Justin D’Souza                                                                                                                            About 180 words            INTD 105 Science Writing

SUNY Geneseo

Science has brought many advancements to our society, but sometimes it can go wrong if innocent bystanders are harmed. The Nevada nuclear bomb tests were such a mistake, as the harmful fallout and radiation deviated the Mormon clans what the government thought as a “virtually uninhabited zone.” Terry Tempest Williams describes how almost every woman in her clan had to have mastectomies due to breast cancer resulting from these tests. However, the government refuses to award damage compensation to the afflicted. Williams believes this is because the they hide behind the antiquated notion of “sovereign immunity,” and how the overly patriotic America defended all war actions such as the bomb testing.

I wonder how the nuclear testing affected men in the community. Williams portrays the afflicted as only women, but men can in fact contract breast cancer through radiation exposure. Did no men get cancer? Or did they just not act? Furthermore, I question William’s act of civil disobedience. I cannot see how trespassing on government land and spouting cryptic words about women retaking the desert helps the cause in any way.

Emma Cooke                                                                 Approximately 150 words

erc8@geneseo.edu

INTD 105 Science Writing

“The Clan of the One-Breasted Women”

            Terry Tempest Williams states that the United States of the 1950s was red, white and blue… If you were against nuclear testing, you were for the Communist regime” (Williams 5). This idea caused many issues for those living in the southern United States, particularly Utah, where Tempest grew up. She watch as nine women in her family fought and several lost their lives to breast cancer. Williams came to the realization that the nuclear testing was to blame for their deaths and the creation of the “clan of one-breasted women” and stated; “Tolerating blind obedience in the name of patriotism or religion ultimately takes our lives” (Williams 8). This statement seems to me the most important in her paper. As someone who was raised to question everything, I agree that family is the most important reason to stop tolerating and start asking. This shows that she has moved past her blind obedience in the name of her family and of the clan of women she has joined.

Rachael Natoli                                                                                                  10/23/16

INTD 105-19: Scientific Writing                                         About 215 Words

In the epilogue “The Clan of the One-Breasted Women” by Terry Tempest Williams, she describes her family history. Nine women in her family were affected by breast cancer and most have died. She makes it clear from the beginning that her Mormon upbringing is an important factor in her story. Williams learned from her father after the passing of her mother that she had witnessed the nuclear weapon testing in Utah as a child while sitting on her mother’s lap. She goes on to describe how she cared for the women in her family in their final days of life and how she was too apprehensive to do anything about the United States Government’s irresponsibility toward its citizens and specifically her family. Growing up as a Mormon she was taught not to be disobedient but she soon realized she needed to question authority. Williams ideas about questioning authority and her realization that being disobedient is worth the repercussions if it is done for her family was very inspiring to me. I did not grow up in a religious family and was always taught to speak my mind when something seemed unfair and so I have always done that. Standing up for the safety of my family is the most important thing to me.

Patrick Jones                                                               Approximately 150 Words

pwj2@geneseo.edu

INTD 105-19

October 24, 2016

“The King can do no wrong.”

In “The Clan of One-Breasted Women”, Terry Tempest William discusses the toll the atomic bomb testing in Nevada had on families in Utah. Williams, her mother, her grandmother, and six of her aunts have had mastectomies which she claims is caused by the radiation sent through Utah between January 27, 1951 to July 11, 1962. Williams, “… cared for them, bathed their scarred bodies, and kept their secrets.” while the United States Government claimed the tests posed no harm to the public. In 1984, damages were awarded to a few individuals affected by the testing, but the decision was overturned when the government claimed “The King can do no wrong.” Williams became a well-known defender of the people of Utah and is a naturalist-in-residence at the Utah Museum of Natural History.

This article caused me a lot of pain. The government allowed for the people of Utah to suffer and claimed that they could do no wrong while innocent people died. The same thing is happening today with pollution. Although not prominent at the moment, pollution could cause untold problems in the future, and the government is doing little to protect the people.

Alexis Baer                                                                                        about 200 words
anb8@geneseo.edu

INTD: Writing Science

One-Breasted Women
by Alexis Baer

 
Terry Tempest Williams main point in writing this essay was to show readers what exactly her family had to deal with and how they had been suffering all these years. Williams begins her writing with stating that the government is the only one to blame due to their nuclear bombing and testing which has been proved to be the main cause of cancer in women. With regards to her family; nine innocent women have been greatly affected, seven losing their lives, and this resulted in why she decided to rebel. Williams decided to join this Clan of One-Breasted Women in spite of fear, anger, inability to question, and personal violation. She wanted to strike against higher authority in order to bring about change for future generations of women. Although her experiences do not connect directly to myself, her ideas do make me wonder why the clan was only made up of women. During that time period, were men not allowed to join the clan solely based on the fact that only women got the cancer and fought the battle? I believe in Williams case, her father would be upset with the amount of women in the family being affected by cancer, but why would he not take action against nuclear tests as well?

