Ella Stupart
Mr. Ippolito C Even
March 27, 2019
Current Event #20
Citation:
Cunningham, Aimee. “Sperm with Damaged DNA May Cause Some Repeat Miscarriages.” Science News, 26 Mar. 2019, www.sciencenews.org/article/sperm-damaged-dna-may-cause-some-repeat-miscarriages?tgt=nr.
In the article “Sperm with damaged DNA may cause some repeat miscarriages,” Aimee Cunningham discusses the possibility of sperm being the cause of repeated miscarriages rather than issues with the female reproductive system. Cunningham introduces a study that was done where 49 men were tested whos partners’ lost their babies before the 20 week mark at least three times in a row. According to the article, the men in the study had double the amount of damaged sperm and four times the amount of harmful molecules than healthy men who were tested for reproductive issues. Endocrinologist, Bradley Anawalt, claims that traditionally doctors have focused on health problems with the women when repeated miscarriages occur. Using this method, 50% of cases of miscarriages were never solved. Issues with the sperm that were never discovered is likely the solution to this medical mystery. Previous methods of counting sperm were not reliable because their methods of determining whether sperm was viable or not was not standard. In this study, they measured the levels of reactive oxygen species in the sperm to determine whether or not sperm was healthy. High levels of these species in sperm can cause damage to the DNA.
This study is extremely important to new discoveries when it comes to miscarriages. Methods of helping couples get pregnant can result from this study and thousands of couples will be able to have children who previously lost hope. Hopefully there will be many babies born that wouldn’t have been if it weren’t for these discoveries. This may also lead to the discovery of other specific ways that miscarriages can occur and help doctors get a better understanding of how to help couples who have trouble getting pregnant or maintaining a pregnancy.
This was a well organized and informative article. The study was explained well and all of the information was introduced in chronological order. In order to improve this article, the author could have explained the importance of healthy sperm in maintaining a pregnancy. It would be helpful to know exactly why and how miscarriages occur so often with some couples and not with others. It would also be helpful if the author discussed whether a man is born with damaged sperm or whether certain life events can cause sperm not to be viable. I also wish the author included any findings or success stories that have resulted from this study.
Ella does many things well when reviewing this article. Her summary is very clear. She not only explains the present idea but also why the idea is so different from the past and how this idea can change the way that people look at miscarriages. She even goes into detail, but not too much detail, to inform the reader about the reactive oxygen species in the sperm. In addition, Ella also does a good job of explaining how this study can help couples who previously lost hope in having children and how it can be the baseline for other specific discoveries that can help prevent miscarriages. I like that Ella questions the idea of whether or not a man is born with healthy sperm.
ReplyDeleteElla could improve slightly on a few aspects of her review. Ella mentions that the Author could mention how healthy sperm is important in maintaining a pregnancy, but when the author emphasizes the bad effects of unhealthy sperm I think that the reader can logically infer that healthy sperm is vital to a healthy baby. In addition, I wish that Ella further explained how this new information can help doctors help their patients. I was left wondering what doctors can do about unhealthy sperm.
Reading this article made me consider the thought that often times we have all of the information under our noses, but we are often looking at the wrong pieces of information. In the past, we have been so caught up in how the woman causes a miscarriage that nobody really thought to examine the man. I was very impressed and intrigued by the topic Ella chose and I was very surprised by this new finding.
Layla Brinster
ReplyDeleteAP Biology
Mr. Ippolito
3/27/19
Current Event #20 Comment
Cunningham, Aimee. “Sperm with Damaged DNA May Cause Some Repeat Miscarriages.” Science News, 26 Mar. 2019, www.sciencenews.org/article/sperm-damaged-dna-may-cause-some-repeat-miscarriages?tgt=nr.
Ella’s review of Aimee Cunnigham’s “Sperm with Damaged DNA May Cause Some Repeat Miscarriages” included the important details for her summary, addressed points where the author could improve and made important connections. Ella mentioned how the problem with miscarriages could be the man’s sperm, rather than the women's reproductive system. She also noted the study, how the researchers analyzed semen from 49 men, and how they recognized the DNA damage in the sperm. Furthermore, Ella brought up areas in which Cunningham could enhance her article: explain the frequency of miscarriages within certain couples and the origin of damaged sperm. I agree with Ella, these details would have strengthened Cunningham’s article. Also, Ella connected the importance of this discovery with the future. Doctors can try and figure out new ways miscarriages occur and what methods can be taken to prevent miscarriages in the future.
In terms of improvements, Ella could have incorporated ‘recurrent pregnancy loss’. Recurrent pregnancy loss happens within the first 20 weeks of pregnancy and affects 1-2% of couples. Moreover, “recurrent pregnancy loss can be traced to chromosomal abnormalities or health issues in the mother such as a hormone or blood-clotting disorders. But in up to 50 percent of cases, no explanation can be found.” This information emphasizes the idea that sperm with DNA damage causes miscarriages. Ella also could have quoted researchers and scientists from the article. Doing this supports her point and highlights the important information in the article in a more effective manner.
Overall, this article was very interesting and opened my eyes to another side of miscarriages. I chose this article because the title sounded new and intriguing. I knew that recurring miscarriages was a medical concept and always thought that the women’s reproductive system was at the root of the problem. I never considered that the man’s sperm could have DNA damage and therefore by the cause of many miscarriages. This article was enlightening and offered a new perspective on medical issues.
Alisa Kanganis
ReplyDeleteAP Biology
Current Event 20
March 27, 2019
Cunningham, Aimee. “Sperm with Damaged DNA May Cause Some Repeat Miscarriages.”
Science News, 26 Mar. 2019, www.sciencenews.org/article/sperm-damaged-dna-may-cause-some-repeat-miscarriages?tgt=nr.
I really enjoyed reading Ella’s review of “Sperm with Damaged DNA May Cause Some Repeat Miscarriages”. First, her review is very concise, yet also informative. She used a number of statistics to enhanced her review. For instance, she stated that only “50% of cases of miscarriages were never solved” using the new method. Lastly, I like how she added her own take on the article, stating that “author could have explained the importance of healthy sperm in maintaining a pregnancy”.
There are two areas where Ella could improve her review. For instance, I wish she added a part on why this topic is important to her or why she chose to write about it. Second, I wish she elaborated on what exactly “damaged” sperm are and why they cause miscarriages in the first place.
Overall, I enjoyed reading about this topic. I never knew that miscarriages were so mysterious and often go unsolved. Through this review, I was able to gain a good understanding on the topic at hand.