Top Science Stories

Mihailo Karadzic

Mr. Youell

Science 9A

Top Science Stories

Water on Mars

(The dark narrow 100 meter long streaks are result of water being present on Mars. The blue colors represent the mineral pyroxene.) NASA/University of Arizona

NASA recently confirmed that water is indeed present on Mars thanks to their MRO(Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter). Using a device called imaging spectrometer they found hydrated minerals near dark narrow slopes as seen in the picture above. These minerals support the scientists’ hypothesis that there’s water on Mars. The water flow tends to intermittently disappear and appear again. During the warm seasons the slopes are darker and hydrated, whereas in the cold seasons the color of the slope goes light. When the temperature on Mars are above -10C then these hydrated dark streaks can be found in different places on Mars, when the temperature drops these streaks disappear. “Our quest on Mars has been to ‘follow the water,’ in our search for life in the universe, and now we have convincing science that validates what we’ve long suspected,” (John Grunsfeld a NASA astronaut.) The salt that is present in the water on Mars lowers the freezing point of water.

(In this image the dark 100m long streaks are result of water. This image is produced by High Resolution Imaging Science Experiment.)

Evidence of water on Mars was discovered in year 2000, when first noticed gullies suggesting that water is present. The formation of these gullies has been disputed over the years. The origin of water is still unknown.  

The First Dinosaur that Lived On Water and Land

A cretaceous period dinosaur: the Spinosaurus exhibited at the National Geographic Museum in Washington, D.C ( National Geographic)

The fossilized remains of the Spinosaurus aegyptiacus were dug up in the Sahara in Morocco, Africa. Researchers have confirmed that this dinosaur was in fact the largest land carnivore ever to walk on Earth. The Spinosaurus is actually the only aquatic dinosaur that has ever been identified in other words no other marine dinosaur remains have been uncovered thus far.  

“Spinosaurus breaks the mold. It’s not just another T. rex-like predator, only bigger,” says Nizar Ibrahim, the University of Chicago paleontologist who led the dig. Nizar Ibrahim went on to say that the bones of the Spinosaurus most resemble that of the penguins that live in the Antarctic.

Spinosaurus lived in the Cretaceous period (150-65 mil years ago) estimates say that it was actually around 95 mil years ago. This species inhabited massive river systems in modern day Northern Africa. This dinosaur had a crocodilian snout, big feet that may have been webbed, a large fish-like tail, and muscular hind limbs. It was a strong swimmer.

Based on CT scans and digital models created with the help of computers the science team from the University of Chicago discovered that the dinosaur’s limbs are not hollow. This is an adaptation that gave the Spinosaurus better control during swimming and this adaptation can be seen in the hippopotamus and the penguin.

Skeletal reconstruction by Ibrahim, et al. 2014, Science/AAAS

This dinosaur was 15 meters long and on its back it had a 2-3 meter-tall sail on its back. It’s posture was ungainly. It had a front-heavy mass and short hind limbs.

The Spinosaurus was discovered before (in partial findings), however this specimen was destroyed during WWII. The new finding was published in September 2015 in Science.


Not all bodies act their age

People grow old at very different rates. The study out of Duke University examined health of almost one thousand 38-year olds. They found out that some look up to decade older, while others resemble years younger. Researchers decided that this so called “biological age” is based on body mass index, blood pressure and level of cholesterol. Question that has captivated scientists and public is “why some people can live to 120 with no disease, and others are already in bad shape at age 70” said molecular biologist Martin Hetzer from the Salk Institute. 

Latest studies believe that molecular damage in cells might be the essence of ageing. Researchers have been comparing and analysing teeth of young and old people and discovered that young people have long stretches of DNA packed in neat bundles, while bundles of old people are not as stable or neatly packed. These bundles are also known as heterochromatins. By analysing teeth of people at different age, researchers have found out that the most of the people are premature ageing, meaning Werner Syndrom is present. Werner Syndrome is caused by the lack of Werner protein. It causes cell mutations like ageing, cataracts and osteoporosis while disorganising ones heterochromatin. 

When the essential barrier of brain steam cell breaks down, it automatically triggers ageing of an individual. If the barrier of brain steam cell breaks down, it allows cellular junk to enter new cells which become numb and unable to produce. Another important barrier that must not be broken is blood-brain barrier. This barrier weekend over time and allows dangerous toxins in blood enter the brain, therefore people with weak blood-brain barrier have problems with memorising and learning.

