Verde Exclusive Veritas Volume 2 Issue 2 by Verde Magazine

SCIENCE MAGAZINE FEBRUARY 2019

TURNING THE TIDE

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PALO ALTO ADULT SCHOOL — Spring quarter begins March 25th — Art / Birding / Cooking Health & Fitness / Music / Photography World Languages / Woodworking

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FEBRUARY 2019

Letter from the editors

n Palo Alto, we live at the edge of the San Francisco Bay, which opens into the world’s largest ocean. Covering more than 70 percent of the Earth’s surface, oceans are instrumental in regulating climate. As fossil fuels in our atmosphere warm our planet, our oceans absorb the brunt of this heat and carbon dioxide. After years of increasingly extreme weather, people are realizing the importance of climate change. A widely-cited poll conducted by Yale places the proportion of Americans who affirm that climate change is personally important to them at 73 percent, which is a 10 percent increase from 2015. It’s vital that we learn as much as we can about the ocean and its life so we can anticipate and curtail potential impacts of climate change. As this topic becomes more important to people, we want to bring you the facts on the situation, from the state of our local Baylands (pg. 9) to the students passionate about protecting these ecosystems (pg. 13). In addition, we hope you get the chance to check out these stories on our new website, palyveritas.com. Online, we provide links for more information, expanded content and even multimedia aspects like a video of fighting elephant seals (pg. 8). Set sail! – Kaitlyn and Nicole

Volume 2, Issue 2 / February 2019 Editors-in-Chief

Guest Writers

Nicole Adamson

Josephine Anderson

Kaitlyn Khoe

Evan Baldonado

Digital Editor

Abby Cummings Juliana Griswold

Calvin Yan

Aarti Malhotra

Staff Writers

Michaela Seah

Estelle Martin Allison Mou

Adviser

Antonia Zhou

Paul Kandell

Write for us! Email palyveritas@gmail.com to be a guest writer.

@palyveritas /palyveritas palyveritas.com

About our Cover From the striped shore crabs on the rocky bottom to harbor seals resting at the surface to seagulls roaming the skies, the ocean touches a variety of habitats to diverse creatures. Living on the edge of these ecosystems, our actions impact them in many ways. Bottom left photo by Alix Barry; bottom right, middle and top left photo by Abby Cummings; top right and back cover photo by Kaitlyn Khoe

Letters to the Editors The staff welcomes letters to the editors but reserves the right to edit all submissions for length, grammar, potential libel, invasion of privacy and obscenity. Send all letters to palyveritas@gmail.com or to 50 Embarcadero Road Palo Alto, CA 94301. All Veritas stories are posted online and available for commenting at verdemagazine.com/veritas

Advertising The staff publishes advertisements with signed contracts providing they are not deemed by the staff inappropriate for the magazine’s audience. For more information about advertising with Veritas, please contact our adviser at 650-329-3837 for more information.

Publication Policy Veritas, a science magazine published by the students in Palo Alto High School’s Magazine Journalism class, is a designated open forum for student expression and discussion of issues of concern to its readership. Veritas is distributed to its readers and the student body at no cost.

Printing & Distribution Veritas is projected to print three times a year in December, February and May by aPrintis in Pleasanton, California. All Veritas work is available at palyveritas.com

EDITOR’S CHOICE SNEAK PEAK: In this feature by staff writer Estelle Martin, take a deep dive into scuba research. Through the stories of senior Lou Guillonet and Paly alumna Alix Barry, explore conservation efforts in local waters and beyond. Above, the catamaran from which Barry conducted research in Belize. Photo by Alix Barry

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TABLE OF CONTENTS 5 6 6 7 7 8 9 12 13 18 21 22 23

Gallery Meet the crusty Science Building Expansion critters that call this unforgiving Summer Opportunities environment home Super Wolf Blood Moon New Courses Tidepools Baylands Año Nuevo A deep dive into scuba research Scuba Divers through current and former Paly students Parental Influence in STEM Carnival Prizes Writer’s Block Student expert Last Thoughts Evan Baldonado on the treatment of fish

STUDENT RESEARCHER Evolution in Yeast

OR THE PAST TWO YEARS, senior Grace Lam has been studying evolution through yeast. Because yeast has a short reproduction period, long-term evolution simulations can easily be conducted to track adaptive mutations. Lam studied these mutations looking at the trade-offs of different mutations in various environments.

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Text by ALLISON MOU Photo by NICOLE ADAMSON Lam uses DNA analysis to pinpoint the mutations. Although she has worked to optimize her DNA extraction process since sophomore year, Lam recently switched to RNA extraction. RNA provides more concrete gene expression data. The other aspect of Lam’s project is writing computer scripts to analyze the large amount of data she creates.

GALLERY

The beauty of science in images Email palyveritas@gmail.com to have your science photos featured.

Text by NICOLE ADAMSON

WATER BUGS like this one rely on surface tension to stay afloat. Water molecules are polar, meaning that their electrons are distributed unevenly. This creates a strong attraction between the positive and negative ends of different water molecules. Since the legs of the insects repel water, they are able to skim the surface of the pond. Photo by Kayla Brand in Big Basin State Park, California GREENHOUSES create tropical microclimates. The sun’s rays shine through the glass, heating the air inside. The glass walls insulate this environment, and irrigation systems maintain the humidity. For exotic tropical plants that evolved to life in a rainforest, this is an ideal habitat. Global climate change is caused by a similar phenomenon, though the glass walls are replaced by carbon dioxide and other aptly named “greenhouse gases.” Photo by Michaela Seah in Kew Gardens, England BLUFFS are an iconic feature of the Northern California coastline. Formed by years of erosion by wind and waves, rocky cliffs are gradually worn away. If the base of a cliff erodes below a house perched at the top, the results can be devastating. Photo by Sabrina Martin in Mendocino State Park, California

