Other than this, though, it was a well-written article that brought to light the underground life of the dark.

Layla Brinster

AP Biology

12/10

Current Event

Scutti, Susan. “Most US Adults Have Not Gotten a Flu Shot for This Mild Season.” CNN, Cable News Network, 7 Dec. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/12/07/health/flu-season-vaccination-november-30-cdc/index.html.

Susan Scutti, in her “Most US Adults Have Not Gotten a Flu Shot for This Mild Season” writes that according to the NORC, a research program at the University of Chicago, the majority of adults have not gotten their flu shot this season. ‘Only 43% of surveyed people 18 or older said they had gotten vaccinated against the flu, according to NORC, which has conducted the National Immunization Survey for the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention since 2005. Including the approximately 14% of adults who said they will get the shot, around ⅓ of adults will not get their flu shot. In part, the reason for this is that this season is particularly mild, with low to moderate flu activity, a dramatic change from previous years of high activity. Although some may think the large fraction of people who remain unvaccinated is because of the low activity, they are wrong; the number of people vaccinated has been similar to years past, in accordance to Richard Webby, a flu scientist. However, the amount of flu-related deaths “was below the usual threshold for this time of year, the CDC said.” Furthermore, only about 2.2% of people visited the doctors for ‘flu-like symptoms’ and 1 for every 100,000 hospitals visits was due to the flu. These reassuring statistics, according to Webby, are because of the dominant flu strand, H1N1, and its match to the developed vaccine, but it is still recommended that people, especially young children/babies get vaccinated.

This connects to society because the flu is a real-world issue. Multiple people have died because of the flu. Even though the flu mortality rate this year is low, it is still very relevant and has caused the deaths of a few. Many people should get vaccinated if they aren’t already in order to stay healthy and resistant to the flu. Also, when people get vaccinated they protect themselves from the flu and prevent the virus from spreading and developing. Therefore, it is safest to get vaccinated and keep yourself healthy. People may not view the flu as a terrible illness, but it does possess the capabilities to be one; it is important to protect yourself. This article also affected me because I haven’t gotten my flu shot yet, so now I want to make my appointment.

Scutti wrote a very well crafted article explaining the flu and its effect this year. She did a nice job with incorporating statistics and relevant quotes from researchers to validate her points and argument. However, Scutti also could have included other references to different scientists or researchers. Scutti also referenced a study done multiple times but did not elaborate enough on the study, in my opinion. In order to improve this, she could have included a graph, table, or chart, with more data in order to provide a visual representation and clarify any misconceptions.

The Genes That Make Parrots Into the Humans of the Bird World

Sunday Ladas

Mr. Ippolito

AP Biology C-EVEN

26 October 2018

Citation:

Klein, JoAnna. “The Genes That Make Parrots Into the Humans of

the Bird World.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7

Dec. 2018,

www.nytimes.com/2018/12/07/science/parrots-genes-longevity.h

tml.

The Genes That Make Parrots Into the Humans of the Bird World

By: JoAnna Klein

Have you ever wondered how it is possible for a parrot to talk? What part of the brain aligns with the human brain for the parrots to have the ability to repeat the words that humans say?  A team of scientists took a trip to Brazil to study what aspects of a Blue-fronted Amazon parrot aligns with humans. After lots of research, the scientists came to the conclusion that the blue-fronted Amazon parrot are like the humans of the avian world. They came to this conclusion from comparing the blue-fronted Amazon parrots genome to other parrots in the same family and their basic knowledge of evolution. There research has also indicated that the birds can live an average of 66 years old. This is a revolutionary finding because it leads to the new question how are parrots able to live this long. To put more context to this question, science has proved that smaller birds are more likely to live five to eight years and larger birds can live a few decades. Scientists have found that in some cases parrots outlive their human companions! Another finding scientists found was that the changes in the parrot genome is surprisingly similar to the human genome. The genes are similar in different parts of the of the genome. They are similar along regions of the genome that regulate the expression of nearby genes that seem to play a role in brain development and intelligence.

