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Samuel Rozenfeld News Article Analysis #1

Samuel Rozenfeld

Professor Mikael Vejdemo-Johansson

HON 223

27 September, 2021

The article that I looked at this week is called “Cannabis may alter a teen’s developing brain.” This article talks about the research found that cannabis use can alter teenage brains for a multitude of different reasons. Some of what it talks about coincides with the effect that cannabis has on the prefrontal cortex of the brain, and how it accelerates the thinning of this part of the brain. However, it is clear to state that this does not make the brain more mature more quickly, but instead rushes the natural development that the brain goes through and in turn causes less efficient and rushed development that could have consequences in the future. When looking at the article and the journals that it sourced, it is clear to see that it did a lot of summarizing of the information previously found in other articles. It also did a good job of clearly leading to the articles that it referenced, as I was able to access all of them. One thing that I did find interesting however, was that even though most of the article was a summarization of various different research that agreed with each other, the article did include pictures and graphics that were unique. When I went through all the sources cited in the article, I was not able to find the pictures that it sourced, even though the pictures were done by authors of the cited sources. I presume that those graphics could be found in the cited sources of those academic journals, but I was not able to dig through the multitudes of various sources cited there. The article that I found also did a very good job of being accurate to the journals it sourced, whoever I do think that at times it did stay a little vague in order to not misrepresent what the original journal had said. The journal that I specifically looked at was titled “Association of Cannabis Use During Adolescence With Neurodevelopment,” and it was heavily cited in the article that I found. Overall, I think that Silke Schmidt, the author of “Cannabis may alter a teen’s developing brain,” did a really good job of compacting and presenting research to the reader without skewing or misrepresenting the information to grab impressions.

 

Works Cited:

Schmidt, Silke. “Cannabis May Alter a Teen’s Developing Brain.” Science News for Students, 9 Sept. 2021, https://www.sciencenewsforstudents.org/article/cannabis-may-alter-a-teens-developing-brain. 

M.D. Albaugh et al. Association of cannabis use during adolescence with neurodevelopment. JAMA Psychiatry. e211258, published online June 16, 2021. doi: 10.1001/jamapsychiatry.2021.1258.

Maxim Kleyer Article Summary #1

My article was an interesting discovery made by a group of researchers that could rewrite textbooks. My article “‘Ghost tracks’ suggest people came to the Americas earlier than once thought” by Freda Kreier, talks about the recent discovery of footprints in White Sands National Park in New Mexico that date further back than the people that came to America by the Bering land bridge. Geoscientist Matthew Bennett and his colleagues report that these footprints date back to 23,000 to 21,000 years ago, during the peak of the last ice age. Furthermore, there have been recent findings of animal bones and stone tools that date back up to 30,000 years ago to possibly add as evidence to these footprints. Bennett tells us that he and his colleagues used “…several dating methods such as radiocarbon dating of the aquatic plants embedded in and between the footprints.” The article goes on to tell us that some archeologists are not totally convinced that this discovery is legit. They counter by saying, “…the researchers should use other validation techniques to check the dates before ‘breaking out the champagne.’” One archeologist by the name of Loren Davis, says if the dates are validated, then this discovery will provide evidence that humans can survive the harshest weather for a long period of time.

Compared to the journal, Kreier mentions the basic and most important information that the journal mentions. The journal’s abstract mentions almost everything Kreier mentions but the last sentence. Bennett talks about how this discovery adds evidence “to the antiquity of human colonization of the Americas and providing a temporal range extension for the coexistence of early inhabitants and Pleistocene megafauna.” What I find interesting about this statement is that this is a crucial piece of information that can be expanded upon in Kreier’s article. I find it interesting that this could possibly shape history and Kreier decides not to include this because archeologists believe this discovery is not valid. On another note, Bennett digs deep to make sure that his and his colleagues’ findings are not in vain. He mentions his use of radiocarbon dating, which is mentioned in Kreier’s article, to solidify the ‘ghost prints’ into human feet. On another note, Kreier mentions this in her article but does not go into detail. Overall, Kreier’s article is very interesting, but she puts out the important information with little to none of what Bennett was trying to portray.

 

CITATIONS

Bennett et al. Evidence of humans in North America during the last Glacial Maximum. Science. Vol. 373, September 24, 2021, p. 1528. doi: 10.1126/science.abg7586.

