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Sp DISCOVERING Spectrum
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BRAIN
SLEEP CREATIVITY ART HORACE MANN’S PREMIER SCIENCE PUBLICATION • FALL 2014
Note from the Editor
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Dear Readers,
Spectrum
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ichio Kaku, a theoretical physicist and huge popularizer of science, once said, “The human brain has 100 billion neurons, each neuron is connected to 10,000 other neurons. Sitting on your shoulders is the most complicated object in the known universe.” Everything we do; every thought we have; our processing of sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch; our ability to navigate, to learn language, to remember – everything we experience as human beings is controlled by the brain. However, the manner in which this complex organ operates remains one of the largest mysteries on earth! As I was reflecting on all the brain can do, I thought of two extreme, and remarkable, examples. Several weeks ago, I watched a TEDxTeen talk by a now-freshmen in college, Tim Doner. Tim has been bombarded with media attention due to his unusual aptitude for language; he has been featured by The New York Times, Daily Mail, and BBC as speaking 23 languages, which he has learned in the course of about five years. Tim considers himself fluent in five or six tongues (including French, Farsi, Arabic, Hebrew, and German) but is familiar, conversant, and engaged in many others, ranging from Indonesian to Pashto and Ojibwe. I was mesmerized and inspired by Tim’s story, especially considering that I’ve taken Spanish all of my time at HM and still am not completely fluent. And, of course, I’m not the only one who’s interested. There is a whole field of neuroscience devoted to the study of the neural mechanisms that control the comprehension, production, and acquisition of language – neurolinguistics. I also have come across a video of Jill Price, a 43-year old woman from Los Angeles, who can remember any day in her life since she was 12 as if it were yesterday. She explains that while for many, as years go by things fade away, for her, years go by and things are just as strong. Loops of memories whirl through her head. If she reads something and sees a
specific date, she can automatically tell you what happened on that day. Jill wanted to find someone who could tell her why she remembered everything, and while no answer exists to date, she is currently being studied by neuroscientists at UC Irvine. Today, researchers in the field of neuroscience are delving deeper and deeper into the brain in order to understand how it works and how it can produce thoughts and behaviors. The hope is that by uncovering the molecular and cellular mechanisms of neurons and how they work together, scientists will be able to understand the mechanisms of learning, memory, and emotion, and will also gain the knowledge necessary to translate what they discover to the clinic. As scientists gain a greater understanding of the brain and how disease impairs its functions, they will be able to propose treatments and cures for the huge slew of debilitating psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases that exist today. In this issue, in addition to detailing advances in biology, chemistry, physics, and current research, we feature articles on neuroscience. Our writers have written not only about the brain’s anatomy, neural networks and circuitry, and molecular interactions, but also about how these interactions affect our behaviors. When can we learn best? How does the brain control sleep? How do we navigate? (It turns out, our brains can create maps of our spatial environments and overlay experiences on top of that map – I know, it sounds like something from Inception!) There is obviously so much to discover about the brain, but our writers have tried to scrape the surface on a few of the ways in which it works. Enjoy! Best,
Samantha Stern Editor in Chief
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Samantha Stern Editor -in-Chief
Jason Ginsberg Abigail Zuckerman Executive Editors
Isabel Freisner Kundan Guha James Kon Noah Montgomery Senior Content Editors
Lauren Futter Sonia Sehra Senior Design Editors
Tishya Girdhar Digital Media Editor
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Jeff Weitz Faculty Advisor Spectrum is a student publication. The opinions represented are those of the writers. The Horace Mann School is not responsible for the accuracy and contents of Spectrum, and is not liable for any claims based on the contents or view expressed herein. All editorial decisions regarding grammar, content, and layout are made by the Editorial Board. Spectrum recognizes an ethical responsibility to correct all its errors, large and small, promptly and in a prominent reserved space in the magazine. All queries and complaints should be directed to the Editor-In-Chief. Please address these comments by e-mail, to hmspectrum@gmail.com.
Research 04 RECENT RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS By Rachel Okin
06 STUDENT RESEARCH
The involvement of MMP9 and calreticulin in the development of ALS
By Lexi Kanter
Spectrum | 02
10 INTERVIEW WITH TESS CASWELL Researcher, engineer, and astronaut
By Maddie Bender
Contents
01
November 2014 / Vol 05 / Issue 01
Features
Chemistry
Biology
14 SYNESTHESIA
32 PROS AND CONS OF STRESS
The mysteries of perception By Allison Li
Acute stress is actually beneficial for the human body By Alexis Megibow
NEUROAESTHETICS Analyzing Artwork in Relation to Neuroscience by Ariana Shaari
Page 18
34 THE EBOLA FEVER What you need to know about the deadly virus By Aurora Grutman
38 DIABETES BREAKTHROUGH Harvard scientist creates insulin producing beta cells By Christie Du
48 FOUNTAIN OF YOUTH The truth behind resveratrol By Sabrina Lautin
50 OCEAN CHEMISTRY
The effect of acidification on sea-life By Kyra Hill
54 GRAPHENE AND ITS POSSIBILITIES
The possibilities offered by sheets of carbon By Christina Lee
56 NOBEL PRIZE IN CHEMISTRY
THE WAR AGAINST FAT Fat actually isn’t the culprit of the obesity epidemic By Karen Jiang
Page 40
Nobel Laureates develop super-resolved fluorescence microscopy to visualize the nanoworld By Parul Sharma
Physics 20 MYTH OR FACT Can electronics prevent us from falling asleep? By Azure Gao
57 NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSICS
Physicists invent novel energy-efficient and environmentally friendly light source By Amrita Archaya
24 HEAVEN IS FOR REAL Scientific research suggests near-death experiences may be possible By Ella Feiner
28 CURIOSITY AND LEARNING Curiosity increases brain activity, leading to increased alterness and memorization By Joanna Kuang
59 THE SCIENCE OF STATIC 42 SCHIZOPHRENIA Research suggests same genetic mutation which causes schizophrenia may result in other mental ilnesses By Tasfiah Tabassum
44 GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS The controversy behind GMOs By Zoe Mavrides
30 NOBEL PRIZE IN PHYSIOLOGY
46 STEM CELLS AND
Scientists determine mechanisms by which humans navigate By Raag Agrawal
PARKINSON’S DISEASE Stem cell-derived neurons function with remarkable success in Parkinson’s patients By Stephanie Carrero
FRICTION
How it works By Janis Park
61 QUANTUM MECHANICS
A new probe is able to accurately measure the strength of electric fields By Nicholas Carrero
Research
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A Swedish man who lost part of his arm ten years ago is now the very first person to be presented with a mind and muscle controlled prosthetic arm. This new type of “bone anchored� prostheses will further help those who have lost body parts and will enable them to perform daily tasks easier. This is because the synthetic part is connected directly onto a bone and can send signals to the brain (and the brain can sent the artificial body part signals too!) Spectrum | 04
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Could having older parents actually be the cause of hundreds of different deathly diseases in kids? By using the process of DNA sequencing, scientists found that older mothers have a greater number of mutations in their blood cells, resulting in their children having more mutant genes than regular. These mutations would be found in the mitochondria of the cell, which is an organelle that helps the cell gain energy. Some diseases that have been outcomes of this experiment includ cancer, autism, and diabetes, which would affect the whole body not just specific organs.
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03 Tests have shown that the real reason teens text while driving, aside from still underdeveloped prefrontal cortexes leading to bad decision-making in a growing brain, it’s actually the “rewarding” feeling of clicking send on a text response. Teens link behaviors to mental “rewards,” so when receiving a text teens are more likely than adults to immediately respond in order to get the satisfaction of sending a reply.
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Can we smell through our skin? The answer, surprisingly, is yes. Even more surprisingly, your heart, kidney, and liver can sense smells, of course in addition to your nose. The “olfactory receptors,” or detectors of airborne odor molecules, found in your nostrils along with almost all other body parts could also be much more useful than we usually assign to the sense of smell. These receptors, though usually used for catching scents, could also prevent the expansion of prostate cancer cells and encourage the reestablishment of muscle cells to help restore damaged tissue.
Sulforaphane, a chemical found in broccoli, helped improve the symptoms of autistic boys and might possibly lead to treatment techniques for autism. Experiments were run on two groups of autistic boys, one group given a substantial dose of sulforaphane and the other a placebo. Results showed improvement in behavior, social skills, and other symptoms of autism. However, this study needs to be repeated because not all the patients who received sulforaphane experienced significant real change.
Potentially, this experiment might lead to mitigating the symptoms of autism, which would benefit millions in the U.S. and the world.
Research
Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis
ALS The disease is deadly and heart-wrenching, as patients become completely dependent on others and watch their lives fade away.
Studying ALS in the Henderson Laboratory of the Motor Neuron Center at Columbia University: matrix metalloproteinase and calreticulin by Lexi Kanter
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myotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) was first discovered by the French neurologist Dr. Jean-Martin Charcot in 1869, but it was not until 1939 that Lou Gehrig brought national and international attention to the neurodegenerative disease. ALS is relatively rare, with an estimated 2 cases per every one hundred thousand people. In ALS, motor neurons, which project both from the brain to the spinal cord and from the spinal cord to the muscles in order to control voluntary muscle movement, degenerate. Without control of muscle function, patients essentially become paralyzed. Lacking the ability to speak, swallow, or breathe, most ALS patients die within a span of approximately 2 to 5 years following the diagnosis. Although the disease typically strikes adults 40 through 70, there are some very rare cases of early onset ALS. This disease is deadly and heart-wrenching, as patients become completely dependent on others and watch their lives fade away. There has yet to be any successful cure or therapy treatment discovered for the disease.
1870s Jean Martin Charcot, a French neurologist, establishes ALS as a distinct disease Spectrum | 06
There are two umbrella categories of ALS, namely familial ALS and sporadic ALS. Familial ALS accounts for only 10% of all ALS cases and is inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Consequently, if a parent has ALS, there exists approximately a 50% chance that their child will also be diagnosed with ALS. Familial ALS is caused by a gene mutation. Mutations in multiple genes, including SOD1, C9orf72, TDP43, and FUS, can cause varying forms of ALS. However, the majority of familial ALS cases are caused by the copper-zinc superoxide dismutase 1 (SOD1) gene located on chromosome 21, which has recently become the focus of ALS medical research. When functioning correctly, the gene codes for proteins that are used in the central nervous system of the body. These proteins detoxify metabolic waste left over from cellular respiration. The SOD1 protein essentially deactivates the reactive oxygen molecules, turning them into water that can then be expelled from the body. How exactly a mutation in this gene results in ALS is still unknown; nevertheless, there are about 100 SOD1 mutations that are consistent with phenotypic
1940s
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1980s
1990s
2000s
2010s
Lou Gehrig dies of ALS in 1941; the disease becomes widely known as Lou Gehrig’s Disease
Studies of nerve-tomuscle signal transmission begin
Isolation of genes related to ALS is attempted; ALS clusters are investigated
An inhibitor of the chemical glutamate known as riluzole is approved for use in ALS
Neurological and genetic studies of ALS continue; most tested drugs are ineffective
New therapies are developed, but results remain inconclusive; genetic and cellular research continues
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expression of the disease. One theory is holds that the mutation causes the protein to improperly fold and form aggregates, which result in the death of motor neurons. Sporadic ALS is the randomly occurring form of the disease. There are currently no explanations of what causes sporadic ALS; nonetheless, there are a number of theories currently being http://www.theguardian.com http://www.eurostemcell.org tested. One of these theories contends that ALS may be triggered by environmental factors, such as pesticides and soil pollution. This Magnisinti omnim volesenient voluptatum hypothesis stems from observations that there is a higher inverchillant ullam nos earum esciist ipsus adic cidence of ALS in professional athletes and in veterans than te sed magnime ndipisciamet est, sit volorit in the rest of the population. Another conjecture is that ALS alicae et doles atur, ipsant. is a result of a combination of a genetic and environmental factor; patients may contain susceptibility genes that make them predisposed to ALS. These genes may be “turned on� by a separate environmental factor. A patient can have one of two forms of sporadic ALS, bulbar onset or limb onset ALS. Bulbar onset is the less common form of ALS, accounting for 25% of sporadic cases. It is also the more aggressive form of the disease, with patients typi- vulnerable and resistant motor neurons. cally living no more than 2 years after the diagnosis. Bulbar In ALS patients, some motor neurons, including the ocuonset ALS mainly affects speech, swallowing and respiration. lar motor neurons, remain unaffected by the disease. These Later on in the progression of the disease, the patient will unaffected motor neurons are the resistant motor neurons. experience loss of mobility in the arms and legs. In limb onset The research I participated in involved identifying molecules ALS patients, events occur in the opposite order; muscles in and changes in these molecules that were present in vulnerathe legs and arms are affected first, followed by the abdomi- ble motor neurons but absent in the resistant motor neurons. nal, neck, and intercostal muscles involved in speech, respi- Matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9) was one molecule that ration, and swallowing. was expressed in vulnerable motor neurons but not in resistMy grandfather was diagnosed with bulbar onset ALS in ant motor neurons. The lab demonstrated that lowering the 2008 and passed away in 2010. I saw firsthand just how ut- expression of MMP-9 was beneficial to the life span of the terly debilitating the disease is for the patient and experiALS mice. Another molecule, calreticulin (CRT), which has enced the enormous emotional toll it takes on the families been known to be necessary for motor neuron survival, had of ALS patients. Since my grandfather passed away, I have diminished expression in ALS mic, emphasizing the importaken a dedicated interest in understanding the mechanisms tance of correct levels of CRT to motor neuron health. Stress of the disease and finding treatment possibilities. During the on the endoplasmic reticulum is most likely the cause of the past six months, I have been working under Brigitte Pettmann mutations in these proteins that result in ALS. The fact that in the Henderson Laboratory of the Motor Neuron Center at the diminished expression of CRT and the presence of MMP-9 Columbia University, studying ALS. Specifically, my research occurs upstream of the ER stress suggests that these two molinvolved looking at the similarities and differences between ecules may be at least partially responsible for the ER stress
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million dollars is the amount of money raised from the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge. These donations will allow for more cutting-edge research to be funded.
that causes ALS. The Henderson Lab team is moving to Boston in December to work with Biogen, a biotechnology company, in order to explore the possibility of CRT as a therapeutic target. The researchers hope to identify compounds that will increase CRT levels by stimulating the promoter region of the gene. Unfor-
Pictured on left: Stephen Hawking, neurons involved in ALS, the famous baseball player Lou Gehrig, and a person undertaking the Ice Bucket Challenge
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tunately there are many complications, including finding a way to specifically target motor neurons in treatments. The only way to do this currently is to inject treatment compounds directly into the spinal cord or brain, which makes clinically trials extremely difficult. However, it is extremely important to specifically target motor neurons because if the increase in CRT is not highly targeted, it can cause heart failure. In addition, it is currently unknown whether CRT is upstream of MMP-9 or vice versa. If CRT is indeed upstream of MMP-9 in the genome, then correcting CRT levels would likely decrease MMP-9 expression, which would then reduce ER stress and reduce the production of the ALS causing proteins. However, if CRT is downstream of MMP-9, the presence of MMP-9 is likely causing the decreased expression of CRT, which is causing the ER stress. In the latter case, the focus of the research will have to change to decreasing MMP-9 expression. There are still countless unknowns to uncover about ALS before a cure can be found. Right now, we are still in the very
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beginning stages of research. Recent donations from the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge amount to over 115 million dollars and will allow for even more cutting-edge research to be funded. Doubtless, impressive progress is being made in the field and I remain hopeful that more important research breakthroughs will be achieved in the near future as we move closer to creating a world without ALS.
