Field Notes : Chapters 9-10

"Ten percent challenge" -- "Put the chill on global warming."

If the world were to be more enthusiastic about reducing greenhouse gas emissions like Burlington, Vermont,-- "Deconstruction," leasing fluorescent light bulbs, wind turbines running on renewable sources, turning waste sites in community gardens and set environmental principles (US Mayors Climate Protection Agreement -- we would have a chance to take control of our own destiny. Trying to change a world is not easy and many things NEED to be done, but we're beginning to enter the era "Anthropocene." I agree, humans cannot be trusted to do the "the right thing." Kolbert concludes the book on a pessimistic note by simply implying if humans continue to indulge in their self-interests, the Earth's climate will spiral out of control. She uses Burlington (good) and China (evil) as perfect examples of the efforts being put in towards the challenge to overcome global warming.

"What's the point of going to alot of trouble if, in the end, your efforts won't make a difference?"

I enjoyed the book, despite the slow beginning. Kolbert introduced new ideas and her themes varied throughout the book. She sourced plenty of credible facts and the book contained great quotes (memorable quotes) from professionals. Humans need to be more aware of our actions contributing to the massive release of carbon in the atmosphere. Kolbert closes the book making the point, The world must unite as one in order to slow down the catastrophe -- change is contagious. Throughout the whole book she writes as a unbiased field reporter, but in her last chapter, she decided to finally give her own opinion.

Kolbert writes (p. 189), "It may seem impossible to imagine that a technologically advanced society could choose, in essence, to destroy itself, but that is what we are now in the process of doing."

Field Notes From a Catastrophe is an example of great science writing -- informative, relevant, accurate sources and clear, even if it was somewhat dry at times. People living in modern industrialized countries take basic needs for granted -- food, water, shelter. I give the book three stars.

"If every single town and city in the United States were to match efforts that Burlington has made, Kolbert says,the aggregate savings would amount to 1.3 billion tons of carbon the next several decades." (p. 179)

Field Notes: Chapters 7-8

I was wondering how long it would take for Kolbert to mention humans harmful actions when it comes to global warming. When presenting the information, her style of writing has changed. Kolbert goes beyond making a statement. She supports her facts with credible sources and in-depth explanation of scientific terms. She speaks of the history behind the influence of humans in the global warming situation.

Kolbert's sources inform us about our actions and the consequences of it. Besides blaming us, Kolbert discusses the possible ways to help the environment and plans to keep carbon emissions down. Using new technology, upgrading others and finding alternative fuel sources to generate power without producing carbon. I feel she should have presented this information first and maybe the book would've started off with a kick rather than a walk in the park (boring).

Finally! She wrote what we can do to help receive such changes on earth. We (the people) need to first realize that we are damaging our environment and are willing to change it. Political action needs to be taken, though the Kyoto Protocol is already making an effort to control greenhouse emissions. When presenting the political part of the issue, Kolbert no longer is descriptive in her words or even humorous. She writes with complete seriousness and concern, which definitely fits in with the topic. I really enjoyed these two chapters because I felt like I actually learned something, simply because Kolbert was straightforward and assertive. Her opinion lessened and her statements

Field Notes: Chapters 5-6

According to GISS, more and more droughts are being triggered, which we are not able to adapt to with our way of living. This problem in ancient civilizations, such as with the Mayans and in the city of Shekhna, when they reached their technological peak. In the beginning of chapter 5, Kolbert talks of the city and the Mayans, but I'm not pleased with the way she went about presenting the subject. She started off long and her point seemed to be off topic. I felt I was reading a history book.

Kolbert's style of writing is very narrative and sentimental in chapter 5. When describing everything from the ancient civilizations that have experienced climate change to her visit GISS, an outpost of the NASA. She uses scientific evidence based on geological models that chart the geographic downfall of other ancient civilizations, which better supports her her angle, which gets a bit confusing. The evidence wasn't being processed and I would have to repeatedly read again to try and understand the evidence she is presenting. During ancient times, however, the technology had yet to be developed and they did not have the proper scientific abilities to adapt to extreme changes like a massive drought. Kolbert argues that we may be technologically advanced, but as we continue to progress, we are becoming more and more destructive to the environment as well.


