Congratulations to the Stress After Dark Creative Inquiry Team, and our photogenic manders for making the cover of the Fall 2016 edition of Decipher Magazine! The Creative Inquiry program at Clemson University provides undergraduate students the opportunity to participate in research projects. By providing small funding opportunities, these students get a glimpse of what graduate school is like, as they prepare for their futures. Whether they stick with the research route, are interested in professional programs, or are simply interested in the topic of study, these students gain an upper hand on their colleagues through hands on experience. My Creative Inquiry team was honored with a cover photo on the latest edition of the Decipher magazine. Decipher is publication aimed at disseminating the great work Creative Inquiry students produce. For all of their hard work, I would like to thank all the Creative Inquiry students who have and continue to worked on my project. Check out a little about their work below! You can check out the rest of the magazine here.
Special thanks to Hailey Green for the article, Wales Toney for the photos, Barabara J. Speziale and Tullen Burn for their continued support of the CI project.
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It’s that dreaded time of the semester again – finals week - and as we struggle to cram months worth of material into our brains for four cumulative exams, it is tempting to take amphetamines, such as Adderall, in order to stay focused. When used as prescribed by a physician, Adderall counteracts symptoms of Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) by increasing the body’s levels of norepinephrine and dopamine in the brain. This boosts alertness, attention, and energy levels. In addition, it increases heart rate and blood flow to muscles. While these factors would certainly boost one’s motivation and focus while studying, it is important to consider the dangerous short-term and long-term consequences of amphetamine use and abuse. While Adderall energizes and invigorates its users, it also suppresses their appetite, causes restlessness, and can even result in serious cardiac problems. For those who abuse Adderall, the feelings of euphoria are similar to those experienced by cocaine users. However, once this high wears off, one may feel fatigued, depressed, and no longer able to stay focused. In the long-term, Adderall can potentially result in depression, hostility, and paranoia due to the high levels of neurotransmitters in the brain. Those who continuously take Adderall become dependent on the drug, resulting in both psychological and physical consequences. Someone with a psychological dependence on Adderall may experience headaches when they are on not able to attain the drug. Physical dependence occurs when one becomes accustomed to the high levels of dopamine in the brain, which triggers serious withdrawal symptoms, such as depression and fatigue. One that experiences physical dependence on Adderall requires increasingly higher doses of the drug in order to feel its same effects, increasing both its side effects and the risk of overdose. So, next time you feel like you just can’t focus, drink a cold glass of water or a cup of coffee. The harmful consequences of Adderall use and abuse on your brain are simply not worth it.
~Samantha Worth With finals week upon us, a critical component of our hectic schedule is sleep (or lack there of). For most of us, sleep is just a ritualized part of our daily lives that we don’t put much thought into. But what is sleep really? How much do we need? The biggest factor in deciding on how much sleep you need is your age. The recommended sleep duration is longest for newborns and infants, a whopping 14-17 hours each day. This decreases as you grow older, with teenagers recommended to sleep 8-10 hours a day and adults 7-9 hours. However, age isn’t the only determinant to consider. It can also depend on genetic variation, our internal biological clock, and external factors such as sleep history, exercise, or illness. What if we don’t get enough? Sleep deprivation can have very serious consequences. Minor sleep loss can cause drowsiness, delayed reaction times, impaired memory, and slowed cognitive processing to just name a few. If this sleep deficit continues, you could end up with severe repercussions. These include depression, weight gain, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, weakened immune responses, and even hallucinations. So – make sure to get a good night’s rest and next time you think about forfeiting a couple hours worth of ZZZs, think again! ~ Erin
Climate change undoubtedly remains a controversial issue, but significant losses in Earth’s biodiversity serve as evidence to prove that it is in fact a serious issue. Temperature increases and changes in the amount of precipitation directly affect various species depending on their physiology and tolerance of environmental changes. This affects their food supply and reproductive timing, influencing their fitness. Amphibians have been rapidly declining for the past twenty years, and approximately 41% of species are now extinct or threatened with extinction. Habitat loss, disease, invasive species, overexploitation, and chemical pollution are just a few of the factors contributing to the great loss of amphibian species. Biologically, most amphibians are biphasic and thus require both aquatic and terrestrial habitats. Their moist, permeable skin, which is used for respiration in species, such as Plethodon metcalfi, is extremely sensitive. In addition, amphibians are located right in the center of the food web and experience a constant risk from predation. These threats compounded with climate change have detrimental effects on these climate-sensitive creatures. Below, check out some key issues behind lossed in biodiveristy. What Causes This Loss in Biodiversity? The primary causes of species extinction and loss of biodiversity is human population growth, increasing per capita consumption, and climate change. What Species Are Most Affected? Dispersal-limited and rare species, as well as species that are sensitive to shifts in temperature and moisture, suffer the greatest