THE FRANKLIN The Science Magazine of Notting Hill & Ealing High School ◆ Autumn 2021
Epigenetics
situations such as how much you exercise and what
By Preet Kaur, Year 10
An
you eat can all cause epigenetic changes.
What is epigenetics? organism's genes are expressed rather than any alteration of the genetic code itself. It involves research into the different biological mechanisms that turn genes on and off. DNA gives our cells instructions for various proteins to be produced inside the cell. Simply put, this is how genetics work. But epigenetics influence the way in which our cells read these genes and therefore whether or not the cells should produce these various proteins. So instead of changing your DNA epigenetics
change
of
epigenetic
changes
is
DNA
methyl group is added to DNA in certain places and
Epigenetics is the study of changes in the way an
sequence,
example
methylation. This is when a chemical group called a
the
way
these
sequences are read by your cells. Behaviours and
results in blocking proteins that connect to DNA to ‘read’ the gene. This normally turns a gene ‘off’. To remove the chemical group from the DNA, a process called demethylation would have to take place. This usually turns genes ‘on’. Epigenetics causes certain genes to be turned on and others to be turned off, this difference in expression is the reason we are all unique.
How is it possible for your epigenetics to change? Certain Factors cause your epigenetics to alter, due to both aging and as a response to your environment and behaviours: ➢
Throughout your life, your epigenetics will
transform and this means that your epigenetics at birth are not the same as your ones during adulthood or childhood. ➢
Sources Cath Ennis (2018). Epigenetics 101: a beginner’s guide to explaining everything | Cath Ennis. [online] the Guardian. Available at: https://www.theguardian.com/science/occams-corner/2014/apr/25/epigene tics-beginners-guide-to-everything. CDC (2020). What is Epigenetics? [online] Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Available at: https://www.cdc.gov/genomics/disease/epigenetics.htm. What is Epigenetics? (2018). A Super Brief and Basic Explanation of Epigenetics for Total Beginners. [online] Available at: https://www.whatisepigenetics.com/what-is-epigenetics/
Cell micrographs
Year 7 have been learning to draw accurate micrographs
Some epigenetic changes are reversible,
meaning some changes can be taken away or added because of certain behaviours or your environment. An example of this is smoking. In the gene AHHR, at specific parts, smokers usually have less DNA methylation than people who don’t smoke. Yet after quitting smoking, former smokers could start to have increased DNA methylation for this gene, until reaching similar levels to non-smokers. ➢
Epigenetics can also have an effect on your
health. With infections, microbes can weaken your immune system by changing your epigenetics. Consequently, this helps the pathogens to survive. As well as this, certain epigenetic changes can increase your risk of getting cancer. The behaviors of a pregnant
woman
can
also
change
a
baby’s
epigenetics. For example, whether or not the pregnant woman eats healthy food can make changes that can remain for years.
Conclusion Overall,
seeing
as
epigenetics
are
reversible,
scientists wonder what the outcome would be of different combinations of genes being turned on or off. If you could reverse a gene’s state to get rid of the bad while keeping the good, hypothetically you would be able to cure diseases such as cancer, slow down aging and much more.
2
Bees By Jasmine De-Rosa Rashid, Year 9
The uses of bees
One of the most important organisms that our world
Bees have some useful talents that have helped us
relies on are bees. Despite being known as small irritable insects these creatures have a huge impact
humans throughout the years. The first ability comes from their gift of being perfectly adapted to pollinate.
on our planet and lives.
Bee pollination helps plants grow, breed and produce
Some background on bees
seek food and whilst inside, pollen gets caught onto
The earliest record of bees was found in Myanmar
more food in another plant, the pollen remains stuck
(the border of Bangladesh and India). A bee was
on them and carried to another plant. This helps
found encased in Amber and has been dated as 100
humans as without pollination we wouldn’t be able
million years old. It is likely that bees originated
to eat lots of different foods such as fruits and
from the Far East and were originally like wasps,
vegetables
eating other insects instead of nectar and pollen.
almonds).
