More Information on Ash Fungus Genetic Data in the UK

Since February 2012, many Ash trees in England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland have suffered fatal blows by a mysterious fungus known as Chalara fraxinea. The fungus is a new form of ash dieback, and originated in Poland 1992. The fungus infects Ash trees and causes their cells to die, and has been affecting a large population of ash trees in the UK.

Recently, scientific experts have sequenced part of the RNA of the fungus. Researchers at the Sainsbury Laboratory and the John Innes Center have made a first step in discovering the spreading methods of this ash dieback fungus. By extracting a sample of the fungus from the twig of a deceased ash tree in Norfolk, experts could sequence the RNA of the fungus which was mixed up with the genetic information of the plant. The plant health expert Michael Shaw (who did not participate in the experiment), noted this process as the first step to discovering why some strains of the fungus cause disease while other strains are benign. Perhaps one of the most interesting things about the fungus, as pointed out by Shaw, is that only certain strains of this fungus are different from the fungus that lives in ash trees naturally, meaning that they are closely related. This creates an even bigger mystery surrounding the fungus, as there must be some key genetic difference between the two strains.

After scientists had accomplished this 'first step' to "decoding" the mysterious fungus, they perpetuated their progress by publishing their results on the internet, leaving it open for analysis by other scientists. A similar strategy was taken in Germany with the 2011 E. Coli outbreak, which had tremendously successful results in enabling the scientists to track the source and spread of the infection.

I felt that this article was interesting and insightful. I really enjoyed that the author cited specific scientists and included them in the article, as it gave me a sense of where the research was stemming from, and how it affected broader regions of science. One thing I disliked about the article was the lack of specificity in regards to the steps of 'solving' the mystery of the fungus. I would have liked to have learned more about, specifically, how they were able to decode the RNA, and what, specifically, their future steps and plans were to identify the properties of the fungus.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-20719507

'Marine' Fossils May Instead Represent Early Land Dwellers

According to some scientist, fossils of early organisms, such as the Dickinsonia, may really have been land dwellers rather than marine organisms. Previously it was almost unquestionable that these early fossils proved marine life began to blossom about 635 million years ago. However, the notion that these fossils belonged to land dwelling creatures would push the emergence of marine life back 100 million years.

The leading scientist in this argument is Gregory Retallack from the University of Oregon. He argues that the fossilized rocks were formed by paleosols, an ancient soil. This would make the rocks terrestrial instead of marine. His argument is supported by the texture of the rocks, arrangement of interlocking grains (showing the rock is windblown), and distinct color patterns. Also immediately beneath the rocks are fossils containing tubular structures that resemble early forms of clinging moss.

Not all scientists agree with Retallack’s theory, but they are eager to investigate and are not completely saying it’s out of the question. If Retallack is correct, scientists would have more evidence that during the Ediacaran period (time period these fossils are from), there was more life on land than expected. It also would create new conversation on when earths first soils were created and how to ID them

I thought this was an interesting article. It opens your eyes up to the fact that science is not fact, and new discoveries and arguments can be made each day that can counter previously accepted ideas. The only problem I had with this article was that the author didn’t specify which ancient organisms they were debating about, you could only deduce it was a Dickinsonia from the caption of an image.

http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2012/12/marine-fossils-may-instead-repre.html?ref=hp





"'Marine' Fossils May Instead Represent Early Land Dwellers." - ScienceNOW. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2012.

Scientists Offer New Insights Into Early Universe

          As humans it is apparent that we naturally seek to learn more about the universe surrounding us. At Penn State University scientists have been studying the earliest era of the universe. From their data they were able to make a model which shows that the large objects that are observed in the universe actually from fundamental fluctuations in the essential quantum nature of “space-time.” The scientists were able to make this model due to their analyses of quantum physics. Their analysis of quantum physics goes the farthest back in time, to date. This model actually disproves Einstein’s general theory of relativity because it shows that the universe was once so compressed that the densities were unimaginable and did not work the same way that Einstein had believed. Instead, the early universe was ruled by a fundamental theory that had strange dynamics of quantum mechanics. No scientist has yet been able to detect the early eras of the universe; however cosmic radiation discovered an era in the universe when it was three hundred and eight thousand years old. Although the Universe was quickly super-compressed after that time period. Observations from the cosmic radiation also tell the scientists that the universe was uniform in its consistency after its inflation. The inflammatory model that the scientist created shows that the early universe and space time are on a smooth continuum. Ivan Agullo, who worked on the research, states that this model is insufficient, “The inflationary paradigm enjoys remarkable success in explaining the observed features of the cosmic background radiation. Yet this model is incomplete. It retains the idea that the universe burst forth from nothing in a Big Bang, which naturally results from the inability of the paradigm’s general-relativity physics to describe extreme quantum-mechanical situations.” To make this model successful the scientists believe that a quantum theory of gravity is needed so that the physics close to the origin of the universe is found. This group of scientists also proposed an updated theory of the Big Bang called the Big Bounce. The Big Bounce is the theory that the universe evolved from nothing but a super- compressed mass of matter. In reference to this model, Abhay Ashtekar, the senior author of the paper, published in the journal Physical Review Letters, stated, “In human terms, it is like taking a snapshot of a baby right at birth and then being able to project from it an accurate profile of how that person will be at age 100.” These two theories make for a very exciting future because they will be tested against one another in the future discoveries. I found this article to be interesting however quite confusing. I am not a renowned scholar on quantum physics or physics in general, so trying to understand all of these discoveries was quite confusing. This article shows how amazing science is. Due to science we are very close to discovering the beginning of the universe. It is simply mind boggling.

