Message from the Executive Chair

Transcription

INSIDE TTH
Message from the Executive Chair
Welcome to the Michaelmas 2010 edition of the Science in Society Review. As usual, the articles in
this edition span the range of scientific disciplines, but have in common a focus on the interactions
between science and society. As a society, we believe that these interactions are incredibly important,
and also incredibly interesting.
STAFF AT CAMBRIDGE
EXECUTIVE BOARD
Chair:
Francesca Day (St. Catharine’s)
Founding President, Executive
Vice President:
James Shepherd (Caius)
Executive Vice President:
Hannah Price (Queens’)
Junior Treasurer:
Claire Drurey (Corpus Christi)
Division leaders also sit on the
Executive Board
Last academic year saw The Triple Helix promote a number of exciting topics within science
and society, not only in our journal, but also through panel debates, outreach workshops and
Cafe Scientifique. The issues covered ranged from an animated debate on the use of GM food
in the developing world, to a Science Festival Schools’ Masterclass exploring human space
exploration.
As scientific research progresses and society develops, new challenges in science and society
present themselves. Over the coming year, we will continue to explore these, for example in our
upcoming panel debate on the potential current and future problems caused by overpopulation. In
February, we will meet with Triple Helix Chapters from around the world in our Annual Meeting
at the AAAS conference. We hope that the new academic year will see many new additions to
the Triple Helix team!
Best wishes,
Francesca Day
Executive Chair, The Triple Helix, University of Cambridge
AAAS Annual Meeting 2011
Editor-in-Chief:
Kate Wiles (Trinity)
Managing Editor:
Adam Esmail (Fitzwilliam)
Associate Editors:
Andrew Lawson (Emmanuel)
Graduate Reviewers:
Jillian Sullivan (Girton), Mico
Tatalovic (Christ’s)
OUTREACH
Head of Outreach:
Franscesca Day (St. Catherine’s),
Outreach Team:
James Kennedy (Fitzwilliam),
Dolly Chen (Sidney Sussex), Andrew
Lawson (Emmanuel), Samantha
Simic (Queens’), Janice Park
(Christ’s)
EVENTS
Events Director:
Tara Finegan (Jesus)
Publicity Officer:
Junko Takata (Downing)
Events Co-ordinators:
Jingwei Sim (Caius), Charles
Parker (Caius), Nisha Nesaratnam
(St. Catharine’s), Cai Na (Caius),
Germaine Liu (Magdalene),
James Kennedy (Fitzwilliam),
Colin Stoneking (Emmanuel)
PRODUCTION
The Triple Helix will be participating in the American Association for the
Advancement of Science (AAAS) Annual Meeting in Washington DC from
February 18th – 20th 2011. The conference will include a Science in Society
poster competition and workshops on writing, editing and science policy, as
well as the main conference lectures and seminars. This is a fantastic opportunity
to showcase your work at the world’s largest scientific conference, meet TTH
members from around the world as part of the Cambridge delegation, and
develop your skills in poster production and presentation with support from the
Cambridge TTH committee.
Previous Cambridge attendees have agreed that the conference is an amazing
experience, combining excellent personal opportunities with the chance to
attend talks by internationally leading scientists and policy-makers.
If you are interested in presenting a poster, please send a short abstract to
[email protected] by 10th October. Posters can review any aspect
of science in society, and submission from either individuals or groups are
welcome.
There will be a meeting for anyone who might be interested at 3pm on Saturday
9th October at Grad’s Cafe in the University Centre. This is an opportunity not
to be missed!
Senior Production Editor:
Jenny Crowhurst (Downing)
Managing Production Editor:
Adam Esmail (Fitzwilliam)
Production Editors:
Colin Stoneking (Emmanuel)
ACADEMIC ADVISORY BOARD
SENIOR REVIEWERS
Dr David Summers
Prof Peter Littlewood
Dr Edward Tanner
Dr Peter Wothers
Dr Andrew Bell (Senior Treasurer)
Dr Bob Butcher
Dr Alex Piotrowski
Dr Richard Hayward
Dr Jeff Dalley
Dr Anna Goodman
Dr Bertie Göttgens
Dr Jim Haseloff
2 THE TRIPLE HELIX Michaelmas 2010
Prof Christopher Howe
Dr Katrin Ottersbach
Dr Martyn Symmons
Prof Alan Warren
© 2010, The Triple Helix, Inc. All rights reserved.
© Charles Parker
LITERARY TEAM
INSIDE TTH
Message from the CEO
Dear Reader,
The Triple Helix is a completely unique organization, created and run entirely by undergraduates
devoted to creating a global forum for science in society. What at first appears a focused interest is
actually an eclectic vision that ventures to present ideas from students studying medicine, law, math
and so much more. With more than 20 chapters across the world and more than 1,000 students from
a wide range of disciplines, The Triple Helix offers a truly unique presentation of academic passion.
Before you look through The Science in Society Review issue awaiting you, I hope to share with
you my insight into the level of work behind every word. Each piece represents not only the work
of the writer, but also the work of one-on-one associate editors, a highly effective editorial board,
astute international senior literary editors, an impressive faculty review board, and an imaginative
production staff that reinvents the journal every issue.
As we enter the next cycle, I hope to witness the next surge of interest and passion from every
member as we strive to achieve the dreams we have always had for the organization. We invite you
as readers and supporters to come forward and develop new visions that will push us to the next
level.
Sincerely,
Bharat Kilaru, CEO, The Triple Helix, Inc.
Triple Helix Events, Michaelmas 2010
Too many people, not enough planet? - Sponsored by the Development Studies Association
Thursday 14th October - 7.30 - 9.30pm - McCrum Lecture Theatre, Bene’t Street (behind The Eagle)
A debate on the problems of, and solutions to, overpopulation.
The panel to include:
• Fred Pearce - Author and Journalist, Environmental Consultant for New Scientist
• John Guillebaud - Emeritus Professor of Family Planning and Reproductive Health at UCL, Patron of the Optimum Population Trust
• Ludi Simpson - Professor of Population Studies at the University of Manchester, Cathie Marsh Centre for Census and Survey Research
• Frances Hill (Chair) - Executive Director, Development Studies Association
The Battle of the Scientists - Sponsored by the Royal Society of Chemistry
Thursday 28th October - 7.30 - 9.30pm - McCrum Lecture Theatre, Bene’t Street (behind The Eagle)
Which science, if any, will come out on top?
The panel to include:
• Peter Wothers - Teaching Fellow, Dept. of Chemistry, University of Cambridge
• Chris Ponting - MRC Functional Genomics Unit, University of Oxford
• Hasok Chang - Dept. of History and Philosophy of Science, University of Cambridge
• Professor John Ockendon - Dept. of Mathematics, University of Oxford
Googling your Genes - Sponsored by the Company of Biologists
November - Date and Venue TBC
Risk Perception
Late November - Date and Venue TBC
For further details and updates visit www.camtriplehelix.com or e-mail [email protected].
Keep a look out for our posters too!
THE TRIPLE HELIX Michaelmas 2010 3
CAMBRIDGE EDITORIALS
The Triple Helix Interaction:
University-Industry-Government Relations
Claire Drurey
I
nnovation in science is increasingly dependant upon
the interaction between the government, industry and
academia, represented by the universities. This interaction, labeled “the Triple Helix,” has developed as a fluid
exchange of ideas and technologies, with fewer barriers
between academia and industry for information flow [1].
This is aided by government initiatives that encourage the
involvement of universities in technology transfer. In the
UK, this includes Knowledge Transfer Partnerships and
Knowledge Transfer Networks, which provide financial
In the past, industry
has been regarded as
somewhat taboo
social development [5]. An example of this is Solexa. It was
set up by Professor David Klenerman and Professor Shankar
Balasubramanian of Cambridge University in the late 90s
to develop Solexa sequencing, a new way of sequencing
DNA that was several orders of magnitude faster than any
other technology available at the time. The company was
built over a period of about ten years, in which time both
founders continued working in academia at Cambridge
University. The University supported the venture and thus
became a small shareholder in the company, becoming a
prime example of the way in which universities can foster
innovation in science and technology.
In the current economic climate, with decreasing monetary
support from the government, it could be advantageous to
try to increase funding from industry. This is a difficult area,
as many funding schemes from industry only cover short
periods of time and are allocated toward very specific areas
of research [6]. Industries may frown upon the changes in
research direction that so often happen within the lab. The
withholding of data until a patent can be achieved is also an
issue in many collaborations between industry and academia
[6]. However, patents have only been found to be 10% of
all knowledge transfer activities between universities and
industry – much can be gained besides them alone [7]. The
advantages that come from access to new ideas, knowledge
and potential future researchers are often perceived as much
greater than patents.
In the future, academia and industry may become even
more tightly interwoven as companies recognise the academic capacity to generate and exploit intellectual property rights by coming up with new ideas that may be profitable. Policies supported by the government that initiate
the move towards researchers that are also involved in
companies, or set up their own alongside academic work,
may provide a chance to make the world of academics more
self-sufficient, leading to a more innovative future. Bi-directional knowledge flow, if supported, could be advantageous both for those in the lab and in the boardroom.
support for collaborative projects encouraging research,
technology transfer and the commercial exploitation of
science and technology [2]. The Royal Society itself offers
an Industry Fellowships scheme.
It seems that, since the founding of modern biotechnology in the early 1980s, industry has been regarded as
somewhat taboo by the academic world, which steers away
from capitalists only interested in gaining a profit. The news
that large pharmaceutical companies spend more money on
advertising than research and development do nothing to
alleviate this image [3]. However, there are examples to the
contrary: Amgen, a large American pharmaceutical company,
actually loses money with its drug Nplate (Romiplostin),
as it was formulated to treat thrombocytopenia (a lack of
blood platelets) in patients with chronic immune (idiopathic)
thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP), a rare disease with an
incidence of about 5 in 100,000 children [4]. Profits made
from drugs that can be more widely used, such as anti-cancer
medications, are ploughed back into the development of
drugs such as this that can make a huge difference to people’s
lives but are not needed in vast quantities.
Universities are increasingly becoming closer to industry
by providing a “natural incubator” for the development of
new companies [5]. This allows the university to fulfil a third
mission outside of teaching and research – economic and
Claire Drurey is a third year student studying Biological Natural
Sciences at Corpus Christi College. She is currently the Junior
Treasurer of The Triple Helix, Cambridge.
References:
1. Etzkowitz, H. The Triple Helix of University - Industry – Government Implications
for Policy and Evaluation. Science Policy Institute Working Paper, 2002-2011. Available
from: http://www.sister.nu/pdf/wp_11.pdf
2. Abramovsky L, Harrison R and Simpson H. Increasing innovative activity in the
UK? Where now for government support for innovation and technology transfer?
Institute for Fiscal Studies briefing notes Nov 2004. Available from: http://eprints.
ucl.ac.uk/14740/1/14740.pdf
3. “Big Pharma Spends More On Advertising Than Research And Development, Study
Finds” Science Daily [online] 2008 Jan 7 [cited 2010 Sept], available from: http://
www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/01/080105140107.htm
4. “Amgen Recognized for Best Pipeline and Best New Drug at Scrip Awards”,
CheckOrphan Treatment News [online], 2009 Nov 30,[cited 2010 Sept], available
from: http://www.checkorphan.org/grid/news/treatment/amgen-recognized-forbest-pipeline-and-best-new-drug-at-scrip-awards
5. Etzkowitz, H. Incubation of incubators: innovation as a triple helix of university–
industry–government Networks. Science and Public Policy, 2002 April; 29(2):115–
128.
6. Blumenthal D, Causino N, Campbell E and Seashore Louis K. Relationships between
Academic Institutions and Industry in the Life Sciences — An Industry Survey. N
Engl J Med, 1996 Feb; 334:368-374.
7. D’Este, P and Patel, P. University–industry linkages in the UK: What are the factors
underlying the variety of interactions with industry? Research Policy, 2007 Nov;
36(9):1295-1313
4 THE TRIPLE HELIX Easter 2010
CMU
Evolving Interaction in Robots
Andrew Sheng
T
he web of life forms a symphony of interaction and
communication. Consider all the interactions a creature
will perform and undergo throughout its life. A simple
glance around one’s surrounding yields many examples of
such activities – a human speaks a string of words, a bee
performs a complicated dance, a dog urinates onto a hapless bystander’s leg. All of these actions carry an intention
to convey some sort of message to others – EXAM TERRIFYING, FOOD THERE, MY TERRITORY. Entire academic
fields, such as sociology, dedicate themselves to analyzing
these behaviors.
The means by which such interactions may have arisen
during the emergence and evolution of life remain one of the
mysteries of the modern world. This paucity of knowledge
arises from the problem that experiments regarding emergent behavior are extraordinarily difficult to conduct due to
the lack of simple sample organisms for experiments. Case
studies with individual microorganisms would be difficult
to analyze and control. On the other hand, higher organisms tend to have generative cycles on the magnitude of
months, years, decades – experiments with thousands of
generations would require an extremely dedicated multigenerational research team. Furthermore, the distant past
offers little helpful information – social structures are not
easily fossilized. Given the lack of a suitable sample population, one faces the question: Is the quest for the origins of
social interaction a limited one restricted to the analysis of
the behavior of contemporary lifeforms? Does the lack of a
suitable medium render the simulation of communication
evolution an impossibility?
