Observations of an Asteroid Provide Hints of How the Earth Came Together

Nicole Giangola.  9/28/12

Core Earth Science, C Even, Ms. Davies

Change, Kenneth. “Observations of an Asteroid Provide Hints of How the Earth Came Together.” New York Times. 10 May 2012. Web. 30 Sept. 2012. http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/11/science/space/asteroid-vesta-proves-to-be-dwarf-planet.html>.

  This article from the New York Times explains to the reader the history of the dwarf planet Vesta.  It was created in the first few million years of the start of our solar system.  Vesta’s features are very planet like. “It contains an iron core that may have even briefly generated a magnetic field-- all very planetlike features.”  The knowledge of Vesta was found by NASA’s spacecraft, Dawn, that goes through space landing on many different planet like objects, and traveling through many parts of our solar system. Vesta and Ceres, another dwarf planet, are are just like Pluto, they aren’t considered planets because they don’t completely fit the regulations, but they are similar.  The fact that Vesta is not considered a planet makes it a lot more interesting.  Since it is located between Mars and Jupiter, in the astroid belt, it gives a lot of insight towards the planet building process.  “Dust coalesced into larger chunks like Vesta, which is 330 miles wide, and these then combined to form the rocky planets: Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars.”  If NASA keeps receiving information like this from Dawn, they can find information on how planets come together and why some of the objects in space aren’t considered planets.  After Dawn finished exploring Vesta it made its way towards Ceres where it gathered more information on how planets form.

This article is important because it gives readers a lot of information on how the Earth, and parts of the solar system, came to be.  If scientists can figure out how planets were created a lot of questions about life could be answered.  For example, why we have water on the planet and information about the layers of the Earth, and what lies beneath them.  I chose this article because I found that fact that a few small objects in space, can give a lot of information on how larger parts of our solar system were created.  

Overall I thought the article was very well written and interesting, but there were some things I wish the author could have done better.  I wish the first line was more interesting, rather than just starting off with facts.  I think a better opening would draw more people in.  Another thing that I did not like about the article was the way some of the information was given.  I think the writer gave a lot of ideas but only shared a little information in small paragraphs.  I wish the ideas had more evidence to back them up rather than quickly stating a lot of ideas, with one observation.  Overall I think the article was interesting and it showed a lot of ideas I never knew. 

Victoria Cummings

9/18/12

 http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/19/science/earth/arctic-resources-exposed-by-warming-set-off-competition.html?ref=earth

Race Is On as Ice Melt Reveals Artic Treasures

Article by Elizabeth Rosenthal

            Elizabeth Rosenthal’s article “Race Is On as Ice Melt Reveals Artic Treasures” is about how resourceful oils, gases and minerals are being discovered due to the rapid pace of climate change and melting ice in Greenland. This occurrence is making these resources more accessible. Because these resources are being noticed by many nations around the world including China there is a concern for the United Stated and its allies and their rights in this area. China is used its wealth to gain access to the newly discovered resources by purchasing companies and making contributions to the located governments of the Arctic territory.

            These new conditions will affect the nations of the Arctic Territory by creating new opportunities with increased interest and investment from countries around the world. This will affect the ability of the United States and western nations to become more energy independent with access to minerals, oils and other natural resources. Unfortunately the rapid climate change could also have negative effects for all of us even though there are positive results discussed in this article, however only time will tell.  Positively this could also create a joining of nations that are currently divided with a common interest and purpose. Hopefully everyone will benefit from the increased access to needed natural resources around the world and also bring more attention to the need to deal with the issue with global warming.

            The article was well written and expresses both concern and attention to an area of the world that never had a lot of interest. Hopefully it will present less conflict between the nations of the world and more of a joining to benefit from the natural resources and increased accessibility to trade routes. There should also be expanded focus on the causes and effects of global warming and how to correct that growing concern for the earth.      

Could A Cancer Drug Prevent Learning Disabilities in Some Kids?

Caroline Cahaney

Earth Science Current Events

September 19, 2012

Ms. Davies

Citation: Wang, Yuan. “Could a Cancer Drug Prevent Learning Disabilities in Some Kids?” Science Daily. 29 Aug2012. < http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120829093854.htm>

Could A Cancer Drug Prevent Learning Disabilities in Some Kids?