In chapter six, Kolbert visits the Netherlands where the Dutch have made many provisions to prevent the increasing problem of widespread flooding. In this chapter, she was more consistent and straight-forward. Unlike the previous chapter, Kolbert explained everything easily and all her information wasn't as puzzling. Her writing style contributes to that success. She smoothly presented the evidence and made it an easy-read.

I learned the two main problems for the widespread flooding are caused by warming water that leads to expansion and raises the sea level, another is due to precipitation changes produced by a warming Earth. Eelke Turkstra, water-ministry official, believes that instead of building more dikes, the existing dikes should be dismantled to make room for the rising water. He wants to buy polders, land that has been laboriously reclaimed from the water, from farmers and lower surrounding dikes around them to create more area for the rising water. Then, Kolbert talks to Chris Zevenbergen, Dura Vermeer's environmental director, who creates amphibious homes which will float on the water if a flood were to occur. She ends the chapter being very descriptive about the how the floating houses looked, once again she played my eyes and ears. She closed with a great quote from a woman who lives in those houses. Despite her history lessons and somewhat difficult science jargon, Kolbert still manages to prove her superb science writing

Field Notes: Chapter 4

This chapter had me convinced that global warming is no myth. Kolbert clearly explains the consequences global warming has on the land and biological species. However, Kolbert's main focus was on the earth's butterflies and toads. When discussing the species she used their general name and in parenthesis she would state their scientific name. Kolbert thoroughly went through who the victims would be; what will happen to them; when it might take effect; and where this might take place.


The chapter was a questioning one -- what if. I can definitely say I was a bit frightened after reading it because I never knew this was happening. Kolbert chose to use these specific examples, so readers can feel the same way I do and hopefully, they might want to do something about it. She also used them to clearly project that if the world is constantly moving, the species living within it have no choice but to shift along with the earth. She subliminally states throughout the chapter that "history repeats itself" ; this happened before and it has a chance of happening again, according to recorded data.


The most striking moment was the extinction of the Golden toad. With exclusive details, Kolbert was able to accurately tell the tale of the species' short life on earth. I wish I was able to see such a beautiful creature. Overall, I felt the chapter itself was memorable. People aren't informed of such information, so this chapter served its purpose. Everything little thing served its purpose from the hardcore facts to the description of a biologist.

Field Notes Chapters 2-3

Using many different examples, Kolbert supports the theory of global warming. She starts off using a scientist dated back to the 1800s to begin her timeline of other scientists who made remarkable discoveries about carbon dioxide and rising temperatures to help prove the point -- something needs to be done. Each person used to help emphasize the world's climate change had significant credentials in heir background proving to be credible in this case. The timeline starts with curiosity of one scientist and the rest just pick up where the other left off.


The argument, however, was strongly supported in most cases. There were four strongest pieces of evidence adduced in support of the theory of global warming. The greenhouse gases were accounted for the fact that "the average global temperature, instead of zero, is actually a far more comfortable fifty-seven degrees." If equilibrium of the quantity of radiation both receiving and giving are unbalanced, the planet would either have to heat up or cool down to get to normal temperature again. Kolbert supported her case with places in ice-lands that are beginning to melt or shift. Greenland's temperatures increases, sea level rises, and the Swiss Camp floating on ice thoroughly support her claim.


Kolbert even throws in information that contradicts the global warming theory. Talking about the miscalculations of CO2 in the atmosphere by one of the scientist, she uses that to stand on both sides; yet, at the same time she answers and questions and speculations readers may have against Kolbert's global warming theory. With recent studies and a more effective, modernized way to measure atmospheric CO2, the Keeling Curve, she wins the argument once again. What I admire the most of her writing style and skill is the way she turned a study into something readable -- scientific jargon to English.

"Field Notes From A Catastrophe"

This is well-written, simply because the simplicity of it.

It's a journalistic science book. Why? Because she was informing readers about something we already knew, but presented it to us differently and she explained scientific terms, for those who "skip over it." Elizabeth Kolbert uses great sources in the book, which contributes to the true journalistic writing. Each point and fact given was supported with recent, credible sources. She even compared statistics/numbers to objects and places to show rather than tell.

