BIOLOGY 1: CURRENT EVENT ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS ...

[Pages:8]BIOLOGY 1: CURRENT EVENT ASSIGNMENT INSTRUCTIONS

The goal of the current event assignments is for you to become familiar with how applicable biology is to your daily life. You will be turning in four current event assignments (15 pts. each) over the semester (due dates for each are on your course schedule), related to a topic we have previously covered since the last current event assignment. A fifth current event assignment is optional and will count for 10 points of extra credit.

I. You will complete your four current event assignments by finding and reading news articles (published no earlier than the year 2016) from a news websites (ex. , , , , , , , etc.) that discusses your topic. You must then write (must be typed) about what is listed in part II below. Print out two copies of your write-up. You will turn in one of your write-ups on the due date. Hold on to the other copy because you will be sharing your current event with your lab class.

II. Your write-up should include the following: (Label each section)

A. Include a copy of your news article along with the name of the news website, title of article, author, and date article was published. If you do not include a copy of your article with the required information on it, your assignment will not be accepted.

B. Summary of article: Using your own words summarize the key points (address the five W's: what, where, when, who and why) of the article so that the reader has a clear understanding as to the scope of the article. Do not just copy word for word from your article, this is plagiarism! (7 pts.)

C. What biology topic does this article reference? The article that you have chosen should correspond with a topic that we have covered since the last assignment. Clearly state how your article is related to the topic. (2 pts.)

D. How does this article affect you personally? All events affect us in some way. Be creative and open your thoughts to how current events are related to you (e.g. socially, ethically, emotionally, economically, etc.) (3 pts.)

E. How will this current news affect future generations? Make a prediction about how lives will be affected 20 30 years from now by this current event. (3 pts.)

III. The extra credit current event should be completed in the previously described way. Be sure you label this assignment as your "extra credit" assignment and turn in on due date which is during the end of the semester.

Follow the directions! Assignments are due at the beginning of lecture (not lab) on the due date. Due dates are on the syllabus, so you know in advance when assignments need to be turned in. If you are absent on a due date or have printing problems, you may email me the assignment by the lecture start time of that due date. See the table below for my policy on assignments that are turned in after the beginning of the class meeting the assignment is due.

On Time: Turned in at the beginning of class Turned in 5 minutes after class starts Turned in the day due but after class ends Turned in the day after due date Turned in next class meeting Turned in beyond the next class meeting

100% - missed questions 90% - missed questions 80% - missed questions 70% - missed questions 50% - missed questions 0% - No credit given

SAMPLE CURRENT EVENT ASSIGNMENTS CURRENT EVENT ASSIGNMENT # ____

Name December 4, 2013 Tues Lab

Scientific American: DDT Linked to High Blood Pressure in Women By Lindsey Konkel March 12, 2013

Summary of article:"A study of San Francisco Bay Area women is the first to link DDT exposure in the womb to a greater risk of developing high blood pressure later in life". According to a study published By Lindsey Konkel and Environmental Health News. Women exposed before birth to the banned pesticide DDT may have a greater risk of developing high blood pressure later in life. When people hear the word, "pesticides," they often associate it with something very negative and many times, they'll soon think of DDT. Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane or better known as DDT is an organochlorine insecticide which is a colorless, crystalline solid, tasteless and almost odorless chemical compound. DDT is one of the most famous pesticides in the world, and it has been with us for quite a long time. As a pesticide, DDT was so effective as an insect killer that some called it the "atomic bomb" but it wasn't until 1972 that DDT was banned in the United States. Research now shows that DDT is closely linked to high blood pressure in women because DDT may be targeting the system in the body that keeps blood pressure under control," said Michele La Merrill, a toxicologist at the University of California.

What biology topic does this article reference?

In the study, scientists investigated how environmental exposures, even those that occur before birth, can affect health over a lifetime and found that DDT plays a huge role in high blood pressure. This article clearly relates to the topic we studied on "What is blood pressure". In class, we learned that blood pressure is the force of blood pushing against artery walls and we also looked at factors that influence in a person's blood pressure. Some factors that contribute to high blood pressure are, obesity, stress, smoking, physical activity, diet, genetics among many other unknown factors. Unknown factors are said to be those t.bat we cannot control, as an example, the article refers to DDT because it is known to interfere with hormones, and it has been linked to decreased fertility, preterm delivery and diabetes.

How does this article affect you personally?