Spectrum | 10
Research
Interview with Tess Caswell Tess Caswell, an Alaskan native, graduated from University of Alaska Fairbanks with a degree in Mechanical Engineering. After working for the Boeing Company and in Mission Control at NASA, she returned to school and is in the process of receiving her PhD in Geological Sciences from Brown University, where she works in “The Ice Lab.” Her work consists of crushing ice at a rate of 10-5 mm per second, peering at the ice with an electron microscope to identify tiny permutations called subgrain boundaries, and attempting to link the size of these subgrain boundaries to the rate at which ice dissipates energy. Although seemingly niche, her work has applications especially in better modeling processes that occur within some ice-covered moons in the Outer Solar System.
by Maddie Bender
What first interested you about science? Initially, my interest in science arose from an interest in NASA. And that started when my 5th grade teacher had a poster that literally covered an entire wall of our classroom of a space shuttle orbiting the earth. I just remember being completely captivated by it and by the exploration of space in general. I decided that I wanted to be an astronaut, and it all kind of went from there.
What about space in particular interested you? I think the aspect of exploration, of learning new things, going places that we’ve never gone before, and pushing the envelope.
How did you transition from aspiring to be an astronaut to becoming a researcher? It’s been a winding path. I originally went to school for engineering because when I was a kid, I had the opportunity to talk to an astronaut. I asked him how to become an astronaut and he told me that astronauts go to school to be engineers. So I went to the University of Alaska Fairbanks to study Mechanical Engineering and then worked in Mission Control for the International Space Station for three years. As an operator
of the Environmental and Thermal Operating Systems (ETHOS) console in ISS Mission Control, I monitored the day-to-day runnings of the environmental systems of the Space Station. I ensured that the crew of 6 onboard the Station had breathable, comfortable air and plenty of water (by running the water recycling system). While I was woring in Mission Control, I saw all of the science experiments that were going on aboard the space station and helped the people who designed the experiments integrate them once they were up in space. I got really interested in what we were learning in space and how what we learn in space can benefit the Earth. I realized that I didn’t really like being an engineer and I was more interested in discovery and research. As a result, I then went back to school to get a PhD in Geological Sciences, and that’s where I am now.
Do you have any plans for the future? Well, I still want to be an astronaut, so I’m going to apply as soon as the next announcement comes out. NASA just picked some astronauts 2-3 years ago, so it’s going to be a little while. Maybe I’ll be done with my PhD by the time they select more. I’ll be applying to that and hopefully going back to work at NASA, but maybe initially to facilitate
the science. There is a group of people who take scientists who have gotten selected to lead an experiment on the space station and this group will help the scientists through all the phases of getting an experiment ready to go, like adjusting the designs and taking lack of gravity into account and then predict-
Research ing how it will interfere with the astronauts. I think that doing all those little things that people who do science in Earth labs might not think about would be a really fun job.
What was it like working at NASA? It was awesome. Being in Mission Control was kind-of like the scenes from the movie Apollo 13 where all the people are in the room watching the systems and solving problems on a day-to-day basis. But that was only my job a third of the time. The rest of the time I was either helping with designing procedures that the astronauts would use when they were on the space station and writing out all the steps for the things they have to do so that they don’t have to figure it out for themselves while aboard the ISS.4 I also helped teach other flight controllers the systems of the space station. So that was a lot of fun- I got to be a teacher as well as an engineer, and I also helped teach the astronauts, which was really cool. They’d be in small groups of 4 or 5 and you’d be teaching them a lesson about some specific part of the space station. Astronauts are the best students I’ve ever seen; because they are so concerned about when they will be up in space what they will have to know to stay alive, they don’t want to miss a thing. They’re very attentive and ask lots of really detailed questions.
Why did you end up choosing ice as the focus of your research at Brown? It was kind of an accident, actually. As an engineer who wanted to study Geological Sciences, I looked around for professors who had done the same thing. I emailed a professor at Brown who used to teach engineering and material science and eventually transitioned to teaching geology. I wrote to him and essentially just said, “Hey, I’m an engineer thinking about pursuing geology, and I see you made this change. I was wondering if you could give me any advice or be willing to take me on as a student.” He sent me back this extremely long email about all the things that I could work on with him. One of those topics was experimenting with the subgrain boundaries of ice, so that’s how I ended up researching ice. Spectrum | 12
A lot of people think that I deliberately chose ice because I’m from Alaska - it was really appropriate that that happened.
What is your favorite part of your current day-to-day work? My favorite part is performing the experiments. I’ve learned so much since coming to Brown. During my first year here I felt like my head was going to explode everyday from all of the information crammed into it. But I really like going into the lab, taking the facts that I learned in the classroom, and then figuring out an experiment to try to test a hypothesis. Running the experiments was also a lot of fun because even if my brain is not fully “awake enough” to do hard-core science, I can still be in the lab producing and crushing ice without feeling like I’m not being productive simply because I’m sleepy.
How do you use your blog (http://finalfrontierscience.wordpress.com)? The blog started out as part of the grant that funds me. When I first started at Brown, my first semester was spent taking classes and writing proposals to get my research funded. I wrote this proposal to the National Science Foundation in order for them to fund my PhD, and in my proposal, I promised to write a blog in order to share my research and to hopefully excite people about science, engineering, and math. As you probably saw, the first couple of posts were about my research and about ice in general. Lately, I’ve started using it as a forum for things I think are inspirational. For example, I interviewed my friend Laurie from NASA about being a woman in engineering. The blog is ever evolving as I get used to blogging.
What are some of the difficulties you’ve encountered as a woman in science? Interestingly, I feel like we’ve gotten to a point where there are more and more women in science and there are fewer hurdles that one has to jump over to be a woman in science or engineering. However, when I was an undergraduate in Alaska, I was one of four women in
the whole engineering department. so There definitely still are not a lot of us, but in general I’ve felt really well supported actually. My group in Mission Control was actually about 50/50 men and women, so there was a very substantial number of us.
Is there any advice that you’d give to a woman in science who is encountering difficulties? That’s a really good question. I think the biggest thing when you’re encountering troubles is to do pursue things that remind you why you started in the field in the first place. Do things that remind you how much you love the science that you’re working on. For me, that’s usually doing outreach projects and talking to kids like 2nd graders who get really excited just hearing about science. It reminds you why science is cool. I think it’s just a matter of finding the things that keep you motivated.
What was your favorite high school or college course? I’ve never thought about which one was my favorite per se. I think some of my favorite classes have been some of my classes here at Brown, specifically the ones about thermodynamics.5 The professor who is my advisor, Reid Cooper, just lives thermodynamics- every thoughtprocess he has is based in thermodynamics, which is a topic that a lot of engineering and science people struggle with. Reid is such a good teacher that I feel I’ve learned more about thermodynamics in one class with him than I learned in school as an engineering student.
Is there a specific part of thermodynamics he taught especially well? Entropy.6 I think he’s really good at explaining what entropy is, especially since a lot of people have trouble conceptualizing it.
Do you have any words of advice for students writing lab reports or research papers? I would say my biggest piece of advice is keep it simple, especially when
Opinion
writing lab reports. In English, your teachers want you to use nice language and sentence structure. But in science, what professors really care about is that you convey the information accurately. When I first started, I was writing all of these beautiful papers and essays, but I had this one teacher tell me, “This is stupid. Just write what you mean.” I think that is the biggest piece of advice that I would have for people learning to write lab reports. Keep it simple.
What is the best advice you’ve ever received? The best advice I ever received was from an astronaut and educator. Her name is Dorothy Metcalf-Lindenburger.7 I was talking to her, and she signed a picture for me that says, “Always challenge yourself.” Whenever I start thinking about how getting a PhD is hard or how leaving my job at NASA was a tough decision, I remember her wordsalways challenge yourself, always seek out new things; this motivates me to
keep working towards a new goal.
What is the future of your research? The future of my research is really delving into the microscopic scale processes that make ice flow, especially in trying to understand things like how glaciers flow and how the ice sheets in Antarctica flow. We’re trying to make models to reflect how the ice sheets are going to respond to variables like climate change or how they might contribute to climate change.8
What is the most surprising thing you’ve discovered? I was really blown away by how many things are happening at a scale way too small for us to see. The actual processes are very complex. Do you know how if you have an ice cube and slowly squeeze it between your teeth, it slowly squishes? The processes that make that happen are millions of millions of tiny little defects in the crystals rearranging themselves because you’re pushing on
the ice. To me, it’s really exciting that so much is happening in such a tiny little space of something we all interact with on a daily basis and never really think about.
Is there anything else you’d like to add? Well, one thing that I had always wished someone had told me when I was younger is that you should think about what really excites you and pursue that particular career or passion.
Features
Synesthesia A rare neurological condition in which senses are blended together by Allison Li
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ave you ever swore you were hearing colors? Maybe associated letters or numbers with a particular hue? Perhaps the name of your best friend brings to mind the flavor of creamed spinach. If you’ve experienced any of these things, you just might be a synesthete. Include as “side fact”: interestingly, synesthetes are six times more likely to be females than males. Synesthesia, a term that derives from Greek and means to “perceive together,” is a rare neurological condition in which one’s senses are seemingly blended together. To that end, a stimulus from one sense triggers a response from another. In addition to the examples above, types of synesthesia include Spectrum | 14
music-color, in which musical notes are associated with color visualizations and tactile-emotion, in which a certain texture or fabric may conjure up a particular emotion for the synesthete. Though scientists have been aware of the existence of synesthesia for over a century, it has not been regarded as more than a quirk or the product of an overactive imagination until recently, and little is known about the subject. Even so, many scientists hope to learn more about perception by studying synesthetic brains. “We’re using the synesthetic brain as a model for neural hyper-connectivity,” says Steffie Tomson, a neuroscientist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. “What we’re learning is that there are very specific delicate
relationships between different regions of the brain that can cause it to function normally – or to tweak.” Scientists are quickly making headway in researching the condition. Technological advancements in genetic sequencing have allowed researchers to come closer to pinpointing the genes that cause synesthesia, which appear to be dominant, recurring within family lineages. Though the condition may seem insignificant at first glance, its reappearance generation after generation suggests that synesthesia may provide an important evolutionary benefit. Studies have shown that synesthetes who experience color when seeing numbers and letters have an above-average ability to distinguish between
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colors. Similarly, mirror-touch synesthetes who feel touch sensations when watching another person touch themselves have a heightened sensitivity to touch in general. The brains of synesthetes are also anatomically different than those of individuals without the condition. Specifically, it appears that the neural connections between certain regions of the brain are more myelinated in synesthetes. Myelin, the fatty sheath that insulates the axons of neurons, allowing electrical signals to travel more rapidly. Psychologist Dr. Baren Cohen and his colleagues believe that synesthetes are born with excess neural connections and myelin sheath in order to crosswire the separate regions that control the five senses define these regions.
Such cross-wiring allows the different regions of the brain to communicate and causes the trademark blending of
the senses associated with synesthesia. There are many conflicting theories on the cause of synesthesia, however.
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Dr. Daphne Maurer, a psychologist at McMaster University, speculates that all people are born with these synesthetic connections, but most lose them over time. Naropa University’s Dr. Peter Grossenbacher proposes that the connections that carry information from high-level, multi-sensory areas back to single-sense area are not correctly restricted; typically, the information is only allowed to return to single-sense area, but in the case of synesthetes, this process may be disrupted somehow, jumbling the different senses together. Though some researchers maintain that synesthesia is a result of an innate difference in neurophysiolo-
gy, others insist that is a result of associations learned from an early age. Studies down have shown that is normal for non-synesthetic subjects to show milder versions of synesthetic connections, as most people tend to associate highpitched sounds with brighter colors. Yet another mystery is why percep1905
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tions differ so greatly from one synesthete to another. Even among synesthetes who associate words and colors, the colors each person associates with a letter, for example “K�, are not the same. As such, synesthesia is unique for all that have the condition, and unlike hallucinations induced by drugs like
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Nis porisinis denihi Nis porisinis denihicae nistio to idemquo velit que rem ipis et ipis nonsent. Nis porisinis denihicae nistio to idemquosent. Spectrum | 16
LSD, the perceptions of synesthetes remain consistent over time. A study conducted by psychologist Dr. Baren-Cohen in 1989 showed that synesthetes demonstrated a 92% consistency rate in their color-sound associations after a full year, in comparison to the 37% consistency rate of the control group. Another way synesthetes’ experiences vary is the way such individuals view their synesthesia. While some synesthetes find their condition disruptive, the majority of people consider synesthesia to be pleasant and are in no hurry to find a “cure.” Others are indifferent to the condition and find that it has little effect on their day-to-day lives. One such person is ninth grader Clara Worrall, whose synesthesia causes her to associate words and numbers with colors. “Happy” is orange, for example, and “Thursday” is a maroon-brown. When asked whether she finds her condition a nuisance or a pleasure, she replied that it is neither. “I’ve had it ever since I could remember,” Clara says. “I always just sort of thought it was normal for people, at least until I told my dad about it.” Consistent with the idea that synesthesia runs in families, her sister Rosie is also a color-word synesthete, albeit with stronger associations. Synesthetes like Clara and Rosie are known to have an unusually good memory and can often remember phone numbers, security codes, and anatomical terminology due to their ability to associate the countless digits, letters, and syllables with a diverse palette of colors. Furthermore, synesthetes typically have overall higher intelligence, enhanced creativity, and a distinct aptitude for the arts. In fact, many of the great artistic minds of our day are known to be synesthetic. Grammy-winning producer Pharrell Williams claims that without his music-color synesthesia, he’d be “lost,” and that he considers his condition to be his “only reference for understanding.” Even Lady Gaga
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Many of the great artisitic minds of our day are known to be synesthetic. confessed that she considered her hit song “Poker Face” as “a wall of yellow.” Yet despite synesthesia’s array of positive effects, there are several possible drawbacks to the condition. A synesthete explaining his or her condition to friends and family may experience ridicule from peers. As a result of experiences like these, synesthetes are sometimes left startled and confused to learn that they perceive the world in such a different way. They may also suffer from personal bias. When introducing themselves to new people, sound-color synesthetes may unconsciously be drawn to people who they perceive to have a “pretty” voice, while staying away from those whose voices are “sharp” or “glaring.” This, however, does not reflect a synesthete’s personal judgment of an individual in any way, but can still limit
the individual’s level of interaction and make socializing uncomfortable. By studying the abnormal connections of synesthetes, scientists hope to understand how these pathological differences develop and discover whether the same differences play a role in more harmful neurological disorders, like schizophrenia, epilepsy, and Alzheimer’s. Now that interest in the condition has been revived, the growing body of research on synesthesia holds the potential to unlock the mysteries of perception and human consciousness itself.
