5778 breakthrough science magazine march issue 2




Breakthrough The Ramaz Science Publication Winter Edition / March 2018

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Table of Contents

4300-Year-Old Tomb Found in Egypt

by Zachary Buller ’20 Pg. 4

Hope For Alzheimer’s

by Kyla Mintz ’18 Pg. 15

Scientists Create Metallic Hydrogen

by Zachary Buller ’20 Pg. 6

More About the Flu...

by Josephine Schizer ’20 Pg. 17

Global Warming Continues

by Joyce Cohen ’20 Pg. 8

Jawbone Fossil Alters Evolution Timetable

by Josephine Schizer ’20 Pg. 19

Do Cell Phones Cause Cancer?

by Lucy Doft ’20 and Rachel Shohet ’20 Pg. 9

Billions of Pieces of Plastic Threaten Coral Reefs

by Harry Shams ’19 Pg. 20

Superionic Water

by Daniella Feingold ’20 Pg. 11 The Flu Epidemic

by Abigail Huebner ’18 Pg. 13

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Sinister Sweets: The Dangers of Leads

by Samantha Sinensky ’21 Pg. 22 First in the U.S: Woman With Transplanted Uterus Gives Birth

by Hannah Slager ’19 Pg. 24

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4300-Year-Old Tomb Found in Egypt For centuries, archaeologists have been digging all over the world in search of antiquities that they can find underground. A few weeks ago, a group of archaeologists found more than ancient currency or parchment--they found a 4300-year old tomb.

An archaeologist group working in Egypt recently uncovered the tomb of a 4300 year old women, who goes by the name “Heptet”. These archaeologists were able to deduce that Heptet was a powerful ancient Egyptian woman, a “senior official in the royal palace,” based on the hieroglyphics found in the tomb. The Egyptian antiquities ministry said in a statement, “The tomb has very distinguished wall paintings, in a very good conservation condition, depicting ‘Heptet’ standing in different hunting and fishing scenes or sitting before a large offering table receiving offerings from her children.”

Jarus, Owen. “4,300-Year-Old Tomb of Royal Female Unfortunately, at some point from the Official Found in Egypt.” Live Science, 3 Feb. 2018, www.livescience.com/61648-ancient-egypt-tombtime the tomb was created to the time it was royal-female.html+https://www.gizmodo.com.au/ uncovered, the tomb seems to have been 2018/02/ancient-tomb-discovered-in-egypt-believedrobbed, as both Heptet’s statue and her to-be-over-4300-years-old/. mummy are missing from the tomb. The archaeologists in this group believe that this tomb is “one of a dozen,” so we should expect to see similar discoveries in the future.

Zachary Buller ‘20

Works Cited Booker, Logan. “Ancient Tomb Discovered In Egypt Believed To Be Over 4300 Years Old.” Gizmodo, 4 Feb. 2018, www.livescience.com/61648-ancient-egypt-tomb-royal-female.html+https:// www.gizmodo.com.au/2018/02/ancient-tomb-discovered-in-egypt-believed-to-be-over-4300-yearsold/.

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Scientists Create Metallic Hydrogen For the first time in history, scientists at Harvard University have created a metallic form of hydrogen, an element that naturally has previously existed only in a liquid or gaseous state. This new discovery can revolutionize the general scientific fields, specifically, wire production and rocketry.

Isaac Silvera and his team have been working on this endeavor for the past 45 years, but this month have finally completed the task that they had set out to do. The team squeezed two diamonds together and compressed them to form a gaseous hydrogen sample. In order to successfully transform hydrogen from its gaseous to metallic state, the physicists decreased the temperature of the gas to -252º C, turning the gas into a liquid. Next, they increased the pressure of the liquid to 2 million atmospheres. This created a transparent form of hydrogen. At 4 million atmospheres, the sample of Hydrogen was “black” and “opaque”. Finally, at 4.95 million atmospheres, a pressure greater than what exists in the center of the earth, the Hydrogen sample reflected 90% of the light that was shined on to it, ultimately displaying properties of a metal. Silvera refers to this breakthrough as “the holy grail of high-pressure physics. It the first-ever sample of metallic Hydrogen on earth, so when you’re looking at it, you’re looking at something that never existed before.” https://futurism.com/scientists-have-finallyInitially, Silvera’s work was unsuccessful, created-metallic-hydrogen/ as he was unable to produce a large enough sampling of Hydrogen gas through the diamond compression technique. Previous attempts at this had failed--before Silvera and his team coated the diamonds with a layer of alumina, the diamonds would shatter before producing any hydrogen. Silvera and his team were intuitive and thought of lining the diamonds with a protective covering, ensuring that a sufficient sample of hydrogen would be produced.

