Ebola Vaccine Proves Effective, Final Trial Results Show

Grace Randall

CE 22

Rosen, Meghan. "Ebola Vaccine Proves Effective, Final Trial Results Show." Science News. N.p., 22 Dec. 2016. Web. 05 Apr. 2017.

https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/ebola-vaccine-proves-effective-final-trial-results-show?mode=topic&context=69

In the article, “Ebola vaccine proves effective, final trial results show”, the recetn triumph of a recent Ebola vaccine is discussed.  Researchers found “Of 5,837 people in Guinea who received a single shot of the vaccine, rVSV-ZEBOV, in the shoulder, none became infected with the virus 10 to 84 days after vaccination. ” They discuss how the World Health Organization used a “ring vaccination”  approach, in which they vaccinate people in close proximity to those already infected. This is an effort to prevent the virus from spreading any further. Supposedly, these results resemble those of similar studies in 2015. The article also discusses the history of the outbreaks.

This study is greatly applicable to society, as the creation of this vaccine could save thousands of lives. Considering the number of deaths that came as a result of the outbreak in 2013, a vaccine that could put a stop to this horrible virus would be incredible. The next step is to ensure all people have access to this vaccine, as to ensure it is really effective.

I thought the author of this article did a pretty decent job, but there were still some areas she could have improved upon. For the most part, I felt her writing was very clear and concise. I was able to really understand this material and get a good overview of the newest advancements with the Ebola virus. Still, I felt the author could have gone into some more depth. It was a much shorter article, and I felt as though he just skimmed the surface. I am still really curious about how researchers discovered this vaccine and what the future of it may look like.

We Might Soon Resurrect Extinct Species. Is It Worth the Cost?

Yin, Steph. "We Might Soon Resurrect Extinct Species. Is It Worth the Cost?" The New York

Times. The New York Times, 20 Mar. 2017. Web. 05 Apr. 2017. <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/20/science/revive-restore-extinct-species-dna-mammoth-passenger-pigeon.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2fearth Action=click&contentCollection=earth®ion=rank module=package_version=highlights contentPlacement=2&pgtype=section front>.

For my current event, I read an article called “We Might Soon Resurrect Extinct Species” by Stephanie Lin. This article was about how and why we should or should not resurrect extinct species. The article first starts off by discussing the woolly mammoth, a creature that went extinct thousands of years ago. To recreate this extinct animal would mean splicing woolly mammoth DNA into the DNA of an African Elephant, a process that would cost tens of millions of dollars. Scientists argue that a species should not be resurrected if it puts a current species preservation efforts at stake or if its niche is already being filled by another species. One particular species that would be good to revive is the Passenger Pigeon; a bird that breaks down dead trees and helps them to disintegrate into the soil much more quickly. This job is not being done be any other bird at the moment.

This article is important because it will help us to determine whether or not to resurrect species if it buts at stake the survival of another species. This is a great ethical question of ecology and this article helps to answer that question. The article also pulls into the question of whether or not we should be allowed to interfere with nature's “extinctions” and since they happened naturally, it is for the best.

Overall the article was well written and coherent. It included many diagrams of the extinct animals and many different points of views which allowed the author to give an unbiased point of view on the issue.

A Dolphin's Recipe for Octopus

Klein, Joanna. “A Dolphin’s Recipe for Octopus.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Apr. 2017, Accessed 5 Apr. 2017. <www.nytimes.com/2017/04/05/science/dolphins-toss-shake-eat-octopus.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront.>    

I choose to read Joanna Klein’s article, “A Dolphin’s Recipe for Octopus.” Overall, I thought the article was extremely well written. The article began by discussing the difficult dolphins go through to eat an octopus. If dolphins fail to do this correctly, they will be killed. However, bottlenose dolphins in Australia still have managed to do so. The article includes photos showing how dolphins kill the octopus they eat. To kill them, dolphins bit off their head, shake their body, and toss the octopus and slam it against the water until it is broken into bite size pieces. Before these photos were taken, scientists knew that dolphins all over the world ate octopus but did not know how. Many dolphins have been killed and/or suffocated while trying to eat the octopus. So scientists question why they would go through this risk for a meal. Scientists hypothesize that dolphins consume nutrients from octopus that they fail to find other places. Dolphins strategically plan when to eat octopus. For example, octopus are most commonly consumed by dolphins during the winter and spring when water is choppy so that their attack has the highest rate of success.

This article is important because it can help us to learn about the habits of both dolphins and octopus. This helps us expand upon our knowledge of the intelligence of dolphins. We have know they are one of the most intelligent creatures, but this article helps us learn how intuitive they are. We are also able to learn what their common methods for attacking prey are. We also are able to learn about the defense mechanisms of octopus. This expands our knowledge of the world around us which is helpful to scientists in the future.

Overall, I enjoyed the article. I liked how it included the pictures the article was discussing. I also liked how the article discussed both the negatives and positives dolphins experienced from consuming octopus. One thing I disliked about the article was how it failed to mention what the importance of the findings were. Therefore, I had to infer what this information could be used for. I found this article interesting because it was fascinating the extreme effort and risk dolphins experience when consuming an octopus. I would be interested to learn more about the risks and benefits dolphins have with consuming and killing octopus.

Ancestral Climates May Have Shaped Your Nose

Yin, Steph. "Ancestral Climates May Have Shaped Your Nose." The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 Mar. 2017. Web. 29 Mar. 2017. <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/science/ancestral-climates-may-have-shaped-your-nose.html?rref=collection%2Fcolumn%2Ftrilobites&_r=0>.

