Erin Foley
October 4th, 2020
AP Biology C Block Even
Current Event 2 Review
Swayne, Matt. “Scientists Take a Step toward Understanding 'Jumping Genes' Effect on the Genome.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 2 Oct. 2020, phys.org/news/2020-10-scientists-genes-effect-genome.html.
This article reveals important new information revealed about the human genome, specifically, why some sequences move around different locations within it. These sequences - referred to as "Long Interspersed Elements-1" (L1s), or more commonly as "jumping genes" - are important to understand for a number of reasons. They make up 17% of the human genome, regulating many of the genome's functions, and throughout the course of evolution, they have expanded the size of our genome by giving rise to many new jumping gene sequences. After extensive research using computer models (which has been published in a recent issue of Molecular Biology and Evolution), researchers at Penn State concluded that the "jumping" is not random - these sequences show trends of integrating in one particular spot of the genome and ending up in another genomic location after some evolutionary time. Moreover, they found that as L1s jump about the genome, they greatly affect the genomic landscapes at which they arrive. Thus, it has been concluded that L1s have an evolutionary impact on one's genome - their movement is not random or without consequences. Knowing this, geneticists have hyper-focused on figuring out L1s' impacts of diseases and important traits that are encoded in the genome, as this could unlock many mysteries in the medical field.
This information could be pivotal in the medical industry and on society, with medical applications in oncology and neurology. For instance, analyses of DNA sequences of certain cancers and neurology reveal that there are certain L1s/movements of L1s associated with them. Considering the fact that around 18 million people in the world have cancer, and a staggering 1 billion suffer from neurological diseases, any developments in understanding their links to genes are essential. Moreover, the advanced technology used to investigate L1s in this study has major implications for the medical/genomics field. The method of 'functional data analysis' that the researches used allowed them to analyze the genomic landscape at a much higher resolution than is offered by the traditional 'comparing average values' method. This computer modeling method will most likely be adopted by other researches in the genomics field, and will enable their research across a range of diseases. The analyses of L1s will allow researchers to understand more about critical diseases, which will directly impact society by potentially saving hundreds of millions of lives.
This article was extremely informative and well-organized, but could be strengthened by a few simple tweaks. It was organized so that a brief introduction to genomics/jumping genes was given prior to the description of the study, which allows a larger number of readers to understand the article (as not everyone knows what jumping genes actually are). It then described the study in detail, including specifics on how it was conducted, which allows the reader to better visualize the findings. Finally, it described the real-world implications of these findings, which helps the reader to understand its significance, rather than simply hearing facts about our DNA. I feel as if I learned a lot about a topic I know very little about in a short period of time. Still, there were a few ways in which it could be improved. Firstly, the author could've spent more time describing the implications of this study on oncology and neurology, as that's the part that will draw in most readers. I understand that any conclusions drawn about cancer and neurological diseases is crucial and positively impacts millions, however, the conclusions drawn should have been more focused on. I would've better understood the significance of the study if I could've understood the exact developments being made in the medical study. Overall, however, the article provided relevant and to-the-point information that made it easy to understand complex topics.
Victoria Ruffo
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
AP BIO
10/2//20
Citation:
Swayne, Matt. “Scientists Take a Step toward Understanding 'Jumping Genes' Effect on the Genome.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 2 Oct. 2020, phys.org/news/2020-10-scientists-genes-effect-genome.html.
Hyperlink to Article:
https://phys.org/news/2020-10-scientists-genes-effect-genome.html
Hyperlink to Blog:
https://bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/
Overall, Erin gave a very detailed review of her article. First, I like how Erin redefines the more sophisticated terms in her review. For instance, she writes, “These sequences - referred to as "Long Interspersed Elements-1" (L1s), or more commonly as "jumping genes" - are important to understand for a number of reasons,” (Review). If Erin had just written, “Long Interspersed Elements” I would be confused as to what she was referring to; however, her short description “Jumping genes” helped make the subject more clear. Second, I love how Erin gives specific examples as to how these findings could be pivotal in the medical industry. She explains, “or instance, analyses of DNA sequences of certain cancers and neurology reveal that there are certain L1s/movements of L1s associated with them,” (Review). Erin avoids generalizing the topic and shows a true understanding of the material discussed in the article. This helps Erin establish her credibility. Lastly, Erin does a great job summarizing the strengths of her article. She brings her audience through an organized and thorough overview of her article. She explains, “It was organized so that a brief introduction to genomics/jumping genes was given prior to the description of the study...It then described the study in detail, including specifics on how it was conducted,” (review). Her analysis of the article was well thought out and well communicated.