Alexis Baer about 250 words
anb8@geneseo.edu

Student, INTD: Writing Science
Public-Facing Science Writing
by Alexis Baer

The essay, “Can We Learn How to Forget?” by Bahar Gholipour discusses how different parts of the brain work together in terms of memory function. This piece of writing is effective because it shows how memory could be influenced from past experiences which can ultimately be used to learn a lesson. For example, running as a child may have lead to serious injury in which we learned to walk slowly and be cautious. The hippocampus is the main structure where memories are “stored”, mostly dealing with long term memories, and the amygdala ties directly into this because it controls emotions. In the meantime, Neuroscientists decided to interfere with the hippocampus to see if few or all memories would be affected and how, this resulted in the poor ability to retain current or old information. I find it interesting that the article states, “…trying to actively forget a particular memory can negatively affect general memory”. This is significant because it shows the reader how purposely forgetting memories may have an overall negative impact on your brain and its memory system. In my own opinion, this generation cannot learn to simply just forget their memories. On a daily basis, without intentional purpose, one little thing can trigger multiple different memories at once. The constant reminder of past situations or events, whether it be positive or traumatic, can make it increasingly difficult for individuals to overlook their own past.

Found:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/can-we-learn-how-to-forget/

Daniel Biskup

INTD 105

Djb29@geneso.edu

10/17/16

Synesthesia is a neurological condition in which senses are blended. Varients include associating sounds or images with colors, smells or tastes. For example, a majority of those with synesthesia associate written language with images, each letter and word having its own color. Synesthetes view and learn in different ways than most from this sensory overlap.

A recent study has suggested that like in many written languages, signed language can also trigger sensory overlap in synesthetes. 50 volunteers with synesthesia in this study known to associate letters and colors, viewed letters signed to them by video. Those in the study that knew sign language did indeed associate colors with signed letters, while those that did not know showed no association.

The results of this have shown how development of this condition occurs in individuals. Essentially the results show that synesthesia can adapt based on the information that people have learned. Some of the volunteers learned signed language later in life, showing that it can be developed at any point in a person’s life. This study can lead to evidence of how human cognition operates in the brain and how we learn by association.

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2095783-first-evidence-that-synaesthesia-gives-colour-to-sign-language/

Racheal Devine                                   about 250 words

INTD: Science Writing

rmd20@geneseo.edu

Strange Reappearance of the Once Vanished Green Sea Turtle

In this article by Ben Goldfarb from Hakai Magazine, he tells the story of the green sea turtles in the Caribbean. Goldfarb starts with the recent finding of a baby green sea turtle by Frank Burchall and his granddaughter on the east end of Bermuda. Burchall then brought the turtle to the Bermuda Aquarium, Museum and Zoo where the aquarist was shocked at what had just been brought to him. Even though the turtle is found in other tropical places they have been hunted down to none in the Caribbean, making this an incredible find. Then, Goldfarb tells the history of the disappearance of the turtles on the islands in the first place. Back in the 1800’s, turtle soup became more and more of a popular meal. Turtles were taken by the thousands to be eaten and eventually they disappeared from that area. After decades with no sign of nesting green sea turtles, the efforts to repopulate them by Wingate and others also failed. Although it is unknown for now where the mother of the baby turtles found came from, the project to repopulate them 40 years ago could have been effective, learning this,  Wingate says in an interview “There is always hope.”

This article is appealing to readers because it gives a sense hope to the dwindling world and the other species that are in situations just like this. If the green sea turtles can return, maybe other things can too.

Found:

http://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/curious-case-bermudas-mysterious-turtle-180960677/

Logan Steffens                                                                                                160 words

Lts6@geneseo.edu

When talking about the partnership between humans and a bird called the greater honeyguide, Elizabeth Pennisi tells us that the bird will lead the way to a bee nest and feast on it after the human hunters have disturbed the hive. Also the humans and birds communicate through specific calls made by the humans and birds. It is believed that these birds find nests 75% of the time. Also the birds guided the humans 66% of the time with the proper call. The birds can even pick up on several different calls the humans make and respond properly to them. I believe this is a good piece of public facing work because it is short and very interesting because of the topic at hand. Many people believe most animals do not understand humans except for something like a dog but this article can show people that animals are not as dumb as we may think they are.

Matt Klein                                                                   approximately 275 words

mgk6@geneseo.edu

INTD 105-19: Science Writing

Making Science Writing Relevant to the Public

By Matt Klein

            When describing scientific research to the public, writers must be careful to maintain their readers’ interests. One way to do this is to choose a topic that seems funny or strange—a sort of “click bait.” In Diana Crow’s list of articles, many stand out as potentially interesting reads. The titles “How Big is Fart?” and “The Birds and the Bombs,” among many others, are certainly bizarre enough to attract public attention. Besides the unusual, science writing can also focus on modern issues, such as in Ben Panko’s “Nuclear Physicists May Have Just Invented a ‘Zero-Knowledge’ Warhead Inspection System.” Many agreements have been made over the years to decrease nuclear arsenals and lessen the chance of a nuclear disaster, but to this day there has been no way to prevent cheating the agreements. If the process described by Panko is developed, inspectors will be able to check for compliance with disarmament treaties without compromising countries’ design secrets. Panko’s article appeals to the public because it offers a solution to the public fear of unstable nations with nuclear capabilities.

To maintain reader interest, writers must also describe their science in simple terms. Panko does this by generalizing the nuclear processes involved in the inspection system. The most scientifically complex process he discusses involves an “encryption foil” used hide the specific details of nuclear warheads during a scan. By simply telling the reader that x-rays used to scan the warhead cause the foil to emit gamma rays that can be detected, he avoids any complicated scientific explanation and allows readers to follow his description without becoming confused.

Source: http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2016/07/nuclear-physicists-may-have-just-invented-zero-knowledge-warhead-inspection-system?utm_source=newsfromscience&utm_medium=twitter&utm_campaign=zeroknowledge-5827