Oculus Science Journal
Issue 10
FOCUS–“Plastic-Eating” Bacteria: Friend or Foe? BY JENNAH YOO
Figure 1: Scientists are working with bacteria that are able to biodegrade plastic polymers into monomers. (Source Credit: Forbes Magazine) Since the coronavirus outbreak of 2020, the issue of plastic pollution has yet again risen to the surface. Due to sanitary concerns, civilians have been preferred to use single-use plastics over reusable items. Along with the dramatic increase in the production of masks, the pandemic has brought us not only solitude, but also a severe accumulation–millions of plastics have filled the lands and waters of our home, the Earth (Carpenter). Realizing the severity of the issue, numerous research centers have attempted to find a sustainable solution to counteract the matter at hand. While searching for an answer, researchers have figured that the method with the highest chance of success would be to further intensify their focus on the “plastic-eating” bacteria that were discovered a couple of years back.
Approximately 5 years ago, in March of 2016, a scientific breakthrough–which could serve as the antidote for Earth’s prolonged flu, plastic pollution–was made in Japan. A study published by the Kyoto Institute of Technology presented that the bacteria, Ideonella sakaiensis, could fractionate PET using the enzyme PET hydrolase and MHETase (Burke). Ever since this game-changing discovery was introduced to the public, many scientists thought that it would be possible to develop a method to prevent plastic pollution (Burke). But is this really the case? While this pioneering discovery brought immense excitement around the world, recent investigations have revealed the possibility of it being a double-edged sword. Experts have brought attention to the fact that the large-scale commercial use of plastic-eating microorganisms are still years away, and that developing these complicated organisms is a severely time consuming process (Carpenter). Currently, the only verified bacteria is the I. sakaiensis, those of which could only degrade a specific type of plastics called PET. This bacteria also happens to be painstakingly slow at the biodegrading process, which would nearly never be able to catch up the rate at which the millions of plastics are entering our environment. Furthermore, in order for the I. sakaiensis to function, specific conditions must be satisfied. Scientists have noted that the bacteria, who already need a prolonged time period to degrade the base level of PET, take an even longer time to degrade PET of heavily crystallized plastics. Adding an insult to an injury, most of the existing PET on our planet has already been recycled, thus, crystallized multiple times; this means that the I. sakaiensis is not a viable option to getting rid of the plastic. Another particular condition that the I. sakaiensis requires is the precision of its working temperature. Due to the bacteria having to work with certain enzymes, the optimal temperature (and in some cases, the pH) has to be set specifically in order for the bacteria to properly function (Burke). Evolutionary barriers exist to prevent these bacteria from developing. Biologists say that it would be nearly impossible to manually find and create bacteria to biodegrade plastics, as even the earliest microbes have had millions of years to learn how to degrade natural products, such as tree barks and fruits. Plastics were first manufactured in the 1950s. Simply put, the span of approximately 70 years is not a sufficient amount of time for these bacteria to learn how to naturally degrade the plastics (Carpenter). The upside? Researchers around the world have embarked on their journey to plummet plastic pollution–and some have returned home with successful results.
In 2017, shortly after the discovery of the I. sakaiensis, scientists reported that a fungus discovered at a waste disposal site in Islamabad, Pakistan, was able to degrade plastic. In the same year, a biology student at the Reed College in Oregon, found that samples from an oil site near her home in Houston, Texas, contained plastic-eating bacteria. Most recently, in the year of 2020, German scientists, from a brittle plastic site in Leipzig, have discovered traces of bacteria that were capable of degrading polyurethane plastic (Carpenter). In order to intensify the benefits of these pioneering discoveries, investigations have also been conducted to make these naturally-occurring bacteria useful. In 2018, scientists investigating in the U.K. and U.S. genetically modified certain bacterias so that they could degrade bacteria in a matter of days. Last year, in October 2020, this same process was developed further by combining two different species of bacteria to produce a stronger “super enzyme” (Carpenter). Although there have been positive results provided by the genetic manufacturing of the plastic-consuming bacteria, large-scale commercial use of such material are still long ways ahead. Researchers also mentioned that it would be increasingly difficult to degrade all types of plastics: with the less-dense, relatively easy-to-break PET already giving us a problem, they cannot imagine how arduous it would be to get rid of other types such as HDPE, a plastic thicker than PET. Additionally, the currently developed bacteria are not able to biodegrade the plastics back to their original elemental states with carbon and hydrogen; they are only capable of breaking them down into simple monomers. Even if we do succeed in creating such a bacteria for widespread use, it would be difficult to predict the unanticipated consequences that could follow the utilization of man-made products. “Since most likely genetically engineered microorganisms would be needed, they cannot be released uncontrolled into the environment,” said Wolfgang Zimmerman, a scientist at the University of Leipzig who studies biocatalysis (Carpenter). “Without new technologies, it’s impossible for them to meet their goals. It’s just impossible,” mentions Martin Stephan, deputy CEO of Carbios, a French environmental firm (Carpenter). Massive technological advancements, as well as scientific research would be required to overcome the perilous issue at hand. “We can’t wait for a big breakthrough,” states Judith Enck, a former regional Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) administrator in the Obama administration and the president of Beyond Plastics, a non-profit based in Vermont (Carpenter). Though it is the high hope of many to come across a scientific advancement, it seems that there is still an immense amount of work to be completed before we can rest assured.
