"Brain Scans Let Computer Reconstruct Movie Scenes"

The article “Brain Scans Let Computer Reconstruct Movie Scenes” of Dawn.com describes a recent breakthrough made at the University of California, Berkeley by a team of neuroscientists. In a paper published online Thursday by the journal Current Biology, the group revealed that they had successfully used computers to reconstruct movie clips. The videos were viewed by volunteers in MRI machines and computers then used data from their brain activity to reproduce the clips. While the reconstructed images were only blurry representations, they still mimicked shapes and movement, which is a tremendous breakthrough in the field of neuroscience. The tests were on done on the three co-authors of the report. They were required to remain motionless inside an MRI machine for several hours while the machine used a technique called functional MRI, which shows brain activity rather than anatomy. The computer that was employed had approximately 18 million one-second YouTube clips stored in it. These were then used to predict the brain activity that each of them would evoke. Then, as the subjects viewed 10 to 20 second movie clips, the computer matched their brain activity to that of the stored clips and created a blend of images. Scientists hope to improve the quality of these reconstructed clips by updating the computer with a larger number of stored moving images. Nevertheless, this is “one of the most impressive demonstrations of the scientific knowledge of how the visual system works,” noted Marcel Just, who is the director of the Center for Cognitive Brain Imaging at Carnegie Mellon University.

The implications and possible applications of this development are tremendous. As the technology improves and becomes more readily available, it may be able to help stroke victims and others who have no way to communicate by allowing people to understand their thoughts. Furthermore, some scientists speculate that it might reveal hallucinations and dreams in the future. It could also provide beneficial brain stimulation for those who experience difficulty while processing visual information. Finally, while the technology has the potential for mind-reading capability, experts note that it would only appear far in the future due to scope of information that still remains unknown about the brain.

This article had numerous strengths that made it well written and very informative. I particularly enjoyed the author’s successful integration of quotations. They included numerous quotes from a number of pertinent experts on various issues relating to the article. Furthermore, I found the author’s exploration of the technology’s possible applications to be both insightful and thought provoking. On the contrary, I felt that the author’s description of the experimentation process was slightly confusing. It was not arranged in a logical order and certain sections were redundant. In spite of that, I thoroughly enjoyed this article and learned a great deal.

AP. “Brain Scans Let Computer Reconstruct Movie Scenes.” DAWN.com. 25 Sept. 2011. Web. 25 Sept. 2011. <http://www.dawn.com/2011/09/25/brain-scans-let-computer-reconstruct-movie-scenes.html>.

Single-Sex Schooling Does Not Improve Academic Performance and Can Lead to Gender Stereotyping, Study Finds

Single-Sex Schooling Does Not Improve Academic Performance and Can Lead to Gender Stereotyping, Study Finds

The article I read is about single sex schools. Researchers have found that there is mo difference in academic achievement between single and mixed sex schools. The research was conducted at ASU’s school of social and family dynamics. Although previous studies on this subject show that gender segregated school do well academically, there is no evidence that they do better then mixed gender schools. The article also addresses the myth that boys and girls brains are different, and therefore will learn differently. This is not true, and while boys and girls have slightly dissimilar brains the area of difference don’t have an effect on how I child learns. The researchers from ASU also found that this type of segregation promotes sexism and gender stereotypes in school. Children who go to school in a single sex school experience a form of institutionalized sexism which leads to them growing up over aware of their gender stereotypes.

I think this article is very important. In the past our county has faced educational segregation in race, and it is one of our countries biggest embarrassment. Now we continue to segregate education but by gender. I think that is kids grow up focused too much on weather they are male or female and what that means in society today they might get distracted form the fact that a persons gender does not determine what job they need to take, or what kind of role they need to have in a family.

Overall I think that this article was written relatively well. I think that the author should add more detailed about the how the experiments where conducted, because the article mostly focuses on the results of the experiments. The author did a good job describing the research with languange that the reader could understand, but it would have been better if a few more terms could have been defined.

Arizona State University. "Single-sex schooling does not improve academic performance and can lead to gender stereotyping, study finds." ScienceDaily, 23 Sep. 2011. Web. 24 Sep. 2011.

