Scholars,
Welcome to our APES blog. Once a week (by each Friday) please post to our site. We'll share share findings and discuss what we post. Here are some great links to use for a current events in environmental science search:
Let me know if you have any questions.
Best,
PC
Hey guys! My favorite YouTubers uploaded a climate change video:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gE7vkCz39eg
Check it out!
This is great, Rehnuma. Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteI couldn't create another blog, so I just created my own. Here's the link! :D
ReplyDeletehttp://brendyapes.blogspot.com/
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ReplyDeleteWe lose thousands of cells a day as a result of dead skin. However, our cells continue to divide and replicate and our skin continues to function. What about those individuals that lose skin due to a fire? Could they ever re-gain the ability to send signals to the brain or fight against skin cancer? The probability is very unlikely.
ReplyDeleteChortos is a group of scientists that have really focused on replacing skin. They created "e-skin." E-skin is composed of a soft ridged film over thin bumpy sheets made from plastic and graphene. It can identify different textures, pressures applied, temperature, heat and can even detect sounds. Once these factors are determined they send signals directly to the brain to alert it on what is going on and any possible danger that is near. For instance, by placing a piece of e-skin on an individuals wrist their body temperature and blood pressure could be identified. Signals can be sent to the brain warning it about a possible fever or necessary change in diet.
Although E-skin is very advanced, the scientists from Chortos have admitted that it is “far from having the capabilities that human skin has." Meaning, it does not protect the body from pathogens and disease, does not produce certain vitamins needed in the body, does not protect against UV radiation and more. However, it can still be useful for the people who lack healthy skin tissue.
What do you think? Should e-skin be given to those people who have lost skin function? Or is it not worth the risk?
Source:
Rosen, Meghan. "New E-skin Feels Heat,Textures
and More." Student Science. Society for
Science, n.d. Web. 31 Dec. 2015.
https://student.societyforscience.org/article/new-e-skin-feels-heat-textures-and-more
In New York City, homelessness has reached the highest levels since the Great Depression of the 1930s, according to coalitionforthehomeless.org. There are no factual estimation of how many unsheltered homeless people are living in the streets. However as of October 2015, 59,568 homeless people slept each nigh in the city's shelter system. Homelessness is a huge problem especially in New York with being the 2nd state to have a high homelessness rate. California is the first.
ReplyDeleteIn September 2015, there's a drug den in the Bronx known as 'The Hole' where homeless junkies stayed. After Mayor de Blasio toured the area, the drug lair had to get cleaned out, sending many homeless junkies somewhere else to sleep. Many said they missed it because they've felt safer there, despite the filth of wild animals and diseases.
This is a big environmental problem because 1) homeless people are living on the street everyday being prone to diseases and an unhealthy lifestyle. 2) Although there are shelter options for homeless people to live in, it is still not enough to find a home for everyone. Some shelter systems are over occupied and unkempt.
Should have 'The Hole' be left alone, providing a temporary home for homeless junkies, or was it a proper action to send them somewhere back on the streets?
Source:
DeleteVillasenor, Maria. "Homeless junkies lament loss of 'The Hole' to cleanup crews." The Daily News. 04 Sept 2015. 02 Jan 2016.
"Basic Facts About Homelessness: New York City." Coalition For The Homeless. 02 Jan 2016.
Plunkett, Mary. "10 Most Homeless States in America." The Richest. 02 Feb 2014. 02 Jan 2016.
I read this article conducted by Neuroscientist in which they discuss their study on the brain circuits that control the sleep wake cycle. Sleeping and waking up is such a normal part of our lives that we often don't think about how it works. Scientist don't know yet exactly how mimic the system because it's a unique network. "The study, which was published on Dec. 21 in the journal Nature Neuroscience, showed that activating the circuit associated with the rhythms of electrical activity that occur during sleep -- which is located between the hypothalamus and thalamus brain regions -- causes rapid wakefulness. While, inhibiting the circuit deepens sleep." Scientist ran test on mice to see if it would be possible to induce sleep or make someone wakeup. Our sleep-wake cycle is uncontrollable. It's a part of our daily routine. However what scientist are proposing now is that we learn how to control those parts of our brains so we can trigger someone to either wake up or fall asleep. Scientist believe that this function will be helpful to those who are in a minimal conscious state or to those who suffer from insomnia.
