In the past 25 years, we have learned a lot about DNA, and are now able to manipulate genes. Plants are genetically modified to possess desirable traits such as resistance to disease and to grow with less water and fertilizer. There are even certain Idaho potatoes that all grow to the same size, so McDonald’s french fries are the same length! Human genes are inserted into bacteria to inexpensively produce drugs that treat diseases. Soon, non-life threatening cosmetic changes will be available for those who can afford them.
Conduct an internet search to find an interesting example of genetic engineering. Then, summarize what you discovered in about 200 words.
reply to her.
“I found one that looks very interesting as it talks about glow in the dark animals. Now that has to do with some sort of genetic modifying if anything else. Back in 2007, a scientist from South Korea altered a cats DNA to make it glow in the dark and took that DNA to make other clones out of it. The researchers took skin cells from Turkish Angora female cats and used a virus to insert genetic instructions for making red fluorescent protein. Then they put the gene-altered nuclei into the eggs for cloning, and the cloned embryos were implanted back into the donor cats — making the cats the surrogate mothers for their own clones. The reason for this is that scientists say the ability to engineer animals with fluorescent proteins will enable them to artificially create animals with human genetic diseases. Also before that scientists in Taiwan were able to make a pig glow florecent green, which helped there case even further. Even more than ten years ago we were doing things like this so I could only imagine what we are capable of now and in the future. By now it is prabably not only possible but has been happening without us even knowing.”
Name
Biology 1408, Sec. ####
Date
Instructor
Gross Showers!
Marshall, Jessica. “Dangerous Pathogens Live in Showerheads.” Discovery News. September
14, 2009. http://news.discovery.com/human/showerhead-pathogens-disease-bacteria.html
Taking a shower may not always be a healthy thing, according to an article from
Discovery News, entitled “Dangerous Pathogens Live in Showerheads.” A team of researchers
led by Norma Pace at University of Colorado at Boulder found that taking showers can actually
be unhealthy for some people. They did research in nine American cities and found high
concentrations of a tiny microbe called Mycobacterium avium in 45 showerheads. They also
found a wide variety of other microorganisms growing in biofilms on the showerheads. M.
avium is harmless unless it is aerosolized and inhaled. The researchers found the risk for healthy
people is much lower than for the elderly, the immune-compromised, and people already
suffering a pulmonary disease, such as emphysema. The study did not determine exactly how
much bacteria is being aerosolized or inhaled. Replacing grimy showerheads with new metal
ones or just taking a bath will help, but cleaning with bleach actually made the concentrations of
M. avium higher. These bacteria are chlorine resistant, so the bleach only killed other organisms
making more room for the dangerous bacteria to grow (Marshall, 2009).
Material from chapter two of our text helped me understand how the bacteria got into the
lungs in the first place. Hot water turns into a vapor when sprayed into the air. The water is
forced through the contaminated showerhead, and the bacteria mix with the water vapor. We
breathe in the moist bacteria-filled air, and once the microorganisms are in the lungs, they can
cause infection. As we learned in class, water is the universal solvent, meaning that many things
easily disperse in water, including these bacteria apparently. Also, in lab, we have used
microscopes to view bacteria and other cells. You can see every little dust particle and grain of
sand under the microscopes, so it is not hard to believe that there are germs living everywhere;
not only in our showerheads.
This article is important to me because I had no idea that so many germs could be
growing in my showerhead. I know that bacteria can grow in warm, moist places, but I didn’t
know that it could pose such a threat to my health. I am a relatively healthy person so I am not
likely to contract an infection, but it does make me more aware about keeping the showerhead
clean. My grandmother, on the other hand, may want to buy a new showerhead if she has had the
same one for a while because the elderly are more prone to getting an infection. This is
important information for doctors who treat patients who have respiratory illnesses, as their
patients could potentially be taking dirty showers, putting their health at even greater risk.
Shower heads in hospitals and nursing homes should regularly be inspected for microorganisms
and replaced frequently to insure that patients do not take unnecessary risks just by taking
showers. If I were in change, I would make sure that this information is widely distributed to
ensure those at risk and their caregivers know the problem so they can take action to protect
themselves, their patients and loved ones.
Reference:
Marshall, Jessica. “Dangerous Pathogens Live in Showerheads.” Discovery News. September
14, 2009. http://news.discovery.com/human/showerhead-pathogens-disease-bacteria.html
Dangerous Pathogens Live in
Showerheads
Dangerous Pathogens Live in Showerheads.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2009
It’s warm and damp and dark — the perfect place for bacteria to nestle and stay for a while.