There are over 4,000 different species of bees and around 25,000 individual species but there are more to
be discovered. Bees belong to the insect
superfamily ‘Apoidea’ which also includes ‘sphecoid wasps’ from which bees are believed to be descended from. About 4000 species of bees are in the US and over 250 in Britain.
food. They do this by entering flowering plants to their bodies so when the bee leaves and goes to find
(e.g
broccoli,
squash,
apples
and
Pollination is not just vital for the food we eat directly but it is also vital for the foraging crops, such as beans and clover used to feed the livestock we depend on for meat. Just as importantly, it helps feed many other animals in the food chain and maintains the genetic diversity of the flowering plants. On the topic of food, certain species of bee also have another 3
hummingbird, they have the ability to fly, or ‘hover’ rather in one spot.
Extinction Bees provide humans with lots of resources they need to survive but unfortunately like multiple other organisms bees are going extinct. This is due to multiple different reasons some of which are: changes in land use, habitat loss (deforestation), disease, invasive non-native plant/animal species, farming practices, pollution, pesticide and climate use, which is their ability to create honey. Bees gather pollen or nectar from plants and once their nectar sacs are full, the bee returns to the hive. Nectar is delivered to one of the “indoor” bees and is then passed mouth to mouth until its moisture content is reduced from about 70% to 20%. This changes the nectar into honey. Humans have discovered this and then made bee farms, which is where they keep multiple hives and harvest the honey made by the bees.
Defensive Skills Just like all animals, bees have ways of defending themselves. The most famous way is by stinging their attacker. When a bee is confused, stepped on or threatened it will sting. It’s “stinger” is located at the end of its abdomen and when the bee feels one of the emotions above a venom is released into a space on the sting between the barbs and the stylet. The only problem that bees face when using this defensive skill is that there is no way of withdrawing the sting and once a bee has stung something it dies. The venom the bee releases is known as a formic acid or more commonly known as methanoic acid, which is a colourless solution with a pungent odeur. The chemical formula of this is HCOOH. Another skill bees have is that they can fly. This is not such an attacking move but a defensive one, it also allows them to quickly move from one place to another. Bees have special wings which aren’t rigid but twist
change. The majority of these methods are caused by humans despite the fact that without bees we humans may not necessarily survive. But just as there are ways of leading bees to extinction, there are also ways of helping bees survive. Firstly preventing the problems above, not only helps bees but will also help our planet and other organisms. However, solutions directed at bees are: growing a bee friendly garden, leaving out some sugar which is a food source for bees, eating sustainable honey and supporting
bee
charities
(e.g
the
bumblebee
conservation trust).
Conclusion In conclusion, despite bees being seen as painful, frustrating insects they have uses that not many people are aware of, and majority of which are necessary for human survival. As a school there are many ways to help bees such as: growing a bee friendly garden filled with lots of flowers and plants so the bees have access to nectar, contributing to the charities that help bees and setting up small plates of sugar water as a place where bees can come to restore their energy. Sources BBC Teach. (n.d.). Would we starve without bees? [online] Available at: https://www.bbc.co.uk/teach/would-we-starve-without-bees/zkf292p#:~:te xt=Pollination%20is%20not%20just%20important [Accessed 17 Aug. 2021]. BuzzAboutBees.net. (2010). Types of Bees: The different species, families and generas of bees. [online] Available at: https://www.buzzaboutbees.net/types-of-bees.html. Mary Ann Clark, Choi, J. and Douglas, M. (2018). Pollination and Fertilization. [online] Opentextbc.ca. Available at: https://opentextbc.ca/biology2eopenstax/chapter/pollination-and-fertilizati on/.
and rotate during flight. The wings make short, quick, sweeping movements (front and back, front and back) which means they have enough motion to lift making it possible for bees to fly. An interesting thing to add about bees, is that similar to the 4
Why did Thailand ban certain
that live inside them, the algae provide 90% of the coral’s energy and provide valuable nutrients. Extreme stress can cause the coral to expel the algae,
sunscreens?
leaving the coral without its colour. If the stress passes, the algae can return to the coral, but eventually, the coral will starve to death. Stress can
By Maya Murfin, Year 9 On Wednesday, July 4th, Thailand banned certain sunscreens from being used in their marine parks. This change was prompted by scientific studies that show that certain types of sunscreens can harm
compounds in sunscreens that have ended up in the ocean.
sunscreens in ppm (parts per million) and ppb (parts
Healthy coral reefs provide millions for tourism and food industries, but their ecosystem is threatened by a number of factors, one of which is the harmful chemicals in sunscreen. The chemicals that have are
oxybenzone,
4-methylbenzylidene camphor and
octinoxate, butylparaben.