ReplyDelete"Scientists Now Know How Your Brain Wakes You Up." The Huffington Post. The Huffington Post, 29 Dec. 2015. Web. 02 Jan. 2016.
It's rather crazy to think that ice within the arctic would mean so much negativity for the health of the earth but it makes sense for scientists to be so uneasy about it. I didn't realize that with the movement of ice blocks, and the melting and refreezing of ice, comes the movement of pollutants (although it does make sense because if carbon bubbles can be trapped within glaciers and then used to date the glaciers, then of course ice blocks can hold pollutants). What is even more problematic with this whole scenario is the ability for ice blocks to even have access to these pollutants while being in the ocean. It makes me think how scary it is for humans to rely so heavily on pollutant-producing processes so much so that it takes a toll on water sources. Its a big indicator that humans must be doing something wrong on this planet, if glaciers are able to not only hold pollutants but are able to float around oceans at alarming rates. Because ice blocks are able to move across the arctic ocean, there is a greater chance of polluting even more areas of water. At this rate, all waters all over the world will become contaminated, since pretty much all of the bodies of water on earth are seemingly interconnected in some way.
ReplyDeleteSumner, Thomas. "Ice Rafts Traveling Farther and Faster across the Arctic Ocean." Science News. N.p., 17 Dec. 2015. Web. 03 Jan. 2016
Here's the link: https://www.sciencenews.org/article/ice-rafts-traveling-farther-and-faster-across-arctic-ocean
-Bobbi B.
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DeleteI read an article about how EHBs and AHBs help in the agricultural department. AHB is a subspecies of EHB, however, their behaviors are very different. While the EHB is more timid and its relative the AHB is very aggressive and more AHBs participate in stinging compared to the EHB. The reason why the AHB live predominantly in Africa is because of the migration that occurred. Scientist say that the AHBs moved from their original homes to find a better habitat. It is partly because the AHBs are not resistant to temperature and they need a place that is suitable for them.
ReplyDeleteThis movement caused the Farmers to suffer because they depended on the bees for pollination which lead to germination and the production of crops. Now that the bees are gone Farmers plan to introduce the EHB to the area since the EHBs are timid and calm compared to their relatives.
The main reason why the AHBs left the United States is because of habitat loss. This was mainly due to deforestation. The forests are usually where the bees build their hives and now that the trees are gone the bees have no home causing the to move.
The article I read was about trash that was found in the Arctic Ocean and its affects on the environment and wildlife. Here are some key takeaways:
ReplyDelete- When marine animals get a hold of this trash and decide to eat it, it causes them to starve due to lack of nutrients.
- When consumed, these plastics can also release toxic chemicals, endangering the life of the animal and other animals that animal.
- So far there are 5 garage patches(build up of trash in the ocean) in the world, and another is formig in the Barents Sea.
A few questions I have are:
- What would be the long term affects of garbage build up on the lives of marine animals?
- What measures have been taken internationally to actually prevent pollution in oceans?
- What are some regulations put in place to curtail water pollution by specific countries?
