Legions of Legionella Bacteria

Zoey Brereton
Earth Science IH

    Although salt (ocean) water is deemed inconvenient sometimes because it is undrinkable, it is viewed in a positive light when it comes to the salt killing microbes which makes the ocean exceptionally clean. During the late 1990’s, oysters got infested with a microbe called Cryptospordium which is found in freshwater; it began to show up in unfiltered water and it can be fatal to young/fragile people. Recently a biologist, Rebecca Gast, found another microbe also from freshwater in the Great Salt Lake called Legionella that can cause pneumonia, confusing, and fatigue if a person catches the disease that the microbe contains called Legionnaires’ disease. It is alarmingly possible that this specific microbe can spread to salt water, so Rebecca Gast and her colleague Linda Amaral-Zettler made a sampling project to see exactly what is in the ocean and how fatal it is. During their studies they found that in Mount Hope Bay there were 32 strains of Legionella, these strains are possible for the Legionnaires’ disease but studies still need to be conducted to find the harmful genes in the Legionella that was found in Mount Hope Bay. Another interesting discovery is that Mount Hope Bay has generally warm waters which means it is more likely that Legionella is commonly in warmer climates - this is harmful because people are more attracted to warm waters to swim in. After more and more research, the two biologists found that Legionella has the characteristic of being able to invade amoebae (which fights infections). Gast and Amaral-Zettler are continuing to test samples to get to the bottom of this frightening case of the spreading bacteria seeing that it’s side effects and possibly fatal ramifications on humans is extremely worrying.
    Clearly, there are many relations to the spread of Legionella and the effects on society. Even though there have only been reported cases of an upset stomach because of Legionella’s health impacts on the human body, many strains of the bacteria can be extremely fatal. Not only can Legionella survive in unfiltered water, it is found in this article that it is easily possible for it to spread into wider oceans. It is distressing that it is able to survive in salt water because this means it could be able to travel throughout and not only effect humans but also life in the sea. The cells that have survived in Legionella can impede an immune system rapidly, and since Legionella is more commonly found in warm water (which is the generally popular swimming preference in most societies) it is quite possible that this could cause a huge issue if there is no way to figure out how to put an end to the spread of this microbe.
    This article was eye-opening and a little alarming. Though it was well-written and mostly was upfront and to the point, there were some flaws and improvements that could be made. There were quite a few terms that were not familiar to me (microbe, polysyllabic, etc.) and were not explained/defined. Another aspect of critique is that despite the fact that there was not an irritating length of unnecessary descriptions in the article, it ended on quite a worrying sentence/statement which leaves concern and unanswered questions to the reader.


Citation:
Powell, Hugh. "Legions of Legionella Bacteria." : Oceanus Magazine. N.p., 7 Sept. 2006. Web. 20 Oct. 2013.

Sea Star Wasting Syndrome

Alekzandra Thoms

Sea-stars, more commonly known as Star-fish, an indicator species, have been decaying and liquefying at a disconcerting speed. This disease is known as Sea Star Wasting Syndrome. An indicator species is one that, if it develops a disease or begins dying off rapidly, could indicate a bigger problem that could spread to the rest of its ecosystem.

            Sea Star Wasting Syndrome has affected around 95% of Sea Stars from British Columbia, Canada, down to California. But it is not confined to the West Coast. Sea Stars, dead of the same disease, have been identified on the East Coast, from Maine to New Jersey. Citizens on the coast are asked to keep an eye out for deteriorated Star Fish, and to submit them online, so a Real Time image can be made for scientists. Scientists do not know the cause of the syndrome, nor the connection between the two coasts, but they do know that Sea Stars are key species in their eco systems.

What scienctists do know is that the loss of Sea Star will have a major impact on their ecosystems. They control population by eating larvae and without this control, adult animal numbers will skyrocket, and other species that the Sea Star usually preys on, like worms and clams, consume/change abiotic (nonliving) conditions. Clams take nutrients which fertilize, and worms aerate – meaning more air is distributed through the water where it normally is not.

            All in all, the dying off of such an important species could have potentially enormous side effects on the rest of the working eco system around it, which relys so heavily on the Sea Star’s existence.

