Learning Biology

Devan Neal
October 23, 2008
Brain Signals Revive Monkeys’ Paralyzed Muscles
New York Associative Press
http://www.cnn.com/2008/TECH/science/10/15/bypassing.paralysis.ap/index.html

Before taking the time to read this article, I knew that there are ways scientists and doctors can artificially make paralyzed muscles move. With the incredible state-of-the-ark technology today, doctors can aid your body to make movements involuntarily. This research was done in thought of whether or not the monkeys could overcome wrist paralysis by learning to control the activity of just a single brain cell. Tests had proven that the monkeys could in fact overcome paralysis with an experimental device. With this success, scientists think that it may lead to new treatments for patients with stroke or spinal cord injuries. The device monitored the activity of a brain cell and used that as a signal to electrically stimulate wrist muscles. Researchers found the machine could even use brain cells that truly had nothing to do with movement in the wrist as cues as well. Scientists actually put a probe in the animals’ brains which monitored how often a single brain cell was firing electrical signals. After the wrists were paralyzed, the firing rate was converted into electrical stimulation that went to the wrist muscles. When the monkeys continued to fire the brain cells, they were able to move the previously paralyzed wrist. This showed scientists that their experiment was a success. Lee Miller, a researcher at Northwestern University who has done similar work, said any demonstration of a device using brain signals to make paralyzed limbs move is “an important new development.”
Through all of this research, Chet Moritz and his colleagues at the University of Washington in Seattle, Washington, have learned a new way to take an advanced device and virtually substitute it in place of a spinal cord. With this device, a paralyzed body can just send the send the electrical signals to this device and it will stimulate the muscle. Scientists can now conclude that it is possible to monitor the activity of a single brain cell and use it’s electircal signals to stimulate muscle groups. This helped monkeys overcome wrist paralysis, so I believe that it was a great experiment and research was very necessary. I think that this is a huge step and now doctors and scientists can work on new treatments for injuries to the spinal cord. This research was conducted to see whether or not it was actually possible to convert the brain cell firing rate into electrical stimulations. Along the way, they found that they could monitor brain cells that normally would have nothing to do with the movement of the wrist.
In conclusion, I believe that this was a fenominal step forward in both the scientific and medical fields. However, I would like to know if it is possible to use a single brain cell to stimulate multiple muscle groups and do things such as walk or a push-up. Also, if they were to monitor multiple brain cells and use them all to stimulate the muscles involved, would the movement in that limb be better? This research relates closely to my Biology course because we study the genetic make up of the human body. This research shows how many things inside our bodies can work together and allow us to do the things we do. Also, it gives me a better understanding on how things inside of me are working. For example: my brain telling my right arm to raise. The message gets sent through numerous places before it actually moves my arm.

By Henry Fountain

10/24/08

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/science/space/28obmoon.html?_r=1&ref=science&oref=slogin

Brenton Cunningham

10/27/08

A question that has never had a definite answer is whether or not there is ice on the moon. Many have speculated that there is, and that is could only be found in the most remote nooks and crannies on the surface of the moon. Scientists have theorized that there is a chance that ice could be found in some deep craters on the poles of the moon, such as the Shackleton crater, which is 13 miles wide and two and a half miles deep.

Recently, a Japanese spacecraft was sent to explore the possibility of ice on the moon. Its mission was to take pictures of the Shackleton crater. Seeing as the crater lies in complete shadow, the spacecraft had to rely on illumination from the sun for the picture. The photos revealed no obvious signs of ice, just soil. However, Junichi Haruyama of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency and colleagues believe that there are small amounts of ice mixed in with the soil. In my opinion, I think there is ice on the moon, but it is in small amounts and has not been uncovered yet. Scientists at the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency performed this research to answer the question of whether or not there is ice on the moon.

There are still many questions left unanswered. Does water ice actually exist in the form we know it on the moon? If it does, could it be used to provide oxygen to a spacecraft? Future research may be able to answer this question and possibly someday give people the ability to stay long periods of time surviving off of the oxygen from the ice.

The things known about suicide before the research was that the middle age has surfaced in the past decade. The question generally asked on the research is why middle aged adults killed themselves at an increased rate in the years covered by this new study. The reason to research it is so that you could possibly prevent it. If more people get help they could maybe be cured of depression or whatever reason they are killing themselves for . The data used to collect the research was that they charted changes in the methods used to kill themselves.

The research that was found was that over the past decade many middle aged people have killed themselves. From 1995 to 2005 the Science reate for whites aging 65 and older declined by 1.2. In 2005, 22 percent of all suicides were from a hanging or sufication, and another 18 percent was resulted from poisoning. The comclusions drawn from the research is that from 1891 to 2005 the percent of suicides raised very much. The information is very serious and the amount of suicides is still on the rise and will most likely continue to. In my poinion, I believe that it is important for the people and myself to know about it. If we know about if we know we could help and try to prevent it from happening so much. I also find it very interesting because it is so different for myself to hear that so many americans are committing suicide because it has never happened around me before. The person who researched this information is an epidemiologist, Susan Baker of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of public Health in Baltimore and her colleages.