Source: https://student.societyforscience.org/article/plastic-trash-travels-arctic-waters?mode=topic&context=60
Ever since August, Wendy Hooker, has been seeing a dozen raccoons “wilding” in her yard. The one that was caught in December, was among the last of the bunch. They were trashing her grapevine and beating her cat. Ms.Hooker is not the first person to experience this in 2015. The city’s 311 help line has received 1,581 inquiries about raccoon control in 2015 which is an increase from 936 in 2014, according to official data.Trappers are also saying that they are getting more request to remove the raccoons from all of the five boroughs but especially in Brooklyn. Because raccoon are known to carry rabies, city law dictates that captured raccoons have to be killed in a humane fashion. However, trappers have confessed that they transport raccoons to parks or wilderness areas and set them free instead, because they don’t have the heart to do what is legally asked of them. For instance, Don, a trapper, said, “ “I am in this for three generations. I go back to the time of the drowning barrel. Guys who trapped animals used to have a 55-gallon drum, and you’d just upend the cage and dump it into the barrel.” However the problem with this is that once the raccoons are released in these areas, they often wander into nearby neighborhoods and it's because raccoons are used to buildings. In the article Correal says, “A special license from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation is required to remove “nuisance wildlife” such as raccoons. Officials at the department, which has licensed around 100 trappers in the city, said local health departments have jurisdiction over raccoons and other rabies-carrying species. A spokesman for the city’s health department said trappers were not permitted to release raccoons caught on a homeowner’s property elsewhere.”
ReplyDeleteHow can this situation be alleviated? How can we provide raccoons with their natural habitat and still feel safe in our homes?
Are the trappers who kill the raccoons justified?
The article I read about was about carbon emission decreasing regardless of economic growth. There was about a 0.6 carbon reduction in 2015. They also stated that China usually emits the most carbon in the world, but they began to reduce their coal consumption and began to use renewable energy sources such as wind, water and solar power. However, this positive continuation cannot be guaranteed because their carbon emissions are expected to rise until 2030 when the country decreases their carbon emissions at a steady pace. This article goes to show that economic profit comes before the environment because China is a large manufacturing country so most of their economy relies on factory production
ReplyDeletehttps://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/global-carbon-emissions-fell-2015-despite-economic-growth?mode=topic&context=60
Isabel
Deletehe article I read was about the recent temperature changes across the world. The article answered on Christmas eve it was in the 70s tornadoes and snow storms in southern USA and historical flooding in England. The reason for all this is what we learned in class El Nino. Due to humans emissions of greenhouses gases the amount of heat released into the atmosphere has been accumulating for months. This heat affects the direction of El nino which influences all parts of the world. Scientist have been saying this for decades and no one listen to them until it finally happened.
ReplyDeleteScientist predict that South Africa will suffer a severe drought, South USA and central America will have Tornado season to extend, and historical rainfall in England.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/31/science/climate-chaos-across-the-map.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=rank&module=package&version=highlights&contentPlacement=2&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0
I read an article called, "Global Population Set to Hit 9.7 Billion People By 2050 Despite Fall in Fertility". The article talks about the current world population, and it rose a very important point. The article says that although the rate of population growth has slowed down throughout the recent years, it continues to rise. For this reason, many people believe that the world population may increase as much as up to an alarming 9.7 billion (from a current 7.3 billion) in the next 35 years or so. An increasing population is a really big issue for many reasons. One of those many reasons is because it occurs mostly in poor developing countries which already have poor living conditions to begin with. John Wilmoth, director of the population division in the UN’s department of economic and social affairs discusses how a large population makes it difficult to combat current problems. Such problems include poverty, hunger, malnutrition as well as the expansion of educational enrollment and health systems. I read another article to collect some extra data on the issue and an article, “Baby bust! Millennials' Birth Rate Drop May Signal Historic Shift” states that, “the birth rates for women in their 20s saw a 15 percent drop from 2007 to 2012”. In addition to this, studies show that,
ReplyDelete"Hispanic women in the age group saw the biggest declines in birth rates—a 26 percent plunge. That was followed by a 14 percent decrease among African-American women and an 11 percent fall for white women". While the birth rate has dropped from women ages 20-29 that doesn't mean that they won't have babies when they're much older.”
-CNBC
The number of births each year still remains really high in countries belonging to continents such as Asia and Africa. China currently holds the world record for highest population with an astonishing 1.4 billion people. However, in the next couple of years, this number is expected to be surpassed by India ( which currently has a population of 1.3 billion) within the next seven years.
Question for the class:
We all know the increasing population is a very big issue due to several factors listed above as well as the sole fact that there are limited resources on this planet. In order to control the current world population, do you think that it would be plausible to place laws such as China’s “One-Child” policy for everyone?