Interestingly enough, the new findings about the blue-fronted Amazon parrot is relevant to understand the parrots and humans relation. These new findings provoke other scientists to research the brains of the parrots. Dr. Mello, one of the scientists that went to Brazil to study the blue-fronted Amazon parrot stated that “they’re really, really smart animals, and the brains are particularly big.” Scientists are now researching how the parrots are the parallel to humans of the avian world. This discovery could make advances in science in the evolution and avian area of science.

I thought that this article was constructed in a exceptional manor, I feel that the author made very good points and the authors tone showed her attitude towards the topic. It was evident that the author was interested and really liked the topic he was writing about. However, I felt that JoAnna Klein (the author) could have done a better job emphasizing why this is such a revolutionary idea  I felt that she just continued to state amazing the discovery was and there was nothing to refute it the the facts about how amazing this discovery was rather than providing an argument for how it furthered science. Lastly, I thought that she could have included less information about how the new pieces of evidence that has been discovered rather than touching on multiple pieces with no explanation. Overall, I felt this piece was very well written, however, I thought the author could have emphasized the new findings relativity.

Lava Lamp’ Proteins May Help Cells Cheat Death.

Moskvitch, Katia. “‘Lava Lamp’ Proteins May Help Cells Cheat Death.” Quanta Magazine, Simons Foundation, 26 Nov. 2018, www.quantamagazine.org/phase-separating-proteins-may-protect-and-regulate-cells-20181126/.

        In her scientific review, Katia Moskvitch explores the breakthrough discoveries of biophysicist Clifford Brangwynne and his team concerning the existence of liquid-liquid phase separation in cells. Liquid-liquid phase separation is best visualized by the liquid components of a lava lamp which cluster and separate into shifting blobs due to their different densities and incompatible polarities. Recent work in cellular biology suggests that such a phenomenon has been harnessed by evolution to manipulate the metabolism and functioning of cells via proteins in the cytoplasm. Experimentation and imaging indicate that when cells are deprived of nutrients, or otherwise under severe stress through temperature or acidity changes, non membrane-bound metabolic components aggregate and solidify--essentially putting the cell into a hardy condition of stasis. The state change is orchestrated by specific proteins in the cell, whose “identifiable domains” allow the associated cellular matter to shift between its normal fluid state and more gel-like clusters.

        This breakthrough has extensive repercussions for the way we study cell functioning and molecular biology. Streamlined through cleanly cut curriculums, the average science student’s understanding of cell anatomy, metabolism, and normal operations is inherently flawed and oversimplified. Investigation of the manipulation of physical phases by proteins in the cytoplasm is just one example of how the scientific community is looking to enrich its understanding of the most basic unit of life through a different lens. Moreover, this discovery has sparked the interest of scientists around the world who are suggesting other fields where protein liquid-liquid phase separation could take place. For example, neuroscientists have posited that vesicle deployment at neurotic synapses may be purposefully delayed by aggregation, effectually controlling the reception of neurotransmitters.

        I enjoyed Moskvitch’s article because of her ability to put complex microbiological topics in layman's terms. However, I felt that at times, she avoided scientific jargon to the extent that the specific procedures used by the scientists and the types of proteins involved in aggregation were unclear. Reading this article has left me with many unanswered questions: is aggregation a physical or chemical process and why are specific proteins able to regulate it? What is “the domain” of a protein that determines its ability to regulation phase change? What are the long-term effects of solidifying organelles and proteins and are they able to recover their functions? I look forward to seeing liquid-liquid phase separation explored in future scientific discussions and perhaps in the future, it could be manipulated by humans to treat disseminating diseases by delaying spread between cells.