Nis porisinis Nis porisinis denihicae nistio to idemquo velit que rem
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ART & NEUROSCIENCE http://www.pbs.org
D
ue to the seemingly vast disparities between neuroscience and art, many people may not consider the two disciplines to have much in common. Recently, however, new ideas have emerged regarding potential similarities between these two fields. One of the pioneers of this modern field of research is Semir Zeki, who is also the head of the Laboratory of Neurobiology at University College London. Zeki coined the term “neuroaesthetics” to refer to the study of the neurological workings that are at the foundations of art. At the core of Zeki’s novel research is the investigation of what exactly goes on inside the human mind when appreciating and creating artwork. In order to conduct his research Zeki primarily used brain Spectrum | 18
by Ariana Shaari
imaging devices (MRI or fMRI) in order to identify certain regions of the brain that are associated with aesthetic appreciation. Zeki made tremendous headway in his research. In his paper, entitled Art and the Brain, Zeki explains that the brain is composed of many different visual areas, each of which is designed to process a certain aspect of the visual environment. This information processing is facilitated through signals that are sent from an area of the brain known as V1. He adds that certain specialized cells in the brain are grouped together and these groups are responsible for processing different aspects of the visual world. Among the varying meanings of artwork, Zeki defines art as “a search for the constant, lasting, essential and en-
during features of objects, surfaces, faces, situations, and so on, which allows us to acquire knowledge.” His definition clearly relates artwork to neurology. Zeki writes that artists are neuroscientists who exploit the characteristics of the “specialized groups” of the brain to create their work, adding that these conclusions “are communicated and understood through the visual medium, without the necessity of using words.” He goes onto assert that “both the brain and one of its products, art, have a task which…is to depict objects as they are. And both face a problem, which is how to distill from the ever changing information in the visual world only that which is important to represent the permanent characteristics of objects.” As with many radical scientific ideas, neuroaesthetics was originally met
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with controversy from the scientific community. Scientists promptly began to work on testing Zeki’s theories and ideas. V.S. Ramachandran, director of the Center of Brain and Cognition at University of California-San Diego, conducted research in response to Zeki’s work, though he interpreted and dealt with the subject differently, writing that the purpose of art is to “enhance, transcend, or indeed even to distort reality.” Ramachandran proposed experiments using brain-imaging technology like Zeki did. He offered an explanation involving cubism, an avant-garde art movement that began in the early 20th century. Objects in cubist artworks are arranged in very abstract ways, and typically those objects are rendered from a variety of viewpoints. Approaching the subject from a physiological standpoint, Ramachandran predicted that in parts of the temporal lobe and occipital lobe there are cells that react only to certain views of an object. He also posited that there are “master face cells” that respond to all views of an object. Typically only one face of an object is portrayed; however, in cubist paintings the representation of many viewpoints
might lead to the simultaneous firing of multiple “single view” cells, which would resultantly activate master face cells and stimulate the limbic system accordingly. Further research expanding on these initial theories by looking at different aspects of our biological reactions to artwork has been conducted. The topic of empathy in relation to aesthetic response is currently a hot-topic in the scientific world. This concept deals with how artwork can automatically stimulate emotional expressions or movement. The basis of this work lies in research of mirror neurons. Mirror neurons emulate the behavior of an object when an action is performed. Scientists are investigating how mirror neurons affect social cognition, and therefore how people appreciate artwork. While the field of neuroaesthetics has surely caught the attention of researchers in the scientific field, society as a whole has yet to comprehend the value of the field. There are many people who believe that art is art, and that to incorporate the science behind art is, in a way, marring the creative value behind those works. Some people may say that
Magnisinti omnim volesenient voluptatum verchillant ullam nos earum esciist ipsus adic te sed magnime ndipisciamet est, sit volorit alicae et doles atur, ipsant. Or alitem rem aritae nonsediti dolescia ditis as autaerioriam
the two fields should remain distinct and no explorations into connections between the two disciplines should be allowed; however, understanding the way that brain naturally responds and reacts to artwork allows the viewer to appreciate a different side of the work. The brain is the control-center of the body, and without such a center,, humans cannot function. The brain allows us to express ourselves, subconsciously and intentionally, and that expression can be crucial to decoding artwork. Rather than asserting that neuroaesthetics hinders the creativeness or background of a piece of artwork, we should recognize that having knowledge of the scientific discipline can add a highly interesting dimension to our appreciation of artwork. To say the least, the field of neuroaesthetics is a very new and engaging subject matter. Both Zeki and Ramachandran have acknowledged that neuroaesthetics is an unconventional field and their theories are starting points for future research. The field of neuroaesthetics surely holds much potential.
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MYTH OR FACT: Our phones prevent us from falling asleep? by Azure Gao
Spectrum | 20
T
he average person spends approximately one-third of his or her life sleeping. Sleep has a direct impact on the quality of our waking life, affecting our mental alertness, coordination, productivity, mood, and responses to stress. Sleep cycles are controlled by the pineal gland, a small gland located in the brain that responds to changes between light and dark in order to produce melatonin. When the body senses an absence of light, the hormone melatonin is secreted from the pineal gland and alerts the body that it is time to go to sleep. People of different ages require different amounts of sleep; infants require around 16 hours of sleep, teenagers need approximately 9 hours of sleep, and adults require 8 hours of sleep in order to function properly and wake up feeling well-rested. If these requirements are not satisfied, the body weakens and becomes more susceptible to viruses. Sleep deprivation drastically impacts daily life, causing an inability to deal with stress, frequent colds, concentration and memory issues, increased risk of heart disease, and irritability. Although our bodies are dormant during sleep, our brains are alert. In a typical sleep cycle, there are three main stages of sleep, followed by a period of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep. During the first stage of sleep, muscle activity decreases, and breathing and eye movement slow down. This stage is known as the transition between wakefulness and light sleep. When entering the second stage of sleep, eye movement ceases and heart rate slows down. The next stage, deep sleep, is the most important phase of sleep. During this time, the brain releases extremely long, slow waves known as delta waves. As blood flow is directed away from the
brain and toward the rest of the body, energy is restored, tissues are repaired, and muscles are healed. People woken up during deep sleep report feeling unfocused and groggy. These three stages are followed by REM sleep, a phase where the eyes move rapidly, heart rate and blood pressure increase, breathing is irregular and shallow, and the body becomes paralyzed temporarily. This stage is also known as dream sleep, as people who are awoken during this stage are often able to report vivid details on their dreams. During REM sleep, the brain replenishes its store of neurotransmitters such as serotonin and dopamine, which boost feelings of pleasure and happiness during the day. According to Dr. James Maas, the author of the national bestseller Power Sleep, the brain moves short-term memories from the cerebral cortex to the temporal lobe to be stored as long-term memories during REM sleep. “Sleeping less than six hours a night can stop new information from entering long-term memory,� Maas says. Stage 1 is followed by stages 2 and 3. After stage 3, sleep moves back to stage 2 and then REM sleep. This pattern of rotating between deep and REM sleep repeats about four to five times per night. REM stages become longer as the night progresses. Because deep sleep is particularly important, it is vital that enough time is spent in this phase of sleep. Some factors that can reduce the length of
time spent in deep sleep include being awoken in the middle of the night, the use of substances like nicotine, and exposure to light, especially from electronic devices. Recent research has discovered that the use of electronics with a backlit display before bed can inhibit the release of melatonin and disrupt sleeping patterns. Electronics such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops emit light that has been found to reduce the length and quality of sleep. This light stimulates cells in the retina, the membrane at the back of the eyeball containing light sensitive pigments that transmit nerve impulses. The nerve impulses travel to the brain, where the pineal gland senses light and, in response, inhibits the secretion of melatonin. Although the light from a smartphone appears to be white, it actually contains many colors with various wavelengths and frequencies. In fact, according to Professor Debra Skene, a neuroendocrinologist at the University of Surrey, the majority of light emitted from electronics is blue light. The retina contains melanopsin, a pigment that is especially sensitive to the color blue. When blue light hits the retina, melanopsin causes an increase of electrical activity in the brain. This increased activity makes it more difficult to fall asleep. In a study conducted at Stanford University in 2011, participants in a sleep survey were exposed to a burst of light from an electronic device for two milliseconds every hour. The participants became more alert and reported having
Sleep has a direct impact on the quality of our waking life
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difficulty falling back asleep afterwards. A study done in 2008 found that participants took on average six minutes longer to reach deep sleep after being exposed to a cell phone light for three hours. Furthermore, the participants spent approximately eight minutes less in deep sleep. As a consequence of being deprived of deep sleep, the participants reported feeling drowsy and unfocused the next morning. Lighting Research Center’s Light and Health Program conducted an experiment in which 13 participants were given tablets with a backlit display to read books, watch movies, and play games. After two hours, their melatonin levels were measured. “Our study shows that a two-hour exposure to light from self-luminous electronic displays can suppress melatonin by about 22 perSpectrum | 22
cent,” says Mariela Figueiro, director of the program. Constant suppression of melatonin at night by electronic radiation can cause a series of issues, including chronic sleep deprivation, a weakened immune system, and an increased risk for diseases such as diabetes. However, light is not the only aspect that throws sleep cycles off track; the physical action of responding to an email or playing a videogame can increase stress levels and make the body tenser. When stress levels increase, two glands located above the kidneys called the adrenal glands release cortisol, a stress hormone. The secretion of cortisol makes the sleeping person feel more anxious, preventing him or her from falling asleep. In addition, prolonged high levels of cortisol can suppress the immune system and make the body
more vulnerable to disease. Personally, if I am not tired, I will listen to my phone while trying to fall asleep. However, if I am exhausted, I will fall asleep immediately without getting my phone. Whenever I sleep with my phone, I have noticed that I always wake up feeling like I had not slept at all. I think this sensation is because the lure of a potential notification can prevent me from becoming completely relaxed and ready for sleep. “In order to get a good night’s sleep, you have to feel safe and not worried about anything. By having your phone close by at night, you’re subconsciously saying you wish to attend to that phone,” says sleep specialist Dr. Neil Stanley. Popular apps such as f.lux prevent the negative effects of electronics on sleep
Electronics such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops emit light that has been found to reduce the length and quality of sleep.
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cycles. f.lux claims to adjust the color and amount of light emitted by electronics based on the time of day. At night, f.lux makes computer displays seem like indoor lights by reducing the amount of blue light that they emit. In the morning, f.lux changes the light back to normal. To set it up, you need only enter your location. Then the app calculates sunrise and sunset and changes the color temperature of your computer monitor accordingly. As evening approaches, light gradually transforms into a softer, reddish hue. This red light is easier on the eyes and can potentially improve sleep cycles by causing normal secretion of melatonin, unlike blue light. According to Jeff Mann, founder and editor of sleep research website SleepJunkies.com, f.lux is effective in reducing eyestrain and disrupted sleep cycles. Technology plays a significant role in our lives; we need
it to communicate, work, and unwind. However, the use of electronic devices before bed inhibits melatonin and increases stress levels, taking a toll on our sleep. The key to a good night’s rest is simple: turn off all electronics before bed.
Sleep Cycle
In a typical sleep cycle, there are three main stages of sleep, followed by a period of REM (rapid eye movement) sleep.
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Heaven is for Real
Spectrum | 24
When someone goes through a cardiac arrest, his or her heart, lungs, and brain momentarily stop functioning. If this process cannot be reversed, the person is dead. If it can be reversed, however, the patient is only “momentarily dead�.
by Ella Feiner
Photo courtesy of: http://www.huffingtonpost.com
I
n pop culture, near death experiences have been the subject and plot device of movies like If I Stay and Heaven is For Real. Most people dismiss these accounts as dramatized, spiritual, or paranormal phenomena, even though 3 percent of Americans, or over 9 million people in the US alone, claim to have experienced such an episode. But are these out-of-body experiences and visions of heaven before death really possible? Recent neurological studies have indicated that the answer to this question may in fact be “yes.” This month, the results of the four -year-long international AWARE study sponsored by the University of Southampton were released. The study concluded that there is indeed a connection between these supposed near-death experiences and bodily systems temporarily shutting down. The study was the first of its magnitude to focus on near death experiences (NDEs), and it clearly showed that more research is needed to truly understand this phenomenon. According to Dr. Sam Parnia, the principal investigator of the study, the research team aimed to “go beyond the emotionally charged yet poorly defined term of NDEs to explore objectively what happens when we die.” The study followed over 2000 patients who experienced cardiac arrest and suggested that, in some cases, memories of out-of-body experiences may be related to actual events. When someone goes through a cardiac arrest, his or her heart, lungs, and brain momentarily stop functioning. If this process cannot be reversed, the person is dead. If Spectrum | 26
it can be reversed, however, the patient is only “momentarily dead”. The study explored what happens during the time when these systems are completely shut down. 39 percent of all surviving participants remembered some kind of strange experience, but most failed to remember explicit events. Among the patients who related stories of mental awareness, 46 percent went through a mental state in which they claim they were aware of death, but “died” in a way that could be described as a NDE. According to the International Association for Near-Death Studies, an NDE is defined scientifically by fifteen common characteristics, and although each NDE is very different, it has to contain at least one of these fifteen elements. These characteristics include a sense of observing oneself from the outside, a feeling that one is moving through a tunnel, and heightened emotions and perceptions. Some people also report seeing their lives in review. However, the experiences differ greatly between each person, and no two NDEs are exactly alike. Only 9 percent of participants in the study had experiences compatible with this definition of NDEs, and 2 percent of these people had what can be described as an out of body experience (OBE). An OBE is a specific type of NDE where the person has a sensation of being outside or detached from their body and is able to observe his or her own body
There is indeed a connection between these supposed near-death experiences and bodily systems temporarily shutting down.
Near-Death Experiences
9.0 Million The number of people in the United States alone who have claimed to have experienced a near-death experience.
from a distance. These subjects recalled specific events and reported that they were able to “see” and “hear” things that were going on around them. In addition, near death experiences have been studied in patients with diabetes. One patient reported an NDE during a severe episode of hypoglycemia, commonly known as low blood sugar. Researchers studied a patient during the episode while in a state very similar to REM sleep. REM, or rapid eye-movement, is a sign of dreaming and is closely linked to the area of the brain that produces memories, so it could be closely linked to the hallucinations that occur during NDEs. Although the patient was not technically near death, the individual reported symptoms that would classify the experience as an NDE. However, it’s not known exactly why REM is activated during these experiences, or exactly how it’s related to NDEs. The question remains, what exactly triggers REM and how does it relate to the near-death-experience itself? There are many different theories regarding what actually transpires in the brain during an NDE. According to an article by Dean Mobbs and Caroline Watt, of the Medical Research Council and University of Edinburgh, one plausible theory is that the basic systems in the midbrain are responsible for what goes on during one of these experiences. A specific region in the midbrain that controls the release of a chemical called noradrenaline is of particular interest, as the chemical regulates the brain’s responses to fear and stress. Noradrenaline is also related to emotion and memory due to its connection with the amygdala and hippocampus. Additionally, the chemical plays a very important role in the sleep cycle, so it could also be linked to the REM that the diabetic patient displayed.
Another theory comes from research involving lab rats whose brains were monitored during the process of euthanization. This study was conducted by Jimo Borjigin of the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, and it concluded that a burst of brain activity occurred just after the rats experienced cardiac arrest. Electrical activity in the brain was measured by implanted electrodes, and soon after the lethal injections, activity increased momentarily to levels normally associated with a specific degree of consciousness. The levels of activity reported may be part of “hyperconsciousness,” or an extremely acute sense of awareness. Borjigin says that the phenomenon is most likely the brain going “on hyperalert to survive”, and that “the near-death experience is perhaps really the byproduct of the brain’s attempt to save itself.” Near death experiences are just starting to have a scientific foundation, but more research is still necessary to gain insight into what exactly causes these phenomena. Due to the promising results presented in the AWARE study, an increasing number of researchers are becoming interested in the field and are trying to learn more about the neurological activities that occur in the process of death. Although there are only a few recorded and scientifically confirmed examples of NDEs, thousands of stories have been recounted by patients. The scientific world is just beginning the quest to find a specific neurological explanation behind these startling occurrences. 39 percent of all surviving participants remembered some kind of strange experience, but most failed to remember explicit events.