consequences from climate change. This is due to their inability to change their distribution in order to find an environment more suitable. Thus, species that are widely distributed are more likely to be adaptive to a variety of environmental conditions. As a result, they have a greater chance of survival during climate change. What Can We Do To Prevent This? Conservative efforts are essential in preserving biodiversity. It is estimated that biodiversity losses in mammals, birds, and amphibians would be 20% greater without conservation efforts. It is apparent that our ignorance about species’ numbers, distributions, and threat level affects biodiversity. We must increase our knowledge about rare species that have small geographical ranges. Protected areas are necessary to reducing extinctions, as these regions do not experience much human pressure. Accurate, new statistical methods, photo-sharing technology, and social networking have greatly helped in identifying species as endangered. Scientific and technological advancements concerning loss of biodiversity are imperative in order for us to adequately protect our Earth. ~ Samantha Worth
One way for a person to get sick is to contract a bacterial infection. Bacterial infections are caused by tiny single celled bacteria that infect and attack the body. However, not all sicknesses are caused by bacteria, viruses can also cause infections in the body. Viral infections and bacterial infections have many similar symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, runny nose, and sore throat, though symptoms can vary among microbes. Below, is a picture of a virus (left) and a picture of bacteria (right). Despite the fact that their symptoms are similar, the treatments for the two types of infections are very different. Bacterial infections are treated with antibiotics, which prevent the bacteria from completing processes necessary to reproduce and survive (e.g. transcription or translation). Viruses on the other hand, use different processes in order to replicate. Viruses hijack the body's own cells to replicate and cannot be treated by antibiotics, because the antibiotics lack a 'target'. Most viruses do not require special medication to treat because your body can fight them off within a week or two. In extreme cases, antiviral drugs can be given to help fight off the infection, but these drugs must be given within the first two days of infection to really be effective. So what happens if you give someone with a viral infection antibiotics anyways? In the short term, nothing happens. The antibiotics don't kill the virus you are infected with and you don't get better until your immune system is able to defeat the virus on its own. In the long term, you have just helped to proliferate antibiotic resistant bacteria. Even though you didn't have a bacterial infection when you took the antibiotics. There are always bacteria present in your body. By needlessly taking antibiotics you expose the present bacteria to selection favoring antibiotic resistance. Some bacteria naturally possess resistance to antibiotics, or resistance can develop through mutations. When a person takes antibiotics, the antibiotics kill the bacteria that are not resistant, while allowing the bacteria that are resistant to proliferate and reproduce. But wouldn't resistance to antibiotics increase in bacteria even when antibiotics are taken to treat an actual bacterial infection? Yes, which means it is essential that we are smart about the use of antibiotics and only use them when necessary. Widespread overuse of antibiotics promotes the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria creating 'superbugs'. A superbug is just a nickname for a particular bacterial infection that is difficult to treat. When a bacteria has developed resistance to antibiotics, doctors suddenly have much more limited treatment options. Before antibiotics were developed, bacterial infections could be fatal, something that is uncommon today in otherwise healthy people. If antibiotic resistance becomes widespread, bacterial infections will once again become more than just a nuisance that your doctor hands you a prescription for. How do we go about preventing the spread of antibiotic resistance? Determining whether you need an antibiotic is difficult, because a gray area exists where symptoms of viruses and bacteria overlap. However, there are a few things that you can do and be aware of to stop the spread of antibiotic resistant bacteria. First of all, it is important to know the symptoms that are generally more associated with bacterial infections. 1. Fever: Is typically associated with a bacterial infection (although it can be caused by the flu) 2. Mucous color: Although it may be gross to think about, checking the color of your mucus can actually help determine if you have a bacterial infection. Yellow mucus is within the acceptable range, although if your mucus turns a greenish color it may indicate that you have a bacterial infection. 3. Length of time you've been sick: Since your body can generally fight off viruses within about two weeks, if your sickness seems to hang on and not get better, it might be time for a trip to the doctor. 4. White spots on your throat: Most sore throats are caused by viruses, although white spots on your tonsils may indicate that you have strep throat (a bacterial infection). Overall, the only way to determine for sure that you have a bacterial infection is to get tested by your doctor, but keeping the information above in mind, may give you a better idea when it's worth your time to make a trip to see your doctor. Say you do have a bacterial infection, now what? TAKE YOUR ANTIBIOTICS AS PRESCRIBED It is important to take your whole dose of antibiotics even if you start to feel better midway through the treatment. If you haven't finished the full course of antibiotics, there are likely still some bacteria present. Not all bacteria have the same level of resistance to antibiotics naturally. Some may die with the first dose of antibiotics while others others may be able to survive the antibiotic treatment longer. By stopping your antibiotics early you increase the likelihood of creating antibiotic resistant bacteria.
