Genealogy databases could reveal the identity of most Americans

Sofia Ricciarini
Mr. Ippolito D Even
October 15, 2018
Current Event

Saey, Tina Hesman. “Genealogy Databases Could Reveal the Identity of Most Americans.” Science News, 12 Oct. 2018, www.sciencenews.org/article/genealogy-databases-could-reveal-identity-most-americans

Most people are now aware that, in this day and age, the internet and other technology limits our privacy. But are they aware that now not even their DNA can be assumed to be private?  Recent research shows that it may be impossible to protect the anonymity of catalogued genetic material. Such DNA was collected though crime scene investigation, donation to scientific research, and other means. This article explains that Yaniv Erlich, chief scientist and MyHeritage (a consumer genetic testing company), found that "using DNA matches to relatives... they could narrow the identity of an anonymous DNA owner to just one or two people". Author, Saey, explains that this poses an ethical dilemma, as government officials claim that all recorded genetic material is stripped of information including names, ages and addresses, a fact that is "clearly untrue". This raises the question: how can scientists reasonably guarantee that peoples' genetic information will remain secure?

This article describes a potential conflict that is very relevant in our society. Our privacy has already been threatened by society's reliance on technology. However, most social media and internet users are aware of these dangers, while most of those contributing their DNA to scientific studies believe it will remain confidential. Scientist need to develop a system in which DNA can be recorded for use in studies and investigations that does not compromise the basic rights of those it belongs to. Saey does concede that, currently, identifying individuals though their DNA is extremely difficult. Regardless, such information should learn to be protected now for, as technology continues to improve, tasks like this will only get easier and the information will become less secure.

Overall, I feel the article was excellently written. It summarizes a very complicated topic in a well organized, eloquent and overall effective manner. One weakness I noticed in this piece is that the author makes large claims on data that is not yet concrete. While towards the end she does concede, "Erlich's example might be an oversimplification", she still makes many admittedly reasonable but inaccurately certain claims based on the shaky data.

“Unlocking the World of Sound for Deaf Children.”

Ella Stupart

Mr. Ippolito C Even

October 10, 2018

Current Event

Citation:

Brody, Jane E. “Unlocking the World of Sound for Deaf Children.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 8 Oct. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/10/08/well/live/unlocking-the-world-of-sound-for-deaf-children.html?rref=collection/sectioncollection/health&action=click&contentCollection=health®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=4&pgtype=sectionfront.

Jane E. Brody’s article “Unlocking the World of Sound for Deaf Children” explains and promotes a new piece of technology that allows deaf people to hear called the cochlear implant. Brody begins with an optimistic tone by sharing the opinion of a pediatric audiology consultant, Jane R. Madell that there is the possibility for almost all deaf children to hear again. Brody claims that cochlear implants, especially in children, are an important tool in regaining hearing. According to the article, a cochlear implant is a device that is inserted in the ear through surgery that allows for sound waves to come in direct contact with the the auditory nerve, passing the hair cells in the ear that do not work.  These implants can be inserted into babies with hearing disabilities “before they can walk” and babies who receive the implants early enough can develop language skills at the same rate as children who were born without a hearing disability. After providing many success stories, Brody briefly mentions that many deaf people do not support implants and believe that deaf children should instead learn sign language and then refutes this point, stating “...only 0.1 percent of the population knows sign language, and 95 percent of deaf children are born to hearing parents, who then have to spend a long time learning to sign, during a period when children are normally learning to speak.”(Brody 18). Brody then informs the audience of the importance of screening children for auditory disabilities being screened at birth; when these issues are treated early on, children can develop their language abilities at the same rate as other children their age.

The cochlear implant is a major development in medicine. It has already helped thousands of deaf people to hear again and will continue to do so. According to the article, when talking about children that receive the implant, Dr. Madell claims that “‘Eighty-five percent of such children are successfully mainstreamed.’”(Brody 3). Most of the children being treated with these implants are able to live normal lives afterwards with minimal complications regarding their normally life altering condition. This device has also helped adults whose hearing aids were no longer effective. The success stories presented in this article are proof that the cochlear implant has changed people’s lives for the better and will continue to do so.