Longevity Gene Debate Opens Trans-Atlantic Rift

Jack Dennen

This article from the New York Times by Nicholas Wade talks about the debate between British and American scientists on pursuing research on something known as the Longevity Gene. This gene is supposedly used to make sirtuins, a protein involved in controlling cell’s metabolism. The debate sees the British scientists say that the longevity gene is nearing the end of its life, or that the research should no longer be spend researching the gene that makes sirtuins, but the Americans, who have invested a lot of time and money into the gene say that this approach of trying to extend the life of humans still looks to be as promising as ever. This method of trying to extend the life expectancy of humans began when it was discovered that resveratrol, a chemical found in small quantities in red wine, was shown to activate sirtuin. This prompted the pharmaceutical company GlaxoSmithKline to spend $720 million funding a research project to try and create resveratol in the lab. There was an experiment done in 2001 in which roundworms and fruit flies were tested to see if sirtuin made them live longer. Although the tests came out positive, the article says the experiment was flawed because the control group did not have identical genetic make up of the experimental group, therefore, without repeating the experiment many times, a valid conclusion cannot be, therefore, drawn. The scientist redid the experiment in 2009 after learning about, and therefore removing a gene mutation, and still got the same results, although a bit less pronounced.  Also, there has been success in lab rats and mice. When given sirtuins and put on a low-calorie diet, the subjects lived an average of 40% longer than the control group. Although the results are positive, one cannot be certain that the sirtuin is the only mediator of longer life on the low calorie diet.

            This article has a great significance to humanity today. Recently, scientists and regular people alike have been becoming more and more interested in living longer and pushing the bounds of life. If this experiment is in fact relevant and does in fact turn out proven positive results, there will be millions upon millions of people waiting in line to try out this new treatment. There will always, however, be people who are arguing that the ethics behind the discovery is wrong. People will be arguing that it is morally wrong to take a magical treatment that increases your life span.

            I think the article is very interesting and relates to our AP Biology class very much. I think the author of the article could have talked more about the arguments the British and American scientists are making and go deeper into why they are making those claims. It does a good job talking about the different experiments that occurred and how they have been revised and criticized for repetition or fallacy.

Wade, Nicholas. "Longevity Gene Debate Opens Trans-Atlantic Rift." New York Times. 21 Sept. 2011. Web. 21 Sept. 2011. <http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/22/science/22longevity.html>.

36 Light Years From Here, New Hope for An Earth like Planet.

36 Light Years From Here, New Hope for An Earth like Planet.

By Dennis Overbye

A review

Sajid Chowdhury

The article “36 Light Years From Here, New Hope for An Earth Like Planet” by Dennis Overbye details new findings of a planet that might just be able to hold life. The planet in question is 36 light years away, and orbits the sun at a distance that makes it able to have liquid water. This newfound planet, HD 85512b, is located near the Vela constellation, and revolves around a star in an orbit a quarter of earths own, making its year 58 days. New information on planets like HD 85512b, or the Vela planet, has been discussed in a news conference hosted by the European Southern Observatory. These new findings are the result of a eight-year observing program in the European Southern Observatory, which is in Chile. The two men heading this program, Stephane Udry and Michel Mayor, are revealing new evidence of 16 “super-earths,” planets that have masses less than ten-times earth, and 50 other exoplanets, which are galvanizing the scientific community.

These findings have immense ramifications throughout the world. This new information on habitable planets has the chance to revamp the space programs of many nations. These planets in the Vela constellation and in other areas of space are found to be in a “habitable” orbit around the stars they revolve around. However unlikely that we will send either a manned ship or even a satellite in the next twenty years, these findings are a testament to the new advances in astrological technology since the end of the 20^th century. New telescopes and techniques like observing the warping of light to pinpoint orbits, are allowing us to observe even deeper into the galaxy.

This article was very well written; it informs as well as entices the reader on the possibilities of space. But, that being said, it was rather lacking in its description of the actual science involved in this discovery. There was little written on the eight years these astronomists spent observing, nor on the technology involved. Also, the article mentions opposing viewpoints only in passing, downplaying the controversy over these findings.

Depression Increases the Risk of Stroke

  
          Depression Increases the Risk of Stroke by Amanda Macmillan discusses how strokes and depression are related. People with depression are more likely to have a stroke than mentally healthy people, and their “strokes are more likely to be fatal”, according to a new analysis published this week in the Journal of the American Medical Association. Although this article says that depression is only a minor risk to health compared to high blood pressure, it is still a risk not worth taking. An expert says 4% of the estimated 795,000 strokes that occur in the United States each year can be attributed to depression. This seems like a small risk but if depression is added on with other things, like high blood pressure or being obese, the risk can be deadly. After conducting a research project, Dr. Pan, a scientist says, "We knew that depression raises a person's risk of developing diabetes, obesity, hypertension, and cardiovascular disease," Pan says. "We also knew that depression can occur after patients suffer a stroke. We just didn't have strong enough evidence to know if the reverse was true, or what really comes first."