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Curiosity And Learning http://archdezart.com
by Joanna Kuang
D
o you ever find that some things may come easier to you than others? Is it difficult for you to memorize facts for a history quiz, but easy to memorize a stack of French vocab words? Recent research, published on October 2 by neuroscientists Matthias Gruber, Charan Ranganath, and Bernard Gelman in the journal Neuron, delved into the questions of how curiosity affects learning and memory, and how the brain functions differently when prompted by genuine curiosity about a subject. Gruber, a postdoctoral researcher at the center, led the team of scientists conducting this experiment at the UC Davis Center for Neuroscience. They studied how curiosity, the intrinsic motivation to acquire new knowledge, is hardwired into the brain, and how it impacts learning. First, they conducted a three-part study consisting of a screening phase, a learning phase, and a surprise memory test. In the screening phase, participants were shown a series of trivia questions, such as “How many times did Germany win the UEFA world cup?” They were asked to Spectrum | 28
rate their interest in the answer on a scale of one to six, from not curious at all to extremely curious. Then, in the learning phase, the researchers analyzed the participants’ brain activity using functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), a non-invasive way to scan the body using magnets. During this phase, the participants studied the answers to the trivia questions that they had been most curious about. The scientists were interested in the brain function when curiosity was elicited, Gruber said, so they showed the participants pictures of neutral, unrelated faces in the delay between the trivia question and answer. In the third phase, participants took a surprise memory test for the trivia questions they saw earlier, as well as another test with the faces asking if they had seen them in the experiment. They took the test again the day after to see if they could remember the same information. From these experiments, the scientists reached three conclusions. First, the degree to which the participants memorized information was directly proportional to their curiosity about a
given subject. This was to be expected; naturally the participants had more recall of their topics of interest. However, the researchers also found something unexpected. It turned out that not only did the participants remember their favorite trivia, but they also remembered the unfamiliar faces in their state of curiosity. Although they had not been consciously committing the faces to memory, somehow they still remembered them, even after a 24hour period. The study concluded that curiosity puts the brain in a state of increased alertness. Curiosity not only helps people learn about subjects they have an interest in, but also improves memory of completely unrelated information presented during this time. “Curiosity puts the mind in a state that is very conducive to learning,” Gruber said. “You can think of it as something like a vortex that sucks in what you are motivated to learn, and also everything around it.” The second observation was that curiosity caused increased activity in the brain regions of the nucleus accumbens, substantia nigra, and ventral
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Above: Matthias Gruber, Charan Ranganath, and Bernard Gelman conducted studies to understand how curiosity is connected to the caudate nucleus, a bran region that plays a role in learning and processing rewards.
tegmental area. The ventral tegmental area is a group of neurons that are the main source of dopamine, the chemical that causes feelings of pleasure, in the brain. These neurons are also involved in cognition, motivation, and drug addiction. They send signals to the nucleus accumbens, a region in the forebrain that controls motivation, reward and reinforcement learning, and addiction as well. In turn, the nucleus accumbens neurons send signals to the substantia nigra, which controls movement and reward. Together, these three areas are routed in the brain’s reward circuitry and play a large role in our feelings of desire and reward-seeking. “We showed that intrinsic motivation actually recruits some of the same brain areas that are heavily involved in tangible, extrinsic motivation,” Gruber said. The brain reacted to innate motivation the same way it reacts to reward-related items such as money or food. The relationship is straightforward: the more curious one is, the more these areas of the brain are activated. Thirdly, the study showed that when people were anticipating the answer to a question they were curious about, there was an increase in activity in the hippocampus, which “in turn was predictive of the people’s ability to later
retain the information they learned,” said Ranganath. The hippocampus is an area associated with learning and memory, so once again this result was expected. However, since the hippocampus activity increased during the time of anticipation, it was almost as if “curiosity was warming [it] up ahead of time,” Ranganath said. Interestingly, there were increased interactions between the substantia nigra and the hippocampus as well, leading researchers to conclude that curiosity-motivated learning somehow stimulates the reward and memory centers in tandem, causing the brain to absorb information. The implications of this study lie in the fields of education and medicine, but more studies need to be conducted in order to clarify the relationship between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation. To take it one step further, do the different motivations and curiosity levels of each person affect how they learn? In the future, these researchers hope to study whether they can artificially create a curious state of mind by using electrical stimulations in three regions involved in curiosity-induced learning. If they succeed, it could be a tremendous help for students with learning disabilities. “Stimulating curiosity before learning in an educa-
tional setting can enhance incidental learning and also increase the motivation to learn,” said Amy Reichelt, a psychology research fellow at the University of New South Wales. Furthermore, the brain circuit that relies on dopamine declines with age, leading to neurodegenerative disorders such as Parkinson’s disease and schizophrenia, so scientists are actively searching for a connection between memory and this circuit. They hope to use their findings to treat the elderly, as well as those with memory disorders. Although it will be some time before scientists can find solid applications for this newfound knowledge, we can already take away insightful lessons. The next time I struggle during a math test to recall how to do a certain problem but have no trouble remembering the trends in the periodic table, I will know that it is due to my stronger inclination towards learning science rather than math. My curiosity towards science leads me to grasp information about that subject more deeply. Someday we may be able to pique our curiosity in subjects that have never before appealed to us, aiding our learning and expanding our knowledge. I for one would love to be able to test that out.
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Nobel Prize in Physiology
The combination of positional, directional, and translational information in a single MEC cell type enables grid coordinates to be updated during navigation just like a GPS.
How Place Cells Will Change Neuroscience As We Know It
by Raag Agrawal
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euroscience is the fastest developing field in medicine. It seems as though everyday there is a new discovery about how, or why our brains work the way they do. On Monday, October 6, the Nobel Prize for Medicine was awarded to researchers John O´Keefe, May-Britt Moser, and Edvard I. Moser for their combined efforts in identifying how the brain understands and processes information about location. Their discoveries open many doors for future Alzheimer’s research and for researchers eager to exploit the brain’s spatial mapping for anti-nausea drugs. However, to understand how these fields will utilize the research, we first must understand the original research. In 1971, Dr. John O’Keefe published a paper titled “The hippocampus as a spatial map. Preliminary evidence from unit activity in the freely-moving rat.” This title may seem nondescript, but it utilized novel methods to study the brains of moving subjects. Rats were anesthetized before having a microdrive assembly placed upon their heads. Reaching through the skull and into the upper layers of the cortex of the rat, the assembly was able to measure the electrical impulses inside the rat’s brain as it moved around freely. This research was soon followed up by another study in 1976. O’Keefe had identified areas in the rat’s brain that he called “place units,” which he de-
Spectrum | 30
fined as places where the rat’s position on the maze was a necessary condition for maximal cell firing. Some of these place units fired maximally when the animal sniffed in a certain area, either because it found something new there or failed to find something that was usually there. Displace units increased their rates during behaviors associated with theta activity, strong oscillations in brain waves, in the hippocampal slow waves. In general these were behaviors that changed the rat’s position relative to the environment. The results are interpreted as strong support for the cognitive map theory of hippocampal function. The “cognitive map theory” stated that the brain created its own map from which it was able to place the body. After these early discoveries of “place units” in a mammalian brain, May-Britt Moser and Edvard I. Moser followed up by researching how information is represented in the interface between the hippocampus and the neocortex, part of the cerebral cortex. This area is known as the entorhinal cortex, and it contains billions of entorhinal neurons. After several trials, it was determined that near the postrhinal-entorhinal border, entorhinal neurons had discrete place fields. They were predicting the rat’s location as accurately as place cells in the hippocampus. This discovery confirmed that the human brain creates a directionally orient-
ed, topographically organized neural map of the spatial environment in the dorsocaudal medial entorhinal cortex (dMEC). In other words, the human brain tracked direction, height, and placement simultaneously in the same cells. This neural map uses a type of cell the research duo dubbed “grid cells.” These cells are activated whenever the animal’s position in space coincided with vertexes of a regular grid of triangles spanning the surface of the environment the rat was placed in. This grid creates a hexagonal pattern. This research, however, begged the question of whether information about location, direction and distance is integrated into this complex neural map and how. This time, the researchers focused their efforts on the medial entorhinal cortex (MEC). They recorded from each principal cell layer of MEC in rats that explored two-dimensional environments. These two dimensional environments were often mazes or just an open floor. They found that grid cells were changed by head direction cells, meaning that direction and speed did indeed affect the brain’s neural map. The combination of positional, directional, and translational information in a single MEC cell type enables grid coordinates to be updated during navigation just like a GPS. The discovery of real time updating neural maps in mammalian brains opens up many possibilities for the
future. One of the brightest fields of research lies in cures for Alzheimer’s. Problems with spatial memory and navigation are known to be early indicators of Alzheimer’s disease, a deadly neurological disease that leads to memory loss and death. Researchers compared patients with Alzheimer’s and those without any neurological impairment and found that patients with Alzheimer’s were significantly more likely to get lost. These demonstrations showed that misfiring place cells are early and regular indicators of Alzheimer’s disease. Place cells can be used not only for early diagnosis, but also as a target for next generation drugs and therapies. Another one of the exciting possibilities for place cells research is in lessening the effects of Post-Traumatic
Stress Disorder (PTSD). A group of researchers has recently succeeded in changing the memories associated with certain areas from positive to negative. Even though these experiments were done in rats, these results are immediately applicable to human patients who suffer from place-related PTSD. Additionally, place cells may hold importance in the study of aging. It has been observed that the function of place cells changes with age. Older rats are less likely to remember paths they have learned recently and are less likely to learn them in the first place. It has also been observed that younger rats have a “plasticity” in their place fields that senile rats do not. When running along a path, younger rats are able to strengthen the links between place cells and allow for faster firing
when the route is traversed again. Work has been done to attempt to restore some sort of place-field plasticity to aged rats. Different drugs have been developed that target neurogenesis, the creation of new neurons. However, these drugs have had mixed results, sometimes becoming detrimental when too many neurons are produced. Scientists across the world are slowly solving the mystery that is place cells. The recent Nobel prizes will add publicity to this already exciting field of research. From Alzheimer’s drugs to PTSD treatment to reversing the effects of aging, place cells hold promise as a way to make some of the most debilitating and inevitable illnesses a thing of the past.
Biology
Stress canactually have extremely positive effects on both the body and mind.
http://www.setster.com
Spectrum | 32
PROS AND CONS OF STRESS Soluptatiam quo dero odit, sinvent. by Alexis Megibow
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nlike what popular belief suggests, stress is actually beneficial to humans. New research sheds light on the fact that the tension and pressures that typically come along with stress can actually have extremely positive effects on both the body and the mind.
A 2013 study at the University of California, Berkeley found that acute stress can actually cause an increase in the production and growth of neural stem cells (NSC), the cells which give rise to cells of the nervous system such as neurons, astrocytes, and oligodendrocytes. Specifically, stress resulted in an increase in NSCs in the hippocampus, a vital learning center in the brain responsible for long-term memory. In their research, associate professor of integrative biology Daniela Kaufer and Elizabeth Kirby, a post-doctoral fellow, placed rats in a stressful situation in order to increase their production of stress hormones. This increase in hormones caused the stem cells to devel-
op into neurons, which drastically improved the rats’ mental performances in neural tests. In another study conducted by the National Institute of Medical Health, subjects’ hands were dunked in ice-cold water for sixty seconds. Immediately afterwards, they were directed to complete both a virtual navigation test and an eye-blink test. Results showed that participants whose hands had been dunked in the frigid water performed considerably better on both tests than those who were not stressed, demonstrating stress’ potential to improve learning. Surprisingly, just the way we think about stress can make a huge difference in the way that it affects our bodies. Researchers at the University of Wisconsin analyzed data from a survey that was conducted by the National Center for Health Statistics, which asked participants about their stress levels and their perception of stress’ effect on health. The scientists proceeded to track the instances of death among the 29,000 subjects. They found that subjects who had
experienced a lot of stress and believed that stress was harmful to their health were 43% more likely to die prematurely, yet those with the same amount of stress who did not believe that it was harmful had the lowest premature death rates of anyone participating in the study. The rate of death among these individuals was even lower than the rates of those who claimed to have experienced little to no stress. Nevertheless, this research does not indicate that stress is completely harmless; on the contrary, longer-term chronic stress is associated with an increased risk of acquiring coronary diseases and other cardiovascular abnormalities. However, it is possible that these health problems are being caused not by the chronic stress itself, but rather by people’s ways of coping with stress, such as smoking or drinking excessively. A new view on acute stress may be all that it takes to drastically change the everyday and long-term influence of stress on our bodies.
Biology
Ebola What you need to know about the deadly virus by Aurora Grutman
T
urn on the television, scan the front page of the newspaper, or read blog headlines, and there is a new breaking development in the world health crisis caused by the Ebola virus, or EBOV. Whether stories of the man in Dallas who had carried the virus to the United States, the unlikelihood of a cure, or the increasing number of deaths in Africa, Ebola is a topic that makes everyone nervous. The science behind the structure of the virus is well known, but the cures are not. The virus is highly contagious and it is spread from person to person through contact with an infected person’s bodily fluids such as blood, urine, saliva, or feces. The virus is transferred Spectrum | 34
easily and spreads quickly. The time from infection to the display of first symptoms can be anywhere from 2 to 21 days. Ebola infections trigger inflammation that causes vascular damage as well as the suppression of the immune system, leading to internal bleeding and organ failure. The Ebola virus is part of the Filoviridae family (order Mononegavirales). Within the Filoviridae family, there are 5 known species of the virus identified: Zaire, Bundibugyo, Sudan, Reston and Taï Forest. The first three of these have been linked to past outbreaks in Africa, but the Zaire ebola virus caused the most recent outbreak this year. The virus is a zoonotic pathogen, meaning that it can travel between species.
Some scientists believe certain fruit bats in Africa originally carried EBOV and transferred it to humans. Other scientists complicate that hypothesis. According to Dr. David Sanders (HM ’79), Associate Professor of Biological Sciences at Purdue University, there is evidence to suggest that the Ebola virus has avian, or bird, origins. “We need to know about the natural history of the virus in order to understand how to prevent its spread. Most scientists believe that the natural hosts of the virus are fruit bats. I don’t disagree, but the role of birds in harboring filoviruses has not been thoroughly investigated. We don’t know how it is transmitted between the bats or between bats and primates. The pathology
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associated with the virus in humans is largely the product of an aberrant immune response that actually causes the tissue damage. Controlling the aberrant immune response may be the best route for treating the disease produced by infection by Ebola virus and other emerging viruses.� As Dr. Sanders explains, knowing more about the origins of the Ebola virus may help lead to finding a cure. The Ebola virus disease first appeared in two outbreaks in Africa in 1976. The two outbreaks occurred at same time in Nzara, Sudan and Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo.  Such outbreaks created symptom such as a high fever, vomiting, muscle aches, and diarrhea.The outbreak in 2014 in Africa is actually more con-
cerning than the pandemic in 1976. According to World Health Organization, the 2014 virus is more complex
than its predecessors. What makes the 2014 virus more complicated is that as the virus goes from person to person,
http://www.borgenmagazine.com
http://www.huffingtonpost.ca
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the genomes change within the virus. This results in mutations in the virus making it different in each person it infects. There have been as many deaths in 2014 as a result of Ebola as there have been in all the deaths of the past outbreaks added together. In March 2014, there was an outbreak of Ebola in Guinea. Officials paid limited attention to this incident, presumably on the theory that viruses can be contained in these types of small, relatively isolated rural areas. But in June 2014, Ebola had returned and spread to other areas. The massive outbreak of 2014 in western Africa is a tragedy both for that area as well as a
health concern for other world nations. According to Time Magazine, around 50 people are dying worldwide each day. Experts predict that if the virus is not controlled, there could be 1.4 million cases of Ebola in Sierra Leone and Liberia before January. The Ebola virus has played a huge role in the Liberia’s economy and education. Apart from the human tragedy of such loss of human life, it would also have devastating economic and social effects. The World Bank predicts negative economic growth in West Africa -- from 6.8% to 4.9% -- if the virus is not contained. Apart from the purely economic consequences, there is a social consequences as well. Millions of children are not receiving education.
