“Early Treatment Is Found to Clear H.I.V. in a 2nd Baby”

This article exposes two newborn babies who were treated for H.I.V. within 30 hours of being born and have showed signs that they do not contain the virus after months of treatment. Last year, scientists made a stunning announcement that a baby born with H.I.V. had apparently been cured through intense treatment directly after birth. After this case was made public, there was a great deal of skepticism. Although there has not been an actual trial to prove that scientists have found a cure for babies, this child is now 3 years old and is still virus-free. Also, there was a woman in California who had advanced AIDS and she gave birth to a baby girl who also carried this infection. However, four hours after this baby was born, she was immediately put on three different drugs at the high doses usually used for treatment of the virus. Although this baby is also free of AIDS, doctors still claim that it is incorrect to describe the baby as “cured” because she is still on drugs. But because the most sensitive blood tests can find no virus capable of replicating, she describes the baby as “having sero-reverted to H.I.V.-negative.” Scientists are still continuing to test infected babies, and their next plan is to figure out when it is safe to stop giving the patients their treatment. I found this article to be very eye opening. After visiting Kenya two years ago, I became well aware of this topic because infectious diseases are very prevalent in Africa. At the time there had not been any public breakthroughs in regards to cures, so it was a very depressing thing to learn about. However, after reading this article, I can see that we are moving in the right direction. The H.I.V. virus is very dangerous and if we can focus on preventing it from spreading to babies, we will see a huge decline in the numbers of those who are infected. Although this article was interesting and informative, it was broken up in such a way that made it difficult to fully understand after reading it one time through. It kept going back and forth between the two babies that were treated for H.I.V. and the work that researchers will do in order to move forward with this process. The writing didn’t really flow, so I had to keep going back and re-read the information again and again. posted for P. Marshall

“Study Gives Hope of Altering Genes to Repel H.I.V.”

“Study Gives Hope of Altering Genes to Repel H.I.V.”

            A pilot study was performed which found that immune cells could be altered to possibly cure patients with H.I.V., and that this treatment is not harmful to the patients.  A certain mutated gene for CCR₅ has been known to cause the H.I.V. virus to disappear, and according to Dr. Carl June, expert in AIDS at the University of Pennsylvania, “gene editing may offer another way to achieve the same result.”  Gene editing is a treatment that can zero in on a particular gene of interest and disable it, which could be revolutionary for treating diseases such as H.I.V.  The goal of gene editing regarding H.I.V. is that “if enough cells could be engineered to repel the virus, patients might no longer need antiviral drugs, and might in effect be cured.”  In this study, 12 H.I.V. patients had a certain protein removed from their immune cells that the virus must latch onto to invade the cells.  In order to do this, the cells had to be removed from the patients, treated and then dripped back into their bloodstreams through an intravenous line.  The cells in theory would then replicate with this “mutation” and ultimately beat out the virus.

            For people infected with H.I.V., this new treatment brings much hope.  Other treatments for the virus are antiviral drugs, but patients dislike the side effects, and lifelong treatment using these drugs can cost $1 million in the United States.  Gene editing is worth considering because it is much cheaper and more effective treatment.  I think that this new treatment is a revolutionary medical achievement and could really change the way that H.I.V. affects a population.  Many lives have the potential to be saved with this treatment.

            Overall, I really enjoyed reading this article, and I thought that it presented a good explanation of the study and why it should be considered.  The article included quotes from doctors expressing their views on the new treatment and provided facts and evidence of the treatment’s success.  I will be very interested to see if this new treatment takes off, because I think that it could really change the medical world significantly.

Grady, Denise. "Study Gives Hope of Altering Genes to Repel H.I.V." The New York Times. The New York Times, 05 Mar. 2014. Web. 05 Mar. 2014.

“Early Treatment is Found to Clear H.I.V. in a 2nd Baby,”

Citation: McNeil, Donald G., Jr. "Early Treatment Is Found to Clear H.I.V. in a 2nd Baby." New York Times 5 Mar. 2014. Print.