This article affects my personally in many different ways. One way it concerns me, is by knowing that we are now seeing the potential long-term health consequences of introducing chemicals whose safety we know very little about. This article says a lot about the chemicals that we know little about and that affect many women. It affects many women because it increases the chances of having high blood pressure which can play a big factor in one's health. High blood pressure can lead to heart failure which can also result in death. As bad as it sounds, this research provides me with great knowledge and understanding the effects of exposure to chemical can be critical to my own health.

How will this current news affect future generations?

This current event can possibly affect future generations in many different ways. In the new study, more than 500 women born between 1959 and 1967 participated and several decades later, 111 of the daughters, 21 percent, reported having been diagnosed with hypertension due to DDT. Although DDT was banned a few years ago, this research can help to provide future generations with more knowledge about chemicals that can harm our health and therefore we can find possible solutions for this type of problem.

DDT Linked to High Blood Pressure in Women

A study of San Francisco Bay Area women is the first to link DDT exposure in the womb to a greater risk of developing high blood pressure later in life

By Lindsey Konkel and Environmental Health News | March 12, 2013 |

Women exposed before birth to the banned pesticide DDT may have a greater risk of developing high blood pressure later in life, according to a study published today. The study of San Francisco Bay Area women is the first to link DDT exposure in the womb to hypertension, which raises the risk of stroke and heart disease.

A widely used insecticide, DDT was banned in the United States in 1972 because it was building up in the environment. It is still used in Africa to combat malaria-infected mosquitoes. "Our findings suggest that DDT may be targeting the system in the body that keeps blood pressure under control," said Michele La Merrill, a toxicologist at the University of California, Davis and lead author of the study published today inEnvironmental Health Perspectives. In previous research, pesticide applicators with high blood pressure had higher DDT exposures than those with healthy blood pressure. Research also has suggested that DDT interferes with hormones, and it has been linked to decreased fertility, preterm delivery and diabetes.

In the new study, more than 500 women born between 1959 and 1967 participated. They were the daughters of more than 15,000 women from the Oakland area who were recruited by scientists to investigate how environmental exposures, even those that occur before birth, can affect health over a lifetime.

Because DDT can pass to the child through the placenta, the blood of the mothers, collected shortly before or after birth, served as a proxy for fetal exposure. Several decades later, 111 of the daughters, 21 percent, reported having been diagnosed with hypertension.

Overall, the women in the highest two-thirds of prenatal DDT exposure were 2.5 to 3.6 times more likely to develop high blood pressure before age 50 than women in the lowest one-third of exposure.

"We are now seeing the potential long-term health consequences of introducing chemicals whose safety we know very little about," said Jonathan Chevrier, an environmental health scientist at the University of California, Berkeley, who did not participate in the new study.

Almost one-third of adult U.S. women have hypertension, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Prevalence in postmenopausal women is much greater than in premenopausal women.

The researchers found that the association between DDT and high blood pressure held after accounting for some factors known to raise the risk of hypertension, including age, race, body mass and diabetes status.

However, it is unclear how factors they did not test, such as how much salt a person eats, may have affected the findings.

It also is impossible to know whether some women had undiagnosed high blood pressure or how blood pressure levels differed across exposure groups.

"The degree of hypertension matters in terms of clinical significance, so from a clinical perspective it's hard to say anything about the relative importance of the findings," said Dr. Ted Schettler, science director of the Science and Environmental Health Network, a non-profit organization.

However, he added, "anything that raises the blood pressure of an entire population, even a small amount, can have large public health consequences."

DDT breaks down slowly, so most people alive today have traces in their bodies, and it remains in the environment and the food web.

"Each of us carries with us this history of past exposures," said Barbara Cohn, director of the Oakland-based study group.

While the findings are thought-provoking, we have no control over our past exposures, said Dr. Keith Ferdinand, a cardiologist at Tulane University in New Orleans. "We must continue to focus on risk factors that are modifiable, including obesity, sedentary lifestyle and socioeconomic stress," he said.

CURRENT EVENT ASSIGNMENT # ____

Name December 5, 2013 Thur. Lab

NPR: Sickle Cell Anemia Is On the Rise Worldwide

By Rhitu Chatterjee

July 17, 2013

Summary of Article This article discusses the increase in of sickle cell anemia worldwide. This disease is expected to

increase b y thirty percent according to many scientists. Countries in Africa where this disease is most common will get hit the hardest. One gets sickle cell anemia by inheriting two copies of a defective gene, one from each parent. This disease causes red blood cells to collapse and form a crescent moon-like shape. The blood cells clump together therefore they are unable to carry oxygen throughout the body. The lack of oxygen and blood flow causes long-lasting pain and makes the victim more vulnerable to many infections that may follow.

