Caitlin Mooney
Mr. Ippolito
Current Event 20
3/26/19
"Study Finds Shark Fins & Meat Contain High Levels of Neurotoxins Linked to Alzheimer's Disease." Study Finds Shark Fins & Meat Contain High Levels of Neurotoxins Linked to Alzheimer's Disease. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2018.
In the article “Study finds shark fins & meat contain high level of neurotoxins linked to Alzheimer's disease”, this article explained how there were high concentrations of toxins in the fins and muscle in 10 different species of sharks. In a new study at the University of Miami, scientists found that those toxins are linked to neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimers and ALS. This was discovered when fin and muscle tissue samples of the sharks found that there are concentrations of two toxins-mercury and BMAA (β-N-methylamino-L-alanine). These substances pose a threat to human health alone and an even higher risk together. Neil Hammerschlag, a research assistant professor at the UM Rosenstiel school explained, “Since sharks are predators, living higher up on the food web, their tissues tend to accumulate and concentrate toxins, which may not only pose a threat to shark health but also put the human consumers of shark parts at risk.”
About 16 % of the world's shark species are threatened with extinction, but now that we understand how consuming shark parts may be harmful the shark population may be saved. Although consuming sharks could harm people, the outcome is positive because these toxins are saving an overfished species. But many people could see this discovery as negative because it could ruin their favorite food or bring them out of their line of work.
Overall I thought that this article was well written I still think there are some ways the author could have improved his/her writing. The first way that the author could have improved the article was if he/she included his/her name because it is impossible for someone to correctly credit the text. Also, I think the author was a little biased because he/she only talked about the positive effects for sharks after finding the toxins. But besides those issues, I think that this article was easy to follow and I learned a lot about this worldwide problem.
Charlotte Cagliostro
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
AP Biology / Current Event 20
3/27/19
"Study Finds Shark Fins & Meat Contain High Levels of Neurotoxins Linked to Alzheimer's Disease." Study Finds Shark Fins & Meat Contain High Levels of Neurotoxins Linked to Alzheimer's Disease. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2018. http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2018/08/29/study_finds_shark_fins_meat_contain_high_levels_of_neurotoxins_linked_to_alzheimers_disease.html
Caitlin Mooney wrote a very good review of the Biology News Net article, "Study Finds Shark Fins & Meat Contain High Levels of Neurotoxins Linked to Alzheimer's Disease." There were specifically three parts of her work that I liked. First, I enjoyed her writing style. She was able to write in a sophisticated manner while still educating the reader. Second, I liked her use of quotes as they were able to further legitimize her writing. Third, I liked her final paragraph in which she critiqued the original article. She provided a very accurate analysis of the piece she was reviewing. There are numerous other aspects of her piece that I enjoyed; however, these are my favorite three.
Although Caitlin wrote a great review, I think she could have improved it in two ways. First, I think she should have included more data and statistics throughout her piece. Overall, I felt like there was a lack of concrete evidence. Second, I think she could have expanded upon her ideas in her second paragraph. I believe that Caitlin could have drawn more connections from the article’s subject matter to the real world and her readers.
One thing I learned from reading Caitlin’s review is that toxins found in 10 different species of sharks were recently linked to numerous diseases, such as ALS and Alzheimer's. I think it will be interesting to see how scientists will build upon these discoveries in future years.
Olivia Martin
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
Forensics / Current Event 1
9/10/19
"Study Finds Shark Fins & Meat Contain High Levels of Neurotoxins Linked to Alzheimer's Disease." Study Finds Shark Fins & Meat Contain High Levels of Neurotoxins Linked to Alzheimer's Disease. N.p., n.d. Web. 21 Nov. 2018.
http://www.biologynews.net/archives/2018/08/29/study_finds_shark_fins_meat_contain_high_levels_of_neurotoxins_linked_to_alzheimers_disease.html
Caitlin Mooney wrote an informative and clear review of "Study Finds Shark Fins & Meat Contain High Levels of Neurotoxins Linked to Alzheimer's Disease." by the Biology News Net. Firstly, I liked how Caitlin included data that does not necessarily have to do with the main issue being addressed in the article. Caitlin wrote that “About 16 % of the world's shark species are threatened with extinction” and continued to explain that now that humans are becoming more aware of the harm of consuming shark parts, the shark population might be saved. Although it was not the main point of the article, it is still an important fact to know when studying sharks and their effects on humans. The second thing I liked about Caitlin’s article was that she explains the reasoning for the facts that she uses. Caitlin wrote that there were “concentrations of two toxins-mercury and BMAA (β-N-methylamino-L-alanine)” found in fin and muscle tissue samples of sharks. She then explains that the “substances pose a threat to human health alone and an even higher risk together”. For readers that have little to no general knowledge of toxins, this supporting detail can be very helpful. Thirdly, I like how all of Caitlin’s information has a source. Although the sources can be found from the article, Caitlin always mentions what data came from where. She writes about “a new study at the University of Miami” and how it was impactful. She also writes about important research done by Neil Hammerschlag, a research assistant professor at the UM Rosenstiel school.
Although there are many positive things about Caitlin’s review, there are a few things she could improve. Firstly, even though I enjoyed the simplicity of her article, I feel Caitlin could have included a bit more of her own opinion. She included a lot of facts and numerical data, but not her own point of view that she wants to save the endangered shark species. Caitlin writes that “now that we understand how consuming shark parts may be harmful the shark population may be saved.”, but never spoke strongly about the endangered shark species except for in the beginning of the same sentence. Secondly, I felt Caitlin could have gone into more detail with some topics she included. Caitlin writes about the effects of “two toxins-mercury and BMAA (β-N-methylamino-L-alanine)” on human health, but if she had gone into more detail about the specific effects of the toxins, it may have been more impactful on the reader. She also includes a quote from Neil Hammerschlag about biomagnification, and it may have been helpful to readers that are uninformed on the topic if she elaborated a bit more herself.
Overall I found this article very informative and interesting. As someone who has studied environmental science in depth, I knew about biomagnification and about the toxins found in shark fins and muscle tissue. However, I found a new perception on the topic because of the positive outlook that Caitlin included at the end of her review. By discovering the harmful effects of shark fins and muscle tissue, people will stop killing and eating sharks as often as they do. This will therefore increase the population of sharks and possibly save them from endangerment. Although the long term effects of eating sharks is bad for humans, being educated to stop eating sharks is beneficial for humanity.