At the present time, however, there is no known cure for Ebola infections, which can be deadly; there is no FDA-approved vaccine or medicine that has been proven to eliminate the Ebola virus from the human body. The average fatality rate from an Ebola infection is approximately 50%, but can range from 25% to 90%. However, a vaccine from the U.S. National Institutes for Health is currently being tested for the safety of human use at University of Oxford and the NIH campus in Bethesda, Maryland. Two patients at Emory University Hospital and one at the University of Nebraska Medical Center received experimental drug treatments with good results. The two Emory patients received the drug
1000 Ebola Cases per Outbreak 1976
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2000
2013
http://www.premierexhibitions.com
ZMapp, made by Mapp Bio, a U.S.based company. ZMapp is has been tested, but not yet approved for widespread human use. ZMapp provides passive immunity. Passive immunity is used when your body is at a high risk of infection and does not have the time to create an immune response. One of them received a blood transfusion from an Ebola survivor, too. Later on, that Emory patient in turn donated blood to the Nebraska patients, who also received an experimental drug. The Nebraska patient was treated with TKM-Ebola made by Tekmira Pharmaceuticals, a Canadian company. In the absence of a proven cure, scientists and public health experts advocate for the containment of Ebola. When a patient receives a positive diagnosis for the Ebola virus, the infected person should be put into isolation. The people who have been in contact with the person who has been diagnosed must be monitored. These monitored people are asked not to travel, go into public areas, as well as they are asked to check themselves for any symptoms present that would hint at Ebola. These precautions are usually enough to keep Ebola from spreading. If the infected patient goes 21 days without presenting with any symptoms, then they are most likely Ebola-free. The success of containment efforts
depends upon humans implementing them and access to necessary supplies. A recent Time Magazine article identifies a shortage of medical facilities and personnel in Africa. There are approximately 1,576 beds for patients, but a need for 2,122 more. There are 200 doctors from the World Health Organization on the ground assisting local doctors, but there is a need for 500 to 600 more. Approximately 50 Red Cross vans assist local efforts to move the dead bodies of Ebola victims, but at least 50 more are needed. The most frightening possibility, though, is one that has yet to materialize. According to Dr. Sanders, if Ebola is not contained, it is possible that the Ebola
http://time.com
virus could mutate and become airborne. “My work builds on a century of research on retroviruses (our work demonstrates that the entry process of Ebola evolved from the entry process of bird retroviruses) that was pursued for its scientific interest. There were no known human retroviruses until the late 1970s, yet the research proved to be central for understanding evolution, oncogenes (cancer), and HIV.” The failure to find a cure could cause an epic world health crisis of a scale and severity previously unseen in this lifetime.
Biology
Curing Diabetes by Christine Du
The potential of stem cells
A
t least 3 million Americans, mostly children and young adults, suffer from Type I diabetes. Type I diabetes, an autoimmune disease, occurs the body’s immune system attacks and kills insulin-producing cells in the pancreas. Insulin is a vital hormone involved in a negative feedback system within the body. When food is broken down into molecules such as glucose, the body secretes insulin in order to eliminate sugar from the bloodstream. This glucose is then stored in the form of glycogen, so it is essential that there is always a ready supply in the body. In other words, when glucose levels are too high, insulin is secreted to regulate blood sugar levels. But when the blood sugar is too low, glucagon is released, allowing glycogen to be broken down. Thus, insulin and glucose work together to regulate blood sugar. At present, the causes of diabetes are not entirely understood, though scientists believe that both genetics and the environment have a significant impact on acquisition of the disease. There is currently no cure for diabetes, and the only
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way to cope with the disease is to administer insulin through injections. Nevertheless, injections don’t prevent the disease’s side effects, which include kidney failure, blindness, nerve damage, heart attack, stroke, and pregnancy complications. Those with diabetes have to constantly monitor their blood-glucose level since drastic changes in glucose levels exercise or eating can become life threatening. However, a tremendous breakthrough made possible through stem cell research may cure diabetes completely. In October, a team of Harvard scientists led by Douglas Melton published a paper in Cell detailing a procedure for creating billions of insulin-producing beta cells from human embryonic stem cells, pluripotent cells that possess the ability to differentiate into any of the 220 cell types in the body. The stem cell-derived beta cells expressed key traits and markers characteristic of beta cells from healthy individuals, including the packaging of the insulin they secrete in granules. The team has already tested the beta cells in diabetic mice, and the results are extremely exciting; diabetic mice were cured within the span of ten days. As demonstrated in mice, these stem cell-derived beta cells can read the amount of glucose in the bloodstream and then secrete the proper amount of insulin in a way that, according to Melton, “is so exquisitely accurate that I don’t believe it will ever be reproduced by people injecting insulin or by a pump injecting that insulin.” Furthermore, Using these cells, patients could receive a single transplant, allowing them to live without experiencing the effects of diabetes. Unfortunately, there is still a long way to go to be able to conduct successful beta cell transplants in humans because the body’s immune system naturally seeks to destroys all foreign cells, transplanted beta
cells included. “If you don’t solve the autoimmune attack that killed those [beta] cells in the first place, you are basically doing stupid mouse tricks as they say,” said Susan Solomon, chief executive officer of the New York Stem Cell Foundation. In order to address the immune response, Melton’s team is currently working with bioengineer Daniel G. Anderson and his colleagues at MIT to create an implantation device that would shield the beta cells from the immune system. They compare this device to a teabag, in which the tea leaves – the beta cells – stay inside the bag, while the tea – insulin – is small
“MELTON’S RESEARCH IS BEING HAILED AS ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ADVANCES TO DATE IN THE STEM CELL FIELD.”
enough to seep out. The researchers have already tried inserting the device into mice, and their results so far have been very encouraging. The beta cells have continued to produce insulin for many months. Yet finding a way to keep the beta cells alive is not the only issue diabetes research is facing. Anything involving embryonic stem cell research is highly controversial because the process of harvesting embryonic stem cells also destroys the embryo. Many people consider a human embryo to be a human life because it has the potential to grow into a human being. These people believe that destroying a life in order to save another’s is highly immoral. To bypass this controversy, Melton has been investigating using induced pluripotent stem cells, also known as iPS cells, in place of embryonic stem
cells. Scientists have found that gene expression in differentiated cells can be reversible. By genetically modifying a somatic cell like a skin cell, scientists have been able to make iPS cells that behave similarly to embryonic stem cells. Though promising, the process is not as easy as it sounds. There is still research to be done about iPS cells, and many scientific journal articles have indicated that there are significant differences between embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells. For example, when Robert Lanza, a stem cell biologist, compared differentiated embryonic stem cells and differentiated iPS cells, he found that the latter differentiated slower and had a higher rate of cell death. Because the cells are more likely to die and divide more slowly, it might be hard to create large numbers of differentiated beta cells. Despite the many obstacles left to traverse in diabetes research, Melton’s research is being hailed as one of the most important advances to date in the stem cell field. Though his original intentions were to cure Type I diabetes, these beta cells may also cure those with Type II diabetes that also rely insulin injections. Melton hopes to be able to test his beta cells in diabetics within the next three years. Melton’s generation of mass numbers of beta cells is a huge step in the path to curing diabetes.
3 Million Americans suffer from Type 1 diabetes
Photo courtesy of: www.perkinelmer.com
Biology
11.3
Percent of adults in the United States over the age of 20 who have Type 2 Diabetes
LDL Low-density lipoprotein, the “bad cholesterol”, contributes to plaque, which can clog arteries, leading to heart attacks and strokes. LDL is found in carbs. HDL High-density lipoproteins act as scavengers, removing LDL from the bloodstream and brining it to the liver, where it is broken down and passed from the body.
Ending the War on Fat Why Americans Chose the Wrong Enemy
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A
by Karen Jiang
cross the nation, supermarket shelves are lined with packages marked with the words “Low Fat,” “Skim,” and at best, “100% Fat Free.” Rarely do the words “low carb” grace the shelves, making rare appearances in specialty food stores. This so called “War Against Fat” began in the 1980s and is now so deeply ingrained in American culture. At the time, nearly a million people were dying from heart disease, so the USDA found an enemy in fat, advocating the idea that cutting fat consumption would reduce risk of heart attack. As a result, food corporations created low fat versions of their products, people strayed away from fatty foods; these ideas completely transformed the way Americans eat. However, modern research shows that the food industry chose the wrong enemy – fats are most likely not the cause of cardiovascular disease, but rather, carbohydrates should be held responsible. Over 30 years after the USDA first
alerted Americans to stay away from fatty foods, Americans are sicker than ever: over a third of the country is obese, the prevalence of Type 2 diabetes has increased by 166% from 1980 to 2012, and while death rates from heart disease have fallen due to better care and a decrease in smoking, cardiovascular disease is still the number one cause of death in America. The USDA undoubtedly made an incorrect villain out of fat, of which the current health situation provides clear evidence. The goal now is to find out where the 1980s researchers went wrong, and how current science can ameliorate the situation. The war against fat first appeared in the work of Dr. Ansel Keys, a researcher who published most of his works in the 1950s and 1960s. He explained that fat intake was the cause of cardiovascular disease, and his research showed that fat intake raised low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol levels. At the time, high LDL levels were considered
Carefully constructed blend of carbs, fats, and proteins is the most effective way to combat disease.
a marker of cardiovascular disease, and so began the mainstream propagation of fat as an enemy. These ideas have prevailed today, and for many people, the idea of greasy fries and buttery pastries is automatically associated with weight gain and heart disease. The belief that fatty foods will make you fat makes logical sense. All research has shown that trans fats do increase triglycerides production, a type of fat that increases risk of heart disease and diabetes. However, the connection is not as clear for America’s next-biggest dietary enemy: saturated fats. Key’s sweeping link between fat and LDL cholesterol has not been disproven, but new research shows that there two types LDL, and the one linked to saturated fats have very little connection to cardiovascular disease. LDL takes two forms: small, dense particles and large, fluffy particles. Saturated fats raise levels of the large LDL particles, which are mostly harmless. In addition, fats also raise levels of high-density lipoprotein (HDL), commonly referred to as “good cholesterol,” which removes LDL particles. On the other hand, the small, dense LDL particles are now believed to be the cause of cardiovascular disease. The true culprit that is linked to an increase in levels of these particles—carbohydrates—is on the opposite end of the macromolecular spectrum. While the food industry aggressively focuses on removing fat from its products, something else need to be added to rep-
licate its taste, prompting food corporations to increase levels of both complex and simple carbs in the form of flours, sugars, etc. Dr. Robert Lustig, a pediatrician at the University of California, San Francisco, and the president of the Institute for Responsible Nutrition notes,
“OVER 30 YEARS AFTER THE USDA FIRST ALERTED AMERICANS TO STAY AWAY FROM FATTY FOODS, AMERICANS ARE SICKER THAN EVER .”
“The argument against fat was totally and completely flawed. We’ve traded one disease for another.” The original goal had been to cut calories -- eat less and burn off more. But the consequences of shifting towards carb-based products have been severe. Instead of cutting down on calories, Americans ended up eating an average of 2,586 calories, almost 600 more than the recommended adult caloric intake. In 1992, the USDA recommended up to 11 servings of grains in comparison to only two to three servings of meat, fish, eggs, beans, and nuts combined. As caloric intake from grains increased by 42%, Type 2 Diabetes simultaneously grew into a serious epidemic. Experts feel that the original idea was naïve, assuming that Americans would replace fat with fruits and vegetables. But in reality, “we just cut fat and added a
MLDL takes two forms: small, dense particles and large, fluffy particles. Saturated fats raise levels of the large LDL particles, which are mostly harmless.
whole lot of low-fat junk food that increased caloric intake,” Dr. David Katz of Yale Univeristy explains. In addition, areas like France and West Germany, high-fat, low-carb diets are prevalent, but heart disease and obesity rates are incredibly low as compared to the United States, further emphasizing that reducing fat intake is not an ideal solution. While these areas may be outliers, their significance cannot be overlooked, especially with evidence that the American low-fat, high-carb diet worsened our health situation,, while French and German low-carb diets have been linked to lower rates of cardiovascular disease. Modern research and precedent cases show that America has been fighting a war against the wrong molecule. But this is not to say that low carb diets are the solution to the obesity epidemic or the key to reducing cardiovascular disease. All foods must be studied in relation to one another, and a carefully constructed blend of carbs, fats, and proteins is the most effective way to combat disease. Even so, the next time you walk into a supermarket, understand that items with the words “fat free” aren’t necessarily healthful; they might just be flooded with the food industry’s new enemy: carbohydrates.
Biology
http://beyondisability.org
Schizophrenia 2.2 Million people in the United States suffer from schizophrenia.
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F
by Tasfiah Tabassum
ive of the world’s most wellknown mental illnesses -- schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, depression and ADHD -- are also five that seem incredibly different, but may not be quite as far apart as we had previously thought. The five disorders share many of the same symptoms: for example, a common side effect of schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and certain cases of autism is depression. Despite such similarities, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, autism, and ADHD are also five distinct psychiatric disorders with a spectrum of different and similar characteristics. The disorder schizophrenia problematizes the differentiation between reality and thought. As a result, such people experience difficulty in social situations and emulating normal emotional responses. On the other hand, bipolar disorder comes in two different variants, labeled “Bipolar I” and “Bipolar II.” People who have Bipolar I often cycle between
periods of hyperactivity - characterized by huge bursts of energy - and stages of depression, called manic episodes. Bipolar II is incredibly similar to Bipolar I except that symptoms include episodes of extreme depression rather than extreme highs. Furthermore, signs of autism range from difficulties in communication, social interactions, and repetitive or behaviors recognized as “unusual”. Likewise, ADHD is a disorder that renders it difficult to concentrate on a single thing – in short; it causes the mind to wander uncontrollably to the point where it interferes with common interactions. Patients of these four disorders thereby experience strikingly similar as well as extremely different symptoms, alluding to their shared genetic roots that, on a molecular level, have slight variations. The symptoms and circumstances for the illnesses share many of the same characteristics, despite being so different in the way that they affect the daily
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lives of the people who have them, studies seem to point to the idea that all five stem from the same genetic glitches, which has begun to explain why they are so similar, and how exactly they are connected. The National Institutes of Health (commonly abbreviated as NIH), provided funding for research that made use of a compilation of data from over 60,000 people worldwide, and brought forth brilliant outcomes that shattered the way scientists look at these five seemingly independent illnesses. They discovered that sources for all five mental illnesses can be traced to genetic variations at the same four chromosomal sites. It all started in 2007 when researchers began studying two groups of people -- one experimental group of people diagnosed with the illnesses and one control group without mental illness -- to see if they could find any overlapping patterns. Researchers had already seen overlapping patterns between family members with mental illnesses by examining strange patterns that occurred in the chromosomes of the family members. For example, if a mother had a certain mental illness, her son would be more likely than other children to be mentally ill because they share certain genetic information. The strange part of all this? Even if the mother and son were to share the same genetic data for the illness, the mother could have schizophrenia, while her son could have bipolar disorder. It didn’t seem to fit together at all.