  In the New York Times article, “Early Treatment is Found to Clear H.I.V. in a 2nd Baby,” by Donald G. McNeil Jr., the news from an AIDS conference is announced that a second baby that was born with H.I.V. was cured. In 2013, there was once similar case in while after thirty hours of aggressive drug treatment, the baby was cured. Now that a second child is believed to be completely cured, a clinical trial will begin that examines sixty infected babies after their immediate 48 hours on the drugs to see if a new protocol should be put in place for children born with this infection. As the executive director of the National Institute for Allergy and Infectious Diseases Dr. Anthony S. Fauci said, “this could lead to major changes, for two reasons…Both for the welfare of the child, and because it is a huge proof of concept that you can cure someone if you can treat them early enough.” The first cured child is now three years old and from Mississippi and the second from California who is nine months old both continue to test negative for H.I.V., and although doctors cannot technically call them cured because they are both still taking the drugs, any trace of the illness are gone. 

The topic of H.I.V. has been prevalent in the world since its outbreak in 1980s and the disease has been known to not have any viable cure. The possibility of a cure for children born with H.I.V. could change the impact of the disease and end the cycle of the infection. Although it will take a few years for scientists to be 100% sure of the drugs’ success, just the chance of changing the lives of some victims is outstanding. 

           I thought that this article was written very well and relevant. It was presented in a way that even someone who has not been following the H.I.V. discussion could understand. McNeil gave background on both of the children whom have been “cured” and with that information the reader was able to feel more connected to the topic. The possibility of finding a cure for newborns with the horrible infection of H.I.V. would be revolutionary and I can only hope that future trials have similar success. 

Lower Hudson Valley Engineering Expo

On Sunday, March 30, 2014, the Foundation for Engineering Education will present the eleventh annual Engineering EXPO, to educate regional high school and middle school students about engineering as a career. It will be held at White Plains High School, White Plains, NY (Westchester County), from 11 :00 AM to 4:00 PM. Last year's EXPO saw attendance of over 3,000 students, 40 colleges, and 50 engineering or technology based businesses and societies.

The goals of the annual Lower Hudson Valley Engineering Expo are as follows:

 1. Recruit grade 8-12 students interested in math and science and teach them about careers in engineering. We need to convey all options: Civil, Mechanical, Chemical, Electrical, Materials, etc., and perhaps we can attract them with interesting careers in some of the new and exotic fields like nanotechnology, biomedical engineering and aerospace. It is imperative that we recruit the best and the brightest into our profession.

2. Inform juniors and seniors about requirements for engineering degrees. Several colleges in the region with engineering programs will set up booths or tables with information about admission and curriculum.

3. Enlighten the students about careers in engineering. Most do not realize that 8 of the 10 highest paying Bachelor degrees are in engineering fields. Various firms and industries have volunteered to set up displays and be available for discussions with interested students. Some very exciting work goes on in our industry. There is much to be proud of.

Evolutionary Adaptation Projects

AP Biology students presented their third quarter projects, in which each student chose an animal from a list an were to produce a "museum quality" poster that identified the animal's taxonomical classification. They were also to examine the behavioral, structural and biochemical adaptations that their animal had developed over the course of their biological history. See the "project" handout that follows for details of the assignment.

   Third Quarter First Project Newsletter 2014 by Charles Ippolito

In the first half of the class on Thursday, half the class stood by their posters, while the other half of the class viewed the posters and listened to the poster author's explanations of the information on the poster. In the second half of the class the students switched places/roles.

Lilia chose to become an expert on the koala bear.

Nicole was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the bottlenose dolphin.

Briana was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the boa constrictor.

William was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the ostrich.

Sabine was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the hippopotamus.

James was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the timber wolf. What was most impressive was his use of a pastel he had drawn of the face of a wolf in one of his art classes last year.

Matt was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the emperor penquin.

Elise used a windows tablet to illustrate the sea otter's taxonomy and adaptations.

Blake was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the walrus.

Paul was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the common skunk.

Jesse was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the seal.

Christian explains what he has learned about the evolution and taxonomy of the hippopotamus.

Fiona was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the duck-billed platypus.

Morgan was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the lion.

Andrew was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the sloth.

Caroline was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the komodo dragon. It was really depressing when none of the class remembered the important role this animal played in the movie "The Freshman", which followed the travails of an NYU student (Matthew Broderick) working for a Godfatherish conman (Marlon Brando) and his chef (Maximilian Schell)!

Lucy was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the great panda.

Chrissy was our expert regarding the evolution and taxonomy of the giraffe. I would be remiss if I did not point out her giraffe patterned blouse!

Phantom Melodies Yield Real Clues to Brain’s Workings.