Chukwuebuka Dikeocha News Article #1

I first found an interesting article about how llamas might be the secret to producing a COVID vaccine, but after searching for the original study the article refers to, I concluded that the research paper was either taken down or not available to the public. After searching for a new topic, I came across an article titled “Saline Spray Could Slow COVID’s Spread in the Lungs: Study”. The news article and the abstract are somewhat similar. Being made for a general public audience, the news article goes into significantly less detail on the results. For example, the news article says that the solution containing 1.1% NaCl reduced replication by 88% in lung cells, but leaves out the fact that 1.2% NaCl reduced by 90% and also spares details on “membrane depolarization”. Comparing the article and the whole research paper, the article completely discards the rest of the article. Instead of echoing the process of arriving at their results and conclusion, it relied on a direct interaction with one of the authors, where it seemed much more general questions were asked. The only reference to the paper was the aforementioned line about NaCl ratios. I feel like many readers including myself would like to have read about this process, in simpler terms. Another detail I found weird was that the paper discusses efficacy in both lung and kidney cells, but the article only points out effectiveness in lung cells.

Link to article: https://www.usnews.com/news/health-news/articles/2021-09-24/saline-spray-could-slow-covids-spread-in-the-lungs-study
Link to paper: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acsptsci.1c00080

Melena Scala News Article #1

Melena Scala

Science News Article Writeup

The article that caught my attention this week was titled, “Insomnia is on the rise—and it’s ruining your social life,” by Hannah Frishberg. It describes how the pandemic has increased insomnia among Americans and how it damages relationships by making you less likely to want to interact with others. Although the article cites data for the claims they make using hyperlinks, I found it somewhat difficult to trace the information they are providing to an original source or study. For instance, the article refers to a study by Matthew Walker which found a correlation between sleep deprivation and being more antisocial. While Frishberg was describing the study, however, I only found a press release by Walker and another New York Post article linked. The other article was about loneliness and didn’t seem to have any citations, since it was mainly describing people’s experiences of loneliness during the pandemic rather than a study. In the press release posted on the UC Berkeley website, on the other hand, I was able to find a description of Walker’s study but it still did not have the direct journal included. Instead, I found it under “Related Links.” The study, titled “Sleep loss causes social withdrawal and loneliness,” describes how a lack of sleep can lead to antisocial behaviors, which ultimately supports the claims in the article about how a lack of sleep can lead to antisocial behaviors. Both the article and the journal describe how the research was gathered by examining well rested and sleep deprived individuals and how close they approached other following their night’s sleep. Ultimately, I did not find the actual information in the article to be inaccurate after reading through the journal, however some of the language used in the article seemed to sensationalize the topic slightly. For example, the first line of the article used the phrase “toxic friend” to describe the effect of insomnia on your relationship with others, which now seems like a misleading interpretation of the sources, since the original studies didn’t say anything about insomnia making you “toxic”, just that sleep deprivation may make you lonelier or less likely to hang out with others.

 

Sources:

Ben Simon, Eti, and Matthew P. Walker. “Sleep Loss Causes Social Withdrawal and Loneliness.” Nat Commun, vol. 9, 2018. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-018-05377-0

Frishberg, Hannah. “Insomnia Is on the Rise – and It’s Ruining Your Social Life.” New York Post, New York Post, 17 Sept. 2021, nypost.com/2021/09/17/insomnia-is-on-the-rise-and-its-ruining-your-social-life-study/.

Yasmin Anwar, UC Berkeley. “How Poor Sleep Can Ruin Your Social Life.” University of California, 22 Aug. 2018, www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/poor-sleep-can-literally-kill-your-social-life.

Andi Kolari News Article Analysis #1

Seminar Science News

 

Andi Kolari

Professor Vejdemo-Johansson

HON 223 Seminar

9/25/2021

Research Description

The aim of this research was to attempt to conduct an analysis of how Polynesia came to be inhabited. According to the article, “Polynesian voyagers settled islands across a vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean within about 500 years” (Bower, 2021). By analyzing the genetic data of modern-day Polynesians, researchers were able to create a timeline of how Polynesia came to be inhabited.