These ingredients have been linked to coral bleaching and deformities in other marine life, such as mussels.
acidification, this can be traced back to harmful
the studies used coral that was exposed to the
Coral Reefs
banned
be caused by a number of factors including ocean
Some scientists argue that the ban is unnecessary as
marine life.
been
Coral live in symbiosis with algae (zooxanthellae)
per billion) quantities, this is much higher than the levels normally found in the environment. If you applied 30g of sunscreen (the recommended amount) containing 3% 4-methylbenzylidene camphor over your entire body, and 100% of it came off you would get a concentration of 0.99ppm if you swam in 909L of water. This estimate is quite conservative, since it’s commonly found that people usually wear less than half of the recommended amount of sunscreen,
5
and the amount that dissolves in water is around 25% in a 20 minute swim. The ocean is huge and contains around 1.34 x 1021 L of water or 70 Olympic
The history of
people on earth. This means that in most areas of the
vaccines
ocean, levels of these compounds are untraceable.
By Daisy Self, Year 8
swimming pools for every one of the 7.44billion
The areas in which this causes major issues are small secluded bays that are full of bathers and
Many vaccines have been invented to protect people
frequented by tourists.
from the effects of infectious diseases. A vaccine is a
In
conclusion, I believe that despite the evidence
against the ban, Thailand has taken a step in the
type of medicine that stimulates your immune system so if you come into contact with that disease
right direction as over time in secluded bays, the
again it is able to fight it off. They are there to protect
chemicals in the sunscreen will build up and start to
someone from a disease rather than treat it. Edward
kill off the coral. This ban followed Hawaii’s ban of
Jenner is considered the founder of vaccinology
harmful sunscreen in 2018 and Craig Downs, one of the authors of the study showing the harmful effects of sunscreen on reefs, explained to the Washington Post in 2015 that "any small effort to reduce oxybenzone pollution could mean that a coral reef survives a long, hot summer, or that a degraded area recovers". I believe that if the ban on sunscreen proves effective and helps the reefs recover, then other countries may be prompted to change their policies around coral reefs.
Notes: ppm means “parts per million”, or milligrams per litre. This is the equivalent of one-fiftieth (1/50) of a drop diluted in one litre. ppb means “parts per billion, or micrograms per litre. 1 ppb is a thousand times more dilute than 1 ppm. Sources Is Your Sunscreen Killing Coral Reefs? The Science (with Video). Lab Muffin Beauty Science (2018), (available at https://labmuffin.com/is-your-sunscreen-killing-coral-the-science-with-vid eo/). Thailand bans coral-damaging sunscreens in marine parks. BBC News (2021), (available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-58092472). Hawaii to ban certain sunscreens harmful to coral reefs. BBC News (2018), (available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-43993407)
because in 1796 when he inoculated a 13 year old boy with cowpox he became immune to smallpox.
Smallpox In 1798 the first smallpox vaccine was invented. Smallpox is caused by infection from the variola virus. People who had smallpox had a fever and a distinctive rash. Around three in ten people died because of it; When the smallpox outbreak emerged in the UK there were a thousand deaths per million. It was transmitted from person to person, this is called
airborne, human-to-human transmission.