Bibliography:

https://www.sciencenews.org/node/191201?mode=pick&context=166

http://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-confirms-evidence-that-liquid-water-flows-on-today-s-mars

http://www.space.com/17048-water-on-mars.html

http://discovermagazine.com/2015/jan-feb/9-first-dinosaur-to-menace-land-and-water

Top Science Stories of 2015

Luka Martinovic
1/18/2016
Science 9A
Parick Youell

In 2015 many events and discoveries were made. Some of these events were tragic like the terrorist attacks and the Nepal earthquakes. On the other hand some of these events or discoveries helped humans develop like the discovery of water on mars and the cure for Ebola. Most people don't notice these events or discoveries because they don't affect them, but these discoveries still do help so many other people around the world.

April 2015 Nepal Earthquake

On April 25th 2015 a devastating occasion occurred in South Asia Nepal. When a earthquake With a magnitude of 7.8 to 8.1 hit Nepal, 11:56 Nepal Standard Time. The earthquake didn't even end there, a massive aftershock occurred on May 12, 2015. 

Figure 1: After earthquake damage, in Nepal. 

This earthquake resulted in over 8000 deaths and over 21000 injuries. Earthquakes occur when to tectonic plates collide into each other. The Indian tectonic plate moves around 45 mm each year. And when it moved under the Eurasian plate it created the Himalayas to form. Tectonic plates move around all the time. They move very little but when they collide against each other they can cause earthquakes. Some of the time a tsunami occurs after the earthquake when the plates bash against each other. All of Asia has a great history of earthquakes because the tectonic plates there tend to move a lot more than in other places. Places like Serbia tend to have weaker earthquakes than in Asia because the tectonic plates are not as active there. In figure 1 we can see the devastating damage this earthquake caused when it hit Nepal. This earthquake was so strong that it was able to destroy buildings all across Nepal, such as the one in Figure 1.

Water on Mars

Figure 2: Water flows on Mars 

Recently people have discovered that there are hydrated salt minerals on Mars, meaning that there are water flows on Mars. The water flows on mars are clearly shown in figure 2. Scientists have come to this conclusion when they were using a spectrometer on Mars. Scientists have discovered hidden streaks of water on Mars. This discovery has potential proof that there is further living organisms on Mars. Every living organism needs a source of fuel in order to survive, humans use food and water in order to survive. This could essentially mean that there are living organisms on mars that we humans know nothing about. This is because every organism needs water to survive. Nitrogen as well has been found on Mars. Nitrogen is uses to create molecules like protein or DNA. This was as well found on Mars. Mars could eventually serve humans as another planet in the future because it has the needed resources for survival. 

Ebola Cure

Figure 3: Ebola virus 

Ebola is a viral fever that affects thousands of people all around the world. Last year in 2014 Ebola affected more than 24 thousand people. This virus is very easily passed on to people and it was a big problem in countries such as America and Africa. Ebola is easily transmitted, it is mostly transmitted by coughing. When a person is diagnosed with Ebola and doesn't treat it in time they can die in the following three weeks. Some of the symptoms of Ebola are the following: muscular pain, headaches, sore throat after this phase people often start to vomit, have rashes and often have diarrhea. Ebola has a up to 85% of killing people that are infected. Scientists have come up with two different vaccines that can serve as future outbreaks. These vaccines target a protein made up by an Ebola virus. The first Ebola vaccine was used for people with close contact with Ebola. Thousands of people were given this vaccine after close contact with Ebola and none of them were affected by Ebola in any way. The second Ebola vaccine includes a virus that can not replicate itself. This vaccine was tested at the University of Maryland. A dose of this vaccine is enough to keep your body immune from the Ebola virus.

In conclusion all of the discoveries and events in 2015 were interesting because they all contributed to revolutionizing the world in the near future. I personally chose these three topics because I found them the most interesting. The cure for Ebola is a huge step towards the future and hopefully less people will suffer from Ebola. The water on Mars is as well as a huge step in revolutionizing the word. This could also be a huge step in finding a new living organism. The earthquake in Nepal is not a discovery but it still needs to be valued because thousands of people lost their lives then.     

Bibliography
https://www.sciencenews.org/node/191210?mode=pick&context=166
https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-confirms-evidence-that-liquid-water-flows-on-today-s-mars
http://www.geologyin.com/2015/04/what-caused-nepal-earthquake.html

Top 3 Articles of 2015

Tomislav Matusinovic

23. January 2016

Grade 9A Science

Top 3 Scientific News Stories of 2015


Articles discussed ;

1. Breakthrough gene editor

2. Scientists aim to fight malaria with genetically engineered mosquitoes
3. Cancer rates increasing

        2015 was full of news, and scientific discoveries. In this article, I will be discussing three articles that I found to be most important. The selection is entirely opinion based. I will be discussing the importance of the new gene editor (CRISPR), how scientists are fighting malaria using this tool, why cancer rates are increasing, and how we might see a cure for it soon.