Number of individuals affected by schizophrenia in the United States. Thus, in a city of 3 million, over 21,000 people will suffer from schizophrenia.
For scientists, the unanswered question remained, “How can the same anomaly result in different outcomes?” The answer is something scientists are still working to discern, but researchers at NIH discovered specific variations in human genes that were strongly intertwined with each of the disorders at the key genomic sites; these differences in genetic structure are suspected to be the missing link between the genetic glitches in a and the similarities in the symptoms of the disorders. Scientists were particularly interested in two genes at these sites that code for the functions that handle and regulate the flow of calcium into neurons (nerve cells), called CACNA1C and CACNB2. Research reports that CACNA1C and CACNB2 in people with the five disorders are significantly different from the same genes in people who do not have the disorder. CACNA1C and CACNB2 are now known to impact the wiring in a brain -- what scientists like to call circuitry -and when they are disrupted, it leaves a person vulnerable to developing disorders like autism, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, ADHD, and depression. They are involved in balancing the calcium in brain cells, which, according to researchers, may possibly be one of the factors behind the underlying cause of the said disorders. Both CACNA1C and CACNB2 are involved in vital aspects of our ability to function in everyday situations, like memory, attention span, thinking, and emotions, which are functions that are often disrupted in
people with these mental illnesses. But what does this mean for doctors diagnosing patients with mental illnesses? Let’s face it -- it can take lots of talking to a patient who’s unsure of what might set them apart from their friends, intense analysis of their symptoms, and a huge amount of potential headaches before a doctor can finally tell you which illness, if any, you have. And even with all that, it can still be incredibly hard to diagnose a patient, because while each illness is unique, they share a ton of the same symptoms and characteristics, and each one requires a different form of being looked at and treated. With new research on the five mental illnesses most likely to occur, doctors hope to be able to diagnose patients based on genetic mutations, rather than symptoms, as well as develop drugs that specifically target these genetic mutations in order to effectively cure some of these disorders. Though the research is not quite complete, scientists and researchers have high hopes for understanding more about the genetic variations that cause these disorders to develop, as well as how they are related, and essentially stem from one another. “We are finally starting to make inroads where we have actual physiological mechanisms that we can target,” Bruce Cuthbert, PhD, director of the National Institute of Mental Health’s Division of Adult Translational Research and Treatment Development says. “We can really start to understand the biology instead of having to guess at it.”
Biology
Genetically Modified
Organisms http://www.arsco.org
The controversy behind GMOs by Zoe Mavrides
A
ccording to The Institute for Responsible Technology, a GMO (genetically modified organism) is an organism created by a laboratory process where genes from the DNA of one species are extracted and artificially placed into another organism, causing it to change in size, shape, taste, appearance, and resistance to cold, pests, or disease. GMOs have been a recent topic of debate because of the uncertainty of their effect on the human body. There is significant evidence supporting both the arguments for and against the use of GMOs. Supporters of GMOs argue that they unquestionably make essential food crops more resistant to pests and disease, resulting in substantially augmented crop yields, enabling us to feed a much larger number of people per harvest. Detractors of GMOs argue that there is correlation between their increased use and increased incidences of food allergies and other adverse reactions among humans working in fields where they are used, and among those consuming foods that contain them. While there are many possible cause-effect relationships, the proliferation of GMOs in our diet and the impracticality of isolating them for study in humans pose
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significant challenges to establishing hard scientific evidence. [S1] The bottom line is that in the United States, GMOs are presently a significant component in practically any food product we consume. It is precisely this proliferation that makes it almost impossible to isolate the impact of any particular GMO and establish evidence of causality for any adverse reaction to foods in the United States to any particular GMO on Humans. [S2] Despite the challenges of isolating and establishing causality with respect to human beings, many tests have been run in labs that conclusively establish adverse effects on living organisms.[S3] One of the first scientific tests on GMOS measured the effect of GM potatoes on Rats. In the end, the rats who ate the GM potatoes developed potentially precancerous cell growth in the digestive tract, inhibited development of their brains, livers, and testicles, partial atrophy of the liver, enlarged pancreases and intestines, and immune system damage. This was caused by disruptions in the sequence of the potato’s genome, as well as unpredicted effects from additional genetic material inserted with the lectin gene. In 1993, a similar test was run when rats were fed GM FlavrSavr tomatoes for 28 days. Of the 20 rats, 7 developed bleeding stomachs, and another 7 of 40 died within two weeks and were replaced in the study. The FlavrSavr is a method of genetically modifying a tomato to make it look fresh for weeks after being picked. It was the first GM crop to be approved in the United States Another experiment concluded that Bt Corn caused multiple health problems. In this experiment, rats were fed Monsanto’s MON 863 Bt corn for 90 days. Monsanto is a 111-year-old public multinational corporation that owns 90-99% of the world’s genetically modified seeds. Before the 1980s, Monsanto was a chemical and plastics company- in 1982, it entered the genetic modification business (it was the first private entity to do so), and is now one of the world’s most prominent agricultural biotech com-
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panies in the world. Bt seeds are seeds that sprout crops that are genetically engineered to produce their own insecticide, meaning that they (in theory) don’t require additional pesticides to achieve superior crop yields. Bt corn, which is what was tested in this experiment, has genetic material from a soil bacteria inserted into it so that the adult corn produces its own insecticide. Bt stands for “bacillus thuringensis”, a soil bacteria that produces Bt proteins, which are toxic to insects (bursts their stomachs). While Bt enables superior crop production and decreased reliance on spray pesticides, it is not free from downsides. When the rats were fed the corn for 90 days, they showed significant changes in their blood cells, livers, and kidneys. It was also found that the rats had increased basophil counts, which might indicate allergic reactions, something that has been suggested in many other Bt corn studies, increased lymphocytes, which might indicate infections, various toxins, and diseases. A third result of the Bt corn was a decrease in reticulocytes by 52%. Reticulocytes are important to the body because they become mature erythrocytes, or red blood cells; a low amount of them might lead to anemia. A fourth result of the Bt corn was decreased kidney weight, which could lead to blood pressure problems; any inadequacy in kidney function is potentially life threatening. A last result of the Bt corn was increased blood sugar, which puts the beholder at risk for
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diabetes. Not only are there many examples of the harmful effects of GMOs on other organisms, but there have been some studies on their effect on human beings, as well. When exposed to Bt cotton, workers were found to have developed allergies. Agricultural laborers in 6 villages who picked or loaded Bt cotton reported reactions of the skin, eyes, and upper respiratory tract. Some of the laborers required hospitalization; one doctor treated 250 cotton laborers for reactions attributed to Bt Cotton. Additionally, in 1 year (1999) in the UK, soy allergies expanded from 10% to 15% of the sampled population, shortly after GM soy was imported into the country. Antibody tests verified that some individuals reacted in various ways when exposed to GM and non-GM soy varieties. The effects can even come if one is not in direct contact with the GMOs. In 2003, approximately 100 people living near a Bt cornfield developed skin, respiratory, intestinal reactions, and other symptoms while the corn was shedding pollen. Blood tests of 39 people demonstrated antibody response to the Bt toxin, which supports- but does not provea link. Many possible reasons for why genetically modified organisms may cause allergies have been hypothesized: For instance, the transgenic protein, which has amino acid sequences identical to known allergens might cause a reaction; or perhaps the damaged sections of its DNA- the altered levels of gene
expression due to the process of genetic transformation might introduce or increase levels of a new allerge Despite negative testing, Monsanto argues that independent groups of scientist at regulatory agencies worldwide have reviewed all of the data for each potential process, and made their own scientific assessment of its food, feed, and environmental safety. Ever since GM crops were first commercialized in 1996, there has been extensive scientific reviews and confirmed safety of GM crops with 2,497 approving 319 different GM traits in 25 crops. Monsanto may be seen as having a bias given their clear (economic) motive to vigorously advocate GMOs. However, there are supporters of GMOs who do not share Monsanto’s significant economic conflict of interest. Other supporters of GMOs argue that GMOs can help solve the issue of malnutrition or world hunger, given the superior crop yields, increased production, and supplemental nutrients (e.g. vitamins, iron) that can be introduced to ordinary food crops that would not have been possible but for GMO technology. After extensive research on this topic, it is still hard to tell what the “right” side of the GMO debate is. Given the fundamental importance of Global food security, it is essential to evaluate the evidence supporting each side of this debate in order to properly evaluate the
Biology
Stem Cells and Parkinson‘s Disease by Stephanie Carrero
W
ith the new discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), stem cells made by reversing cell differentiation, by renowned researcher Shinya Yamanaka in 2007, scientists have begun to look to stem cells for possible cures. Parkinson’s disease causes neurons in the substantia nigra to degenerate which impairs, the body’s motor functions and leads to tremors and immobility. The neurons in this region of the brain are crucial to the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter that regulates movement, memory, concentration, and learning abilities. Researchers have been exploring the capabilities of iPS cells in the hope of improving or reversing the effects of Parkinson’s. In 2009, researchers at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge, Massachusetts used reverse differentiation to convert skin cells from patients with
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Parkinson’s into the dopamine-producing neurons. Dr. Rudolf Jaenisch and Dr. Frank Soldner planned to use these cells to model the disease in a dish. By studying the degeneration of the neurons in vitro, they hoped to understand what causes the intrinsic disposition to the disease and mechanisms by which it can be slowerd. They observed anomalies in the ways the neurons “interacted” or sent signals to muscles and to each other. Other studies involving motor dysfunctions and stem cells have been conducted with revolutionary results. One recent study by scientists at the University College of London engrafted light-sensitive neurons, created through stem cell differentiation, into the sciatic nervous system of mice, making payalyzed muscles move again. The group inserted an algal gene that codes for a light-sensitive protein into mouse em-
bryonic stem cells. They then differentiated the ESCs into motor neurons and implanted these cells into the lower limbs of mice, whose original nerves had been cut. When light was shown onto the leg, the nerves were stimulated, and the muscles contracted. This approach of genetically modifying neurons to send an electrical signal when exposed to light, known as optogenetics, provides tremendous hope for Parkinson’s patients. Clinical studies using fetal stem cells have been rare thus far, but one study conducted by the Harvard Stem Cell Institute has shown exceptional success. Recent observations have shown that dopamine-producing neurons created from fetal stem cells function normally when implanted into the brains of advanced stage Parkinson’s patients. While the methods used are not permanent, they can profoundly improve the symptoms exhibited and allow the patient to minimize usage of dopamine replacement drugs. If brought to the market, these treatments may also decrease the grave side effects of drugs and save patients the $18,000 spent annually on drugs like Levodopa. Treatments like deep brain stimulation, which uses a multi-electrode lead and a pulse generator to electrically block tremor-causing impulses, also cost up to $50,000 and may cause seizures, insomnia, memory issues, and swelling in patients with advanced conditions. With so many successful results from these various studies, one might
“CONFLICT HAS ARISEN SURROUNDING THE ETHICS OF SOME OF THE STUDIES.”
$50,000
the cost deep brain stimulation in patients with advanced Parkinson’s. These treatments may cause seizures, insomnia, memory, issues, and swelling.
ask why treatments aren’t readily forthcoming. Conflict has arisen surrounding the ethics of some of the studies, specifically studies in which some patients must recieve a placebo surgery so that the results can be compared to those of people who recieved the treatment. This is an essential aspect of every clinical study to ensure that the results obtained were not a byproduct of a person simply believing their symptoms will improve. In a typical study, the effect of a drug is observed in comparison to the effect of a placebo pill, a pill that may solely contain water, salts, or carbohydrates. In having a person undergo an artificial surgery, the person is being exposed to a number of unnecessary risks a placebo pill would not have, such as possible minute brain damage, stroke, seizures, coma, swelling, and infection. Furthermore, many stem cell-related studies centrally used fetal or embryonic stem cells. Fetal stem cells hold more promise than adult stem cells because of the likelihood that their immaturity will hinder the neural degradation. Yet fetal cells, taken from the tissue of aborted fetuses, pose another ethical dilemma. The ethics being debated over fetal stem cells in essence pose the same question that is argued in the pro-choice vs. pro-life controversy: Would an embryo or fetus qualify as a baby, with value as a person and not as cells solely? At what point does a group of cells become a life? In addition, there is a profound lack of available fetuses to launch and maintain personalized stem cell ther-
apy programs. In the future, should plans for individualized therapies come to fruition, the issue of availability and expenses will remain. There are approximately 1 million Parkinson’s patients in the U.S. alone. Any surgery or therapy is indubitably costly, but personalized surgeries/therapies may be risky, as no standard has been established before, and expensive to the point of inaccessibility. The future holds many possibilities; hopefully, such revolutionary health solutions will be available to all.
