Breakthrough - Ramaz US Science Publication - November 2020 by Ramaz School

Science illuminates the path

The Ramaz Science Publication

Fall Edition / November 2020

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

Table of Contents The Holographic Heart by Ariella Goloborodsky ’23 Pg. 3

Wildfire Control Technology by Eric Kalimi ‘22 Pg. 17

Crispr: A Groundbreaking Revolution by Avigail Dupont ‘21 Pg. 5

5G and the Future of Connectivity by Eric Kalimi ‘22 Pg. 20

Hepatitis C Virus by Clementine Roth ’22 Pg. 7

Firefly Imaging by Ron Alweiss ’22 Pg. 23

The Key to a Longer Life by Daniel Kalimi ‘23 Pg. 10

Arthropodal Vaccine by Samantha Sinensky ’21 Pg. 25

Hungry for Plastic by David Rivietz ‘21 Pg. 12

Exercise Enhances Memory Skills by Sydney Eisenstein ’22 Pg. 28

SpaceX vs. Blue Origin by Eric Kalimi ‘22 Pg. 15

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

The Holographic Heart Have you ever seen the episode of Grey’s Anatomy where the doctors use a holographic heart to guide them in surgery? This may have seemed like a farfetched, fictional idea, but that is no longer the case. In 2019, “Real-View”, an Israeli start-up released the HOLOSCOPE-i, a first of its kind, medical holographic system of a 3D heart designed to be able to replicate each patient’s individual heart. The goal of the HOLOSCOPE-i is to make interventional procedures that use 3-D imaging easier, faster, and more successful. The HOLOSCOPE-i gives surgeons a realistic, 3-D view of the patient’s heart so that they can better visualize and understand what is happening with the heart during the surgery. The surgeon can simply reach out to his hand mid-procedure and slice the holographic heart in half to see what is happening inside the patient’s heart. Surgeons are also able to rotate the heart 360°, tap and highlight certain spots in the heart, measure the distance between different parts of a heart, and zoom into the 3D holographic heart, during procedures. This ensures better visualization and understanding of what’s happening inside the patient’s body. The HOLOSCOPE-i floats above the patient during surgery, in reach for the surgeon whenever they will need it. The HOLOSCOPE-i was first used at Toronto General Hospital’s Peter Munk Cardiac Centre, where cardiologists and cardiac surgeons used it to perform a mitral-valve procedure. This procedure is a minimally invasive procedure that replaces a worn-out mitral valve with a new one. This surgery is usually performed on a patient who is too sick, or weak to undergo open surgery. The HOLOSCOPE-i allowed the doctors to clearly visualize the heart without cutting into the patient. Recently, RealView has been working on a new project, HOLOSCOPE-x which will be able to create holograms of the patient’s body, that will float on top of the patient during surgery. They say it will “make the patient literally transparent.” During non-invasive general surgeries, the doctors will actually be able to see a 3D version of the patient’s organs without even cutting the patient open. Israel’s RealView is now bringing fantasies to life!

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

Ariella Goloborodsky ’23

References “All News Releases Distributed by PR Newswire.” PR Newswire: News Distribution, Targeting and Monitoring, 2020, www.prnewswire.com/news-releases. Network, University Health. “President of the State of Israel Unveils Groundbreaking Holoscope Technology at Toronto's University Health Network.” Cision in Canada, 2 Apr. 2019, www.newswire.ca/news-releases/president-of-the-state-of-israel-unveils-groundbreaking-holoscopetechnology-at-toronto-s-university-health-network-877337964.html. “RealView Imaging - Medical Holography.” Realview, 6 May 2020, realviewimaging.com/.

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

Crispr: A Groundbreaking Revolution It seems COVID-19 isn’t the only thing to be making history this year. Wednesday, October 7, two women by the name of Jennifer A. Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier made history by winning the 2020 Novel Prize in chemistry for developing a groundbreaking tool - Crispr. This is the first time that two women jointly won a Nobel Prize for chemistry. Crispr is a tool that edits DNA, a sort of “genetic scissor” that can cut DNA at very precise locations. This tool opens the door to a whole new kind of scientific era - one where we’ll someday be able to find the cure to diseases and fend off pandemics, a topic that is very relevant to us now. Crispr is actually based on a fascinating defense mechanism used by bacteria (the good kind). Bacteria fight off diseases and viruses all the time, but how? In their DNA, they develop sequences called Crisprs that can remember the virus and then attack it. It can adapt itself to each new virus that attacks the body. Crispr has been used to treat cancers, blindness, and sickle cell anemia. One example of how revolutionary Crispr is, was in November 2018, when He Jiankui used it to remove a gene in human embryos that produced a receptor for HIV, which causes AIDS. Designing babies with the genetic features we want for them will forever change the human race, but is that something we want?