            This article, though, did have some weak spots, much like our blossoming trouble with this sea species. Our author seemed to give such a strong case for all the ways this could be harmful, but then contradicted herself by saying it may not have such a huge impact and that there is no way to know yet. This part could have gone without saying, or in a less contradictory manner.

"Sea Star Wasting Syndrome"(image from site)

 Poppick, Laura. "Mysterious Disease Turning Sea Stars to Goo May Disrupt Tidal Ecosystems." LiveScience.com. Livescience, 8 Nov. 2013. Web. 08 Nov. 2013.
http://www.livescience.com/41042-starfish-wasting-disease.html

More Asteroids Are likely, Scientists Say

Henry Anderson                                                                                              Current Event Report

Chang, Kenneth. "More Asteroid Strikes Are Likely, Scientists Say." Nytimes.com. The New York
            Times, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 

            <http://www.nytimes.com/ 2013/11/07/science/space/more-large-asteroid-strikes-are-likely-scientists- find.html?ref=science&_r=0>.

            "More Asteroids Strikes Are Likely, Scientists Say" is an article by Kenneth Chang that discuses the recent scientific discovery by Journal Nature that Asteroid strikes are expected to become more and recent. This research, which was largely sparked by the Asteroid that exploded above Chelyabinsk, Russia early this year on February 15th, has calculated that  similar asteroid explosions could occur every one or two decades. These predictions are frightening; the shockwave alone from the Chelyabinsk asteroid injured abut 1,200 people; more asteroid strikes provide more risk for injuries and even deaths. In addition, this asteroid luckily exploded before it could hit Russia, but it is very possible for larger asteroids to hit Earth and cause mass life-ending damage. This article went into depth on the subject, discussing the possible effects of kilometer-wide asteroids, which are classified as "big" asteroids. These asteroids would wipe-out our civilization if they impacted Earth. Much smaller asteroids of about 450 feet wide would still be equivalent to the force produced by about 150 million tons of TNT. Naturally, these ominous predictions have lead to a serious effort to develop anti-asteroid technology. The United Nations is about to establish an "International Asteroid Warning Network" and will fund a group focused on possible ways of deflecting asteroids. A telescope called the Sentinel has been designed to find 450-feet-wide asteroids, but it's extremely expensive: about 450 million dollars. Technologies such as these would vital in case an asteroid is about to hit Earth. It could allow people to evacuate areas where asteroids are expected to strike or even lead to devices that could deflect asteroids so they don't hit Earth at all. NASA too has joined the anti-asteroid movement by funding the production of telescopes designed to spot asteroids at the University of Hawaii. 

            This article is as relevant as ever. Asteroid strikes have a very obvious effect on society. Even a small asteroid could kill and injure millions of people if it lands in a highly-populated area. Telescopes such as the Sentinel can predict this and prevent it from happening. If we had these devices a year ago. We could have predicted the Chelyabinsk asteroid and avoided thousands of injuries by merely warning people from standing by the windows. Anti-Asteroid technology should be implemented as soon as possible and if implemented, it will save countless lives in the future, leaving a very positive impact on society. 

            This article article was extremely factual. It gave very detailed statistics concerning the magnitude of asteroids impacts and how damaging they could be. This information is important, but I feel this article stressed its importance with unneeded repetition. It is unnecessary to compare the impacts of different size asteroids with  quantities of TNT. Few people are even familiar with how powerful a TNT blast is (I'm not). I also think this article should have mentioned how scientists know asteroid impacts are going to be more common. Why haven't there been asteroid in the previous decades? And why has the asteroid impact frequency gone up? I think this article should go into more depth concerning the science of asteroid impact to answer several of the aforementioned questions. However, that being said, this article was very strong in most areas. The journalism was excellent, collecting informative quotations from many astronomers and professors to bring different points across and create an all-around more cohesive piece of writing. It also went into lots of depth concerning the action taking place in order to avoid future asteroid impacts. All in all the article was a very informative and enjoyable read. 

