Ice Is Melting Around the Artic and Antarctic

Recent news has shown us that there is a human-generated climate change taking place. The oldest, thickest ice around the North Pole is melting. An ice berg has also broken off of the Wilkins shelf in the Antarctic. This will not cause the sea levels to rise, just yet.

In the Arctic, melting of the ice contributes to global warming because when reflective white ice is replaced by dark water it will absorsb the sun's heat. The perennial ice in the arctic has also had a significant decrease, 50 percent, from February 2007 to February 2008. The oldest piece of perennial ice has decreased by 75 percent this year, losing 1.5 million sq kms which can be compared to twice the area of Texas. That is a huge amount of ice to be melting in the Arctic. Even the changes in Antarctica are found to be less dramatic. This is mostly because of the difference in the two regions. The Arctic is an ocean surrounded by land while the Antarctic is a continent surrounded by ocean. Still, the melting of ice in either region is not a very good indicator for the future and global warming.

In Antarctica, the Wilkins Ice Shelf on the Peninsula seems to now be supported merely by a thin strip of ice hanging between two islands. Recently, there was a huge berg (41 by 2.5 km) the size of the Isle of Man that broke away, and is still on the move. In 1993, Professor Vaughn predicted that the northern part of the Wilkins Ice Shelf was likely to be lost within 30 years if climate warming were to continue at the same rate. This has happened more quickly than anticipated. The Wilkins Ice Shelf is the largest ice shelf on the Antarctic Peninsula, one that has been around for at least a few hundred years, and it is no hanging by a thread. Fortunately, the Wilkins Ice Shelf is already floating so it wont have any impact on the sea level. It just goes to show you the impact that the change in climate is having on the region. The Antarctic Peninsula is an area of rapid climate change and has warmed faster than anywhere else in the southern hemisphere. The west coast of the peninsula has risen by nearly 3°C during the past 50 years. It is several times the global average and the only place that can match this increase is Alaska.

Fortunately, the melting of the ice is not going to affect the sea levels. Unfortunately, it will have an impact on global warming, by soaking up the sun's heat. This is not a good sign in the global perspective, yet what is this going to do to the ocean animals and those whose habitat is on the icy terrain of the antarctic region? They are saying that polar bears are going extinct, so hopefully it will be long before others begin to follow suit. We can only hope that the melting of the ice does not start to rapidly increase at either of the poles.

Posted by: Michele Kenausis (2b)

Premature Births May Lead to More Problems in Maturity

According to recent studies done by both Duke and Norwegian researchers, there seems to be more health risks to babies born premature than originally thought. In most cases, the health risks of premature newborns seem to be thought of as short term problems. Although the immediate health of the newborn is the most crucial, recent studies show that there may be more health problems that occur later in life for those who were born premature compared to those who were carried to full term.
The studies were carried out over several years and included over a million men and women. The results of these studies show that those who were born premature faced several issues later in life. Some of these issues include lower reproduction rates, lower educational achievement, and a higher risk of having children of their own born premature. According to Geeta Swamy, MD, of Duke, the earlier the child is born, the more complications the child is likely to face throughout the course of their life. More in depth results of this 20 year-long study showed several more interesting points. Some of these include: boys being born between 22-37 weeks had the highest rate of early childhood death, the lower the age of birth, the higher the risk of less education, and women who were born preterm were more likely to also have preterm children.
Due to advances in medicine, the rate of surviving premature births is increasing. While this is good, it is also leading to more premature births due to the correlation between having a premature child if you yourself were born premature. It is important for those who are born premature to notify their physicians so that conditions can be identified that arise due to being born too early. The same goes when deciding to have children. It is important to notify doctors if you are born premature so that they can improve your care to ensure that you carry your child as far along as possible.
It seems that with every medical advance, it had its’ setbacks. In many cases, such as this, the good seems to outweigh the bad. As long as people are aware of their premature status and inform their physicians, most will be able to carry out a relatively normal life.


Posted by: Meaghan Elliott

Schizophrenia: A Closer Look.

Research has progressed recently on schizophrenias, which is a disease that distorts thinking and causes hallucinations. Schizophrenia is now believed to be caused by a complicated array of rare point mutations, being a deletion or insertion mutation. This is so rare to come across that it can occur only in an individual and their close relatives, which is a strong reason why it only occurs in 1% of the entire human population. They have found that the genes being mutated play a crucial role in brain development, mainly the control of neuronal growth and migration.