While hydrogen is the most simple of all of the elements, containing a single proton and electron, this discovery of metallic hydrogen is predicted to have major effects on the world. Because of hydrogen’s atomic makeup, its metallic form is a superconductor, or an even better method of conducting electricity. If the metallic hydrogen were to be drawn into wires, it would be able to maintain the energy within the wires; there would be no dissipation, or loss of unnecessary energy,

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during the transportation of the electric current. Additionally, metallic hydrogen is able to work at room temperature, which would enable it to replace some magnets in MRI machines which are unable to work at room temperature and require a cold environment to function properly. Furthermore, metallic hydrogen can change the way that rockets work forever. When it is heated, metallic hydrogen transforms back to its gaseous state. As rocket fuel, metallic hydrogen optimizes energy, making it four times as powerful as traditional liquid oxygen-based rocket fuel. According to Silvera, metallic hydrogen could be “the most powerful propellant known to man,” it “could revolutionize rocketry… enabling you to explore the other planets, to put rockets into orbit with a single stage, and to lift payloads.” While Silvera was able to produce metallic hydrogen in his lab, he is yet to determine if this form of hydrogen will remain stable and become a useful discovery.

Zachary Buller ‘20

Works Cited “Scientists Have Finally Created Metallic Hydrogen.” Futurism, 27 Jan. 2017, futurism.com/ scientists-have-finally-created-metallic-hydrogen/.

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Global Warming Continues For the past few decades, global warming has been an ongoing and increasingly dangerous issue. Contrary to popular belief, global warming does not mean that regional temperatures are changing; rather, it means that the actual temperature of the Earth is getting hotter. In addition to that, however, come the weird weather patterns. In 2017 it was recorded that Earth’s temperature was 1.62 degrees fahrenheit, second, since 1980, only to 2016’s 1.61 degrees. The difference in this year and last year’s temperature is one of only .01 degrees, small enough to have no real significance.

What exactly does that mean for us, though? To start, it means that weather patterns, in addition to natural disasters, are more unpredictable than ever. For example, the recent phenomena of El Niño and La Niña were basically a time span (2015-2017) in which the temperatures in the upper Pacific Ocean were warmer or cooler than usual. That caused corresponding variations in wind and weather patterns, often resulting in hurricanes, heat waves, droughts, and other natural disasters. This is just one example of abnormal weather in the past few years--there have been countless other devastating hurricanes, earthquakes and tornados. In addition, climate change also causes the melting of the polar ice caps, which, although the effect is not felt on a day to day basis, will eventually become catastrophic. It can cause the shoreline to recede dramatically, and even drown small islands, causing devastation on a huge scale.

Earth’s average surface temperature has risen about 2 degrees during the last century or so. This change did not happen on its own; rather, it was a change driven largely by increased human pollution.

Burning gas (cars/planes) and factory pollution are just few examples of things that we do in our everyday life that contribute to global warming. According to NASA, this year the temperature is almost as hot as ever, and if we do not try to help this cause, with the increase in temperature steadily continuing the way it has been, it can be catastrophic for the whole world.

Joyce Cohen ’20

Works Cited Northon, Karen. “Long-Term Warming Trend Continued in 2017: NASA, NOAA.” NASA, NASA, 18 Jan. 2018, www.nasa.gov/press-release/long-term-warming-trend-continued-in-2017-nasanoaa.

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Do Cell Phones Cause Cancer?