Current Event Report: "More Asteroid Strikes Are Likely, Scientists Say"

            In February a 60 foot asteroid landed in Chelyabinsk, Russia.  The asteroid injured many people and scientists said it could only occur every 100 to 200 years.  With further recent studies, scientists have found that there are many more asteroids like this that could hit Earth every decade or so.  The General Assembly committee of the United Nations is planning to set up an International Asteroid Warning Network so scientists all over the world can work together to deflect asteroids coming to Earth.  Thankfully, with recent technology, sky spotters have seen 95% of the large, one kilometer asteroids near Earth but have found that none of them will hit Earth.  Dr. Edward T. Lu, former NASA astronaut, has proposed a B612 telescope that will be able to find asteroids that are 450 feet wide and smaller.  An asteroid of this size could release 150 million tons of TNT and could possibly kill 50 million people, so that is why it is important that the B612 telescope was proposed so astronomers can try and deflect any of the asteroids of this size that are coming near Earth.  Since this technology is still rather new, scientists haven’t found many asteroids yet so they are studying asteroids that have already hit the Earth.  When talking about the discovery of new asteroids, Dr. Lu said, “When you find out how many there are, you also find out where the individual ones are.  Everything you discover you can either rule out as going to hit us or you say, ‘Hey, we ought to look at this one more carefully.’”  NASA is also setting up a new telescope in 2015 that will scan quick-moving lights that could possibly be asteroids.

            This paragraph is very relevant to society today.  It is relevant because in the last hundred years, there have been significant asteroids that have hit the Earth.  With these hits, people grow more and more nervous about what could possibly hit the Earth next.  The new technology that astronomers have been coming up with, such as the B612 telescope, will help greatly with preventing further hits from happening.  Even if it is too late to deflect the asteroids, we can still know where they might hit and evacuate that area before an asteroid hits it.  This technology also helps with the exploration of space and finding other asteroids that are out there, even if they are no threat to Earth.

            Overall, I think this was a very well written and informative article.  It got it’s message across immediately and didn’t use too many words too describe it.  It also was very easy to understand because it wasn’t just written for other scientists or astronomers.  The only criticism I have is that the author could have gone a little more in depth with the B612 plan because I am still not really sure what the entire plan is.  In general, this article had a lot of information about asteroids and their possible affects on Earth and this is something that many more people should take their time to learn about.    



Chang, Kenneth. "More Asteroid Strikes Are Likely Scientists Say." NY Times. New York Times, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 6 Nov. 2013.


http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/science/space/more-large-asteroid-strikes-are-likely-scientists-find.html?ref=science&_r=1&

Satellite Will Fall to Earth, but No One Is Sure Where

By: Sarah Torres

            A European aircraft that collects extensive data on Earth’s magnetic field is scheduled to fall back to Earth sometime between Sunday into early Monday. As of now no one has concluded as to where or when the aircraft is going to fall or when. Although the aircraft as a whole is falling back to Earth’s surface, only around 25 to 45 parts of the machine’s debris are likely to actually make it to Earth. The largest the weight of the space debris will weight is 200 pounds at the very most. Evidence collected concludes that around 100 tons of space debris will fall to Earth sometime this year. The GOCE has reported dangerously low levels of propellant, which then explains the rate of the drop, which is 2.5 miles per day.  Two years ago, two spacecrafts fell to Earths surface. The first space debris to drop was NASA’s very own “Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite”. Luckily, the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite fell into the Pacific Ocean, harming no humans. Later that year, there was a second scare pertaining a Russian aircraft. Phobos-Grunt’s mission was to observe Mars but ultimately failed and fell into the Pacific Ocean as well. According to Dr. Floberghagen “Debris will endanger about 15 to 20 square yards of the Earth’s surface. “If you compare that to the surface of the planet, it’s a very small number,” Now that the GOCE’s propellant tank is empty, the spacecraft is being guided strictly by gravity and friction. Dr. Floberghagen stated, “Quite literally GOCE is now nearly flying like an airplane without an engine, with the upper layer of the atmosphere providing aerodynamic stabilization,” As the GOCE falls closer to Earth and gets exposed to the denser atmosphere, it will increase in velocity and should be landing on earth sometime between Monday and Tuesday.