Using gene-scanning they have mapped the genome of people with and without schizophrenia. They have found 53 different mutations that were three times more likely to turn up in people with schizophrenia. The problem they are left hanging with is that they have yet to pinpointed a certain gene for this disorder. This is because people with schizophrenia have different point mutations. With many variations in the genetic mutations found in schizophrenics it is yet to be determined just how schizophrenia forms. With more research and the ability to genetically map peoples genomes, scientist are in high hopes of finding out more.

Genetic scanning technology has opened new doors to unknown questions regarding developmental disorders. This technology may also aid in unknown questions regarding mental retardation, autism, bipolar disorder, and depression that also have to do with a problem in brain development. With more research we can have a better understanding on how brain development works and also find cures for people with damaging disorders.


Posted by: Julie Hachey (2b)

Evolution Agaist HIV

It is proven that certain people are immune to the HIV virus. I think this is incredible and shows the importance of a large gene pool. HIV is the human immunodeficiency virus which attacks a persons immune system allowing opportunistic infections to accumulate in a person. HIV isn't what kills the person but rather a collection of these opportunistic infections and tumors actually kill the person. When a person accumulates enough of these infections or in some cases their viral load is high enough this is known as the AIDS virus.

HIV infects a person through a mucous membrane or the bloodstream from any kind of bodily fluid already infected with HIV. Once in the body HIV attaches to binding sites on CD4 T cells. CD4 T cells play an important role in the immune system and when HIV takes hold in the body they either directly or indirectly destroy the CD4 T cells. HIV is a retrovirus which means it uses reverse transcriptase, a protein, to replicate within the body, probably in the CD4 t cells. The newly replicated HIV virus cells then go and attach to more CD4 t cells.

There is no known cure for HIV or AIDS, but some people are resistant to the HIV virus. These people have a mutation on the CD4 t cells that lack the binding site that HIV attaches to. Without the binding site these people can't become infected. However my title is a bit misleading because this step in human evolution wasn't exactly meant as a defense against the AIDS virus. This mutation dates back to medieval times and is found in people of eastern European decent. The bubonic plague which swept through Europe used the same binding sites as the HIV virus, so when certain people survived the plague it was because they had the same mutation that people that are resistant to HIV have today.

An old mutation against an old threat allows some people of eastern European decent to be resistant or completely immune to HIV.

-Tom Farese

Stem cells from Skin?

The use of embryonic stem cells has been a very active area of research in the medical community. The use of stem cells has immense potential because they can develop new tissues to replace cancerous or other defected tissues since humans cannot regenerate most tissues. Also, it provides an opportunity to research the effects of new drugs on tissues without putting human lives at risk. The history of stem cell research has made many exciting progressions in the past two years.

In the summer of 2005, a team of Harvard researchers used lab-grown embryonic to turn skin cells into stem cells. It was a difficult procedure because the DNA from the original cell must be removed from the newly created stem cell so that only the DNA from the skin cell remains. This enables tissues to be grown from the cells of an individual so that transplants can be made will little risk of rejection. This was an improvement on the original process called therapeutic cloning where an embryo is created from a regular cell and is destroyed later so the stem cells can be harvested.

In 2006, three research teams independently created stem cells from the skin cells of mice. And developments have been made since then to replicate the procedure with human cells. This feat was accomplished in November 2007 by Japanese and American research teams. The two teams used almost the same procedure: they introduced four retroviruses into the skin cells to “reprogram” them by turning certain genes on or off. Some are concerned about the effects that these retroviruses will have on the new tissues because at least one of them is known to cause cancer. But the scientists in the two research teams are hopeful and realize that it will be a long time before the procedure is used in human therapies. The new stem cells are very similar to embryonic stem cells and the researchers are confident that they will be able to create any of the 220 types of cells from the new skin stem cells because they exhibit the same “pluripotent” state that embryonic stem cells have.

This newest development cuts out any need for the use of embryos in the development of stem cells, which eliminates the ethical and moral controversies that surrounded their use. President Bush had allowed federal funding for embryonic stem cell research as long as the embryo is not destroyed in the process. His publicists say he is very excited about the new developments because they circumvent the controversy. Religious officials are also pleased with this new development, as are scientists, in one of the few occurrences when cutting-edge science does not defy current societal morals.

Posted by: Nicole Eckart

Reversing the Ashley Treatment

In July 2004, a severely disabled girl known only as Ashley underwent a series of radical, surgical procedures including a hysterectomy and an appendectomy. She was only seven years old. The controversial set of medical procedures now referred to as the “Ashley Treatment” has received much scrutiny over the past few years and has led to the heavy criticism of Ashley’s parents, the operating physicians, and Seattle Children’s Hospital.