The first article that I find significant is the improvement of DNA editing. A remarkable technological innovation has made the headlines in 2015. A scientific group has improved the technology of editing the DNA of organisms, making it much more efficient and reliable than before. The tool is called CRISPR. One particular group conducted an experiment where they edited the DNA of a pig, so that its organs are safe for transplantation to humans. As discovered earlier, organs from pigs are likely to cause infections when they come in contact with human organism, which then fails to fight against the virus. Pig organs such as the heart are very similar to human hearts, therefore the experiment was conducted on pigs. (1) The image below shows the similarity between the organs. In order to reduce these health risks, scientists had altered the DNA of pigs, creating organs that are safe for human transplantation. (T. H. Saey. Gene editing makes pigs safer for human transplants.Science News Vol. 188, November 14, 2015, p. 6.)

In 1996, a DNA experiment like such could take up to a year, but scientists came up with a way to conduct this experiment within days. 

1) Anatomy of a Human and a Pig Heart

The technology they used, CRISPR, works on a principle of an RNA

string where instead of creating individual proteins for each DNA cut, it creates an RNA. The RNA then guides an enzyme called Cas9 to the gene where the enzyme snips the DNA. By conducting this process they were able to make the process much more efficient. ( First described by Jennifer Doudna of the University of California, Berkeley, Emmanuelle Charpentier of the Max Planck Institute for Infection Biology in Berlin and colleagues) The technology of editing DNA could also be applied to other fields of science to help solve many health related problems, cure diseases and remove the possibility of birth defects in babies. These include mutations and illnesses seen within the DNA, such as autism, down syndrome, prostate and skin cancer and many more. (Saey, Tina Hesman. "Gene in Human Embryos Altered by Chinese Researchers." Science News. ScienceNews, 23 Apr. 2015. Web. 15 Jan. 2016 https://goo.gl/DSn2SV.) 
Chinese researchers conducted an experiment on nonviable human embryos, resulting with partial success. The article claims that

“The editing molecules also altered other genes that the scientists hadn’t intended to touch. Such “off-target” editing and other unintended difficulties mean that the technology is not yet ready for clinical use.”(https://goo.gl/DSn2SV.) However, the unreliability of this experiment is not the only cause of disagreement amongst people. Many people argue that the process of genetically modifying an embryo is unethical and will therefore significantly affect the future generations of the family.

The second article that caught my attention was the possibility of curing Malaria. Malaria being one of the deadliest disease carried by parasites in the world, takes lives of 627,000 people per year. 109 countries worldwide are facing this issue, 45 of which are in Africa. Despite the high number of deaths, the disease also has a significant impact on the economy. According to NetsForLifeAfrica.org the disease costs Africa alone $12 billion in lost productivity. Malaria spreads through mosquitoes. When infected mosquitoes breed, their offspring are often born with malaria.

Female mosquitoes lay around 300 eggs at a time. The female “house”  picks a small puddle or the surface of a pond to lay her eggs. The eggs form a raft, which enables them to float. The process

of hatching is very quick. Within a few hours, a tiny “larva” escapes through the bottom of each egg and swims off. This larva then becomes a pupa.  The pupa becomes an adult, sheds its skin and flies off. (Seymour, Peter S. "Mosquitoes." Mosquitoes. New York : Macmillan Pub, 1984. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.)

With an estimate of one child dying each minute from malaria, the disease has gained a lot of attention. With the CRISPR technology being available to scientists, they were able to modify DNA of mosquitoes, making them resistant to malaria. The researchers targeted Anopheles. A type of mosquitoes that spread this disease. The image below displays an Anophele Mosquitoe. 

2) Anophele Mosquitoe

Anthony James and his colleagues identified a set of genes in mice that make them immune to “Plasmodium falciparum” a parasite that causes malaria in humans. However at first, the mosquitoes could pass on their malaria resistant genes to their offspring only about 50% of the time. On the other hand, a research team in San Diego built a gene drive that was far more reliable. They used the CRISPR system to modify fruit flies with a specific trait. The experiment was very successful, as roughly 97% of the fruit flies passed on the trait, rather than the predicted 50%. Inspired by the success the scientists focused on research regarding mosquitos. Instead of killing off the entire species of Anopheles, which would create a large hole in the ecosystem, they set out to create an anti-malarial gene drive from mice, which they inserted into 680 mosquito larvae. The results showed that 251 mosquitos from the sample survived to adulthood and mated with wild mosquitoes. Those pairings then generated 25,712 offspring, only two of which contained the engineered gene. (Netburn, Deborah. "Scientists Aim to Fight Malaria with Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 25 Nov. 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.) The two samples were enough, as they bred with wild mosquitoes, producing around 6,000 offspring. This time around 99% of them had the anti-malarial genes. There is still a lot of work left, according to the scientists. “Among other things, they would have to be certain that the malaria-resistance genes spread reliably from each generation to the next. They’d also want to make sure that the people who would live among the mosquitoes were OK with them.”  