The government recently released two studies about whether or not cellphones can cause cancer from radiation. One study was done on rats and another on mice. Cell phones have become an essential part of people's lives over the past few years, engendering debate and speculation on the dangers of being around them too often. These two studies have been conducted over the past 10 years, with a total cost of about 25 million dollars.

The mice and rats were exposed to cell phone radiation nine hours each day for two years. This test revealed a link in exposure from cell phone radiation to heart tumors in male rats. These results, however, were not consistent in mice or in female rats. An explanation as to why only male rats had tumors is that they are bigger and absorb more radiation. However, it was also seen that the rats exposed to radiation lived longer. There was also found to be DNA damage in other animals after this test, which was surprising to scientists who did not believe radiation could damage DNA. Although John Bucher, senior scientist at the National Toxicology Program, is not limiting his cell phone usage due to this test, he does recognize that the tumors which appeared in male rats are similar to the tumors in people shown to be caused by cell phone usage. To justify his decision, Butcher added that there have been about 20 animal studies, with about 3000 animals, regarding cell phone radiation that have concluded that cancer is not a result of cell phone usage--with studies coming up with such mixed results, it is hard to point to which answer is correct. Joel M. Moskowitz, director of the Center for Family and Community Health at the School of Public Health at the University of California, believes the results of these tests are concerning and the government should try to limit the radiation cell phones are able to emit.

The Food and Drug Administration also made a statement after reviewing such studies saying that they had “not found sufficient evidence that there are adverse health effects in humans caused by exposures at or under the current radio-frequency exposure limits.” Dr. Jeffrey Shuren added that there has been no increase in brain tumors, even with people using their cell phones daily.

Health officials advise people who are worried about the risk to limit their cell phone usage, not touch their phones to their head (ie. text instead of call, or use headphones) and keep their phones in bags rather than in their pockets.

Dr. Butcher concluded that, as of now, they do not have a complete understanding of the test results and can therefore not say with confidence the impact of cell phone radiation on humans. In regard to the rats who had an extended life due to exposed radiation, Dr. Butcher said that they cannot deduce whether or not it will have the same results on humans, since many more factors must be taken to account when applying it to humans.

Lucy Doft ’20 and Rachel Shohet ’20

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Works Cited Grady, Denise. “Cancer Risk From Cellphone Radiation Is Small, Studies Show.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 Feb. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/02/02/health/cell-phonescancer.html? rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=strea m&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=sectionfront.

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Superionic Water A new form of water has been discovered that is both solid and liquid at the same time. After new research came out on a seemingly-simple molecule, it was found that it can go back and forth between different structures. This newly found composition of water is called superionic water. It is made up of hydrogen nuclei passing through a lattice structure of oxygen atoms. This new type of water cannot be found naturally on Earth; however, it is hypothesized to exist farther out in the universe, in places such as Neptune and Uranus.

Water is traditionally a fairly uncomplicated molecule. It is made up of two hydrogens and one oxygen sharing their electrons through covalent bonds. It has two bonded groups, two lone pairs, a tetrahedral electron geometry, and a bent molecular geometry. Those bent V-shapes, along with its hydrogen bonds, cause water molecules to create a rather spacious arrangement when they freeze.

When water changes from liquid to ice it expands, which causes water to be less dense when it is frozen.

However, it is possible for water to have different formations. When put under pressure, its atoms switch into more compact crystal arrangements. Several decades ago, some scientists proposed that superionic water might be formed under vast amounts of stress and extreme heat. The high temperatures could melt the covalent bonds between the atoms, while the intense pressure could keep the oxygen atoms in a solid lattice structure. At the same time, the hydrogen ions would flow through in a liquid state. Because of this, it would be electrically conductive, similarly to a metal. However instead of the current being carried by negative particles, electrons, it would be passed through positive ions, or cations.