So what I ask of you, is that you use antibiotics responsibly. Don't ask your doctor for antibiotics as a 'quick fix', there are not a placebo to be played with. Only consume antibiotics if you actually need them, and if you do actually need them, please, take the full course. ~Alexa References https://theweeklypaperblog.com/2013/03/27/how-bacteria-and-viruses-make-us-sick-an-introduction-to-pathogenesis/ https://www.thevaccinereaction.org/2016/02/viruses-always-the-easy-scapegoat/ https://www.novartis.com/files/cartoon-superbug-bigjpg https://www.pinterest.com/pin/187673509448755161/ A common misconception, is that coral is a type of rock or fossil made of mineral deposits, however, they are actually living marine animals whose exoskeletons are attached to rocks and other solid underwater surfaces like sunken ships. The Caribbean presents an ideal breeding ground for corals. They thrive in warm waters all year round and grow twice as fast when exposed to the strong sunlight there. Disappointingly, scientists have recently found a chemical that is responsible for the death of coral reefs around Hawaii and the Caribbean, and that chemical is oxybenzone, which is primarily found in sunscreen. Every year, people from all over the world migrate to the warm islands around the Caribbean and are unknowingly contributing to the death and deformation of coral reefs in the area. John Fauth, from the University of Central Florida, was quoted saying, “Coral reefs are the world's most productive marine ecosystems and support commercial and recreational fisheries and tourism. In addition, reefs protect coastlines from storm surge. Worldwide, the total value of coral reefs is tremendous. And they are in danger." Studies show that in recent years, the coral reefs in this area have decreased by over 80 percent! The oxybenzone works by deforming coral larvae DNA and trapping them in their own skeleton, making them un able to float with currents and disperse. This chemical is also responsible for coral bleaching, which is when the coral releases all algae that provide it with nutrition. In this way, oxybenzone starves the coral to death. Sunscreen is painted in a positive light because it benefits US, but at what cost? Teams of researchers have suggested that when diving, people should skip out on the sunblock and wear rash guards or scuba gear or invest in oxybenzone-free sunblock to protect their skin. All of us learned at a very young age that we live on the planet Earth. Our planet is the 3rd planet from the sun and we are one of 8 other planets in our solar system (if you don’t count Pluto). Earth is roughly 4.54 billion years old and mostly covered in water. As we all know, Earth falls into the habitable-planet category meaning it can sustain life. It takes our planet 1 day to rotate on its axis and 365 days to rotate around the sun, that’s 255,342.5 miles per day! That is the same as 10 times the circumference of Earth itself. An article published by NASA in July of last year reports the discovery of the first near-Earth-size planet 1,400 light-years away in the constellation Cygnus. This new planet was given the name Kepler-452b (K452b). K452b is thought to be a habitable planet like Earth and orbits around a star much like our own sun. “On the 20th anniversary of the discovery that proved other suns host planets, the Kepler exoplanet explorer has discovered a planet and star which most closely resemble the Earth and our Sun," said John Grunsfeld, associate administrator of NASA's Science Mission Directorate. "This exciting result brings us one step closer to finding an Earth 2.0." K452b is not exactly like Earth, but is similar in many ways. It is 60% larger in diameter making it a “super-Earth-size” planet. The mass and composition have yet to be determined but most scientists believe a planet this size to be rocky. It has a yearly orbit of 385 days because it is 5% further from its sun than we are from ours. It is also roughly 2 billion years older than Earth and 20% brighter. Jon Jenkins, the Kepler data analysis lead researcher, was quoted saying, "It's awe-inspiring to consider that this planet has spent 6 billion years in the habitable zone of it’s star; longer than Earth. That's substantial opportunity for life to arise, should all the necessary ingredients and conditions for life exist on this planet." In addition to K452b, 11 other habitable planets have been discovered. Could there really be other life like us out there? ~Michael
A red-spotted newt (Notophthalmus viridescens) I found at Table Rock, SC Many of us know that the region we live in, the southeastern US, is home to some of the greatest diversity of amphibian species – particularly salamanders. But just how rich is this diversity, and how common are our slimy little friends? I decided I wasn’t going to take this fact for granted, and read up on the topic myself so I can summarize it here. Heat map illustrating amphibian diversity in the continental US. Taken from the Gulf Coastal Plains & Ozarks Landscape Conservation Cooperative website Map showing the extent of what is considered the Appalachian region extending from its southeastern extents in Alabama and Mississippi to its northern limits in New York. As it turns out, this region is very much a hotspot for salamanders and for amphibian diversity in general!