There are many tough moral questions that come with the invention of such a powerful tool. Should we be making decisions about a person's height? Their eye color? IQ level? Should we be

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

taking control of people’s genetic futures? Nevertheless, a tool like Crisper unlocks our ability to fix genetic disorders like sickle cell anemia, cystic fibrosis, and Huntington’s. Perhaps even edit species to make us less vulnerable to deadly viruses and prevent another pandemic. One of the messages Dr. Doudna urges us to think of as we enter this new scientific age where technology determines nature, is that while new technologies are widely beneficial to the betterment of human nature, they need to be used wisely.

Avigail Dupont‘21

References Ball, Philip. “CRISPR: Implications for Materials Science.” Cambridge Core, 17 Nov. 2016, www.cambridge.org/core/journals/mrs-bulletin/news/crispr-implications-for-materials-science. Greenfieldboyce, Nell, and Mark Katkov. “2 Scientists Awarded Nobel Prize In Chemistry For Genome Editing Research.” NPR, NPR, 7 Oct. 2020, www.npr.org/2020/10/07/921043046/2female-scientists-awarded-nobel-prize-in-chemistry-for-genome-editing-research. Isaacson, Walter. “This Year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry Honors a Revolution.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 7 Oct. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/10/07/opinion/nobel-prizechemistry-2020-doudna-charpentier.html.

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

Hepatitis C Virus The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine is awarded every year in the first week of October. While the world is currently focused on the Coronavirus, another virus steals the Nobel spotlight. This year, Drs. Harvey Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles Rice were awarded the Nobel Prize for their work on the Hepatitis C Virus. They were notified of this award on October 5th and would normally receive the award in person at a ceremony at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm, Sweden. Hepatitis is an inflammation of the liver. The most common causes of hepatitis are viruses. Hepatitis A, B, and C are the most common viruses. Each of these viruses attacks the liver: hepatitis A causes an acute short term infection while hepatitis B and C can have insidious lifelong repercussions. Hepatitis C is an RNA flavivirus that affects approximately 71 million people annually. Chronic hepatitis C can lead to hepatic carcinoma and cirrhosis, or scarring of the liver. On average, 400,000 people die of hepatitis C each year. Hepatitis C can be transmitted through blood contacts, which most commonly occurs via neonatal transmission, sexual intercourse, blood transfusions, and unsterile equipment. The impact of this disease results in significant burdens on families, society, and healthcare. Doctors Harvey Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles Rice were awarded the Nobel prize for their work in identifying the hepatitis C virus allowing other investigators to make significant strides in diagnosing and treating hepatitis C and associated diseases. It took future scientists over 20 years before major advances in treatment became available. Cheryl Liechty, MD, MPH; Attending Physician, Infectious Diseases, Penobscot Bay Medical Center, Rockport, Maine, explains that she refers “to the time before 2013 as the medieval period of hepatitis C treatment — before 2013, treatments for this infection were really hard to take, had a lot of side effects, and needed to be used often for 6 to 12 months, frequently with a cure rate of no more than 50%.” Dr. Harvey Alter, an American Jew, attended the University of Rochester where he studied to become a medical researcher, virologist, and physician. Noticing that many patients were diagnosed with Hepatitis after getting blood transfusions, he and his team were determined to find the reason. After some research, in 1988, they came to the conclusion that a "non-A, non-B hepatitis" virus was causing liver inflammation. Michael Houghton, a virologist from England is also credited with the discovery and naming of the hepatitis C virus. Houghton was able to isolate the genetic sequence of this virus which allowed for more detailed studies and future treatments. After the original discovery

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

of this virus, Charles Rice was able to solidify Dr. Harvey and Dr. Houghton’s discovery. Dr. Rice was able to prove that the hepatitis C virus was in fact the mysterious unknown agent infecting patients. Their research has led to prevention through safe sex practices, better diagnostics, blood screening, sterile techniques, and new drugs. Furthermore, Dr. Liechty explained, “With current HCV meds, we can prevent cirrhosis and liver cancer in the individual, and prevent transmission of HCV in a population. In other words, these drugs are a win for individual patients and for public health goals. We expect these medicines to dramatically reduce what we would have otherwise seen in terms of the incidence of liver cancer in the US over the next 20-30 years.” Ultimately, there is hope that in the future, a reliable vaccine will be produced and distributed worldwide to eradicate this disease. The Nobel Committee has recognized Drs. Harvey Alter, Michael Houghton, and Charles Rice’s groundbreaking discoveries which has allowed life-saving treatments.

Clementine Roth ’22

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

References “Hepatitis C.” World Health Organization, World Health Organization, 27 July 2020, www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/hepatitis-c.

“Hepatitis C Information - FAQs, Statistics, Data, and Guidelines.” Centers for Disease Control

and Prevention, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 28 July 2020, www.cdc.gov/hepatitis/hcv/ index.htm. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2020. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2020. Sat. 7 Nov 2020.<https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2020/press-release/> Wu, Katherine J., and Daniel Victor. “Nobel Prize in Medicine Awarded to Scientists Who Discovered Hepatitis C Virus.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 5 Oct. 2020, www.nytimes.com/2020/10/05/health/nobel-prize-medicine-hepatitis-c.html.