Reflection

The article that I chose to focus on has to deal with a cancer drug and its possible link to the prevention of learning disabilities of some children. This drug, that was originally created to stop cancerous tumors, is said to possibly have the capability to prevent abnormal brain cell growth and learning disabilities in some children—if they can be diagnosed early enough. Specifically, this anti-tumor drug medication could be used on young children with developing brains who were born with the genetic disease neurofibromatosis 1 (NF1). This disease causes benign tumors to grow throughout the body, but study also shows that kids with this genetic disease also have a harder time learning to read, write, do math, and behave appropriately. This struggle for learning is considered the most serious issue of NF1, and usually appears before most of the other symptoms. Unfortunately though, this drug can only be given to an infant. Because an infant’s brain is still developing in this early time of life, their brains can still “decide” what kind of cell to become. This study showed that this advanced cancer drug could possibly be used to make a lasting effect on a newborn’s neural cell development.

I think this information has an affect on the human life in general, not just to the children and families affected by NF1. Even though it does largely focus on the science being done to prevent learning disabilities of children with specific genetic diseases, I think it shows that scientists are trying out all of the possibilities to inch closer and closer to cures. Unfortunately, this study hasn’t shown anything too specific and hasn’t given us a definite solution to a problem. But, I do think that it shows us that scientists are coming closer and closer to some answers, and it seems like they won’t stop until they find them. For all humans, this instills the anticipation of incredible advancements in the medical sciences.

I learned a lot from this article and was fascinated by it, but I felt that it was almost contradicting itself. It says that this medication could be used to protect the developing brains of young children with NF1, but then goes on to say that the drug in this trial may not be appropriate to give to children who already have been diagnosed with NF1. So when are people supposed to give their children this drug? How do parents recognize that their kids have learning disabilities, or even NF1, when they aren’t even close to the age of learning? They had a substantial amount of evidence supporting that the drug could help those with learning disabilities, but it seemed that the drug would only help a certain and small number of people.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120829093854.htm

Caroline Cahaney

Common Antifungal Drug Decreases Tumor Growth and Shows Promis as Cancer Therapy

Matt Adrian 9/12/12

Core Earth I, C, Davies

Common Antifungal Drug Decreases Tumor Growth and Shows Promise as Cancer Therapy

Hye Ji Cha, Edward Marcotte, and John Wallingford have performed tests recently on the common FDA approved drug, Thiabendazole. Thiabendazole has been taken for over 40 years as an anti-fungal, however these scientists have concluded that this drug was unknowingly, a “vascular disrupting agent.” This means Thiabendazole actually eradicates newly formed blood vessels. This is extremely beneficial to chemotherapists, because it destroys blood vessels, so therefore it can stop the growth of tumors, which produce blood vessels to increase in size. Edward Marcotte marvels at the idea and possible results that Thiabendazole could produce, when paired with other chemotherapies, they could be highly effective in tumor treatment. The group of scientists are optimistic about Thiabendazole being tested clinically sometime in the near future. They hope the clinical trials will be a shorter and easier process, due to the fact that the FDA has already approved the drug.

                      If Thiabendazole is as successful as this group of scientists say, this could a monumental in the chemotherapeutic industry. Considering the FDA had approved the drug 40 years ago, the amount of time it should take to get to clinical trials, should be greatly shortened. By destroying new blood vessels, this drug can stop the entire growth of a tumor, and according to the scientists, even reduce the size of it. Seeing that tumors and cancers take thousands of lives, anything that could slow, or even stop them sounds like a breakthrough for scientists and doctors. A tumor that once was terminal may be containable in the near future, if all goes according to these scientist’s plans. Tumors in America have effected most people whether directly or indirectly, everyone knows about someone who might have unfortunately been diagnosed with some form of a tumor.