            This article is very relevant to the public because Europe’s GOCE could fall anywhere so it is important that people in the society know this in order to stay safe. If any kind of space debris they could possibly get seriously injured. Although there is a small chance of someone getting a space debris injury, the chances are still too high to not be cautionary. This article is also relevant to scientists who study these sorts of spacecrafts; they can make adjustments to the type of craft and improve the model. An improvement that could be fixed for the next aircraft launched into space is too includes additional thrusters for an ultimately safer landing for everyone.

            In my opinion the author did a very good job of explaining everything except for the concept of an Ion engine. I was confused as to what the differences are between an Ion engine and a regular engine that would be chosen during the construction of a spacecraft. The author also could have gone into more detail on the subject pertaining solutions to the problem of space debris falling to earth and how people should prepare for this event. Overall I thought that the article was well written and interesting due to the fact that it was relevant to everyone.

Citation:

Chang, Keneth. "Space & Cosmos."Satellite Will Fall but No One is Sure Where. The New York Times, 6 Nov. 2013. Web. 7 Nov. 2013. <http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/science/space/satellite-will-fall-to-earth-but-no-ones-sure-where.html?ref=science>.

Link To Article:

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/11/07/science/space/satellite-will-fall-to-earth-but-no-ones-sure-where.html?ref=science

Astronomers Find Earthlike Planet

A new planet has been recently discovered. The planet name is Kepler 78b. This planet is outside of our solar system. Kepler 78b was spotted by NASA’s Kepler Spacecraft. This planet has many similar characteristics to the Earth. It is about the size of Earth. It has a density of 0.2 cubic inches which is the same density as the Earth. Kepler 78b is made up of the same materials like Earth. The outer layer of the planet is rocky and the core is made out of iron. Kepler 78b also seems to orbit a star similar to the sun. The distance between Kepler 78b is less than a million miles away from its parent star; this makes the planet infernally hot. It is about 3,500 to 5,000 degrees Fahrenheit. Although it has many characteristics of the Earth, the planet is inhabitable because it is so hot. There is one more question that has been unanswered. How did Kelper 78b get where it is? One explanation is that it was originally a gas giant and as the planet got closer to the star, all the gases were stripped away only leaving the rocky core at the center. There are a few more explanations, but all of them are mostly unlikely.

            The discovery of planets is very important to humankind. By learning about planets we can find out if people are capable to live there or not. If we are capable to live on another planet then we have a choice to move there if something bad happens to the earth. In addition this kind of discovery proves that there are a lot of planets that have similar characteristics to Earth that were not discovered yet.

            The article was very educational. It was well written and included a lot of details. Before reading this article I didn’t know that there were other planets similar to Earth outside of the Solar System. The article should give additional information on other planets that are also similar to Earth. I think that this article was very interesting and I would love to learn more about other planets that are similar to Earth.

Citation:

Chang, Kenneth. "Astronomers Find Earthlike Planet, but It's Infernally Hot." Nytimes.com. N.p., 30 Oct. 2013. Web. 1 Nov. 2013.

http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/science/space/astronomers-find-earthlike-planet-but-its-infernally-hot.html

Current Event Dryden Quigley

Life is Possible

By Dryden Quigley

The remotely operated vessel Jason projects images to scientists of the bottom of the Mediterranean ocean. It was displaying one of the harshest conditioned places on earth: a Deep Hypersaline Anoxic Basin or DHAB. The basin is filled with water lacking oxygen and has over 350 times of pressure higher than land. The DHABs can be found around the world but scientists are only beginning to discover hints of life thriving in these locations.