Although Erin’s review was very successful, there are still a few areas where she could improve. First, Erin could have pulled more direct evidence from her article. Data and statistics are very engaging for the audience so this would have definitely helped enhance her review. When Erin states, “Researchers at Penn State concluded that the "jumping" is not random - these sequences show trends of integrating in one particular spot of the genome and ending up in another genomic location after some evolutionary time” she could have provided the audience with a piece of evidence that supported these claims. Moreover, I wish Erin focused more on the weaknesses in her article. In her final paragraph, she gives three strengths and only one critique being, “The author could've spent more time describing the implications of this study on oncology and neurology, as that's the part that will draw in most readers,” (review). Erin could have gone into more depth about what implications she wanted to know more about or what exact information she wanted the article to further explore. This would have added some more substance to the last paragraph considering this portion of the review was a bit vague.
One thing I found interesting about this article was Erin’s relevance paragraph where she reveals that these findings could help save millions of lives. Before reading, I did not know that certain LI/ gene movements could be correlated with cancer and other illnesses. Considering these new findings, I am excited to see how the medical industry makes use of this new information. Hopefully this research allows them to mitigate the effects of cancer and other diseases or maybe even ultimately terminate these illnesses. Overall, I thought this was a very compelling article and review. Erin made a very good choice in selecting this article as it provides us with a lot of useful and eye opening information.
Ava Black - Comment
ReplyDeleteSwayne, Matt. “Scientists Take a Step toward Understanding 'Jumping Genes' Effect on the Genome.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 2 Oct. 2020, phys.org/news/2020-10-scientists-genes-effect-genome.html.
Foley, Erin. ""Scientists take a step toward understanding 'jumping genes' effect on the genome" - Review by Erin Foley" Blogspot.com, 4 Oct. 2020, bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2020/10/scientists-take-step-toward.html
In Erin's review of "Scientists Take a Step toward Understanding 'Jumping Genes'", she does a particularly great job of explaining what "Long Interspersed Elements-1"(L1s) are. This topic is complicated, however, she explains it in a straightforward way. Erin first goes on to describe the role that Ls1 plays in the body and then explains why scientists are so intrigued. She proves to that she took the time to understand this topic and explain it in a way that is straightforward and easy to follow. Erin also organized her current event in a great way. She would write "Ls1... are important to understand for a number of reasons", and then go on to list those reasons. These types of statements made her writing more clear and organized. Erin also did a good job of describing how L1s are important for research purposes. She explained that millions of people suffer from cancer as well as neurological disease and emphasizes the fact that researchers can advance their studies with this newfound information on L1s. Finally, Erin did a great job of supporting different claims with specific citations. For instance, instead of explaining that "researchers" concluded that the sequence of the L1s jumping is not random, she wrote "researchers at Penn State". Additionally, she added in the title of the issue in which this issue was published: Molecular Biology and Evolution. Overall, Erin did a great job of thoroughly explaining the different concepts and importance of this newfound discoveries regarding L1s.
To improve this article, Erin could have created a better introduction. I felt that I didn't really understand the event that happened which led to the new understanding of Ls1. Erin focused her article more on explaining the concepts rather than setting the scene of this event. She writes in her first sentence that new research was discovered, but doesn't go into detail of explaining who, specifically, made this discovery. I feel this article would be a little more intriguing if I knew more personal information regarding the researchers who discovered the new information.
Overall, I learned that L1s is in charge of regulating the functions of the human genome. Scientists have often questioned L1s moves to different locations throughout the genome. It has been discovered, however, that the "jumping" shows certain trends of accumulating in one spot of the genome and then moving to another over an evolutionary time. I also learned of the importance of understanding L1s. In DNA sequences of certain cancers it has been found that L1s and its movement is associated with them.