According to the proceedings of the Salamander Conservation Workshop hosted by the Smithsonian’s National Zoological Park a few years ago, the Appalachian region of the US is home to 14% of the world’s 535 salamander species. This makes it a hotspot for salamander biodiversity, and nearly half (35) of the 76 species that reside here are endemic to this region (Stuart et al, 2004). These 76 species come from a wide range of genera with the largest (29 species) being Plethodon - also known as woodland salamanders. There are also many Desmognathus, a few Ambystoma, Gyrinophilus, and even a Cryptobranchus - the Hellbender! Many of these have unique and specialized habitat requirements, but they all are able to find a home within this biodiversity hotspot of the Appalachian Mountains - also known as our own backyard! There still remains some uncertainty on the overall status of salamanders in this region, however. It is very difficult to estimate population size when salamander detection is very difficult. Most of the species in this region are nocturnal, terrestrial, and very adept at staying out of sight of researchers attempting to catalogue their abundance. Over the summer, I went on a few trips to go catch salamanders in the mountains of North Carolina, and I remember with great detail the struggle of finding salamanders among all of the camouflaging leaf litter. Not everything pertaining to salamander abundance in the Southern Appalachians is good news, unfortunately. According to a series of long-term studies by Richard Highton (2005), the populations of 38 Plethodon salamander species may have declined as much as 50% from the years 1990-2000. The exact cause of these changes remains uncertain, but it is clear from these studies and many others that the salamanders here are in danger and we may not remain as such a hotspot for salamander biodiversity for long. Global climate change is likely to lead to a decrease in favorable habitat for many salamander species in the near future, if it hasn’t been contributing already. Because of this, it is important to better understand the diversity we currently have and to learn how we can help preserve it for future generations. References: Highton, R. 2005. Declines of Eastern North American Woodland Salamanders (Plethodon). Pages 34-46 in M. Lanoo, editor. Amphibian Declines: Conservation Status of United States Species. University of California Press, Berkley. Stuart, S., J. Chanson, N. Cox, B. Young, A. Rodrigues, D. Fischman, and R. Waller. 2004. Status and Trends of Amphibian Declines and Extinctions Worldwide. Pages 1783-1786. Science. American Association for the Advancement of Science. "Your child has autism." These words can be scary and overwhelming for a parent to hear. About five years ago, my aunt heard these words when my younger cousin was diagnosed with a form of autism. Since I am quite close with my aunt, I was involved with a lot of the intervention services he received and as a result I learned a lot about the disorder. Autism spectrum disorder or ASD refers to a number of complex brain development disorders. Symptoms of these disorders include difficulty with social interaction, communication both verbal and nonverbal, and even repetitive behaviors. Before my cousin was diagnosed with autism, I knew little about it, just like many other people personally unaffected by it. However, with rates of autism on the rise and no clear cut cause or cure, I think it is important for autism awareness to increase. As of March 2014, based on information from the CDC, one in sixty-eight children have autism, and it is more prevalent in boys than in girls. Since there is no clear cut way to diagnose ASD, the real prevalence of autism may be higher. With autism becoming so common in recent years, I think it is important for people to educate themselves and learn more about it. What causes autism? Autism has a wide range of symptoms which suggests it could have a wide range of causes. For example, when you get a sore throat, your sickness could have been caused by a variety of different things. You may find out that your infection is viral or maybe it’s bacterial and you need antibiotics to treat it. The same goes for autism, there may be many different ways to arrive at the same end result. (From a genetics perspective, there is no specific gene that causes autism but there are genes associated with it. Autism is not solely heritable, as there are many different environmental ‘risk factors’ that come together to cause autism. High maternal age at the time of conception, maternal prenatal medication, gestational diabetes, and bleeding during pregnancy may all contribute to the development of autism. Autism is also correlated with abnormal neurological development of the baby during pregnancy which itself has many causes. Other external factors may contribute to the cause of autism and researchers are currently studying a possible correlation between high stress levels of the mother during pregnancy and the child developing autism. I find this interesting in how it relates to what we are studying in lab where we are looking at the stress levels of salamanders and how stress affects their blood on a cellular level. Even though salamanders and human children are different test subjects, stress affects both adversely. A study done by Ohio State University Medical Center found that mothers who had a highly stressful event during their pregnancy such as a loss of a spouse or loss of a job had a correlation with having a child