Breakthrough - Ramaz Science Publication 2/17




Breakthrough The Ramaz Science Publication Winter Edition / February 2017

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Table of Contents The Extent of Pollution in Our Oceans

by Elizabeth Aufzien ’19 Pg. 3 Helix

by Daniella Feingold ‘20 Pg. 4 Helping Our Bodies Heal Heart Disease With Gene Therapy

by Michael Gul ’18 Pg. 5 Metallic Hydrogen

by Abigail Huebner ‘18 Pg. 7 Oxygen Flooded Earth’s Atmosphere Earlier Than Thought

by Daniel Jaspan ‘17 Pg. 8 Can Plants See?

by Moselle Kleiner ‘17 Pg. 9 Autism and the Brain

by Kyla Mintz ‘18 Pg. 10 Indian Firm Makes Baking Soda Out of CO2 Emissions

by Michael Perl ‘19 Pg. 13 Hydras and the Future of Limb Regeneration

by Harry Shams ’19 Pg. 14 Pottery Could Resolve the Gap in Earth’s Magnetic Field Fluctuation Records

by Harry Shams ’19 Pg. 15 The Regrowth of Lost Limbs

by Emily Stemp ’18 Pg. 16

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The Extent of Pollution in Our Oceans Teams from the University of Aberdeen and the James Hutton Institute sent probes into the depths of the Kermadec and Mariana Trenches to study amphipods, small creatures that reside there, as evidence of the existence of pollutants. The researchers discovered that these trenches were some of the most polluted areas on the entire planet. This is remarkable due to their location and their extensive depth, which in places exceeds 10,000 meters. The researchers were looking for polychlorinated biphenyl (PCB) and Polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), pollutants which were widely used a few decades ago, but due to their public health implications, they were banned in the US in the 1970’s.

These compounds do not disintegrate easily and bioaccumulate, helping scientists track organic pollution.

The research shows that contrary to popular belief, these marine animals living in the deeper parts of the ocean are extremely vulnerable to pollution, despite their distance from destructive human behaviors. The only place with levels rivaling the trenches is the Suruga Bay in Japan, the location in which many of these chemicals are both produced and used.

It is not clear exactly how these pollutants made their way into the trenches, or why their levels are so unprecedentedly high. Scientists conjecture that this is in part due to the ocean’s currents and the tendency of contaminants to attach themselves to debris and then sink down towards the bottom of the ocean.

The authors of this journal article note that “[mankind’s] proximity to these extreme locations is far from remote, which is why even the deepest chasms of the ocean are no longer pristine.” There consequences for our actions despite the distance between the depths of the ocean and human activities on land. This comes to show the intimate, inherent connections between all of the ecosystems on our planet. And this should only remind us about how we must take up the responsibility to be aware of our actions as they have obvious repercussions even in the most remote regions of our planet.

Elizabeth Aufzien ‘19

Works Cited Jamieson, Alan J., Tamas Malkocs, Stuart B. Piertney, Toyonobu Fujii, and Zulin Zhang.

"Bioaccumulation of Persistent Organic Pollutants in the Deepest Ocean Fauna." Nature Ecology & Evolution 1.3 (2017): 0051. Web.

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Helix A complicated issue that many people face is understanding why they are who they are. Our genomes tell us what threats there are to our health, our physical characteristics, and who our ancestors are. Even though there are tests that tell you who you are related to and give you a little information on your genetics, there is still not a large demand for information on our own genomes.

Justin Kao is creating a company called Helix that is expected to fully start within the next year or two. Helix wants to gather spit specimen from anybody who buys a DNA related program, and then organize and examine the customers’ genes. After this they can input their discoveries into the system, so that they can be obtained by computer programmers who want to sell other applications. Helix wants to obtain and keep all of this information for each client, even if in the beginning that client only wishes to know if they have one certain gene. Clients will be able to decide who can see the information on their genome, and who cannot. Helix believes that they can decipher people’s genomes for only $100, a much cheaper price than most other businesses.