          This article is very important. It is very important to a lot of people in the world who deal with depression. As the article states, a lot of factors, along with depression can increase the risk of a stroke. Things such as drinking, drugs, and overeating can attribute to both depression and strokes. Another huge problem with people who suffer from depression is the fact that their drugs either make their depression worse or have side effects including strokes. People unaware of these risks, as Dr. Pan says, can suffer and even die. Humanity has to start dealing with these problems because depression is a serious disease. Some people think it is not that serious but it is.
         
          This article does a phenomenal job of explaining how depression can contribute to strokes. An uses research as examples and proves that depression truly increases the risk of strokes. The author talked about the condition in a very serious way, helping people understand the seriousness of it. Although the author clearly states that depression contributes to strokes, She doesn’t explain how other conditions such as alcoholism contribute to strokes. I think that the author could have gone into a little more depth about how depression actually makes people more susceptible to strokes. Overall, the author makes the article very interesting and informative, and helps show how serious depression is.


MacMillan, Amanda. "Depression Increases Risk of Stroke, Study Says - CNN.com." CNN.com - Breaking News, U.S., World, Weather, Entertainment & Video News. Web. 21 Sept. 2011

“Feathers Trapped in Amber Reveal a More Colorful Dinosaur Age"

by John Noble Wilford

http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/20/science/20feather.html?ref=science

This article is about recent fossil discoveries in Alberta, Canada. These fossil discoveries were in the form of and Amber fossil. Amber fossils, formerly known as fossil resin, are ones in which something is preserved in essentially a plastic. It could preserve bugs or feathers. But what is so interesting about these fossils is there is no bacterial breakdown, everything is perfectly intact the way it was then the resin engulfed the object. In this article Feathers were found in fossil resin. The interesting thing about these fossils was that they were found to have Color pigments that up until now people did not think dinosaurs possessed. These Mesozoic era feathers display evidence of a patterned design on the birds, which they used to be apart of. Scientists who had been studying the relatively bland fossils of the Mesozoic era never thought this colorful feather design was possible. No other Mesozoic fossils have displayed such colors, so this was truly a breakthrough.

I think this article could relate to everyone in the class because I think we all have been to a museum, such as the museum of Natural History. At these museums there are countless displays of dinosaurs and what they may have looked like. All these displays are usually filled with images of dinosaurs in a very bland color scheme, usually containing grey or brown-based colors. But these displays do accurately display the very dry and uninteresting color scheme that dinosaurs had. Until this new fossil was discovered. These Feathers are sure to brighten up some of those displays with more interesting color schemes. Although they will not be the bright colors we see in a peacock, they will certainly be more interesting. The patterns will be very noticeable when placed against greyish colors of everything else in the dinosaur section.

This article does a great job of discussing the latest Mesozoic fossil developments. The author was able to discuss the pigmentation that was discovered and explain how it was unique in a very thorough way. In addition the author conveyed the information in a very receptive style in order to reach a much wider audience. Unfortunately the author makes note of similar developments and findings in china without building on those statements. I think to really improve the article I think the author could have expanded and drawn more parallels between the Chinese findings and those in Canada. This would have made the article much more informative. Also the author mentioned an experimental X-Ray system of determining whether different colors were present in fossils. But the author fails to explain how it works, which would have been very interesting information. Overall this was a very will written piece on a very interesting topic.

Sawyer White's Comment

Carty’s review of “Scientists Take First Step Toward Creating ‘Inorganic Life,’” provided insight into a new form of biology known as “Inorganic Biology.”  Carty’s review was good in defining inorganic biology, as the study of inorganic chemical-based life.  He was also able to skillfully explain how the inorganic cells in question, the iCHELLs, were similar to organic life in their ability to self-replicate, evolve, and have semi-permeable membranes.  Finally, Carty explained how the iCHELLs were important, since they will allow scientists to study evolution in a brand new way and also be able to utilize these new creations in medicine and biotechnology.

            While Carty’s review was very informative, there was some room for improvement.  The review was mired by grammatical and spelling errors, and some of the sentences were confusing because of how they were structured.  Also, the review suffers from vagueness in some places, as it does not explain why or how the iCHELLs’ ability to store electricity could help doctors, fails to establish why some inanimate objects might now be considered alive, and also fails to clearly explain how scientists plan to utilize iCHELLs in the fields of medicine and biotechnology.

            Overall, Carty’s article and review were very impressive because they taught me about a whole scientific field I did not even think existed.  I had no idea that scientists were able to create inorganic life in any form and I found it incredibly informative and fascinating that inorganic biology had already advanced far enough to create these inorganic cells.  Going forward, this could have a huge impact on the entire scientific community.