In a more recent experiment, water was squeezed between two diamonds, putting 360,000 pounds per square inch of pressure on it. This packed the water into an ice called ice VII, which is much denser than regular water and solid at room temperature. They then hit the ice VII with a pulse of laser light. This caused the ice to be thousands of degrees warmer and to be put under a pressure a million times stronger than that of the Earth’s atmosphere. These conditions occur inside Uranus, Neptune, and undoubtedly inside other ice giants surrounding other stars.

Superionic water can help us begin to explain the unbalanced magnetic fields on both Uranus and Neptune. Instead of their magnetic fields coming from the cores of the planets, like Earth’s magnetic field, perhaps theirs emanates from the shells of superionic ice inside the planets.

Daniella Feingold ’20

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Works Cited Chang, Kenneth. “New Form of Water, Both Liquid and Solid, Is 'Really Strange'.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Feb. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/science/superionicwater-neptune-uranus.html?ribbon-adidx=4&rref=science&module=Ribbon&version=origin®ion=Header&action=click&contentCollection =Science&pgtype=article.

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The Flu Epidemic This winter, it seems as if everyone is getting the flu. This virus is appearing in the news far more than it usually does, and people missing multiple days of work or school because of the flu is common in a way that is not usually the case. This is more than just a perception—as of January 6th, the CDC reported, for the first time in 13 years, widespread flu activity in every part of the continental United States.

This year’s flu strain is the H3N2 strain, which almost always means a harsher flu season; years in which the flu is primarily caused by H3 viruses have higher flu hospitalization and death rates, according to the CDC. These years are especially bad for young children and the elderly. Furthermore, H3 viruses usually mean less effective vaccines, which contributes to the large number of people coming down with the flu. The more serious (though probably not as bad as this season will end up being) flu seasons in 2014-2015 and 2012-2013 were also caused by H3 viruses. Not only that, but flu season began earlier than usual this year, enabling it to reach more people and spread (especially over the holidays). Kristen Nordlund, press officer for the CDC, explained that this year, for one of the first times, “widespread activity is everywhere. Flu is really across the board in every state at the same time.” And, as of late January, the flu had still not reached its peak.

Each year’s flu shot is determined by the predicted flu strains of that year. According to the CDC, this year’s flu shot strains do match the actual virus. However, this does not mean that the flu shot is entirely effective. In fact, the CDC estimates it to be effective against 30% of the H3 viruses this year. To make the flu vaccine, manufacturers usually grow the virus strains in chicken eggs. This may cause genetic changes that make the flu strains in vaccinations slightly different than flu strains that are circulating and getting people sick, reducing their effectiveness.

People often believe that once they have the flu once they are safe for the rest of the season.

However, this is not the case. “You can get the flu twice in one season because you can get a different strain,” explained Nordlund. In fact, although H3N2 is the prevalent strain, H1N1 viruses are also circulating. The influenza A H3N2 strains may be the primary problem right now, but influenza B typically comes out later in the season and can infect someone yet again. It is still unclear just how bad this flu season will end up being, but it is clear that it will be far worse than usual.

Abigail Huebner ’18

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Works Cited Ducharme, Jamie. “Why Is the Flu So Bad This Year?” Time, Time, 17 Jan. 2018, time.com/ 5105929/why-is-the-flu-so-bad-2018/.

Rettner, Rachael. “Why Is Flu Season So Bad This Year?” LiveScience, Purch, 8 Jan. 2018, www.livescience.com/61365-flu-season-severe.html.

Ryan, Lisa. “Why Is This Flu Season So Deadly?” The Cut, 31 Jan. 2018, www.thecut.com/ 2018/01/flu-season-2018-deaths-peak.html.

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Hope For Alzheimer’s Alzheimer's is a chronic neurodegenerative disease with which five million people in the United States are currently living. The disease tends to start relatively slowly, beginning with short term memory loss. It then advances, making it extremely difficult for those affected to speak, control behavior, and perform other basic human tasks. Over time, bodily functions no longer work properly and the results are fatal.