However, many decisions about the company have not yet been made. For instance, it has not been officially decided whether clients will be able to take the information on their genome and transfer it somewhere else. It is supposed that clients will probably be able to do this, although at a higher price. The main worry is that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration will not allow Helix to release all the information they want. Helix needs the administration’s approval if they want to be able to create the company that they wish to create.

Daniella Feingold ‘20

Works Cited Regalado, Antonio. "10 Breakthrough Technologies 2016: DNA App Store." MIT Technology Review.

MIT Technology Review, 04 Mar. 2016. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

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Helping Our Bodies Heal Heart Disease With Gene Therapy Coronary Artery Disease (CAD) is the most common cause of death globally, killing millions of people every year. This disease is caused by the buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries, which restricts blood flow to the nearby heart tissue, and when that tissue does not get enough oxygen and nutrients, those cells die in what is known as a heart attack. Though there are a number of ways doctors are able to deal with obstructed coronary arteries, such as placing in a stent or bypassing the blocked artery, the heart itself uses a neat trick to heal itself. The heart develops collateral vessels, which redirect blood to the afflicted area and prevent further damage. These vessels are present from birth, but they lie dormant until called upon by the body to serve this purpose. In some severe cases, these new arteries grow larger and become like other arteries. The logical question is: if we have our own protection against CAD, why is it still such a common cause of death?

The truth is that often times our collateral systems are insufficient to deal with particularly severe blockages. Different individuals have different collateral systems, which can greatly impact the dangers of heart disease. For example, a study from University Hospital of Bern found that people whose collateral arteries can replace 25% of their normal coronary blood flow were two thirds less likely to die of their heart problems over the course of a decade. However, only 20 to 30% of the population has a well developed collateral system, leaving the other 70-80% at higher risk of dying from heart disease.

Knowing the life-saving potential of a good collateral system, researchers began investigating the formation of collateral arteries in order to figure out how to give everybody a strong collateral system. Naturally, they form due to two main factors. First, as blood flows into existing collateral channels, the linings of these channels release proteins that stimulate growth into full fledged arteries.

Secondly, the heart tissue that wasn’t getting enough blood also releases growth factors that cause nearby collateral channels to grow into arteries. These two responses combine in the event of an arterial blockage to save the heart tissue and potentially prevent death.

There is a third way to stimulate the maturation of collateral channels into arteries: extended exercise that strains the heart. A 2016 German study found that in men with severe CAD, 10 hours of high-intensity (or 15 hours of medium-intensity) exercise each week for a month increased the capacity of the collateral system by 40%. This improvement is the difference between life and death for those with CAD. It seems too good to be true, and sadly, it is in a sense. Many people with heart disease are unable to exercise at the required levels at all, so doing so for over an hour every day is out of the question. Therefore, another method of stimulating collateral development is needed to solve the problem of CAD on a large scale.

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One promising way to cause the development of a strong collateral system is by gene therapy.

Two proteins, called VEGF and FGF, were found to stimulate blood vessel growth and as such piqued the interest of researchers. These proteins worked too well, however, and wreaked havoc on blood vessels elsewhere in the body, and indirect methods of delivery meant that large doses were needed for enough to reach the heart (and a large percentage never even made it there). Seeking a more direct way to administer the drug, researchers tried gene therapy. The genes for these proteins were injected into the heart by viral vectors. Though this worked on the small scale, it failed to work on a broad enough area of the heart to cause noticeable benefits. Some researchers devised a method to do this on a larger area of the heart, and those drugs are currently undergoing testing. An alternative method is to use stem cells taken from bone marrow, which naturally are able to produce these growth factors. Tests on this form of therapy have looked encouraging, but no substantial benefit has been found.

One problem with these trials is that a sizeable portion of the population already has a highly functional collateral system, so these patients cannot benefit anymore from therapy and skew trial results. Another problem is that the only way to measure collateral flow is an expensive and invasive procedure involving inflating a balloon in coronary arteries, so it is difficult to conduct these tests.

Though it has been twenty years since research began on collateral artery therapy and scientists are still facing many problems, it is worth it to potentially save millions of lives every year from the horror that is Coronary Artery Disease.

Michael Gul ‘18

Works Cited Source: Rubanyi, Gabor. "Heart Therapy." Scientific American Jan. 2017: 38-43. Web.