Kolbert began the book with a scene-setter/narrative and pretty much, the rest of the book is structured that way. She took a different approach for a book introductory, especially a science book about global warming. Honestly, most people don't care about global warming because they don't know what it actually is and does, thanks to scientific jargon. Constantly, personal experiences are used to help prove a scientific point. Kolbert mixes experience with facts to give readers a better understanding of how global warming is detriment to society today.

Being the ears and eyes of the expedition, Kolbert does a great job in being detailed, which further helped explain the global warming issue. She even uses mini-dialogue to bring the story to life.

I'm Seeing Floaters

I explained to my mother that I can see dead people and she just told me to stop wiping my eyes with dirty hands. I'm trying to catch black dots that fall in every direction I look. Every time I try to focus, they begin to drift off. Is it floating spiritual energy or just some dirt in my eye?

Photo Courtesy of Google

A. Doctors call them eye floaters, which are circles, spots, or cloud-like objects that appear in the field of your vision, are only seen by that person and nothing is seen on the eye. The floaters are small, dark, shadowy shapes that you can not focus on because they dart away when you look at them, and they usually don't follow the eye movement since they drift only when the eye stops. Eye floaters can be seen if looking at a plain, light-colored background; To see them clearly look at a white piece of paper, a white wall, a clear sky and even light. Most people have had eye floaters before, but we learn to ignore them even if they become more prominent.


Photo Courtesy of The National Eye Institute

Floaters occur when the vitreous humour, a gel like substance that fills the space between the retina and the lens as well as other vertebrates and helps stabilize the eye, slowly shrinks. When the vitreous begins to shrink, it becomes stringy and the strands can create tiny shadows on the retina. As we get older the more the vitreous humour degenerates and can detach causing more floaters. If you have an eye injury severe enough that it changed the structure of the vitreous humour, you are likely to have retinal detachment along with more eye floaters. Flashes of light may appear as one gets more eye floaters. High blood pressure and migraines can also contribute tot the flashes of light. However, there are much more serious causes of floaters such as infection, inflammation, retinal tears, pregnancy, hemorrhaging, and other injuries to the eye. Floaters are very common in people with diabetes, near-sighted and people who are cataract operation.


Eye floaters are simply annoying and no treatment is really recommended because they are usually ignored. People do go to eye care professionals to see if there are more complicated issues. For extreme cases in which the floaters are so dense and numerous that they affect vision, there are laser treatments and surgery to remove them. This surgery is called vitrectomy, which is the removal of the vitreous gel along with the floating debris inside the eye. The vitreous is usually replaced with a salt solution and because the vitreous is mostly water, you would not know the difference.

http://www.eyecaresource.com/problems/eye-floaters.html
http://www.nei.nih.gov/health/floaters/index.asp

Can Men Produce Milk?

Q. Can men produce milk?

A. If men have the ability to get breast cancer, why wouldn't they be able to breastfeed?

Generally, everyone thinks men have nipples for no reason -- They're wrong. According to lactation consultant, Jan Barger, men can put those nipples to work. When a baby is conceived, the embryo follows a female template, so males inherit female traits such as milk ducts, some mammary tissue, oxytocin and prolactin, which are the hormones responsible for milk production.

In some cases, men have been reported to undergo intense breast and nipple stimulation producing drops of milk (That's disturbing). However, not all men have the ability to lactate. Men who suffer from diseases or other conditions that require hormonal treatment are much more likely to stimulate their mammary glands successfully producing milk. Though this may not be as good as mommy's milk, it's still appetizing, for hungry babies at least.Men don't need to develop breasts to breastfeed, but they can lactate under extreme circumstances. Jack Newman, a breastfeeding expert, says putting a baby to its father's breast won't necessarily promise a lactating father.

"It would be the same reason- increased prolactin levels&mdashin the one case drug-induced, in the other due to a tumor or some sort of neurological problem," said Newman.

Extreme stress, demanding physical activity and starvation, which inhibits the functioning of hormone-producing glands, also can increase lactation. Survivors of Nazi concentration camps and Japanese POW camps in World War II have experienced the untimely lactation.