Unfortunately, the natural world does not seem to yield
any optimal organisms. There exist few creatures quick to
reproduce, simple to observe, easy to mutate, and, perhaps
most importantly, free of preexisting behaviors hardcoded
by genetics [1]. But, on a brighter note, when one considers
models from fields other than biology, there does indeed exist
The robots could inform
their companions of
food and poison
such an “organism” - a software algorithm! An algorithm is
merely a set of easily replicable instructions; it also lacks the
evolutionary baggage of billions of years of history. When
placed into the body of a robot, the algorithm may play out
the behavior coded by its instructions.
Although the replication of digital information is trivial
(much to the despair of anti-piracy groups), the simulation
of the process of biological evolution is a much more difficult
matter. Unlike a cell, which can often survive a malformed
protein or damaged DNA, a computer program can be easily destroyed by the introduction of even a single error. As
a result, the mutable gene must not be the program itself,
but instead some outside information that is interpreted
by the program.
One implementation of this concept is a model called
a “neural network.” In a neural network, a program makes
use of an amount of premade data as a blueprint (or gene)
for the construction of a field of simulated neurons. Each
simulated neuron is governed by two factors: connections
to other neurons and some rudimentary calculative ability
(such as determining whether the sum of a set of numbers
is above or below some given threshold). The network is
“run” by inputting data into some neurons. These neurons
proceed to process the data and then output it to their neighbors, each “layer” of neurons making use of their internal
instructions to interpret the data. To gather output, data is
extracted from the output of several select neurons. Since
the topology and properties of the network are entirely
determined by its “genes”, which exist independent of the
host program, a neural network may be transmogrified via
modifications to its blueprint. This mechanism allows the
simulation of natural selection (and by extension, evolution)
via the random and/or selective mutation and breeding of
neural networks [2]. In sum, a robot serves as a simulation
of a primitive organism. One such population of organisms
resides in Switzerland, where flashing blue robots fight over
glowing red floor tiles [1,3].
In an attempt to simulate the emergence of communication, researchers at the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de
Lausanne have constructed a field with two small zones –
one marked as “food,” the other marked as “poison,” both
identical unless observed from a close distance. A population
of small robots equipped with cameras and lights formed
the denizens of this field. Each robot was guided by two
factors: internal neural networks and an overarching rule
of “food good, poison bad” [1].
The research began with the robots randomly flashing
their lights – none of them could “understand” the speech
of any other, only the local presence of food and poison.
They were then left to wander randomly, eventually discovering food by the sheer mechanism of trial and error.
The simulation would finish after a preset amount of time.
Afterwards, the researchers ranked the robots by their success at collecting food and avoiding poison. The “genes” of
those robots best at collecting food were then mixed together
(in an approximation of mating) and randomly mutated.
The new genomes were then replaced into robots in order
to continue the simulation further.
More than five hundred “generations” of collection
and mutation later, the robots (more specifically, the neural
networks controlling them) were found to have developed
the ability to utilize their cameras and lights so that they
could inform their companions of food and poison. Some
populations of robots evolved the tactic of flashing their
lights when near food (as an invitation), while others leaned
toward the tactic of flashing lights when near poison (as a
warning). In other words, a group of robots had autonomously developed the ability to communicate – a development
CMU
The First Step to a Robot Society? Reproduced from [5]
made even more curious by the fact that earlier, the robots
had been largely unaware of the existence of their fellows
[1]. Thus was born the behavior of cooperation in order to
take advantage of the strength of numbers – a single robot
working alone cannot locate “food” as fast as a group of
machines working together as a team.
However, the end result is not that of a robotic utopia.
One aspect of the playing field was that the food “zone” was
too small to support the entire robotic population; the robots
would be required to push away others in order to acquire
points toward their own placement in the next generation. As
a result, the robots did not form a very harmonious society.
Instead, some robots would send misleading messages to
others in a “selfish” attempt to fool others in order to lure
them away from the food. For example, in a population of
robots with the “lights-mean-food” protocol, rogues would
develop the tendency to cast signals over barren ground or
poison in an attempt to fool others in order to increase their
own chances of a free food zone. The mutation-based appearance of such rogues would often destroy cooperative groups
of robots, as “survivors” would generally evolve to become
less inclined to trust the signals of other robots [1].
A later study repeated under similar circumstance with
similar robots found the existence of another deceptive behavior – that of withholding useful information from others.
In many test “cases,” most robots would often move to the
strategy of avoiding using their lights while in the process
of collecting food – this would prevent others from noticing anything special about that particular patch of land.
However, the researchers found that in no case did the robots completely cease all usage of their lights; instead, even
the most xenophobic machines would make some use of
light, perhaps due to the fact that the marginal reward for
“take-but-don’t-give” is lessened when all robots refuse to
share useful information [3]. Therefore, even though the
robots fell to selfishly firing each other lies of omission, the
robotic society did not completely degenerate into a purely
competitive environment.
References
1. Floreano, Mitri, Magnenat, Keller. Evolutionary Conditions for the Emergence
of Communication in Robots. Curr Biol. 2007; 17:514-519.
2. Nolfi, Parisi. Evolution of Artificial Neural Networks. In: Arbib, editors.
Handbook of Brain Theory and Neural Networks. 2nd ed. Cambridge, MA: MIT
Press; 2002. p. 418-421.
3. Mitri, Floreano, Keller. The evolution of information suppression in
The study is admittedly simplistic. After all, human
societies do not quickly degenerate into anarchies upon
the appearance of criminals and con artists – there exist
mechanisms to punish humans who scream “that’s food”
while pointing at cyanide. Furthermore, it is possible that the
experiment unfairly promoted the benefits of pure competition over cooperation; the robots could be able to discover a
more cooperative strategy in a different environment [4].
The Lausanne study reveals some interesting insights.
Social behaviors commonly associated with living organisms are not restricted to life. Instead, it is likely that many
behaviors are simply evolutionary responses to various
environmental pressures (i.e. a given behavior could have
developed as a random, yet beneficial, trait-guided action).
Such an action could have thus improved an organism’s
fitness enough to pass it on the succeeding generations. In
a frontier world, cooperation would help one’s companions
gather resources, while in a civilized place, deception could
allow one to gain at the expense of others [1]. The fact that
blocks of silicon and metal can spontaneously develop the
ability to cooperate and cheat helps to bring out the more
human question of exactly how many of one’s actions are
consciously generated, and how many are solely due to
evolutionary psychology.
The emergence of the various robotic behaviors suggests
that early societies (that is, of microorganisms, probably not
humans) could have been highly dynamic, rapidly shifting
between cooperative and competitive behaviors (depending
on which one would be more useful in a given situation)
before settling at some sort of equilibrium [4]. A resident of
the primordial ooze would probably have been in a similar
situation as the robots; it would have just had a simple
predefined set of behaviors, anything else would have been
developed later.
The results of the study could also provide guidance
to those seeking to develop complex systems composed of
many independent actors – whether these actors are robots
or something else. The sheer variety of different behaviors
developed by the robots during their evolution indicates
that seemingly simple, decentralized systems may give rise
to very complex behavior. Whether this complex behavior
is desirable probably varies on the situation at hand.
The Lausanne study is just one case in which robotics is
being put to use in an unconventional situation to advance
the development of the understanding of the development
of interactive behavior. Although there still exist significant differences between organisms simulated on silicon
and organisms in flesh, it is conceivable that one day such
experiments could guide humanity to an understanding
of that composition of that symphony of interaction and
communication, the web of life.
Andrew Sheng is a computer science major in CMU’s class of
2013. He is most likely a member of the species Homo sapiens,
however,classifying organisms by morphological features is not
always a reliable method of identifying species.
communicating robots with conflicting interests. PNAS. 2009; 106:15786-15790.
4. Surfdaddy Orca. Darwin’s Robots [document on the Internet]. h+ Magazine;
2009 [cited 2009 November 5]. Available from: http://hplusmagazine.com/
articles/ai/darwins-robots
5. CC-BY-NC, Jenn and Tony Bot. Available from http://www.flickr.com/photos/
ittybittiesforyou/2275017292/
CAMBRIDGE EDITORIALS
YALE
The Hobbits
Chun Ying Wang
A
woman, about 35 years old, lies dead in a cave on the
Indonesian island of Flores. She is peculiarly small
by modern-day standards. Though an adult, she is
only three and a half feet tall and has a head about the size
of a grapefruit. Her feet, however, are exceptionally long
and flat. Each foot measures seven and a half inches or one
fifth her total height. The woman lies on a gentle slope, and
as the years go by, falling dust from the cave wall covers
her entire body.
The woman lies buried until a team of Australian and
Indonesian scientists uncovers her fragile bones 18,000 years
later, in September 2003. Led by Peter Brown of the University
of New England and Michael Morwood of the University
of Wollongong, the scientists named her LB1 for the Liang
Bua cave where she was found [1]. Her short stature and
large feet soon earned her the nickname “hobbit,” after the
small creatures in J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy stories.
Scientists are slowly writing their own story for LB1
and the eight other hobbits whose bones have been found on
Flores. They have struggled to determine the evolutionary
relationship between the hobbits and modern humans.
Modern humans, Homo sapiens, evolved in Africa 200,000
years ago from a much older species called Homo erectus
[2]. Over the next 150,000 years, H. sapiens migrated out
of Africa into Europe and Asia, eventually displacing all
other Homo species.
The majority of anthropologists now believe that the
hobbits, who lived until 12,000 years ago, were exceptions
to the H. sapiens takeover [3]. While these anthropologists
argue that hobbits and H. sapiens are two different species,
a vocal minority maintains that the hobbits were genetically
deformed H. sapiens.
Critics point out that the last species which had a brain
as small as LB1’s became extinct several million years ago [4].
They remain skeptical that an obscure and primitive island
The cave where the specimens were discovered. Reproduced from [17]
species could have lived as recently as 18,000 years ago.
The implications of this debate extend far beyond the
hobbits themselves. The hobbits challenge the basic notion
that human evolution has been a direct progression towards
larger brains and bigger bodies. Instead, “the evolutionary
tree is more like a bush,” said Mike Morwood, one of the
first to discover LB1’s body on Flores.
Anthropologists believe that
the hobbits were exceptions
to the H. sapiens takeover
Scientists have excavated Flores for human fossils as
far back as the 1960s. Before Morwood began his research
there, anthropologists had only been looking for evidence
of modern humans on the island. Surprisingly, their work
unearthed animal bones with cut marks and stone tools that
were dated to 840,000 years ago [5].
Since anthropologists knew H. sapiens had first reached
Australia 50,000 years ago, the findings piqued Morwood’s
interest in Flores as a pit stop along H. sapiens’ haphazard,
accidental journey from mainland Asia to Australia.
Morwood originally wanted to find the individuals who
made those 840,000-year-old stone tools, but six meters into
the ground, he and his team found LB1 instead. Morwood
was immediately struck by the skeleton’s strange dating.
Anatomically, she should have been several million years
old, but testing showed she was only tens of thousands of
years old.
Morwood and his collaborators were incredulous at
first. “Either the dating was wrong, or there had been some
moving around,” said Peter Brown, Morwood’s close colleague and co-author of the original discovery papers.
Brown, an expert on hominid skeletons, received hastily taken pictures of LB1 soon after the
skeleton’s discovery, but he initially could make little
of the small body. “It could have been anything. It
could have been an urn with two sticks attached,”
he said. However, he was intrigued enough to fly to
Indonesia and examine LB1 himself. In Indonesia,
he was the first to measure and discover LB1’s
small brain capacity [6].
After studying her skeleton for a week, Brown
and Morwood determined that LB1 did not belong
to H. sapiens. The hobbit’s brain was too small to
be a modern human while the rest of her skeleton
– jaw, arms, and legs – were more primate-like
than human.
Describing their discovery in a 2004 issue of
Nature, Brown, Morwood, and their co-authors
named LB1 Homo floresiensis. H. floresiensis, they
said, shared an ancestor with H. sapiens, but was
itself a distinct species. The authors argued that
THE TRIPLE HELIX Easter 2010 5
YALE
Fragments. Reproduced from [18]
the hobbits were different from modern humans because
they evolved to be smaller and shorter.
Their conclusion was contested from the start. Teuku
Jacob, a renowned Indonesian anthropologist at Gadjah Mada
University, was one of the first to challenge Morwood and
Brown’s separate-species theory [7]. Besides disagreeing
with Brown and Morwood’s scientific analysis, Jacob also
felt that the Australians had unfairly benefited from Indonesia’s fossils [8]. Shortly after the 2004 Nature papers were
published, he requisitioned LB1’s bones to his lab at Gadjah
Mada University and persuaded the Indonesian government
to temporarily halt further excavation on Flores [6].
Teuku Jacob was convinced from studying LB1 that she
had been a H. sapiens individual suffering from microcephaly,
a developmental disorder which shrinks the brain. Over
the five years since the discovery of LB1, scientists from
Australia, America, and Israel have also expressed dissatisfaction with the theory that hobbits were a separate species
which somehow retained million-year-old body features
into modern times [9].