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Metallic Hydrogen In 1935, physicists theorized about the possibility of creating metallic hydrogen. To do this, they reasoned, the hydrogen would need to be compressed by about 25 gigapascals of pressure, 250,000 times more than the normal atmospheric pressure on Earth. Pressures this high are only found in the very core of dense planets, and since the initial prediction in 1935, the predicted required pressure has risen even more. Since then, scientists have been trying to create this solid form of hydrogen. For the first time, someone claims to have succeeded—Harvard physicists Isaac Silvera and Ranga Dias.

Silvera and Dias used diamonds, the strongest material on earth, to compress the gas. In previous experiments, the diamonds had shattered under the pressure. Silvera and Dias created synthetic diamonds, so that their structure would be perfect and without any of the inconsistencies present in naturally occurring diamonds. They then polished the diamonds a special way, making sure to not gouge away at the surface at all. They covered the diamonds with alumina to make sure no hydrogen atoms would diffuse into the diamonds, and then began their experiment. The hydrogen gas was placed between the two diamonds, and at -269 degrees Celsius and 495 gigapascals of pressure, 5 million times Earth’s sea level pressure, the hydrogen turned into a metal.

Many are skeptical about the report of Silvera and Dias. Additionally, they do not yet know if the hydrogen will remain in this metallic state once the pressure is removed. But, if they did actually manage to create stable metallic hydrogen, it could have remarkable applications. One way metallic hydrogen can be used is as a room-temperature superconductor. This could, for example, create magnetic-levitating trains or MRI machines that don’t need the material to be cooled to the temperature of liquid helium, -269 degrees Celsius. More importantly, however, Silvera explains that “It’s also predicted to be the most powerful rocket propellant that man knows, So, if one could somehow scale it up and make large quantities of it, it could revolutionize rocketry.” Hydrogen, the lightest element, would be easy for rockets to carry, and would release a huge amount of energy when it goes back from its metallic state to its regular state.

Abigail Huebner ‘18

Works Cited Lemonick, Sam. "There's Reason To Be Skeptical About Metallic Hydrogen." Forbes. Forbes Magazine, 03 Feb. 2017. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

Ghose, Tia. "Lab-Made 'Metallic Hydrogen' Could Revolutionize Rocket Fuel." Live Science. N.p., 26 Jan. 2017. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

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Oxygen Flooded Earth’s Atmosphere Earlier Than Thought The breath of oxygen that enabled the emergence of complex life kicked off around 100 million years earlier than previously thought, new dating suggests.

Many previous studies pegged the first appearance of the oxygen in Earth’s atmosphere at a little over 2.3 billion years ago. This is known as the Great Oxidation Event (GOE). New studies have shown that oxygen levels began between 2.460 and 2.426 billion years ago.

The difference between these two times is a big deal. The new date can shake up scientists’ understanding of the environmental conditions that led the GOE, which prompted the evolution of oxygen dependent life-forms called eukaryotes. Additionally, at the time, volcanic eruptions at the time poured fresh rock over a supercontinent near the equator. This led the planet to dip into a frigid period known as a Snowball Earth.

A similar series of geologic events around 700 million years ago coincided with a second rise of oxygen, to near-modern levels, and some eukaryotes evolving into the first animals. Both oxygen upswings directed life toward complexity and ultimately the beginning of humans. Many say that oxygen-producing microbes appeared first around 3 billion years ago. However, oxygen remained insufficient until the GOE. This was when the atmosphere had concentrations of gas that rose from near zero to around 0.1 percent of modern levels.

Figuring out the exact date of the GOE has been difficult because few rocks from back then still exist today. Many geologists have studied ancient volcanic rocks from South Africa that are near a layer of minerals that only with the presence of oxygen, could have formed. Geologists, using an old technique, have previously been able to determine the volcanic rocks to be from around 2.222 billion years ago. That is well after the GOE’s start.

With modern technology, scientists have been able to measure the gradual decay of radioactive uranium in the rocks. They revised the volcanism’s timing to about 2.426 billion years ago. The new date- plus a separate volcanic eruption previously dated to around 2.460 billion years ago that clearly happened before the oxygen rise — helps constrain the potential GOE start date.

