Melissa Marchetti
AP Bio/Mr Ippolito
Current Event
11/10/20
Saey, Tina Hesman. “Some Neandertal Genes May up the Risk of Severe COVID-19.” Science News for Students, 14 Oct. 2020, www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/covid-19-coronavirus-neandertal-genes-increase-risk-severe-infection.
For this week's current event review, I chose to read “Some Neandertal Genes May up the Risk of Severe COVID-19” by Tina Hesman Saey. In her article, Saey describes a recent connection made between neandertal DNA and COVID-19 cases. She first describes the discovery of the link; she notes that scientists recognized a pattern in the chromosomes among severely ill covid patients. Specifically, she describes a stretched 3rd chromosome, a common DNA trait once present in our extinct and distant relatives, the Neandertals. She states that “about half of all people whose ancestors come from South Asia — especially from Bangladesh — carry this bit of Neandertal legacy, this new study notes. So do about 16 percent (not quite one in every six people) in Europe today”(Saey). Dropping those frightening and still ambiguous statistics, Saey also reminds her readers that having a stretch in the 3rd chromosome does not mean covid will kill you if caught. She recognizes that this data is fairly new, and also acknowledges other leading factors in being affected by covid such as age and physical fitness.
Given that we are still in the midst of a pandemic, I’d say Saey’s content is extremely relevant. While many might want to hear other or different news about the virus, new discoveries are being made about covid every day and deserve coverage. While this information is not as groundbreaking as a cure or vaccine, it is still important as we are becoming more familiar with the virus.
In general, I found this article to be very interesting. I appreciated the author's careful explanation of scientific language as it made reading more enjoyable. Additionally, I was impressed by her use of factual evidence to back her claims. However, I worry that this article may trigger paranoia and fear among southern Asians and select Europeans. Although she mentioned she did not intend for anyone to panic over this information, I would advise her to be more careful in writing about such a relevant and current issue.
Maya Brinster
ReplyDeleteAP Bio EF Even
November 18, 2020
Current Event #7
https://bronxvilleapbiology.blogspot.com/2020/11/melissa-marchetti-ap-biomr-ippolito.html#comment-form
Saey, Tina Hesman. “Some Neandertal Genes May up the Risk of Severe COVID-19.” Science News for Students, 14 Oct. 2020, www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/covid-19-coronavirus-neandertal-genes-increase-risk-severe-infection.
For current event 7, I read Melissa Marchetti’s review of the article “Some Neandertal Genes May up the Risk of Severe COVID-19” by Tina Hesman Saey. The article describes similar chromosomal patterns between severely ill Covid-19 patients and the Neandertals. According to Saey, a stretched 3rd chromosome that was found in the patients were passed down by these distant ancestors that came from South Asia. Although there is a correlation between this chromosomal abnormality and the severeness of the coronavirus, this information was just discovered, so other factors could impact the severity as well. Melissa did a great job in citing information, and uses quotes multiple times, which strengthens her argument immensely. She also gives a detailed summary, which is very helpful to readers that had not previously known about this discovery. I also enjoyed how Melissa has a strong voice throughout her review, which is particularly prominent in her last paragraph, where she explains the downsides to publishing this fairly new information.
Although Melissa is a great writer, there are a few areas in which she can improve upon. I found it pretty difficult to read this review smoothly, because of a few formatting errors. A few words got abruptly cut off, and there was also a long sentence that ran off the page. I would recommend that Melissa find a different method of transferring her writing to this blog, so that readers can have an easier time reading it in the future. I also feel as if Melissa could have added a bit onto her relativity paragraph, because it seems as if there wasn’t much she had to say. However, it may just seem like a smaller amount of information because of the formatting error.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this review, and it made me more aware of the many different factors that can impact the severity of the Coronavirus, which is extremely relevant today. It made me more aware of how seemingly insignificant factors can actually have a huge impact on certain health factors.