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

The Key to a Longer Life If you had 3 wishes, what would you wish for? Of all the things in the world one could wish for, many people would wish for a longer life. Scientists from the University of Michigan are researching the molecular reasoning behind aging, hoping to discover the key to a longer life. They observed that a common pattern with animals that live long lives is cellular stress resistance, and a paper in the journal Science Advances claims to have found several molecules that seem to lessen the cellular stress in mice which could lengthen life. Cellular stress is when the cell is exposed to environmental stressors, including extremes of temperature, exposure to toxins, and mechanical damage. Cells react to stress by trying to adapt to the stress or by killing itself, which, either way, eliminates all damaged cells. Whether cells choose a defensive or destructive stress response is greatly dependent on the stress and the cell type. Furthermore, there is generally the interplay between these responses that determines the end result of the stressed cell. The technique by which a cell dies depends on a variety of external components and the cell’s ability to sustain the stress to which it is threatened. For humans, aging comes with many sicknesses such as diabetes and cardiovascular diseases, and if cellular stress is truly a cause to these illnesses, finding things that can help protect cells should play a major role in helping lengthen people’s lives. The goal of these studies is to find compounds that help protect the cell from whatever stress it endures. A study funded by the US National Science Foundation did an experiment where they exposed mouse skin cells to three types of environmental stress: a toxic herbicide called paraquat, the heavy metal cadmium, and methyl methanesulfonate, which damages DNA. They tested four thousand five hundred molecules, and hundreds of them helped protect at least one of them. There were eight compounds that they chose to inspect and see how it worked on a molecular level. Two compounds, AEG 3482 and cardamonin, appeared to trigger the Nrf2/SKN-1 pathway, which prior research has proven helps cells resist stress. Overall, there is a lot of potential for this to play a big part of our everyday lives in the near future. There is a lot of evidence pointing towards the legitimacy of this approach to lengthen human lives, but still raises the religious, ethical concern of whether it’s morally right to elongate one’s life. Daniel Kalimi ’23

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

References Fulda, Simone, et al. “Cellular Stress Responses: Cell Survival and Cell Death.” International Journal of Cell Biology, Hindawi, 21 Feb. 2010, www.hindawi.com/journals/ijcb/ 2010/214074/. Lombard, David B., et al. “High-Throughput Small Molecule Screening Reveals Nrf2Dependent and -Independent Pathways of Cellular Stress Resistance.” Science Advances, American Association for the Advancement of Science, 1 Oct. 2020, advances.sciencemag.org/content/6/40/ eaaz7628. Malcom, Kelly. “High Throughput Screening Identifies Molecules That Reduce Cellular Stress.” University of Michigan, 2 Oct. 2020, labblog.uofmhealth.org/lab-report/high-throughputscreening-identifies-molecules-reduce-cellular-stress.

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

Hungry for Plastic Polyethylene Terephthalate (referred to as PET) is one of the most widely used plastics in today’s fashion and wholesale markets. Its susceptibility to natural degradation renders it as one of the most major environmental burdens. With over 70 million tons of it being produced in 2020 alone, the need for a long term sustainable system of recycling PET is extremely necessary. They prove a serious growing risk to fauna and flora, particularly in marine environments. In 2016, Kohei Oda, Keio University’s Kenji Miyamoto, and coworkers, discovered a microbe that broke down PET at a much faster rate. They named the Bacteria, Ideonella sakaiensis (dubbed PETase). They discovered that the enzyme can break down a colony of PET in six weeks. I. sakaiensis utilizes PET’s carbon as a major energy source for growth. PET is only one of many polyesters used for production. PET is special in that it is a semi aromatic polyester. Aliphatic polyesters, such as polylactic acid (PLA), polybutylene succinate (PBS), or polyhydroxyalkanoates are renewable and marketed as biodegradable, given their relative low crystallinity. This means it is easier to break down and reuse but also a lot weaker. Conversely, aromatic and semi aromatic polyesters often exhibit enhanced thermal and material properties. These polymers have substantially higher market volume but are typically not as biodegradable as their aliphatic counterparts.

French company Carbios, this past April, discovered a new PETase Enzyme that breaks down PET at a much faster rate. Originally, it can breakdown 90% of PET at 70 Celsius. These new innovations in PET will hopefully create a sustainable system for plastic degradation and benefit the environment. Prof John McGeehan, the director of the Centre for Enzyme Innovation at the University

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

of Portsmouth labeled Carbios as the leading company in engineering enzymes to break down PET at a large scale. He also said that the new discovery was a major advance. “It makes the possibility of true industrial-scale biological recycling of PET a possibility. This is a very large advance in terms of speed, efficiency and heat tolerance,” McGeehan continued, “It represents a significant step forward for true circular recycling of PET and has the potential to reduce our reliance on oil, cut carbon emissions and energy use, and incentivise the collection and recycling of waste plastic.”