Daniel Jaspan ‘17

Works Cited Sumner, Thomas. "Oxygen Flooded Earth's Atmosphere Earlier than Thought." Science News. N.p., 09 Feb. 2017. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

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Can Plants See? Sapient or “talking” trees have long been fodder for fantastic imaginations and featured in stories such as The Wizard of Oz and Dante’s Inferno. The less-frequently considered question of whether trees can see might seem equally ridiculous, but new research has brought to light the possibility that plants might be actually capable of vision.

As early as 1907, Charles Darwin’s son Francis hypothesized that leaves possess organs composed of cells that are light-sensitive and lens-like. Experiments performed shortly after substantiated his theory in demonstrating the microscopic existence of these “ocelli” structures, but regard for the concept soon faded. Interest in the ocelli has been recently renewed with the publication of other evidence for “visually aware vegetation” by plant cell biologist Frantisek Baluska at the University of Bonn and plant physiologist Stefano Mancuso at the University of Florence. In an issue of Trends in Plant Science, they cite the 2016 discovery that Synechocystis cyanobacteria–singlecelled organisms that can employ photosynthesis–behave like ocelli, using their entire bodies to “focus an image of the light source at the cell membrane, as in the retina of an animal eye.” Baluska and Mancuso take this as a suggestion that a similar mechanism could have developed in higher plants.

According to Baluska, “if something like this is already present at the lower level of evolution, it is most likely kept.” Furthermore, other plants, including the Arabidopsis (a relative of cabbage and mustard), secrete proteins involved in creating functioning eyespots, or the “ultrabasic” eyes found in single-celled organisms. These proteins specifically appear in structures called plastoglobuli, which famously give autumn leaves their red and orange colors.

In Baluska’s opinion, one likely prospect is that “plastoglobuli in plants may act as eyespots,” though proof remains limited and many are still skeptical. Biotechnologist Nils Schuergers, author of the 2016 student on Synechocystis, noted how he dismissed plant vision as unlikely until seeing it for himself. Moreover, plants have additional visual capabilities that are harder to understand; for example, it was reported in 2014 that the climbing wood vine Boquila trifoliolata has chameleon qualities: it can modify its leaves to mimic the colors and shapes of its host entity, and no one knows why. What is apparent, however, is that the future of the field lies in more research and more verification to once and for all clear up the mystery of plants and their sight.

Moselle Kleiner ‘17

Works Cited Zaraska, Marta. "Veggies with Vision: Do Plants See the World around Them?" Scientific American.

Nature America, Inc., 15 Dec. 2016. Web. 31 Jan. 2017.

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Autism and the Brain Autism, or Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD), is a spectrum of brain disorders in which an affected person has social-communication difficulties, repetitive motor behaviors, and in some cases, exhibits aggression. Autism is a genetic condition that is four and a half times more likely to be found in males than females. People with ASD learn differently than others; some are gifted, while others are extremely challenged. Additionally, ASD affects people’s daily lives differently; some require a lot of help, while others do not. Autism can be found in all racial, social, and ethnic groups worldwide.

Current literature about autism is, for the most part, inconclusive, and the exact cause of the poorly understood condition remains unknown.

In order to appreciate a recent and innovative study about autism, it is important to understand the structure of the brain. The human brain is composed of three major parts: the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and the brainstem. Although the cerebellum and brainstem will not be discussed here, each of these parts play a crucial role in the overall function of the brain. It is important to note that the brain contains a right hemisphere and a left hemisphere, each of which controls the opposite side of the body. Moreover, the left hemisphere controls speech, comprehension, arithmetic, and writing. The right hemisphere controls creativity, spatial ability, artistic, and musical skills.

The cerebrum performs higher functions and is the largest part of the brain. It is divided into four lobes. The frontal lobe controls personality, behavior, emotions, judgment, planning, problem solving, speech and writing, body movement, intelligence, concentration, and self-awareness. The parietal lobe is in charge of interpreting language, words, sensing of touch, pain, and temperature, interpreting signals from vision, hearing, motor, sensory and memory, and spatial and visual perception. The temporal lobe helps with understanding language, memory, hearing, sequencing, and organization. The occipital lobe’s function is to interpret vision. The surface of the cerebrum has a folded appearance called the cortex. The cortex contains about 70% of the 100 billion nerve cells, or neurons. The nerve cell bodies color the cortex grey-brown, giving it its name of gray matter. Under the cortex are long connecting fibers between neurons, called axons, which make up the white matter.