This may seem very abnormal, but this just might be a societal norm soon. Mothers who plan to work after their children are born will most likely face the stressful demands of balancing work and family, so those lactating dads will come in handy. Men get ready to trade places.


http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=strange-but-true-males-can-lactate&sc=rss
http://web.archive.org.nyud.net/web/20040909091015/http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1511/is_n2_v16/ai_16051177
http://www.babycenter.com/404_can-men-breastfeed_8824.bc

Discover: Stephen Hawking Is Making His Comeback

"But was the Big Bang a singularity. Or was it a concentrated, hot ball of energy – awesome and mind-bending, but still describable by the laws of physics?”

Could Hawking be making a comeback or losing his iconic status? Journalist Tim Folger does a spectacular job covering both angles of the article. The profile of the “master of time,” Stephen Hawking, touched on topics like the false rumors about Hawking retiring, “the capstone to his career,” and his possible setbacks when trying to “reclaim the aura of youthful genius.”

Ironically, Folger creatively compared Hawking’s future and comeback to black holes – “The master of black holes is himself becoming steadily less visible.” It is saddening to know that the person “popular media had likened to Albert Einstein” now has to try to regain the influence he once had on cosmology and physics. Hawking no longer has the ability to keep up with what is now happening to the field because of his thin body and fatal condition. Quite frankly, Hawking could be headed towards the black hole.

A) Lede: 20 out of 20. Folger was the eyes and ears for readers as he described exactly what was going on during the convention, what Hawking looked like, what he said, and the music that played. The narrative lede with its descriptive set of words definitely drew in me in.


B) Content: 17 out of 20. As I said before, I feel both angles were represented well, but I still feel there should’ve been more information about his comeback. Instead, the article focused on if Hawking was well enough to reclaim his status. The background information serves its purpose and solely supports the rest of article: explaining Hawking’s achievements and life.


C) Organization: 18 out of 20. The separation of his previous achievements and his comeback is acceptable, but I prefer that information be intertwined with the rest of the article. The transitions worked smoothly and most of the time I knew what I was reading.


D) Quality of writing: 19 out of 20. I loved how Folger wrote an interesting, easy-read article/profile on a physicist who studies black holes: He turned something not so appealing into something one would enjoy reading. He spoke to associates and co-workers of Hawking, which help support some of Folger’s points. There were also humorous parts in the article: Folger felt the need to plop in the quote when speaking of Hawking having three children -- “The disease only affects voluntary muscule.” Hoiwever, there was occasionally a bit of jargon scattered around.


E) Clarity of exposition: 19 out of 20. The scientific language was certainly kept at a minimum and that was one thing I enjoyed about the article. Folger was very descriptive and in-depth about the theories along with the happenings of the universe.

Why Humans Alone Have Pubic Hair?

Q. Why humans alone have pubic hair?

A. "Hey, nice pubs!"

Pubic hair developed as a sexual ornament, said Robin Weiss, virologist at University College London. After our ancestors split from non-human primates, we lost most of our hair. So when things down there got bushy, it served as a visual sign of sexual maturity. The hairier and coarser it was, the sexier you appeared to be.

Pubic hair has also been known to be around for plenty of reasons: warmth, a visual maturity indicator, to reduce friction during sexual intercourse, and to hold the scent of pheromones (designed to make you sexually attractive towards to the opposite sex). While other animals have fur and feathers designed to protect and attract, humans only have armpit hair and hair in the genital area to rely on.

Weiss was studying and comparing gorilla lice to today's pubic lice, which crossed back into the human lineage about 3.3 million years ago, and he discovered gorillas pubic hair is much more finer and softer than any other place on their fur-filled bodies. When humans begin to grow pubic hair, it starts off as smooth fur, but later evolving it something much more bushier and coarse -- total opposite of the great apes.

"Human pubic hair is different and probably unique, both in its evolution and in its physical appearance and purpose," said Weiss.

Good news is bushy and coarse is no longer fashionable. Bare skin seems to be in and shaving off pubic hair is a must in today's culture.

"There may be a health benefit to this emerging sexual lifestyle -- the extinction of crabs," Weiss said.