The hobbits do seem like a fantastical thought experiment come to life. Take a brain that is one-third the size
of a H. sapiens brain but give it the ability to use equally
sophisticated tools. The cave where LB1 was found was also
littered with charred animal bones and small stone tools
[10]. The bones and tools indicated that Floresian hobbits
kindled fire, fashioned weaponry, and hunted animals just
as H. sapiens were doing at the time. Like Mary Poppins’
magic black bag, the hobbits’ brains were able to store the
same amount of information in much less space.
However, critics of the separate-species theory maintain that only H. sapiens was intelligent enough to make the
tools in LB1’s cave. Robert Martin, professor and curator of
biological anthropology at the Field Museum in Chicago,
notes that the stone tools in LB1’s cave were carved with
a technique that has only been attributed to H. sapiens [9].
“Nobody has ever explained the small brain to my satisfaction,” he said, “and nobody has explained those stone tools
to my satisfaction.”
Martin’s initial reaction to the LB1 discovery was to
graph LB1’s brain size with all known human and primate
brain sizes. “You would have to go back three and a half
million years to find a brain that small in hominids,” said
Martin, referring to the group of animals which include
chimpanzees, gorillas, and humans. But at 18,000 years old,
LB1 is young by evolutionary standards. To Martin, this
disparity suggests that hobbits were deformed H. sapiens
and not another species. “When I first saw the tiny size of
the brain, I immediately knew there was something wrong
with the original analysis,” he said.
The debate over the hobbits has volleyed across the
pages of many scholarly journals. In a 2006 paper, Debbie
Argue of Australian National University compared LB1’s
skull with a range of skulls from human to chimpanzee.
She concluded that LB1’s skull was much more similar
to primate skulls than to normal or microcephalic human
skulls [11]. In a paper later that year, Robert Martin criticized
Argue’s choice to only use a child microcephalic skull. He
pointed out that skull shapes range greatly among different
types of microcephaly, especially between child and adult
microcephaly [12]. The possibility that LB1 suffered from a
different form of microcephaly, Martin maintains, “is simply
being ignored.”
Despite Martin and his colleagues’ conviction, they are
in the clear minority. Research within the past two years has
only reaffirmed the hypothesis that the hobbits were not H.
sapiens but offshoots from a more primitive hominid line.
In 2007, Matt Tocheri of the Smithsonian Institute
The hobbits seem like
a fantastical thought
experiment come to life
published a paper which described how a key wrist bone
in LB1’s skeleton was not boot-shaped like H. sapiens’ but
wedge-shaped like a primate’s [13]. He later collaborated with
William Jungers of Stony Brook University on a paper about
LB1’s foot. Those seven-and-a-half inch feet, they concluded,
YALE
were too long and flat to have been human [14].
Together, Tocheri and Jungers created a partial picture
of how LB1’s body worked. Though LB1 could hunt like
H. sapiens, her primitive features probably made it harder
H. floresiensis skull. Reproduced from [19]
to do so. She was not as good at gripping tools because her
primate-like wrists were less efficient at moving her thumbs.
She also could not run, since running requires shorter, more
arched feet. And though the hobbit could walk, her body
was better suited to four-limbed walking. “The same would
be true if we tried to do a lot of climbing, or if we tried to
knuckle-walk,” explained Tocheri.
Tocheri and Jungers convinced many anthropologists
who were previously undecided about the hobbits. In an
editorial which appeared with Jungers’ article, Harvard anthropologist Daniel Lieberman wrote that he and many other
scientists had “sat on the fence, waiting for more evidence
about the nature and forms of H. floresiensis” [15]. With this
recent research, he declared that “now we have some.”
The recent findings have simultaneously fueled a
separate debate among the group of anthropologists who
believe that the hobbits were a separate species. Brown and
Morwood originally hypothesized that the hobbits came
from H. erectus, a species which first evolved 1.7 million
years ago and eventually gave rise to modern humans [10].
They suggested that the taller H. erectus gradually became
shorter on Flores because smaller bodies are better at competing for resources on islands. This process, which has also
been found in dinosaurs, elephants, and modern humans,
is called island dwarfing.
References:
1. Brown, P. et al. 2004. A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of
Flores, Indonesia. Nature 431: 1055-1061.
2. Connor, S. 2007. The Big Question: How old is humanity, and where did ‘Homo
sapiens’ come from? The Independent, July 19.
3. Editorial. 2004. Homo TomThumbus. New York Times, October 24.
4. Martin, Robert D. Telephone interview. 14 October 2009.
5. Brown, P. Telephone interview. 13 October 2009.
6. Brown, P. and van Oosterzee, P. 2007. The Discovery of the Hobbit. Random
House: Sydney.
7. Wilford, J. N. 2006. Report Reignites Feud Over ‘Little People of Flores’. New
York Times, August 21.
8. Teuku, J. 2004. Conflict from Flores: Storm in a Teacup. Kompas, December 15.
9. Brown, P. Telephone interview. 14 October 2009.
10. Brown, P. et al. 2004. A new small-bodied hominin from the Late Pleistocene of
Flores, Indonesia. Nature 431: 1055-1061.
Island dwarfs have smaller bodies but the same size
brain as their mainland counterparts [16]. The hobbits, however, have both smaller bodies and brains than H. erectus,
which suggests they did not dwarf from H. erectus. But in
2009, Eleanor Weston of the Natural History Museum in
London published evidence that brains can also become
smaller in island dwarfing [16]. Weston showed that pygmy
hippo brains on Madagascar dwarfed to 30 percent of the
brain size of mainland hippos, a scale that is close to the
proportion between hobbit and H. erectus brains. Perhaps,
Weston noted, brain dwarfing occurred in hobbits as well
as hippos.
Some are skeptical of the island dwarf theory because
hobbits were not just smaller than H. erectus; their bodies
were also more primitive. Tocheri and Jungers argued in
their papers that LB1 looked most like H. habilis, an even
older human ancestor than H. erectus, or Australopithecus, a
group of hominids which became extinct in Africa around
3 million years ago. According to Jungers, the island dwarf
Most are waiting for more
fossils [to] piece together
the hobbits’ family history
theory is problematic because it implies that H. erectus also
had to “reverse evolution literally from jawbone to toes”
in order to evolve into H. floresiensis.
But anthropologists aren’t placing their bets yet. Most are
waiting for more fossils before they can begin piecing together
the hobbits’ family history. As Peter Brown said, “there’s
almost nothing between Indonesia and Africa” in terms of
the fossil records for H. habilis or Australopithecus.
There is also hope that researchers will find another
skeleton as complete as LB1 on Flores. Finding a hobbit
skeleton like LB1’s would confirm that she was a normal
individual of H. floresiensis and not a small-brained anomaly of H. sapiens. But skeptics like Robert Martin, who advocate the same species theory, live in hope that they may
someday be vindicated. “If they find a skeleton that’s a
small size but with a normal size brain, then I’m right,”
Martin said. “I’ve said my piece about this. My first answer
is that we need more evidence.”
Chun Ying is a senior in Trumbull at Yale University.
11. Argue, D. et al. 2006. Homo floresiensis: Microcephalic, pygmoid,
Australopithecus, or Homo? Journal of Human Evolution 51: 360-374.
12. Robert, M. 2006. Flores Hominid: New Species or Microcephalic Dwarf? The
Anatomical Record 286A: 1123-1145.
13. Tocheri, M. 2007. The primitive wrist of Homo floresiensis and its implications
for hominin evolution. Nature 317: 1743-1745.
14. Jungers, W. et al. 2009. The foot of Homo floresiensis. Nature 459: 81-84.
15. Lieberman, D. 2009. Homo floresiensis from head to toe. Nature 459: 41-42.
16. Weston, E. and Lister, A. 2009. Insular dwarfism in hippos and a model for
brain reduction in Homo floresiensis. Nature 459: 85-89.
17. CC-BY, Rosino. Available from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/84301190@
N00/1525434007
18. PD, Stony Brook University. Available from: http://graphics8.nytimes.com/
images/2009/04/21/science/21hobbit-190.jpg
19. PD, NSF-Gov. http://www.nsf.gov/news/special_reports/archaeology/
images/photos/teeth.jpg
UCHICAGO
Fighting Disease:
Are Global Funds Misallocated?
Chana Messinger
O
f the many global issues the world faces, one of
the most prominent is allocation of the world’s resources to fight disease. Three of the eight Millennium Development Goals agreed to by 192 nations and over
twenty-three international organizations relate to combating disease and promoting health. These goals, set forth in
2001, are the markers by which the United Nations evaluates
progress on important global issues. Unfortunately, policy
decisions are not always entirely based on the scientific
and statistical evidence available. In fact, there are severe
misallocations in the way that limited funds have been used
to fight disease. Current policies on AIDS, malaria, diarrhea
and other diseases are almost entirely at odds with the way
that the money could save the most lives, focusing money
and attention on the first, an expensive and as yet unsolved
problem, and underfunding and marginalizing the others,
which are curable and less costly.
In deciding how much funding to funnel towards a
particular disease, one important factor should be fatality.
Malaria kills over 1 million people every year, AIDS kills 2
million, and diarrhea causes the death of up to 6 million [1-3].
The numbers are even starker when specifically children are
considered, as they should be, given that the fourth millennium development goal relates to child mortality. In Nigeria
and Ethiopia, 237,000 people died from AIDS [4]. Over twice
Disease funding - is it fair? Reproduced from [28]
that number of children under five died of pneumonia and
diarrhea [5]. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg
School of Public Health and the WHO estimate that 10.6
million children die before their fifth birthday worldwide.
Diarrhea accounts for 17% of these deaths and malaria for
Malaria should receive at
least as much fiscal attention
as AIDS. This is not the case.
8%. In fact, diarrhea has been described as the leading cause
of death for children. In contrast, AIDS caused the deaths
of only 2.5% of these children [8]. It makes sense then, that
based solely on the relative preponderance and fatality of
the diseases at hand, that diseases such as malaria and diarrhea should receive at least as much fiscal attention as AIDS.
This is not the case.
The actions of the United States, the most powerful
and wealthy participant in this global summit, are quite
telling. In 2008, United States aid, mostly in the form of
direct bilateral donations to combat AIDS and HIV, constituted half of the world’s funds allocated to this particular
problem [6]. Of the United States Agency for International
Development’s (USAID) total Health budget of $4.15 billion,
24%, combined, is allocated to fighting infectious disease,
child mortality and promoting maternal health. AIDS/HIV,
alone, constitutes a 64% slice of the budget, which amounts
to over 2.5 million dollars [7]. The President’s Emergency
Plan for AIDS Relief, created in 2003, gave $15 billion to fight
AIDS, and this amount was increased to $48 billion when it
was renewed earlier this year. To fight malaria, which kills
one person every 15 seconds, $1.2 billion was given in 2005
by USAID, to be spent over a period of five years [8]. An
argument might be made for research, given that AIDS has
no known cure, whereas the others do. However, only 12% of
the US budget for AIDS is allocated specifically to research,
undercutting this line of reasoning [9]. Money allocated
to combat diarrhea-related illness and pneumonia was not
even listed on the USAID site. Those diseases, which are
leading causes of death in the developing world, are part
of a larger initiative to promote maternal and child health
and suppress infectious diseases.
Not only, however, is money not donated in proportion
to how deadly a disease is, but also, the costs of prevention
and treatment are not being addressed. Treatment of some
diseases is, overall, more cost-effective than treatment of
other diseases, and so would save more lives per dollar
donated. Even if AIDS were responsible for as many deaths
as it might appear to be from the amount of money the US
apportions against it, the fact remains that AIDS is a much
UCHICAGO
more expensive disease to treat than are the others. Yet, all the aforementioned diseases – AIDS,
diarrhea, pneumonia, malaria – are preventable: AIDS with safe sex practices and drugs for
mothers, diarrhea with clean water, pneumonia
with vaccines and malaria with drugs and the
use of bed nets. Diarrhea requires a one-time
investment into clean water and hygienic sewage for any given community, which might be
expensive, but could easily recoup its own cost
as these simple but effective measures reduced
the prevalence of the disease. Vaccines, such as
the one for pneumonia, must be distributed on
a case-by-case basis, but once it is eliminated
from an area, it often never returns, as is clear
from the example of the United States. Bed
nets are extremely inexpensive, and hugely
reduce the rate of malaria if used correctly. But
stopping the spread of HIV and AIDS requires
continued education, voluntary implementation of safe sexual practices and an intensive
Malaria - 1 million deaths a year. Shouldn’t we be doing more? Reproduced from [29]
drug regimen.