David Rivietz ’21

References Austin, Harry P., et al. “Characterization and Engineering of a Plastic-Degrading Aromatic Polyesterase.” PNAS, National Academy of Sciences, 8 May 2018, www.pnas.org/content/115/19/ E4350. Carrington, Damian. “Scientists Accidentally Create Mutant Enzyme That Eats Plastic Bottles.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 16 Apr. 2018, iwww.theguardian.com/ environment/2018/apr/16/scientists-accidentally-create-mutant-enzyme-that-eats-plastic-bottles. Carrington, Damian. “Scientists Create Mutant Enzyme That Recycles Plastic Bottles in Hours.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 8 Apr. 2020, www.theguardian.com/environment/ 2020/apr/08/scientists-create-mutant-enzyme-that-recycles-plastic-bottles-in-hours. Halford, Bethany. “World's First PET-Munching Microbe Discovered.” Chemical & Engineering News, 19 Dec. 2016, pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/cen-09449-cover3. Hamers, Laurel. “This Plastic-Gobbling Enzyme Just Got an Upgrade.” Science News, www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/plastic-gobbling-enzyme-just-got-upgrade.

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

Palm, Gottfried J., et al. “Structure of the Plastic-Degrading Ideonella Sakaiensis MHETase Bound to a Substrate.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 12 Apr. 2019, www.nature.com/ articles/s41467-019-09326-3. “Polyethylene Terephthalate.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 8 Oct. 2020, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polyethylene_terephthalate.

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

SpaceX vs. Blue Origin Since the beginning of American human space travel in 1961, live extraterrestrial exploration was funded by the government. Last May, Elon Musk’s SpaceX put the first privately funded person in orbit. Although SpaceX is the most well known private space company, it is far from the only space company working hard to explore space. Another one of the most prominent private space companies is Blue Origin, a company created by Jeff Bezos, the creator of Amazon. The two organizations’ goals are distinct yet vital to the survival of the human race. Jeff Bezos founded his space company in the year 2000 and has since invested almost a billion dollars into it. Blue Origin is concerned about the depletion of Earth's resources and wants to use the resources of other planets. Blue Origin hopes to find efficient energy sources in outer space and bring them back to Earth. A device known as Blue Moon created by Blue Origin company has the ability to land on the moon and support NASA activities in outer space. Bezos also indicated that he hopes to send civilians to space by decreasing the cost of space travel and increasing the safety of human spaceflight. He believes that commercial space tourism will advance space travel and rocket launchers. The main goal of Bezos's company is to increase tourism in space and find new and useful resources on other planets that can benefit Earth instead of using our own. Founded two years after Blue Origin, SpaceX has a more colonist-based approach to Space Travel. The goal of Elon Musk's company is to colonize first Mars and eventually stretch across the galaxy to have human life on many other planets. Musk fears a catastrophic event will lead to planetary extinction on Earth. The solution is to spread humanity across many planets so that if one is destroyed, others will remain and continue the human race. SpaceX is developing Starship, which will be the world's most powerful launch vehicle. The ship will be able to reach Mars and beyond to the greater galaxy while carrying up to 100 metric tons of crew and cargo. SpaceX is committed to making humanity interplanetary and preventing any future extinction. Both Elon Musk's SpaceX and Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin are devoted to furthering space travel and exploration. Despite their seemingly similar ideas, the companies have very different goals. Blue Origin is centered around the fear that humanity is rapidly depleting Earth's resources and the most efficient way to prevent this is to explore resources farther from home. Spacecrafts like Blue Moon will be used to find resources from outer space and bring them back to Earth for human use. SpaceX's

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

goal is to find a way to inhabit other planets. Musk is incredibly concerned with the possibility of a catastrophic event destroying planet Earth and the human race with it. His company is developing crafts like Starship that are capable of taking large crews to other planets which will soon be livable. Space exploration is an essential part of the advancement of human society, and private companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin will pave the future of humanity on Earth and beyond.

Eric Kalimi ‘22

References Mosher, Dave. “Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos Have Profound Visions for Humanity's Future in Space. Here's How the Billionaires' Goals Compare.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 9 June 2019, www.businessinsider.com/elon-musk-jeff-bezos-space-mars-colonies-spacex-blue-origin-2019-6. “New Shepard NS-13Mission Replay.” Blue Origin, 22 Sept. 2020, www.blueorigin.com/. “Starship.” SpaceX, www.spacex.com/vehicles/starship/.