Annabelle Krause
ReplyDeleteAP Bio
Current Event 2
Oct. 4, 2020
Swayne, Matt. “Scientists Take a Step toward Understanding 'Jumping Genes' Effect on the
Genome.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 2 Oct. 2020, phys.org/news/2020-10-scientists-genes-effect-genome.html.
Foley, Erin. “‘Scientists take a step toward understanding ‘jumping genes’ effect on the genome’
- Review by Erin Foley.” Blogspot.Com, 4 Oct. 2020,
https://bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2020/10/scientists-take-step-toward.html. Accessed 4 Oct. 2020.
Erin did a very good job explaining a complicated topic. She emphasized the importance of the research, which I think is key to understanding why she chose this article and why we should care. Her use of statistics like when she wrote “Considering the fact that around 18 million people in the world have cancer, and a staggering 1 billion suffer from neurological diseases” (Foley), really emphasized the consequences of new discoveries in this ever-evolving field. Erin also explained the actual study very well. She discussed briefly the different entities involved (such as Molecular Biology and Evolution and Penn State Biology researchers). She introduced the basis of the science and gave us a quick overview of what was done so that she could analyze the article in full. Lastly, Erin was very clear and concise in her writing. It is obvious that she went to great lengths to make sure that her readers could understand her intentions and that she would not get tripped up in the scientific language that obviously existed in her article. Overall, Erin did great!
One area where she could have improved is her description of the actual scientific process. In her efforts to simplify and summarize, some of the background information about how the genome affects oncology and neurology got a little bit lost. If she had spent more time focused on this, which became the focus of her analysis, her summary would have been better utilized. I also think that it would have been helpful if Erin had given some background into what previous studies had discovered or believed about L1s before it was known that they jumped with purpose. It would be interesting to know how this one change in the understanding of the genome can change a whole field, and I think some historical (to some degree) background would have emphasized that point further.
Overall, I learned a lot about the genome that I did not know before. I had never heard of jumping genes, so Erin’s article was very informative for me. I chose this partially because I knew nothing about it, but also because Erin briefly discussed its implications for neurology. My grandmother is a retired neurologist, so I like that I have a little bit of a personal connection to what Erin was writing about. Next time I think about the genome, this will definitely be the first thing I recall, so it definitely had an impact on my perception of the study of genes and their implications for medicine.
Megan Krestinski - Current Event Comment
ReplyDeleteSwayne, Matt. “Scientists Take a Step
toward Understanding 'Jumping Genes' Effect on the Genome.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 2 Oct. 2020, phys.org/news/2020-10-scientists-genes-effect-genome.html.
Link to Erins Current Event:
https://bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2020/10/scientists-take-step-toward.html
This article summarizes new information about the human genome. It is stated that sequences move around to different locations. These jumping genes make up 17 percent of the human genome and regulate many of the genomes functions. Researchers found that this jumping is not random, yet the sequences integrate one particular spot of the genome and end up in another location due to evolution. This was an important step in science, as analyses of DNA sequences of certain cancers and neurology reveal that there are certain movements of L1s associated with them, which can lead scientists in the right direction to finding a cure to cancer, that so many people suffer from.
One thing the author could’ve done better was better explain how cancer relates to the L1 gene, and how learning this new discovery could lead to improvements in the medical field to finding a cure.
1 fact I learned that I thought was very interesting that Erin highlighted was that these specific genes make up 17 percent of the human genome. This was interesting because it shows how important this discovery was to understanding the human genome and humans in general.
Julia Reich
ReplyDeleteMr. Ippolito
AB Biology C Even
10/5/20
Swayne, Matt. “Scientists Take a Step toward Understanding 'Jumping Genes' Effect on the
Genome.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 2 Oct. 2020, phys.org/news/2020-10-scientists-genes-effect-genome.html.