Further questions from here about more research is how could we prevent people from kiling themselves? The question i have is how long is it going to last for the suicides to stop? Some of the connections i made with the coarse content is that many of the people in America kill themsevles by poison or from hanging and sufficating themselves.

http://www,sciencnews.org/view/generic/id/37919/titleselectivememory 

Scientists from the medical collaege of Georgia say it’s posable to erase memory you dont wahnt to have. New research shoews that carefull use of molecular tools can manipulate memories so you dont remeber them. (protein CaMKII is involed with the memory). They are resurching how meomorys are formed and stored, they are likley forme by/through brain chemicals’s interactions and connections changeing between nutrons, however the retreving and storing of memory remains a mistory.

This resurch was found by using mice, sounds, and shock waves, the mice were put in to a chamber then the sound would go off and they would be shocked. the mice wold asosheat the sound with the wave and would frezz, soon by reaction then they would be given a sertent cemicall and they wold forget about the sound and the shock.

Acording to the resurchers they say they are not convinced of this new way of erasing memory but it’s “are foot on a very tall mountain”, its a start of helping people forget what they cant live with!!!

Posted by Miriah Eisenhower

Before reading this artical i really new nothen about memory or how it even worked but this artical by Tina Hersman helped explane it a little better.

Common Scents

by Anne Underwood

http://www.newsweek.com/id/145867

Erika Bizousky

October 27, 2008

Before reading this article, I really didn’t know much about the science of smell. This article was about how different smells can affect people. Scientists like Avery Gilbert are researching this. Gilbert is considered the expert on smells and has even written a book about smells. He is very interested in science and how smells can affect peoples mood, so he has done many different studies. One of the studies was where men sniffed t-shirts worn by women who were ovulating, and also t-shirts from when the women weren’t ovulating, and the men said the t-shirts women wore when ovulating smelled better than the other t-shirts. Another study Gilbert performed was when people were in places that smelled good, like Cinnabon, they were more likely to pick up something for another person and be nicer in general. Gilbert knows that his studies are valid because he tested them many times and came back with similar results and he is an experienced and professional scientist.

These studies and the research done on the sense of smell proves that smell affects mood as well as mating. The people who were in Cinnabon were more likely to be nice to others because they were smelling sweet smells. The men were more attracted to the t-shirts of the ovulating women than the women who weren’t ovulating. We can conclude that smell certainly plays an important role in our lives according to this research. I think smell is definitely important because without our sense of smell we wouldn’t be able to smell if something was burning or if there was a fire in the house. Smell also plays a very important role in tasting foods. Your tongue can only taste certain flavors like sweet, sour, and salty. Most of what we taste is perceived by the aromas we smell. Avery Gilbert and his colleagues have proved this and other things about smell thanks to their research and experiments. I believe they conducted this research because they were interested in finding out exactly how the sense of smell affects people and why it is so important.

Some more questions I have about the sense of smell are ‘What are other ways smell affects your life?’ and also ‘What kind of smells make people feel angry or sad instead of happy?’. I think if I knew the answers to these questions I could have a much better understanding of the science of smell. This article can relate to my everyday life, because I know whenever I smell cookies baking or any sweet smell I feel happier.

            My scientific article review is on how pterosaurs took flight it challenges the question of how pterosaurs took flight.  Up until the turn of the century it was believed that pterosaurs (giant birdlike reptiles that lived in the mesozoic era) took flight off of two feet much like modern birds, my scientific article suggests otherwise. Dr. Michael Babib conducted this research because he wanted to prove to the sceintific community that he was right.He some studied fossils of pterosaurs to gain information for his experiment.He and a group of his colleagues believe they have the right idea. This is how they know their theory is correct.

           Dr. Micheal Babib, a biomechanicist  at the Johns-Hopkins school of medicine believes that these giant reptiles took off from all fours, almost leapfrogging into the air. This enabled them to reach speeds of 30-40 miles per hour before even leaving the ground.  

           The reptiles, says Babib used the combined strength of their arms and legs to thrust themselves into the air twice as fast as the predators that hunted them.

            Though his theory is still under intense scrutiny, he still believes that his theory is the right one.

           I found my article at www.sciencenews.com 

•  I believe that his research is very believable and verifyable.
• Some questions I still have are, “Why don’t they just take off from their hind legs?” and “How do they not fall on their faces if they are taking off on all fours.

My article is about if we can find out if the moons surface contains water ice.  We are trying to figure this out so that we can produce oxygen to breath with and hyrogen to fuel our spacecrafts.  Well since most of the moons surface is covered by the sun, water ice could only exist is certain areas.  If we find water ice on the moon we could maybe survive on the moon.

