BIOL 1610 Spring 2018 Biology in the News

The article I chose from Biology News Net is called Artificial Intelligence Expedites Breast Cancer Risk Prediction. This article is about researchers at Houston Methodist who have developed an artificial intelligence software that reliably interprets mammograms, which assists doctors with a quick and accurate prediction of breast cancer risk. The software reviews millions of records in a short amount of time, allowing doctors to determine the risk of breast cancer more efficiently using breast cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 12.1 million mammograms are performed in the United States annually. The American Cancer Society claims fifty percent yield false positive results, resulting in one in every two healthy women who are told they have cancer. When mammograms fall into the suspicious category, a range of 3 to 95 percent cancer risk, are recommended biopsies. Over 1.6 million biopsies are performed annually nationwide. About 20 percent of those mamm...

The article “More tomatoes, faster: Accelerating tomato engineering”, discusses the gene modifying findings of the scientists at the Boyce Thompson Institute. Not only are tomatoes a common source for plant research, but now they may be utilized even more because this group of scientists found a way to speed up the tomato gene modifying process. This group of scientists found that by inserting DNA into the tomato genome and adding the hormone auxin into the growth support media, the tomato plant that results has an accelerated growth rate. The addition of auxin into the regeneration and rooting media was found to decrease the full growth period by 6 weeks. These scientists use tomatoes to research the effect of certain genes on a tomatoes growth and development.   One scientist said, “If you can speed up the plant development, which is what the auxin is doing, you can decrease the time it takes to get genetically engineered lines”.   The current research that is being do...

The article I chose is from Biology News Net and is titled Human kidney progenitor isolated, offering new clues to cell renewal.  This article discusses how in a first-of-its-kind look at human kidney development, researchers at The Saban Research Institute of Children’s Hospital Los Angeles have isolated the human nephron progenitor (NP) cells.  By doing so, they will help scientists understand how these progenitor cells become renal cells in the developing fetus and hopefully offer a way to regenerate renal function after chronic kidney failure or an injury leaving the kidney non-functioning. A key unit of the kidney is the nephron.  It is a tiny structure that filters waste.  Prior to 34-36 weeks in fetal gestation of humans, approximately 500,000 to 1,000,000 nephrons are generated.  If at any time a sufficient number of nephrons are lost after this time period, irreversible kidney failure will occur and no cell repair or regeneration can occur. Th...

In the article New Species of Pterosaur Discovered in Patagonia, there were scientists who found a new species of Pterosaur in the South American region. The remains of the fossil was in perfect condition and was well preserved from many years ago. Scientists discovered the fossils cranial bones and studied the bones that were left in the remains of the new species. The other parts of the fossil were well persevered and they allowed the researchers to study the brain with 3D machines and learn more about the dinosaur. They found that it lived in the Early Jurassic Era. After studying the bones and brain of the fossil the researchers decided to name the creature Allkauren Koi witch stands for brain and ancient in the Native tongue. The Allkauren Koi is a flying dinosaur that lived during the Mesozoic Era. Allkauren Koi belongs to the family of Pterosaur and adapted itself to become lighter so that it could fly easier. The fossil of Allkauren Koi will be a great addition for researcher...

In the article Biochemists’ discovery could lead to vaccine against ‘flesh-eating’ bacteria, it discusses some very interesting ideas and sciences. The article starts by talking about the amounts of deaths caused by different strains of Streptococcus bacteria. It mentions that 500,000 people die each year from the infection. It moves into discussing the ability of the human body to fight the bacteria. The bacteria has an outer membrane. It is called the M protein. The protein on each strain is slightly different and makes it hard for the body to fight. They have found a potential way to make a vaccine that will cover many of the strains. By using C4BP witch comes from the body, they believe they can alter its ability to attach to the M protein. This will make it sort of a universal M protein attaching antibody. After reading the article, I was fascinated by the ability for the C4BP to attach to many different M proteins. Usually an antibody from the immune system is designed f...

There are an estimated 5.5 million people in the United States living with Alzheimer's. Currently there is no cure for this disease. However, there are medications that help decrease symptoms and delay the progression of Alzheimer's. I have worked in various fields in healthcare and have seen how difficult this disease is on the individual as well as their families. So, while I was looking for an article to blog about I came across "Simple Blood Test Spots Dementia Protein" in Nature. This spiked my interest because I had never herd of a dementia protein. The article talked about a cheaper and easier testing alternative that could help better progress treatments for the Alzheimers disease. In science often times we have to do research to find a solution to a problem. Scientists in Japan and Australia have been trying to find a way to help stop the progression to Alzheimer's. They have developed a blood test that helps detects a protein associated with Alzheimer...

I imagine that there is not one person whose life has not been affected by disease. I have seen many family members and friends struggle with the crippling effects of cancer, Alzheimer's and many other chronic and non-chronic illnesses. I chose this article because it touches on holistic medicine and alternative treatments, something I am very interested in. Research is a vital part of discovering better ways to combat disease and find ways to prevent it. This article discusses using the cells own mitochondria to prevent and understand more about what causes disease and aging. Doug Wallace, a researcher, hypothesizes in this article, " My belief is that mitochondrial dysfunction underlies the etiology of most common complex diseases, as well as aging." This hypothesis is supported by a recent study conducted by the  Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center and the Boston-based Cambridge Institute that found less copies of mitochondrial DNA in cancer and tumor cells, than y...