Photo courtesy of: https://www.michaeljfox.org
Chemistry
Resveratrol The Fountain of Youth by Sabrina Lautin
T
he anti-aging properties of resveratrol, a polyphenolic phytoalexin, are currently a point of tension among scientists. Resveratrol is produced in plants by the enzyme stilbene synthase in response to attacks by pathogens or bacteria. This natural phenol, an organic compound, has two geometric isomers, one of which is a “trans-isomer” that has the ability to remain stable for an extended period. This stability allows the trans-isomer to survive without denaturing in plant-based foods such as grape-skins, red wine, chocolate, certain berries, pistachios, and peanuts. The trans-isomer’s heartiness gives rise to the possibility that resveratrol is the new “fountain of youth.” Many of the benefits of resveratrol have been confirmed in smaller-scale trials. Experiments with mice and rats show resveratrol’s anti-cancer, anti-inflammatory, cardiovascular, and blood-sugar-lowering properties. Additionally, genetic research shows how resveratrol acts to prevent the alteration of gene pathways that can occur due to the addition of excessive amounts of fats and sugars. This genetic research was corroborated by the studies of David Sinclair, a scientist who researched the advantages of resveratrol. Sinclair observed lower levels of insulin and glucose in mice on a fatty diet that had been given resveratrol than in those who had not received the chemical. Despite the effects of resveratrol on insulin and glucose levels in rats, quantities of free fatty acids and cholesterol seem to be unaffected by its addition. Furthermore, human trials have not come close to matching the results achieved in studies on rats, likely due to discrepancy between the large amount of resveratrol humans need and the minimal amount that naturally occurs in certain foods. This and other factors have caused scientists to consistently fail to duplicate the same results in humans. Only one positive human trial so far has shown the benefits of resveratrol, but three to five grams of resveratrol were required to lower blood sugar, which is too high a dose to be pragmatic; foods previously thought to be rich in resveratrol do not con-
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Magnisinti omnim volesenient voluptatum verchillant ullam nos earum esciist ipsus adic te sed magnime ndipisciamet est, sit volorit alicae et doles atur, ipsant. Or alitem rem aritae nonsediti dolescia ditis as autaeri-
tain enough to have a measurable impact upon health. In other words, their polyphenolic phytoalexin content is high relative to other foods, but not high enough to contribute to longevity. As featured on NPR, a study in JAMA Internal Medicine showed that urine samples collected over a period of nine years from elderly subjects from Italy’s Chianti region, where wine is in surplus, showed no fluctuation in resveratrol levels. “Nor did resveratrol levels appear to reduce the development of cancer or cardiovascular disease, which afflicted some participants who were free of the ailments when the research began,” NPR said. Since resveratrol-rich foods have not been proven to improve human health, scientists have looked beyond the realm of food for an alternate source of the compound. The lore regarding this so-called “fountain of youth,” or “elixir,” has given way to a market for resveratrol supplements, most of which contain Japanese or Chinese Polygonum cuspidatum, or knotweed, extract. Indisputably, these capsules have the potential to improve the general populace’s health as a protective measure against degenerative aging-induced diseases, yet once again the factor of dosage comes into play. As proven by the JAMA study, humans need at least two grams, if not three to five, of resveratrol to see any benefits, and with supplements’ containing 250 to 500 milligrams per capsule, the supplements work better in
Magnisinti omnim volesenient voluptatum verchillant ullam nos earum esciist ipsus adic te sed magnime ndipisciamet est, sit volorit alicae et doles atur, ipsant. Or alitem rem aritae nonsediti dolescia ditis as autaerioriam
theory than in practice. Furthermore, resveratrol supplements exist beyond the jurisdiction of the FDA, and while they might still be fit for consumption, many more quality control tests and medical trials must be conducted before resveratrol reaches the public market. One potential concern is resveratrol’s reaction with other prescription drugs, such as blood thinners like Warfarin and Heparin, as well as non-steroidal anti-inflammatory medications like aspirin and ibuprofen, where a negative interaction could lead to internal bleeding. The Harvard Health Blog says, “The few human studies have looked at specific intermediate markers, such as levels of antioxidants, heart rate variability, blood flow to the brain, and amounts of cancer proteins. None have measured longterm health or survival,” a further indication of the need to continue tests on resveratrol before releasing it to the masses. The blog then goes on to mention the dangers of taking resveratrol in tandem with Warfarin, anti-inflammatory drugs, anti-coagulants such as Plavix, and oral contraceptives due to the ability of resveratrol to decrease the clotting abilities of platelets. Resveratrol also interferes with the body’s response to estrogen in women with breast, ovarian, uterine, and other endometrial cancers. On the whole, resveratrol has few positive effects, and in some cases causes complications; however, there is a
silver lining. The resveratrol craze has caused people to consume more resveratrol-containing foods, which happen to carry many other key nutrients. Resveratrol itself may
“Nis porisinis denihicae nistio to idemquo velit que rem ipis et ipis nonsent. Nis porisinis denihicae nistio to idemquosent.”
not be the optimal solution to the problem of aging in this day and age, but the practices that it gives rise to, namely better overall nutrition and awareness for maintaining one’s health, are steps in the right direction.
Chemistry
Ocean Chemistry The effect of acidification on sea-life by Kyra Hill
D
espite the size of small marine animals, they greatly affect the ocean, one of the most important aspects of our planet. Because of what these small animals do for our oceans, it is also important to understand how the ocean’s chemistry affects them and what can be done to relieve any pressures on these animals. The migration of small animals in the oceans is the largest migration on Earth, as they make an effort to move to the sunless depths of the ocean and hide from predators that usually rest in more visible and open sections of the ocean. The latest study conducted by researchers at the University of Washington School of Oceanography found that these small marine animals produce ammonia, very similar to the ammonia found in human urine, during the daylight hours below the visible ocean surface. Although these organisms are small, their urine still affects
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the vast ocean that was once assumed to be almost inalterable. After spending the night near the ocean surface, protected from the daylight, the small animals swim to a depth of 650 to 2,000 feet in a couple of hours.They expel solid waste that falls as pellets and also gradually produce water. Results from this study also revealed that small marine animals spend the majority of their time in low-oxygen regions of the oceans. The oxygen in the ocean water is consumed by bacteria as they decompose the sinking dead material. A low-oxygen zone located a few hundred feet below the surface is produced as a result. The team also found that marine animals contribute to these low-oxygen zones by absorbing the little oxygen necessary to breathe. Daniele Bianchi, a postdoctoral researcher at the university, is fascinated by how these small animals can affect
the ocean, especially given that the oceans make up so much of the earth. She and her team were able to discover where these animals spend most of their time and were then curious to explore even further. “The animals really seem to stop in low-oxygen regions, which is sort of puzzling,” Bianchi said. “Some speculated these zones might protect them from larger predators.” After discovering that these small organisms lie in specific low-oxygen regions of the ocean, the team then began to investigate exactly how the bodily functions of marine animals affect their surroundings. In order to solve this mystery, Bianchi and her researchers gathered data from underwater sonar surveys. Active sonar systems in the ocean send sound waves through moving water and record the reflected waves created. These waves create images through using reflected acoustic signal strength to provide
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http://blog.education.nationalgeographic.com
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information about the reflectors. The sonar surveys can take incredibly clear pictures even in low visibility water. Due to the effectiveness of sonars, Bianchi was able to calculate the number of migrating animals, in addition to the specific locations and depths to which they migrated. Afterwards, the team measured the combined effect of daytime digestion. They noticed that in a few parts of the ocean, animals release ammonia large amounts of ammonia are converted through an anaerobic process to nitrogen gas. These results show that despite the relatively small size of many of these marine animals, they still greatly affect the chemistry of one of the Earth’s most vital features: the ocean itself. Because such small organisms can affect something as vast as the ocean, it’s important to also know that the ocean can greatly affect these animals as well. For all of these animals, the ocean is their home, a stretch of liquid blue that holds many friends and foes. Spectrum | 52
The ocean is getting more dangerous for marine life each day, both chemically and physically. For tens of millions of years, the Earth’s oceans have maintained a relatively stable acidity level, making it comfortable and chemically safe for organisms that live in it. The extremely rich web of life in the sea has thrived due to this steady environment and consistent balance of chemical levels. But current studies including those conducted by teams of scientists from National Geographic show that this historical balance of acidity levels is slowly deteriorating as a result of a recent and rapid drop in surface pH levels that could have devastating global consequences. Since the beginning of the industrial revolution in the early 1800s, fossil fuel-powered machines have led to a proliferation of technological advancements. Although such progress has been excellent for the economy and for the world’s inhabitants, the emergence of different technologies has had a series of negative repercussions on the
environment. One unfortunate consequence of this has been the emission of billions of tons of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases into Earth’s atmosphere, which can also find their way into the oceans. Scientists now know that almost half of this anthropogenic (man-made) carbon dioxide has gradually accumulated in the oceans. On the one hand, this chemical deposition has benefited populations and the earth by slowing the climate change that would have occurred had these emissions remained in the air. But new research indicates that the sudden introduction of massive amounts of carbon dioxide into the ocean is altering water chemistry and negatively impacting the life cycles of many marine organisms, particularly those at the lower end of the food chain, such as krill. Currently, the oceans consistently absorb one third of carbon dioxide emissions from human activity, which amounts to roughly 22 million tons a day. Future projections based on these
numbers show that by the end of this century, the continuation of these emissions could reduce the ocean’s pH by another 0.5 units. Although 0.5 may sound like a small change, this seemingly insignificant reduction in pH can greatly affect marine life, posing a threat both to animals and aquatic plants. Even a miniscule decrease in pH, leading to a resultant increase in acidity, can overwhelm an ecosystem. Shellfish like oysters, lobster, and shrimp could be gravely affected, as well as the beautiful coral found underneath the surface. Equally worrisome is the fact that as the oceans continue to absorb more carbon dioxide, their capacity as carbon storehouses could potentially be reduced or disappear completely. As a result of the ocean’s reduced absorption, more carbon dioxide will remain in the air. This potential development would work to severely increase global warming, affecting not only marine life but also life on the surface. Scientists at the Alfred Wegener Institute had recently conducted a study investigating how ocean acidification can affect marine animals, presenting their results in the online Science publication, Nature Climate Change in August 2013. In order to gain an initial overview and sharp knowledge on how
these animals are affected by the carbon dioxide, Dr. Astrid Wittmann read all current studies that dealt with the consequences of ocean acidification for marine species from five animal taxa (classes): corals, crustaceans, molluscs, vertebrates (fish) and echinoderms (starfish and sea urchins). By the end he had compiled a total of 167 studies with the data from over 150 different species. In order to classify these results, he used emission scenarios for carbon dioxide on which the world climate report is also based. The results of this new assessment were are. “The study showed that all animal groups considered are affected negatively by higher carbon dioxide concentrations. Corals, echinoderms and molluscs above all react very sensitively to a decline in the pH value,” Dr. Wittmann said. By contrast, only higher concentrations of carbon dioxide would appear to have a significant impact on crustaceans such as the Atlantic spider crab or edible crab. However, the sensitivity of the animals to a declining pH will likely increase if the sea temperature continues to rise. It is clear that the oceans are becoming more acidic as they absorb a large proportion of the carbon dioxide released by our activities on land. If it were not for the oceans, the level
of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere would be much higher than it is currently, which would alter our global climate drastically. In conclusion, fish, squid, and other gilled marine animals will find it harder and harder to “breathe” as the dissolved oxygen essential to their life processes becomes more difficult to extract due to the rising acidity of ocean water. Moreover, shellfish, crabs, lobsters, and corals will find it more difficult to build their calcium carbonate shells. In some areas, calcium carbonate shells may even start to dissolve. Scientific awareness of ocean acidification is a relatively recent development, and researchers are just beginning to study its effects on marine ecosystems. However, it is becoming increasingly obvious that unless we are able to control our own actions above the ocean surface, forms of life under the sea will slowly be diminished.
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Chemistry
Graphene and its Possbilities by Christina Lee
W
ith each stroke of pencil on paper, you deposit graphite, the material found in the core of your pencil. A further breakdown of graphite reveals an interesting materialcalled graphene, a single layer of carbon atoms organized in a hexagonal lattice, comparable in appearance to the structure of a honeycomb. The graphene is extremely light, fire resistant, and impermeable. This two-dimensional material is both one million times thinner than human hair and two hundred times stronger than structural steel. As James Hone, a mechanical engineering professor at the Fu Foundation School of Engineering and Applied Science of Columbia University, once said, “It would take an elephant balanced on a pencil to break through a sheet of graphene the thickness of Saran-Wrap.� Because of these incredibly unique properties, graphene offers the potential to power flexible electronic devices. Many scientists were aware of the existence of graphene prior to 2003, but none knew how to isolate graphene from graphite. Then, in 2003, Andre Geim and Kostya Novoselov from the University of Manchester successfully extracted layers of graphene. The scientists wanted to polish a block of graphite to around one hundred layers thick to study the properties of the material. Upon completion of this task, Geim then used tape to peel off the top layer of the graphite. Flakes of graphite remained on the tape, and after folding the tape in half and then unfolding the tape, he was able to split those flakes into thinner flakes. After ten to twenty tries, he was left with graphite around ten layers thick. Though it was not graphene, Geim and Novoselov had created thinner flakes of graphite than anyone else previously had. Improvements to their techniques led to
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Magnisinti omnim volesenient voluptatum verchillant ullam nos earum esciist ipsus adic te sed magnime ndipisciamet est, sit volorit alicae et doles atur, ipsant. Or alitem rem aritae nonsediti dolescia ditis as autaeri-
the production of graphene. In 2010, the two were awarded the Nobel Prize in Physics for their work with graphene. Geim and Novoselov’s work prompted many to explore the remarkable properties of this material. Graphene peeled from graphite is already in its perfect, crystalline form. However, graphene can also be grown on substrates such as copper using chemical vapor deposition (CVD). This method allows scientists to produce large sheets of graphene, but the graphene produced from CVD is structurally imperfect. Similar to a quilt, it is pieced together from small crystalline grains. As a result, there are defects at the boundaries between these grains, which might affect the strength of larger sheets of graphene. Even though CVD graphene might be weaker than graphene in its perfect form, James Hone and Jeffrey Kysar, another mechanical engineering professor at Columbia University, have shown that CVD graphene is still quite strong. In addition to its strength, graphene has also displayed other properties that make it potentially useful. For example, graphene is a good conductor of electricity. The weak bonds between the layers of graphene combined with Nis porisinis denihicae nistio to idemquo the strong covalent bonds within the velit que rem ipis et ipis nonsent. Nis porisinis denihicae nistio to idemquosent. carbon atoms of each layer also result in a strong and flexible material. Ad-
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ditionally, graphene absorbs 2.3 percent of light and retains the energy. Many believe that graphene can be used to make flexible electronics. Recently, a team of scientists from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology published their study on graphene paper in the journal Scientific Reports. Xuanhe Zhao, an assistant professor of mechanical engineering and civil and environmental engineering, and four other scientists showed that crumpled graphene paper could be used create flexible supercapacitors for flexible electronics. Crumpled graphene paper is created by stretching a sheet of polymer material and bonding the graphene paper to it. When the polymer is released, the graphene paper becomes crumpled and when stretched again, the wrinkles are smoothed out. The scientists at MIT found that the crumpled graphene capacitor was flexible and could be wrinkled and smoothed out up to one thousand times without any major defects. The graphene capacitor has two conductive layers, which are sheets of crumpled graphene paper, and an insulating layer between the two layers. In this capacitor, an insulating conductive layer of a flexible hydrogel material was added in between the other two layers. As a result, all three layers were in contact regardless of stretching or bending. This crumpled graphene can also be used for other purposes. Different polymer films can be added to graphene
to make a material that can act like muscle tissues. When electricity is added to the graphene, the muscle-like material expands and when there is no electricity added, the muscle-like material relaxes, mimicking an actual human muscle. The creation of artificial muscles through the use
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of graphene offers hope to many disabled people around the world. Although, scientists are still experimenting with graphene, researchers at the University of Manchester foresee graphene changing medical procedures such as cancer treatment. They believe it has potential in plant desalination, waste purification, and as a membrane to separate liquids. It could be a part of aircrafts and cars, sensors, and wearable electronics. Though scientists are still researching and discovering new properties of graphene, the material holds numerous possibilities in the future of technology,medicine, and much more.