Q&A: Sally: How many years do scientists estimate would take to develop a working plastic eating bacteria? And what is the mechanism behind plastic degrading fungi? Currently, scientists approximate that the first commercial use of degrading fungi is years away, but is in sight. However, the development of functioning plastic-eating bacteria are still generations away, due to the restraints mentioned in the article. The mechanism behind plastic degrading fungi is simply put, genetically modifying the bacteria. By rearranging the DNA of bacteria, scientists can force them to express certain characteristics that allow them to biodegrade the properties of plastics (through utilization of enzymes). Hannah: Can the same plastic-eating bacteria be used to degrade the thicker plastics? Would a new type of bacteria need to be discovered to effectively degrade all plastic? The same bacteria that degrades PET cannot be used to degrade thicker plastics. Infact, this is the core barrier that the researchers cannot overcome when modifying this bacteria, as they are only able to degrade the thinnest and most common type of plastics. A new type of bacteria, or a way to specifically modify the genes would be necessary to overcome these limitations. Xavier: What exactly made Ideonella sakaiensis game-changing? Where does it come from? As previously mentioned in the article, Ideonella sakaiensis is a game-changing bacteria, as it is the first type of bacteria that is able to “fractionate PET using the enzyme PET hydrolase and MHETase”. It comes from a 2016 study in Japan, where scientists gathered together to devise a way to mitigate the severity of plastic pollution. John: How might the widespread usage of I.sakaiensis affect the ecosystem? Might its presence be threatening to other forms of life? The widespread usage of Ideonella sakaiensis brings about both a positive and negative impact to our ecosystem. The positive effects being that it would theoretically be able to degrade the plastics back into simpler forms that are easier to break down. On the flipside, the negative effect would be that such rapid implementation of biodegrading bacteria may be overly drastic for our current ecosystem to handle. Although threats cannot be specifically identified for other organisms, scientists state that if the use of bacteria are globally applied, certain substances, such as carbon dioxide, may rapidly increase in the process. The sudden increase in these substances may jeopardize the well-being of other organisms. Wooseok: In the article, several different types of organisms capable of degrading plastic were mentioned. Do they have all similar methods of degrading plastic? Although the article only specified one type of bacteria, called the Ideonella sakaiensis, researchers are currently working to discover additional types of bacteria in order to tackle the degradation of diverse plastics. The current type is only able to degrade the thinnest type called
the PET; thus, if other types were to be contrived, they would most likely be targeted to break down other thicker and less-common types of plastics. Anna: You mentioned “unanticipated consequences” of man-made products. What are some examples of those consequences? One of these negative consequences could be that biodegrading the polymers that comprise the plastics risks releasing chemical additives that are normally stored up in the original, pre-degraded plastics. Scientists add on by stating that there are potential unknown side-effects of implementing widespread use of these bacterias, as it would be the first time releasing these genetically bioengineered organisms into an environment majorly consisting of natural products. Fabian: Would it be possible to extract the genes/features that allow the organisms to degrade plastic and mass-produce only that trait for wider and quicker usage? It is exceedingly difficult to extract the specific genes and modify certain parts of the bacteria’s DNA, as it would mean that it requires modification of such precise and minuscule data. Simply put, it would be nearly impossible to extract certain features from these organisms. Additionally, scientists mentioned that utilizing selective breeding would also take an extended amount of time (generations) in order to achieve the desired results.
Works Cited Burke, Cara. “Plastic Eating Bacteria: A Viable Solution to the Plastic Problem?: Earth.org PAST: Present: Future.” Edited by Owen Mulhern, Earth.Org - Past | Present | Future, Earth.Org, 15 Mar. 2021, earth.org/data_visualization/plastic-eating-bacteria-a-viable-solution-to-the-plastic-proble m/. Carpenter, Scott. “The Race to Develop Plastic-Eating Bacteria.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 17 Mar. 2021, www.forbes.com/sites/scottcarpenter/2021/03/10/the-race-to-develop-plastic-eating-bacte ria/?sh=3e3ce30e7406.
Another reason to fear Coronavirus By HANNAH KIM
Figure 1: Recent studies reveal that COVID-19 may be associated with neurological diseases, in particular Alzheimer's Disease. Source Credit: Harvard Health Publishing (LINK) COVID-19 is one the most feared diseases today, especially for the elderlies. Due to their weak immunity and underlying health conditions, seniors struggle to recover from the virus. To make matters worse, recent research discovered that coronavirus may hasten the progression and symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). George Vavougios, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Thessaly, conducted a study examining cognitive impairment in COVID-19 patients—their average age being 61—two months after being discharged from the hospital. Vavougios discovered that the patients did experience cognitive decline even after being discharged. According to a recent study led by Cleveland Clinic, there has been an increase of COVID-19 patients with persisting neurological complications even after recovering from the infection. This finding suggests a possibility of coronavirus having long-term impacts on brain function. Scientists first searched for the virus in the patients’ brain, which they were not able to find any trace of. Consequently, researchers turned to a different method to test the possible correlation between coronavirus and AD. Using artificial intelligence and COVID-19 patients with AD, they measured the proximity between the SARS-CoV-2 gene and the genes of several neurological
diseases–closer proximity indicated that the virus and neurological disease share pathways. In addition, scientists also analyzed the genetic factors that allow the coronavirus to infect brain tissues. Although they found little evidence that the virus targets the brain directly, researchers discovered a close network between the SARS-CoV-2 gene and the genes of several neurological diseases. In particular, there was a marked association between the genes of COVID-19 and AD. To extend on the finding, researchers also investigated how COVID-19 may be related to typical symptoms of AD–neuroinflammation and brain microvascular injury. The investigation revealed that SAR-CoV-2 infection alters the markers of AD and increases the expression of certain viral entry factors in the cells of the blood-brain barrier. The blood-brain barrier is blood vessels surrounding the brain that regulates the movement of ions, molecules, and cells between the blood and the brain. More expression of the viral entry factors in the blood-brain barrier means that viruses could enter the brain more easily. "These findings indicate that the virus may impact several genes or pathways involved in neuroinflammation and brain microvascular injury, which could lead to Alzehimer's disease-like cognitive impairment,” says Dr. Feixiong Cheng, assistant staff in Cleveland Clinic's Genomic Medicine Institute. An experiment conducted by Gabriel de Erausquin, professor of neurology at UT Health San Antonio, discovered significant findings as well. For his study, more than 400 Argentine adults–ages 60 or older–who tested positive for coronavirus were included. De Erausquin and his team measured the patients’ cognitive abilities, emotional reactivity, motor function and coordination for a span of three to six months. During this research, he found that first, people who were infected with the coronavirus had problems with memory. Second, the severity of the COVID-19 patients’ illnesses did not predict their cognitive problems. And third, that the loss of ability to smell may be related to cognitive impairment. Despite multiple studies suggesting a strong correlation between COVID-19 and neurological diseases, De Erausquin says it is too early to make any conclusions. Moreover, he mentions that even if there is an association between the two, there still remains the question of whether these issues may be permanent or temporary. “If you have covid, it doesn’t necessarily mean you’re at an increased risk for dementia or Alzheimer’s,” says Heather M. Snyder, vice president of medical and scientific relations of Alzheimer’s Association. She believes that further research is still necessary on this subject. “We're still trying to understand what that relationship is.”