The treatments themselves put the disdisease. The very next year, the annual health report focused
connect between disease fatality and funding for treatment on child mortality, noting that almost 11 million children
into sharper perspective. Oral Rehydration Salts, the most under the age of five die each year [15]. An emphasis on
widely accepted treatment for acute diarrhea, cost 8 cents per child mortality would necessarily include a focus on AIDS,
person. Pneumonia antibiotics generally cost $1 a day, and as this disease kills 270,000 children each year. However, the
only have to be taken for a few weeks [10]. Malarial drugs artificial division created by emphasizing them separately
are more expensive, about $4 a day, but a new program has quickly gives rise to allotment of funding that equates one
been implemented that combines pressure on drug companies disease, AIDS, with the rest of the illnesses that affect chiland subsidies to make them cost approximately 5 cents [11]. dren. AIDS is still extremely important, and needs funding,
By comparison, an HIV cocktail in the United States costs but these other diseases are being unfairly dismissed. The
thousands of dollars a month. UNAIDS estimates that to problem is that, as separate causes, any money donated
treat and care for all Africans infected with HIV/AIDS in to combat AIDS is not given to alleviate any other disease
a given year would cost $1.5 billion [12]. Implementing and vice versa.
prevention programs and antiretroviral therapy would cost
Secondly, societal perspectives on the issues, which
billions more. From a strictly utilitarian perspective, money often inform political decision-making, seem to be playing
allocated to fight malaria, pneumonia, diarrhea and other a large part. AIDS is at the forefront of the national and
preventable, curable diseases would help and save more global consciousness. Google Trends, for example, a fairly
accurate measure of internet-user sentiment, puts searches
for “AIDS” and “HIV” at 4 to 10 times more frequent than
Money allocated to combat
“malaria”, “pneumonia” or “diarrhea” [16]. Similarly, the
New York Times has published almost 6,000 articles dealing
pneumonia was not even
with AIDS in the last 27 years, with articles on the subject
listed on the USAID site
of diarrhea numbering just 48 [17]. The reasons are varied.
Tropical diseases have been a part of the human condition
people than money given to fight AIDS. As Nigerian Presi- for hundreds of years, whereas the first known cases of AIDS
dent Olesegun Obasanjo noted, “It should be recognized were discovered in 1981. Another aspect of popular pressure
that given the nexus of malaria and HIV/AIDS, it makes is the fact that AIDS is still a problem in the US, whereas the
no practical sense to spend so much on one while leaving other diseases mentioned are not, and furthermore, while the
the other underfunded” [13].
tropical diseases mostly affect children, AIDS is widespread
There are four main reasons why AIDS is overly em- across the age spectrum, and in fact mostly affects people
phasized. The first is that it is treated as separate from other of prime working and child-bearing age [18].
diseases. The 2004 annual World Health report from the World
Thirdly, lobbyists fighting for more funding for AIDS apHealth Organization (WHO) addressed AIDS and the need pear to have been hugely successful. As Philip Lee, University
for a comprehensive strategy to stop and reverse the spread of California at San Francisco professor of social medicine
of this pandemic. It asked for expanded treatment, more says on the subject, “The system is a political process”[19].
community involvement and further integration of different There is not one AIDS lobby, but rather multiple organizasources of knowledge [14]. In order to achieve such a goal, tions that have formed powerful coalitions, such as National
the WHO called on the international community to respond Organizations Responding to AIDS, which has over 170
quickly, with money and aid, so as to effectively fight the member organizations [20]. They even have specific lobby
UCHICAGO
days in Congress, which are May 24 through June 3 [21]. Just
last year, in Massachusetts, over 500 people lobbied their
state Congress for the yearly AIDS Lobby Day on behalf
Popular opinion is a major
factor in the way money is
allocated to combat disease
of Project AIDS Budget Legislative Effort (ABLE) [22]. The
AIDS Action Council claims to have successfully helped in
the reauthorization of the CARE Act and attained agreement
in House of Representatives for removing a ban on funding
of syringe exchange programs in Washington, DC. Their
mission involves “advocacy on a national level” and they
profess to have assisted in implementing important public
health policies in the United States [23]. A centralized source
of information on South African NGOs called NGO pulse
runs a class called the Advanced HIV and AIDS Lobbying
and Advocacy Course [24]. This is but one example, but it
is indicative of a broader trend. There is no malaria lobby,
pneumonia lobby or diarrhea lobby; such lobbies simply
do not exist.
All such causes are in desperate need of funds, and
charitable policies of any kind should be encouraged as
much as possible. At the same time, there is also the matter of responsible giving. Good intentions are not enough.
Political decisions, even if made in the name of doing good
for people around the world, generally ought to be done on
the basis of good evidence. When money is given with as
much thought to the status of the cause as the help that is
needed, there is a substitution of opinion for fact. Ezekiel
Emanuel, a bioethicist, calls the ignored issues “mundane
but deadly diseases,” emphasizing not only the danger of
these illnesses but also the effect that social approval has on
References
1. NIAID Malaria Research Program.” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious
Disease. October 30, 2009. http://www3.niaid.nih.gov/topics/Malaria/
2. “Global HIV/AIDS estimates.” AVERT. January, 2008. http://www.avert.org/
worldstats.htm
3. “Deaths from Diarrhea.” Wrong Diagnosis. January, 2005. http://www.
wrongdiagnosis.com/d/diarrhea/deaths.htm
4. “Global HIV/AIDS estimates.” AVERT. January, 2008. http://www.avert.org/
worldstats.htm
5. Dugger, Cecilia. “As Donors Focus on AIDS, Child Illnesses Languish.”
New York Times. October 29, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/30/
world/30child.html?_r=2&scp=1&sq=AIDS childhood mortality&st=cse
6. “Report on funding for AIDS by G8 countries and other major donors.” Kaiser
Family Foundation & UNAIDS. July, 13, 2009. http://www.unaids.org/en/
KnowledgeCentre/Resources/FeatureStories/archive/2009/20090708_kaiser_
G8.asp
7. “Funding.” USAID. November 20, 2009. http://www.usaid.gov/our_work/
global_health/pop/funding/index.html
8. “AIDS funding from national governments,.” AVERT. November 19, 2009.
http://www.avert.org/aids-funding.htm
9. U.S. Federal Funding for HIV/AIDS: The FY 2007
Budget Request. February, 2006. http://74.125.95.132/
search?q=cache:Phsd8QOPH18J:www.kff.org/hivaids/upload/7029-03.
pdf+AIDS+funding+us+research&cd=1&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us&client=firefox-a
10. “Pneumonia Treatments and Drugs.” Mayo Clinic. May 9, 2009. http://www.
mayoclinic.com/health/pneumonia/DS00135/DSECTION=treatments-and-drugs
11. McNeil, Donald. “Plan Tries to Lower Malaria Drug Cost.” New York Times.
April 17, 2009. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/04/17/health/18malaria.html
12. Hernandez, Julia. “The High Cost of AIDS Drugs in Africa.” July 23, 2001.
http://www.law.uh.edu/healthlaw/perspectives/HIVAIDS/010723.html
13. “Africa-malaria-funding: One billion dollars a year needed on malaria:
summit.” Agence France-Press. April 25, 2000. http://www.aegis.com/NEWS/
AFP/2000/AF000477.html
14. “Annual World Health Organization Report: 2004.” World Health
the attention and support they receive [25]. Philanthropists
are free to distribute their monies as they wish, but the
federal government of the United States must be held to a
higher standard. Obasanjo’s message, given in the year 2000
at a world summit on malaria is still relevant. As he said,
“Africans have consistently put it to the world that malaria
is the number one health problem. When recognition of the
HIV/AIDS virus came to the fore, Africans continued with
their message that malaria was still killing more people. But
we went unheeded”[26].
It seems to be a fact that popular opinion is a major
factor in the way money is allocated to combat disease, one
that is perhaps stronger than how the money can be used
to save the most lives. The future of change in this area is
the molding of public opinion to make underfunded diseases as well known as those such as AIDS. People who feel
that these other, ignored, diseases need more attention and
funding are likely to create organizations dedicated solely
to one of these problems. This focus demonstrates the importance of each particular illness. Then, coalitions can form
and eventually give rise to lobbies, which can affect political decisions. More importantly, the rise of organizations in
relation to one disease, for example, malaria, should work
to raise awareness and disseminate important information.
In this way, it will become part of the national consciousness
and relevant evidence, such as that found in this article, will
become common knowledge among both the public and
politicians. These strategies have been used successfully by
those concerned, rightfully, about AIDS, and they can be
appropriated for use to fight other diseases. When all of the
causes are equally well-known, then the relative importance
and opportunity costs will be brought into question and
funds may be allocated more fairly.
Chana Messinger is an undergraduate at University of Chicago.
Organization.” January, 2005. http://www.who.int/whr/2004/en/
15. “Annual World Health Organization Report: 2005.” World Health
Organization.” January, 2006. http://www.who.int/whr/2005/en/
16. “Google Trends.” Google Trends. November 20, 2009. http://www.google.
com/trends?q=AIDS%2C+HIV%2C+malaria%2C+pneumonia%2C+diarrhea
17. “Diseases, Conditions, and Health Topics.” New York Times.
January 24, 2010. http://topics.nytimes.com/topics/news/health/
diseasesconditionsandhealthtopics/aids/index.html?s=oldest&
18. “AIDS & HIV Statistics for the USA by Race and Age.” AVERT. January 24,
2010. http://www.avert.org/usa-race-age.htm
19. Thompson, Dick. “The AIDS Political Machine.” Time Magazine. January 22,
1990. http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,969229-2,00.html
20. “National Organizations Responding to AIDS.” NORA.
http://www.aidsaction.org/legislation/nora.htm
21. “National AIDS Lobby Days.” AIDS.org. http://www.aids.org/atn/a-126-03.
html
22. Jacobs, Ethan. “As funding cuts take toll, AIDS lobby day brings huge crowd
to State House.” AIDS Education Global Information System. February 5, 2009.
http://www.aegis.com/news/bayw/2009/BY090201.html
23. “About AIDS Action.” AIDS Action. http://www.aidsaction.org/about-aidsaction-mainmenu-187
24. “RECABIP: Advanced HIV and AIDS Lobbying and Advocacy Course.” NGO
Pulse. December 3, 2008. http://www.ngopulse.org/event/recabip-advanced-hivand-aids-lobbying-and-advocacy-course
25. “Google Trends.” Google Trends. November 20, 2009. http://www.google.
com/trends?q=AIDS%2C+HIV%2C+malaria%2C+pneumonia%2C+diarrhea
26. Dugger, Cecilia. “As Donors Focus on AIDS, Child Illnesses Languish.” New
York Times. October 29, 2009.
27. “Africa-malaria-funding: One billion dollars a year needed on malaria:
summit.” Agence France-Press. April 25, 2000. http://www.aegis.com/NEWS/
AFP/2000/AF000477.html
28. CC- BY-NC, Wellcome Images, N0019877 . http://images.wellcome.ac.uk/
29. PD, Michgan State-Gov. Available from: http://www.michigan.gov/images/
mosquito_65147_7.jpg
UCHICAGO
YALE
Through a Baby’s Eyes:
Studies in Infant Cognition
Megan Altizer
B
abies. They inspire cooing and melt even the hardest
of hearts. Although one would hardly expect to look
behind those big round eyes and heads of peach fuzz
to find answers about cognition, in recent decades psychologists have looked to infants to unravel the mystery of basic
human cognition and development.
Initially, methodology appears to be a large roadblock in
understanding how babies could contribute to this research.
Without the ability to speak, how can one expect infants to
aid in the advancement of human cognition? The solution
developed by psychologists to overcome this seeming difficulty in communication is perhaps one of the most ingenious innovations in developmental psychology, and it lies
behind those big round eyes: a technique called “looking
time”. Babies look longer at objects that they find novel or
surprising. Psychologists have harnessed this basic fact
and created experiments that exploit this idea in order to
understand developmental cognition. The following three
experiments, merely a handful of short profiles from the
vast body of work in infant cognition, can lend understanding to exactly how this type of technique is used and what
psychologists can learn from infants.
The first profile, one of the most well known infant
cognition studies, was conducted by Karen Wynn of Yale
University and reveals that the surprisingly complex abili-
ties of infants extend even to mathematics. This looking
time study investigated the mathematical abilities of infants
approximately five months of age. The experiment began
with the placement of a single object, in this case a Mickey
Mouse doll, on a stage. A screen was then raised to hide
the first doll from view. A second doll was then added on
the stage; though it was placed behind the screen and out
of sight, it passed through the view of the infant as it was
placed onstage. Once the screen was dropped, the scene
either featured a possible outcome, the two dolls that the
infant had seen placed on stage, or an impossible outcome, a
single doll. Results indicated that infants looked significantly
longer at the impossible outcome, suggesting that this scene
surprised them, or violated their expectations.
In order to gain more convincing evidence, the infants
were exposed to a second condition involving the reverse
arithmetic situation. The experiment was repeated with a
new introductory scene with two dolls. A screen was again
raised, but this time infants saw a hand removing one object
from behind the screen. The screen then dropped to reveal
a single object (possible) or two objects (impossible). Again,
infants looked significantly longer at the impossible outcome.
Wynn noted that it is possible that such results indicated an
ability to “calculate the results of a continuous amount of
physical amount of substance” rather than concrete math-
Babies - they’re clever enough to manipulate adults! Reproduced from [4]
YALE
The structure of the brain. Reproduced from [5]
ematical abilities [1]. In other words, it is possible that the
babies understood that one plus one is some amount more
than one, but not necessarily two. As a result, in order to
test this hypothesis, Wynn conducted a third experiment.