Edward Jenner took fluid from a cowpox blister and scratched it into the arm of a young boy. The young boy developed a blister on the site of where the cowpox was scratched in but he soon recovered. Later on when he inoculated the boy again, but this time with smallpox, he showed no signs of the disease. Over the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries the vaccine that was made eradicated the disease that led to global eradication of the disease in 1979. As smallpox was very infectious, people implemented hospital ships that were far away from the main population to try to stop the spread of the disease.The ships were located 17 miles away from London bridge and the three of them were anchored in place 6
The polio vaccine was made by Dr Jonas Salk who was an American medical researcher. It was announced on national radio on March 26th 1953 that Salk had an official vaccine for polio that worked. Dr Sabin also created an oral polio vaccine. Salk was born in 1914 in New York city. Polio is not around much anymore but a few cases are still reported every year in Asia, Afghanistan and Pakistan. It was eradicated from the UK in 1984 and in the USA it was eradicated in 1979, however they to stop movement and sea sickness. One of the three
still give vaccinations in the uk so that it does return.
ships housed female patients, the other housed male patients and the other ship was where the food was
Overall vaccines are very important to today’s
made as well as living quarters for the staff. The
society and without them life wouldn’t be the same.
smallpox ships became redundant in 1903 when the
The world would be in a much worse position if we
Joyce Green hospital in Kent and the other river
did not have the variety of vaccines available today. I
hospitals began to open. The river hospitals had more beds for patients as well as being easier and safer to run. After twenty years of service the ships were auctioned off for scraps.
Polio
believe vaccine research will continue for current and developing diseases. Sources Bibliography 1. History.com Editors, Salk announces polio vaccine. HISTORY (2018), (available at https://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/salk-announces-polio-vaccin e).2. Smallpox. www.who.int, (available at https://www.who.int/westernpacific/health-topics/smallpox).3. BBC History - Edward Jenner. www.bbc.co.uk, (available at https://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/jenner_edward.shtml).
Many more vaccines have been developed to keep everyone safe from deadly diseases and one of these is the polio vaccine. Polio is a disease caused by one of three types of the poliovirus. Children under 5 were the most likely to get infected. 1 in 200 people who were infected had irreversible paralysis and 5%-10% of people completely paralyzed died because
their
breathing
muscles
became
immobilized. It can infect the spinal cord which can cause paralysis. Philip Drinker and Agassiz Shaw Jr were the first people to create an ‘Iron lung', a machine to help people breathe. This machine was a big tube-like container that would circulate air so that you would be able to breathe. Whole wards of these were created such as the Lane-Fox ward at St Thomas’s hospital. Polio can be spread through eating and drinking contaminated food and water. 7
Could a Black Hole
even if it were the size of an atom, it could potentially
Destroy Earth?
holes - called supermassive black holes - could have
By Adeline Goh, Year 8
How do black holes form?
What is a black hole? A black hole is a place in space where gravity pulls so much that light cannot escape. They are invisible as no light can get out, and the gravitational pull is strong because a lot of matter has been squeezed into a very small space.
have the mass of a large mountain. The largest black the mass of over 1 million suns, at least.
Depending on the size and mass of the black holes, they are thought to have formed in a variety of ways. The smallest black holes, called miniature black holes, are thought to have formed when the universe began: immediately after the Big Bang. Randomly expanding reasons could have possibly squeezed some regions into dense, small areas, creating
How large are black holes?
miniature black holes.
Black holes vary in sizes, and it is thought that the
Intermediate black holes, which are in size and mass
smallest black holes are as small as one atom. But
in between miniature and supermassive black holes,
8
could form when stars in a cluster collide, causing a chain reaction and resulting in a black hole. The third way of which black holes are thought to
What happens inside a black hole?
have formed is by stars growing so large that they
Nothing inside a black hole can communicate with
collapse under their own weight. When this happens,
our universe, even in principle. If we were to find out,
it causes a supernova: a stellar explosion. Black holes
we would have to look from the outside. Near a black
which are formed like this can be either called stellar
hole, the flow of time slows down to extremes, and
black holes, or supermassive black holes, depending
an object falling into a hole would appear to be frozen
on the size and mass. However, lots is still unknown
in time on ‘the horizon’.
about the formation of black holes.