Household chemicals rival vehicles as smog source Sarah Quist BIOL 1610 2/17/18 This article was of particular interest to me as I have been keenly aware, for many years now, the dangers of toxic household products, personal products and chemicals used on lawns and gardens. Although regulations have made some progress in reducing vehicle emissions, smog remains a huge problem in US cities. A group of researchers set out to find what other sources could be contributing to the continuation of polluted air. The research was led by Brian McDonald, an air-pollution researcher at the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Bolder, Colorado. Brian stated that he was surprised to find that the products he used in the morning to get ready for work are comparable to the emissions coming from the tailpipe of his car. What they found was that chemical products are different than vehicle emissions in that they are designed to evaporate. "Once in the air, the compoun...

This Article was talking about how crushing wood and removing some of its polymers will increase its strength. It’s much stronger than natural wood and laminated densified wood. I chose this article because I thought it was interesting to see if the monolayer densified wood would appear stronger than steel as it says in the subtitle. It formed a question for myself of why would monolayer densified wood appear stronger than steel? To me that seems unreal. I think of how frail and breakable wood can be and then think about how strong and sturdy steel is.   Throughout the article it explains that they did a test of firing pellets at the wood (which they do to test vehicles).   It turns out that monolayer densified wood does indeed appear stronger than the material that they use for cars. It says that the material might be suitable for the use of cars. This information is very useful to our nation/society; if they chose to use the monolayer densified wood for future cars. Peop...

Over the years there has been a lot of concern and focus on what causes autism. Some have speculated that autism is caused by a mutation in the amygdala (the emotion center of the brain), others that it is due to a disorder in the digestive track, and the most common theory may be that autism is caused by vaccines. There isn’t enough evidence to prove any of these theories correct, but could there be some merit behind the accusation that there is a link between autism spectrum disorder and prenatal ultrasounds? This article caught my eye because I am currently studying to become an ultrasound technician. As I prepare to enter this field I wanted to make sure that my profession of choice isn’t causing any harm to the future parents and children that will be my patients. It is also important for me to know all the facts so that when parents come in with concerns I am able to provide them with sound information that will help comfort and educate them. Ultrasound technology has dras...

While looking through the news articles on the scientific feeds I came across one with a title of “ First Primate Clones Produced Using the “Dolly” Method”. I was automatically intrigued. With learning about genes and DNA in class I was interested in this news article about clones. I learned about the Dolly Method in high school, so I knew what this article was researching and what their out comes were. They are creating animal clones with artificial DNA. In this article they used a technique called somatic cell nuclear transfer. “Which involves the scientist swapping the nucleus of a downer cell into a fertilized egg that has been purged of its own chromosomes.” The egg then will create an exact copy of the donor’s genome and if planted into a surrogate mother, the eventual offspring will be a clone. This technique has been used on many animals, all have had successful cloning and are just as healthy as the non-clone cousins. There are reasons for the cloning, with primates they ...

Travis North Biology 1610 Antibiotics: Talking, not Fighting Although not as controversial as vaccines, many adult Americans have some preliminary knowledge of antibiotics and have likely formed their own opinion as to the benefits or detriments from using or misusing antibiotics. I have benefited from antibiotics personally and value them when I'm sick; however, in preparing for this assignment, I realized my knowledge of antibiotics was somewhat superficial, as I did not have a in depth understanding of how antibiotics interact with our anatomy.   As a result, I was intrigued by the 2009 Scientific American Article, "Antibiotics, These wonder-drug molecules might have evolved to help bacteria speak with their neighbors, not kill them" by Jessica Snyder Sachs. [1] First, it is important to understand where antibiotics come from. The majority of antibiotics used in modern medicine are derived from soil bacteria. The standard thinking in microbiology is that...

Veronica Olivan Dr. Michaela Gazdik Stoffer Biology 1610-006 Blog Assignment 02/09/2018 Instead of Filling Cavities, Dentist May Soon Regenerate Teeth Growing up, I've always been told to fix my teeth for a better smile-mostly by dentists and peers around me. With the criticism coming to me about my teeth throughout my life, it did bring a slight curiosity about teeth in general. Smiles are usually the first thing you notice about a person. I personally feel like you can tell a lot from a person by how they take care of their dental health. As for me, I take care of my crooked teeth very well and I love my smile. I strongly believe there's more to dentistry than the cosmetics that society focuses on. The article I chose is not only about the future of dentistry but how fascinating science is evolving to find different ways to treat cavities. Recently researches have discovered a drug that not only treats Alzheimer's and other neurological disorders but can...

Ashley Rogers Dr. Michaela Gazdik Stoffer Biology 1610-006 Blog Assignment 02/08/2018 Impacts of Global Warming on People In a previous English college course, I wrote a paper on the impact of global warming on aquatic species.  One student read my paper, and proceeded to question why he should care about what happens to animals in the ocean.  In his reasoning, he did not want to be a zoologist, nor did he even live near an ocean, or any wildlife for that matter.  He is just a boy in a city, and therefore this was a topic that had nothing to do with him.  There seemed to be no way to convince this person about why he should care about endangering animal lives.   As I am an aspiring zoologist, it was difficult for me to believe why someone would not care about animals the way I do.  At the time, my only response was explaining to him why he should love animals, and why he should care about the planet.  Nothing was solved. However, I no...