This final condition was similar to the first, except that the
impossible result featured three dolls instead of one. That
is to say, it was a test of the infants understanding of the
equation one plus one equals two, not three. Yet again,
infants looked longer at the impossible event which featured three dolls where there should have been two. This
increased looking time at the impossible scenario suggests
than infants are computing in discrete mathematical terms;
they do not simply conceptualize the idea that addition
results in something more than one or subtraction results
in something less than two or three. Wynn wrote that such
results suggest an innate mathematical capacity in humans,
one which “may provide foundations for the development
of further arithmetical knowledge”[1].
Additional experiments have shown that infants exhibit a basic understanding of physical concepts as well. In
order to understand the principles governing the physical
world around them, infants develop categories in which to
classify events. These categories, which include occlusion
(the hiding of one object behind another), containment (in
which one object is placed inside another), and covering (in
which an object is covered by a rigid screen), are understood
through the attribution of variables including height and
transparency. Through various looking time experiments,
scientists have found that infants process these categories
through a module – when watching an event occur, they
make a model of this event in their mind in order to predict
the outcome of the event. This model is then analyzed
through the principles the infant has previously learned
about that category. Variables, like occlusion, containment,
and covering, are then included in the model as well. While
the understanding of which variables are important generReferences:
1. Wynn K Addition and Subtraction by Human Infants. Nature. 1992 August 27;
358: 749-50.
2. Baillargeon R, Infants’ Physical World. Current Directions In Psychological
Science. 2004 June; 13 (3): 89-94.
ally develops with age, evidence suggests that two physical
principles are innate. These principles include continuity,
the idea that “objects exist continuously in time and space”
and solidity, the idea that “for two objects to each exist continuously, the two cannot exist at the same time in the same
space” [2]. While these findings may at first seem abstract
and rather useless, Renee Baillargeon, a distinguished Professor at the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign, found
possible teaching value in these experiments. By providing
key conditions to infants viewing physical events, scientists
were able to successfully teach infants about their physical
world at a younger age.
Other experiments highlight the infants’ social knowledge. A now famous infant cognition study was conducted
in 2003 by Valerie Kuhlmeir, formerly a postdoctoral student
at Yale University, now of Queen’s University, along with
Karen Wynn and Paul Bloom, both of Yale University. It
investigated the infant’s ability to understand the goals of
others. In order to do understand the goals of others, it is
essential that humans are able to posit the others internal
beliefs, including emotions and intentions, which often drive
certain behaviors. This experiment, a computer animation, involved a ball attempting to “climb” a hill. The ball
was then helped or hindered by other shapes. In a second
movie, the ball would move next to either the shape that
helped it or the shape that hindered it. Through looking
Babies look longer at
objects that they find
novel or surprising
time measurements, it was found that infants 12 months
of age showed a preference for the video in which the ball
moved next to the helper shape, rather than the shape that
hindered it. Analysis of these results suggests that these
infant attributed mental states and goals to the shapes, and
therefore preferred the video which provided a more logical
continuation of the first video – the ball associated with its
helper, not its hinderer. The psychologist conducting the
study concluded that infants could not only “recognize a
goal event, but also to later infer a new disposition in a new
situation” [3].
It is through studies like those described above that
psychologists are better able to understand the development of the human mind and the tug of war between nature
and nurture. One would hardly expect such a wealth of
knowledge to stem from such adorable sources, but this
research is a testament to the ingenuity and persistence of
psychologists in the field. One can only wait with curiosity
to see what infant cognition research can reveal about the
human psyche in the future.
Megan Altizer is a sophomore in Silliman College at Yale
University.
3. Bloom P, Kuhlmeier V, Wynn K. Attribution of dispositional states by 12 month
olds. Psychological Science. 2003 September; 14 (5); 402-8.
4. PD, US-Gov. Available from: http://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/00_images/
Upset%20babies.jpg
5. PD, US-Gov. Available from: http://www.drugabuse.gov/ResearchReports/
marijuana/ReceptorBrain.jpg
CAMBRIDGE
YALE
Are Environmental Charities Useful?
Francesca Day
F
or the past few years, 3% of charitable donations in
the UK have been directed at environmental or ‘green’
charities [1]. This term covers charities with a wide
range of mission statements, from Friends of the Earth’s
ambitions to ‘ensure environmental and social justice, human
dignity, and respect for human rights’, to the Soil Association’s
more specific objective to ‘raise awareness, and develop and
safeguard the entire organic sector’ [2-3]. Do these varying
goals merit their classification as ‘environmental’? And how
do these organisations’ actions compare with their mission
statements?
The primary activity of most green charities is the
organisation of a wide variety of campaigns in the hope
of changing both government policy and individuals’ lifestyles so that they are more in keeping with the goals of
that organisation. The larger charities can have a significant
influence on both of these targets, so it is important that
their policies are carefully constructed to be as beneficial
as possible for long-term sustainability. This requires that
they are evidence-based and that they are able to change
as the available evidence or context changes.
There is little doubt that one of the largest environmental
threats facing the modern world is that of climate change
[4], and this area has naturally been given a lot of attention by green charities. For example, Friends of the Earth
were key players in the introduction of the 2008 Climate
Nuclear Power - what is the risk? Reproduced from [24]
Change Act in the UK, which aims to cut greenhouse gas
emissions by 80% by 2050 [5-6]. More recently, in May 2010
Greenpeace campaigners played a key role in convincing
the UK government to scrap its expansion of the Heathrow,
Gatwick and Stansted airports [7]. Airport expansion might
well have been a bad move in the battle against climate
change but it is not possible to know the true usefulness
In all cases, merely
pointing out the problem is
not sufficient
of Greenpeace’s intervention – the UK aviation prevented
by the lack of expansion could well be provided by other
countries, if the market for it exists. Such measures may be
excellent for raising awareness, but they do not have the
long term impact promised by the legislative approach. Of
course, we have yet to see whether the targets set out in the
Climate Change Act will be met. In all cases, merely pointing out the problem is not sufficient – we need long-term,
integrated solutions that are compatible with technological and social constraints. Accordingly, Greenpeace offers
a number of suggestions for renewable energy generation
(such as wind, wave and tidal power), in addition to their
dramatic campaigning [8].
Unless we are prepared to return to a pre-industrial
way of living, some method of energy production that does
not involve the net emission of greenhouse gases is required.
Depending on how much energy we are able to generate in
this way, significant increases in energy efficiency may also
be needed, generated both by technological advances and
lifestyle changes. In the short term, this increase in efficiency
will almost certainly be needed to reduce the emission of
green house gases from the fossil fuels we still burn. The
main role of the environmental movement here has been to
put pressure on organisations and individuals to reduce their
‘carbon footprint’ through a variety of lifestyle and business
changes. However, some potential short term solutions are
not welcomed by everyone in the environmental movement.
For example, Greenpeace is against all forms of nuclear
power – including the development of nuclear fusion [9,
10]. Nuclear power has been responsible for some terrible
tragedies and produces radioactive waste that is troublesome
to dispose of. However, nuclear power does not directly
produce greenhouse gases, and is therefore a promising
candidate as a short term, and possibly long term, method
of energy generation. There is certainly a debate to be had on
nuclear power, but the opposing environmental movement
does not recognise the complexity of the issue and does not
acknowledge the possibility that technological advances
could eliminate some of the current problems of nuclear
power [11]. To date, the opposition from the environmental
CAMBRIDGE
movement has not stopped
governments from continuing with their nuclear power
programmes. For example,
the UK energy secretary
Chris Huhne has recently announced plans to open new
nuclear power plants by 2018
[12]. Italian Prime Minister
Silvio Berlusconi, backed by
public opinion, plans to restart
production of nuclear power
in Italy, which was rejected
after the Chenobyl disaster in
1986 [13]. Perhaps in this case
environmental charities provide a much needed opposing
voice to remind politicians of
safety concerns as they push
for nuclear expansion.
One of Greenpeace’s
aims is to ‘promote open,
informed debate about society’s environmental choices’
– undoubtedly a worthy
sentiment. But their actions
do not always live up to this
sentiment [14]. For example,
Greenpeace is very openly
against any form of genetic
engineering (GE), despite the
fact that the general scientific
consensus is that, while some
applications of GE could be
harmful, there is nothing inherently dangerous about it
[15]. In fact, there is research
to suggest that various GE
crops could be beneficial for
the environment, for example
by use in conjunction with
‘no-till’ farming, in which the
soil is not ploughed or turned
A well-meaning protest - but what about the science? Reproduced from [25]
over [16]. With regard to both
nuclear power and GE, Greenpeace is not ‘promoting open crop yield in some areas [17]. Destruction of natural habitats
debate’, but vehemently defending their chosen point of view. can damage eco-systems that are useful to humanity, and it
Furthermore, by taking such a one-sided stance, Greenpeace also prevents future generations from enjoying the world’s
may be blocking environmentally beneficial technology.
natural beauty. This seems to be compelling reason enough
Friends of the Earth advertises the seemingly admi- for making environmental protection our highest priority.
rable vision of a ‘peaceful and sustainable world based on
However, there is also a tendency within the environsocieties living in harmony with nature’ [2]. One would mental movement, and elsewhere, to imply that ‘Nature’
be hard-pressed to argue with the desire for the future to as an actual entity is working for the good of humanity and
be ‘peaceful and sustainable’, but ‘living in harmony with is somehow hurt when we emit greenhouse gases, destroy
nature’ is more problematic. This idea, which is common to rainforests, or pollute rivers. People are thus led to the conmany supporters of the environmental movement, raises the clusion that ‘natural’ things must be inherently better than
question: ‘Why are we protecting the environment?’. The ‘artificial’ things. This attitude is particularly prevalent in
obvious reason is to ensure the happiness – and perhaps relation to food. For example, ‘organic’ farming is often
even survival – of this and future generations. For example, praised as being more ‘natural’ than conventional farming
climate change caused by human activity may cause, and [18]. This is surely true for certain definitions of ‘natural’.
could well already be causing, a host of major and potentially However, whether ‘natural’ agriculture (an oxymoron in
lethal problems such as ‘natural’ disasters and decreased itself!) is desirable is questionable. Humans have spent
CAMBRIDGE
thousands of years breeding plants so that they deviate
from their natural state as much as possible. This was necessary because plants that existed before the invention of
agriculture generally needed to be poisonous or innutritious
to ensure their survival.
It at first may appear logical to suppose that returning
The blame tends to be
placed on large organisations
rather than individuals
to a ‘natural’ way of living would sort out our environmental
problems – after all, wasn’t it non-natural human activity
that got us into this mess? Indeed, if all humans were to
instantly cease to exist, man-made green-house gas emissions and deforestation would plummet. It is also true that
humans have lived ‘naturally’ for thousands of years, and
throughout this time there have been no global man-made
environmental crises. However, we should not forget that this
‘natural’ lifestyle led to high rates of disease and malnutrition, even within the relatively small global population at
that time. Today’s population needs technological solutions
if we are to continue to survive in a sustainable manner
without widespread suffering.
Another issue is that of responsibility and blame. While
green charities are good at encouraging the public to make
small lifestyle changes to reduce their carbon footprint, they
have also developed the theme that the main culprits are
large organisations and governments. In fact, the ‘what you
can do’ section of the Greenpeace website contains only
suggestions of donations, fundraising and campaigning,
outlining possible measures to directly reduce environmental
impact elsewhere on the website. Some potentially effective
personal choices, such as eating less meat and dairy, or having
fewer children are very rarely mentioned by the mainstream
environmental movement as a whole [19-21]. These measures
may seem less appealing to the public than merely turning
References:
1. The impact of the recession on charitable giving in the UK . Charities Aid Foundation
and National Council for Voluntary Organisations; November 2009.
2. Friends of the Earth [Online]. [Cited 2010 Aug 8th]; Available from: URL: http://
www.foei.org/en/who-we-are/about/mission_statement.html
3. Soil Association [Online]. [Cited 2010 Aug 8th]; Available from: URL: http://www.
soilassociation.org/Aboutus/Whoweare/tabid/66/Default.aspx
4. Understanding and Responding to Climate Change. United States National Academy
of Sciences; 2008
5. BBC News [Online]. 2006 October 12th [Cited 2010 Aug 8th]; Available from: URL:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/6045680.stm
6. Committee on Climate Change [Online]. [Cited 2010 Aug 8th]; Available from:
URL: http://www.theccc.org.uk/about-the-ccc/climate-change-act
7. Greenpeace [Online]. [Cited 2010 Aug 8th]; Available from: URL: http://www.
greenpeace.org.uk/blog/climate/third-runway-we-won-20100513
greenpeace.org.uk/climate/solutions/renewable-energy
greenpeace.org/international/en/campaigns/nuclear/
greenpeace.org/international/press/releases/ITERprojectFrance/
11. Grimes RW, Nuttall WJ. Generating the Option of a Two-Stage Nuclear Renaissance.
Science 2010 Aug 13th; 329: 799 – 803
12. BBC News [Online]. 2010 Aug 9th [Cited 2010 Aug 13th]; Available from: URL:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-10910898
13. BBC News [Online]. 2010 Aug 6th [Cited 2010 Aug 13th]; Available from: URL:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-10841533
off light switches and recycling, but they deserve a mention
by any organisation committed to environmental protection. Similarly, public opinion cannot be logically used as
a measure for assessing the usefulness or safety of an idea
(as in “consumers have rejected GM [genetically modified]
foods outright”) [22]. This is particularly fallacious when it
is the campaigning of that same charity that has partially
caused this trend in public opinion.