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THE SCIENCE DEPARTMENT SCOOP

IN THE WORKS

Budget uncertainties threaten science building expansion Text/Photo by JOSEPHINE ANDERSEN

UST AS THE LIBRARY RENOVATION is completed, plans are in place to begin construction on the improvements of Palo Alto High School’s science building. This new project is among the last to be funded by the Strong School Bond; however, funds may be insufficient. Current construction bids for the expansion are double the budget, leaving the future of the renovations uncertain. The expansion has long been set to include four new classrooms facing the Peery Family Center, as well as the enhancement of the teachers’ office in the center of the building. According to Assistant Principal Jerry Berkson, there is no official construction timeline set yet. “My hope would be that the classrooms would be done before school starts this following [school] year [fall 2019],” said Science Instructional Lead Erik Olah. Although the majority of the construction was set to take place Text by ALLISON MOU

SUMMER OPPORTUNITIES From Geology to Medicine, a wide variety of programs allow you to explore your field of choice. Check out palyveritas.com for links to each program’s website.

POINTING TO THE FUTURE Science Department Instructional Lead Erik Olah points to the location of four new classrooms. The latest floor plans show the expansion in the administration portion of the building. “Potentially we are going to expand [the teachers’] area of the building and add more teachers’ desks,” Olah said. over the summer, some disruptions are expected during the school year. “We are going to ask them to be as quiet as they can,” Olah said. “I think there are some sound barriers they can put up to help neutralize some of the sound, but we will be able to hear it.”

More Programs

Deadline

• Perception Science • DC Design • Stanford Earth Young Investigators • Genomics Research Internship Program • Girls Who Code • Careers in Science Intern Program

March 31 Rolling March 15 March 4 March 15 April 1

SEA Education Association Spend two weeks of your summer on a boat, sailing along the Cape Cod and learning about marine environmental science through SEA Semester’s summer programs. For those with seasickness, SEA also offers a three-week summer program in Woods Hole, MA. Applications Due: Rolling until program is full.

UC Davis Young Scholars Experience UC Davis and conduct biological and natural science research in a lab. Students conduct and present individual research projects. This program aims to model the experience of the first years of college. Open to rising juniors and seniors. Applications due: March 4

BlueStamp Engineering Have a big project you always wanted to build? BlueStamp Engineering offers a two or six week summer program. Create, document and improve upon your very own engineering project. Engineers and entrepreneurs provide inspirational guest speeches. Applications Due: Rolling until program is full.

Lockheed Martin Internship Work at Lockheed Martin through your junior year summer, senior year and the summer after high school. Gain prestigious work experience and experience in a field seldom accessible to high school students. Open only to PAUSD juniors. Applications due: March 4

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B L O R E

O F MO

Text by AARTI MALHOTRA and MICHAELA SEAH

Photo by DAVID HICKEY

Multi-celestial event lights up the sky

HE SUPER BLOOD WOLF Moon may sound like a heavy metal band, but, in reality, it is the name of the lunar eclipse that appeared on Jan. 20. If you were in the Americas, Western Europe or Africa, you could see the moon melt away into its notable red glow. So, what is the Super Blood Wolf Moon, and what does its name mean? The name of this spectacle is a combination of multiple celestial activities and ancient beliefs, which explains its length. According to Space.com, during the eclipse, the moon is at its closest point to the Earth, making it appear larger or “Super.” It also happens to be one of the multiple instances in a year when the moon rotates behind the Earth and is enveloped by the Earth’s shadow, known as a lunar eclipse. Once the moon is completely blocked by the Earth’s shadow,

the moon changes color from its familiar white brightness into a rusty red color. These full moons are known as “Blood Moons.” According to Benjamin Franklin’s Old Farmer’s Almanac, the Algonquin tribe that lived in the New England region called full moons in January “Wolf Moons” because wolves were known to howl in hunger during this time. Palo Alto High School senior David Hickey, who is also an astrophysics student, saw this amazing sight from the school’s parking lot. “Mr. [Josh] Bloom had already explained what it exactly was, so I already kinda knew what each part of it symbolized and what times to look for it. It [the class] made it easier to explain it [the event] to my parents, who were also there,” Hickey said. “It was a really cool experience.”

NEW SCIENCE CLASSES

Text by JULIANA GRISWOLD

NOTHER SCHOOL YEAR is just around the corner, so class registration is on many students’ minds. To keep track of the new additions and adjustments to Palo Alto High School’s science classes, here are the details on updated courses for the coming school year.

New Courses • Blended Marine Biology • Human Body Systems • Medical Interventions Removed Courses • Blended AP Biology • Differentiated Chemistry • Nanotechnology • Non-Blended Marine Biology Human Body Systems is a new elective for juniors and seniors. Compared to Anatomy and Physiology, a similar class, Human Body Systems aims to be more hands-on, according to Science Instructional Leader, Erik Olah. Medical Interventions is another new elective for upperclassmen and focuses on real life scenarios faced in the medical field. Both of these new courses will be a continuation of the Project Lead the Way Pathway, a program that has been integrated into freshman biology. The program introduces a project-based curriculum to science classes. Marine Biology is now only offered as a blended class. AP Biology will still be offered, but no longer as a blended course. Nanotechnology, a class which has in the past been funded by Foothill College, will no longer be offered next year. Olah cites Foothill’s inability to continue funding the class as the reason for the cancellation.