Abstract vs Article

The abstract of the scientific research, and the actual article are actually quite similar in terms of how in depth they are. The journal’s abstract gives a very brief look at the findings of the actual research. One sentence is given explaining the objective of the research, another to a very brief description of what the researchers actually did, another sentence explaining the current consensus on the matter, and a few more sentences explaining the findings of the research. The article is effectively the same thing, with slightly more details. The article similarly explains that the objective of the study was to establish a timeline of how Polynesia was inhabited, though it goes a bit more in depth explaining the current scientific consensus. Another interesting difference between the abstract and the article is that the article also makes reference to a source whose findings can potentially contradict the research, though it is not definitive. The abstract has no such information, as it is designed to provide a very brief synopsis of the data.

 

Research vs Article

Unsurprisingly, the research is far more in depth than the article. While the article gives very brief descriptions of what was discussed in the research, the actual study goes far more in depth. As an example, the article simply explains that the researchers conducted a DNA analysis. The research however, provides an in depth explanation of the DNA they analyzed, what the results of their analysis were, how they obtained these results, and how these results led to their ultimate conclusion. Every conclusion they reached in the lead up to their primary conclusion is substantiated, weather that be through the findings of their research, complex mathematical analysis, or some kind of supplemental research conducted by an alternate source which the researchers used to enhance their findings. In the research, everything is presented to the reader, which makes sense, as a scientific report would be held to the upmost scrutiny and would be peer reviewed, leading to the researchers providing in depth explanations to ensure there is absolutely no ambiguity in their research. In contrast, the article is most definitely not up to such scrutiny, so everything can be presented in a form that is easy to digest and can be taken at face value.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sources Cited

  • Ioannidis et al. Paths and timings of the peopling of Polynesia inferred from genomic networks. Nature. Vol. 597, September 23, 2021, p. 522. doi: 10.1038/s41586-021-03902-8.
  • Bower, B. (2021, September 22). DNA offers a new look at how Polynesia was settled. Science News. Retrieved September 25, 2021, from https://www.sciencenews.org/article/dna-genetics-how-polynesia-settled-migration-islands-pacific-ocean.

 

 

Savion Watson Science Article Write-up 1

Article Source:  Modern snakes evolved from a few survivors of dino-killing asteroid (https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/09/210914111218.htm)

 

Article Summary:

The survivors of the asteroid impact that ended the Cretaceous period have evolved into new niches that created modern-day snakes. Researchers came to this conclusion by comparing the fossils of modern snakes and finding genetic variance. This variance is believed to be the result of Cretaceous snakes that avoided extinction by hiding underground and later coming to the surface when their competitors died. Without competition, the snakes were free to explore new habitats and acquire many different genetic traits to optimize their survival.

 

Journal Source:  Evolution and dispersal of snakes across the Cretaceous-Paleogene mass extinction By: Catherine G. Klein , Davide Pisani, Daniel J. Field, Rebecca Lakin, Matthew A. Wills & Nicholas R. Longrich   (https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-021-25136-y)

 

 

Journal Summary:

By gathering data from post-Cretaceous squamate fossils, Catherine G. Klein and five other researchers recreate a time-calibrated phylogeny of crown snakes. Previous findings about post-Cretaceous snakes were deemed “…difficult to assess.”, prompting the team to attempt making their own model. Overall, this model illuminates how the diversity of snakes truly and widely expanded after the Cretaceous extinction.

Comparisons:  

  • The online article claims that one of the co-authors described the end of the Cretaceous as “creative destruction” and notes that events like extinctions are driving forces for “evolutionary change”. The phrase creative destruction is not used in the journal article.
  • The journal article specifies that the diversification occurred with crown snakes, and “…terrestrial ecosystems recovered rapidly.” (Klein et al. 2) after the Cretaceous extinction.
  • Both the online article and journal article agree that that there was a large amount of evolutionary divergence between the snakes in the study: “Shape disparity remained relatively constant throughout the Late Cretaceous, illustrating substantial morphological diversity early in the evolutionary history of total-clade snakes.” (Klein et al. 2) “…today including almost 4000 living species, started to diversify around the time that an extra-terrestrial impact wiped out the dinosaurs…all living snakes trace back to just a handful of species that survived the asteroid impact 66 million years ago.” (ScienceDaily)
  • Interviews with the authors of the study in ScienceDaily’s article help contextualize the results of the study.