The article I read was about a woman who had musical hallucinations. She constantly heard music playing. It wasn’t as if a song was stuck in her head like we often have after hearing a pop song too many times on the radio. Instead, they were so real, the woman, Sylvia, could easily imagine a choir or marching band in her room. Her condition is rare. People with musical hallucinations usually are psychologically normal — except for the songs they are sure someone is playing. The doctors decided to perform tests such as scanning her brain while she heard those songs and asking her to evaluate how loud or soft it was on a scale. By comparing the two states, they found important clues to how the brain generates these illusions. They found that a few regions consistently produced stronger brain waves when the hallucinations were louder. The research helps scientist observe the parts of the brain that control our auditory parts.

            The conclusions of the study are preliminary, because it was based on a single person. However, the same method may work on other people with musical hallucinations. Sometimes people with musical hallucinations say that hearing real music can quiet the imaginary tunes. Researchers had already found that they could use a similar method to mask tinnitus, in which people have a nagging ringing in the ears. Dr. Kumar argues that these results support a theory developed by Karl Friston of the Wellcome Trust Center for Neuroimaging: that our brains are prediction-generating machines. The research could explain why some people have music hallucinations, especially people suffering from hearing loss, and how to negate it.

            The article was pretty clear and covered everything; I don’t have much to say about the article itself. It could’ve provided some visual aid to understand Karl Friston’s theory or some of the MRI scans of Sylvia’s brain to show differences in the brain between when she heard loud and soft music. However, the writing was very well done.

Zimmer, Carl. "Phantom Melodies Yield Real Clues to Brain’s Workings." Http://www.nytimes.com/?action=click&contentCollection=Science®ion=TopBar&module=HomePage-Title&pgtype=article. N.p., 13 Feb. 2014. Web. 13 Feb. 2014.

Freezing Out the Bigger Picture

I read the article, “Freezing Out the Bigger Picture”, from the New York Times. This article essentially discussed the difference between weather and climate. This article aims to answer the question, “If the world is really warming up, how come it is so darned cold?” Last month when President Obama was declaring that global warming was a fact, it was hard for many Americans to believe this due to the many record low temperatures all around the country. For example, “The temperature would bottom out later that night at 13 degrees in Washington, 14 in New York, 1 in Chicago, minus 6 in Minneapolis — and those readings were toasty compared to some of the lows earlier in January.” Most people think that whatever sort of temperature and weather is happening around them is actually happening everywhere. However, these people do not understand the difference between weather and climate. Scientists refer to global warming as “global” because they look at trends all around the globe. It is about what is happening in the long run and not about the weather fluctuations day to day. With the USA only covering about 2% of the world, this severe weather only happening in certain places in the USA, really has no effect on the rest of the world. “The Arctic blasts were caused by big dips in the jet stream that allowed frigid air to descend from the polar regions into the central and eastern United States. But toward the west, those dips have been counterbalanced by unusual northward swings of the jet stream that sent temperatures soaring.” So where there are record low temperatures in some places around the world, there are also record highs in others, and they balance each other out. For example, California has been in a drought with high temperatures for 3 years. Scientists contend the massive decline of sea ice in the Arctic has destabilized a weather pattern that normally keeps frigid air bottled up near the pole. “That pattern is known as the polar vortex and its boundary is a fast-moving river of air called the jet stream. When the vortex weakens, the jet stream can develop big kinks, creating zones of extreme heat and cold.” Therefore, although many people perceive that the world is cooling due to these low temperatures, globally this decrease in temperature is not the case, and the world is actually warming up.

This article is very relevant to everyone in the world. We all have some impact on making the world warm up and it is our job to stop it before it becomes a much bigger issue than is already is. These record high and low temperatures also affect us day to day. We have been hit by these extremely cold temperatures and snow storms, which are things we aren’t always used to. If we want to preserve our globe, it is important that we look past what is just going on around us, and we take into account the entire globe because we all must work together to help the earth.

I thought this article was very interesting. It gave a very different take on global warming that I hadn’t heard of before. I think it is important that everyone understands that weather and climate are very different, and just because the weather is one way around them, it does not mean the weather is like that everywhere. I liked how this article emphasized how important it is for everyone to take into account the climate globally and to not get stuck on the weather around them. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/11/science/freezing-out-the-bigger-picture.html?ref=science&_r=0