A recent study conducted at the University of Maryland and published in the journal “Cell Reports” offers new insight into the causes of autism. The researchers, who studied where and when autism-related neural defects first emerged in mice, found that the symptoms of autism may be triggered by the presence of too many connections in the brain. These connections can lead to communication deficits and unusual talents. The research suggests that the overload of connections starts early in mammalian development, during the time when important cerebral cortex neurons begin to form their first circuits. The results of the study may possibly lead to a better understanding of autism in humans. The results also demonstrate the need for early intervention strategies. It is

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interesting to note that these researchers at UMD are the first to examine developing circuits this early, in this level of detail, in the context of autism.

The work of UMD biology professors reveals that the neural pathology of autism is present in the earliest cortical circuits, formed by a type of cell called subplate neurons. Subplate neurons form the first connections in the developing cerebral cortex, which is the outer layer of the mammalian brain that controls perception, memory, and in people, higher functions like language and abstract reasoning.

The cortex, which ultimately is a crucial part of the adult human brain, goes through a complex multistage development process. As the brain develops, the interconnected subplate neurons create a network that is thought to support other neurons that grow later on in development. In the mouse model, the earliest stages of cortex circuit formation are implicated as the source of autism. Therefore, pathological changes causing autism may begin before birth in humans.

Valproic acid (VPA), which has a known link to autism in humans and also causes autism-like cognitive and behavioral abnormalities in mice, was used in the study. To understand the relationship between autism and subplate neuron development in the mice, lead researcher Patrick Kanold dosed and injected VPA into a pregnant female mouse on day-12 of her 20-day gestation period. The goal was to see how this would affect the mice embryos. Within the first week after birth of the VPA-dosed mice, they showed some areas of “hyperconnected� subplate neurons. The control group of mouse pups, who were dosed with plain saline solution, exhibited normal connections throughout their cortical tissue. Ten days after birth, the regions of hyperconnected subplate neurons had grown more widespread and uniform in the VPA-dosed mice, as compared with the control group of mice. The timing of the effects is key. The hyperconnectivity in VPA mice occurs only in small areas a few days after birth. After ten days, however, the hyperconnectivity becomes more pervasive.

Since subplate neurons help create the foundation for cortical development in all mammalian brains, a dense area of hyperconnected subplate neurons in the developing cerebral cortex could result in permanent hyperconnections. Furthermore, if the early progress of subplate neurons is impaired, later development of the cortex is also impaired. If a similar dynamic occurs in human brains, hyperconnections in the developing cortex could lead to the neural pathologies apparent in human autism. In mice and humans the critical window of time when subplate neurons develop is extremely short.

In mice, subplate neuron development occurs mostly after birth. Eventually, the subplate neurons disappear as other neural circuits replace them. In humans, however, the first subplate neuron connections form in the second trimester. By the time humans are born, most of their subplate neurons have already disappeared. The results of the study propose that interference must happen early to address autism. The subplate neurons are crucial in distinguishing a fetal brain; the fetal brain is not simply a small adult brain. The findings from this study may be relevant in helping to understand other developmental disorders as well.

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Kyla Mintz ‘18

Works Cited "What Is Autism?" Autism Science Foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

"Brain Anatomy, Anatomy of the Human Brain." Brain Anatomy, Anatomy of the Human Brain. N.p., n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, n.d. Web. 15 Feb. 2017.

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Indian Firm Makes Baking Soda Out of CO2 Emissions In this new age of awareness for Global Warming, much thought has been put into preventing harmful molecules such as CO2 into the atmosphere. Scientists around the world have been searching for an affordable way to prevent carbon from entering the atmosphere. To capture carbon, the CO2 must be pushed into underground rocks. This process is very expensive and does not provide any economic benefits. It is generally difficult for scientists to receive funding for an idea that will not have an economically beneficial return. Governments do not see this cause to be important enough for them to commit their funds.

