The Second Coming of Gene Therapy

“For the first two years of her life, my daughter, Katlyn, was knocking on heaven’s door every day,” says Daisy Demerchant, a 26-year-old mom living in Centreville, New Brunswick, just north of Maine. 


 I like this lede from the article "The Second Coming of Gene Therapy" because it made me interested in what the speaker was talking about. I normally don't like ledes that start with a quote, but this one worked for me. The rest of the paragraph provided information about a disease called "Bubble Boy" or severe combined immunodeficiency. This lede was attention grabbing and was meant for a reader with a heart. People will most likely feel for the womans' daughter and want to know what's wrong with her. That will make them read on and discover more about the truth of gene therapy.

Are there other universes out there?

People live in their own world. There's so much about our own world that we just don't know. Science is such a broad entity that continues to expand as time goes on. Yet, how much more can science expand from just Earth. Outside of this world, we know of other planets, planetary systems, galaxies and a few other aspects of space that make up this interesting thing called the universe. But, what if there are eyes looking upon us as we are struggling to look upon them? What if there's a strange species examining us under a super advanced telescope while our technologies are just catching up?

There are many theorists and cosmologists who question the theory of more than one universe. One question that comes to mind is how could science ever discover another universe? According to the Space website, when the "Big Bang" happened it was said that life and everything as we know it was created out of nothing. The science of quantum mechanics, that is made of atoms, helps us discover more about the universe.

It says that matter and energy is an unpredictable event that can appear out of nowhere in the vacuum of space. Cosmologists say these quantum fluctuations are what created the "Big Bang." So there's a theory that if these fluctuations can create one universe, why can't they create another universe or more?

There is also the theory that there are multi-universes. In our solar system, every planet has their own stars. Almost every star is the center of other planetary systems. Thousands of these solar systems forms galaxies. They also have a center in which all planetary systems revolve around it. But does our universe also have a center that other universes revolve around?

There are only theories that specualte whether there is more than one universe in existance. Cosmologists are only theorizing and trying to gather enough scientific evidence to prove this theory. Yet, science is still yet to know for sure whether this universe is truly alone.

Fiesty Little Jewel

On my first nature walk, I spotted many beautiful flowers and plants. There were a few bugs like bees that had a interesting nature about them as they buzzed from flower to flower. I couldn't help but take pictures of these spectacles. But one of the plants that sparked my interest was the Jewelweed. It has many names, but a common name for this plant is the Spotted Touch-Me-Not. I knew nothing of this flower and didn't examine it more as my quest at the time was for the Staghorn Sumac.

The Jewelweed (Impatiens aurea) gets the nick-name touch-me-not because once anything disturbs the flower, it shoots out its seeds. The seed pod shoots out seeds whenever it's ripe. I wanted to try this out for myself, but I couldn't find the flower again on my second nature walk. This feisty plant got away from me this time, but hopefully I'll be able to find it again.

This herb grows usually during the summer and grows from 3 to 5 feet. It normally lives in wet soil beside streams and bodies of water. It's flower grows in different colors of purple, pink, white, yellow and scarlet. It's leaves are thin, oval shaped and have a green color.

The leaves contain tannin which can be used as a remedy once its leaves are boiled in lard and ointment. The juice of the herb can be used to relieve irritation especially from poisonous plants which it ironically grows next to at times.

This plant is just all to amazing. If you're interested in seeing this plant for yourself, it's best to catch it in September before it gets too cold in wetland areas. I know I want to catch a glimpse of it again.

Best Lede of the week

I've noticed a lot of people chose this same lede this week, but I agree that it was the best. The lede from the article "Bathing, but not Alone" was very interesting. It pulled me right in. It was informational and relateable to the reader. I learned something about bacteria in my shower that I never even thought about before. The reader can learn so much in just the lede, so I believe that it's just enough to pull the reader in and maybe even finish reading the story.

Best Lede:

There are some things it is better just not to think about. Like the 10,000 bacteria you inhale with each breath in the average office building. Or the 10 million bacteria in each glass of tap water. Microbiologists have now added something else to the list of things too gross to contemplate: the deluge of bacteria that hit your face and flow deep into your lungs in the morning shower.

Desire for Raspberries (maybe not...)

I went hiking behind the dorms right by the Saranac Lake on a quest to find a unique plant. The scenery is so beautiful. The sound of the river in the background is such a relaxing escape from the stress of school. It calmed my troubled soul as I noticed the different plant life in the area. There was all kinds of wildlife like squirrels, bugs, and plants. Yet, some were too hidden in the depths of the trees above for me see. I eventually came across a plant that reminded me of raspberries. I was wondering if it was a fruit, but with closer inspection, I noticed it was more of a plant. The shrub definitely caught my attention. I wanted to know more about this special plant. Yet, I knew nothing about it.