with autism. People who have autism are known to have an abnormally formed cerebellum and it is possible that combined with other risk factors, a high stress event during pregnancy may cause this abnormal development of the brain (Beversdorf 2013). You can read more about that study here. http://mentalhealth.about.com/library/sci/1101/blpregnant1101.htm A little stress from time to time is normal and unavoidable, and so long as the stress is short term, your body will relax and your chemistry will return back to normal. The danger comes in with chronic stress which causes your body to trigger an inflammatory response. If you are pregnant, this could negatively affect the fetus’s brain development. So can extended periods of high stress levels cause autism? Maybe, we’re not exactly sure yet and more research needs to be done. What does NOT cause autism? Say it with me, vaccines. I get frustrated and sometimes angry when I hear people claim that vaccines are bad and that they cause autism and expose your child to a complex of harmful chemicals. A study was done by Dr. Andrew Wakefield claiming that the MMR vaccine causes autism. If this was true, this would be an alarming finding. The problem however, with Dr. Wakefield’s work was that he was paid in order to find a link between autism and vaccines which created a conflict of interest. A good scientist should be unbiased and he was not. He was trying to show that autism is caused by the MMR vaccine so that lawyers could sue the vaccine manufacturers and make a profit. Dr. Wakefield also misrepresented or altered the medical history of the twelve patients in the study. Five of his subjects showed symptoms before receiving the vaccine, and three of the patients didn’t have autism at all. His paper created a panicked uproar and decreased overall vaccination rates. Not only was he wrong, but due to the ignorant sense of fear he has helped spread across the world, people are choosing not to vaccinate their children allow previous practically eradicated diseases to spread across the population again. Now before I go off on a rant about vaccination and herd immunity, just know that the study done by Dr. Wakefield was not sound science and those who have studied the same subject since have failed to find a link between the MMR vaccine and autism.
If you're interested, here is a link to 107 studies that show there is no link between MMR and autism. http://www.cnn.com/2011/HEALTH/01/05/autism.vaccines/ ~Alexa As Clemson’s Biological Sciences Annual Student Symposium is soon approaching, I’ve decided to blog a bit about my experiences at other symposiums and conferences. I’ll recount some of the things that I’ve learned from these experiences as a way to prepare for this upcoming conference! So here we go with a recounting of my most recent conference experience! Last August, I had the great opportunity to go to Baltimore and attend the centennial meeting of the Ecological Society of America. While I was there, I was overwhelmed, intrigued, and inspired all at the same time. The conference lasted five days, and each was jam-packed with lectures, talks, workshops, and posters. My first day at the conference was spent running back and forth between talks on a wide range of ecological topics. Because the conference was so filled with talks with little breaks in between, this proved to be a mistake. While very informative and interesting, the sheer number of talks I attended proved overwhelming and left me exhausted. The second day I decided to pace myself and carefully chose beforehand which talks I would attend. I made sure to give myself some breaks and plenty of time to digest what I had just learned. One of my favorite parts of the conference was that they had a poster session nearly every evening of the five day event. I greatly enjoyed walking around the poster show floor and perusing the wide variety of scientific posters and infographics on display. I think that the poster format for sharing scientific information is so great because it allows important discoveries and innovations to be easily received and digested by a wide range of audiences. This format also allows for you to personally meet and interact with the authors or researchers behind your favorite presentations. At ESA, I really liked being able to browse the different posters, find ones that interested me, and then discuss the poster with the very person who worked on it. Because the poster is usually presented by the hands that carried out the research, you can often get a personalized and in-depth description of the study, which makes it much more relate-able than reading a journal article or hearing a lecturer present their findings. The experience I gained from my trip to ESA's 100th annual meeting was far beyond what I expected, and I would definitely encourage anybody who hasn't to attend at least one regional or international biology conference or symposium. Maybe CBASS 2016 can whet all of our appetites for the next ESA! Conferences such as ESA are also great because they're often held in really cool cities (like Baltimore!). If the conference itself isn't motivation enough to attend a regional or international conference, maybe the chance to explore new cities will be!
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The Slime Times is written by the Stress After Dark Creative Inquiry TeamScience isn't all white lab coats and ivory pillars, sometimes you just need to get slimy. Archives
August 2016
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