Chinese Scientist Who Says He Edited Babies’ Genes Defends His Work

Aiden Hiller
Mr. Ippolito
Current Event #10
5 December, 2018

Belluck, Pam. “Chinese Scientist Who Says He Edited Babies' Genes Defends His Work.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 28 Nov. 2018, Link

In a bizarre turn of events, a Chinese scientist has revealed that he successfully created the world’s first genetically modified babies. Should his claims be legitimate, He Jiankui used CRISPR to modify a pair of embryos for resistance to H.I.V. The modification disables a gene known as CCR5, which is responsible for the production of a protein that must be present for H.I.V. to enter cells. Many nations, including the United States, have outlawed the use of CRISPR on humans, asserting that it is an unethical and irresponsible practice. In China it is legal to modify embryos, however they are not permitted to remain viable for more than 14 days. Dr. He’s trial involved eight couples in which the male was positive for H.I.V. and the female was not. After modifying the embryos, he used in vitro fertilization to further reduce the risk of H.I.V. At a human genome editing conference at the University of Hong Kong, He maintained that the participants were informed of the procedure and potential risks involved. Yet this failed to alleviate discomfort in the room, with many of his colleagues making accusations of deliberate secrecy due to the controversy surrounding the project.  
Many fear that the birth of the first genetically modified humans will open the floodgates for gene editing. They claim that with the barrier broken, we will soon be living in an era of designer babies and superhumans. This seems somewhat reactionary, and with new reports that Dr. He has gone missing and is allegedly under house arrest, the scientific community and the Chinese government have made it abundantly clear that this kind of activity is still unacceptable. Many have also taken issue with the fact that there are alternative and much simpler methods, especially when only the father is infected with H.I.V. Additionally, only one copy of the CCR5 gene was disabled in one of the twins, and both were disabled in the other, which just adds another variable for potential issues in the future. Past efforts to edit embryos have brought some unintended effects such as off-target mutations and mosaicism, where the altered gene only appears in some cells. The scientific community can continue to shun and denounce his work, but it’s important that we allow responsible hands to monitor development of the twins.

I appreciated that the author was able to condense the story leading up to the new developments into one short paragraph. This made it easy to follow while simultaneously acting as an effective starting point for the rest of the article. She provided quotes from many voices of authority that creates an accurate representation of the tensions during the conference. She also gave many examples of faults that Dr. He’s colleagues have found with his work that further display the resentment within the community. However, I don’t agree with how she structured the article. For example, she discusses the genome editing summit and uses quotes from after the conference criticizing Dr. He’s work, but then back peddles and uses a line that more closely resembles a hook: “When Dr. He, 34, walked onstage in an open-collar shirt carrying a tan briefcase, it was clear this would be no ordinary conference presentation.” However, my main problem with the article is that the author limits discussion of the actual process to one short paragraph. I understand that it’s only a New York Times article and she doesn’t want to get tangled in some of the technicalities, but her explanation of Dr. He’s experiments is a little too simple. Additionally, she brushes over the research he had presented on mouse and monkey embryos prior to conducting human trials that would have been interesting to see.

Gutierrez, Graciela. “Microbial Based Treatment Reverses ASD's Social Deficits: Mouse Study.” Neuroscience News, Neuroscience News, Baylor College of Medicine, National Institutes of Health, Sammons Enterprise , 4 Dec. 2018, neurosciencenews.com/asd-microbial-treatment-120204/.

