Breathing Issues

“Outbreak of a Respiratory Illness Escalates Among Children and Mystifies Scientists”

By: Catherine Saint Louis

Source: New York Times

http://nyti.ms/YeLWFR

            A recent outbreak, which targets the respiratory system, has placed many children in a hospital. This disease is known as enterovirus 68. According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, this disease has infected over 200 people within the past few days, but has not had a fatal aftermath. However, the amount of children being infected by enterovirus 68 has been increasing. Some hospitals have had too many children affected by the disease. Due to this event, they have been forced to send new patients to other hospitals, most of them being under five years of age. Scientists know that enterovirus is common. The symptoms include a cold, coughing, and body aches. However, in recent events, the symptoms of enterovirus 68 have gone past these symptoms and reached wheezing and difficulty breathing. In Colorado, more than 3,000 children have been hospitalized within a month. Although most of them have been sent home after being treated, the rest have been forced to remain in the hospital and have a constant supply of oxygen. Scientists have warned parents about infants that do not drink water in order to breathe should immediately be taken to the hospital.

            Enterovirus is a serious disease in my opinion. This disease has affected children under the age of five. This should be considered a dangerous disease because of the people it affects. Children under the age of five have begun to develop their respiratory systems. By being introduced to a disease that endangers their developing respiratory system, they can easily be hospitalized and may require constant attention. 

Orange Sherbet

The tastiest, yet simple brand of ice cream is orange sherbet. When I was younger, I would attend tennis lessons every Saturday and Sunday for three hours. After an exhausting practice, my grandfather would take me to an ice cream store. Every time we would arrive at the store, my grandfather would always force me to try different flavors of ice cream. My grandfather always told me that there was not only one flavor of ice cream you would need to eat every time. He would tell me that there is vanilla, and chocolate, and rocky road, and strawberry, and orange sherbet. I decided to try orange sherbet because I like to eat oranges. At first, I assumed it would have the same taste when I drank orange juice. Once the person placed orange sherbet on the cone, the scoop of orange sherbet looked like the sun. It was at this moment that I knew I would enjoy it.

I convinced my grandfather to purchase a pack of orange sherbet. The moment I got home, I told my brother, father, mother, uncle to taste the ice cream. However, I only allowed them to eat one teaspoon. I asked for their opinion after tasting it, and they told me that it was delightful. I started to eat the rest of the ice cream quickly. Every second I was eating orange sherbet; I could taste the richness and texture. I decided to tell my cousin, who was in Las Vegas at the time, about orange sherbet, he told me that he had never heard of it. I could not believe that this ice cream flavor is not popular. I went online to find reviews about orange sherbet. I found few reviews about the ice cream, but the ones I did find gave it five stars and recommended to viewers that they should give it chance. After reading these reviews, I knew that the only way people would appreciate and understand my satisfaction was by tasting orange sherbet themselves.

Pesticides in Water

“Pesticide Levels in Waterways Have Dropped, Reducing the Risks to Humans”

By: Michael Wines

Source: New York Times

http://nyti.ms/1uq3afW

            The development of safer pesticides have helped improve safety from harmful ones. In a reseach study conducted by the United States Geological Survey, there were about a large amount of pesticides found from 200 sampling points. This statement means that researchers found pesticides from random points in a stream or river. From 1992 to 2001, seventeen percent of agricultural streams and five percent of other streams were reported to have at least one pesticide that had surpassed its containment level. However, from 2002 to 2011, study showed that only one pesticide was found in only one stream across the nation. This decline in the number of pesticides occurred because of the introduction of newer and less dangerous pesticides. Also, further actions have been taken to contain the use of dangerous pesticides. Wes Stone, a hydrologist from the Geological Survey said, “It’s very clear in the data that regulatory changes in use do affect what you see in the streams”(1).

The pesticides that were found in streams were known to affect the aquatic life of the animals living in the stream. The amount of pesticides that would be harmed due to the older and newer parasites jumped from fifty-three percent to ninety percent. The main reason in the increase of affected aquatic life percentage is the introduction of two new parasites, fipronil and dichlorvos, which are found in roach killers and dog de-wormers. Newer parasites were found to affect aquatic life more than human life.