Foley, Erin. ""Scientists take a step toward understanding 'jumping genes' effect on the genome"
- Review by Erin Foley" Blogspot.com, 4 Oct. 2020, bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2020/10/scientists-take-step-toward.html
-Throughout Erin’s review of “Scientists Take a Step toward Understanding ‘Jumping Genes’ Effect on the Genome,” she concisely describes what the jumping genes are and how they function and affect the genome. Erin applied the seemingly bizarre subject of a jumping gene in the real world, which was very well done. Instead of the subject seeming like it is from a sci-fi movie, I can see the appliance in real medicine and science. Another aspect done well by Erin is her inclusion of specific citations and sources. Simply instead of citing an unspecific lab or research group, she uses researchers from “Penn State.” This lets the reader know that the data is real and significant. Lastly, when Erin was critiquing the article, she politely included her opinion. She specifically writes about describing the implications of the study on oncology and neurology. I was moved by her comments but I also respect them. Her review was very well-written
-There are a few aspects Eric could have worked one in her review. The first is the definition of several scientific terms. These include but are not limited to “genome, jumping gene sequences, oncology/neurology). Though people may know these terms, there are others that may not and may need clarification. Erin could fix this simply by incorporating definitions of the words periodically throughout her review. Secondly, I feel as though Erin could have simplified certain sentences that contain a considerable amount of scientific and medical knowledge. This specific topic may be hard for certain individuals to compreenda and it is even more difficult with fuller sentences. She could easily fix this by simply shortening her sentences. Overall, her review was more well-written and had few mistakes.
-I have never heard about L1s before reading Erin’s review, which I can safely say applies to a plethora of individuals in the world. The science and complete understanding of the jumping genes and how scientists could manipulate the genome to see the patterns of cancer/ neurological diseases is incredible and fascinating. I truly learned more about the atoms that make up 7.8 billion people on the earth. I hope scientists are finally able to comprehend the full extent of these jumping genomes to help the millions of cancer patients and one billion suffering from neurological diseases.
Milly Koenig
ReplyDeleteAP Bio
Current Event 2
Oct. 4, 2020
Swayne, Matt. “Scientists Take a Step toward Understanding 'Jumping Genes' Effect on the Genome.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 2 Oct. 2020, phys.org/news/2020-10-scientists-genes-effect-genome.html.
Foley, Erin. ""Scientists take a step toward understanding 'jumping genes' effect on the genome" - Review by Erin Foley" Blogspot.com, 4 Oct. 2020, bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2020/10/scientists-take-step-toward.html
In the review of "Scientists Take a Step toward Understanding 'Jumping Genes'" written by Erin Foley, she is able to articulate and very well explain what exactly "Long Interspersed Elements-1"(L1s) are. Despite the whole topic of genomes being very complicated, I feel as though she was able to explain and simplify the ideas into digestible pieces of information. She begins by explaining the roll of Ls1s in the body and proceeds to what exactly scientists find so fascinating about them. The way in which Erin Foley was able to organize her ideas shows a complex understanding of the topic and she is able to outline her ideas to show the reader what is coming next. She wrote “Ls1... are important to understand for a number of reasons… this is why they are so intriguing" and then continues to explain her point. She did this throughout her review which made her ideas easy to follow and helps the reader to understand the complex topic. A second aspect of Erins writing that was very well done was the way in which she showed the importance of L1s; She did this by highlighting the number of people suffering from cancer each year and how this complicated subject could hold the key to furthering research. A final aspect that Erin did well was her ability to include her opinion on the article which remained professional and polite towards the author; noting the impact of the study involving oncology and neurology. By including this in her writing it addresses the implicit bias and in this case resulted in a very well written article.
Although the review was very well written, there were a few things that Erin could have done to improve the writing. Firstly, I feel as though the beginning of the review was rather short and coil have benefited with a longer and more explanatory introduction. She glazed over the turning point that resulted in the new understanding of Ls1 which could help me better understand the rest of her writing. Secondly, with a topic as complicated as this and bringing in so many different branches of science, it would be beneficial to include definitions of complicated terms. These terms include “genome”, “genomic landscapes” and “functional data analysis”; although many people know what these terms mean, it would help to define them to simplify the writing further.
After reading Erins review, it is safe to say that I am much better informed about L1s and the role that they play in regulating and keeping the human genome functioning. Throughout history, scientists have been left to wonder how often L1s “jump” throughout the genome; and have only recently discovered that this is not fully random, but rather follows trends and patterns over evolutionary time. In conclusion I have a much better understanding of L1s and their critical role in every person on the planet.