The horizon of a black hole is the edge of it, and
How do scientists know that
anything that crosses this imaginary line would be
black holes exist?
gravity predicts that time itself could be destroyed at
swallowed inside it forever. Einstein’s theory of
Scientists cannot see black holes, however they can see how the gravitational pull affects the stars and
the centre of a black hole, however, nobody knows what would actually happen inside of one.
gas and other matter around it, using telescopes that
After passing the event horizon of the hole, the object
can
is
detect
x-rays,
light
or
other
forms
of
thought
to
begin
a
process
called
electromagnetic radiation. In addition, when a black
‘Spaghettification’. This is where the object is
hole and star are close together, high energy light is
stretched out vertically and compressed, until it has
made, which although cannot be seen with the
been fully stretched out, with every part elongated in
naked eye, can be viewed with telescopes and
a different direction. Eventually, the object would be
satellites. When a black hole and a star are close
torn apart inside the black hole. The forces
together, high energy light is made.
surrounding the black hole are so strong that nothing
Could a black hole destroy Earth? It is a myth that black holes go around ‘eating’ moons, stars and planets, yet there is concern as to whether Earth could fall into a black hole. However, Earth could not fall into a black hole as no black hole is close enough to the Earth. If a black hole were to take the place of the Sun, then Earth still wouldn’t
can withstand it, no matter its components. In addition to these reasons, we cannot do a direct experiment to find out since no information or evidence could ever get out of the hole.
Do black holes eventually disappear?
fall in; instead, the planets would orbit it. In fact,
Black holes do eventually become unstable and
black holes move very rarely because of their
disappear into nothing but radiation.
immense size, however, there are still occasionally instances of black holes moving, but that is a very unusual occurrence.
In fact, Stephen Hawking theorised that there is a possibility that they also leak particles, in the form of what is known as ‘Hawking Radiation’. This would mean that if we waited for long enough, a black hole could evaporate, however, this theory has caused huge debate among scientists. Unless we could 9
create a low-mass black hole (which will not “live” for as long as other black holes), nothing else in the universe will be around to see them disappear. Sources NASA, What Is a Black Hole? NASA (2018), (available at www.nasa.gov/audience/forstudents/k-4/stories/nasa-knows/what-is-a-bl ack-hole-k4.html) E. Landau, 10 Questions You Might Have About Black Holes – NASA Solar System Exploration. NASA Solar System Exploration (2019), (available at solarsystem.nasa.gov/news/1068/10-questions-you-might-have-about-blac k-holes/) Nola Taylor Redd, Black Holes: Facts, Theory & Definition. Space.com (2019), (available at https://www.space.com/15421-black-holesfacts-formation-discovery-sdcmp.html) Black Holes, Explained. Science (2018), (available at www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/black-holes#:~:text=There%2 0are%20four%20types%20of) NASA, Black Holes | Science Mission Directorate. Nasa.gov (2008), (available at https://science.nasa.gov/astrophysics/focus-areas/black-holes) S. Hawking, L. Hawking, J. Bielecki, Unlocking the universe (Puffin, London, 2021) A supermassive black hole on the move | Space | EarthSky. earthsky.org (2021), (available at https://earthsky.org/space/supermassive-black-hole-on-the-move) What to Expect if Earth Ever Falls Into a Black Hole. Discover Magazine, (available at discovermagazine.com/ the-sciences/what-to-expect-if-earth-ever-falls-into-a-black-hole). What Would It Be Like To Fall Into A Black Hole? Futurism, (available at https://futurism.com/what-would-it-be-like-to-fall-into-a-black-hole). Spaghettification. Wikipedia (2020), (available at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spaghettification).
Acid Poetry A Chemistry Poem By Chloe Kemp-Harper, Year 8 pH scale has 2 sides Acids and alkalis When you mix the two you get neutral! Acids are red to green! It's the coolest thing you've ever seen Alkalis are blue through purple Too bad the pH scale isn't a circle! The periodic table has 2 teams Heavy metals and Non metal dreams Together they fight to see which team reacts with acid right There are two types of litmus paper red and blue When mixed with alkali they change colors oh yes they do!
10
A pHoem By Moana Murakami, Year 8
ACIDS AND ALKALIS By Adeline Goh, Year 8
Acids have a pH of less than seven
Acids and Alkalis have a pH
an acid can be a lemon
Of 0-14, and that is great!
It has a pH of 2
If a substance has a pH of 7
A milder acid is a melon
It is very even, As it is equally acidic and alkaline,
Most soaps are an alkali
Which is completely fine!