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

Wildfire Control Technology This year, Australia, The Amazon Rainforest, and California have experienced severe wildfires destroying millions of acres of land while claiming countless lives. Firefighters and organizations like the Red Cross, The Australian Capital Territory Emergency Services Agency, and Rainforest Alliance are working hard to combat, predict, and prevent these devastating fires. New technologies are constantly being created that could provide necessary aid in the prevention and control of this crisis.Â Regularly used technology, like fire prevention airplanes, are being updated and improved to allow better accuracy, and more water to be brought to fire sights. The San-Diego Fire Rescue department received one of the most efficient fire prevention helicopters in 2018, the S-70 Black Hawk. This advanced helicopter can carry up to 11 firefighters and 1,000 gallons of water, whereas the standard ones could only carry 8 fighters and 360 gallons. This aircraft also has highly improved accuracy, allowing more water to land on fires and keep them small and contained. The helicopter has a digital cockpit with a precision hover and a digital moving map, which can pinpoint precise destinations. With more accurately specified locations, and significantly more man and water power, these improved fire prevention helicopters help stop wildfires from the air. Firefighters use a manned plane, called Global SuperTanker, and a manned helicopter, to help track the fire and spread fire retardant. Unfortunately, because of the smoky conditions, accidents during aerial missions make up 24% of firefighter deaths. Instead of sending manned vehicles into a dangerous situation, innovators are looking to send UAVs, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, with more sophisticated sensors than previously available. Infrared and thermal cameras can see through smoke to track the fires better than the human eye. Technologically advanced UAVs will eliminate the risk for many firefighters while also increasing the tracking accuracy. Although technology has developed tremendously in the past century, firefighting methods have not. FUEGO, Fire Urgency Estimator in Geosynchronous Orbit, hopes to implement relatively new technologies that have previously not been used in firefighting. The system will use satellite information to detect fires up to 15 times quicker than the current method, which is a witness reporting it. Identifying wildfires sooner will help reduce their damage to the forests. Unfortunately, it would

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

cost about 300 million dollars to fund building such a satellite, and it has subsequently not been built yet. Another technology new to firefighting is artificial intelligence, AI. The University of California San Diego recently created WIFIRE to predict the path and severity of wildfire. The AI uses information from hundreds of weather stations and satellite images to make its predictions. The system is a significantly cheaper option than FUEGO and is already in testing in California and across the rest of the country. Forest fires have been raging across the globe, destroying acres of land from the eastern hemisphere to the western. Generous amounts of money and time have been placed in fire prevention technology to halt the deadly fires. There are two main approaches to the technological advancements in fire technology, incorporating outside technology into fire prevention and improving pre-existing prevention tools. Outside technology like UAVâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s, satellite spotting, and artificial intelligence can stop wildfires. To prevent firefighter deaths in helicopters and aircrafts, UAVs would provide a viable air force to stop fires without the loss of human life. Satellite spotting of fires and AI would create a more efficient fire warning system that would allow prevention teams to arrive faster, and stop the fire sooner and before it spread. The current method is based entirely on a witness reporting a fire after they have seen it, which can be slow and lead to fires spreading before firefighters can arrive. Using satellite technology and artificial intelligence, fighters would immediately know where and when a fire begins and could rush to prevent it before it does large amounts of damage. The other method used in fire prevention technology is to improve currently used models in their accuracy, safety, and holding capacity. The creation of new firefighting helicopters like Black Hawk would allow for more effective and accurate fire fighting. This new aircraft could hold significantly more water and crew and has an advanced destination pinpointing system that will allow fighters to use more water in more precise areas. Wildfires plague countries across the world, but with both the introduction of new technology and the improvement of old ones, fire prevention will be boosted worldwide.

Eric Kalimi â&#x20AC;&#x2122;22

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

References Armetta, Amoreen. “New Technology in the Works to Fight Wildfires.” Dornob RSS, 2020, dornob.com/new-technology-in-the-works-to-fight-wildfires/. Fearon, Robin. “Wildfire Technology: Tackling the Spread of Wilderness Fires with Digital Tech.” Discovery, 2020, www.discovery.com/technology/wildlife-technology. Montgomery, Mike. “California Wildfire Season Is Coming. These New Technologies Could Help.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 23 Apr. 2019, www.forbes.com/sites/mikemontgomery/2019/04/12/ technology-can-help-prevent-future-california-wildfires/?sh=657d7de37adc.