Sources:
Mangan, D. (2015, April 28). Baby bust! Millennials' birth rate drop may signal historic shift. Retrieved January 3, 2016, from http://www.cnbc.com/2015/04/27/baby-bust-mille
nials-birth-rate-drop-may-signal-historic-shift.html
Jones, S., & Anderson, M. (2015, July 29). Global population set to hit 9.7 billion people by 2050 despite fall in fertility. Retrieved January 4, 2016, from http://www.theguardian
.com/global-development/2015/jul/29/un-world-population-prospects-the-2015-revision-9-7-billion-2050-fertility
http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-35216313
ReplyDeleteReflection
Half of a protected area will be closed to fishing. People will not be able to fish in this area anymore. This is the most recent marine reserve to be declared around remote islands. This will only increase marine conservation zones to about 2% of the ocean. Scientists recommend 30% to be reserved in order for many endangered species to live and so that there will be more fish. Many people donate money so that illegal fishing is enforced.
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DeleteI found this interesting article stating a new discovery for ants. The research is currently being tested, but they already have enough details to announce what has been found. Apparently, scientists have found out that by giving ants a special chemical compound, it can alter the role of that ant. So to make this more clear; Ants come in many shapes and sizes, which comes with a certain job. For carpenter ants, there are the major and minor ants. The “majors” are bigger and act as the soldiers in the colony due to their brawn. The “minor” are smaller and do more laborious forging jobs. So the difference between them isn’t much different except for some slight genetic altercations with traits. What I mean here is that they both share the same trait that tells them what job they do, however it chooses the job by turning on certain parts and keeping some off. This reminds me of the RadioLab that discussed how genetics can’t be changed but the traits can be influenced in a way to change. This is what scientists found, when testing some major ants to do a minor ants job. Also they found that the ants can only be manipulated at its early life. The study is going through being tested further and can be found with more details at this link http://www.sciencemag.org/content/351/6268/aac6633 .
ReplyDeleteSources:
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/05/science/ants-can-change-their-roles-study-finds.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=0
http://www.sciencemag.org/content/351/6268/aac6633
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1u2nUV3RkmrlsnP4esDmUdBsOSkBuNvbii6vlHXgQZAU/edit
ReplyDeleteArticle: Stretchy silicon sticker monitors your heartbeat
ReplyDeleteAuthor: Helen Thompson
Reflection:
A bio-engineering team from South Korea designed a wearable and stretchable device that can monitor and store heart rate data. They used gold nanoparticles and stretchy silicon circuits to power tiny electrocardiogram sensors. The best thing about it is that this ultra-thin device attaches to the skin like a sticker or a temporary tattoo and performed well during exercise stress tests on people. This is a great advancement in science and technology because it represents a wearable technology that can withstand the stretch and strain of human body movement. It’s also a great advancement because it shows a different type of technology that we could actually wear. It’s incredible to think that putting on a heart monitor could one day be as easy as putting on a temporary tattoo.
Source:
https://www.sciencenews.org/blog/science-ticker/stretchy-silicon-sticker-monitors-your-heartbeat
Recently there has been efforts to the issue with climate change. President Obama decided to make a plan to cut back on coal mining production and to stop the use of greenhouse gases. He wanted every state to follow this rule however a total of 27 states began repealing the regulation. The rule was originally made by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), but as his last huge issue to tackle, Obama wanted to help the climate change problem of America. The debate between allowing the coal factories to stay for economy reasons or cutting them for environment has went as a far as going to court. So far it seems that Obama’s efforts are working more than the opposing team. However the fate for the Clean Power Plan has yet to be determined.
ReplyDeletehttp://mobile.nytimes.com/2016/01/22/us/politics/court-rejects-bid-to-delay-obama-rule-on-climate-change.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fscience&action=click&contentCollection=science®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=9&pgtype=sectionfront&_r=1&referer=http://www.nytimes.com/section/science