How do the noises an animal makes affect the conservatism of life in an ecosystem? Furthermore, if a sound were lost, how would the lives of surrounding species be affected?

Mike Emanuele        11/6/16

INTD 105-19 Science Writing      about 150 words

In her article “On Immunity,” Eula Bliss talks about the struggle between the herd mentality and the homestead mentality. The herd mentality is a hive mind pertaining to a specific group of people. Like sheep, everyone moves in the same direction. If one makes a stupid decision, everyone makes stupid decisions, or if one person gets sick everyone gets sick. This leads to the homestead mentality: where people on care for themselves and the ones close to them. On the topic of vaccination, most mothers won’t treat their kids to every vaccination because they believe it’s not for people like them. They believe in the separation from the herd. Personally I think it’s absurd for someone to think that they’re different than someone else when it comes to health, especially comparing a mother’s intuition to scientific research. I believe everyone should get the necessary vaccinations because it not only keeps you healthy but everyone in the community. However, I found it fascinating how powerful a homestead mentality can be, even when putting people at risk.

Patrick Jones

pwj2@geneseo.edu

INTD 105-19

November 7, 2016

Knowing that music has the ability to improve coordination of the voice, stimulate auditory-motor regions of the brain, and help individuals communicate and process emotions, should all hospitals be required to offer musical therapy to patients as a form of treatment?

Alexis Baer                                                                                        about 150 words
anb8@geneseo.edu

Student, INTD 105-19: Writing Science

 
Appendix III, Section III: Effect of the Summer Sun on Different Varieties of Ice and Snow, in “The Heart of the Antarctic and South” by E. H. Shackleton caught my interest. The main points consisted on how the summer sun creates large granules of ice, different characteristics of thaw-water, and the snow that surrounds the boulders. Summer blizzards in Antartica caused some of the snow to melt, but it would create delicate “crusts” of snow that would be easily breakable. In regards to sea-ice in the summer, the thick crust can break causing individuals to get sucked down into negative temperatures of salt water. The summer sun affecting Antartica relates back to the arts and sciences due to the glaciers structure, temperatures at which they are formed, and recent studies by researchers. Researchers have been studying and obtaining results based off the suns affect on glaciers and the snow within the summer time.

Patrick Jones                                                               Approximately 200 Words

pwj2@geneseo.edu

INTD 105-19

November 7, 2016

In The Heart of the Antarctic, Appendix I, Earnest Shackleton discusses the multiple life forms he encountered on his 1907-1909 expedition of the Antarctic. Under what was thought unlivable conditions, Shackleton and his team found a microscopic jungle of single-celled organisms and algae along that thrived in the freezing temperatures. Shackleton spends a great deal of time describing the colonies of penguins that lived near his camp. The researchers would constantly interact with these colonies, and learned a great deal with how the colonies functioned as a society. Shackleton even notes how elaborate these societies of emperor and adelie penguins are, and how research involving interfering with the natural routine caused chaos.

There are a lot of interesting topics covered in this small section of The Heart of the Antarctic. I found the idea of human research causing chaos in the penguin colonies the most interesting, though. When we try to learn more about animals, how are we negatively impacting their way of life? By simple moving one egg, Shackleton and his researchers saw the penguins fight for nest and offspring until the colony once again reached an equilibrium. Is our quest to better understand the world around us hurting ecosystems, and if so what can be done to preserve these animal’s way of life?

Do countries, as independent sovereign nations have the right to do what they will with the land/resources contained within their borders (i.e. preserve, harvest, pollute, etc.) and are there any limits to this right?

Jason Gerbsch                                                             Approximately 170 words

jg33@geneseo.edu

INTD 105: Science Writing

Appendix IV of “The Heart of the Antarctic” by E. H. Shackleton details the findings on the ice and snow of Antarctica.  Depending on the air temperature, the the crystals that would form would be any number of sizes and patterns, the most common being spikes or hexagonal in shape.  The team built a laboratory adjacent to their main structure with the purpose of using the space for experiments.  However it quickly became unsuitable for anything but ice experiments as warm, moist air from the hut entered the lab and created thick layers of “ice blades” on the walls.

I find this quite fascinating, that these crystals can form such different patterns with different temperatures.  Those on the expedition described these ice formations as “exquisitely beautiful” and I can say the same from some limited personal experience, as well as from pictures and video.  The ability of nature to create such detailed, geometrically perfect, and in some cases grand structures of ice and snow is something to behold.

Rachael Natoli                                                                                                  10/30/16

INTD 105-19: Scientific Writing                                         About 215 Words

Appendix One in The Heart of the Antarctic is about the biology of Antarctica. The microbiology section focused on very unique microorganisms living in the Cape Royds Lakes. There were many species of microorganisms found after studying the sediment of a weed found in one of the lakes but the book focused mainly on the specific species of Rotifers and Water-Bears. What makes these organisms so unique is the extreme conditions the adult organism can survive. They can survive the extreme salinity of certain lakes and continue to live after being frozen in the harsh cold of the Antarctic. Researchers were most surprised to find out that it was the adults that could survive the harsh conditions because in most other scenarios it is the eggs of the organism that can survive in cold temperatures.

In the appendix there were various images of Rotifers and Water-Bears taken under a microscope; these images connect the sciences to the arts as it gives a visual representation of what the biologists are researching. This reading reminded me of the organisms that live near deep sea hydrothermal vents and do chemosynthesis rather than photosynthesis as no light reaches that far down. I would be interested in researching if there are other organisms that can survive equally harsh conditions

After reading and analyzing multiple articles within Shackleton’s works, I settled on a question focused on the use of dogs on such expeditions. My research question is as follows: What significant roles did canines play in the South Pole expeditions of Robert Scott, Roald Admunsen, and Earnest Shackleton?

Justin D’Souza                                                                         About 170 words          SUNY Geneseo                                                                                                           INTD 105 Science Writing

Rock Strata as Natural Paintings

by Justin D’Souza

Appendix III of “The Heart of the Antarctic” paints a clear picture of the scientific discoveries the team found involving the rock strata and formations in the Antarctic.  The geologist of the expedition, Raymond Priestley, describes the various layers of gneisses, granite, dolerites, and sedimentary rock found near the Ferrar Glacier. They collected rock samples from various layers to look for indicators of organic life in the rocks as well as understand how the glaciers influenced the geography of the location.  However, Priestley know that there was a 90% chance that any kind of fossils were destroyed the by extreme weathering of the rocks.  The team moves on to explore how the glacier and sea interacted to create the intricate rock layering.

When Priestley described the rocks, including the “yellow bands” of granite and “alternating black bands” of rock, which striped across the Antarctic landscape, I couldn’t help but think of a painting. To visualize the different rock layers and help convey the discoveries to others, the arts could supplement the geological expedition to create stunning artwork of the rocks.