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

5G and the Future of Connectivity The first generation of mobile networks was introduced in 1979 in Tokyo and is now called 1G. Despite the incredible innovation of 1G, it had huge difficulties including poor coverage and sound quality, no roaming support, and the lack of encryption. A little over ten years later, the release of 2G spurred a cultural revolution. It boasted end-to-end encryption, relatively clear voice calls, and text messaging abilities. Although slow compared to today’s standards, the ability to send texts and pictures changed mobile networking forever. The turn of a new millennium brought about 3G networks, which added data access from all over the world, roaming, and face-to-face video chatting like Skype. 4G and LTE networks introduced the world to high-quality video streaming which led to an entirely new generation of mobile devices. 4G remains the current standard around the world today, but a new generation of increasingly high-speed mobile networks is here. The innovation of 5G is centered on one goal, faster mobile speed. 5G brings speed up to about 10 gigabytes per second, which is about 600 times faster than 4G networks. A highly expected application of 5G will be in autonomous vehicles. Self-driving cars will respond to their surroundings 10-100 times faster than on current mobile networks, making them much safer on the road. The application of 5G to the industrial workplace will speed up progress with automatons by making them more responsive to their surroundings. The network will allow industrial automation to be wireless and dramatically reduce its latency. 5G will also improve VR abilities in sports and industry. Lastly, 5G is not only applicable to mobile phones but will also increase the speed and efficiency of smartwatches and other wearables. The applications of this high speed are infinite and expand into many fields of work. The biggest disadvantage of 5G networks is that because 5G has much shorter wavelengths to carry data faster, their range is extremely decreased. 4G LTE networks have a range of about 10 miles, whereas 5G is about 1,000 feet, less than 2% of the range of 4G. Carriers must build 5G cell towers on almost every street. Furthermore, the signal is blocked significantly easier than 4G networks; even trees can block their signal. Not only will the building of all these towers be expensive, but there has been strong pushback from neighborhoods who do not want the cell towers on every street crowding their space. 5G will require companies to build millions of cell towers to accommodate for the short-range, costing up to hundreds of billions of dollars.

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

Mobile network companies are focussed on 5G and how to improve it for more practical use, but companies have already started working on the next iteration of networks. The next stage is 6G, which is predicted to be released around 2030. Companies building the tech predict that 6G will be as fast as 8TB or 8,000 gigabytes per second. 6G will be another significant upgrade from the previous generation. All the applications of 6G are still far from today and could change what humanity now considers science fiction to science fact. All the new technological advancements beg the additional question, what will the future of super-connectivity look like? Wireless connectivity will be integrated into businesses and industries, which will increase the use of seamless automated robots in the mass production of goods. The margin of error will be decreased to almost nothing, while production and efficiency will increase astronomically. One can reasonably imagine a world with such an advanced connection system that could easily foster self-driving cars to not only drive safely but communicate with one another to eliminate traffic. Another probable result of such powerful networking is multi-device augmented reality; this would enable several devices to interact simultaneously in a digital world transposed onto reality. The future of connectivity promises a whole unknown world of possibilities to the technology and other important industries.

Eric Kalimi ’22

References Boxall, Andy. “What Is 6G, How Fast Will It Be, and When Is It Coming?” Digital Trends, Digital Trends, 3 Feb. 2020, www.digitaltrends.com/mobile/what-is-6g/. Finley, Klint. “The WIRED Guide to 5G.” Wired, Conde Nast, 10 Sept. 2020, www.wired.com/story/wired-guide-5g/. “From 1G to 5G: A Brief History of the Evolution of Mobile Standards.” From 1G to 5G: A Brief History of the Evolution of Mobile Standards | My Brainbridge, 2020, www.brainbridge.be/news/ from-1g-to-5g-a-brief-history-of-the-evolution-of-mobile-standards.

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

Remmert , Harald. “5G Applications and Use Cases.” Digi International, 25 Nov. 2019, www.digi.com/blog/post/5g-applications-and-use-cases. Switchd. “Future of Connectivity in an Intelligent World: Epsilon Blog.” Epsilon, 7 Oct. 2019, www.epsilontel.com/blogposts/the-future-of-connectivity-in-an-intelligent-world/. Yan, Michelle. “Why You Shouldn't Get Too Excited about 5G Yet.” Business Insider, Business Insider, 16 Oct. 2020, www.businessinsider.com/5g-high-speed-internet-cellular-network-issuesswitch-2019-4.

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

Firefly Imaging There is now a remarkably unique and innovative way to observe the natural mechanical processes performed by cells at a molecular level. This method is called Firefly Imaging. Scientists Joshua Brokman and Hanquan Su, as well as other scientists from Emory University, helped develop and pursue the idea. These scientists took synthetic DNA strands and transformed them into molecular tension probes used for molecular imaging. These probes all contain pockets that hold luminescent DNA. They then attached these probes to the receptors of cells. When a cell's receptor exerts force, the pockets of the probes release the luminescent DNA tendrils, which will position themselves onto other DNA tendrils, binding themselves together. Once this occurs, it's possible to see the illuminating DNA through a microscope. “Normally, an optical microscope cannot produce images that resolve objects smaller than the length of a light wave, which is about 500 nanometers. We found a way to leverage recent advances in optical imaging along with our molecular DNA sensors to capture forces at 25 nanometers. That resolution is akin to being on the moon and seeing the ripples caused by raindrops hitting the surface of a lake on the Earth,” states Emory Professor Khalid Salatia.