In developed countries it's relatively easy to diagnose this disease by screening babies when they're born. But most kids in underdeveloped countries a r e n o t d i a g n o s e d o r t r e a t e d a n d don't make it past the age of five. With the increase in populations the number of people that will be affected by this disease will be significant. The calculations that scientists have made are very scary when put into perspective.

There is no real cure for sickle cell anemia but screening babies can help can help prevent future complications. Many under developed countries don't have the luxury to screen babies for this disease. One idea that scientists have proposed is genetic counseling.

What Biology Topic Does This Article Reference? In class we learned about red blood cells and sickle cell disease. We learned that red blood

cells transport oxygen and carbon dioxide. Red blood cells do not contain a nucleus and organelles because they need the space to carry the gasses. Red blood cells contain the protein hemoglobin and when there is a low amount of hemoglobin in the human body on gets anemia. The functioning of red blood cells is essential for a human body to survive.

How does this show affect you personally? This topic affects me personally because sickle cell anemia disease is something one shouldn't

take easily. People living in developed countries don't realize the significance of this disease and how it can completely alter one's life. This disease is one of the most deadly and fastest growing diseases in under developed countries. Most kids born with this disease die before they reach the age of five. This fact is truly sad because developed countries have the potential to stop this from happening.

How Will This Current News Affect Future Generations? This current news will affect future generations greatly, especially in under developed countries.

Sickle cell disease is a worldwide problem, but it mostly affects undeveloped countries. Most developed countries have the technology to screen out this disease when a baby is born. This technology needs to be distributed to every country, in order for this horrific disease to slow down. More effort needs to be put in if this is to be a reality someday.

Sickle Cell Anemia Is On The Rise Worldwide

JULY 17, 2013 3:02 AM ET RHITU CHATTERJEE

Sickle cell anemia may not be as well-known as, say, malaria, tuberculosis or AIDS. But every year, hundreds of thousands of babies around the world are born with this inherited blood disorder. And the numbers are expected to climb. The number of sickle cell anemia cases is expected to increase about 30 percent globally by 2050, scientists said Tuesday in the journal PLOS Medicine. Countries in sub-Saharan Africa, where the disease is most common, will be the hardest hit. A child gets sickle cell anemia by inheriting two copies of a defective gene, one from each parent. The mutations cause red blood cells to collapse and form a crescent moon-like shape. These so-called sickle cells clump together and can't carry oxygen throughout the body.

A world map with each country's size based on the predicted number of babies born with sickle cell anemia between 2010 and 2050. The highest rates are expected in sub-Saharan Africa and India. PLOS Medicine

"Because the red blood cells are sickling, they cause blockages of blood vessels all across the body," says Fred Piel, an evolutionary biologist at the University of Oxford, who led the study. The lack of oxygen and blood flow causes chronic pain and makes patients more susceptible to many infections. In developed countries, like the U.S., babies are routinely screened for the disorder, and with the right care they can live well into adulthood. But the vast majority of kids in developing countries don't get diagnosed or treated for sickle cell anemia. "Up to 90 percent of these children will die in the first five years of their life," Piel says. The World

Health Organization has long recognized the importance of sickle cell anemia as a global health issue. In 2006, the World Health Assembly called on countries to tackle the disease. To get a handle on the global scale of the problem, Piel and his colleagues used population data and information about the frequency of the sickle cell gene within different populations.

"We estimate that it's about 300,000 births affected with sickle cell anemia per year," Piel says. He reported those numbers in a study earlier this year in the journal Lancet.

In the latest study, Piel calculated how that number will change in the future. To do that, he used estimates in population growth from the United Nations. Piel and his colleagues project that there will be about 400,000 babies born each year with sickle cell anemia by 2050.

The two countries hardest hit will be Nigeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo, Piel says. Both countries already have high numbers of sickle cell cases. In Nigeria, an estimated 91,000 babies are born with the disorder each year. In the Congo, it's about 40,000. By 2050, those numbers are expected to rise to nearly about 140,000 and 45,000, respectively.

But other, less populous countries won't be spared either. As more people from poorer countries migrate to developed countries, the cases of the disease will increase globally.

There's no cure for sickle cell anemia. But screening newborn babies, followed by vaccines and antibiotics, can prevent deadly complications, Piel says. Many countries, however, don't have the resources to do such screening or provide the necessary lifelong care needed to keep people with sickle cell anemia healthy.

"In the long term you have to find other ways to reduce the number of children affected before birth," Piel says. For instance, genetic counseling for parents who carry the sickle cell gene could help reduce the number of babies who inherit the disorder, he says.

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