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Findings

A DEEP LOOK INTO THE SHALLOWS The science behind local tidal communities

S THE TIDE RETREATS and the coast returns from submergence, the abundance of marine life becomes apparent. Depressions in the rocky formations create seawater pools filled with more life than first meets the eye. Look harder and you’ll see that these petite ecosystems teem with creatures: starfish gripping the rocks, crabs shuffling along the sand, and anemones tucked away in small cracks and crevices. Tidal species face a multitude of environmental changes due to the ocean’s rhythmic rise and fall including long exposure to the sun and predators during low tide, harsh waves and currents during high tide, and constant fluctuations in both salinity and water temperature. During low tide, the water temperature rises and the salt content decreases. Because tidal organisms are vulnerable at low tide, they have developed adaptations key to their survival in these two extreme water levels. To name a few, the sculpin, a common tidal fish, disguises itself changing both its pigmentation to match its surroundings, and the decorator crab attaches small organisms onto its back to blend in, according to the Monterey Bay

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National Marine Sanctuary. Other species, however, resort to hiding under the rocks to put physical barriers between themselves and predators. Aside from predation, organisms also face long hours of dryness at low tide. To avoid dehydration during these periods, shellfish can lock their shells closed to capture water and the ochre sea star is able to withstand longer air exposure as compared to its counterparts, according to the World Association of Zoos and Aquariums. High tide presents a different set of challenges. Harsh waves and currents often pull underprotected animals out to sea, so many species have adaptations to ensure that they are anchored to a rock. Sea stars have hundreds of suctions on their feet to keep hold, barnacles produce a glue to bind themselves to rocks and shellfish live in large groups to reduce the force on each individual. Aside from natural environmental stresses, climate change poses a huge threat to tide pool organisms. Increased water and air temperatures will continue to expand the volume of water, thereby shrinking coastal habitats and causing localized extinctions. For now, these pools provide a window into a miniature world.

Text/Photo by ABBY CUMMINGS

EEKING OUT A LIVING Striped Shore Crabs eat everything from kelp to snails. Although they must wet their gills occasionally, they can stay out of the water up to 70 hours, according to Animal Diversity Web.

TIDE WATCH To enjoy the ecological diversity of tide pools, explore the following locations at low tide. • Point Pinos Pacific Grove, CA 1.5-2 hours • Bean Hollow State Beach San Mateo County, CA 1 hour • Fitzgerald Marine Reserve Moss Beach, CA 45 minutes-1 hour

Findings Photos/Art by KAITLYN KHOE Text by NICOLE ADAMSON and KAITLYN KHOE

IN THE WEEDS Springing into the Baylands ecology

HIGH TIDE As the moon orbits the Earth, it exerts a gravitational force on the water of our planet’s surface. When the water gets pulled by the moon, sea level can have a local temporary rise. Correspondingly, the sea level will slightly decrease when the moon changes position. This cyle of changing water levels is important for marsh habitats. Some plants, like pickleweed, are specially adapted to alternate between submerged roots and exposure. Other plants, like the cordgrass pictured above, are always submerged at the base.

ALKING THROUGH THE winter sprinkles at the Baylands, the high tide comes right up to the edge of the path. A few ripples from swimming mud hens and falling droplets are the only disturbances in the reflection of the grey sky on the surface of the water. It’s easy to forget that the dense Palo Alto housing is only a few blocks away. In the cold winter temperatures, the gum plants and pickleweed become a dried dark brown, but already, a few tender green leaves peek out near the base of the plant (fig. 1). Spring brings many changes to this

local coastal wetland, and after 20 years on the job, Supervising Ranger Lisa Myers is an expert in the seasonal variations at the preserve.

Fly by

The Baylands lie in a region known as the Pacific Flyway, according to Myers. This is a common migration route linking the northern and southern habitats for aquatic birds. In spring and fall, hundreds of thousand of birds fly through here to reach a warmer destination. Three species of ducks even spend the winter in the warmer Palo Alto climate.

These colorful birds (fig. 2) can only be spotted in Palo Alto during the winter, and curious birdwatchers can look for them in the lagoon behind the Ranger Station. Many of these migratory birds use the Baylands as a rest stop on what could be as much as a 9000 mile journey from Mexico to the Aleutian Islands of Alaska. One special visitor that flies through the Baylands on a biannual basis is the Allen’s hummingbird, which weighs less than a paperclip.

Spring

“We can always tell when spring is coming because we will start seeing the

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•CRITTER TALES• upervising Ranger Lisa Myers tends to all aspects of the Palo Alto Baylands — whether that be maintenance, like cutting up a tree that has fallen across the road or catching loose pets. After Easter, many people abandon pet rabbits or chicks in the Baylands nature preserve, assuming that the animals will survive in the wild, according to Myers. She then gives them to animal services to find a home. Thankfully, none of these released animals have made a permanent habitat of the Baylands ecosystem, though once, many pheasants lived there for a few years. Myers guesses that these pheasants, which are native to Asia, first arrived in the preserve after a farm shut down and released them. On one occasion, she put out a grass fire after some young Palo Altans launched model rockets. In the past, brush fires caused by fireworks were common, but according to Myers, the public has been more cautious. Although Myers may spend much of her time reviewing environmental action plans in the ranger station, supervising volunteers, or leading nature walks, she is always prepared to confront any situations that need tending to.