Q&A: Sally: Can you explain more about the SARS-CoV-2 gene? What are some other diseases that COVID-19 might have a correlation with? SARS-CoV-2 is the official name of coronavirus. Scientists conducted an analysis on the gnee and discovered that it had the highest correlation with SARS-CoV and Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV). Unfortunately, the drugs that were used to combat SARS-CoV and MERS-CoV were ineffective against SARS-CoV-2. Jennah: Your article focuses mostly on the investigation of Alzheimer’s Disease and COVID-19. Are there any other neurological diseases that scientists have conducted (or are conducting) research on? Are these cognitive associations only seen in elders, or are there other age groups that could show similar responses as well? Scientists are currently conducting research on other neurological diseases. They expect that other neurological complications like stroke, neuromuscular disorders, and meningoencephalitis will be reported. And so far, the research shows a higher association in elders because neurological diseases are more common in seniors. However, that doesn’t mean cognitive associations can’t be seen in younger patients as well. Xavier: You mention that the SARS-CoV-2 gene increases the expression of entry factors in the cells of the blood-brain barrier, which in turn makes it easier for viruses to enter the brain. Does this make the human body more vulnerable to other diseases as well? This is a topic that is still being researched by many scientists. It seems possible that other viruses could pass through the blood-brain barrier. However, scientists are trying to find out if this is only possible with SARS-CoV-2. John: How were the measurements made in De Erausquin’s study, and were they statistically significant? If so, to what extent? The way that De Erausquin measured their cognitive abilities was through several questions. He assessed them based on questions like “Could the patients recall names and phone numbers?” “Can they remember where they put things?” or “Could they retrieve the right word at the right time?” They are statistically significant because his study encompassed a large number of patients. Wooseok: Does the virus directly damage the brain (by attacking the brain cells), or is the loss of memory caused by an indirect factor of the virus? So far, scientists found no evidence of the virus directly harming the brain. In fact, many of the neurological symptoms of COVID-19 are due to the body’s widespread immune response. So the virus indirectly causes memory losses and other cognitive impairments. Anna: You mentioned that loss of the ability to smell may be correlated with cognitive
impairment. How? Cognitive impairment is related to the sense of smell because it is handled directly by our brain’s olfactory bulb. The olfactory bulb is a structure in front of our brain that sends information to other parts of our body. Thus, if our brain is damaged or affected, it can lead to the loss of ability to smell. Fabian: What are some neurological symptoms of coronavirus for patients under the age of 60? Are neurological side effects not important to the younger patients as the old patients? Patients under the age of 60 can experience similar neurological symptoms as those who are older than 60—especially if they were also suffering from a neurological disease. Neurological side effects are important to all patients; however, because it is not as common in younger patients, most of the study revolves around older patients.
Works Cited Anderson, Pauline. “COVID-19 Tied to Acceleration of Alzheimer's Pathology.” Medscape, Medscape, 30 July 2021, www.medscape.com/viewarticle/955755. Haupt, Angela. “Covid-19 Could Lead to Cognitive Decline, Especially among Older Adults, New Research Suggests.” The Washington Post, WP Company, 29 July 2021, www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/wellness/dementia-alzheimers-covid-research-link/202 1/07/29/bccef096-f07d-11eb-a452-4da5fe48582d_story.html. “Study Identifies How COVID-19 Linked to Alzheimer's Disease-like Cognitive Impairment.” ScienceDaily, ScienceDaily, 10 June 2021, www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/06/210610162405.htm. Naqvi, Ahmad Abu Turab, et al. “Insights into Sars-Cov-2 Genome, Structure, Evolution, Pathogenesis and Therapies: Structural Genomics Approach.” Biochimica Et Biophysica Acta. Molecular Basis of Disease, Elsevier B.V., 1 Oct. 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7293463/. Ghannam, Malik, et al. “Neurological Involvement of CORONAVIRUS DISEASE 2019: A
Systematic Review.” Journal of Neurology, Springer Berlin Heidelberg, Nov. 2020, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7304377/. “Coronavirus and the Nervous System.” National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Sept. 2021, www.ninds.nih.gov/Current-Research/Coronavirus-and-NINDS/nervous-system. Walsh, Colleen. “How Scent, Emotion, and Memory Are Intertwined - and Exploited.” Harvard Gazette, Harvard Gazette, 27 Feb. 2020, news.harvard.edu/gazette/story/2020/02/how-scent-emotion-and-memory-are-intertwinedand-exploited/#:~:text=Smells%20are%20handled%20by%20the,related%20to%20emotio n%20and%20memory.