Looking through the websites of leading environmental charities, we can see that the blame for environmental
problems tends to be placed on large organisations rather
than the individuals consuming their products (“But still the
aviation industry wants more”) [23]. It is, of course, important
that all organisations are made to take responsibility for the
environmental consequences of their activities. However,
this can only happen if individuals stop living in a way that
supports these activities – for example by frequently using
aeroplanes. In fact, the opposition to GM mentioned above
stems partly from the fact that it is seen to benefit large
‘biotech companies’ – this is despite Greenpeace’s claims
to “have no permanent allies or adversaries” [22,14]. The
environmental movement should also consider that a few
large organisations have a greater potential for efficiency
than many small organisations, and also have a greater incentive to develop environmentally sound policies, as they
are always in the public eye.
For any organisation - and in particular any environmental charity - to be useful in the struggle to maintain a
safe and sustainable environment, it must avoid the
‘you are wrong and we are right’ approach by forming
policies based on relevant evidence, rather than popularity
considerations. It is easy to become angry or sentimental
about our environment and planet, but the threats we face
must be understood and countered through scientific reasoning.
Francesca Day is a second year student studying Physical Natural
Sciences at St. Catherine’s College. She is also the Executive Chair
of The Triple Helix, Cambridge.
greenpeace.org/international/en/about/our-core-values/
15. Käppeli O ,Auberson L. How safe is safe enough in plant genetic engineering?
Trends in Plant Science 1998 July 1; 3(7): 276 – 281.
16. Trewavas A. A critical assessment of organic farming and food assertions with
particular respect to the UK and the potential environmental benefits of no-till
agriculture. Crop Protection 2004 Jan 21; 23: 757 – 781.
17. McMichael AJ, Woodruff RE, Hales S. Climate change and human health: present
and future risks. Lancet 2006 Feb 9th; 367: 859–69
18. Directorate General for Agriculture and Rural Development of the European
Commission [Online]. [Cited 2010 Aug 8th]; Available from: URL: http://ec.europa.
eu/agriculture/organic/organic-farming/what-organic_en
greenpeace.org.uk/what-you-can-do
20. Juliette Jowit. Why eating less meat could cut global warming. The Observer 2007
Nov 11th; Available from: URL: http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2007/
nov/11/food.climatechange
21. BBC News [Online]. 2009 Feb 2nd [Cited 2010 Aug 8th]; Available from: URL:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7865332.stm
greenpeace.org.uk/gm
23. Greenpeace [Online]. [Cited 2010 Sep 16th]; Available from: URL: http://www.
greenpeace.org.uk/climate/what-we-are-doing
24. CC-BY-NC-ND, Koert Michiels. Available from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/
koertmichiels/1516321778/
25. CC-BY, Greenpeace Italia. Available from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/
greenpeace_italia/3074584116/
CAMBRIDGE
The Achilles Heel of the Patient-Care Process
Kate Wiles
G
rant Achatz, a famous chef, once declared in an interview that he would rather die than lose his taste
buds, but faced with such a choice Achatz refused
to accept either. At 35, he had noticed a white spot on the
underside of his tongue and within a few months, half of the
tongue was a white, crusty texture. Despite being a young,
healthy male with no history of risk factors, five doctors
confirmed that he indeed had cancer of the tongue and
informed him that his only treatment option was to have his
For diseases such as
diabetes, compliance is
absolutely vital
entire tongue removed. Adamant that radiation therapy was
more suitable, Achatz headed to Chicago where he pursued
a course of chemotherapy. The drugs left him weak and,
for the better part of a year, Achatz lost all sense of taste.
Despite feeling uncomfortable and uncertain at times of
his treatment, Achatz persevered and today is not only the
head Chef of a restaurant ranked 7th in the world but has
also recovered full use of his tongue [1].
Grant Achatz’s story throws into light the involvement
that many patients take in their own treatment. Sometimes
at-home therapy (particularly after more aggressive treatments) is left in the hands of the individual, with life-altering
consequences. Statistically, the repercussions of patient noncompliance are staggering: 10-20% of all hospital and nursing
home admissions, totaling 340 deaths per day, are directly
due to this phenomenon [2]. Even more worrisome is the
number of pregnancies (almost 20%) resulting in patients
not taking prescribed contraceptives [3]. In totality, these
figures sum to a hefty estimate of between $100 billion and
$300 billion a year of unnecessary healthcare costs in the
US [4-6].
‘Non-compliance’ now has a two-fold definition: first,
the failure to follow a drug regimen, and second, the failure
to adopt other measures that contribute to improvement
in health [7]. There are a variety of techniques that have
attempted to control the former, but they have often come
with ethical questions. For example, the tendency to provide exhaustive information on healthcare leaflets, especially regarding side effects, may make medications sound
more dangerous than they actually are [7]. In a survey of
412 members of the Swedish Society of Oncology, 45% of
doctors believed that patients would not participate if fully
cognizant of all aspects of the study [8]. Nevertheless, fewer
than half of the patients actually understood the concept
of “randomization” in a test trial following the explanation
by the doctor [8]. Regardless of the amount of information
given, non-compliers make up a statistically significant and
constant population.
For those with medical conditions that necessitate constant
control, such as diabetes, compliance is absolutely vital. For
diabetics, failure to take insulin arises in approximately 28%
of patients [9]. Furthermore, there is a direct link between
poor glycaemia control, acute hospital admission for diabetic
ketoacidosis, and acute complications related to diabetes [9].
In one of the most comprehensive studies ever done in the
United States, it was demonstrated that males and females
are both just as non-compliant. There is, however, a strong
age dependence--adolescents from ages ten to twenty report
a much lower adherence index than any other age group
[9]. Commonly cited explanations for non-compliance were
weight loss strategies, manipulation, recklessness, error, or
fatigue in the daily battle against diabetes. This study did
not even take into account the 5% of patients who—after
diagnosis—default from clinical follow-up and are at the
highest risk for acute complications. These patients, unlike so
many of their fellows, are faced with following medication
throughout their entire lives and, perhaps unsurprisingly,
are particularly vulnerable to non-adherence. Very little,
other than increasing exposure to healthcare professionals
and addressing medication in a formal setting (at a higher
cost), can be done to ensure that teenagers, as the highest
risk group, comply with their medication strategies [9].
One area where information does make a difference
is in drug leaflets. Some patients who sit anxiously in the
doctor’s office thumbing and re-thumbing through the leaflets will even sometimes go online and, after reading the
interpretations of other untrained sufferers, decide to only
take half the dose for half the time [7]. Lastly, the “nocebo”
effect where a patient’s predisposition is the key to physical
and psychological side effects has been shown in several
studies to have a serious impact on a patient’s choice of
continuing treatment [7]. Luckily, there is a fairly clear and
well-studied procession for those eager to address the power
of the written word: reassess the current recommendations
and make them easier to access, more readable in laymen’s
term, and, above all, entirely truthful.
Healthcare leaflets may
make medications sound more
dangerous than they are
The question then naturally arises—why do so many
individuals knowingly postpone, skip, or stop taking medications that could save their lives? In a complex study involving
at-home leg physiotherapy, patients were interviewed through
an initial phase with a therapist and then on their own as
the study progressed [10]. In the beginning, most attempted
to comply either out of an altruistic sense of responsibility
toward the study or in order to please the therapist. When
the therapy moved to the home, however, most patients only
CAMBRIDGE
Medical advice leaflets - encouraging hypochondriacs? Reproduced from [14]
incorporated the exercises that were easiest, that showed
some immediate benefit, or that fit in with their lifestyle [10].
Some struggled to complete any whatsoever. This result corroborates with current sociological thinking—that patients
follow treatment based on their experiences, their beliefs,
and how the treatment fits into their daily routine, and this
behavior does not bode well for a society-wide culling of
non-compliance [10].
Finally, the most harrowing reason for patient noncompliance is historical instances of negligence by healthcare
providers. Between the years 2000 and 2002 an estimated
195,000 patients died in hospital due to medical malpractice
[11]. 400,000 preventable drug-related acts of negligence
occur each year. A further 800,000 occur in long-term care
settings, and roughly 530,000 occur just among patients over
the age of 50 placed in outpatient clinics [12].
In the United States, the Tuskegee Syphilis Trial shook
the trust of African Americans in healthcare providers—
particularly as regards clinical studies. In Tuskegee, nearly
400 patients were observed until death for nearly 40 years in
order to assess the clinical effects of long-term syphilis [13].
The patients were not told that they had a specific disease
that is transmitted through sexual intercourse nor that the
disease could be passed from mother to child. Furthermore,
the men were deliberately denied treatment (penicillin)
when antibiotics emerged after World War II. In the modern context, the result of deep-seated fear led major African
American newspapers as well as some doctors and even a
television programme to assert, in 1991, that AIDS was a
form of genocide created by mankind to curb their population. As a result, the SCLC (Southern Christian Leadership
Conference), a civil rights group set up by Martin Luther
King, was given funding by the Centre for Disease Control
in order to provide HIV education. In their studies, they
discovered that, at the time, while 35% believed that AIDS
was a genocide (with 30% believing that HIV was a manmade
virus), another 30% were unsure, and 44% believed that the
government was lying about HIV while another 35% were
unsure [13]. In particular, when HIV-infected women were
encouraged not to have children and to use contraception,
they misinterpreted this as a suppression of reproductive
rights [13]. These results prompted the SCLC to report to the
CDC that mistrust from African Americans could be a cause
for serious concern for health officials. Within this context,
the SCLC advised that healthcare professionals must be
aware of the levels of mistrust and be informed about the
details of the Tuskegee trial [13].
While this discussion has attempted to address what—
on a global level—the caregiver can do in order to address
noncompliance, patients such as Grant Achatz provide an
example of how the patient-provider relationship has changed.
Although the professional is almost always more informed
and more experienced, patients are able (due to the internet,
extensive publications, and speedier methods of communication), to learn about all of their options and make decisions
accordingly. Just as patients must play an active partnership
CAMBRIDGE
role in their treatment, so too
must healthcare professionals
know their patients’ medical
care rights and act on them. It
has been recommended that,
while professionals should be
entirely truthful about potential and clinically relevant side
effects, so too must patients
ask for a record of the drugs
they have been prescribed including a print record of all
medication [8]. Patients should
also maintain a list of dietary
supplements, over-the-counter
medications, and hormonal
contraceptive methods that
may affect their patient care
[8]. Fundamentally, if a trustworthy relationship is to be
built, personal responsibility
exists on both sides.
Given that each individual follows a course of
action that seems in keeping
with his or her lifestyle, it is
somewhat surprising that noncompliance is such a pervasive
outcome that consistently affects around 30% of those
administering treatment to
themselves [2]. Millions of Antibiotics - how many of us actually complete the course? Reproduced from [15]
pounds have gone into adstrains, it is becoming increasingly difficult to find panaceas
dressing non-adherence from a medical standpoint, as it is
for today’s society like penicillin was in the 1950s. Despite
widely accepted that increased compliance will lead not
better-phrased leaflets, more patient contact, and a number
of other strategies all aimed at increasing face contact with
patients, it is ultimately the individual’s responsibility to
Mistrust could be a cause
consider not only what is best for his or her own health, but
for serious concern for
also what can ultimately affect the world-wide population.
The solution is almost painfully simple: finish a treatment
health officials
course, unless otherwise advised by a doctor.
only to better patient health, but also to greater drug efficacy. With the rise of multi-resistant HIV and tuberculosis
Kate Wiles is a second year student studying Natural Sciences
at Trinity College. She is also the Editor-in-Chief of The Triple
Helix, Cambridge.
References:
1. Landau, Elizabeth. “How a top chef lost, regained his taste.” Date Published: 4 May
2010. Date Accessed: 24 August 2010. CNN.com. Available at: http://edition.cnn.
com/2010/HEALTH/05/03/alinea.chef.tongue.cancer/index.html?iref=allsearch
2. Zuger A. “The other drug problem: forgetting to take them.” New York Times.
June 2, 1998:C1.
3. Rosenberg M, Waugh MS, Long S. “Unintended pregnancies and, misuse and
discontinuation of oral contraceptives.” Journal of Reproductive Medicine 1995; 40:
355–360.
4. The Task Force for Noncompliance. “Noncompliance With Medications: An Economic
Tragedy With Important Implications for Health Care Reform.” Baltimore, MD: The
Task Force for Noncompliance; 1994.
5. DiMatteo MR. Variations in patients’ adherence to medical recommendations: a
quantitative review of 50 years of research. Med Care. March 2004;42:200-209.
6. Butler K. A spoonful of compliance helps keep costs down. WSJ CareerJournal.
com (From Employee Benefit News). Available at: http://www.careerjournal.com/
hrc enter/benefitnews/20050819-bn.html. Accessed August 19, 2010.
7. Verdu, A. “Non-compliance: a side affect of drug information leaflets”. Journal of
Medical Ethics 2004; 30:608-609.