Brody successfully appeals to the audience’s pathos and logos in this article. She appealed to pathos by including touching success stories that cause the reader to feel empathy towards deaf people and their families. She also appeals to pathos at the end of the article when explaining the importance of newborn babies being screened for hearing loss. This may cause the reader to worry about whether or not their future kids will have hearing disabilities and will make them more likely to be certain the tests are done when they do have children. When people can personally connect to an article, they are more likely to consider the author’s point and will remember it for a longer amount of time. Brody also appealed to logos by including the opinion  of an auditory doctor along with multiple statistics support her claims. While Brody successfully supported the argument that cochlear implants are an important development and should be used more frequently, she did not spend a lot of time refuting opposing views or bringing up negative aspects of this device, which leads the reader to think that the author is biased. There was only one brief instance in the article when Brody brought up an opposing claim and she did not elaborate on it very thoroughly. I was left with questions about availability, cost, whether or not it is covered by insurance, how many doctors are able to perform the surgery, and possible side effects or negative aspects of the device. Including these points would strengthen Brody’s argument even further. Brody’s overall argument was well supported by facts and statistics, persuasive, and informative.

New DNA Tool Predicts Height, Shows Promise for Serious Illness Assessment.

Szilvia Szabó

Mr. Ippolito

AP Biology

October 8th, 2018

“New DNA Tool Predicts Height, Shows Promise for Serious Illness Assessment.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 4 Oct. 2018, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181004143856.htm.

For centuries, humans have been observing and learning about their surroundings. We have come so far and grown so much in fields of science and medicine. Nowadays, it is becoming more and more of a reality to be able to predict whether someone will contract a disease and how to prevent that. Michigan State University has created a DNA tool that can predict “height, bone density and even the level of education a person might achieve, purely based on one's genome”. This tool can predict whether someone has the potential to contract a serious disease, such as cancer and heart disease. Michigan State University has been working on this tool for a while and continues to work on its algorithms to strive for perfection.

Advancements in medicine like these are very significant and important for human society as a whole. If we can predict accurately whether or not someone will get cancer or any other sort of disease, we can save so many lives by seeing this disease early and making sure it does not progress into anything life threatening. Cancer is a disease that affects millions of people and all of the advancements we make in order to prevent this disease can help to save and drastically improve the quality of life for millions.

I liked how the author stayed pretty objective throughout the entire piece, but I feel like the author could have presented more background information on the topic, perhaps about what other sorts of inventions are out there that are similar to the one the author describes. Also, I really liked how the author used language that was really simple and to the point, making it easy for the reader to follow without getting caught up in complicated medical and science terms. However, I think it would have been better if the author threw in some more specifics about this new creation and give some more statistics and facts about it.

Getting a Grip on the Slow But Unique Evolution of Sharks

Paul Magaud

Mr. Ippolito

AP Biology

Current Event 4

“Getting a Grip on the Slow but Unique Evolution of Sharks.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 8 Oct. 2018, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/10/181008114610.htm.

“Getting a Grip on the Slow But Unique Evolution of Sharks” - no author, ScienceDaily

A genome is the complete set of genetic material that an organism possesses, consisting of all of its DNA.  Acquiring the basic genome sequences for a wide variety of species provides a profound impact into the biological world, especially in regards to a species’s evolutionary history.  The vast majority of sharks have massive genomes, even larger than human beings. As a result, biologists have spent decades trying to decode shark genomes completely. Recently, a research team at RIKEN Biosystems Dynamic Research raised sharks in an aquarium, using cutting-edge technology to sequence the genomes.  They found that sharks have genetic counterparts for characteristics we have as humans, including sleep, growth, and reproduction, indicating that “elements of our molecular machinery for basic physiology have existed for more than 450 million years, before sharks split from our common ancestors.”