                      What I don’t get, is that fact that the scientists weren’t extremely excited and optimistic about this discovery. Perhaps they didn’t want to create a false optimism for people, being that the drug has not been tried on humans yet. You possibly have uncovered a proven tumor containment and reduction drug, and yet they remain hopeful. Being in that situation, you probably have extremely high expectations for your own discovery, but do not want to let the public down when your drug maybe doesn’t live up to the expectations. I’m also surprised that they did limited testing with Thiabendazole on embryos’ blood vessels. Maybe there weren’t any other tests available until accepted in clinical trials, but they seemed to do minimal work with the drug. However, they are the professionals and know what they’re doing so they are obviously taking the best and most efficient steps toward putting this drug to use for chemotherapists everywhere.

 

Citation:

 ScienceDaily.com, “Common Antifungal Drug Decreases Tumor Growth and Shows Promise as Cancer Therapy.” Sciencedaily.com. September 12, 2012. August 21, 2012.

< http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2012/08/120821094358.htm>

 Thiabendazole is an FDA-approved, generic drug taken orally that has been in clinical use for 40 years as an antifungal. It is not currently used for cancer therapy.

Hye Ji Cha, Edward Marcotte, John Wallingford and colleagues found that the drug destroys newly established blood vessels, making it a "vascular disrupting agent." Their research was published in the journal PLoS Biology.

Inhibiting blood vessel, or vascular, growth can be an important chemotherapeutic tool because it starves tumors. Tumors induce new blood vessel formation to feed their out-of-control growth.

In trials using mice, the researchers found that thiabendazole decreased blood vessel growth in fibrosarcoma tumors by more than a half. Fibrosarcomas are cancers of the connective tissue, and they are generally heavily vascularized with blood vessels. The drug also slowed tumor growth.

"This is very exciting to us, because in a way we stumbled into discovering the first human-approved vascular disrupting agent," said Marcotte, professor of chemistry.

"Our research suggests that thiabendazole could probably be used clinically in combination with other chemotherapies."The scientists' discovery is a culmination of research that crosses disciplines and organisms.

In a previous study, Marcotte and his colleagues found genes in single-celled yeast that are shared with vertebrates by virtue of their shared evolutionary history. In yeasts, which have no blood vessels, the genes are responsible for responding to various stresses to the cells. In vertebrates, the genes have been repurposed to regulate vein and artery growth, or angiogenesis.

"We reasoned that by analyzing this particular set of genes, we might be able to identify drugs that target the yeast pathway that also act as angiogenesis inhibitors suitable for chemotherapy," said Marcotte.

Turns out they were right.

Cha, a graduate student in cell and molecular biology at the university, searched for a molecule that would inhibit the action of those yeast genes. She found that thiabendazole did the trick.

She then tested the drug in developing frog embryos. These are fast growing vertebrates in which scientists can watch blood vessel growth in living animals.Cha found that frog embryos grown in water with the drug either didn't grow blood vessels or grew blood vessels that were then dissolved away by the drug. Interestingly, when the drug was removed, the embryos' blood vessels grew back.

Cha then tested the drug on human blood vessel cells growing in Petri dishes, finding that the drug also inhibited their growth. Finally, she tested the drug on fibrosarcoma tumors in mice and found that it reduced blood vessel growth in the tumors as well as slowed the tumors' growth.

"We didn't set out to find a vascular disrupting agent, but that's where we ended up," said Wallingford, associate professor of developmental biology and Cha's graduate advisor with Marcotte. "This is an exciting example of the power of curiosity-driven research and the insights that can come from blending disciplines in biology."

The scientists' goal is now to move the drug into clinical trials with humans. They are talking with clinical oncologists about next steps.

"We hope the clinical trials will be easier because it is already approved by the FDA for human use," said Marcotte.

Funding for this research came from the Cancer Prevention Research Institute of Texas (CPRIT), the Welch Foundation, the National Institutes of Health (grants GM067779 and GM088624) and the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI). Marcotte is the Mr. and Mrs. Corbin J. Robertson, Sr. Regents Chair in Molecular Biology. Wallingford is an HHMI Early Career Scientist.

Earth’s Core – The Enigma 1,800 Miles Below Us

Killian Donohue                                                                                                                      9.19.12

Earth Science – Ms. Davies                                                                                       Current Events

Citation: Angier, Natalie. "The Enigma 1,800 Miles Below Us." The New York Times. The New York Times, 29 May 2012. Web. 16 Sept. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2012/05/29/science/earths-core-the-enigma-1800-miles-below-us.html?_r=1>.