The Amazing Moby Dick

Common Name: Sperm Whale
Scientific Name: Physeter catodon

In some of the deepest waters of the world's ocean lies a Moby Dick -- a sperm whale.

Weighing up to 59 tons and up to 70 feet in length, the sperm whale is the largest toothed whale. In Greek, the name means "spouter with teeth on the bottom." The lower jaw contains 18-25 teeth, which helps them successfully disgest squid and other cephalopods. Since squid is the whale's primary food, much of thier behavior and biology can be credited to the search of squid.
Since the past two centuries, one million sperm whales have been killed; Hunting being the primary source of their deaths. There are no other threats and hunting is currently no longer a contributor; however, the past catches up to us. An estimate of 20,000-100,000 sperm whales are remaining.
According to New York State's DEC, whales are often sighted in Long Island waters and occasionally become stranded or wash up dead mainly along the south shore of beaches. Sperm whales can be found anywhere in the world's most largest, deepest oceans from California to Hawaii (north of the Bering Sea) and from Maine to the Gulf of Mexico, bascially everywhere except the Artic region. Sperm whales sleep 3,000 to 6,000 feet under and go up to 8,000 feet in depth when diving.
The well-known sperm whale is generally being symbolized in toys and drawing, as well as books and movies -- Moby Dick. The most distinguishing part of the mammal is its massive head that contains spermaceti, a substance that was once used for candles and ointments. Sperm whales has the largest brain compared to any other mammal: the brain's weigh ranging from 15 to 20 pounds.
We adore the 1851 great American novel written by Herman Melville, and the 1956 motion picture, but we fail to realize these creatures are harmless to humans. They don't sink ships, bite off sailors' legs; however, in many countries people still tend to hunt the whales. Thanks to the Save The Whale movement in the 70's, the whales are believed to be saved.

Interesting Facts:
-Sperm Whales are often found to have thousands of beaks in their stomachs; Giant squid have beaks similar to those of a parrot.

-They swim at 550 feet per miute.

-In the 18th ad 19th century, New England "whalers" sought out for the rare spermaceti oil, which is known to make fine lubricant.

-Sperm whales can hunt complete darkness using echolocation: the whale produces a series of loud clicks that travel through the water and bounce of objects, reflecting the sound back to the whale.

- The blowhole is at an angle on the left side of its head. The blowhole looks like a pair lips and it works like one,too -- closing when the whale dives in order to keep water out.

What Do Urban Sounds Do to Your Brain?

We live in a sonic world, immersed in vibrations that stimulate microscopic hair cells deep inside our ears. This unseen energy influences our mood, our learning, even our health. We experience it as comforting music, as information-laden speech, or—all too often—as irritating noise, a by-product of our increasingly mechanized world. Despite all the ways sound affects us, we often let it slip unnoticed into the background of our lives. Hoping to understand it better, I set out to explore the mysteries of sound in the course of one day.

Dragging the reader in with an interesting fact automatically gives the journalist a handful of points. Not just any old fact: It was a fact that incorporated every reader. Our ears are something we don't really know about. This pulled me in and as I continued to read on I was intrigued and wanted to know what she had to say. She listed how it influences us daily -- the possible ways people perceive noise. There was no generalization of the subject. The journalist has a voice and personality in her writing, making the lede much more conversational. There weren't any intellectual words, so it wasn't intimidating. But it is also very misleading since the rest of the article consisted of words that the average person wouldn't understand. The last sentence had an adventurous tone to it and lead me to the narrative article. "I set out to explore the mysteries of sound in the course of one day," made me feel as if both of us were on this road of exploration. I couldn't wait to find out what she had discovered.

http://discovermagazine.com/2009/jul-aug/24-what-do-urban-sounds-do-your-brain

Lede of the Week: To Explain Longevity Gap, Look Past Health System

If you’re not rich and you get sick, in which industrialized country are you likely to get the best treatment?
The conventional answer to this question has been: anywhere but the United States. With its many uninsured citizens and its relatively low life expectancy, the United States has been relegated to the bottom of international health scorecards. - NY Science Times

The lede relates to nearly everyone that is reading it. The biggest issue of today is healthcare and controversial topics like this should be approach with that angle of writing --- refering to the people and having them think. It appealed to me because after I read the lede, I wondered what country would give the best treatment [I even guessed]. The lede makes a smooth transition to the nutgraf which lets the reader know excactly what the rest of the article is about. The nutgraf also had a bit of humor in it --- "anywhere but the United States."