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American abbassets change from being Bay watch mostly white birds with black wings [to] Myers often conducts interpretive walks all of a sudden, they’ll start getting this with children in which she points out local cinnamony-[colored] head to them,” Myers effects to spread the awareness of global says. problems like sea level rise or pollution. All the Bayland birds change plumage, From February to December, rain or their feather color, during the spring to increases water levels, and when tides “attract a friend,” as are high, the marsh Myers puts it. threatens to flood “You have to think of this area paths. In the past, “Oddly, the bird world is the complete as just like a big bowl, and the Myers has used one reverse of the people Baylands is at the bottom of that row of sandbags to world,” Myers says. protect the area from bowl. We’re the drain, and all flooding, but with sea The males put on a show for the females the plants and mud act as a big level rise, she now with their colorful, needs three. sponge.” flashy plumage while Currently, there — LISA MYERS, Supervising Ranger are different zones of the females take on a larger size and darker plants based on their shade, so they can exposure to moisture retrieve food, hide and protect their young, due to tides: plants that are wet all the time, according to Myers. which includes cordgrass, plants that are A parasitic plant called dodder (fig. 3) wet much of the day, like pickleweed, and flourishes during the summer and fall as upland plants, like salt grass and gumplant it feeds on lush pickleweed. People often (fig. 6). As sea level rises, more of the dry mistake the clump of orange as a disease, plants will become submerged, reducing though it is a natural part of the ecosystem. key habitats. The salt marsh harvest mouse, Cliff swallows, barn swallows (fig. an endangered species, relies on these dry 4), Rufous hummingbirds and Allen’s bushes as cover to hide from hawks. hummingbirds (fig. 5) also appear during The Ridgway’s Rail is another endanthe spring and summertime near the nature gered species that sometimes hides in the center. Barn swallows, which have forked gumplant. These skinny, hen-like birds are tails, gather underneath the building while easily identified by their long beak and orflat-tailed cliff swallows cluster on the roof ange breast. MUD HENS The American Coot, or mud hen, spends most of its time foraging for food above and below the water. Although they are comfortable swimmers, these birds are clumsy in flight, according to the Cornell Lab of Ornithology. Since they are widespread across the US, they are often used as a proxy for ecosystem health.

Findings “We hear those guys every single morning. Just as the sun starts rising, you can hear cak-cak-cak-cak-cak — [they’re] talking to each other.” Myers says. Non-native foxes, an invasive species, are one of their main predators. Especially because of their patchy distribution, foxes can easily hunt the small population. To combat this problem, contractors built refuge islands covered in pickleweed and gumplant for small birds like the Ridgway Rail. The bushes they hid in are becoming submerged, these islands allow birds to hide during high tide from their predators flying past, like peregrine falcons or northern harriers, according to Myers.

Baylands pocketbook fig. 1 fig. 4

Pickleweed

Looking up

Even if the Baylands environment is threatened by global climate change, pollution has decreased since the local yacht harbor closed, according to Myers. It had been a major source of pollution because boats often dumped human waste. Additionally, the white paint on older boats usually contained lead which chipped off and contaminate the water. Water from the Palo Alto creeks — Adobe, Matadero, Barron and San Francisquito — carries an abundance of fine sediments to the Baylands. Storm drains feed directly into these creeks, which is why it is so important to avoid dumping garbage into them, even as other pollution reduces. “Think of this area as just like a big bowl, and the Baylands is at the bottom of that bowl,” Myers says. “We’re the drain, and all the plants and mud act as a big sponge.”

Barn swallow (top); Cliff swallow (bottom)

fig. 2

fig. 5 Cinnamon teal (left); Green-wing teal (right)

Rufous Hummingbird (left); Allen’s Hummingbird (right)

fig. 3

fig. 6

Dodder

*Illustrations are simplified artistic depictions.

Grindelia/Gumplant

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Findings Text/Photo by JACQUELYN LAI

FANTASTIC BEASTS Sometimes considered among the ugliest animals on the planet, the elephant seals are named after the male bull’s large proboscis, which resembles the trunk of an elephant. Male elephant seals fight and produce mating calls through their proboscises until one is too tired and surrenders. As a result of these fights, they bear scars across their chest that remain for their whole life even after their skin sheds.

ELEPHANTS OF THE SEA

The life of elephant seals at Año Nuevo State Park

NE AND A HALF HOURS from Palo Alto, Año Nuevo State Park is home to some of the strangest creatures. With their long and droopy noses, these beasts spend most of their lives at sea, swimming and fishing. These are the northern elephant seals. In the late winter (January to March), these odd brutes come on land to mate, give birth, molt and feed their babies. Año Nuevo State Park is one of two major locations for observing these magnificent mammals, which only come ashore on the West Coast of North America, according to the Marine Mammal Center. Their enormous size makes these seals a spectacle that the public enjoys year after year. Growing up to 20 feet long, mature male elephant seals can be 5000 pounds while the females are significantly smaller, growing up to 1500 pounds, according to Año Nuevo State Park docent Steve Wiley. Male elephant seals fight for dominance to determine which one is the biggest and strongest. Like a Bongo drum, the males produce low guttural vocalizations while charging at each other, and both seals may receive battle scars from biting each other.

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The alpha male wins access to at most 50 female elephant seals in a harem. These females only mate with alpha males, so only one in 10 males mate and produce pups. Males who do not become the alpha are called bachelors. If any bachelor comes up to the harem, the alpha male vocalizes warnings before giving chase and confronting the intruder. According to Wiley, in the 19th century, the seals were declared hunted to extinction. But in 1922, a group of American and Mexican scientists worked together on Guadalupe Island of the Baja Islands near Mexico where they found a few surviving seals. Since then, the population has rebounded and moved north to other islands of Mexico. The elephant seals continued north to Año Nuevo. In the 1970s, the first pup was born in Año Nuevo, and elephant seals have since spread up to San Francisco. However, climate change may cause the elephant seal population of California to decline as their habitat decreases, according to Maria C. Garcia-Aguilar, who has written multiple articles on the topic. Despite this issue, there are currently 230,000 elephant seals that come ashore in California.