This hunt for life began when scientists found bacteria and archaea living in the basin about 10 years ago. A surprise came recently when in 2009 scientists examined water samples and found DNA of eukaryotes. This was a shock because many scientists thought there was no possibility that higher forms of life such as eukaryotes could live in the Basin. Although, the DNA doesn’t necessarily mean that they are living in the basin because DNA can last for thousands of years and the salty water of the basin is good to preserve it. Two scientists, Edgcomb and Bernhard, decided they wanted to figure out if there really were higher forms of life living in DHABs. The DHABs can stretch from a few yards to miles across and formed between 2,000 and 35,000 years ago when movements of the earth’s crust exposed salt deposits to open seawater. The interfaces are the areas between the DHABs and the seafloor, which are only between one and three yards thick. They are thought to have a range of harsh conditions and for this reason hold many different types of microorganisms. The scientists have recently had a lot of success of taking samples of these interfaces with new types of technology. They were able to record where they took their samples from and carry them back to the surface without the cells degrading. The results have shown that there are many different types of bacteria and eukaryotes. Many of these are new, previously unknown species. This is very unusual because the eukaryotes are living extremely close to each other in the interfaces, but each performing different functions. Another unusual discovery found is that each DHAB has its own type of species. The DHAB can be compared to an island and having many different types of residents but the residents are not able to go from one island to another. The scientists today are still studying where they came from and their survival techniques for surviving in one of the harshest conditions of earth.

The discovery of these new forms of life affects many other parts of science because it changes the aspect on what conditions are needed in order for life to thrive. In an area that was previously thought to have no ekaryotes there were discovered many and even new types of them. In astronomy this means life could be possible on many planets that were previously thought inhabitable. This means that it is more likely to find another planet that could possibly be habitable for humans. The eukaryotes are more advanced than other types of single celled forms of life so single cell life forms could inhabit even harsher conditions.

“The Harshest Habitats on Earth” by Cherie Winner taught about new forms of life being found in Deep Hypersaline Anoxic Basins. The article was very detailed and explained complex ideas simply. The way it was written made it easy for me to understand where the discovery was taking place and what new types of life were being discovered. Parts of the article could be summarized in a more efficient manner. Also some points about the types of technology the scientists used were a bit too technical and confusing. I would also condense some of the tiny paragraphs into larger ones but I did like how each section had a heading. The research discussed in this article is important because it changes our assumptions about the conditions necessary for life.

Link: https://www.whoi.edu/oceanus/feature/the-most-inhospitable-places-on-earth

Citation:

Winner, Cherie. "The Harshest Habitats on Earth." : Oceanus Magazine. N.p., 19 Sept. 2013. Web. 04 Nov. 2013.

"How Common Are Habitable Planets? One in Five Sun-Like Stars May Have Earth-Size, Potentially Habitable Planets"

              The article "How Common Are Habitable Planets? One in Five Sun-Like Stars May Have Earth-Size, Potentially Habitable Planets” by Robert Sanders talked about how he and his team at Berkeley in California were able to approximate how many possibly habitable planets there are. This research was done in order to answer the question of how many lukewarm Earth-sized planets there are that will not freeze or vaporize, but remain with liquid, which is pristine for life. The spacecraft Kepler was launched in 2009, and has been used to look for planets outside of our solar system that cross in front of their stars. Out of 150,000 plants that were photographed, a mere 3,000 are candidates; many of them happen to be much larger than Earth with thick atmospheres, or come to close to the sun, getting “baked.” Now the scientists began to look at the stars, checking for brightness and also to calculate the planets’ diameters that cross in front of the sun. They looked at 42,000 stars, many of which were smaller than the Earth as well as cooler, where 603 candidate planets were found. Out of these planets only 10 were found to be Earth-size. These were the planets that had suitable temperatures for life meaning that the planets receive up to four times Earth’s sunlight or a quarter of the Earth’s sunlight at least. Although this gave them a good idea of the number of planets, it was missing the fact that they could have missed planets due to the fact that not all planets cross in front of their stars, a small portion in fact! Using a software, they were able to estimate that 22% of sun-like stars in the galaxy have Earth-sized planets that are habitable. All of the candidate planets are located around smaller stars known as K stars, but they can grow into larger G stars like our sun. Unfortunately, Kepler didn't survive for an extended mission and couldn't track habitable Earth-sized planets near G type stars. This research team believes that the nearest Earth-sized planet may only be 12 light years away.    