Ashley was born with encephalopathy, a severe brain impairment that prevents her from functioning on her own. She is suspected to live a normal lifespan, but despite being awake and breathing on her own, Ashley is completely incapacitated by her lack of mobility and 6-month-old mental capacity. Her parents must takecare of her every need.

When Ashley began showing signs of puberty, her parents sought out a radical treatment that would prevent their daughter from exhibiting secondary sexual characteristics. In addition to the surgical procedures, Ashley received growth-attenuating hormones, including a high-dose, estrogen therapy to halt sexual maturation. Her parents argued that these treatments would make everyones lives more comfortable, reducing the risk of bedsores, preventing pain from menstruation, alleviating the discomfort of breast development, and making Ashley’s mobility much more convenient.

Because of her parents' choices, Ashley will remain trapped in a 4 foot 5 inch, adolescent body for the remainder of her life. When does a parent's consent cross the line and become too invasive? Granted this decision must have been incredibly troublesome, but how can Ashley’s parents deny their daughter the right to experience an adult body and the feelings that go along with human maturation?

It is scary to think of the future impact this may have on the treatment of mentally disabled children. There are currently no growth-attenuating therapies being administered in the country, so why was this approved by Seattle Children's Hospital in 2004?

People will continue to debtate this medical issue, but because of the severe ethical dilemma, no definitive resolution is likely. Since 2004, the “AshleyTreatment” has been condemned by many medical professionals and ethicists alike, claiming it “is a violation of not only human dignity, but also of a physician’s oath to due no harm”(Burkholder). I simply wonder if this decision was made in the best interest of Ashley or her parents.

If there is an innovative, medical breakthrough sometime throughout Ashley's life that might advance her cognitive abilities, people will look back upon this radical treatment with even greater disdain. Her parents have been battling the critics and adamantly defending their decision over the past few years, claiming they were only doing what was right for their child. I agree that the most important thing is for Ashley not to suffer, but to what extent can we justify such radical medical procedures that prohibit basic human development?


posted by T. FitzGerald

Great Minds Think…Different?

It is known fact that there are two sides of a brain. However, recent studies have suggested that there may be a variation in how the female and the male brain function. According to a study led by cognitive scientists, Douglas Burman and James Booth at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, “girls rely more on universal language-processing machinery that operates regardless of how they receive the information, whereas boys process information depending on the sensory mode”. To rationalize this phenomenon, a study manipulating the presentation of words was conducted to a group of children aged 9 to 15, half of whom were girls:

Paired words were either flashed on a screen or spoken, and subjects had to judge whether they rhymed, for example...The researchers found that girls showed significantly greater activation of the language areas of the brain than did boys. The boys showed greater activation of the specific sensory brain areas--visual or auditory--required by the task.

Monitoring the subjects’ brain activity by measuring the blood flow in various parts of the brain through the mechanism of functional magnetic resonance imaging, researchers realized that whereas girls had a higher percentage of brain activity in the language processing centers, which allows them to more easily decode abstract information, boys are were likely to excel in language when material is presented orally or visually, since most of the brain activity was founded to be centralized in the auditory and visual sections of the brain. In other words, boys in a classroom setting were found to pick up linguistic information more efficiently through the use of textbooks and lectures, whereas girls could essentially process the same information by either means.

Another sense of classification of the male and female brain is by the E-S system. In this feat to separate the logic of how the female and the male brain work, the E system is defined as the brain of the empathizer, or “female brain”, and the S system is defined as the brain of the systemiser, or the “male brain”. The empathizer is usually characterized by traits that function to understand and realize how people are feeling, and is driven by the intuition to figure out what the best means of reacting to the particular situation is. The systemiser is intuitively driven by the need to understand the processes behind a system, and is usually compelled to figure out the mechanisms to construct a system/solution for any particular situation.

In general, however, the association of the male brain as the systemizing type and the female brain as the empathizing type is just a product of averages of data from various experimental studies. Because the functional schism between the male and female brain is still in the process of development, it is concluded at the moment that either gender can be seen as either an empathizer or a systemizer, or even as an “balanced” individual that shows equally strong aspects in both qualities. For the moment, the information is most strongly promoted by stereotypes.