According to a new study published in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease on January 30th, 2018, there may in fact be a way to help reduce the speed of the decline in decision-making and problemsolving skills that is often unfortunately apparent in these patients. Essentially, three patients with Alzheimer’s Disease had a deep brain stimulation (DBS) device implanted in the frontal lobe of their brains, specifically in the ventral striatum. The brain’s frontal lobe controls executive functions, such as planning, problem-solving, attention, and judgment. The so-called “brain pacemakers” that were implanted have thin electrical wires attached to a battery pack which sends electrical impulses into the brain. It remains unclear exactly how deep brain stimulation works to improve patients’ conditions; however, it appears to be that it either blocks signals that interfere with normal brain function or it helps brain cells work better in general.

After approximately two years, the patients with the deep brain stimulation implants demonstrated less of a decline in executive functions compared to a group of similar Alzheimer’s patients who did not receive implants. Although previous studies have used deep brain stimulation in Alzheimer’s patients to target parts of the brain known to be involved in memory, this is the first study to use deep brain stimulation to target symptoms associated with executive function. To evaluate executive function throughout the study, the three participants completed a test periodically to measure aspects of cognitive function that are typically affected by Alzheimer’s disease. Two of the participants who received the implants showed significantly less decline in their scores, as opposed to the patients who did not receive the implants. Furthermore, one participant even showed improvement in her activities of daily living. She wasn’t preparing her own meals when she started the study. After two years with the implant, she was able to cook a simple meal.

One limitation of this study is that the experimental group is fairly small. However, this study is nonetheless promising and provides significant hope to those with Alzheimer’s and their families.

Ultimately, the goal is that, in the future, researchers will be able to use non-surgical techniques to stimulate the frontal lobe of the brain in Alzheimer’s patients.

Kyla Mintz ’18

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Works Cited “Alzheimer's Disease.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Feb. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Alzheimer's_disease.

Rettner, Rachael. “Brain 'Pacemaker' for Alzheimer's Shows Promise In Slowing Decline.”

LiveScience, Purch, 30 Jan. 2018, www.livescience.com/61573-alzheimers-brain-pacemaker.html.

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More About the Flu...

The 2017-2018 flu season has been much worse than previous years, on par with the 2014-2015 season and only surpassed by the 2009 swine flu. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) anticipates numbers similar to 2014-2015, when around 56,000 Americans died from the flu, out of the 710,000 who were hospitalized from the 34 million who came down with the flu. By January 26th, 37 children had already died from the flu.

Because of the severity of this season’s flu, some pharmacists and doctors have run out of flu shots, and others have run out of medicine like Tamiflu. Despite this, the CDC is still recommending that patients get the flu shot now if they didn’t get it earlier in the season.

The strain of flu that is largely responsible for this year’s outbreak, H3N2, was first discovered in 1968, called “Hong Kong flu.” This is interesting because in 2009, the outbreak was caused by a new strain of flu, swine flu, whereas the strain this year has been around for 50 years. H3N2 has been dangerous since it has been around, causing previous outbreaks in the 1997-1998 season and the 2003-2004 season.

Usually, the group that is at highest risk for hospitalization due to flu is adults over 65, although 57% of them had the flu vaccine. These seniors have weaker immune systems and are therefore more susceptible. This is true this year as well. Additionally, the second most at-risk group tends to be infants. However, this year, ages 50-64 are at higher risk than infants. This age group was also less likely to get vaccinated: only 40% of them had the vaccine. This is important because it can affect the economy - people in this age range tend to be very successful professionally because they have reached the top of their field, acting in leadership capacities with many responsibilities. Therefore, when those in this age group get sick or die, it affects the economy more than when this happens to their retired counterparts.

One problem that might be causing this outbreak is that fewer people have been getting vaccinated in recent years. After 2009, when swine flu erupted, many more people got vaccinated.

However, since then, the flu has been relatively mild. Even when it was more dangerous, in 2014-2015, there was less coverage about the flu in the news because of how prevalent ebola was; ebola was being covered, and not the flu. Therefore, people may have begun to believe that the flu isn’t severe anymore, and stopped getting flu shots.

Because of how prevalent the flu is this season, it is extremely important to practice good hygiene to protect yourself. First and foremost, the flu vaccine is an important precaution. Additionally, the CDC recommends distancing yourself from sick people, staying away from others if you are sick, covering your mouth or nose when coughing and sneezing, washing your hands often, and keeping your hands away from your face.