Erin Butler
By Bruce BowerWeb edition :

October 23, 2008

October 27, 2008
http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/37831/title/Midlife_suicides_are_on_the_rise

I knew very little about the great issue of mid-life suicide before reading this article. I had always known about the great increase of suicide amoung teens but i had no idea it was rising within the mid-life of an adult also. The research question is why suicides are increasing amoung mid-life adults. This issue needs to be resolved and there should be a lesser percentage of suicides amoung not just mid-life but all age groups of people. In my opinion, it is a good thing to be researching because of the fact that this is affecting the U.S, maybe not in a great way now, but if this problem keeps up, it will soon catch up to us. Data was collected through the amount of U.S death certificates in the country. As for it’s validity, a death certificate is a real thing that has been submitted to the country from a trusted, licensed, mortition.

There can be a lot of good information taken from the research presented in this article. Basically this article is made up of numbers of different races, etc. of suicide percentages within the mid-life range. Conclusions that can be drawn are that obviously the death rate through suicide is greatly increasing and that there are certain races more than others that the rate is increasing in. The data is presented in numerical form using percentages. My opinion on this topic is strong. I feel that the U.S. people need to be aware about this problem and something needs to be done to prevent this before it gets to be worse and it starts affecting the United States as a whole. Suicide is a serious matter already and it is becoming even more serious now that research has found that the rate of suicides is greatly increasing. People need to be aware of the situation and I feel people should know the warning signs so that some of the suicides can be prevented. As far as the people that conducted the research, Susan Baker of Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and her collegues, were concerned about the incresing rate of suicides. This research took place due to the curiousity of the amount of deaths in the U.S increasing. Researchers wondered why it was increasing and what the cause was.

As far as further questions, I am curious to see how people of the U.S. will try and stop the amount of suicides. What is going to happen if no action is taken and the amount of suicides increases? I wonder, if nothing is done, can this issue possibly one day wipe out a great percentage of our population? This problem can affect all of us in the next few years or even right now. Linking it to our lives is simple because we all live in America and this problem is real. In ten years, will this issue cause something serious to happen? That will be affecting my life. Hopefully, something can be done to fix the suicidal increase in America’s population.

Greg Swartz

The “Eco-Home”

Charlie Anderson

10/24/08

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=bringing-the-eco-home-trend

10/27/08

Lots of homes have been built that are envirnment friendly but no one has ever tried to build anything bigger that was also envirnment friendly. These houses that have been built are easily avalible to the average person. My question is can they make condos envirnment friendly? I want to find out if they can to save the ozone layer from even more green house effect and help prevent global warming. Research was collected by someone building it and seeing the success of the building. It is very valid because the person witnessed it himself.

The reaserch showed that condos can be made envirnment friendly for a little bit more cost of the normal price of one. The rooms in the condos are higher priced but they are well worth the pay. The condos dont give off green house gasses and use solar energy. A conclusion that can be drawn  that people could always make envirnment friendly building but never tried it. This information is presented in a news article. I think it is good that people are building safer buildings. It is important to save the envirnment and it was interesting to find out how the condo turned out. I think it is of value to myself as well as other because of global warming. The research was done by a news company it was done to provide the public with information.

Questions for efurther research arAre building companies going to start making these envirnment safe buildings regularly or are they staying with normal ones? How much safer is it than a regular building? I can make connections by the solar pannels they are the only thing I have ever seen before.

Name: Joel Riggleman

Title: Biofuels or Food?: Can Crops Feed Our Cars and the Hungry?

Author: Kenneth G. Cassman

Date of Article: 10/23/08

Link to Article:http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?id=biofuels-or-food

Date Submitted: 10/24/08

     Since the 1960’s the United States has enjoyed an always plentiful amount of food. The research question is whether or not crops can do more than feed humans and animals, and if there will even be enough crops to feed the growing population in the future. Another part of the question is whether climate change would effect the growth of crops or biofuel. It is a good thing to resaearch this topic because it is a subject that often comes up in everyday life and its good to have knowledge about it. Plus if you have great knowledge about these things, you can even help think of certain things to do that will help the environment maybe even come up with a solution to the problem. The data was collected by historical data and evaluation by computers.

     The research found that in order to know if climate change would effect the growth of crops and or biofuel they would have to use more money to keep researching with computer models. They said “Only then will we decide whether the world can tolerate more crops for biofuels.” It can be said that crops and biofuels production would most likely not be altered by a climate change. I believe that this information is interesting because in order to eat and therefore live we need crops and its good to know whether or not they will grow. Because if there was evidence that they wouldn’t grow as greatly, it would be easier to start thinking of ways to fix that problem. The evidence was once again collected by historical evidence and help from computers.

     A possible question is whether or not biofuel is even important enough to be worried about. A question that I still have is if there is any other evidence on whether the affects of climate change on crops and biofuel is evident.