Posted by: Helen Thi

Effect Of Global Warming Local Habitat

Shifts in Winter Distribution in Birds: Effects of Global Warming and Local Habitat Change.
As global warming intensified toward the end of the 20th century, there was a northward shift in winter ranges of bird species in Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA. These pole-ward shifts were related to local increases in minimum winter temperatures and global temperature anomalies. This evidence and other recent results, suggests that during the last two decades global warming has led to massive and widespread biogeographic shifts with potentially major ecological and human consequences.
The evidence of such global and local changes is compelling, raising question whether these changes are sufficient to affect organisms and whether globally-driven changes can overwhelm local changes from other sources. In this paper, we use long-term bird censuses to evaluate the relative the relative effects of globally-driven increases in winter temperature patterns, and of local changes in the habitats, on assemblages of birds overwintering on Cape Cod, Massachusetts, USA.
One of the organizations associated with the bird distribution in winter; The Cape Cod Christmas Bird Count has come up statistics over a period of time. The well-honed identification ability of these skilled observers guarantees that species counts are a robust aspect of these censuses. The censuses also report numbers of each species, but these values are not as consistently taken as the species identification. To evaluate the relative effect of global warming trends, we hypothesized, based on previous results, that the winter distribution ranges may be controlled by the cold extremes of temperature regimes. Thus we obtained temperatures that occurred annually from October to February from the National Weather Service.
If warming was biologically meaningful, we would find that southern species sensitive to cold would extend their winter-range pole-ward during the warming period, and that species with more northern ranges might be able to survive winter farther north.
The number of bird species found in the Cape Code census increased from the 1930's through the 20th century. Some of the increase is said to be as a result of changes in observation procedures, some might be owing to global atmospheric changes and some to local habitats.
To sort out effects of climatic warming from effects of differences in census procedures, they used the internal comparison, calculating numbers of species with southern distributions relative to those with the northern distribution for each year of the record. There was a clear increase from 2.5 to 5

Posted by L.S Mustapher

Urine, not a waste after all !!!

A recent study has showed that African elephants have the ability to recognize the chemical characteristics given off by urine, thus are also able to use their strong sense of smell to keep track on whereabouts of family members. Elephants who leave traces of urine on tree trunks in the course of their journey away from their original colony, can easily tip siblings and parents who remember the smell of that elephant when they were living in that particular colony. The March 2007 study conducted by Richard Byrne, from the University of Saint Andrews in Scotland, implicated placing urine samples from females along paths of 36 different elephant families. A female elephant taking part of the study, showed little interest in urine samples that were associated with a group other than her own, but stopped and elongated its trunk if the smell of the urine seemed familiar.
Based on the collection of data from this study, it was concluded that African elephants have the the ability to keep track on 30 other elephants, and at least 17 in which are females.
Posted by Vanessa Raphaël (group D)

Urine, not a waste after all !!!

Underwater Smelling?

The star-nosed mole blows bubbles out of both of its nostrils underwater, then quickly inhales them. By doing this they are able to follow the scent path of their prey. Ken Catania is the man behind the discovery. He filled a clear glass aquarium and threw a worm in, then put the mole in. The mole followed closely behind blowing and inhaling bubbles the whole way. To further test this, Catania made a path on the bottom of the tank by using the scent of the worms. He then put a star-nosed mole in the tank and it blew and inhaled bubbles quickly following the scent path. He repeated this experiment with several other moles and all followed the path 75-100% of the time. He then put a screen on top of the scent path to create an obstacle between the moles and the scent path. This time, the moles were only able to follow the correct path 50% of the time. This displayed Catania's hypothesis that the star-nosed moles use the bubbles to follow the path of their prey. Catania wonders if other semi-aquatic animals are also capable of smelling underwater.



Posted by: Jennifer McGrath (c)

Human Evolution in Italy

Evolution has been controversial topic. Bringing out the best scientist vs. the most prestigious religious figures in the argument of Evolution and Intelligent Design. With all this controversy surrounding Evolution some forget to the amazing scientific studies in the field. Within the past 20 years a mutation was discovered in a small Italian community that decreases the risk of arteriosclerosis, heart attack and stroke. The mutation was discovered to be in a protein, called Apolipoprotein AI. This is a major component in HDL cholesterol which is sometimes referred to as the "good" cholesterol.

Cholesterol is a lipid molecule that is transported in bloodstream in the form of lipoproteins. There are two forms of lipoproteins found in the human body, LDL(Low Density Lipoprotein) and HDL(High Density Lipoprotein). HDL is referred to as the "good" cholesterol because it removes cholesterol from the bloodstream to the liver. LDL does a poor job of removing cholesterol and can leave deposits of cholesterol on artery walls. These deposits can lead to increased risks of arteriosclerosis, heart attack and stroke.