Josephine Schizer ’20

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Works Cited “Influenza (Flu).” Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 31 July 2015, www.cdc.gov/flu/protect/habits.htm.

Mcneil, Donald G. “This Flu Season Is the Worst in Nearly a Decade.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 26 Jan. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/01/26/health/flu-rates-deaths.html? rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience.

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Jawbone Fossil Alters Evolution Timetable On January 25, research was published about a fossil found in Israel in 2002 that has important ramifications for scientists around the world. The jawbone fossil, found in a cave near Har HaKarmel, was dated back to 170,000-200,000 years ago by a team of scientists at Tel Aviv University.

This discovery is so groundbreaking because until the discovery of this fossil, scientists believed that Homo sapiens first left Africa around 90,000-120,000 years ago. This fossil entirely alters scientists’ ideas about the timeline of human evolution. Hershkovitz, who works at Tel Aviv University’s Museum of Natural History, said after studying this fossil that “the entire narrative of Homo sapiens must be pushed back by at least 100,000-200,000 years.” Before this, scientists believed that modern humans evolved in Africa around 160,000-200,000 years ago and left Africa 90,000-120,000 years ago. However, this fossil shifts the entire timetable earlier, changing many of scientists’ ideas about evolution.

Shifting the timeline of human evolution also changes scientists preconceptions about Homo sapiens’ interactions with other species. Based on this fossil, human beings evolved earlier, and therefore evolved at the same time that other species, like Neanderthals, existed. Homo sapiens evolved in a “mishmash” with many other species.

Although this fossil was found in 2002, it took many years for scientists to finish dating it.

Cleaning the fossil took a year, and various techniques, including radiation dating, were employed to verify that the dating was accurate. However, even once the dating process was completed, scientists had to prove that the fossil belonged to a Homo sapien before publishing the findings in Science Magazine. This was accomplished with a 3D scan, which was then compared to Homo sapien bone structure using micro CT analysis. This discovery fundamentally alters conceptions about the time in which human evolution occured.

Josephine Schizer ’20

Works Cited Borschel-Dan, Amanda, et al. “Jawbone Fossil Found in Israeli Cave Resets Clock for Modern Human Evolution.” The Times of Israel, www.timesofisrael.com/jawbone-fossil-found-in-israeli-caveresets-clock-for-modern-human-evolution/? utm_source=The%2BTimes%2Bof%2BIsrael%2BDaily%2BEdition&utm_campaign=bfcfb699e7EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2018_01_25&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_adb46cec92bfcfb699e7-55519205.

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Billions of Pieces of Plastic Threaten Coral Reefs In her article “Billions of Plastic Pieces Litter Coral in Asia and Australia,” Veronique Greenwood describes the negative effects of plastic-pollution on coral. Greenwood explains how researcher Joleah Lamb, a professor of Marine Biology and Ecology at Cornell University, and her collaborators have assembled a database of plastic pollution on 159 coral reefs in Australia, Indonesia, Myanmar, and Thailand. Evidence procured from this database shows that coral reefs across the AsiaPacific region are contaminated with more than 11 billion pieces of plastic greater than 5 centimeters.

That means if each piece of plastic contaminating the Asia-Pacific region’s reefs were lined up next to one another, the resulting distance would be far greater than earth’s distance to the moon.

To make matters worse, according to another article by Veronique Greenwood entitled “Coral May Have a Taste for Dangerous Plastic,” corals shrouded in plastic are 20 times more likely to be diseased than corals that aren’t. Greenwood writes that 90% of all coral covered in plastic are diseased.

There are several reasons as to why plastic-pollution causes disease within coral populations. Firstly, plastic attracts bacteria easily, and many of those bacteria are implicated in coral diseases. In fact, of the six groups of coral diseases generally found on reefs, four were overwhelmingly represented in bacterially contaminated plastic. One group of bacteria commonly linked to diseased coral, the Vibrio bacterial group, are behind one set of coral illnesses and are extremely attracted to polypropylene, a plastic commonly used to make bottle caps and toothpaste tubes. Plastic-pollution also poses a healththreat to coral because plastic can block sunlight, making coral more susceptible to a darkness-loving disease called Black Band.