It turns out that that’s just what they do — in your showerhead.
What’s more, says a new study, the mucky film of microorganisms lining the inside of your
showerhead often harbors bacteria that can cause lung disease, including a cough, fever, fatigue
and weight loss.
These mycobacteria — close relatives of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis — can be more
than 100 times more prevalent in showerheads than in the water in the pipes just upstream,
according to the research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Infections with such non-tuberculosis mycobacteria have risen in recent years, up six fold since
1997, according to another study. The bacteria don’t threaten healthy people, but those with
cystic fibrosis, AIDS, recent organ transplants or other immune-compromising conditions are at
risk of an infection.
“There’s been a growing voice in the medical field hypothesizing that showering has caused
some of this increase,” said the study’s lead author, Leah Feazel of the University of Colorado,
Boulder. “One hundred years ago, people bathed, they didn’t shower.”
The problem is not just that the microorganisms are enriched in the showerhead, Feazel said. It’s
also that the spray nozzle creates a fine mist of tiny water droplets. “These tiny, tiny particles can
go all the way into your deep lungs,” she said.
“Most of us are in the shower long enough to inhale a fairly reasonable amount of mycobacteria,”
Joe Falkinham of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg told Discovery News.
Feazel and colleagues isolated and sequenced DNA from showerheads and compared the
findings with a database of DNA sequences to determine what organisms were living in the
showerhead.
The study considered 45 different sites in nine U.S. cities, sampling several sites repeatedly to
get a feeling for how microbial communities changed over time.
“The results showed that there’s a very complex community inside most shower heads,” Feazel
said. “There are lots of different species. One of those is Mycobacterium avium, which causes
pulmonary disease in people who are immune compromised.”
Mycobacteria have a waxy exterior that makes them prone to stick to surfaces and join mats of
microorganisms known as biofilms. Even the small amount of organic matter remaining in water
supplies is enough to feed these organisms.
If you are scrubbing out your showerhead already, put the sponge down.
Disinfecting the showerhead might make things worse, the researchers found. They tried
cleaning one showerhead with bleach and found that it carried even more mycobacteria after the
cleaning than before. “Mycobacteria are known to be very chlorine resistant,” Feazel said. “By
using bleach, we probably killed everything else.”
The researchers recommend that those people who are at risk of infection take baths instead of
showering. Metal showerheads appear to foster less growth than plastic showerheads, although
many showerheads that look metallic are actually plastic. Another option is to buy a cheap
showerhead and change it every few months Feazel said.
It’s also a good idea to open the window while you shower, Falkinham said, and to keep your
water heater above 130 degrees, which he acknowledges runs counter to energy-saving advice to
turn the heat down.
“Once you’re infected with mycobacteria, you’re always infected,” he said. “The drug therapy
requires multiple drugs. If a patient can tolerate the drugs, they’ll get rid of the disease
symptoms. They’ll never get rid of the organisms.”
Unlike tuberculosis, these mycobacteria are not transmitted from person to person.
While it might make us feel a little dirty to know what is lurking at the very source of our
washing up, the presence of these microbes is better than skipping the chlorine treatment in our
water systems, Falkinham notes.
“These are normal inhabitants that, as we have cleaned up our environment, now find a niche in
which to grow,” he said, “but it’s a lot better than having a water system that has shigella or
salmonella or one of the real pathogens.”
Biology in the News Rubric
Teacher Name:
Student Name:
Points:
4 pts.
3 pts.
Exceeds expectations. All requirements are
No errors. Correct
met with only minor
citation.
errors in format or
Format, Presentation,
citation that do not
and Citation
detract from the
presentation.
2 pts.
All but one
requirement met or
incorrect citation
format.
1 pts.
Zero pts.
All but 2 requirements More than 2 elements
met or missing the
of presentation are in
citation.
error or missing.
Coherent paragraphs
in students own
words. Uses technical
Accuracy of Written terminology
Communication Skills appropriately, no
grammatical errors.
1 or 2 minor errors in
grammar that does
not detract from
overall readability.
Appropriate use of
technical language.
Several errors in
grammar that do not
detract from overall
readability; 1 or 2
missed uses of
technical terminology.
Poor readability. Lacks
coherence due to
poor grammar or
word usage.
Good summary with
major points covered.
Reflects
understanding of the
article.
Main points
summarized but
leaves out article
details or reflects little
student
understanding.