UP CLOSE

Although the elephant seals are the main attraction at Año Nuevo, the docent shared a plethora of stories about the park and local wildlife. These stories shortened the walk through the dunes to the beach where the elephant seals live. I even took some of the beach with me as the sand filled my shoes. Once we arrived, there were elephant seals as far as the eye could see. Some were fighting, but most of them were sprawled out soaking in the rays. We also saw an elephant seal isolate from the group up close and it was enormous! For the mutual safety of the seals and visitors, we were required to stay 25-feet away. However, the loud mating calls made them seem very close. ~8 ft 5 ft Art by KAITLYN KHOE

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DIVING IN The Oceanic Adventures of two scuba divers

Text by ESTELLE MARTIN

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“I

EXPLORING MONTEREY BAY CAVES (TOP LEFT) Alix Barry, Paly alumna is scuba certified in cave diving, a skill she learned in Catlina, California. Photo by Alix Barry DISCOVERING TUNICATE COLONIES (BOTTOM LEFT) While diving in the British Virgin Islands, Barry discovered a colony of yellow tunicates, a previously unidentified species. Photo by Alix Barry INVASION OF THE LIONFISH (RIGHT) Alix Barry spent a summer in Belize culling Lionfish, an invasive species of fish that has thrived in the waters of Central and South America. Photo by Alix Barry SMILES IN BELIZE (FAR RIGHT) Alix Barry and a scuba partner take a selfie with their scuba gear on in Belize. Photo by Alix Barry DIVING IN! (COVER) Alix Barry poses for an underwater photo while diving in Belize, where she spent a summer working for the Belize Conservatory. Photo by Jessie Kaull and art by Estelle Martin

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MAGINE YOU ARE UNDER WATER, off of a secluded island in the middle of the Caribbean, and you are swimming with nurse sharks,” says Alix Barry, Palo Alto High School Class of 2018 and freshman at Princeton University. “You are 90 feet underwater, and for 40 minutes you can breathe.” Barry has always been drawn to the water; she swam competitively as a young girl, and joined her local crew team as a seventh grader. She took her love for the ocean a step further when she attended a week long session at Catalina Sea Camp the summer before high school. She loved the experience so much that she decided to return for two subsequent summers, earning a Rescue scuba diver license. Though Barry built an attachment to the CSC, she knew it was time to expand her fascination with the ocean while cultivating her scuba diving skills. The summer before her senior year, Barry found herself living on a 40-foot catamaran, floating on the waters of the British Virgin Islands for seven weeks. She conducted research for the British Virgin Island Conservatory and was overseen by a field scientist. Barry spent the first week training to be certified as a research scuba diver. This was necessary to conduct proper research, as she had to learn how to dive upside down for long periods of time, properly chart data and maintain a neutral buoyancy position while collecting data, among other skills. While on a routine fish evaluation, Barry noticed a colony of strange tunicates — marine invertebrate animals classified under the Chordate phylum. Her field scientist did not recognize the particular colony that Barry had found. Barry had discovered a new species of tunicate! “There are purple, green and white tunicates, but we found a colony of yellow tunicates that live in a certain bay in the British Virgin Islands,” Barry says, Barry researched this colony for the next six weeks. She counted the tunicates, tracked the abundance of their colonies and recorded the location of the colonies. Further, she was responsible for testing the pH levels surrounding the colonies, as well as determining the colonies’ proximity to algae. To conclude the seven weeks, the British Virgin Islands required that she submit a report to them that synthesized the data Barry collected throughout the summer. The Conservatory was impressed with Barry’s work and entered her report into a National Geographic competition. “We received the National Geographic Junior Legacy Award for discovering a new species of tunicate, so now they will be added to formal books,” Barry says. During Barry’s senior year, she was offered the opportunity to dive in Belize to tackle invasive species, a problem that has affected

Findings

their local water for decades. Barry spent her first summer out of turns 18. According to Guionnet, she was raised by the ocean. high school on Island 166, a tiny island in the Barracuda Patch of “We are a relatively nature-oriented family… on break, [we] Ambergris Caye, which is a body of land 40 miles off of mainland were in the ocean on an island,” Guionnet says. Belize. Before she could scuba dive, her parents would go out on a dive The Belize Conservatory provided a cost-neutral plan, meaning that and come back with pictures from their GoPros. She eagerly waited Barry would not be paid, however, all her expenses, including room for their return, excited to upload the photos and admire the beauty and board, would be covered. that she was not yet able to experience for herself. This changed “I love scuba diving because it is so surreal and an experience when Guionnet became eligible for her junior Open Water Certififew are able to have,” Barry says. “If there are people who are ba- cation at 12 years old. sically willing to give it to me for free, why would I ever say no?” Guionnet is now a Certified Rescue Diver, racking up over 60 According to Barry, an aquarium in Florida released lionfish dives throughout her scuba career — 10 more dives than required into the ocean in the late 1980s after they no longer wanted to keep to be eligible for Master Diver. In her efforts to preserve marine life, them. Despite initial beliefs that the lionfish would simply die off, Guionnet always makes sure to collect trash that she encounters the fish flourished, quickly invading the Caribwhile diving. bean and spreading down to the waters of South “You can do it without even an orgaAmerica. “I love scuba diving because it nization. In Bali, there is a really big issue “Juvenile fish [of other species] are eaten is so surreal and an experience with trash in the ocean, and [my family] [by lionfish] and, therefore, will never reach full was diving and just taking plastic on the few are able to have.” adult maturity, so populations of native fish are way, and stuffing it in our [gear].” Guionnet just plummeting, especially those [populations] — ALIX BARRY, Paly alumna says. that are fragile in the Caribbean,” Barry says. Like Barry, Guionnet has dived in a To combat this problem, the Belize Convariety of destinations, including Mexico, servatory sends scuba divers like Barry to cull, Tahiti, the Galapagos, and Hawaii. or spear, lionfish. This task requires three people: the first person spears the lionfish, the second holds the container for the dead lion- Diving into the future For both divers, their experiences in the ocean have greatly infish and the third records the size of the fish. fluenced their projected career path. The conservatory depends on volunteers like Barry, who em“I used to always think I would do something in Linguistics… bark on these culling expeditions, to report the data back to them. throughout middle school I was like ‘I am never doing sciences or As a result of these efforts, Belize has seen a decrease in their Lionmath… I like history and English,” Barry says. “But now I have found fish populations in the past three years. this other passion for the ocean and environmental studies.” “I had WiFi once a week when we did supply runs, which was a Barry currently studies Environmental Science at Princeton and three hour boat ride to a city called San Pedro, which was not even a hopes to obtain a specialized Marine Biology degree following gradcity … it just had a cafe and a smoothie store,” Barry says. “We would uation. all go there on Sundays because we had to send in our information (to the conservatory); we couldn’t do that on the island.” As a result of her many weeks dedicated to scuba diving, Barry reached her 150th dive the summer of 2018, an achievement she is very excited about. Along with her high number of dives, Barry has 12 specialized certifications, including a night-diving and a cave-diving certification. She also has a nitrox certification, meaning that she is able to dive using air that has a higher percentage of Nitrogen which allows for longer dive times and reduced risk of decompression sickness. Barry’s experience qualifies her for a Master Diver Certification, meaning she could instruct other divers.