Earth’s Core – The Enigma 1,800 Miles Below Us

            Scientists, geologists, and researchers know what we know today about the earth’s core from studying seismic waves generated by earthquakes or even bombs. Bombs are seen as better help of understanding because we know the precise epicenter. The core consists of three parts the outer core, inner core, and the innermost core which consists of pure iron. The Earth’s core is 1,800 miles below us, has pressures of 3.4 millions atmospheres, is 10,000 degrees Fahrenheit, and is a fluid rather than a solid. Scientists are beginning to believe something else must be going on the core that they don’t know about because of the loss in heat. There have been some signs that the inner core is rotating slightly faster than the rest of the planet. Some believe the iron is solidifying, while others believe it stores a massive amount of radioactive material, which is giving off heat. The magnetic field has only existed for 3 billion years and every 100,000 to a million years, the north-south orientation of the magnetosphere reverses, which leads to a weakening of the fields. Finally, the core is gradually shedding some of its stored heat and through convection and conduction are the only ways heat can be transferred. Dr. Alfe concluded that the, “core was losing two to three times as much heat to conduction as previously believed, which would leave too little thermal energy to account for the convective forces that power the Earth’s geodynamo.” Lastly, Dr. Buffett suggests that, “life needs water, and maybe it’s planet does, too.”
            The study of the Earth is not fully clear, because no one has actually reached the center of the Earth, let alone the mantle. Who knows, maybe sometime in the future, we will have the technology and gear to reach the center of the earth, but it would still take centuries. The only way to study it now, is by what the earth provides us, such as earthquakes and volcanoes. Scientists have studied the effects of the magnetic fields and soon the north-south magnetospheres will switch, affecting our lives today. The article suggests that the water we use today from oceans, seas, lakes, etc, may help the Earth balance its thermal budget. What would happen if we used up all of our water, and besides us becoming thirsty, the planet goes thirsty too. To really get more information on how the Earth’s interior can affect our lives, we need to dig deeper into the Earth.
            I found this article very interesting, in that we are still learning so much about our planet, some of which are guesses rather than facts. The article was very detailed in the way it explained the different parts of the core and how the core is working now. I wish it talked more about the magnetospheres reverse because I would want to know more about what would happen when they switch. That’s why for my next current events article I am going to try to read about them rather than the core of the Earth. Lastly, this article laid out the different ways in which scientists and researchers are learning about the core and I hope that eventually sometime in the future, we find a way to dig 1,800 miles into the Earth.

Noor Banihashem Ahmad                                 September, 2012

Earth Science                                                   Current Event

Article: 

From: http://www.macroevolution.net/deep-sea-life.html#.UE56LWAQdJE

Sept. 5, 2012 — A new study of deep-sea life across the globe aims to understand how natural gradients in food and temperature in the dark, frigid waters of the deep sea affect the snails, clams, and other creatures that live there.

Similar studies have been conducted for animals in the shallow oceans, but our understanding of the impact of food and temperature on life in the deep sea — the Earth's largest and most remote ecosystem — has been more limited.

The results will help scientists understand what to expect in the deep sea under future climate change, the researchers say.

 "Our findings indicate that the deep sea, once thought remote and buffered against climatic change, may function quite differently in the future," they write.

All living things need energy in the form of food, heat and light to survive, grow, and reproduce. But for life in the deep sea — defined as anything beyond 600 feet (200 m) — energy of any kind is in short supply. Descend more than a few hundred feet beneath the ocean surface, and you'll find a blue-black world of near-freezing temperatures, and little or no light.

Because so little of the sun's light penetrates the surface waters, there are no plants for animals to eat. Most deep-sea animals feed on tiny particles of dead and decaying organic matter drifting down from the sunlit waters above. It is estimated that less than 1% of the food at the surface reaches the ocean's watery depths.