I frantically searched the internet looking for more information about my plant. I put in keywords like maroon, burgundy, fuzzy, northeastern, New York, red, raspberry, whatever I could think. The search results were usually nothing close to what I was looking for. People even came up. I could never understand that. After an hour or two of hopeless searching, I gave up and decided to ask my professor. He told me it would be best to ask a biology professor which was exactly what I did.

My quest to discover more about my plant was now over. I showed forest ecologist Kent Adams a picture the plant and he was able to tell me what it was. The plant is called a Staghorn Sumac (Rhus hirta). It's from the Anacardiaceae family. I wonder if this plant has anything to do with the heart? (Anacardiaceae) This plant is actually used for tea, pink lemonade, and for tan hides. Native Americans used the leaves and fruits for black ink and the dried leaves for smoking mixtures. It makes me curious as to if they use this same plant in the hookah lounge here in Plattsburgh.

The Staghorn lives along hardwood forest edges, dry uplands and old fields. It grows from 15 to 30 feet. It can be seen in various states of the United States. This plant blooms in different colors of red, yellow and green. The leaf color is green on the top and pale on the bottom. It's colors show more during the fall and its twigs appear more like antlers during the winter. For more fun facts about this plant, go here. Hopefully, you'll enjoy discovering more about this plant as much as I did.

The concept of Birth Order

As the youngest child, I always felt like I needed to catch up with my oldest brother in everything. It felt like almost every minute I would hear: "Rodney got all A's in this class, Rodney never had problems with this subject; Rodney always behaved well, etc." I'd never hear the end of it. I always felt pressure to do better than him in almost everything.

So I stumbled upon an article called "Birth Order: Fun to Debate, but how Important"  which grabbed my interest as soon as my eyes hit screen. It discussed the issue of birth order in families. It was about the differences between the second child and the first child in a family in relation to birth order. Parents who have a second child normally want to make sure they don't repeat the same mistakes they made with their first child. They also try to make sure they do the same things right and try to improve on being a parent. I feel like with my own parents they tried to be more liberal and weren't as strict on me as they were with my brother. The article also stated how younger siblings also try to play catch up with their elders. I can relate to this notion because my family was always hard on me about my grades and behavior because they wanted me to be just like my brother or even better than he was. It makes me question whether parents are trying to create a line of successful achievements with each child; the younger the child, the more successful they'll be or the more children they have, the more chances they'll have to make the next child better. The article also brought up the idea that younger children usually start to talk later than their elder siblings. I actually started talking when I was three years old. My mother told me that my doctor thought I would never learn. Yet, my brother helped me with my speech like the older sisters stated in the article. Then one day I was able to talk (I've been doing really well for myself actually.) It makes me question if doctors really know what they're doing when they diagnose someone or if they just want to make a quick diagnosis and make their money. But maybe I'll save that idea for another blog.

This article made me understand a lot of things about myself and about my brother. It also highlighted a lot of ideas about the issue of birth order. Truly, everyone does take it personal when it comes to birth order. It raised many questions which will help all those misunderstood older, middle and younger children understand a little bit more who they are. It helped me. =).

Global Warming is not all to blame

A weird thing happened this summer. The weather was surprisingly cold. Almost everyday it would rain in heavy amounts or it would just drizzle. Whatever the amount of rain, it was always there waiting to put a damper on my summer. I thought with Global Warming, this summer would have been much warmer. But I guess the weather proved me wrong.

The weather has always been quite unpredictable. According to this article in the Science Times section of the New York Times, summers in the Arctic have been getting cooler. Scientists are saying that Global warming may not be the only reason for climate change, but the coming of another ice age that could last for the next few millenniums. Warming in the Arctic has seen significant change for 2,000 years. Yet, the effect of global warming and how humans have treated our planet allows Arctic ecosystems and sea levels to have a major change. This change can have a drastic effect on our planet as a whole.

The weather has always been an unpredictable force. We try our best to predict the outcome of our world's natural problems. Some theories are right and some theoires are wrong. Many scientists believe that the climate change is normal and that's it's supposed to happen. Some believe that it's because of the greenhouse gases in the earth's atmosphere that's all to blame. Some believe in both theories. Yet, this climate change is taking a real toll on how the biosphere is shaping. I believe both theories are right even though I thought we were already in an ice age. Hopefully, the truth will come to light one day and maybe we'll be able to save this planet before it's too late.