8. Lynoe, N. “Clinical Cancer Research: Some aspects on doctors’ attitudes on informing
patients.” Acta Ontologica 1996; 35;6:749-756.
9. Salas, M. “Costs of Medication Nonadherence in Patients with Diabetes Mellitus:
A Systematic Review and Critical Analysis of the Literature”. Value in Health 2009;
12;6.
10. Campbell, R. “Why don’t patients do their exercises? Understanding non-compliance
with physiotherapy in patients with osteoarthritis of the knee”. Journal of Epidemiology
and Community Health 2001; 55:132-138.
11. Loughran, Sarah. “In Hospital Deaths from Medical Errors at 195,000 per Year in
USA”. Medical News Today. 2004. http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.
php ?newsid=11856. Retrieved 14 September 2010.
12. Bootman, J et al. “Medication Errors Injure 1.5 Million People and Cost Billions
of Dollars Annually”. The National Academy of Science. 2006. http://www8.
nationalacademie s.org/onpinews/newsitem.aspx?RecordID=11623. Accessed
September 14, 2010.
13. Thomas, Stephen and Sandra Quinn. “Public Health Then and Now The Tuskegee
Syphilis Study, 1932 to 1972: Implications for HIV Education and AIDS Risk Education
Programs in the Black Community.” American Journal of Public Health 1991; 81;11:14981505.
14.CC-BY-NC, Wellcome Images, N0036236. http://images.wellcome.ac.uk/
15. CC-BY-NC, Wellcome Images, N0021922. http://images.wellcome.ac.uk/
CAMBRIDGE
Reaching Out to Potential Scientists:
Why should we care?
Pete Matthews
“
A
t least ten of the current best selling drugs on the
market have Britons as their named inventors” [1].
Britain has long been amongst the world leaders in
the twin fields of the chemical and pharmaceutical industries;
however, if it is to keep its place, work must be done to target
a key group of individuals: 16-17 year olds.
At this age, adolescents are in the process of making
important decisions that will define their future careers,
particularly A-level and potential degree course choices.
Unfortunately, the current crop of GCSEs has been roundly
criticised by several scientific organisations. In 2008, the
Science Community Representing Education stated: “It is
astonishing that there are questions in our science GCSEs
that have no relation to science and that mathematics, the
cornerstone of sound scientific understanding, is so woefully
represented” [2].
The current crop of
GCSEs has been roundly
criticised by several scientific
organisations
Indeed, despite the money being spent and the
governmental drive to make sciences more accessible,
interesting and relevant to today’s youth, examinations still
appear to be a major source of contention. On the matter of
Key Stage 3 examinations (for 14 year olds) Royal Society
of Chemistry chief executive Richard Pike said: “This is
not just a matter of having questions of varying difficulty
to accommodate a wide range of ability within the student
cohort… which has become a feature of modern examinations.
Rather, even questions tailored for an ability range such as
tiers 3-6 in Key Stage 3 are far less demanding than reflected
in the content of text books written specifically for this range”
[3].
Reproduced from [17]
This style of question from the National Curriculum Key
Stage 3 exams, commonly known as SATs (from the 1991 name
of Standard Assessment Tests for 14 year olds), appears to set
the trend for all of the next three sets of major exams sat by
students [4]. On the other hand, research done by Durham
University, which analysed 250,000 A-level results showed
that it is easier to achieve the highest grades in subjects
such as Media Studies and Psychology than when sitting
Maths, Physics and Chemistry [5]. Studies like these make
it easy to see why several commentators suggest teachers
push students away from the sciences in order to raise the
school’s ranking in the league tables [6].
There have been several initiatives to increase the quality
and scope of teaching for science and Maths in schools. In
2009, the Department for Children, Schools and Families
claimed that “as a result of bursaries and golden hellos
the number of trainee science teachers recruited last year
reached more than 3,000, and applications were up so far this
year by 42 per cent compared with last year” [7]. However,
the number of applicants for a post-graduate certificate in
education (PGCE) in Chemistry dropped from 595 in 2006
to 513 in 2008 [8].
There has been mixed success in increasing the overall
Citizens in Battle - Call of Duty: Modern Warefare 2
CAMBRIDGE
numbers of students studying science at A-level and university.
For example, since 1996, the number of students studying
Chemistry has increased from 40,148 to 41,680, though as
The need for scientists to
showcase their talents and the
cutting-edge nature of their
work to students is very real
a percentage of the total number of A-level students there
has been a fall from 5.5% to 5%. A similar trend is seen in
the applications to UCAS for Chemistry degrees; in 2003
there were 2,434 applications (0.57% of all applicants),
rising to 3,399 (0.66%) in 2008, representing a 10-year high.
Unfortunately there has been a fall since 1996, when there
were 3,612 applications representing 0.93% of all UCAS
applications. These percentage falls reflect the fact that
rising numbers of students are continuing their education
to a higher level [8].
Schools and the exam system tend to shoulder the
majority of the burden when it comes to inspiring the next
generation of scientists. It may not be the role of exams to take
up this challenge, but in recent years, teaching and exams
have become inexorably linked. In 2008, a report by the
schools inspectorate, Ofsted, found that “too much teaching
concentrates on the acquisition of sets of disparate skills needed
to pass examinations” [9]. This does not mean that schools
should be the only group working to enthuse; there is more that
can be done outside the classroom to reach out to teenagers.
Institutions such as the University of Cambridge run Science
Festivals, though these tend to be focused more on the very
young, with flashes and
explosions being a staple
requirement. Elsewhere,
the Manchester Museum
of Science and Industry
has created the Joshua
Philips Award, which
was
founded
for
“innovation in science
engagement” [10]. Last
year it was presented
to David Price, a man
who tours schools in
the North performing
science shows and also
takes to the streets in
Manchester busking
about science. It is
probably true that in
the vast majority of
cases, shows, museums,
or even television
programmes like the
BBC’s ‘Bang Goes the
Theory’, will not be
the deciding factor in
influencing a 17-yearold’s decision to pursue
a future in science, but this does not mean that they should
be neglected.
The need for scientists to showcase their talents and
the cutting-edge nature of their work to students is very real
and could be a deciding factor in overcoming the barrier
erected by an undemanding examination system. This is where
universities can step in, by running workshops or outreach
days specifically aimed at GCSE/AS students. These courses
are already quite common and allow access to higher-grade
laboratory equipment. Often these open days include talks
that aim to raise the students’ current knowledge to the next
level by introducing more advanced science. One major
scheme is The National Particle Physics Masterclass, which
has been running since 1997. These classes are organised by
the High Energy Particle Physics Group of the Institute of
Physics. In 2010, nineteen institutions nationwide, ranging
from the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory, Didcot, to the
University of Glasgow, hosted events. The programmes differ
at the various institutes, but they typically include “talks by
particle physicists which convey some of the excitement of
working in a rapidly-moving field [and] hands-on experience
of the interactive graphical display programs that particle
physicists use at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics,
CERN” [11].
For Britain to continue to be a
leading scientific nation, it must
engage future generations
Why do we care, though? What need is there for us to
CAMBRIDGE
bother channelling our time and energy into stimulating the
huge potential that is out there? Why should we be doing
anything to arrest the decline in further scientific study?
Chemistry is a prime example of just why. In 2006, Sussex
University announced the planned closure of its Chemistry
Department [12]. Its closure was prevented owing to student
and faculty protests, but the University now plans to axe
some 30% of the faculty [13]. Amid the outcry at the time,
few reasons were provided regarding why we need chemists
References:
1. McCoy M. Where Chemists Go After Big Pharma. Chemical and Engineering
News, ACS 88:34-36. Available from: http://pubs.acs.org/cen/email/
html/8822bus1.html
2. Abandoned news release from SCORE, via the RSC. Hidden SCORE report
deplored new science GCSE exams. RSC. 2009 July 16 [cited 2010 Aug 8].
Available from: http://www.rsc.org/AboutUs/News/PressReleases/2009/
SCOREGCSEReport.asp
3. Press release from the RSC. Black mark for examiners offering simplistic
questions. 2008 June [cited 2010 Aug 17]. Available from: http://www.rsc.org/
AboutUs/News/PressReleases/2008/BlackMark.asp
4. BBC News. School tests: who takes what. BBC. 2009 May 6 [cited 2010 Aug 17].
Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/education/2994018.stm
5. Cole R, Searle J, Barmby P, Jones K, Higgins S. Relative difficulty of
examinations in different subjects. Durham University. 2008 July. Available from:
www.sciencecouncil.org/documents/SCORE2008summary.pdf
6. Garner R. Scandal of class divide at A-level. The Independent. 2009 Aug 19
[cited 2010 Aug 17]. Available from: http://www.independent.co.uk/news/
education/education-news/scandal-of-class-divide-at-alevel-1774031.html
7. Woolcock N. Science and math’s teachers ‘should have loans paid off’. The
Times. 2009 Aug 10 [cited 2010 Aug 17]. Available from: http://www.timesonline.
co.uk/tol/life_and_style/education/article6789286.ece
8. Royal Society of Chemistry. Digest of Statistics of Chemistry Education 2008.
2008. Available from: http://www.rsc.org/images/Summarylateststatistics_
tcm18-102763.pdf
9. Ofsted. Mathematics – Understanding the Score. Ofsted. 2008 September.
Available from http://www.ofsted.gov.uk/content/download/7137/73098/file/
Mathematics%20-%20understanding%20the%20score.pdf
in the first place. Before the Credit Crunch, the chemical
industry contributed a trade surplus of £5.6 billion; given that
in the same year, 2005, the UK’s trade deficit was about £4
billion, this figure puts into perspective just how important
this industry is. Just two years later, the contribution was
down to £4.5 billion; this decline is nothing new [14].
Ten years ago, back in the heady days of the late 90’s,
Britain had a 4.4% share of the chemicals export market,
equating to around US$73 billion, a substantial contribution
to any country’s GDP. However, in 2009, despite the value
of our exports rising to US$120.3 billion, our portion had
fallen to 3.3% [15]. This is primarily due to the huge increase
in production from India and China that has continued to
reverberate around the world [16].
It is not just the pure chemical based companies that have
been affected; the pharmaceutical sector has also started to
take a hit. The UK and its companies have long been renowned
in this area, providing a large employment sector for many
skilled graduates to use their hard-earned degrees. However,
big names like Merck, Roche and AstraZeneca have started
to look towards the rising Eastern powerhouses, not only
for production, but also for the research and development
– the technical innovations that have helped to shape this
country [14].
Where, then, do we stand? Clearly there are issues that
urgently need to be addressed, but there is hope. Whilst the
university-run outreach schemes are an important step in
encouraging further study in sciences, the perception of
science by school pupils must change. This requires a rethink of the education system, with greater input by scientific
institutions to ensure that syllabuses remain stimulating,
challenging and relevant. For Britain to continue to be a
leading scientific nation, it must engage future generations
and, in doing so, rebuild solid foundations for the next cohort
of world leading scientists. If the economy is to thrive, Britain
must reawaken to science.
Pete Matthews is a third year student studying Chemistry at
Corpus Christi College.
10. Museum of Science and Industry, Manchester news release. New Science
Festival Award in memory of Josh. 2007 [cited 2010 Aug 17]. Available from:
http://www.mosi.org.uk/about-us/news/science-award-in-memory-of-josh
11. The National Physics Masterclass. Particle Physics UK. 2010 [cited 2010 Aug
17]. Available from: http://www.particlephysics.ac.uk/teach/master-classes.html
12. BBC News. Chemistry closure plan deferred. BBC. 2006 March 17 [cited
2010 Aug 17]. Available from: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/southern_
counties/4815842.stm
13. RSC News. Chemistry at Sussex under threat again. RSC. 2010 June
09. Available from: http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2010/
June/09061001.asp
14. RSC position statement. Supporting the future discovery of new medicines
in the UK. 2010 May 5 [cited 2010 Aug 17]. Available from: http://www.rsc.org/
AboutUs/News/PressReleases/2010/MedicinesUK.asp
15. Global Chemical Shipments. American Chemistry Council. 2009 [cited
2010 Aug 17]. Available from: http://www.americanchemistry.com/s_acc/
sec_directory.asp?CID=292&DID=747
16. Perlitz U. India’s pharmaceutical industry on course for globalisation.
Deutsche Bank Research. 2008 April 9. Available from: www.dbresearch.de/
PROD/DBR...DE.../PROD0000000000224095.pdf
17. Student notes by ©Jenny Rollo, stock.xchng. ©sxc.hu. Available from: http://
www.sxc.hu/photo/702485
18. Wellcome Library, Wellcome Images, B0004194. http://images.wellcome.ac.uk/
19. Titration by C Glass, stock.xchng. ©sxc.hu http://www.sxc.hu/browse.
phtml?f=view&id=642133
20. Anthea Sieveking , Wellcome Images, AS0000142F05. http://images.wellcome.
ac.uk/
CAMBRIDGE
Reclaiming Planet Earth:
A New Approach to Climate Change
David Loew
A
s much as combating climate change is about curbing
emissions and finding alternative sources of energy, it
is also a struggle to overcome human nature and rise
above our innate reluctance to sacrifice immediate gratification in favour of long-term health. The dispiriting failures
of the Kyoto protocol, the recent Copenhagen climate talks
and all the targets and aspirations they embody – carbon
dioxide levels continue to rise – bear witness to the powerful
tensions caused by our conflicting ambitions. Spurred by
this depressing trend, however, an alternative approach to
climate change, one possibly more in line with our affinity
for quick-fix solutions, is gaining new momentum: geoengineering. Geoengineering involves deliberately intervening
with geological and atmospheric processes to slow or reverse
global warming, an idea that has been around for decades
but has received renewed attention following a 2006 essay by
the chemistry Nobel Laureate Paul Crutzen that introduced
the concept to a larger audience [1-3]. While climate scientists
are unanimous in their emphasis on geoengineering as an
absolute last resort, the sluggish progress of mitigation efforts may soon leave few other options.