3) Life expectancy & The effect of age on cancer in the UK

The third article that caught my attention was the rapidly increasing cancer rates. With the new CRISPR gene editing technology, scientists are getting closer and closer to developing cures for other major illnesses, such as AIDS and cancer. Surprisingly however, according to the Cancer Research Institute of London, cancer rates are steadily increasing over time. Most patients diagnosed with cancer are over the age of 60. A pattern can be observed from the graph in the picture above where older people are getting cancer more frequently than younger people.

4) Life expectancy over time

We can observe that the global average life expectancy has increased by 20 years since 1960s. There is a link between old age and cancer rates. It is safe to say that as life expectancy increases, the cancer rates increase too. Scientists may be able to use the CRISPR technology to modify cells that fight against regular everyday diseases to fight cancer cells. As of 16th of February 2016, BBC published an article where this method was used. (http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35586834)  In this case, scientists modified the T-cells to start attacking incoming leukemia cells. Over 90% of the patients went into remission, however some patients died from an unusual immune system response. This process was only tested on leukemia, so it is unsure if it will work on other cancers too.

To conclude, the research regarding gene modification is significantly important for many fields of research. Diseases such as malaria, cancer and organ related diseases could be cured within the next decade or so. Even though gene modification is still a controversial topic, upon its improvement, it could benefit us greatly as a society.

Bibliography

Specific genetic disorders	http://www.genome.gov/10001204	Green, Eric D., PH.d. "Specific Genetic Disorders." Specific Genetic Disorders. National Human Genome Research Institute, 14 July 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Gene editing makes pigs safer for human transplants	https://www.sciencenews.org/article/gene-editing-makes-pigs-safer-human-transplants	Saey, Tina Hesman. "Gene Editing Makes Pigs Safer for Human Transplants." Science News. ScienceNews, 12 Oct. 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Genomic researcher, and the creator of CRIPS technology	http://www.technologyreview.com/lists/innovators-under-35/2013/pioneer/feng-zhang/	Rotman, David. "Feng Zhang | Innovators Under 35 | MIT Technology Review." MIT Technology Review. MIT Technology, 21 Aug. 2013. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Gene in human embryos altered by Chinese researchers	https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/gene-human-embryos-altered-chinese-researchers	Saey, Tina Hesman. "Gene in Human Embryos Altered by Chinese Researchers." Science News. ScienceNews, 23 Apr. 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Malaria statistics and solutions	http://www.netsforlifeafrica.org/malaria/disease-transmission	"Malaria Statistics." Malaria Statistics. NetsForLife, 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Facts about mosquitoes	https://cougar.collegiate-va.org/lower/first/mosquitoes.htm	Seymour, Peter S. "Mosquitoes." Mosquitoes. New York : Macmillan Pub, 1984. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Scientists aim to fight malaria with genetically engineered mosquitoes	http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-genetically-engineered-mosquitoes-malaria-20151121-story.html	Netburn, Deborah. "Scientists Aim to Fight Malaria with Genetically Engineered Mosquitoes." Los Angeles Times. Los Angeles Times, 25 Nov. 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Mosquito Facts	http://www.tinymosquito.com/mosquitofacts.html	"Tiny Mosquito." More Mosquito Info. Tiny Mosquito, 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Year in review: Breakthrough gene editor sparks ethics debate	https://www.sciencenews.org/node/191199?mode=pick&context=166	Saey, Tina Hesman. "Year in Review: Breakthrough Gene Editor Sparks Ethics Debate." Science News. ScienceNews, 15 Dec. 2015. Web. 18 Jan. 2016.
Cancer statistics New cancer Treatment article	http://scienceblog.cancerresearchuk.org/2015/02/04/why-are-cancer-rates-increasing/ http://www.bbc.com/news/health-35586834	Jones, Greg. "Why Are Cancer Rates Increasing?" Cancer Research UK Science Blog Why Are Cancer Rates Increasing Comments. Cancer Research, 4 Feb. 2015. Web. 02 Feb. 2016. Gallagher, James. "Excitement at New Cancer Treatment." BBC News. BBC News, 16 Feb. 2016. Web. 24 Feb. 2016.