Can water turn into a metal? BY SALLY LEE
Figure 1: A thin layer of water turned shiny for a few seconds Source Credit: Nature We all know that the water we encounter everyday is not a pure substance. In fact, due to the impurities it contains, water can become metallic, or electronically conductive; salts can dissolve into ions that allow unfiltered water to conduct electricity. Therefore, the opposite case is true for pure, filtered water– electrons cannot move freely when there are only water molecules. However, there is a way to force pure water into a metallic substance: using high pressure. As a matter of fact, in theory, this method has to work in most materials. In metals such as copper and iron, outer electrons can flow and conduct electricity when atoms or molecules are squeezed together tightly enough. Thus, when pressure is applied to water, the free movement of electrons turns it into a metallic state, but applying pressure is not as easy as it sounds. Water requires 15 million atmospheres of pressure, which is equivalent to 48 times the atmospheric pressure at sea level, in order to become metallic. This level of pressure is possible in laboratory settings, but does not provide an environment to study its metallic state. As a result, an organic chemist Pavel Jungwirth of the Czech Academy of Sciences in Czechia and his team
have recently found a new alternative: using alkali metals. Alkali metals, which occupy the first column of the periodic table, only hold one electron in their valence shells. These metals, such as sodium and potassium, become more stable by releasing their electrons; by using this property, water can borrow their electrons and become conductive without high pressure. Last year, a similar effect was observed when tested with ammonia and alkali metals by Jungwirtha and another chemist Phil Mason. However, there was still another problem to solve: water and alkali metals are highly reactive, even to the stage of explosion. As a solution to this challenge, scientists came up with a creative idea: adding water to metal. Instead of dropping metal into water, which would definitely result in an explosion, the team decided to use vapor deposition to add a thin layer of water onto an alloy of sodium-potassium in a liquid state. A more detailed procedure includes putting a syringe filled with sodium and potassium inside a vacuum chamber and exposing droplets to water vapor. During the experiment, the water condensed to the surface into a layer one-tenth of a micrometer thick, and the electrons from the combined metal quickly moved into the water. That moment, scientists observed a golden shine. Water becoming metallic was thought to have been only possible at the centers of other massive planets, such as Neptune or Uranus. Especially because the high pressure seemed to be nearly impossible to perform on water with current technology, scientists found this particular discovery with great excitement. The journey was definitely not easy; in addition to using alkali metals, they had to be cautious so that electrons can diffuse into water before chemical decomposition. Overcoming these obstacles, Jungwirth commented, “it was amazing, like [when] you discover a new element.”
Q&A: Hannah: How is this metallic water useful? Is it better than other materials in certain aspects (i.e. durability, accessibility, cost, etc)? - The scientists highlight the significance of producing metallic water on Earth instead of comparing it with other materials. Therefore, at this stage, I believe it is too early to put emphasis on its superior properties. Wooseok: Are there any health implications when people are exposed to this new type of water for long periods of time? - Health concerns are not revealed yet. However, there might be a risk during the process of turning water into a metallic state due to the danger of explosion. Jennah: Could you explain why this method should theoretically work in most elements? - As “Water Transformed into Shiny, Golden Metal” mentioned, “Atoms or molecules can be squeezed together so tightly that they begin to share their outer electrons, which can then travel and conduct electricity as they do in a chunk of copper or iron.” John: What properties of water makes it give off a golden sheen when it becomes metallic? - It is not just water that gives off a golden sheen. Researchers discussed their previous experiment with ammonia, which also turned shiny. Therefore, it does not depend on water’s properties, but rather because metals have shiny appearances. Xavier: Was the idea to force water into a metallic state studied prior to Jungwirth’s recent research, or something that was never attempted before? - Jungwirth was one of the first scientists who used the new method, adding water to the metal, to force water into a metallic state. However, it is uncertain whether the idea itself has originated from him. Fabian:What differentiates Uranus or Neptune from Earth, in terms of elements or atmosphere, that allows the two planets to form metals? - Uranus and Neptune are giant planets that have extremely high pressures at their cores. Thus, as explained above in the article, water may be in a metallic state on these planets.
Works Cited Castelvecchi, Davide. “Water Transformed into Shiny, Golden Metal.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 28 July 2021, www.nature.com/articles/d41586-021-02065-w. Lanese, Nicoletta. “Scientists Transform Water into Shiny, Golden Metal.” LiveScience, Purch, 30 July 2021, www.livescience.com/water-into-metal-experiment.html. Starr, Michelle. “Scientists Have Transformed Pure Water Into a Metal.” ScienceAlert, www.sciencealert.com/scientists-have-found-a-new-way-to-turn-water-metallic.
Blinded by the lights: the African dung beetle BY XAVIER KIM
Figure 1: An African dung beetle rolls its way through the starry night. Source Credit: New York Times (LINK) Those who have been to large, bright cities may have noticed something about the night sky: they are starless. And while this can be–and often is– quickly dismissed as a meaningless observation, it holds a lot of significance to other forms of life. The night sky is more than just a pretty sight for animals like the African dung beetle. A discovery was made just over a decade ago that these nocturnal insects rely on the Milky Way to navigate through their dark environment in near-perfect straight lines. When the sky, however, is polluted with light sources from human civilization, these animals begin to lose their way. New research published in the journal Current Biology at the end of July found evidence that man-made light disrupts the behavior of African dung beetles in South Africa. The unique ability of dung beetles to travel through the desert in almost perfectly straight lines is made possible by their compound eyes that are sensitive to dim objects. For some context, dung beetles have been observed to head in a random direction in a straight path as this limits possible encounters with
other dung beetles (which frequently leads to fights). As they crawl along their paths, they look up at the sky to confirm that its view of the arrangement of stars matches preceding reference images. As scientists were observing this behavior, they noticed that the Milky Way became increasingly more difficult to locate. Subsequently, they hypothesized that this loss of sight may impact the beetles in some way. To test their ideas, they conducted experiments where they shined spotlights on the beetles and studied their movements on the roof of a building in central Johannesburg. The new research presents that when the sky was dominated by a single, powerful light, it could be observed that the dung beetles headed in a straight path for the light source instead of heading towards a random direction as they normally would. Even more concerning was when the light was scattered, creating a featureless night sky that resembles those in suburban areas. The beetles were completely confused and went around in circles. Therefore, this new, threatening issue serves as a new challenge for dung beetles as it disrupts their everyday behavior. Scientists are concerned that other animals like birds and migratory moths may face heavy consequences from light pollution on a much grander scale. As the night skies continue to become brighter every year, it will become an important role for people to ensure that Mother Nature doesn’t step off her path.