Recent experiments performed by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine give support to an unconventional idea that could finally allow for the treatment of the core symptoms of Autism Spectrum Disorder. The researchers found in 2016 that mice offspring of mothers fed high-fat diets had social deficits and changes in their gut microbiome characterized by reduction of the gut bacterium L. reuteri. The important revelation of this finding was that the researchers could reverse the social deficits caused by autism by restoring this bacteria. Additionally, since the tested model was only for one of the many underlying mechanisms of autism, the researchers investigated whether this finding applied to other mechanisms of autism with different causes (idiopathic- or spontaneous/unknown occurrence of disorder or condition- genetic, and environmental models), and adding L. reuteri worked in all tested models of the condition. Afterwards the researchers explored the mechanisms that mediate the rescue of social behavior in mice models of ASD with L. reuteri, and they discovered that the bacteria works in vagus nerve, which bidirectionally (in both directions) connects the gut microbiome to the brain. This is interesting because the supplication of a gut bacteria that was deficient would be expected to restore the composition of the gut microbiome, but rather this bacteria is actually restoring proper functionality to a pathway of a specific connection to the brain, which in turn promotes social interaction. Furthermore, when vagus nerve is active, oxytocin- a social interaction promoting hormone that activates “social reward” when it binds to neuron receptors- is released, so researchers tested whether genetically engineering mice without the oxytocin receptors on their reward neurons, blocking those receptors with certain drugs, cutting the connection between the gut and the brain, or interfering with oxytocin’s binding to the receptors would affect the bacteria’s ability to restore proper social behavior in the mice models of autism: in all cases, the bacteria could not restore social behavior in mice. This corroborates the finding that it is the oxytocin released by the vagus nerve that restores social behavior in mice models, not just the presence of this bacteria. These findings are important because not only does it change the way that neuroscientists and psychiatrists think about the treatment of autism and related disorders, but it gives support to the relatively new idea that it may be possible to control or alter specific behaviors through the gut microbiome by selecting specific strains of bacteria.

This final idea is hugely important because the ability to manipulate people’s gut microbiomes is turning out to have a wide variety of implications. The gut microbiome, which consists of trillions of types of bacteria, not only function in the brain, but they digest food, process nutrients, make vitamins B and K (I know personally that vitamin B makes all of the difference in emotional wellbeing), and produce immune system substances to fight inflammation and heal wounds. In addition to all of these functions, the microbiome is in constant, direct contact with the brain through immune and nerve cell pathways collectively known as the gut-brain axis. One of the neuroactive compounds made in the microbiome and sent to the brain is 90% of the brain’s serotonin, which helps stabilize emotions and prevent depression. In addition to autism, shifts in the composition of the gut microbiome through certain bacterias outcompeting other, necessary ones have been linked to inflammatory bowel disease, blood cancers, and dementia-causing conditions. With such a diverse functionality, the ability to alter specific behaviors through a more advanced understanding of the types of bacteria may fix a wide range of health related problems before the ethical and practical concerns of genetic engineering ever have to be considered. In the foreseeable future, the race to discover and study all of the various bacteria in the microbiome could be the modern day version of the race to sequence the human genome, both in the sense that it will be a literal race and that there may be a gold mine of information in accomplishing such a task that could drastically improve the conditions of many people (the citation for the microbiome information is in the footnote).

In conclusion, this article was well-written in the sense that it highlighted the important points, especially in the beginning to grab attention, and synthesized important quotes from the experts in the topic for the analytical side of the research. This use placement of expert quotes gives credibility to the article. However, one weakness of the article is that it somewhat places a positive spin on the research, using only the most optimistic facts about the research to make the reader think that the experimental results were more full proof than they actually were (ie “Surprisingly, they discovered that, indeed, L. reuteri can trigger the recovery of social behaviors in all the models they tested, suggesting that this microbial-based approach could improve social behavior in a wider subset of ASD.”) Indeed, the abstract of the actual paper paints a more realistic view of the findings by stating that, “However, whether the effect of L. reuteri on social behavior is generalizable to other ASD models and its mechanism(s) of action remains unknown. Here, we found that treatment with L. reuteri selectively rescues social deficits in genetic, environmental, and idiopathic ASD models.” Note that unlike the article, the abstract concedes that the tests were limited with respect to the models it used versus all of the possible ASD models that exist, that the way the L. reuteri work in the vagus nerve is still unknown, and that the bacterial treatment only selectively rescued social deficits in the tested models. When writing to a scientifically curious audience, it is important that an article paints a realistic picture of the research so that the average reader won’t just think that one finding can do something as grand as automatically cure an important ASD symptom. The lesson that research is a long, cumulative process is important for any budding scientist to learn.