The not-so-junior diver Paly senior and avid scuba diver Lou Guionnet is determined to become a Certified Master Scuba Diver as soon as she

Guionnet always knew she wanted to spend her life dedicated to the ocean and is especially fascinated with sharks. Guionnet has swum with many different species of sharks, including Hammerheads, Nurse sharks, and one of her favorites: black tip sharks. “When you are scuba diving, sharks can see that you are not food, so they are much more calm and can interact with a less aggressive manner. Black tips are very calming [to me] thus animals that are very approachable,” Guionnet says. Like Barry, she enrolled in the course offered at Paly, taught by Mr. Olah, and very much enjoyed the class. As a result of her affinity for marine life, Guionnet plans to major in Marine Biology in college.

Environmental efforts

Much of Barry’s and Guionnet’s focus is on ocean and marine life conservation. Like Barry, Guionnet hopes to control unwanted population booms in certain species. One location where this is occuring hits closer to home: Monterey Bay. In 2014, a deadly disease spread throughout the entire West Coast, decimating large numbers of sea stars, According to David Schmalz of Monterey County Weekly. As main predators of sea urchins, the disappearance of sea stars led to a sea urchin population boom in Monterey Bay. Urchins consume kelp and their population increase has resulted in a drastic decline in the kelp, a feature that has long characterized the waters of the bay. Guionnet hopes to join scuba divers by physically removing urchins from the ocean floor — an effort supported by marine biologists — before their species completely wipes out all the kelp from the bay, similar to Barry’s efforts to remove the invasive lionfish in Belize. Both divers understand the importance of being proactive when dealing with ocean conservation. To help protect marine environments, Barry believes that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association deserves a much greater government-allocated budget. “The ocean is two thirds of our planet [surface], and it deserves so much more attention than it is getting,” Barry says. “There is so much that comes from the ocean that we use without even realizing it.”

The ocean is calling

A FAMILY AFFAIR (TOP) Lou Guionnet, Paly Senior, poses for a picture with her mother before a dive. Her family members are avid scuba divers and they often go on diving trips together. Photo courtesy of Jerome Guionnet CULLING THE LIONFISH (BOTTOM) Barry’s dive partner culls a lionfish in Belize while free diving. A culling expedition often requires a team of three divers; these efforts have reduced lionfish populations in Belize waters. Photo by Alix Barry

FEBRUARY 2019

Barry and Guionnet both describe scuba diving as an opportunity to venture into another world — to focus on the present while orienting oneself. “When you are inside something so vast [the ocean], you realize how small you are compared to the world around you; it’s very humbling,” Barry says. “The experiences I have had over the summers … they remind me that there is so much more than what I see in my daily life when I am at home, school, or rowing.” Guionnet cites the ocean as the source of her creative imagination throughout her daily life, with its beautiful colors and animals. She loves the unique silence that comes along with diving, where all you can hear is your steady breathing. Barry encourages all people to respect the ocean, as she believes it can provide as much happiness to others as it has for her. “I don’t think anyone should be scared of the ocean; it is really approachable if you do it the right way,” Barry says. “In a way, it is always asking you to explore it because it is so vast and such a huge part of our planet. I think anyone would be crazy not to be curious about it.”

Thank you to our generous sponsor: The office of Jeffrey Sasaki, D.D.S. Photo by KAMALA VARADARAJAN

SUMMER C AMP 2019

CAMPAMENTO DE VERANO 2019

MIDDLE AND HIGH SCHOOL

SECUNDARIA Y PREPARATORIA

Join us at Foothill for a summer of science fun and hands-on learning.

Acompáñanos en Foothill para un verano de diversión con la ciencia y aprendizaje práctico.

• Chemistry of Cooking • ECOAdventures • Animation • Robotics, and more!

• La química de la cocina • Adventuras de ECO • Animación • Robótica, ¡y más!

June 17 - July 19

17 Junio -- 19 Julio

Registration now now o open! pen!