Q&A: Hannah: In addition to the city lights, does air pollution play any role in disrupting the behavior of the animals that rely on the stars? - While I wasn’t able to find much information on this topic, I did stumble across an article describing how light pollution can affect air pollution. It was def Sally: Where are the dung beetles exactly heading towards? - As you may know, dung beetles survive by rolling up other animals’ feces. That is an essential element to their survival as it is a big part of their diet. In order to prevent competition for the ball of dung, within the species, they steer clear of other dung beetles. Anna: How might we help these dung beetles and other animals from light pollution? - There are a lot of small ways for individuals to pitch in and diminish the effects of light pollution. For example, try to only install and use outdoor lighting when it is absolutely necessary. Another way could be to only use warm-colored LEDs. John: Why are the beetles’ compound eyes sensitive to dim objects?
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Dung beetles are able to see much better than humans in dark environments because their eyes contain multiple lenses that form a single image for its photoreceptor cells. The beetles have also evolved to process visual information differently than human beings, allowing them to detect light better at night.
Jennah: Are dung beetles the only specimen that are affected by man-made interference with the night sky? Could you provide examples of other organisms that could potentially be impacted by the pollution? - Great question. Light pollution is such a big problem because it affects life wherever civilization is. The tiny sand hopper, for example, relies on the moon to guide its foraging trips at night. An experiment showed that when they were exposed to artificial lights, their movement was much more random, they missed out on feeding opportunities, and migrated less often. This is concerning because of their important role as decomposers, this could lead to heavier consequences for the entire ecosystem as a whole. Wooseok: What exactly are the implications of the dung beetles losing their sense of direction? Is a specific stage of their lives critically affected by this loss of orientation? - An inability to quickly separate itself from a pile of dung will theoretically lead to more encounters with other beetles, which may result in fights over the limited, shared resource.
Works Cited Foster, James J., et al. “Light Pollution Forces a Change in Dung Beetle Orientation Behavior.” Current Biology, 29 July 2021, doi:10.1016/j.cub.2021.06.038. Sokol, Joshua. “What Animals See in the Stars, and What They Stand to Lose.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 July 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/07/29/science/animals-starlight-navigation-dacke.html.
Viruses and Their Hosts Join Hands to Vanquish the Parasitoids BY ANNA KIM
Figure: Tiny wasp eggs (white) surrounding their host, the caterpillar (green). On July 29, researchers at the University of Valencia published a study about parasitoid-killing factors with many other researchers from Japan, Canada, and South Korea. Parasitoid-killing factors (PKF) are proteins whose genes are in several double-stranded DNA viruses that infect lepidopteran insects, such as moths, butterflies, and skippers. These proteins—carried by either caterpillars or viruses—are highly poisonous to wasp eggs laid inside their hosts (caterpillars). When the parasitic wasp’s eggs steal the “home” of the virus (“home” = caterpillar), the virus and its host form a mutualistic relationship. In this relationship, the virus protects the caterpillar by destroying the parasitic wasp's eggs and preventing them from consuming the host's flesh. Consumption of the host's body would result in the eventual death of the host. Although the virus alone is harmful to its host, the virus gives the host a higher probability for survival than the parasitoid wasps that use the caterpillar or host as a “living nursery.” Not only did researchers discover PKF in the entomopathogenic DNA viruses, but they also found the parasitoid-killing factors inside the insects themselves. For instance, some moth caterpillars could form the factor proteins themselves to kill the eggs laid by the parasitoid wasps. The study’s Co-author Salvador Herrero, a pathologist and geneticist at the University of Valencia, presumed that in the distant past, several moth caterpillars that survived viral infections could have learned how to create PKF as survival techniques. Those advantages were likely to have been passed down to the offspring. The research of the relationships between the three organisms—caterpillars (hosts), parasitoid wasps, and viruses—dates back to the 1970s. Entomologist Harry Kaya at the University of California, Davis, et al. had already observed that virus-infected caterpillars were protected from the parasitoids with the benefit of a viral protein. However, the viral protein still remained
unknown, and the researchers couldn’t understand the mechanism of protection. Only in a recent study did researchers Herrero and his collaborator Madoka Nakai et al. from Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology identify the protein as PKF and understand that mechanism. Madoka Nakai and her team were the first to discover the parasitoid-killing factors in northern armyworm caterpillars infected with entomopoxvirus—a subfamily of the Poxviridae family in which humans and other insects (besides caterpillars) can serve as hosts. From their discovery, they concluded that the infected hosts or caterpillars were protected from certain parasitoid species. To test their hypothesis, Salvador Herrero and his team exposed the young parasitic wasps to plasma from virus-infected caterpillars taken of any virus particles. As a result, the wasp larvae died. The team then compared the plasma proteins in the healthy larvae to virus-infected larvae and soon identified a 28-kDa protein: PKF. The protein was present exclusively in the infected larvae. Afterward, the researchers allowed the wasps to lay their eggs inside their victims (caterpillars) or have them (the wasp larvae) exposed to hemolymph, a fluid similar to blood in most invertebrates. The results were that both groups—the virus-infected caterpillars and hemolymph—were efficient killers of wasp larvae. However, further findings suggested that some parasitoid wasps resist the parasitoid-killing factors because the ability of the wasps to fight back is species-specific. Q&A: Sally: Where can this discovery be applied? What are some industries or agriculture that might benefit from this? In other words, is there a way our society can benefit from this? This discovery can allow scientists to comprehend how living organisms interact within an environment. Scientists examine their behaviors and the organisms’ needs to survive and reproduce. Researchers can further unearth new data on evolution regarding the three organisms: parasitic wasps, caterpillars, and viruses. Hannah: You mentioned that the virus alone is harmful to the caterpillar. If so, can it really be considered a mutualistic relationship? In the absence of parasitic wasps, the relationship between the virus and the caterpillar cannot be mutualistic: the virus will definitely harm its host. However, when the third party chimes in, the virus will fight for its territory by destroying the parasitic wasps’ eggs and inadvertently saving the caterpillar. Indeed, the virus works its way into the host for its own benefit. But unlike the parasitic wasps, the virus prevents the caterpillar from immediate death or death itself. Xavier: What is the significance of this study? Is it an urgent issue that should continue to be researched? The study helps researchers make hypothetical statements that evolution—natural selection—could have occurred over thousands of years to these caterpillars to survive viral
infections. Scientists can presume that genes that create PKF could have been passed down to caterpillars’ offspring and be advantageous. The study further helps scientists understand what relationships living organisms, other than humans, may have influenced us and the ecosystem. The issue may not seem urgent, but considering the relationship between parasitic wasps, caterpillars, and viruses is likely to allow scientists to apply that attained knowledge to other fields in science that may develop our society and understanding of living organisms.