The research discussed in the article is significant because it represents a large step in fully understanding sharks’ evolutionary history.  The research team fully identified the genomes of two different shark species, and made improvements to the genome sequence already established for the whale shark.  Comparing these genomes with genomes of other species, such as humans, can lead to connections that clear up the evolutionary pasts of many organisms. According to Keiichi Sato, the deputy director of the aquarium, the results will “help us gain greater understanding about metabolism, reproductive cycle, and health monitoring of sharks."

The article, although not too detailed, was well-written and straight to the point.  The abstract establishes the main focus of the piece, and the article itself discusses regarding the team and the processes that it used to obtain its results.  However, I felt that the article needed some more specific detail from the study it mentions. The author writes that the team used “cutting-edge technology” to get the genome sequence, but doesn’t even begin to describe how.  A lot of details were presented on the insights that the study provides, but the article doesn’t detail the scientific processes enough for a clear understanding of the research performed.

“Global Warming Is Killing the Great Barrier Reef, Study Says.”

Caitlin Mooney

Mr. Ippolito

Current Event 4

10/9/18

Strickland, Ashley. “Global Warming Is Killing the Great Barrier Reef, Study Says.” CNN, Cable

News Network, 18 Apr. 2018, www.cnn.com/2018/04/18/world/great-barrier-reef-coral-dying-climate-change/index.html.

For this scientific article review, I read the article, “Global Warming is Killing the Barrier Reef, Studies Say” by Ashley Strickland. In this article, Strickland describes how heat waves brought on by global warming are killing off corals in the Great Barrier Reef, the world’s largest reef system. These heat waves including some in 20016, 1998, and 2002 caused large amounts of coral bleaching and die-off that is only getting worse as time goes on. Mark Eakin, study author, and coordinator for the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Coral Reef Watch wrote,  “We've seen half of the corals on the Great Barrier Reef killed by climate change in just two years...This study shows that the coral reefs that have been least affected by heat stress in the past are more sensitive to heat stress than we realized. It also shows climate change threatens the diversity that is the hallmark of coral reefs." Since little heat stress is needed to cause the complete collapse in the Great Barrier Reef, and the fastest growing coral takes 10-15 years to grow back, unless we reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, the heat was will occur too frequently so the reefs will not be able to recover.

          Since the Great Barrier Reef is considered one of the seven natural wonders of the world, it is a major tourist attraction and has over 2 million visitors each year. Due to the number of visitors it has, it contributes a large amount to the Australian economy, an estimates 6.4 billion each year, it also supports about 64,000 jobs. Therefore if the Great Barrier Reef was destroyed, it would have a huge effect on Australian society, not only severely damaging the economy, but leaving many people unemployed. The destruction of the Great Barrier Reef would disrupt the entire ecosystem since coral reefs are also a major source of protein for humans if the great barriers reef is destroyed it would affect the global population.

          One thing I liked in this article was how many quotes Strickland was able to incorporate quotes into her article, I found this very helpful as a reader because it made it easier to understand the problem at hand. Another thing I thought that Strickland did well was that she described the destruction of coral reefs well and she was able to prove that it was a big problem through statistics. To make this article better I think that Strickland could have listed the studies that found certain information that she talked about instead of just listing the statistics. Also, I think that Strickland could have told the reader more specifics on the process of coral reef destruction and its effect on the marine ecosystem. But besides those issues, I think that this article was easy to follow and I learned a lot about this nationwide problem. Hopefully, articles like these will be able to raise awareness about the dangers of global warming so we can save the Great Barrier Reef and other natural wonders in danger.