¡Las inscripciones están abiertas!

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foothill.edu/sli/stemcamp.html

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Scholarships available

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Findings

STANDING ON THEIR SHOULDERS

Are Paly students with STEM parents likely to follow in their footsteps?

1 Going against the grain The percentage of students who have __________ that do not agree or strongly agree that they intend to pursue STEM after graduating high school:

Average

Text/Illustrations by CALVIN YAN

E AT VERITAS MAGAZINE try not to discern between STEM people — or those who pursue science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) — and non-STEM people. Our audience is the student body: participated in extracurbeen encouraged by a STEM not students taking AP science classes, not students with scientist riculars related to a STEM parent to pursue their career parents, not even students who know what the four-letter acronym parent’s career or extracurriculars related to their career stands for, just students. But after juggling robotics, Science Olympiad and science journalism, among other fantastic feats of STEMasochism, I dare anyone to dispute that I am, in fact, a STEM person. My colleagues likely identify the same way, and each of us have our Dividing respondents based on which of their parents held down reasons for taking on this identity in the first place. I had two STEM jobs yielded statistically significant evidence that those significant, overworked, middle-aged ones of my own. with one STEM parent were more likely to rate themselves as interested My parents both work at home co-managing a software or strongly interested in STEM fields than those with none (p < 0.05)**, startup company, and while aspiring to be a software develand similarly for those with two STEM parents compared to those with oper was my choice, their constant squabbling about the latone (p < 0.05). est bad hire or broken feature actually endeared me to that choice. For the past three and a half years, I’ve surrounded myself with STEM enthusiasts whose parents influenced their path as well. Do these observations reflect the larger Palo Alto High School community? Does having a parent Parents in STEM? Strongly disagree Disagree Neutral Agree Strongly agree in one of those fields increases one’s chance of following suit? If so, by what process? To what degree? Neither In order to find answers, I surveyed a cross section of 185 Paly students* about their career-related One interactions with their parents, and each generation’s Both relationship with STEM pursuits. Whether you’re 0 20 40 60 80 100 nodding your head in solidarity or nodding off in boredom, I hope the resulting data tells your story Surveying was conducted via a random stratified cluster sample of 14 English classes. Participaas much as it tells mine. tion was encouraged but not mandatory, and respondents were properly debriefed on the purpose of

28.8

38.8

2 More parents, more influence

“I intend to study a STEM field after graduating high school.”

the survey and the confidentiality of their responses. For more information on our surveying methodology, margins of error and additional data, visit our website at palyveritas.com.

Statistical significance occurs when the probability that a certain outcome occurred due to chance is so low that we can safely draw conclusions from that outcome. Basically, it’s a promise that if two of our percentages, which are estimates based on a random cross-section of Paly, are different, it’s probably because the percentages we’re estimating are actually different. It’s not because they’re the same but appear to be different due to dumb luck. (p < 0.05) denotes that we want the probability of a fluke to be lower than five percent before calling the result significant.

FEBRUARY 2019

Findings

3 Most students have at least one STEM parent Around three-quarters of respondents said one of their parents currently works in, or has previously extensively worked in, a STEM field. For a majority of those respondents, this was only the case for their father, a drastically larger share than those with only their mother in STEM. No responses reported having two same-sex parents.

Average

75.1%

Mother only - 4.9%

Both parents - 32.4%

33.7 Father only - 37.8% often or always discussed a STEM parent’s career with them

“Does your parent hold a career in STEM?”

4 Parents are vocal about their careers, but not pushy Discussed their career with you - 76.9% Discussed their career in front of you - 75.5% Assisted you with homework or extracurriculars related to their career - 58.8% Demonstrated a desire for you to pursue extracurriculars related to their career - 46.3% Demonstrated a desire for you to pursue their career - 38.0%

We asked respondents to recall how often each of their parents had taken various actions or expressed various attitudes related to their career. Listed are the proportions of parents that sometimes, often, or always interacted with their children in these ways. Note that “parents” in the context of these numbers are not unique: Two siblings describing their father in separate responses constitutes two parents.

All parents

74.8% 73.8% 47.2% 28.3% 20.5%

Non-STEM

78.0% 76.5% 67.0% 59.3% 51.3%

STEM

Split responses into parents in STEM careers and parents not in STEM careers, and we see some interesting patterns materialize. STEM parents were significantly more likely to promote their line of work and provide academic assistance (p < 0.05), but discussed their careers at the same rate as their non-STEM counterparts. The sequence of interactions remains unchanged across all three charts.

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FEBRUARY 2019

Opinion Text/photo by EVAN BALDONADO

EYES

ON THE

PRIZE

Rethinking the use of fish as carnival give-aways

GOING WILD When people no longer want their pets, some will release their pets into the wild. Goldfish like this one are among the most common prize fish, and some have been dumped into Lake Tahoe, putting native fish populations at risk, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

N SIXTH GRADE, I WON A GOLDFISH at the Duveneck Elementary School Harvest Carnival. Sold for cents and then won on a whim, Caramel was the classic carnival creature in nearly all aspects but one — Caramel lived more than just a few weeks. Six years later, Caramel is still thriving in a 56-gallon fish tank in my bedroom. What made Caramel special? Why did Caramel live while so many of the other fish given away at that fair died so soon? There are a number of different factors that can set up new fishkeepers for failure, including chlorinated water, a lack of beneficial microorganisms in new fish tanks, and fish bowls. No matter the exact mechanism, the lack of preparation and prior research associated with prize animals is ultimately often the true underlying cause of the unfortunate deaths of innocent animals won as prizes. The Harvest Carnival is just one event of many that gives away fish as prizes. After years of step-by-step changes at my suggestion, Duveneck agreed to completely stop giving away fish at the 2018 Harvest Carnival. Legislation is the key to making a difference on a larger scale. Already, California law prohibits giving away chicks, rabbits and ducklings as prizes. Many other states also have similar laws. Similar legislation could be implemented on a federal level as well. We just have to keep our eyes on the prize. We already view giving away certain live animals as prizes with distaste. There would most certainly be an outcry were a fair to give away live dogs or cats as prizes. So why then are fish different? Check out more fish care info at aquariumkids.com