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/22/science/22tier.html?ref=science

Charlotte's Web

Scientific Name: Neoscona crucifera
Common Name: Orb-weaver (Orb refering to a circular object ---hence the spider's web shape).

How can someone not love the spider that saved Wilbur's life in "Charlotte's Web." If Fern learned to love the Orb-weaver spider, I'm pretty sure anyone can do the same.
There are alot of people (especially females) who are terrified of spiders, but I've always wondered why the fright. Yes, they have eight legs, they catch their dinner in their webs, and they create their own living space; These living spaces --webs-- are the most intriguing thing about spiders.
Orb-weaver spiders are one of the three largest spider groups from the family of Araneidae, which is very diverse. The spiders vary in color [bright colors], size, and shape, but all consist of two rows with four eyes on each. You may think they have 20/20 vision;however, they have really bad vision and rely on the vibrations of the web as a alarm for food and predators.
Orb-weavers possess four spinnerets, which help them produce different textures of silk: non-stick silk for the radial web lines, sticky silk for the spiraling strands, and sometims even ultraviolet silk to attract insects. When vertically building their webs, Orb-weavers attach their strands to basically anything ranging from manmade ojects to stems, creating these sometimes massive webs that are several feet in width.
The oldest evidence of these spiders originated during the Jurassic period and the oldest known true orb-weaver is Mesozygiella dunlopi, from theLower Cretaceous. Several fossils show that there were three major orb weaving families: Araneidae, Tetragnathidae and Uloboridae, which have evolved about 140 million years ago and all have the common origin.

Fun Facts:
- Males, who are much smaller than the females, spend most of their time trying to find a mate;however, the females await for a male to impregnant them, so they can later eat the male as her next meal. Talk about marital issues.
- When female spiders lay several hundreds of eggs in they fall, they wrap the sack in thick silk because she knows she will die from the first frost of the winter, leaving her eggs to be hatched in spring. What a Mom!
- Orb-weavers are carnivores and those weavers who are large enough can consume a hummingbird or frog.
- When a orb-weaver's prey is caught on her web, she uses her venom to paralyze them, making it much easier to digest.

Orb-weavers can be found everywhere except cold areas such as the Artic and Antartic regions. In North America, there are approx. 180 species of the weaver.

Little White Lichen Moth

Scientific Name: Clemensia albata
Folk Name: Little White Lichen Moth

It was a sunny yet chilly day last week Wednesday when I stumbled upon an annoying "white thing" nagging me as I was walking to class. I paused to watch this tiny insect live its' life for just a moment being curious as to what it was. The fly of some sort decided to pose for my cameraphone as soon as I decided to use this mysterious insect for the blog. I've always thought they were butterflies, but my friend assumed it had to be a moth. As soon as I got to the Google homepage, my mind was blank and I didn't know what to type in the search box since I never learned about this insect. After using descriptive adjectives, I finally found a picture that had the exact moth that I had in my picture.

The pattern on the moth's wings are captivating. How could such a small, "annoying" insect be so beautiful and interesting at the same time? The creases in the wings resembles the wrinkles on a human's skin. A sort of wavy line flows through the wings which makes the little moth more definitive. The moth is the size of your standard flashdrive (maybe even smaller) and is as light as a piece of paper. The color can vary, but I've seen an off-white moth Wednesday.

The moths are known to be seen more from June to September. So watch out and pay close attention to your surroundings, you might get a chance to see this little mysterious insect.

Family: Arctiidae
Common Family: Tiger moths
Food: The larvae feed on lichens (fungus that grows on leaflike or crust liemt hings such as rocks, trees, etc.).

Bathing, but Not Alone

While a group of microbiologists from the University of Colorado were conducting a project measuring the amount of microbes (a bacterium that causes diseases) in the indoor human environment, they discovered that humans bathe in the bacteria daily.