                This article shows how planets like Earth that could be habitable may not be so far away and that there is a good percentage of possible planets. This could mean possible life nearby to Earth. Unfortunately, many of these planets are located around smaller stars, and not all have the same temperature as Earth varying from 4 times to 0.25 times Earth’s light. This also shows how unique Earth is and how it is very hard to find an exact match for Earth with conditions habitable for human life. This article shows how only 22 percent of sun-like stars in the galaxy have Earth-like stars. This may end up being a really small number considering there are lots of different sized stars, so only some will be sun-like stars, and on top of that, less than a quarter of these stars have Earth-like planets. On top of that there is a large range of what “Earth-like planets” are; they have to be one to two times the size, and receives 4 times to 0.25 times the amount of light that Earth does. These numbers and percentages show how the planets could differ greatly from Earth in both size and temperature, so it can be assumed that there is a much smaller percent that are around the same exact size and temperature as Earth.

                I think that the author did a very good job or presenting the data from the research. I really liked how all the steps to calculating the percentage of planets was determined. I would have liked to know why astronomers and scientists haven’t discovered one of these planets yet, if one is supposed to be only 12 light years away, since we are already looking farther into space than that. One thing the author did that I didn't like was that he included a lot of quotes from people without explaining who they are, or the significance of the information quoted. I also think that although the numbers helped, some were unnecessary, and didn't really need to be put in, or were repeated. Overall, I thought the information was well presented and very informative. 

Sanders, Robert. "How Common Are Habitable Planets? One in Five Sun-Like Stars May Have Earth-Size, Potentially Habitable Planets." ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 04 Nov. 2013. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/11/131104152720.htm>.

Current Event Pettit

Trevor Pettit

Earth Science Current Event Project

“Scientists Detect Magmatic Water on the Earth’s Surface”

Summary:

            This August, magmatic water, or water that originates from deep inside a celestial bodies’ surface, was found on the Moon.  This was found using NASA’s Moon Mineralogy Miner, and this is the first time we have detected lunar magmatic water.  This is a significant finding, as before the detection of magmatic water on the moon, many scientists thought that Moon rocks were “bone dry.”  Now, researchers believe that this thin layer of magmatic water was formed from solar wind hitting the Moon’s surface.  Unfortunately, the water found on the surface did not give away any information about magmatic water deeper in the moon’s mantle or core, however rocks in and around the Bullialdus Crater were identified, which can help scientists learn how the magmatic water rose to the surface, and where it may be located deeper inside the Moon.  These new findings help us understand more about the Moon’s interior and volcanic processes, and also helps us broaden our understanding of the geological composition of the Moon, allowing us to put other rock samples into context using rocks with native magmatic water.  It also helps provide legitimacy to the findings of studies on prior samples.

Relevance:

            These new findings are not only the source of new data, but they also provide legitimacy for prior data.  For example, we are now able to compare the results of labs done on rocks taken from the Moon to the data collected by the Moon Mineralogy Miner on rocks in there native habitat, which we had not been able to do before.  However, the Moon Mineralogy Miner’s finding of magmatic water on the surface of the Moon also provides important new information, as well as new questions and ideas.  For example, we now know to look for magmatic water in the mantle and core of the Moon, and also know where we may find evidence of magmatic water in these areas.  Also, these findings help us understand the interior composition of the moon and its volcanic processes, but also lead us to question how magmatic water found its way to the surface.  We need to take more data from rocks on other areas of the Moon in order to fully analyze this data, but hopefully these will help us understand more about the formation and composition of the Moon in the future.

Critique:

            This article was very informative, and also included several quotations from experts on the topic, however there was so much information clumped together that it was a little difficult to read.  The large amounts of information also lead to quick changes of pace and topic, causing the article to be somewhat unorganized.  This article would be easier to read if there was analysis of the information between facts and quotes and headings that categorized the information.  A little more background information on the experts quoted in the article would also be nice.  However, the article was very informative and contained an abundance of interesting information.

Works Cited

Hagerty, Justin, and Marisa Lubeck. "USGS Newsroom." USGS Release: Scientists Detect Magmatic Water on Moon’s Surface (8/26/2013 8:31:57 AM). NASA, 26 Aug. 2013. Web. 06 Nov. 2013. <http://www.usgs.gov/newsroom/article.asp?ID=3669>.

Good website that separates articles by location: http://geology.com/news/