The researchers wanted to know what this energy deprivation means for deep sea habitats across the globe, and for the animals that live there. "How much of the differences that we see across different groups of deep-sea animals in terms of growth, or lifespan, or the number of species, are related to differences in the temperature or amount of food where they occur?" said co-author Craig McClain of the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, North Carolina.

To find out, the researchers compiled previously published data for hundreds of different deep-sea organisms across the globe, ranging from crabs and snails, to fish and tube worms. The data included parameters like metabolic rate, lifespan, growth, biomass, abundance, size and diversity.

The results suggest that the relative importance of the two basic forms of energy available in the deep sea — food and warmth — vary considerably, said co-author Michael Rex at the University of Massachusetts in Boston.

Temperature has the biggest impact on parameters at the individual level, such as metabolism and growth rate. For example, deep sea animals living in warmer waters tend to have faster metabolisms.

But for higher-level parameters such as abundance or biodiversity, food is more important. Generally speaking, food-rich areas tend to have animals that are bigger, more abundant and more diverse.

The results add to the growing body of evidence that the deep sea isn't isolated from the effects of climate change, the researchers say.

"The oceans are getting warmer and they're producing less food," McClain said. Warmer water in the deep sea due to climate change could mean faster growth and metabolism for the animals that live there, but that could be bad news if the oceans produce less food to support them.

"The news is not good," Rex added. "Changes in temperature and food availability associated with climate change could cause widespread extinction in the deep ocean if environmental changes occur faster than deep-sea organisms can respond by shifting their ranges or adapting to new conditions."

CITATION: McClain, C., A. Allen, et al. (2012). "The energetics of life on the deep sea floor." PNAS. http://dx.doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1208976109

Deep Sea Life: Threatened By Global Warming

        Response: 

This article is primarily talking about how the creatures at the bottom of the ocean are not getting enough food that they need to survive. The Earth’s largest ecosystem has had limited food and near freezing temperatures. These creatures such as: snails, brittle stars, sea pen, sea cucumber, claims and other assorted invertebrates, do not have the necessary nutrients that they need to survive. The sun’s rays are not strong enough to heat the bottoms of the ocean, and on top of that, these animals only receive one percent of the food that is at the surface. As you can see, there resources are very limited. Researchers have recently done tests to see what this lack of energy means for the deep-sea habitats across the world. Researchers at the National Evolutionary Synthesis Center in Durham, North Carolina have tested on many snails, cabs, and tubeworms. They checked the things like metabolic rate, lifespan, growth, biomass, size, and biomass. The bottom line is that the oceans are heating up, and there is less food out there. This could be good news in the sense that it is warming up, but it is also bad if less food is being produced. In conclusion, the news is not the best. Due to the changes in temperature and obtainability to food associated with climate change could cause an extinction in deep-sea creatures if they do no react fast enough to the changes conditions. These organisms have little food, and the temperatures down at the bottom of the ocean are getting warmer. Warmer water causes organisms to have faster metabolisms. Food is not being produced as much anymore, and a faster metabolism means that these creatures will get hungry faster. The problem would be that there would be no food to eat.

         This tragedy could affect a lot of creatures in the sea. If these deep-sea organisms go extinct, then a food source could be wiped out for some of the other creatures. I’m sure that snails, crabs, and claims are a food source to another creature in the sea. If these animals go extinct, then another creature might not get the nutrients that it needs. If this creature doesn’t get the nutrients that it needs, it could go extinct as well. It could even set off a chain reaction. Our whole sea life has the potential to be completely wiped out. If these deep-sea animals go extinct, we might lose our access to crab, claims, and other deep-sea creatures that we eat too. This would be very sad because I know that I personally love seafood. Our source of seafood, if these creatures were to go extinct would be very scarce.

         I thought that this article was a pretty good one because everything was backed up by some means of evidence. The only thing that I’m a little confused about is that fact that global warming has been a known conflict problem in the past. Why is it that scientists are only realizing this now? Deep-sea life has probably endured many dramatic climate changes in the past, so why would they be affected now? The climate has been drastically changing for a while, and they have seemed to be fine until now. It would have been nice to know if the population of deep-sea life has been decreasing in the past decade or not. Other than that, I think this article has provided lots of good information that is very useful and alarming.