Citation:
ReplyDeleteSwayne, Matt. “Scientists Take a Step toward Understanding 'Jumping Genes' Effect on the Genome.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 2 Oct. 2020, phys.org/news/2020-10-scientists-genes-effect-genome.html.
Blog Link:
https://bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2020/10/scientists-take-step-toward.html
Response:
Erin did a very solid job outlining the subject of this article, taking a complex topic and making it easy to understand. The first aspect of her review that was really well done is the conciseness and clarity of the summary in the first paragraph. When I read the article after her review I realized that she had really touched on all the main points of the topic. For example, the final sentence in her summary reads, “Knowing this, geneticists have hyper-focused on figuring out L1s' impacts of diseases and important traits that are encoded in the genome, as this could unlock many mysteries in the medical field.” I thought this sentence nicely wrapped up the overview by showing how this subject is meaningful. Another thing that Erin did very well was transition seamlessly between ideas. The use of phrases such as ‘moreover, thus, and knowing this’ Erin was able to create a simple flow of information that was easy to follow. In turn, this made understanding the topic effortless because she made all of the connections for us in the summary. The final sentence of the first paragraph that I mentioned before is an example of this. She mentions what the impact of analyzing L1’s is and then goes into a new paragraph about the relevance of this topic to readers. A third aspect of Erin’s review that I enjoyed was how well she explained the impact of L1’s on us readers. She clearly outlined how research was being conducted on “jumping genes” and then went on to explain that this research had the potential of saving millions of lives. This is shown in the sentence, “This computer modeling method will most likely be adopted by other researches in the genomics field, and will enable their research across a range of diseases. The analyses of L1s will allow researchers to understand more about critical diseases, which will directly impact society by potentially saving hundreds of millions of lives.”
Although I mentioned that Erin’s review was easy to follow and understand, there were moments where more explanation would have been helpful. In the first paragraph she mentions a lot of complex topics such as jumping genes, computer models, and the integration of jumping genes over evolutionary time. The convolutedness of all these ideas made it tough to read because I would pause after sentences I didn’t understand. She could’ve fixed this weakness by providing brief descriptions following the mention of topics that may be difficult to comprehend. Another weakness in Erin’s review was that she didn’t include outside information that she found on her own. This of course isn’t a requirement because the review is about this article, but outside information would have been interesting to hear. For instance, some varying perspectives on jumping genes or previous studies done.
This review and the information that it provided granted me a lot of knowledge that I didn’t have before. I had never heard of jumping genes and after reading about their potential this really startles me. The fact that this is my first time hearing about such an innovative treatment which could save millions tells me I need to be more in touch with the news. I have heard of treatments involved with the genome such as CRISPR, so it was interesting to hear about another aspect of this topic.
Swayne, Matt. “Scientists Take a Step toward Understanding 'Jumping Genes' Effect on the
ReplyDeleteGenome.” Phys.org, Phys.org, 2 Oct. 2020, phys.org/news/2020-10-scientists-genes-effect-genome.html.
Foley, Erin. "Scientists Take a Step toward Understanding 'Jumping Genes' Effect on the
Genome" - Review by Erin Foley, 1 Jan. 1970, bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2020/10/scientists-take-step-toward.html.
In Erin’s review, I enjoyed how well she was able to make the topic of jumping genes easier to conceptualize even though the idea is very complicated. I also liked how Erin was very specific and straightforward with her information, and where the information was found. Lastly, Erin’s review was overall well written and well organized.
Although I found Erin’s review very well done, I believe that even though the information was easy to understand, to accomplish this she may have condensed the information and left out some background details. This would have been helpful because it would give a better timeline to the study and reveal the reasoning behind the study. Next, I would find it interesting if her review included the procedure the scientists and Penn went through to come to the conclusion that the jumping was not random.
One thing I learned from Erin’s review is that the jumping of the “jumping-gene” is not random at all and therefore the L1s have an impact on the evolution of one’s genomes. I found this article and Erin’s review very interesting because this finding can unlock the answer to many scientific questions. I believe that the findings discovered in this study will not only change my life but the lives of many because it can help scientists figure out the relation between the L1 gene and disease.