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=Boricua Science Class Student Work Space=

Student Name:
Mackenzy Paul

End of Term Reflection
Here are some of the activities we did in class this term: Harper's Magazine ("Boots on the Ice"), Hurricane Evacuation Plan, Designer Babies (GATACA), Genetic Diseases, Evolution Movies/Research, NYT Science Reviews, Punnett Squares, Chemical Bond Diagrams, The Periodic Table, The Birth and Death of Stars

[insert text here] [insert text here] Computer Class = [More/Less] Videos = [More/Less] Student Group Activities = [More/Less] Evaluations = [More/Less] [insert text here]
 * What 2-3 activities did you enjoy/learn the most?
 * What 2-3 activities topic did you find the most difficult to understand?
 * Describe how could we improve this course in the future
 * Explain why you enjoyed, or why you struggled through, this class, offering whatever insights you may feel are valuable:

Name of Disease
[Type here]

Symptoms

 * 1) [Type here]
 * 2) [Type here]
 * 3) [Type here]

Genes

 * 1) [Type here]
 * 2) [Type here]
 * 3) [Type here]

Cytogenetic Location
[Type here]

Base Pair Sites
[Type here]

Emergency Plan Research
Greenpoint Brooklyn

Evacuation Center
After research I concluded that I live in zone B, which may experience storm surge flooding from a moderate (category 2 and higher) hurricane. Due to the fact that the location of my house is not far off of the East River, I feel that we are in much danger if a hurricane hits. My nearest evacuation center is in Queens. The center is located in Christ the King High School on Metropolitan Ave. I called them and there was no one available to answer my questions. I find this location to be very disturbing since it is not convenient. If all the people who live in Greenpoint and parts of Williamsburg have to evacuate to this location, with all the people who live in Middle Village, Ridgewood and Maspeth, I feel like there won’t be enough of room for everyone. In saying that I understand that this is where we need to go so my plan is as follows: I will prepare for evacuation the moment the weather stations tell us that we are going to be in danger. All items to keep in my car. All items for my purse My only other family living in New York is my Mom, so as soon as we are warned I will ask her to come to my house so we can all leave together, I will also take my neighbor who lives alone and has no family.
 * 1) Location – Zone B
 * 2) Implemented Plan –
 * 1) Make sure my car is on a full tank of gas.
 * 2) Store blankets, bottled water, first aid kit, flashlights, am/fm radio, extra batteries for both, one bag of extra clothing for each member of my family, aspirin, cold medicine, cookies, crackers, peanut butter, can goods, can opener, juice boxes.
 * 1) All important documents, birth certificates, social security cards, immunization records, marriage certificates, house keys, cash, credit cards and my jewelry.

Your Evacuation Plan
When the time comes to leave, the route I will take (which I know will be very crowded) will be: Manhattan Ave., to Metropolitan Ave., I will take Metropolitan straight down passing over the Metropolitan Ave bridge which I hope will not be flooded and continuing until I reach my destination which is probably around 4 to 5 miles. I feel that taking my car will be better for my family and me than taking a train or bus because this way I can pack stuff in the trunk of the car. The entire time I will be listening to the radio for any updates and warnings. As of right now there is no plan in place for such an emergency. I hope that if the time ever comes that we are faced with a hurricane evacuating that the plan will be ready and will work. >

#1

 * 1) __**Summary A look at non smokers who get lung cancer**__
 * 2) A huge new study conducted in Europe, North America and Asia based 24 million non smokers who had lung cancer provides new information about who is at risk. Study's show that male non-smokers have a greater chance of getting lung cancer. 10 to 15 percent occur in people who never smoked and just in the United States alone 16,000 to 24,000 a year die from lung cancer. They still arent sure what causes non-smokers to get lung cancer though researchers suspect genetic susceptibility combined with exposure to cancer causing substances like asbestos, radon, certain solvents and second hand smoke.
 * 3) Dr. Michael Thun, the lead author of the study and the head of epidemiological research for the American Cancer Society emphasized that although non-smokers do have some risks, smokers are much worse off. Today about 59 percent of people in the United States say they never smoked and this is up from 41 percent in 1960.
 * 4) Book Citation – I linked this article to pages 499 500 in the textbook. The chapter is on cancer. The chapter consisted of the explanation of how cancer is in our bodies. It explains that cancer occurs when a group of cells in the body reproduce without restraint. People who are born with genetic defects have a considerably worse situation. In the United States, about a tenth of cancer patients diagnosed each year have inherited an abnormality in one of their genes. This chapter also discussed how in other cases a condition produced in the lungs by constant exposure to the chemicals in cigarette smoke is linked to lung cancer. In these cases, it is usually possible to identify the cause of the cancer, as smoking has been identified as the major cause of lung cancer.
 * 5) Personal Interest –I have learned a lot about cancer between the two pieces of materials.