Unfortunately, plastic pollution is on the rise, with researchers projecting that the Asia-Pacific reefs will add close to 5 billion pieces in the next seven years. Yet researchers believe that it is still possible to control the disastrous effects of plastic-pollutions on coral reefs. Countries like Australia have notably less plastic on their reefs because they have created institutions specifically designed to prevent the overgrowth of plastic pollution. Conversely, countries with poor infrastructure, like Indonesia, have seen extremely high levels of plastic pollution on their reefs because they don’t have agencies designed to deal with the growing problem of plastic-pollution. Thus, if the dangerous effects of plastic pollution on populations of coral are to be prevented, countries must take initiative to lessen the amount of plastic contaminating our reefs, specifically, and the world, generally.

Harry Shams ‘19

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Works Cited Greenwood, Veronique. “Billions of Plastic Pieces Litter Coral in Asia and Australia.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 25 Jan. 2018, www.nytimes.com/2018/01/25/science/plastic-coralreefs.html? mtrref=r.search.yahoo.com&gwh=D17AD2DDAAC16C29E51F6314EF6072DC&gwt=pay.

Greenwood, Veronique. “Corals May Have a Taste for Dangerous Plastic.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 31 Oct. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/10/31/science/corals-plastic-taste.html? mtrref=r.search.yahoo.com&gwh=0FB281FB2BF33AB7CD1CEC92FB63527C&gwt=pay.

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Sinister Sweets: The Dangers of Lead Nothing seems as harmless as peeling off a wrapper and popping a lollipop into your mouth.

However, such everyday normal activities have been proven to be hiding an alarming health risk: lead, a metal with no biological function. Lead has many dangerous health effects, particularly in small children. Exposure to this toxic chemical can lead to reduced growth and brain advancement, headaches, limits in concentration and in playing simple games, and a lower IQ. Recognizing the harmful effects of lead on children, several laws were passed to lower environmental exposures to lead, such as banning the use of lead in gasoline and in domestic paints.

New York is facing the fact that many of their buildings from the 1960s and before were painted with lead-infused paint. Seventy percent of city housing was built in the 1950s or prior, making young children living in the city especially vulnerable to lead poisoning from ingestion of lead-infused paint chips peeling from walls. Such apartments from older housing are unhealthy to live in. Even a speck of paint dust, or a flake of paint, when ingested, can hurt a youngster. Children under 6 years of age have an increased desire for hand-to-mouth activity, a greater indiscriminate craving for eating substances, such as lead-based paint chips which have a sweet taste, and an increased sensitivity to the neurologically damaging effects of lead; thus, children are at high risk. Tenants have been informed of this health issue and are requested to scan their walls for lead.

Interestingly, the Satmar Hasidic communities in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, are the worst off in regard to lead poisoning. These neighborhoods are cramped, with brownstones built over a century ago, and with much renovation, which generates airborne lead particles. This particular city population has an abundance of children, with children five years and younger making up 25% of the community, compared to 6% in the general population. The United Jewish Organizations (UJO) and other community groups have raised consciousness for this peril by dispersing lead awareness pamphlets in Yiddish.

While lead contaminated paint is a major source of elevated lead levels in the blood of children, lead hides in common objects as well, such as soil, water, candy, toys, cosmetics, and medication tablets. Store owners sell products specifically marketed as lead free, but actually containing tremendous amounts of lead. One such product is Hashmi Surmi Liquid, a Pakistani eyeliner intended for use on children to boost health around the eye. The product claims to contain 0.00 percent lead. In reality, it contains 4.7% lead, or 4,700 times the level the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) considers safe in cosmetics. Another major source of lead contamination comes from the consumption of candy imported into the United States from Mexico. Manufacturers of the sweets have created two forms of their products. First, a superior version that is designed for transport to the United States and that coincides with FDA requirements. Then an inferior, less costly form that is intended for sale on the Mexican market. However, this inferior brand is sold through the “grey market.� Mexican delivery

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trucks bring these inferior candies across the border, to small scale businesses, specifically in California, New Mexico, Arizona, and Texas, that cater to regional Latinos. The Latinos enjoy eating these candies, which serve as a cultural reminder of back home.