Alkalis have a pH of more than seven Alkalis have a colour of blue an purple
Acids have a pH of 0-6,
Ammonia solution has a pH of eleven
Which unfortunately can trick You into believing that they aren’t strong
Water has a neutral pH
And if you do, you are wrong!
Neutral pH is normally green
They can eat through (almost) anything,
Eggs are also neutral
Which is called corrosion.
Alkalis have a pH of 8 to 14
Weak acids taste sour, So do not underestimate acid’s power!
Strong acids and alkalis are corrosive When using be very cautious
Alkalis have a pH of 8-14
Wear protective equipment
And they can do lots - even make your oven clean!
If you eat some you can feel nauseous
When they’re strong, it’s no surprise
Acids, Bases and Salts By Sophie Clerkson, Year 8 The pH scale has sides of two,
That they can corrode before your eyes! Weaker alkalis taste bitter, Which will make you reconsider Messing around with alkalis, As that would be very unwise!
Acids red and alkalis blue. Mix them together and you get green,
Substances with pH 7
It's the coolest thing you've ever seen!
Can be made with titration! Just add acid to the alkali
Acids are 1-6,
And watch them react and fly,
Watch them change colour as the indicator drips.
As the substance turns green
Alkali are 8-14,
Neutralised, it would seem.
Sometimes they're in pools to keep them clean!
Neutral substances are truthful Such as pure water, which is useful!
Wasp stings are alkaline, Meaning their number is high.
Do not mess around with alkalis,
But acids are the sting of a bee,
Or acids, I advise,
Meaning they're low like 5.3.
As without testing the pH, you do not know How strong the substance will go.
Learning about the pH scale has been fun,
So be careful around the lab,
But now it seems we’re done.
And your time will be fab!
So next time you forget,
That is all, for today,
This poem will help you I bet!
And now you know, experiment away!
11
Bases and Acids By Isabel Hill, Year 8 Acids have a pH of 0-7,
From the Editors
While an alkaline such as ammonia has a pH of 11, With harmful acids you must be cautious, But some you eat may make you feel nauseous. Alkalis which are also known as bases, Are dangerous as they are corrosive in most cases, The pH of an alkali ranges from 7-14, Examples of alkalis are bleach and chlorine.
We really enjoyed being the editors for this edition of the Franklin. Having the chance to read and learn new topics on those which interest others in the school has allowed us both to widen our knowledge, out of the normal school curriculum. We want to thank all those who sent in a piece of writing or fantastic
Not all acids and alkalis are dangerous though!
artwork, and we hope you enjoyed reading up
Egg whites are alkalis which used to make dough,
on a particular topic as fascinating and
Apples are acids and have a pH of 4, Yet we eat them everyday right to the core. Universal indicator shows how strongly acidic or alkaline a solution is, When an acid and base react together they will fizz, Strong acids are red, strong alkalis are blue,
enjoyable as we both did.
Jasmine Palmer & Rameen Ashfaq, Editors Sophie Alexander, Illustrator Ms L. Brown, Editor in Chief
Strong alkalis and acids will burn skin through.
Rap on acids and alkalis By Minna Williams, Year 8 I’ll teach you about acids, alkalis and litmus paper I hope you’re writing this down, I'll test you later.
Contents
Universal indicator is extremely useful It tells you if it’s acid, alkali or neutral. If litmus paper’s red, better come to the conclusion, That without a doubt, there is acid in the solution Blues and pH scale from ten to fourteen Clearly indicate that the solution is alkaline. Now, alkalis I rate If your tummy’s not too great The dentist says ‘hooray!’ As they keep the cavities away. British Bake Off would surely flounder Without the alkalis in baking powder And in order to ensure that my toilet’s always clean,
Epigenetics
1
Cell micrographs Bees
2
3
Why did Thailand ban certain sunscreens? The history of vaccines
6
Could a Black Hole Destroy Earth? Acid Poetry
5
8
10
The alkalis in bleach help me keep it dead pristine. What is very different is a lovely cup of tea Ms Johnson says it's acidic, surprisingly. Orange juice and lemon are obviously acids too, Coloured red on the pH scale, unlike alkalis of blue. 12