Poor summary of the Summary paragraph is
article, missing major missing.
points, over
simplified, or
incorrect
summarization.
Exceeds expectations. Article and textbook
Correlation is specific, content is accurately
accurate and connects correlated.
article to course
content.
Correlation is vague,
overly general, or
missing major points
of correlation.
Incorrectly correlates No correlation to
article and textbook. course given paragraph is missing.
Explains how article
influenced feelings,
extrapolates beyond
article’s information
and answers 2 or
more questions.
Explained why the
article was chosen,
why it’s important
and answered 1 or 2
questions.
Answered one
No personal relevance
question, but did not given.
explain why the article
was chosen or why it
is important.
CATEGORY
Summary Paragraph
Correlation
Personal Reaction
Exceeds expectations
and is excellent
summary of major
points, reflecting
student
understanding.
Explains why the
article was chosen,
why it’s important
and answered 2 or
more questions.
1 or 2 paragraphs is
composed of
quotations from the
article.
Biology in the News Checklist
Format, Presentation, and Citation
☐
Does your paper have a title, different from the title of the article?
☐
Does your paper have three paragraphs with at least four sentences each?
☐
Is the article cited at the bottom of the title page?
☐
Is a copy of the article stapled to the paper?
☐
Is the article no more than three months old?
☐
Is the article from a major news source used by the general public?
☐
Is it news about something related to the course, and is not a blog, editorial, or wiki?
Summary Paragraph
☐
Does the summary mention the source of the information by providing the article title,
author, and publication? For example, in a New York Times article, New Study on Heart
Attacks, by John Jones, a relationship is proposed between obesity and heart disease.
☐
Does the summary include all the main points of the article?
☐
Does the summary make it clear that you understand the content of the article?
Correlation Paragraph
☐
Is the correlation logical?
☐
Did you correlate the article to all topics of the course which relate to the article? For
example, an article about heart attacks should be associated with general information
on the circulatory system, the heart and heart disease.
☐
Did you give details to explain what you learned in your course about the topic?
☐
Did you reference a specific chapter in the textbook or a lab topic?
☐
Did you explain why knowing this information helped you to understand the article?
Continues on next page
Personal Reaction Paragraph
☐
Did you explain why you found this article interesting?
☐
Did you answer two or more of the following questions?
☐ Did the article make you aware of things you had not thought of before?
☐ Did the article make you change your mind about the topic?
☐ Was the article about something you have personally experienced?
☐ Did the article address ethical or public policy issues?
☐ Do you agree or disagree with information presented in the article?
☐ Did you speculate beyond the contents of the article? What else would you like to learn
about the subject of the article? Did you think the author of the article omitted relevant
information?
Overall Accuracy of Communication
☐
Is your paper clear and easy to understand?
☐
Is your paper written in your own words? Were you careful to avoid plagiarism and
quotations?
☐
Do sentences flow and contain proper spelling and grammar?
Biology in the News Checklist
Format, Presentation, and Citation
☐
Does your paper have a title, different from the title of the article?
☐
Does your paper have three paragraphs with at least four sentences each?
☐
Is the article cited at the bottom of the title page?
☐
Is a copy of the article stapled to the paper?
☐
Is the article no more than three months old?
☐
Is the article from a major news source used by the general public?
☐
Is it news about something related to the course, and is not a blog, editorial, or wiki?
Summary Paragraph
☐
Does the summary mention the source of the information by providing the article title,
author, and publication? For example, in a New York Times article, New Study on Heart
Attacks, by John Jones, a relationship is proposed between obesity and heart disease.
☐
Does the summary include all the main points of the article?
☐
Does the summary make it clear that you understand the content of the article?
Correlation Paragraph
☐
Is the correlation logical?
☐
Did you correlate the article to all topics of the course which relate to the article? For
example, an article about heart attacks should be associated with general information
on the circulatory system, the heart and heart disease.
☐
Did you give details to explain what you learned in your course about the topic?
☐
Did you reference a specific chapter in the textbook or a lab topic?
☐
Did you explain why knowing this information helped you to understand the article?
Continues on next page
Personal Reaction Paragraph
☐
Did you explain why you found this article interesting?
☐
Did you answer two or more of the following questions?
☐ Did the article make you aware of things you had not thought of before?
☐ Did the article make you change your mind about the topic?
☐ Was the article about something you have personally experienced?
☐ Did the article address ethical or public policy issues?
☐ Do you agree or disagree with information presented in the article?