Lead is also within the printing on the cellophane wrapper for the candy and in chili powder, a popular ingredient in Mexican confectionaries. This chili powder-based candy has higher lead levels than sugar-based candies. Apparently, the chili powder-based candies become threatening because lead in the wrapper seeps into the candy itself. Public Health organizations have taken action to address the public about the possibility of purchasing candy with lead and some Mexican candy producers were sued. The FDA is currently working with the Mexican government to identify sources of lead contamination. To stop the problem, the FDA is evaluating lowering the level of lead permitted in candy and in other ingredients.

While you may not be Latino, or foolish enough to buy strange imported cosmetics online, it should be noted that many of the Kosher candies imported from Mexico, as well as from China and India, have high levels of lead. Buyer Beware.

Samantha Sinensky ’21

Works Cited Mathes-Scharf, Arlene J, “K A S H R U T . C O M©.” Kashrut.com - Food News, 27 Oct. 2017, www.kashrut.com/News/?alert=W642.

Medlin, J. “Sweet Candy, Bitter Poison.” Environmental Health Perspectives, europepmc.org/ articles/PMC1247598.

Reuters. “Hasidic Brooklyn Neighborhood Has Lead Poisoning Rates Triple That of Flint, Michigan.” Haaretz.com, 14 Nov. 2017, www.haaretz.com/us-news/1.822782.

Schneyer, Joshua and Pell, M.B. “SPECIAL REPORT: Despite Progress, Lead Hazards Vex New York.” Reuters, Thomson Reuters, 14 Nov. 2017, www.reuters.com/investigates/special-report/usalead-newyork/.

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First in the U.S: Woman With Transplanted Uterus Gives Birth Organ transplants have saved countless lives since the first successful transplant, a skingraft by Carl Bunger in 1823, was performed. But new medical success has revealed that transplants are not limited to saving lives; they can now create them. Last November, at Baylor University Medical Center in Dallas, a woman with a transplanted uterus gave birth for the first time in U.S history. Like one in every 5,000 women, the mother was born without a uterus. However, many of the 50,000 women in the U.S. who will be candidates for their own uterus transplant had to have their uteruses removed due to illnesses.

The success of this surgery gives a new hope to these women. Dr. Testa, principal investigator of the research project and surgical chief of abdominal transplantation, explains, “I think many men will never understand this fully, to understand the desire of these women to be mothers. What moved all of us is to see the mother holding her baby, when she was told, ‘You will never have it.’” This new mother, as well as future women who will give birth due to uterus transplants, have the uterus removed right after giving birth.The medicines needed to stop organ rejection suppress the immune system so strongly that the transplant must be temporary.

These transplants are still in an “experimental” phase and will be very expensive, with many mothers probably unable to afford them. The surgery is very challenging and risky, both for the donors and the recipients. Because these mothers’ ovaries are not attached to their uteruses, they will need vitro fertilization rather than being able to conceive through natural means.The mothers will also need to give birth through high-risk cesarean sections. However, this surgery’s success is certainly a step in the right direction.

Hannah Slager ’19

Works Cited Grady, Denise. “Woman With Transplanted Uterus Gives Birth, the First in the U.S.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 2 Dec. 2017, www.nytimes.com/2017/12/02/health/uterustransplant-baby.html.

“Organ Transplantation.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 30 Jan. 2018, en.wikipedia.org/ wiki/Organ_transplantation#Timeline_of_transplants.

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We hope you enjoyed this issue of BREAKTHROUGH! EDITORS Abigail Huebner ’18 Kyla Mintz ’18 Daniella Feingold ’20 FACULTY ADVISOR Ms. Lenore Brachot

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