Norman Pace, head microbiologist of the experiment, said he had found 15 different types of bacteria in showers across the country. New York City has the highest level of a microbe called Mycobacterium avium. Wow. This startling statement is frightening because I'm a New Yorker who takes at least two showers a day. I'm disgusted knowing that I splash this tuberculosis related bacteria on my face. Luckily, Pace says that we're in no serious danger except those who have weak immune systems.

Cities treat their water supply with chlorine in order to kill most of the bacteria; however, this only gives avium an opportunity to live in our showers. Temporary solutions would be to use a metal showerhead rather than a plastic one and running the water for 30 seconds before entering the shower since the bacteria builds in the showerhead from the water causing it to spray out as soon as the shower is turned on.

Interesting Fact: Pace tested the air in New York City subways and found that "it's like outdoor air, fresh." The only reason for this fact is because the trains push fresh air into the tunnels when they're in motion. "It's healthier to breathe subway's air than the shower's mist."

Pace said these projects rose from a grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation, which was curious as to how they could get microbes that would be useful in a bioterriost attack. Scary, right? This article relates to alot of readers and journalism's 5 W's and H have been answered clearly.

"Dr. Pace said he was still taking showers, which he deemed no more dangerous than getting out of bed in the morning. “The yuck factor isn’t nearly as great as people may think it is,” he said." -The Science Times

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/15/health/15shower.html?ref=science

A Problem the Size of a Pea

I'm glad I can finally relate to a medical issue that was written in The New York Times. I've always wondered about those yellowish, smelly pebble size things that randomly come out of my mouth. Like Meghann Swan, a source in the article, and many others I know, including myself, have been victims of these foul-smelling blobs. We never thought to ask a professional because it didn't seem serious or we've just found our own remedies to take care of the issue. I don't suffer from it, but I have experienced it. It causes people to continuously have occurrences of strep throat, sore throats, and/or swallowing complications. These tiny stones are a buildup of mucus, dead cells, and other debris that gets caught in the tonsil causing the yellowish color to appear. Bacteria feeds on this stone, giving it the funk. This can be very irritating on a daily basis. This specific article is the ultimate service piece helping the people that suffer from this thing called tonsilloliths, cope with the rarely known medical issue.The article has a tremendous impact on readers and influences them to take action by including home remedies sources have given the journalist. A large amount of Americans suffer from it; however, most doctors don't know what it is and they tell their patients "it's just a piece of food."

Luckily, I don't suffer from it. I've just experienced it. Those who do most likely have bad breath and their social lives are heavily affected. The journalist, Elizabeth Svoboda, included extended help in her article referring victims/readers to a doctor who sells medicated mouthwashes and sprays to help people deal with this "minor" issue. The journalist has done extensive research which makes her credible. This was a expertise advice piece which allowed readers to relate and react. Unfortunately, there is no real solution besides going under the knife to get your tonsils removed --tonsillectomy. Linked to the article was a website where tonsilloliths sufferers go for advice and sympathy (wrongdiagnosis.com).
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/health/01tons.html?_r=1&scp=1&sq=in%20tonsils,%20a%20problem%20the%20size%20of%20a%20pea&st=cse

How The Nose Copes With Nostril Rivalry

The headline of the Science Times article, How The Nose Copes With Nostril Rivalry, drew me into what needed to be said about something no one really cares to read about. The topic itself is bland, yet the article shined light upon the subject. Believe it or not, our nostrils are competing for total dominance of the olfactory (the organ in charge of the sense of smell). Both nostrils are perceived to be working hand in hand; however, each one is fighting to be in control and obtain the ability to give you a stronger sense of smell. These aren't the first organs to clash. Scientist say the competition is similar to the battle of your eyes and ears as they "go at it" for superiority. I've done further research to confirm the article's facts and accuracy. According to Medical News Today (http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/161415.php), both nostrils generate differently, yet together they both are accurate and give us a model of the world around us. Both articles refer to the publication Current Biology for concrete information; however, Science Times claims this is a one hundred percent fact while Medical News Today claims it's an illusion. This study of binaral (two nostrils) rivalry has made us wonder. So with that curiosity, the field of Human Olfactory perception will be in effect.


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/01/science/01obnose.html?_r=1&ref=science