☐ Did you speculate beyond the contents of the article? What else would you like to learn
about the subject of the article? Did you think the author of the article omitted relevant
information?
Overall Accuracy of Communication
☐
Is your paper clear and easy to understand?
☐
Is your paper written in your own words? Were you careful to avoid plagiarism and
quotations?
☐
Do sentences flow and contain proper spelling and grammar?
Biology in the News Rubric
Teacher Name:
Student Name:
Points:
4 pts.
3 pts.
Exceeds expectations. All requirements are
No errors. Correct
met with only minor
citation.
errors in format or
Format, Presentation,
citation that do not
and Citation
detract from the
presentation.
2 pts.
All but one
requirement met or
incorrect citation
format.
1 pts.
Zero pts.
All but 2 requirements More than 2 elements
met or missing the
of presentation are in
citation.
error or missing.
Coherent paragraphs
in students own
words. Uses technical
Accuracy of Written terminology
Communication Skills appropriately, no
grammatical errors.
1 or 2 minor errors in
grammar that does
not detract from
overall readability.
Appropriate use of
technical language.
Several errors in
grammar that do not
detract from overall
readability; 1 or 2
missed uses of
technical terminology.
Poor readability. Lacks
coherence due to
poor grammar or
word usage.
Good summary with
major points covered.
Reflects
understanding of the
article.
Main points
summarized but
leaves out article
details or reflects little
student
understanding.
Poor summary of the Summary paragraph is
article, missing major missing.
points, over
simplified, or
incorrect
summarization.
Exceeds expectations. Article and textbook
Correlation is specific, content is accurately
accurate and connects correlated.
article to course
content.
Correlation is vague,
overly general, or
missing major points
of correlation.
Incorrectly correlates No correlation to
article and textbook. course given paragraph is missing.
Explains how article
influenced feelings,
extrapolates beyond
article’s information
and answers 2 or
more questions.
Explained why the
article was chosen,
why it’s important
and answered 1 or 2
questions.
Answered one
No personal relevance
question, but did not given.
explain why the article
was chosen or why it
is important.
CATEGORY
Summary Paragraph
Correlation
Personal Reaction
Exceeds expectations
and is excellent
summary of major
points, reflecting
student
understanding.
Explains why the
article was chosen,
why it’s important
and answered 2 or
more questions.
1 or 2 paragraphs is
composed of
quotations from the
article.
Name
Biology 1408, Sec. ####
Date
Instructor
Gross Showers!
Marshall, Jessica. “Dangerous Pathogens Live in Showerheads.” Discovery News. September
14, 2009. http://news.discovery.com/human/showerhead-pathogens-disease-bacteria.html
Taking a shower may not always be a healthy thing, according to an article from
Discovery News, entitled “Dangerous Pathogens Live in Showerheads.” A team of researchers
led by Norma Pace at University of Colorado at Boulder found that taking showers can actually
be unhealthy for some people. They did research in nine American cities and found high
concentrations of a tiny microbe called Mycobacterium avium in 45 showerheads. They also
found a wide variety of other microorganisms growing in biofilms on the showerheads. M.
avium is harmless unless it is aerosolized and inhaled. The researchers found the risk for healthy
people is much lower than for the elderly, the immune-compromised, and people already
suffering a pulmonary disease, such as emphysema. The study did not determine exactly how
much bacteria is being aerosolized or inhaled. Replacing grimy showerheads with new metal
ones or just taking a bath will help, but cleaning with bleach actually made the concentrations of
M. avium higher. These bacteria are chlorine resistant, so the bleach only killed other organisms
making more room for the dangerous bacteria to grow (Marshall, 2009).
Material from chapter two of our text helped me understand how the bacteria got into the
lungs in the first place. Hot water turns into a vapor when sprayed into the air. The water is
forced through the contaminated showerhead, and the bacteria mix with the water vapor. We
breathe in the moist bacteria-filled air, and once the microorganisms are in the lungs, they can
cause infection. As we learned in class, water is the universal solvent, meaning that many things
easily disperse in water, including these bacteria apparently. Also, in lab, we have used
microscopes to view bacteria and other cells. You can see every little dust particle and grain of
sand under the microscopes, so it is not hard to believe that there are germs living everywhere;
not only in our showerheads.