#2
Blood Tests Ease Search For Down Syndrome This article has the opinions of many different Doctors and Scientists who all have the same idea in mind, who will create a test to detect Down syndrome in the early stages of a pregnancy. For three decades, scientists have been trying to develop a noninvasive prenatal test for Down syndrome that would replace amniocentesis, which can cause miscarriages. A biotechnology company in San Diego called Sequemon says it will begin selling such a test next June. The first test the Stanford test has only been tried on 18 blood samples and Sequenom has tried its test on only about 400 samples and has not yet published its results. Still both tests have perfect results so far: no false negatives or false positives. Some Doctors explained that there are reasons to be cautious. Professor of pathology Jacob A. Canick said of the Sequenom test is that it is a step forward. A former consultant to the company, Dr. Cannick will conduct a study of the test’s accuracy in 10,000 women. Down syndrome, the most common chromosomal disorder occurs when a baby is born with three copies of chromosome 21 instead of the usual two. It is marked by mild to moderate mental retardation, unusual facial characteristics and a high risk for heart disease. Most women over the age of 35 are the usual candidates to have a baby with Down syndrome and up to now the only two tests to identify if the baby has it, but each of the tests come with a chance the mother will miscarry. Sequenom’s test would be used at first to screen women to see who would then undergo amniocentesis or C.V.S., so-called diagnostic tests. But Harry Stylli, cheif executive of Sequenom, says that if the test is accurate enough, "it will ultimately replace amnio and C.V.S." Such screening is already done using ultrasound and a variety of blood tests, so some experts say that unless a noninvasive test can replace amniocentesis and C.V.S., it will not be that significant. Most efforts to develop noninvasive prenatal tests have focused on isolating cells from the fetus in the mother’s blood. But the fetal cells are extremely rare and hard to detect. More recently, scientists have discovered that there is free-floating fetal DNA in the mother’s bloodstream, probably because fetal cells die and break apart. Tests that analyze this DNA can determine the baby’s sex and whether it has the Rh factor in its blood. But fetal DNA can be drowned out by the mothers own DNA. And an extra chromosome causes Down syndrome, so it cannot be detected just by looking at a particular gene or mutation. A professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong who conceived of Sequenom’s test focused on RNA, DNA’s cousin. A copy of a gene made of RNA is produced only when that gene is active. So the professor looked for genes on chromosome 21 that were active in the fetus but not in the mother. That means that any such RNA found in the mother’s bloodstream comes from the fetus. This article concluded with different opinions for each of the different tests. I hope that someone will come up with one that works so women will have easier ways of finding out if their unborn child will be healthy right from the start. I linked this article with pages 471 thru 482 of the textbook. This is a chapter that we just finished discussing in class. The reason I linked the two together is because this chapter is about DNA and RNA, which are two factors the article spoke about in reference to Down syndrome. In a chromosome, a stretch DNA is wrapped around a core of protein molecules. A human being receives 23 different chromosomes from each parent, and each gene has a specific location on a specific chromosome. Different organisms have different numbers of chromosomes. Humans have a total of 23 pairs. Chromosomes are the packaging into which DNA is put. The first job in analyzing DNA is a process called mapping. In this process, the locations of genes on specific chromosomes are determined. This is especially important in medicine since many diseases arise from mutations on specific genes. DNA sequencing is the processes of determining, base pair by base pair the exact order of bases along a DNA molecule. Personal Interest – I really enjoyed learning about DNA. The materials in the textbook as well as what I learned in class was very facinating to me. The article on Down Syndrome was very interesting and I would love to learn more about diseases and the human body.
 * 1) Summary –
 * 1) Book Citation –

> **__Gaming Envolves__** This article was really cool, it is about a man named Mr. Wright who is the creator of the Sims games. Mr. Wright wanted to create a new game which he is calling Spore, this game is like evolution. The game will give players an experience of life and the universe across billions of years, from microscopic creatures to interstellar civilizations. Mr. Wright wanted Spore to communicate some of the grand patterns of evolution. But he did not want players to spend a million years waiting for something interesting to happen. He also wanted to convey the sense that evolution can bring up a surprising diversity of weird, interesting, strange things. The game begins with a meteorite crashing into a planet, sowing its ocean with life and organic matter. Players control a simple creature that eats up bits of debris. They can also choose to eat other creatures or eat vegetation or both. As the creature eats and grows, it gains DNA points, which the player can use to add parts like tails for swimming or spikes for defense. Once the creature has gotten big and complex enough, it is ready to transition to land. On land, the creatures can grow legs, wings and other new parts. At this point some of Spore’s features really shine. The software is very creative and transforms creatures in an infinite number of ways, as players add parts and alter their size, shape and position. This game sounds like a lot of fun, and for someone like me who doesn’t really understand evolution it can be a start in the right direction. Some scientists who have played this game think it is fun but are also weary of the fact that it is not truly explaining evolution. One scientist Dr. Prum stated he admired the way Spore touched on some of the big questions that evolutionary biologists ask. What is the origin of complexity? How contingent is evolution on flukes and quirks? He felt if it compels people to ask these questions that would be great. I compared this article to the textbook chapter of evolution on pages 509 through 530. After reading the pages in the textbook I linked them to the article because the man who created this game had the right intentions. I feel it would be very difficult, time consuming as well as boring if he made the game exactly the way evolution happens. I understand that evolution is along process and each species is unique. Following in Darwins footsteps in some ways, Maybe this game can explain to people how natural selection occurs. I also linked the article to the story of life on page 520, it explained that from the first cell that splits everything falls into place. I am not a big video or computer game person, but I would be interested in playing Spores. Now that we have learned about evolution I think it would be pretty cool to create my own creature. Back to Science homepage