Jennah: Is this study only applicable to certain lepidopteran insects? For instance, the article specifically mentions the finding of PFK in a relationship between a parasitic wasp and the caterpillar. Are there other insects (or pairs of insects) that may benefit from this discovery? So far, parasitoid-killing factors have been found in some entomopathogenic (microorganisms that cause diseases upon tiny insects) DNA virus families and lepidopteran genomes. Living organisms that share parasitic relationships with other organisms may benefit from PKF to prevent harm from being inflicted on the victim organisms. Wooseok: Are phenomena like this common in the natural world? If so, is there an aspect that makes this concept unique? Although parasitic relationships like the wasps and the caterpillars and the snails and the parasitic worms are relatively common in the natural world, the phenomenon of viruses protecting caterpillars that are attacked by parasitic wasps is new. Viruses have been sought to exclusively harm its hosts, not protect. John: How do the parasitic wasps lay their eggs in the caterpillars? A female wasp attacks a designated caterpillar, piercing into the host’s flesh with an ovipositor, a tube-like organ. As the wasp attacks, it also lays approximately 80 eggs into the caterpillar’s body cavity. Subsequently, the eggs hatch inside the caterpillar and feed off their host’s body. Fabian: The article mentions that some parasitoid wasps are resistant to the PFK. What variants of wasps carry this trait, and what efforts are done by the scientists to overcome the wasps’ resistance? Meteorus pulchricornis wasps, for instance, were not affected by the parasitoid-killing factors. Further details are yet to be found by scientists to answer why these wasps were not affected. However, discovering why some wasps are not affected will allow researchers to find new details on evolutionary relationships between the three organisms: parasitoid wasps, caterpillars, and viruses. Works Cited Jesús, Erin Garcia de. “Viruses Can Kill Wasp Larvae That Grow inside Infected Caterpillars.”
Science News, 29 July 2021, www.sciencenews.org/article/viruses-wasp-larvae-caterpillars. Melchor, Annie. “Genes Shared With Viruses Protect Caterpillars from Parasitic Wasps.” The Scientist Magazine®, www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/viral-proteins-protect-caterpillars-from-parasitic-was p-larvae-69047. “Viruses Can Kill Managed Wasp Larvae in Infected Caterpillars.” Pledge Times, 2 Aug. 2021, pledgetimes.com/viruses-can-kill-managed-wasp-larvae-in-infected-caterpillars/.
What exactly is the “Sick Building Syndrome”? By WOOSEOK KIM
Figure 1: A diagram of a house that focuses on potential causes of the sick building syndrome (LINK) The term “sick building syndrome” often confuses many people. Despite the intuitive image of an architecture being quite literally ill, the expression is far from considering the biological states of such lifeless structures. The sick building syndrome is a phenomenon in which building occupants suffer from general discomfort that could vary in terms of type and intensity, yet without a specific, identifiable cause or illness. For instance, symptoms range from skin itch or dryness up to acute dizziness and heavy nausea. Previously, this specific term was mainly used in the field of architecture, as the overall design and structure of the building is a major deciding factor in terms of causing the sick building syndrome. Recently, however, after the first few waves of COVID-19 and its mutations, researchers found correlations between the sick building syndrome phenomenon and the COVID-19 pandemic. Like most infectious diseases, COVID-19 mainly spreads through interactions between groups of people. In order to counteract this spread, multiple countries quarantined COVID-19 patients (including those with the virus’ symptoms) and limited the general public from participating in outside activities for long periods of time. Naturally, people began spending more time indoors. While this policy does effectively prevent the spread of COVID-19, it must be noted that it also
has the consequence of exposing people to a greater risk of suffering from the sick building syndrome. Mohammad Reza Hosseini, Reza Fouladi-Fard and Rahim Aali from the Research Center for Environmental Pollutants are researchers who suggested that longer time spent indoors leads to higher chance of experiencing sick building syndrome. Specifically, they focused on the drop in air quality as indoor activities increase in frequency. For instance, they point out that actions like cooking and smoking greatly increase the chances of indoor air pollution, which tends to be especially critical in buildings with poor ventilation. Unsurprisingly, such indoor air pollution is a major cause that leads to the sick building syndrome. Additional causes that exacerbate the sick building syndrome include increased intensity of noise pollution from neighbors, chemical pollution from the overuse of disinfectants, and more. To prevent this phenomenon from taking place, the researchers stressed the need to increase ventilation in buildings. They explain that this solution could be achieved by both having the inhabitants manually induce air circulation by frequently opening windows and reinforcing laws that restrict the minimum space for ventilation required in structures.