This article is important to me because I had no idea that so many germs could be
growing in my showerhead. I know that bacteria can grow in warm, moist places, but I didn’t
know that it could pose such a threat to my health. I am a relatively healthy person so I am not
likely to contract an infection, but it does make me more aware about keeping the showerhead
clean. My grandmother, on the other hand, may want to buy a new showerhead if she has had the
same one for a while because the elderly are more prone to getting an infection. This is
important information for doctors who treat patients who have respiratory illnesses, as their
patients could potentially be taking dirty showers, putting their health at even greater risk.
Shower heads in hospitals and nursing homes should regularly be inspected for microorganisms
and replaced frequently to insure that patients do not take unnecessary risks just by taking
showers. If I were in change, I would make sure that this information is widely distributed to
ensure those at risk and their caregivers know the problem so they can take action to protect
themselves, their patients and loved ones.
Reference:
Marshall, Jessica. “Dangerous Pathogens Live in Showerheads.” Discovery News. September
14, 2009. http://news.discovery.com/human/showerhead-pathogens-disease-bacteria.html
Dangerous Pathogens Live in
Showerheads
Dangerous Pathogens Live in Showerheads.
SEPTEMBER 14, 2009
It’s warm and damp and dark — the perfect place for bacteria to nestle and stay for a while.
It turns out that that’s just what they do — in your showerhead.
What’s more, says a new study, the mucky film of microorganisms lining the inside of your
showerhead often harbors bacteria that can cause lung disease, including a cough, fever, fatigue
and weight loss.
These mycobacteria — close relatives of the bacterium that causes tuberculosis — can be more
than 100 times more prevalent in showerheads than in the water in the pipes just upstream,
according to the research, published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
Infections with such non-tuberculosis mycobacteria have risen in recent years, up six fold since
1997, according to another study. The bacteria don’t threaten healthy people, but those with
cystic fibrosis, AIDS, recent organ transplants or other immune-compromising conditions are at
risk of an infection.
“There’s been a growing voice in the medical field hypothesizing that showering has caused
some of this increase,” said the study’s lead author, Leah Feazel of the University of Colorado,
Boulder. “One hundred years ago, people bathed, they didn’t shower.”
The problem is not just that the microorganisms are enriched in the showerhead, Feazel said. It’s
also that the spray nozzle creates a fine mist of tiny water droplets. “These tiny, tiny particles can
go all the way into your deep lungs,” she said.
“Most of us are in the shower long enough to inhale a fairly reasonable amount of mycobacteria,”
Joe Falkinham of Virginia Tech in Blacksburg told Discovery News.
Feazel and colleagues isolated and sequenced DNA from showerheads and compared the
findings with a database of DNA sequences to determine what organisms were living in the
showerhead.
The study considered 45 different sites in nine U.S. cities, sampling several sites repeatedly to
get a feeling for how microbial communities changed over time.
“The results showed that there’s a very complex community inside most shower heads,” Feazel
said. “There are lots of different species. One of those is Mycobacterium avium, which causes
pulmonary disease in people who are immune compromised.”
Mycobacteria have a waxy exterior that makes them prone to stick to surfaces and join mats of
microorganisms known as biofilms. Even the small amount of organic matter remaining in water
supplies is enough to feed these organisms.
If you are scrubbing out your showerhead already, put the sponge down.
Disinfecting the showerhead might make things worse, the researchers found. They tried
cleaning one showerhead with bleach and found that it carried even more mycobacteria after the
cleaning than before. “Mycobacteria are known to be very chlorine resistant,” Feazel said. “By
using bleach, we probably killed everything else.”
The researchers recommend that those people who are at risk of infection take baths instead of
showering. Metal showerheads appear to foster less growth than plastic showerheads, although
many showerheads that look metallic are actually plastic. Another option is to buy a cheap
showerhead and change it every few months Feazel said.
It’s also a good idea to open the window while you shower, Falkinham said, and to keep your
water heater above 130 degrees, which he acknowledges runs counter to energy-saving advice to
turn the heat down.
“Once you’re infected with mycobacteria, you’re always infected,” he said. “The drug therapy
requires multiple drugs. If a patient can tolerate the drugs, they’ll get rid of the disease
symptoms. They’ll never get rid of the organisms.”
Unlike tuberculosis, these mycobacteria are not transmitted from person to person.
While it might make us feel a little dirty to know what is lurking at the very source of our
washing up, the presence of these microbes is better than skipping the chlorine treatment in our
water systems, Falkinham notes.
“These are normal inhabitants that, as we have cleaned up our environment, now find a niche in
which to grow,” he said, “but it’s a lot better than having a water system that has shigella or
salmonella or one of the real pathogens.”
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