The mutated form of this protein has been named Apolipoprotein AI Milano(now referred to as Apo-AIM). Apo-AIM has been shown to improve biological function of HDL. As described in a Guido Franceschini article the HDL molecules were increased in size an lower cholesterol more effeciently than normal HDL. It has been shown in lab mice that the mutant allele will display benefits in heterozygous carriers but displayed better in homozygous carriers. The chances of a being a homozygous carrier is 1/3700 and humans carrying the mutation have been confirmed heterozygous for the allele. The individuals are known descendants of a 18th century couple who passed the mutation on to there kin. This mutation is a present day example of evolution in humans.

Being able to identify a single mutation that benefits all carriers in humans is a monumental discovery in the field of evolutionary sciences. Apo-AIM is a perfect example of evolutionary processes in humans as it is a mutation changing the inherited traits of the offspring in this population. This protein is just one mutation leading humans in a forward progression of the species. Mutations such as these could lead to species wide mutation after eons of reproduction since there are no downfalls and only benefits to this protein. Discoveries like these can also be studied in genetics for possible insertion in embryonic development but that is a whole other discussion in itself.

Posted by John Reilly

Breaking Ground at Umass - Lite

UMASS-Amherst students live on a campus at the forefront of scientific research. One of those very interesting research projects, has to do with the future of Low-Calorie foods, but with a new twist. These new foods will contain just as much fat as normal foods, but the trick is your body will not be able to digest it.

This is made possible by a new technique discovered by Julian McClements, professor of Food Science, along with Food Science professors Eric Decker and Yeonhwa Park. Their research involves coating fat molecules in layers of dietary fiber. As McClements describes it, "Foods produced with these encapsulated fats should have the same qualities as conventional high-fat foods.” The foods will taste exactly like their normal counterparts but with significantly less calories.

They are continuing work on stabilizing these fiber layers so that the fat molecules will taste great, and will then pass through your body without ever being broken down. This type of discovery could truly revolutionize the food industry and more.

Supplements, vitamins, and drug therapies are also candidates for the use of these fiber layers. They would make it possible to have these treatments target specific areas of the body. Examples include vitamins traveling to the small intestine, without being broken down in the stomach, where they can be more readily absorbed.

Either way, because this process uses only food-grade components there is no FDA approval required, which means we could be seeing this used relatively quickly. As of right now, McClemens and company are waiting on a patent and continuing their research. The sooner they complete it, the sooner we can all have our cake and eat it too.

Posted by: Scott Lee

Pollution Exposure to Earthworms Change Starlings Song

It is obvious that pollution has caused artificial changes in the environment. Pollution is causing dramatic changes in Evolution and Ecology. Sewage treatment facilities are an example of how artificial ecosystems develop. Many microorganisms and small insects live in the filter beds of sewage treatments. These organisms are obtaining natural estrogen through human waste and estrogenlike compounds from plastics that build up at filter beds. Exposure to natural and synthetic endocrine disrupting chemicals (EDCs) alter changes in the endocrine systems. According to an article in The New York Times “The chemicals are known to disrupt endocrine function, with anatomical and behavioral effects.”
Shai Markman and Katherine L. Buchanan have researched the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) in Britain. They have a fully written research article on what they observed. The researchers noticed that the starling mainly feed on worms living in these filter beds. The researchers observed that the birds are highly affected by estrogen(a hormone), dioctylphthalate(toxin), bisphenol A(an organic compound that mimics estrogen), and dibutylphthalate(a toxic air pollutant). The researches captured starling, and in a lab, gave them similar amounts of estrogen and toxins through mealworms introduced with high levels of these toxin and estrogen based compounds. In result, the researchers observed that the starlings’ songs’ became more complex because the part of the brain that produces their song became overdeveloped. The complexity of the male birds’ song attracted more females due to sexual selection. Females favored the male birds with high levels of estrogen over birds that were in a control condition. It may seem as if it is beneficial for mating. However, the starling’s immune system becomes very weak due to the exposure of toxins consumed from the worms. The starling’s reproduction system along with many other internal systems became disrupted and in some cases reproduction systems did not function properly. The researchers predict that the females will continue to mate with the males with poor immune fitness and eventually natural selection will wipe out starling with healthy immune systems. It may be too early to tell but the effects of the artificial ecosystem may cause starling to produce offspring with weaker immune systems thus, decreasing the chances of survival, possibly, eliminating the entire species.


Posted by: C. Varela