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

Scientists captured hours of footage of microscopy. The picture above is the compilation of the movement of the luminescent DNA strands, which is a result of the mechanical systems each cell endures. The blurred side on the left depicts the cellular activity at 250 nanometers. The more defined right side is the same picture, now taking advantage of this modern technology, allowing a photograph of a cell at 25 nanometers. This method has already been explored in Professor Salatia's research on platelets and blood clotting. Salatia plans to discover a more effective way to predict blood clotting disorders while utilizing this method of cell microscopy. “It’s like opening a new door onto a largely unexplored realm — the forces inside of us,” Su says. With this newly found technology, scientists intend to obtain a more thorough understanding of the mechanics of cells without intervening with any of their processes.

Ron Alweiss ’22

References Clark, Carol. “'Firefly' Imaging Method Zooms in on 'the Forces within Us'.” Emory News Center, news.emory.edu/features/2020/09/esc-firefly-imaging/index.html. Emory Health Sciences. "Chemists make cellular forces visible at the molecular scale." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 22 September 2020.<www.sciencedaily.com/releases/ 2020/09/200922112234.htm>. “'Firefly' Imaging Technique Sheds Light on Molecular Forces.” Photonics Media, 24 Sept. 2020, www.photonics.com/Articles/Related_Firefly_Imaging_Technique_Sheds_Light/ar66194.

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

Arthropodal Vaccine The solution to safe and effective vaccines, heart valves and intravenous drugs: the blue blood of the horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus). More closely related to spiders and scorpions than crabs, the horseshoe crab is an arthropod commonly found in the waters across the Atlantic coast of the United States and the Gulf of Mexico. This crab, considered to be a “living fossil,” has survived for more than 450 million years. It plays an important role in aquatic ecosystems and is vital to the biomedical industry. Blood from the horseshoe crab is used in testing protocols developed by the biomedical industry to evaluate the safety to humans of drugs and medical devices. Pharmaceutical companies utilize horseshoe crabs harvested from the ocean floor and brought to a research laboratory to be "milked." In the laboratory, an incision is made from a vein near the heart and about one third of their blood is removed. Blood of the horseshoe crab is blue in color, as it contains copper, and is used for identifying bacterial contamination of vaccines and drugs. Horseshoe crab blood contains amebocytes, a cell type similar in function to our white blood cells in defending against bacterial pathogens. Amebocytes are used to make Limulus amebocyte lysate (LAL), a substance that can detect endotoxins, a type of toxic contaminant from pathogenic bacteria. When LALs contact endotoxins, a clot forms, thus indicating that a vaccine or drug is not safe for people. The clot is an instant, visible reaction that reveals if a vaccine or pharmaceutical can be put on the open market for human usage. After milking, the crabs are then returned to the sea. The constant collection of these crabs by the pharmaceutical industry is proving to leave a detrimental effect on the environment. While the crabs are returned to their habitat after the milking, many die from the stress of handling and milking. There is a 30% mortality rate following many crab harvests. These deaths might not be due to the blood extractions, but to the trauma and stress the crabs endure during the harvesting process. During the capture, handling and transportation of the crabs, they are often stacked on top of eachother and stored in plastic bins for extended periods of time. Often, crabs are crushed under the weight of other crabs, resulting in cracked shells. These poor conditions and overharvesting led to restrictions set regarding a maximum number of crabs that can be collected. Other commercial uses of the horseshoe crab include as fertilizer and as livestock feed in the 1920s. Female egg-bearing crabs are also considered bait for eels and whelk, a type of sea snail. There

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

are few natural predators of the horseshoe crab. However, natural depletion of horseshoe crabs includes consumption by the red knot bird. This migratory bird relies heavily on the consumption of horse crab eggs as they are high in fatty acids, thereby allowing the birds to stock up on calories prior to migration. Industrial usages of horseshoe crabs have put the horseshoe crab in danger of being depleted. At Mashnee Dike near Cape Cod, the horseshoe population decreased from 3,000 to 148 crabs in a 15 year time period. There needs to be a balance between the environmental efforts and the crabsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; use in the biomedical industry. Despite their diminishing populations, the horseshoe crab continues to be harvested because it is an effective indicator of endotoxins in vaccines. This is especially important now, as the world races towards creating a vaccine for coronavirus; horseshoe crab blood is vital for this process. Scientists are trying to find more sustainable alternatives to this blue blood assay. A new synthetic alternative called recombinant Factor C (rFC) is being explored in the drug manufacturing process, and it has been approved for use in Europe. However, the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) has yet to fully approve this ingredient, as there is concern for lack of testing with this substance.