Although the introduction of new parasites in the streams may have solved the issue on water contamination for humans, it has begun to affect the life of all the animals living in the stream. It is important to find a way to improve health conditions for humans, especially in water, but killing other wildlife is not the correct way to do it. Researchers should try to stop introducing newer parasites that may seem to be an alternative to previous ones without fully understanding the effects it could have on the wildlife.

Giver's Review

“The Giver”

By: Peter Travers

Source: Rolling Stone

http://www.rollingstone.com/movies/reviews/the-giver-20140815

“The Giver” was released on August 15, 2014. The movie was directed by Phillip Noyce and is about a young boy’s journey to discover a “real” world with the help of an elderly man. Peter Travers uses automatic ethos when writing the review to prove to everyone that the review comes from a reliable source. Travers is a famous movie critic and people should respect his opinion. Travers appeals to logos during the by informing the viewers that Jonas Travers was eleven years old in the book, but was played as a twenty-four year old boy in the movie. Travers does use pathos in the review, but he compares the movie to the original book. At first, Travers discusses how he had read “The Giver” and enjoyed the fact that it was a world without pain or suffering. However, Travers did not enjoy the idea of a world going from dull and gray to colorful and beautiful all of a sudden. Travers believes that no person would like to watch a movie that saddens him or her at first, and then unexpectedly brings happiness, without any transition in between.

Travers uses claim of fact by informing the audience that about his belief that movies based on books, should portray their characters the same age they were in the book. Travers discusses claim of value when he tells the audience that it is desirable when movies do not have a sudden plot. Travers wanted the movie to have transitional periods throughout the scenes, but it did not. Travis shows claim of policy by advising the director that the movie should have had a change in the plot. The movie should have discussed the unrealistic world at first, but should have given the main character a challenge or a task before he discovers the “real” world. 

Travers proves this was a bad review by giving the movie one-and-a-half stars out of five. Travers claims, “Lowry took chances with her novel. The movie of “The Giver” takes none. It's safe, sorry and a crashing bore”(1). Travers believed that the director was too desperate to portray the movie the same as the book that he forgot to make it interesting. Although the movie was supposed to be based on the book, the director could have taken the time to review the movie and make sure the audience would actually enjoy it.

Caffeine

“How Caffeine Evolved to Help Plants Survive and Help People Wake Up"

By: Carl Zimmer

Source: New York Times

http://nyti.ms/WgMOIY

People drink 26,000 cups of coffee every second all around the world. However, most people tend to drink coffee in order to receive caffeine. Caffeine can be obtained from many different sources, such as tea or cocoa plants. In a recent study, a group of scientists began to analyze the genome of coffea canephora. By studying coffea canephora, scientists were able to figure out how coffee produces caffeine. This study showed that coffee produces caffeine as a way to control the behavior of living organisms.

Caffeine starts out as xanthosine. The coffee plants produces two different enzymes. The first enzyme disconnects a portion of the xanthosine, while the second enzyme adds atoms to the coffee plant. After the second enzyme adds the atoms to the plant, two more groups of atoms would attached to the plant through the use of a third enzyme. Once the two additional groups of atoms are attached, xanthosine turns into caffeine. The research study found that the gene N-methyltransferase mutated in these plants a long time ago. As time progressed, this mutated gene began to copy itself and result in the production of caffeine. However, the research also proved that caffeine from coffee and caffeine from cocoa plants were not the same. Although they may have come from the same ancestor, the different forms of caffeine were produced through a change in the evolutionary process. The caffeine is a form of self-defense for the plants. Caffeine is considered to be toxic to germs and insects.

This article provides the general background of coffee. Since most people drink coffee, it is important that they should know where caffeine came from. Due to research, we now know that caffeine did not exist all the time. Caffeine has been a result of evolution in order to help protect the plant. Since caffeine might be toxic to insects and germs, it might help to further research the effects it might have on humans, besides being a stimulant.