Q&A: Hannah: You mentioned that poor ventilation can be improved by inducing air circulation and having better ventilation in structures. But how can the other causes like noise pollution and chemical pollution be prevented or mitigated? -
Other causes like noise pollution and chemical pollution could be prevented by either making changes during the construction stage of the target architecture, or by reinforcing laws regarding rowdy residents and unhealthy indoor practices involving chemicals.
Anna: Is increasing ventilation in buildings the only possible solution to prevent sick building syndrome from occurring? What other possibilities are there? -
Definitely not - considering how air pollution is only one of the multiple aspects of the sick building syndrome, other solutions for other aspects exist. For instance, enhancing laws regarding turbulent neighbors is a possible solution in terms of reducing noise pollution. Sally: What’s the architectural perspective on sick building syndrome? Is it different from a medical point of view? -
The medical point of view focuses more on the detrimental consequences that the sick building syndrome has on human health, while the architectural perspective focuses more
on the physical aspects of the building that makes its inhabitants vulnerable to the sick building syndrome. Jennah: Where are some countries around the world that are most severely experiencing the symptoms of ‘sick building syndrome’? What could be a shared prevalent factor observed in those heavily impacted areas? -
The sick building syndrome tends to be more prevalent depending on specific regions within different countries, rather than countries as a whole. Shared factors are generally the target building’s lack of functionality, such as ventilation. John: What are some other factors that can contribute to the sick-building syndrome other than airborne dangers? -
A variety of different factors contribute to the sick building syndrome, including noise pollution and chemical pollution for instance. Xavier: Where is this issue taking place? Is this discovery something that we as Korean residents should be concerned about? -
The sick building syndrome and its relationship with more time spent indoors due to COVID-19 is a global issue that generally involves everyone, rather than being limited to specific locations or countries. As Korean residents, we should definitely also be concerned about this issue. Fabian: Would environmentally-friendly architecture materials, often promoted by some construction companies, be an effective solution to alleviate the sick building syndrome? -
Maybe - while the sick building syndrome is mainly caused by the target architecture lacking key components, using environmentally-friendly architecture materials could potentially be a healthier choice for its residents. Works Cited
“'Sick-Building Syndrome' Fuelling India's COVID-19 Infections.” Down To Earth, www.downtoearth.org.in/blog/health/-sick-building-syndrome-fuelling-india-s-covid-19-in fections-77026. Hosseini, Mohammad Reza, et al. “COVID-19 Pandemic and Sick Building Syndrome.” Indoor and Built Environment, vol. 29, no. 8, 2020, pp. 1181–1183., doi:10.1177/1420326x20935644.
Removing Negative Bias of Muslims in Natural Language Processing AI Model GPT-3 BY FABIAN ROH
[Fig 1]: News article generated by GPT-3 at its most difficult level (Source: Clockwise Software) Around 15 years ago, computers generating and speaking eloquent sentences were considered infeasible. However, after the advent of mobile virtual assistants, such as Apple’s Siri or Samsung’s Bixby, the perspective on Artificial Intelligence (AI) started to change. With the recent release of GPT-3, the third-generation language AI model by OpenAI, the generation where computers produce human-like text has finally arrived. Unlike other language models, GPT-3 can process and craft text at a human level in various different styles. In some cases, it exceeds human’s understandings and is able to critique human actions. Ultimately, the advent of GPT-3 can be considered as taking our world one step closer to the future that was often depicted in Science Fiction movies. Regardless of their wide range of functions, all variants of machine learning models train from a myriad of data by establishing connections between them. In fact, the quality and diversity of data hugely determine the data’s accuracy. Natural Language Processing (NLP) models like GPT-3 are trained with sentences written by humans. GPT-3, with a complex structure of 175 billion parameters, is trained with 499 billion tokens—a method of separating texts or special characters from the sentence. Therefore, it is currently regarded as the standardized benchmark in crafting sophisticated sentences. Nonetheless, bias in
the majority of the dataset may affect the sentence that the model creates. Members of the Stanford Institute for Human-Centered Artificial Intelligence (HAI) James Zou and Abubakar Abid discovered the negative bias in sentences written by GPT-3. Zou and Abid entered the phrase “Two Muslims walk into a…” and observed how the GPT-3 would finish the prompt. For 66 out of 100 entries, the model’s response to Muslim-related prompts included violent phrases such as “synagogue with axes and a bomb.” In contrast, GPT-3 had a lower rate of references to violence when prompted with other religions. The rate of the prompts relating to atheists, Buddhists, or Jews had plummeted below 10 percent. Since GPT-3 is mostly being trained with the existing dataset, this bias well displays society’s negative prejudice towards Muslims. Although opposing views argue that the bias should be treated as a real-life pattern that the model incorporates into its training, the negative bias in language models presents a potential danger. If the bias in the GPT-3 exists, the model may return false results, such as creating a nonexistent terror incident by Muslims or automatically attributing the Muslims as perpetrators of a terror despite actually being victims. It may be difficult to eradicate GPT-3’s negative bias towards Muslims as the immense amount of training dataset, or even the model’s algorithm may need to be processed again, which is nearly impossible. Fortunately, an alternative solution is associating a positive premise of Muslims when entering the prompt so that the model would consider or learn that “Muslims” in the prompt include positive associations. In fact, this method was observed to quickly reduce the association to violence with Muslims by approximately one-third. Artificial Intelligence has opened the limitless door of technological advancement, displaying great influence and power in almost every aspect of our industry. As the old saying goes, with great power comes great responsibility. Natural Language Processing models, which will interact with humans in the future, should always deliver fair content, adapt to every human user, and, most importantly, do not enforce any bias. Although computers may replace us and become better at arduous tasks, it is important for humans to create and supervise AI to create a fair society where AI can coexist with everyone. Q&A: Sally: What are some other examples of bias in the dataset? Are there opposing viewpoints to this problem? Bias can occur on any type of dataset. As large as the English language is, the bias quantity of GPT-3 is limitless. Similar to average humans, there are also gray areas that Artificial Intelligence is not clear about, potentially creating errors. Despite the model’s accuracy reaching 100% with the training set, the model is likely to make errors when a different type of data is