How Our Throwaway Culture is Ruining the Planet

Anna Normand

AP Biology

Mr. Ippolito

30 September 2018

How Our Throwaway Culture is Ruining the Planet

Written by Nick Paton Walsh, Ingrid Formanek, Jackson Loo and Mark Phillips

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2016/12/world/midway-plastic-island/

         The scientific article I read was concerned with the environmental consequences to the accumulation of garbage, specifically plastic. In the article, the authors Walsh, Formanek, Loo, and Phillips gives details of plastic’s adverse effects on the environment, which include massive animal death due to plastic consumption and the destruction of entire ecosystems due to the accumulation of garbage from the ocean. The authors reference the Island of Midway, the site of a World War II battle which was formerly an isolated haven for the animals residing on it. However, decades of plastic which has leaked into the ocean has found its way into the stomachs of many birds there. According to the authors, if the rate of plastic consumption remains the same, by 2050 there will be more plastic in the sea than fish (Ellen MacArthur Foundation). Furthermore, more than 8 million tons of plastic leaks into the ocean each year, and almost every piece of plastic ever made is still on the earth, because it takes an incredibly long time to decompose. This accumulation of garbage has resulted in trillions of tons of plastic littering our oceans, damaging the aquatic ecosystem immeasurably. If we continue in this way, humans themselves will become affected by the plastic which is moving through the food chain.

           The role that plastic plays in the modern world cannot be overstated. Since its invention, plastic has become a staple for almost everyone on the planet, used for grocery bags, coffee cups, water bottles, and other items which are disposed of quickly. Despite its convenience and affordability, plastic has dangerous environmental consequences, given that fish consume it and, as one study found, sometimes even prefer it to their normal diet. This disruption in the ecosystem should be frightening for us, as it will eventually affect us as the top predator on the food chain. Plastic contains a human carcinogen, which is harmful to the population. The only way to stop plastic damage is to stop using plastic altogether. Although this goal is difficult, we can all do our part by using reusable water bottles, coffee cups, straws, etc.

           One thing I liked in this article was their use of a specific landmark example to illustrate a global problem. Their description of the Island of Midway was powerful and had specific examples of the danger of plastic. This was helpful to really understand the problem without being overwhelmed by the global scale of the issue. However, I thought that the authors were unclear about their purpose when visiting the Island, as well as their own credentials and how they are qualified to speak on this issue. I think that knowing their qualifications would make the article more valid and would provide a stronger platform on which these authors could take a stand on this issue.

Raphael Munchenbach

AP Biology

1/10/2018

American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. "Bacterial protein mimics DNA to sabotage cells' defenses: Study reveals details of Salmonella infections." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 28 September 2018. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/09/180928162255.htm>.

The article discusses and takes a deeper look into  how the extremely widespread bacteria Salmonella, often acquired by eating uncooked animal products, affects the human body and the immune system. The article begins by introducing the body’s natural reaction to a disease, which is the activation of protective immune responses, and how salmonella prevents this from happening. The article then goes into more detail about how salmonella does this, through its zinc metalloprotease effector proteins, which effectively disrupt a cell’s immune response. In order to find out why salmonella was so effective at disrupting these processes, scientists created a 3-dimensional rendering of one of the zinc metalloprotease effector proteins, along with NF-kappaB, one of the human proteins responsible for alerting the body’s immune system. The article then explains the NF-kappaB performs its function by binding to DNA, and that, interestingly enough, the zinc metalloprotease effector proteins emulate a DNA molecule, tricking the NF-kappaB into binding to the salmonella instead, sabotaging the messages to the immune system. The article then explains that the zinc metalloprotease effector proteins do so while relying on their interactions with a specific, varying amino acids. According to the researchers, the solution is fairly simple: simply change the sequence of amino acids in NF-kappaB and then the  zinc metalloprotease effector proteins can no longer disrupt the sequence.

This research could prove extremely important, as salmonella infects hundreds yearly, and in some(rare) cases can cause death, but is nonetheless a serious illness. Being able to thwart the disease’s interferences with the immune is a crucial step towards eradicating it, or curbing its proliferation altogether. Solving this problem also opens the door to tackling any other disease which employs a similar technique to infiltrate its host, going beyond just salmonella.

The article goes to great lengths about how salmonella affects its host, and how it deceives the immune system, by pretending to be DNA. However, it lacks detail in how amino acid sequences will be changed for every NF-kappaB molecule, and leaves the reader confused about many of the proposed solutions for the problem.