At the Tuticorin power plant, an India firm has developed the first large scale “carbon capture and utilization” (CCU) without government funding. The kit is used to extract the CO2 from the released gas and turn it into baking soda, which can then be sold. The inventors, CarbonClean, say that this kit requires less energy and is cheaper than a regular carbon cleaning kit. The firm’s managing director, Ramachandran Gopalan, told BBC Radio 4: “I am a businessman. I never thought about saving the planet. I needed a reliable stream of CO2, and this was the best way of getting it”. He has also said that the plant has practically eliminated all of its emissions to air and water. CarbonClean’s business model is not to eliminate all of the world’s CO2 emissions. CarbonClean believes that achieving worldwide carbon capture, they can eliminate 20% of the emissions contributing to the greenhouse effect.

Michael Perl ‘19

Works Cited Harrabin, Roger. "Indian Firm Makes Carbon Capture Breakthrough." The Guardian. N.p., 04 Jan. 2017. Web. 16 Feb. 2017.

O'Callaghan, Jonathan. "A Coal Plant In India Has Found A Way To Turn Almost All Its CO2 Emissions Into Baking Powder." IFLScience. IFLScience, 02 Feb. 2017. Web. 16 Feb. 2017.

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Hydras and the Future of Limb Regeneration The hydra, a tiny, tentacled organism commonly found in ponds, is a perfect example of the predatory powers of small organisms. Seemingly harmless under a microscope, hydras can often be seen stalking and hunting the tiny crustaceans they prey on. And while it may only be half an inch long, hydras contain stinging cells in their tentacles, akin to jellyfish, that make them ruthless to freshwater crustaceans.

Hydras reproduce their tentacles through budding, a reproductive process in which a small piece of an organism can regrow all of its missing components. In other words, if you cut a hydra into tiny pieces, chances are that one or more of those pieces will develop into a completely new hydra, with all of its missing components replaced with similarly functional ones.

The efficiency of a hydra’s reproductive capabilities has long fascinated scientists. Compared to humans, the cell replication process of hydras is far simpler. Hydras are made of just a few layers of cells, but are nevertheless capable of responding to chemical signals sent out by genes, allowing them to grow into a tube-like body and tentacle-encircled maw.

Scientists in Israel discovered that even a small snippet of hydra is capable of reproducing in a similarly effectual manner to its aboriginal hydra. This is possible, even for the smallest snippet, because hydra contain scaffolding made of actin protein fibers that act like muscles and help the organism keep its shape. This framework of actin enables hydra to reproduce in exponential numbers from even the smallest snippets.

A common result of hydra reproduction from snippets of the aboriginal organism is two heads.

A ring cut horizontally through the piece of hydra often ends up confusing the alignment of the actin scaffolding, which can result in the formation of two heads on one hydra.

The study of the hydra is important because they may contain the key towards improving our understanding of regeneration treatment. Imagine if injured soldiers, athletes, or any amputee victim for that matter could regrow detached limbs as quickly and efficiently as the hydra. Such a breakthrough could lead to numerous medical breakthroughs that would have a revolutionary impact on how we approach the problem of limb regeneration, among other conditions.

Harry Shams ‘19

Works Cited Gorman, James. "How A Little Bit Of Hydra Regrows A Whole Animal." New York Times. 13 Feb 2017. Web

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Pottery Could Resolve The Gap In Earth’s Magnetic Field Fluctuation Record Over the past two centuries, the Earth’s magnetic field has slowly but surely been weakening, losing about ten percent of its strength thus far. Earth’s magnetic field is responsible for deflecting harmful space radiation from the atmosphere and allows navigational tools (like a compass) to naturally guide people. The gradual weakening of Earth’s magnetic field has led scientists to consider the possibility that a potential reversal, or flipping of the northern and southern directions, may be in store for future generations. A reversal of north and south could lead to cataclysmic consequences for future humans.

Surprisingly, geoscientists had little records on the variability of Earth’s magnetic field during the recent millennia. So, naturally, they turned to pottery to resolve the missing gap.