In the article “Ancestral Climates May Have Shaped Your Nose,” Steph Yin explains how the shape of our noses can actually indicate what kind of climate region our ancestors lived in. This is due to the fact that noses warm and humidify the air we breathe, so in colder and drier climates, noses that are more suitable for this task are biologically favored. According to a study at Penn State, “Over all, people whose parents and ancestors came from warm, humid climates tended to have wider nostrils, whereas those from cold, dry climates tended to have narrower ones. Correlations between nostril width and climate were strongest for Northern Europeans, the researchers found, suggesting that cold, dry climates in particular may have favored people with narrower nostrils.” This explains why people from tropical regions in Asia and Africa tend to have wider noses than someone of European descent. It also shows that narrower nostrils are more efficient at heating and hydrating cool air. The researchers at Penn State also showed that nose shape is heritable by studying the relationship between shared genes and nose shape in a large group of people. “This is important because natural selection can act only on characteristics that can be passed from one generation to the next,” said Todd Yokley, a biological anthropologist at the Metropolitan State University of Denver.

Discoveries such as this speak to our ever-changing understanding of the implications of natural selection and evolution. It is interesting to see the reasons behind characteristics we rarely give any thought to in terms of biology, such as nose shape. This is a real life example of a topic we are studying in biology right now. It also seems to be related to a recent case study we did in class that showed the evolution behind skin pigmentation.

This article was clear, concise, and to the point. It did a great job explaining the study and  addressing the implications. There were many expert opinions included, which added credibility to the article. However, towards the end, the author mentioned skin pigmentation’s role in determining nose shape and size, but did not elaborate on the topic. This was frustrating because it made the article feel incomplete. Overall this was a very interesting and informative article.

Trump Signs Executive Order Unwinding Obama Climate Policies

Alexander Plaza

Mr.Ippolito

3/28/17

AP Biology Review

Davenport, Coral. "Trump Signs Executive Order Unwinding Obama Climate Policies." The New York Times. The New York Times, 28 Mar. 2017. Web. 28 Mar. 2017.https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/28/climate/trump-executive-order-climate-change.html?action=click&contentCollection=science&region=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=1&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=1&mtrref=www.nytimes.com

I reviewed “Trump Signs Executive Order Unwinding Obama Climate Policies” by Coral Davenport. In the article Davenport talks about the recent executive order president Trump signed which is intended to roll back many of the climate change reforms Barack Obama has made. The goal is to restore jobs in the coal industry. Trump signed  a document titled the “Energy Independence” executive order, starting the legal process of withdrawing and rewriting the Clean Power Plan.Trump even said to the miners, “C’mon fellas. You know what this is? You know what this says? You’re going back to work”. He also said “We’re ending the theft of American prosperity and reviving our beloved economy, The miners told me about the attacks on their jobs. I made them this promise. We will put our miners back to work”. Even though this new executive order may keep the coal industry alive for a short while, the industry was already in decline due to cheaper and more environmentally friendly alternatives being used.

This article affects the entire world. If Trump does not keep up the agreement set forth by a Paris summit where many nations came together to agree upon reducing carbon footprint, Trump could set up a dangerous precedent for other countries to abandon their agreements. A raise in global temperature could lock the Earth into flooding, drought, as well as food and water shortages.

Overall, I think that the author did a good job at writing this article. They presented all the actions president Trump took then examined their true efficacy. One thing the author could have done is mention alternative ways to spur economic growth as well as keep the environment safe.

Recalling Early Childhood Memories, or Not

Ray, C. Claiborne. "Recalling Early Childhood Memories, or Not." The New York Times. The New York

Times, 27 Mar. 2017. Web. 28 Mar. 2017. <https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/27/science/early-childhood-memories.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fhealth&action=click&contentCollection=health®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront>.

I read the article “Recalling Early Childhood Memories, or Not” which talked about the age at which individuals are able to remember memories from. It is common that most people don’t have memories from before they were about 4. Freud called this childhood amnesia. A widely accepted study shows that the formation of memories is linked to the age of language acquisition. Recently, studies have been done that show that the timelines kids believe they have of their life has some discrepancies.

This article affects society because this is something that comes up often in daily life. Most people can remember something from early childhood, but usually they remember what their parents told them had happened, they don’t truly have a memory of the event. I just think that this article is interesting and something that individuals can relate to.

I think the author did a good job connecting with the audience and making it easy to read. On the other hand, I think that the author could have given more details and made the article longer because I was interested in the topic, yet the article ended very quickly.

Fountain, Henry, and John Schwartz. "Scientists Bristle at Trump Budget’s Cuts to Research." The New York Times. The New York Times, 16 Mar. 2017. Web. 21 Mar. 2017.

https://www.nytimes.com/2017/03/16/climate/trump-budget-science-research

            While scientists expected the Trump administration to cut funding to scientific funding and research, they were appalled by the extent of the cuts.  The first proposed budget includes a $5.8 billion (18%) reduction from the National Institutes of Health and a $900 million (20%) reduction from the Department of Energy’s Office of Science. The National Institutes of Health fund thousands of research working toward a cure for cancer and other diseases, while the Department of Energy’s Office of Science funds national laboratories – both are clearly at the forefront of scientific discovery. Additionally, the White House is proposing to eliminate climate science programs throughout the government, including the EPA. While only a blueprint, and thus subject to extensive change, the budget has received significant scrutiny from the scientific community. NASA is likewise subject to cuts, although these cuts are far less significant, as they comprise less than one percent of NASA’s budget.

            Significant reductions to public funding of scientific research will be very impactful on our country and the world. America is at the forefront of scientific discovery, and making these cuts will drastically slow down global advancement. Likewise, the proposed cuts will inhibit our efforts in combatting global warming. Clearly, it is necessary for citizens to take political action and stand against this budget.

            The article is particularly well written. Though the article does not flow particularly well, it is concise and coherent.