•FISH FAILURE FACTORS• Too clean? Virtually all water that we drink has been disinfected by chlorine — the same chemical responsible for sanitizing swimming pools. The low concentration of chlorine used for this process is not harmful to people; however, even these low levels can be deadly to fish. Too dirty? Like all animals, fish produce waste. This waste decays and produces ammonia or ammonium (depending on the pH of the water). Ammonia is extremely toxic to fish, and even levels as low as one part per million can be deadly to them. In established fish tanks, microorganisms including bacteria and archaea quickly convert this ammonia into nitrite and then nitrate. Nitrate is far less toxic to fish and is removed by changing the fish tank’s water. A new fishkeeper needs to run an empty fish tank for weeks to allow these microorganism populations to develop prior to introducing any animals. Too small? Goldfish — the type of fish most commonly given away as prizes — can grow to over a foot long and produce massive amounts of waste relative to most other pet fishes. Many people will simply assume that a fish bowl is an appropriate standard of care when it is anything but adequate. Typical, full-grown goldfish require at least 25 gallons of tank space as they can grow to a foot in length.

PALYVERITAS.COM

Opinion

BRAIN BLOCK

Text/Art by ANTONIA ZHOU

The distinct and uncomfortable inability to write

HE DOCUMENT in which I typed this article sat empty in my drive for two months. By Week 3 it was renamed to a less official sounding jumble of random letters. I would try to open my drive and other necessary document as fast as humanly possible to avoid the guilt of seeing an empty page. Come Week 7, it was stowed away in an old folder, so I didn’t have to see it every time I opened my computer. Writer’s block is the universal student experience. Maybe you’ve mapped out all your ideas in your head, but just can’t seem to put it into words, or maybe it’s the blank page and confusing prompt that’s stopping up your creativity. Of course, there could be a variety of outside factors influencing your flow of writing. If the assignment due is worth 60 percent of your final grade, putting the first word on the page will be that much more daunting. It boils down to the fact that writer’s block is not only about diction but the process of creation. In the nitty gritty neuroscience of it, the brain’s Broca’s area, associated with

FEBRUARY 2019

language semantics, would obviously be up and kicking during writing. But what about the actual process of creation? In a study conducted by the University of Bristol, participants were asked to create a story around a prompt. Brain scans of the writers showed the expected activity increase in Broca’s area, but also an increase in the right prefrontal cortex, a region responsible for skills like making associations. A similar study concluded that the typical writing process was activated by neural regions of verbal memory and connection, while brainstorming relied heavily on areas related to control and planning. Since writing requires intense brain activity, it’s no wonder we struggle with those essay intros and conclusions. So how can we overcome this obstacle? Believe it or not, making connections in writing actually requires stored information.

A step to prevent writer’s block, then, would be to expand your reading and experiences. That interesting fact you read the other day could be the introduction to your next English essay. The art class from last semester might help you write a history analysis. The more information stored away, the more information there is to fall back on. But no matter the science behind it, the ultimate solution to writer’s block is to buckle down and write. Like everyting else, engaging in the process of writing — brainstorming, drafting and editing — can only strengthen the necessary neural pathways. When we get caught up in technicalities and reasons, we bury obligation under layers of defensive justifications. The science of writer’s block is fascinating but only creates another pretty excuse. Rather than diving down a rabbit hole of neuroscience, maybe work on that assignment. Not to beat a dead horse, but at some point, it becomes quantity over quality. No matter how good the idea or how great your knowledge: zero times 100 is still zero.

LAST THOUGHTS Science comics ICE AGE

Text/Art by ANTONIA ZHOU

Thermohaline Circulation For something seldom mentioned, thermohaline circulation is massively important in climate regulation. Thermohaline circulation is a process that naturally occurs in the ocean due to fluxes in temperature and salinity, or salt level. 1. The cycle starts at the poles where ice freezes. 2. Ocean water is salty, but frozen ice is only fresh water. When the water freezes, it leaves behind its salt in the ocean. As a result, liquid water near the poles is saltier. This salty water is denser, so it sinks to the bottom. 3. The sinking of surface water forces the deep-ocean water to move horizontally. Later, it rises to the surface in a warmer region near the equator. Much like other natural processes, thermohaline circulation is affected by climate change. The melting of ice caps and glaciers is increasing freshwater which decreases ocean salinity, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administrtion. As a result, the sinking motion that drives the deep sea current is reduced. Because thermohaline circulation is important to the regulation of surface temperatures, climate change could force drastic temperature changes worldwide.

A PIXEL OF THE BIG PICTURE

Art by KAITLYN KHOE

OF THE 8 MILLION METRIC TONS OF PLASTICS THAT ENTER THE OCEANS IN A GIVEN YEAR...

THE STRAW BAN

STRAWS

~0.03 PERCENT

THIS MAKES FOR A SAD, SICK OCEAN

ALL THE OTHER UNRECYCLED PLASTICS POLLUTING THE OCEANS

PLEASE, IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT THE STRAWS!

EVERY OTHER PLASTIC

~99.97 PERCENT

— JAMBECK RESEARCH GROUP, UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA

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