Volcanic rock, a rock containing similar properties to ceramic jars, naturally records the strength and directions of Earth’s magnetic field as it cools and hardens. Like volcanic rock, ceramic jars are capable of recording Earth’s current magnetic frequency as they cool and harden. “We can use it thousands of years later to track the changes with time, and then use the jar samples to reconstruct the magnetic field intensities” said Erez Ben Yosef, an archeologist from Tel Aviv University involved in the research.

Scientists studied over sixty-seven jar handles excavated from Judea. Originally, these jar handles belonged to canisters of wine and oil; now, however, they are being used by these researchers to fill the discrepancy in Earths magnetic field records.

From the oldest of the studied jars (late eighth century BC), researchers discovered that Earth’s magnetic field was extremely strong, with its strength amounting to about two and a half times that of the field’s present strength. However, while a major dissipation of strength may have occurred over the centuries, researches have become less concerned about the possibility of a reversal. Dr. Ben Yosef stated that the decline is not evident of a reversal and “shouldn’t be regarded as such.”

As of now, an explanation as to why such a massive decline has been occurring is unknown.

However, the research conducted to evaluate and discover this large decline is a pristine example of different fields of science collaborating to solve problems. By combining the two fields of archeology and geoscience, researches were able to conclude that there has, in fact, been a decline in the strength of Earth’s magnetic field.

Harry Shams ‘19

Works Cited Chang, Kenneth. "Ancient Jars Hold Clues About Earth's Fluctuating Magnetic Field." New York Times. 14 Feb 2017. Web.

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The Regrowth of Lost Limbs We have all heard the common tragedy of a soldier, or someone else who experienced an accident in which he lost a limb, and was forced to continue on in life without it. Recently, however, a breakthrough discovery has shone a light on life for these unfortunate cases: there is now a way for human beings to potentially “regrow” their lost limbs.

In 2000, Scientist Michael Levin inquired how our cells know where to grow our various parts, and if the location of these parts even mattered at all—for many organisms have had well-functioning parts in very wrong places. As Levin continued his research he found that electrical pathways, similar to street signs, guided the embryonic cells to the proper locations on either side of the body. If he could manipulate these pathways, he should have been able to “place” any organ in any place on the body.

Levin’s theory was proven true when he experimented on frogs, and caused them to grow legs from their mouths or two heads.

Each cell has microscopic channels that stretch along the cell’s surface. Ions (charged particles) pass through these tiny channels and consequently change the cell’s polarities and voltage gradients (the difference in voltage throughout the body). Certain signals cause microscopic gates to open or close the channels and allow ions to pass through (or not) and change the cell’s charge. If all the correct signals are sent and received, a properly functioning body will be created with all its parts in the right places.

When Levin realized his discovery could be applied to help humans, he immediately set out to work. By controlling the cellular channels of a human who had lost a limb, Levin found that he could signal ions to go to a certain location and potentially mandate the body to grow a limb in any given spot. To do this, Levin and other scientists developed a special watertight “BioDome” that can be worn like a sleeve by a human amputee. After a few hours of wearing the device, the process of a new arm’s growth will have been initiated, and the BioDome may be removed. The device provides an environment similar to the womb, as it is filled with fluids and ions that keep the wound moist and promote regrowth. The sleeve has drugs that manipulate the cells’ channels and mandate rapid cell division, potentially resulting in a new limb. Although the new part grows at a normal rate and its size will not be proportional to the rest of a person’s body, it will be fully functioning.

Levin’s groundbreaking discovery is only beginning to take effect, but he is hopeful about its uses in the future. Soon, this technology may be used to reverse the growth of cancerous tumors or embryonic birth defects. In reality, bioelectricty should soon be able to fix anything.

Emily Stemp ‘18

Works Cited Piore, Adam. "The Body Electrician." Popular Science. 1 (2017): 65+. Print.

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We hope you enjoyed this issue of BREAKTHROUGH! EDITORS Daniel Jaspan ’17 Moselle Kleiner ’17 Oriya Romano ’17 Abigail Huebner ’18 FACULTY ADVISOR Ms. Lenore Brachot

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