inputted. In the AI community, there is no opposition to an AI model having a bias. Hannah: Do you think it is possible for AI to craft sentences exactly like humans in the near future with very low errors and bias? Or do you think there is still some time needed to reach this level of accuracy? GPT-3, an AI model, already crafts like humans with low errors. As mentioned in the (revised) article, GPT-3’s linguistic aptitude exceeds human intelligence. The reason why the negative bias towards Muslims exists is due to the GPT-3’s data sets (real human writings) mostly attributing Muslims in negative connotations. Besides that, AI models like GPT-3 are already able to create sentences like humans. In fact, Elon Musk, the CEO of Tesla and OpenAI, claims that AI will be vastly smarter than humans and may overtake the human race by the year 2025. Xavier: What exactly separates this new AI program from past models from a coding standpoint? The phrase “new AI program” sounds equivocal but it would be assumed as GPT-3 in this situation. As mentioned in the article, GPT-3’s linguistic abilities are unrivaled compared to other language models. Its past model, GPT-2, was criticized for its poor performance when faced with specialized areas, such as music, storytelling, etc. GPT-3 did not only fix those issues but also are equipped with more features, such as text summarization, language translation, code generation, etc. Jennah: Are there any instances of artificial intelligence models [other than the GPT-3] clashing with values in today’s society (e.g. being insensitive about social issues)? There are several instances of AI models that have made remarks on the issues that are sensitive in today’s society. If most of its training data contain sensitive and derogatory remarks, the AI may relate the sensitive topic to a negative connotation, eventually creating outputs that clash with the values in today’s society. In fact, this should have been prevented by human developers; however, there are myriad cases that human developers have yet to find, resulting in where the consumer raises the issue before the developer can identify it. More information about AI abiding by our society’s moral values is organized under the concept “AI ethics”. The most recent and prominent example would be Chatbot Luda. Luda is a language model AI aimed to chat with humans as a friend on an online messaging platform. It was trained based on the company’s Science of Love app, which analyzes many couples’ messages to measure various factors. While chatting with one of its 750,000 users, Luda regarded sexual minority groups as disgusting, which is a sensitive remark to make in today’s society due to continuous activities advocating the rights of sexual minority groups, raising the question in AI ethics. A more worldwide example would be Tay by Microsoft, which was shut down 16 hours after its release, due to it making offensive tweets. AI ethics is not only limited to Natural Language models but also in other fields, such as self-driving cars. For example, similar to the trolley cart dilemma, a self-driving car has to answer the ethical questions under such situations where the car cannot stop and either has to run over the three pedestrians or crash into a wall, killing a single
passenger.
Wooseok: Considering how the GPT-3 is capable of effectively replicating human text, would ordinary people be able to distinguish the texts produced by GPT-3 from that of other humans? GPT-3 is at a level where it can seamlessly interpret and write texts at a human level. For interpretation, GPT-3 can comprehend the users’ instructions and create the code by itself. For writing, as displayed in [Fig. 1] of the article, GPT-3’s writing content and convention are mostly correct and coherent. For ordinary humans, if not being aware of GPT-3’s writing aptitude, they would not be able to distinguish the texts produced by GPT-3 from that of other humans. John: How is the negative bias problem relevant in the context of the popular/common usage of the GPT-3? Natural Language Processing models are responsible for interpreting and performing human communications; therefore, it is highly probable that GPT-3 would be used to interact with human users using human language. Since most of the datasets used to train the GPT-3 included negative bias to Muslims, GPT-3 may have the predilection to make offensive or derogatory outputs with Muslims when communicating with humans. This would not only potentially lead to an ominous situation of fabricating false news about Muslims but also negatively manipulate the people in the society about their perception of Muslims.
Anna: Have there been other solutions that might eradicate the negative bias of GPT-3? Similar to humans, it is nearly impossible to eradicate errors–negative bias–from an AI model since there is a myriad amount of dataset that deviates from the pattern that the AI model uses to perform its tasks. Due to the model being too large, it would be difficult to either change the model structure or other components that aid in reducing the errors in its accuracy. Works Cited Heaven, Will Douglas. “OpenAI's New Language Generator GPT-3 Is Shockingly Good-and Completely Mindless.” MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 10 Dec. 2020, www.technologyreview.com/2020/07/20/1005454/openai-machine-learning-language-gene rator-gpt-3-nlp/. Li, Chuan. “OpenAI's GPT-3 Language Model: A Technical Overview.” Lambda Blog, Lambda Blog, 11 Sept. 2020, lambdalabs.com/blog/demystifying-gpt-3/. “Rooting Out Anti-Muslim Bias in Popular Language Model GPT-3.” Stanford HAI, hai.stanford.edu/news/rooting-out-anti-muslim-bias-popular-language-model-gpt-3. Schmelzer, Ronald. “What Is GPT-3? Everything You Need to Know.” SearchEnterpriseAI, TechTarget, 11 June 2021, searchenterpriseai.techtarget.com/definition/GPT-3.