http://www.redorbit.com/news/space/1112739083/early-universe-new-insights-112912/

posted for C. Weiss

Pushing Science’s Limits in Sign Language Lexicon

This article that I read is about how deaf people who use sign language are not excelling in science nor pursuing careers in it, because teachers and students must improvise on what they know already. Words like “photosynthesis” and “organism” do not have signs, which makes it even harder for the people to learn biology or other sciences. If there were not a pre-existing terms for signs, teachers would “come up with a sign that was agreeable with both parties” Because the Internet has become so resourceful, students are able to watch videos and do research on scientific signs and share them with others. In 2012, the British sign Language glossary project added 116 new signs for physics and engineering terms. A team of researchers in Scotland and a University developed these signs. The standardization of signs will make it much easier for deaf students to understand the lessons being taught. I found this article to be very interesting and believe that what these scientists are doing is great. It is unfair to those who cannot hear or speak and are unable to understand the lessons being taught. Although it must be difficult to come up with new signs for every scientific word, it is important to always have that option pursing something you love. Posed for J. Sears

Ancient red dye powers new 'green' battery: Chemists use plant extract in eco-friendly, sustainable lithium-ion battery

This article is about chemists who found a new “green” battery, which is more environmentally friendly. Researchers from The city University of New York and Rice University worked together on this new project. They found that a plant once used in the old world has ingredients, purpurin, which were extracted from the roots of the matter of the plant. This was used in Asia and the Middle East over 3,500 years ago as a pink red and orange dye, which worked on fabrics and tiles. The batteries made from this substance work as any other battery would. Currently, batteries are made of cobalt, which is very expensive to  mine, so this plant alternative is a much better resource.

            The batteries made from this plant are more tedious to make, but they are much better for the environment. The batteries would soak up carbon dioxide  and eliminate the disposal problems that come along with normal batteries. Since the resources used to make these new batteries are from the environment, they are not as harsh and in the long run won’t have as many problems as normal batteries. This innovation will come in a few years and will be better for everyone, especially the earth.

            I thought the author did a very good job in writing this article. He was very clear as to what the batteries are made up of now and how they will be made in the future. Using this compare and contrast made it easier for the reader to follow along with the technical terms. I wish the author had made it clearer as to how this would impact our future as battery customers.

City College of New York. "Ancient red dye powers new 'green' battery: Chemists use plant extract in eco-friendly, sustainable lithium-ion battery." ScienceDaily, 11 Dec. 2012. Web. 12 Dec. 2012.

Re-welcoming back Global warming issues

         

              In this article that I’ve read, I’ve learned that global warming is at its highest peak and still growing larger. Global warming had been a major issue in our lives but it seems that not many people care about our ozone. As we know it, we even created a treaty that is called the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, but not many people care about it. Not until now. A couple days ago delegates from nearly over 200 nations met at Doha, Qatar where they discuss the future of global warming and what the aftermath is. But they realized that even with global negotiations weren’t enough to stop global warming. A larger, much larger attention was needed. They proclaimed that in order to decrease global warming, we need a global effort to stop it, meaning everyone needs to participate in this “stop global warming” campaign. Numerous people did participate in this effort to stop global warming, and casually decrease the emission of carbon dioxide. Because of this, many countries such as, England, France, U.S, etc decreased the emission of carbon dioxide throughout the world. However, this is not enough as Josep G. Canadell said. As we know it, coal became the main factor of natural gas supply other than fossil fuel, and as the usage of coal increases, the world is likely to lose its ozone in the near future. “If we’re going to run the world on coal, we’re in deep trouble,” said Gregg H. Marland, a scientist at Appalachian State University who has tracked emission for decade. If we do not switch to a cleaner and environmentally usage of fuel, then maybe our ozone won’t last much longer.

                I generally think this article intrigued me when I first read it. I’d like to mention that it brought back up the issue of Global Warming which had disappeared on the media for quite some time now. I think this article was well written, however, could use some more proof and evidence on how the research is carried out and where is our ozone at, at the current moment. This can spark future environmentally movements that can stop the emission of carbon dioxide and turn to clean energy such as electricity. Overall, outstanding article. 

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/12/03/world/emissions-of-carbon-dioxide-hit-record-in-2011-researchers-say.html?ref=science