Chemistry
Nobel Prize in Chemistry by Parul Sharma
O
n Thursday, October 9th, the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry to William E. Moerner, Eric Betzig, and Stefan W. Hell for the development of super-resolved fluorescence microscopy. The Chemistry Nobel Prize is one the most reputable and prestigious awards for a scientist to be awarded in their lifetime; Moerner, Hell, and Betzig stand among a group of prize winners who have innovated and transformed the way we perceive the world around us. Specifically, they have changed the way in which we view nature through the creation of a high quality microscope that allows scientists to observe tiny specimens in a finer quality than has previously been possible. Hell, Betzig, and Moerner worked separately to enhance the sharpness of images created using fluorescence microscopy and to break the Abbe diffraction limit, a physical limit for the maximum resolution of traditional optical microscopy, 0.2 micrometers. In fluorescence microscopy, cells or other particles are exposed to a certain wavelength of light. Fluorescing molecules, known as fluorophores, then emit light of a longer wavelength. Hell, Betzig, and Moerner’s fluorescent microscopes broke the Abbe limit, enabling scientists to use microscope lenses to see molecules that are even smaller than one nanometer in length. The scientists were able to break the diffraction limit in two different ways. Like Moerner and Betzig, Hell was intrigued by the challenge of breaking the Abbe limit. Many people told him that this feat was impossible. In an interview with the San Francisco Chronicle, Hell explains that he was told by colleagues not to “argue with the laws of physics”. Nonetheless, Hell set out on a mission to prove these people wrong. Hell began working on a system to break the Abbe diffraction limit as a student in the 1990s. He used two lasers to generate a Spectrum | 56
sharp image in a process known as stimulated emission depletion (STED) microscopy. One laser stimulated the fluorescent molecules to
SCIENTISTS CAN NOW STUDY THE SYNAPSES OF THE BRAIN AND VIEW CELLS AND ORGANISMS IN REAL TIME IN FRONT OF A MICROSCOPE.” glow; another beam followed behind, cancelling out all of the fluorescence except for that within a nanometer sized volume. By scanning over the sample nanometer by nanometer, Hell was able to generate an image with a resolution better than Abbe’s stipulated limit. William Moerner and Eric Betzig laid the foundations for the second method of breaking the Abbe diffraction limit, known as single-molecule microscopy. In this process, a specimen comes in contact with many different fluorescent molecules. The fluorescent molecules are then switched on and off at given times. Scientists image the same area multiple times, capturing different interspersed molecules each time. They can then superimpose their images in order to produce a dense super-image. Nanomicroscopy enables scientists to study parts of human and plant cells in more depth. Scientists can now study the synapses of the brain and view cells and organisms in real time in front of a microscope. According to the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, “Due to their [Betzig, Moerner, and Hell] achievements, the optical microscope can now peer into the nano world. Today, nanoscopy is used worldwide and new knowledge of greatest benefit to mankind is produced on a daily basis.”
λ 2NA The Abbe diffraction limit describes the maximum obtainable resolution in traditional microscopy
Physics by Amrita Archaya
https://ejournalscambridge.wordpress.com
Nobel Prize in Physics
O
n October 7, 2014, three scientists won a Nobel Physics Prize for the invention of a blue light LED light. The awardees Isamu Akasaki, Hiroshi Amano and Shuji Nakamura succeeded in producing a device that scientists have been attempting to create since the 1960s: a light to improve quality of life and assist people throughout the world with a variety of tasks. Isamu Akasaki and Hiroshi Amano of Japan and Shuji Nakamura of the United States collaborated to discover a way to produce blue light beams from semiconductors in the early 1990s. Although LEDs, also known as Light Emitting Diodes, have been used since the 1960s, their uses were previously limited to electronic devices that required red or green light. Since the new LEDs produce a blue
light, they can accommodate the needs of humans for ordinary lighting. What the scientists had to do, according to Science Magazine, was “find the right combination of semiconductor materials and dopants to produce blue light.” In this process, the scientists examined materials with conductivities ranging from those insulators to those of a metal and dopants that generate a specific electrical characteristic, blue light. The scientists built upon past LED semiconductor constructions, which used an applied voltage to force electrons and positively charged carriers known as holes through different layers of a crystal, resulting in the release of photons—light. Although scientists had been working for years to build upon LED technology and solve the mystery of blue light LEDs, their efforts never amounted to much. By following the general meth-
od of constructing an LED but doing so with different materials than used previously, Akasaki, Amano, and Nakamura succeeded. As was commonly believed before this discovery, the three scientists believed they needed the semiconductor gallium nitride. Experimentation with this substance called for patience due to its fragility when doped. In this experiment, the scientists needed to dope the gallium nitride crystals with magnesium to grow the proper crystals with positive free charge carriers. Unfortunately, this doping of the gallium nitride impeded the compound’s growth, therefore causing fragility. Despite this difficulty, the scientists’ search pressed on. The three scientists continued their work with the gallium nitride, but also worked on new ideas and used chemicals they had not considered previously. According to the New York Times, “It
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Nis porisinis Nis porisinis denihicae nistio to idemquo velit que rem was not until 1986 that he [ Dr. Akasaki] and Dr. Amano, who was then his graduate student, succeeded in growing high-quality crystals on a layer of sapphire coated with aluminum nitride, and found out their properties were enhanced when they were scanned with an electron beam.” In 1990, Nakamura, who was still toiling with the gallium nitride layers, finally was able to assemble an implement that was able to radiate blue light. Thanks to this light, new opportunities exist to improve the human standard of living around the world and the environment. According to Science Magazine, “LEDs’ efficiency means that they can be run on low-cost solar power and simple batteries, bringing light to the 1.5 billion people who are not connected to energy grids.” This projection makes clear the potential, global positive impact of LEDs, as they could modernize communities in an economically effective and systematically simple way. The LED light could also reduce environment impact, as it is more durable and energy efficient than fluorescent Spectrum | 58
and incandescent bulbs. Russell Sturm, head of energy access at the International Finance Corp, identified the benefits of LED lighting clearly and concisely in an interview on National Public Radio. When prompted with the question of comparing the LED lights to kerosene lamps, he responded: “ Kerosene lighting...causes hundreds of thousands of deaths from poisoning of children and from rampant fires when lanterns are tipped over. And indoor air pollution: Any number of people I work with here [at the IFC] remember in their childhood reading by an open kerosene flame, the tears coming down as they tried to study.” While kerosene lighting may at first glance appear to be as effective as LED lighting, kerosene is actually a dangerous pollutant. Sturm also recognizes the benefits of LED lights to global modernization. He claims that LEDs are a transformative technology, meaning they could cause a dramatic change in the world. This new wave of LED light production will continue to benefit the lives of many who are without energy. For about twenty
years, charitable organizations have supported companies that provide people without access to modern energy with LED energy. The roughly 1.3 billion people they were helping previously relied on kerosene, wood, and candles to fulfill their energy needs but now have a safer and more practical source. It is evident that Akasaki, Amano, and Nakamura put extensive time and effort into discovering and assembling the necessary materials to accomplish such a beneficial project. Thanks to their efforts, new options exist to improve the lives of many and the common good of the Earth. The service these scientists provided meets exactly what the Nobel Prize is looking for: a project that is exceptional in its own right scientifically and of widespread societal use. Alfred Nobel’s original goal for the Nobel Prize was to reward advancements truly advantageous to humans. Given that onefourth of the world’s electrical energy utilization goes to generating light, the invention of a blue LED definitely deserves a Nobel Prize.
Static Electricity and how it works by Stephanie Carrero
A
s winter approaches, we begin to encounter static more often, especially with our wool sweaters, rugs, and hair. Sometimes, static in the winter can be so prevalent that contact with seemingly any object causes an unpleasant shock. Although feeling a static shock is familiar, Wthe chemical process that occurs while stepping on the surface of a rug or putting on a wool jacket is not well understood. The charge of atoms continually changes as materials and objects collide and electrons are transferred. Every object has a different level of sensitivity or receptiveness to gaining and losing electrons, and these certain characteristics place the object on a distinct level on the triboelectric series, a scale that determines a material’s static quality. The triboelectric series ranks materials based on their ability to hold or give up electrons. When an object loses an electron, becomes negatively charged, and moves toward a positively charged object, this exchange of electrons causes a static shock. Bartosz Grzybowski, a physical chemist at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois, further explained that, “although charged particles should repel each other when they land on an insulating surface, making them spread evenly across a material and leak back into the air, they actually form stable, longlived clumps. This leads to the build-up of large amounts of tightly confined static charge, enough to abruptly discharge when a conductive path becomes available.” For example, when someone walks across a rug, the surface of his feet and the rug exchange electrons; as a result, when he reaches for the doorknob, the electrons move from his hand to the doorknob and he experiences a static shock. The static here is not only felt in the form of a shock but also seen visually when
the two oppositely charged objects react. For instance, when a balloon and hair come into contact, the hair atoms react, donating electrons to or gaining electrons from the atoms in the balloon. Consequently, since opposites attract, the strands of hair and the balloon move physically close together. The chemistry behind how static electricity works reveals why static is more common in during cold weather periods. Although no single factor contributes to the buildup of static in the winter, a main cause is the lack of humidity in the air. Normally, electrons are able to travel quickly through water molecules in the air. Although pure water lacks electrolytes and is not an effective electric conductor, much of the water vapor in the air contains impurities that contribute chemical ions via which electrons can travel. Therefore, during the
“OVER 30 YEARS AFTER THE USDA FIRST ALERTED AMERICANS TO STAY AWAY FROM FATTY FOODS, AMERICANS ARE SICKER THAN EVER .”
winter when less water vapor is present in the air, these electrons have nowhere to go and begin to build up in surfaces such as clothing, pillows, and hair. A study at Colorado State University shows the effect of heating on air’s water capacity. The study shows that warming air causes more water molecules to go from the liquid phase to the gas phase. From this study, it is also understood that the opposite effect occurs in cold air; the water vapor
Spectrum | 60
Physics
Quantum Mechanics A new probe is able to accurately measure the strength of electric fields by Nicholas Carrero
Q
antum theory has evolved significantly since it was first established in the 1920s, the age of Werner Heisenberg and Wolfgang Pauli. Of course, development is expected in all fields of science with the progression of time. What is special about quantum theory, however, is that it has become relevant to numerous scientific fields. Modern science revolves around the idea that principles on the quantum scale can be applied on a macroscopic level. This ideology is the basis of emerging fields such as quantum computing and quantum cryptography, which would not exist without the foundation of quantum theory. Recently, through the efforts of scientists at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), quantum theory has been applied to yet another area of science: electric fields. Electric fields, introduced by Michael Faraday in the early nineteenth century, are vector quantities generated by an electric charge and a time-varying magnetic field. All electric charges exhibit an electric field of a certain strength or intensity, determined by the amount of force experienced by another nearby charge.
By altering this electric field strength, scientists have been able to measure and study the properties of cells and tissues for quite some time now, and have even found ways to apply this concept to more than simple observational studies. Tissue engineering, which is a relatively new scientific endeavor involving the artificial production of tissues through the manipulation of component cells, is one such field in which electric fields are used. It is hardly surprising that two influential branches of science, those of quantum mechanics and electric fields, have both been critical to the development of a new instrument known as the quantum probe. Researchers at NIST have altered the original probing device that is used to measure electric fields by implementing fundamental components of quantum theory established by the work of Max Planck. One of the founders of quantum theory, Planck theorized that light waves have discrete or quantized amounts of energy that depend upon and are directly related to the frequency of the light. This finding played an important role in the experiments of another scientist named Rydberg, who derived a formula known as the Rydberg formula. This formula determines the quantized light energy released as electrons move among energy levels. These two men and their contributions to quantum theory were central to the NIST probe. Probes that have been used in the past to measure the strength of electric fields are inherently imprecise Spectrum | 62
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and often change the strength of the electric field that they are measuring. Both of those flaws in the formerly accepted probes are hindrances, but neither could be rectified until quantum theory became involved in the equation. The researchers at NIST dealt with the probes’ defects by looking to quantum theory. The recently developed quantum probe, also known as the NIST probe, is based on the predictable nature of electrons to undergo excitation when they absorb energy and to release discrete amounts of energy upon their return to the ground state. Due to the fact that the released spectrum of energy, or the atomic emission spectrum of the elements used for the probe, can be determined, there is a significantly less margin of error in measurement. Whereas other electric field probes have to be calibrated to take into account factors such as distance from the electric field, the improved NIST probe can be self-calibrated because it is based on the vibrations of atoms as they switch between energy levels. The diversity in the discrete quanta of energy released by the atoms of an element, particularly more massive el-
ements, allows for the range of electric field measurement to span from 1 to 500 gigahertz. This range encompasses field strengths 100 times weaker than those of the older probes. The implications of this innovative technique are staggering for the future of science. Not only does this probe open the doors for others to adapt their perception and practice of science to include quantum theory, but it also directly allows for technological advances in everyday life. The increased range of detectable electric fields creates more opportunities for wireless communication and even for medical procedures. For example, these probes may help doctors to observe implants within a person’s body. Moreover, the NIST probe will enhance the study of climate change and its effect on the Earth. Although these possible applications of the quantum probe pose significant benefits to scientific research in many fields, there is one application that surpasses all others in its influence on our wellbeing, electric field therapy. Electric field therapy has been completely effective in eliminating cancerous cells in animals. The treatment proved
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successful in eliminating all types of cancers on which it was tested and is already being tested on patients with brain and breast cancers in clinical trials in the United States and Europe. An electric field created by an instrument known as a NovoCure device is concentrated as it encounters cancer cells that are undergoing division, disrupting the DNA of the cell to the point of disintegration. The beauty of this type of cancer treatment is that is requires weak enough electric fields to ensure that normal cells are not affected detrimentally in the process, but strong enough fields that the dividing cancer cells are thoroughly affected. With the advancements in electric field measurement achieved by the NIST quantum probe, this strategy of cancer treatment could become even more effective than it already is. The future of science lies in this ability of scientists to unite seemingly unrelated topics, such as quantum theory and electric fields, in practical ways, in order to find solutions to major problems of our day.
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Physics THE BLUE LIGHT-EMITTING DIODE Normile, Dennis. “Physicists Who Changed the Light Bulb Win Nobel Prize.” Science Insider. Last modified October 7, 2014. http://news.sciencemag.org/people-events/2014/10/physicists-who-changed-light-bulbwin-nobel-prize. Overbye, Dennis. “American and 2 Japanese Physicists Share Nobel for Work on LED Lights.” The New York Times, October 7, 2014, Science. Shea, Christopher. “LED Lights Are a ‘Transformative Technology’ in the Developing World.” National Public Radio. Last modified October 13, 2014. http://www. npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/10/13/354845893/ led-lights-are-a-transformative-technology-in-the-developing-world. STATIC ELECTRICITY Cho, Adrian. “Static Electricity Defies Simple Explanation.” Science Insider. Last modified May 15, 2014. http:// news.sciencemag.org/chemistry/2014/05/static-electricity-defies-simple-explanation. Cowen, Amy. “The ‘Shock’ of Static Electricity.” Science Buddies. Last modified February 10, 2011. http://www. sciencebuddies.org/blog/2011/02/the-shock-of-static-electricity.php. Shipman, Judee. “Temperature, Air Humidity and Static Electricity.” Education.com: Physics. http://www. education.com/science-fair/article/temperature-humidity-static-charges-last/. “Static Shocks, and How to Avoid Them.” Electrostatic Solutions. Last modified March 15, 2011. http://www. electrostatics.net/articles/static_shocks.htm. “Triboelectric Effects.” Lecture presented at Harvard University. Harvard Natural Sciences Lecture Demonstrations. http://isites.harvard.edu/icb/icb. do?keyword=k16940&pageid=icb.page86138&pageContentId=icb.pagecontent216659&view=view. do&viewParam_name=indepth.html. Van Noorden, Richard. “Antioxidants Dispel Static Electricity.” Nature: International Journal of Science. Last modified September 19, 2013. http://www.nature.com/ news/antioxidants-dispel-static-electricity-1.13786. QUANTUM MECHANICS Bourzac, Katherine. “Electric Fields Kill Tumors.” MIT Technology Review. Last modified August 8, 2007. Accessed November 19, 2014. http://www.technologyreview.com/news/408374/electric-fields-kill-tumors/. Science Daily. “Quantum Probe Enhances Electric Field Measurements.” Science Daily. Last modified October 7, 2014. Accessed November 19, 2014. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/10/141007184224.htm.