Samantha Sinensky â&#x20AC;&#x2122;21 BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

References Cockburn, Harry. “Conservationists Sound Alarm over Use of Horseshoe Crab Blood in Race to Find Coronavirus Vaccine.” The Independent, Independent Digital News andMedia, 8 July 2020, www.independent.co.uk/news/science/coronavirus-vaccine-horseshoe-crabs-blooda9607396.html. Grimm, David. Jun. 25, 2020, et al. “Is It Time to Replace One of the Cornerstones of Animal Research?” Science, 10 July2020, www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/06/it-time-replace-onecornerstones-animal-research. Krisfalusi-Gannon, Jordan, et al. “The Role of Horseshoe Crabs in the Biomedical Industry and Recent Trends Impacting Species Sustainability.” Frontiers, Frontiers, 8 May 2018, www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2018.00185/full. Rudkin, D.M., Young, G.A.. et al. “The Draft Genome of Horseshoe Crab Tachypleus Tridentatus Reveals Its Evolutionary Scenario and Well-Developed Innate Immunity.” BMC Genomics, BioMed Central, 1 Jan. 1970, bmcgenomics.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12864-020-6488-1.

Villasanta, Arthur. “Coronavirus Vaccine Mass Production Faces Hurdle As Horseshoe Crab Supply Declines.” International Business Times, 24 Oct. 2020, www.ibtimes.com/coronavirus-vaccinemass-production-faces-hurdle-horseshoe-crab-supply-declines-3004922. Wechsler, Photograph by Doug, and Photograph by Timothy Fadek. “Horseshoe Crab Blood Is Key to Making a COVID-19 Vaccine-but the Ecosystem May Suffer.” NationalGeographic, 6 July 2020, www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/2020/07/covid-vaccine-needs-horseshoe-crab-blood/.

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

Exercise Enhances Memory Skills Not only is physical activity beneficial to the body, it is beneficial to the brain. Exercise preserves memory and thinking skills. A recent study performed by neuroscientists from the University of Geneva indicates that memory is enhanced following exercise. Neuroscientists assessed memory performance after physical activity, and found that even exercise sessions as short as a 15 minute bicycle ride can improve memory skills. People feel physically and psychologically healthy following exercise; this sense of physical and psychological well-being is due to endocannabinoids. The body produces endocannabinoids (molecules which increase synaptic plasticity) during physical activity. Synaptic plasticity is the capability of synapses (junctions between two nerve cells) to strengthen or weaken over time, as a result of changes in their activity. The neuroscientists tested their study by asking 15 young and healthy men (who were not athletes) to take a memory test. The men were allowed to choose to take the memory test after 30 minutes of moderate cycling, 30 minutes of intense cycling, or after a period of rest. Blanca Marin Bosch, a researcher in the laboratory, said, “The exercise was as follows: a screen showed four points placed next to each other. Each time one of the dots briefly changed into a star, the participant had to press the corresponding button as quickly as possible. It followed a predefined and repeated sequence to precisely evaluate how movements were learned. This is very similar to what we do when; for example, we learn to type on a keyboard as quickly as possible. After an intensive sports session, the performance was much better.” In addition to administering memory tests, the scientists noticed changes in the activation of different parts of the brain with an MRI. The faster individuals performed on the memory tests, the more they activated their hippocampus (the brain area of memory) and their caudate nucleus (a brain structure involved in motor processes). Furthermore, the scientists performed blood tests to evaluate endocannabinoid levels. Their endocannabinoid levels followed the same pattern; the higher the level of endocannabinoids following intense exercise, the better the brain’s performance. Bosch said in regards to endocannabinoids that, “These molecules are involved in synaptic plasticity, i.e., how neurons are connected, and thus may act on long-term potentiation, the mechanism for optimal consolidation of memory.”

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

The neuroscientists are looking for ways that their research can be applied to different aspects of peoples’ lives. Many people obsess over the most efficient ways of both learning and remembering material. Kinga Igloi, one of the researchers at the University of Geneva, wonders, “By providing precise neuroscientific data, these studies make it possible to envisage new strategies for improving or preserving memory. Sports activity can be easy to implement, minimally invasive, and inexpensive intervention. Would it be useful, for example, to plan a moment of sport at the end of a school morning to consolidate school learning.” The neuroscientists are currently focusing on applying their work to memory disorders. They are studying populations at high risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. Exercise indirectly enhances mood and sleep, and reduces stress and anxiety. Deficiency in those areas frequently leads to cognitive impairment. Igloi says, “Some people as young as 25 years of age may experience subtle memory deficits characterized by overactivation of the hippocampus. We want to evaluate the extent to which sports practice could help compensate for these early deficits that are precursors to Alzheimer’s disease.”

Sydney Eisenstein ’22

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

References Heidi Godman, 2014, “Regular exercise changes the brain to improve memory, thinking skills”, Harvard Health Blog. 9 April Pranjal Mehar, 2020, “Study explores the benefits of sport in memory and motor learning”, Tech Explorist. 23 September

Université de Genève, 2020, "Sport and memory go hand in hand." ScienceDaily. 23 September

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020

Who would have thought that scientific methods would be questioned in our century? Thank you to all the contributors of BreakThrough for adhering to the scientific method of investigation and reporting. Science information is needed now more than ever.

EDITORS Samantha Sinensky’21 Sydney Eisenstein ‘22

FACULTY ADVISOR

Ms. Lenore Brachot

BREAKTHROUGH - 2020