Much of the support for anthropogenic geoengineering
stems from the observation that short term global cooling
is in fact routinely achieved naturally in the aftermath of
major volcanic eruptions. When Mount Pinatubo erupted
in June of 1991, the blast launched around 10 billion tonnes
of ejecta from the western Philippines into the stratosphere,
including some 20 million tonnes of sulphur dioxide (SO2) – a
highly efficient scatterer of sunlight. Timely and prescient
Mount Pinatubo erupting. Reproduced from [14]
evacuation measures led to a modest death toll relative to
the size of the eruption, but the effects on the global climate
were almost immediate. Within weeks, volcanic material
had engulfed the globe in a blanket of SO2 and other sulphuric compounds. The effect was akin to whitewashing
the entire planet, and indeed global average temperatures
dropped by around 0.5 degrees Celsius in 1992 and 1993,
The sluggish progress of
mitigation efforts may soon
leave few other options
before the aerosols ultimately precipitated out via complex
interactions between the stratosphere and troposphere – the
two lowermost layers of the Earth’s atmosphere. The two
winters following the Pinatubo eruption saw snow storms
in Jerusalem, coral death in the Red Sea and an unusually
durable generation of polar bear cubs known as the “Pinatubo bears” [4-6]. If half a degree does not sound like much,
consider that average temperatures during the height of the
last ice age 20,000 years ago were only around 7 degrees
lower than today, when ice sheets several kilometres thick
stretched across all but the most southern latitudes of the
UK. Eruptions on this scale are rare, but common enough to
have been observed several times in recent history, providing
climate scientists and geologists with a rich array of natural
geoengineering experiments. Other notable examples
include the eruption of Indonesia’s Tambora in 1815,
giving rise to 1816’s “year without summer”, and
Iceland’s Laki in 1783, producing the coldest winter
on record in the United States, prompting Benjamin
Franklin to note that the sun’s rays were blocked by
“a constant fog”, which he correctly attributed to the
eruption [7].
That such localised events could have such far
reaching implications for global climate has naturally attracted much debate about the possibility
of artificially replicating the eruptions of Pinatubo
and volcanoes like it in an effort to counteract global
warming. Short of reconstructing an actual volcano,
any such proposal would necessarily need to address
the need to deliver substantial volumes of sulphuric
aerosols into the stratosphere. Rutgers University’s
Alan Robock, one of the foremost authorities on the
climate effects of volcanic eruptions, has estimated
that the equivalent of one Pinatubo eruption every
4-8 years is required to offset the warming effect of
greenhouse gas emissions [8]. Several aerosol delivery technologies have been proposed, ranging from
the ambitious - firing aerosol bearing missiles into
CAMBRIDGE
the stratosphere – to the seemingly fantastical – dispersing
aerosols from the top of 20km high towers [9]. Perhaps more
realistically, using military tanker aircraft to ferry aerosols to
high altitudes would allow sufficient quantities of particles
to be lofted at an estimated cost of around 200 million dollars a year – roughly ten percent of the annual budget of the
United Nations [10]. To be sure, there exists a whole host
of geoengineering proposals beyond stratospheric sulphur,
examples of which include launching trillions of mirrors
into orbit, whitewashing the roofs of buildings and storing
released carbon in underground reservoirs. Compared to
aerosol lofting, however, these are either technologically too
far removed, operate on too small a scale, or would take
decades to take effect.
While geoengineering has the potential to reverse global
warming in a matter of years, critics point to a raft of associated
risks and costs, many of which are still poorly understood.
In a 2008 article entitled “20 reasons why geoengineering
may be a bad idea” [11]. Robock examines in detail the
potential adverse consequences of large-scale stratospheric
sulphur injections. The “fog” observed by Franklin in 1783
would reside permanently in the atmosphere, eliminating blue skies and making terrestrial astronomy all but
impossible. Old climate problems such as ozone depletion
and acid rain would be reinvigorated and exacerbated, as
would non-climatic effects of greenhouse gas emissions like
ocean acidification. Monsoon cycles in parts of Asia and
Africa would be severely disrupted, leading to drought and
aridification in affected regions. Several scientists have also
raised concerns over whether humanity possesses the moral
authority to deal with the repercussions of past excesses in
such a seemingly blithe manner. Meinrat Andreae of the
Max Planck Institute in Mainz likens geoengineering to “a
junkie figuring out new ways to steal from his children”
[12]. Perhaps most important of all are the huge uncertainties involved. For all our knowledge of volcanic eruptions,
delivering a continuous stream of sulphuric particles to the
stratosphere is not entirely the same as hurling them up in
one explosive burst. The climate is a highly complex system,
and the consequences of geoengineering are likely influenced
by factors we cannot even begin to account for. “Scientists
may never have enough confidence that their theories will
predict how well geoengineering systems can work”, warns
Robock. “With so much at stake, there is reason to worry
about what we don’t know”[13].
Beyond science and morality there looms the question
of how quickly a politically divided world is capable of
organising and implementing a global geoengineering effort.
The international cooperation required and time taken to
References:
1. Prins G et al. The Hartwell Paper: A new direction for climate policy after the crash
of 2009 [Online]. 2010 May [cited 2010 Sep 8]; Available from: URL: http://www.lse.
ac.uk/collections/mackinderProgramme/theHartwellPaper/
2. Budyko MI. Climatic Changes. Washington DC: Am. Geophys. Union; 1977.
3. Crutzen P. Albedo enhancement by stratospheric sulphur injections: A contribution
to resolve a policy dilemma? Climate Change. 2006; 77: 211-219.
4. Der Spiegel [Online]. 2002 Feb 15 [cited 2010 Sep 8]; Available from: URL: http://
www.spiegel.de/wissenschaft/natur/0,1518,182408,00.html
5. Genin A, Lazar B and Brenner S. Vertical mixing and coral death in the Red Sea
following Mount Pinatubo. Nature. 1995; 377: 507-510.
6. CBC News [Online]. 2004 July 6 [cited 2010 Sep 8]. Available from: URL: http://
www.cbc.ca/news/background/polarbears/
7. Franklin B. Meteorological imaginations and conjectures. Mem. Lit. Philos. Soc.
Manchester. 1784; 373-377.
8. Robock A, Oman L and Stenchikov G. Regional climate responses to geoengineering
with tropical and Arctic SO2 injections. J. Geophys. Res. 2008; 113: 15 pages. Available
A clear sky, and aerosol layers after the eruption. Reproduced from [15]
divide up the workload and the glory might well prove
prohibitive, not least because the world’s two future superpowers – China and India – stand to suffer the regional
climatic effects mentioned above. On the other hand, any
one nation unilaterally initiating a geoengineering programme
seems a sure-fire recipe for strife and discord. The potential
for conflict is enormous, and only serves to reemphasise
the urgency and primacy of curbing emissions as the first
port of call.
David Loew is a second year student studying Physical Natural
Sciences at St. Edmund’s College.
from: http://climate.envsci.rutgers.edu/robock/robock_geopapers.html
9. For a sample see Katz JI. Stratospheric albedo modification by aerosol injection. Physics
and Society. 2009; 24 pages. Available from: http://arxiv.org/abs/0906.5307
10. Robock A, Marquardt A, Kravitz B and Stenchikov G. Benefits, risks and costs of
stratospheric geoengineering. Geophys. Res. Lett. 2009; 36: 9 pages. Available from:
http://www.agu.org/journals/ABS/2009/2009GL039209.shtml
11. Robock A. 20 reasons why geoengineering may be a bad idea. Bull. At. Sci. 2008;
64: 14-18.
12. Morton O. Climate change: Is this what it takes to save the world? Nature. 2007;
447: 132-136.
13. Robock A. 20 reasons why geoengineering may be a bad idea. Bull. At. Sci. 2008;
64: 14-18.
14. PD, NASA. Available from: http://earth.jsc.nasa.gov/scripts/sseop/photo.pl?
mission=ISS005&roll=E&frame=19024
15. PD, NASA. Available from: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/
AstronautPinatubo/astronaut_pinatubo2.php
CAMBRIDGE
Zero:
The Riddle of Riddles
Ritika Sood
T
he concept and implications of the number zero have
dominated the world of mathematics for centuries,
causing many of the world’s greatest mathematicians
to suffer from insomnia. The world experienced a paradigm
shift when this concept of nothingness was ‘discovered’ and
given a definition. The number zero is inherently linked to
our everyday lives. In economics, zero represents a depleted
The fear of [zero] led many
a corporation to readdress
their policies
bank account. In the recent economic crisis, the fear and,
in some cases, occurrence of a depleted bank account led
many a corporation to readdress its policies. A number near
zero is also the rate that the Federal Reserve claimed to
start charging, or rather, not charging, commercial banks
for short-term loans in December 2008, in an attempt to
defibrillate the economy [1]. The mystery of zero is also
present in the scientific world, where absolute zero defines
the theoretical temperature characterised by the complete
absence of heat. Zero is also the proposed atomic number of
the theoretical element tetraneutron, a hypothesized stable
cluster of four neutrons whose existence is not supported
by laws of nuclear forces [2]. In the past, zero was analyzed
as a nothing that is an actual something--as the riddle of
riddles. To be able to fully appreciate the significance of
the number zero, “that O without a figure”, as Shakespeare
called it, requires an understanding of its discovery, the
progression of its presence and the resistance it encountered
throughout history [3].
The Ancient Greeks were philosophically unsure about
the concept of nothingness. Near the end of the eighth century BC, the notion of zero was worked into the story of
Odysseus and Polyphemos, the Cyclops [4]. However, there
is no trace of zero as a number in the history of Homeric or
Classical Greece. It is fascinating that the Greeks, to whom
many scientific, mathematical and artistic discoveries can be
attributed, were unable to conceptualize zero. The reason for
this is that the majority of Greek mathematical achievements
were based on geometry. Greek mathematicians did not need
to name their numbers, as they worked with numbers as
lengths of lines. Furthermore, the lack of positional notation
in Greek mathematics meant that the number zero and its
mathematical properties remained undiscovered [5].
Despite its potential to extend the empire of numbers,
zero was not treated as a number itself until 5th century
AD in India. Prior to this, it was no more a number than a
comma is a letter. This raises the question, what did it take
for this immigrant to gain citizenship in the Republic of
Numbers? Unlike ideas, trends and fashions, which have
undergone radical changes throughout the ages, the Republic
of Numbers is far more conservative, reluctant to accept
new members and adamant in never letting them go once
sworn in. Take irrational numbers as an example; 2500 years
after the proof of their existence allegedly by Hippasus, we
cannot do without them, although the sense in which they
exist as numbers is still debated.
Going back in history, the use of zero can be found in
Babylonian and Mayan mathematics but the discovery of the
use of zero as a number is attributed to Indian mathematicians. For over 1000 years, the Babylonians had a place-value
number system that did not include zero as an empty place
indicator. This is somewhat surprising, as one would consider
this to be an important feature. Babylonian mathematicians
would not distinguish between 5107 and 517; rather, the
context would show which number was intended. It was not
until around 400 BC that the Babylonians began using two
wedge symbols where we would now put zero to indicate
which was meant [5].
The Mayans developed a place-value number system
with a zero, which they denoted by a shell symbol. What
is interesting is that the use of zero in Mayan mathematics
can be traced back prior to the introduction of their placevalue number system which is a remarkable achievement.
However, their concepts did not find their way into other
societies.
The birth of the concept of zero as a number and not
merely a symbol for separation can be attributed to Indian
mathematicians. The very word ‘zero’ finds its etymological
root in the Sanskrit word śūnya, meaning ‘void’ or ‘empty’
[7]. The first recorded use of zero as a number dates back
to 876 AD in India. A stone tablet carrying an inscription
regarding Gwalior, a town 400 km south of the capital has
been accepted by historians as the first record of the number.
If one were able to divide
by zero, then all numbers
would be the same
The inscription presents the dimensions of this garden, 187
by 270 hastas (a traditional Indian unit of length, measured
from the elbow to the tip of the middle finger, approximately
18 inches) which was being grown to produce enough flowers to provide 50 garlands per day for the local temple.
This information was detailed on the tablet, and both of the
numbers 270 and 50, were inscribed very similarly to how
they appear on this page, the only difference being that the
0 was slightly smaller and slightly raised [5].
For zero to be held in the same regard as other numbers,
knowledge of how to add, subtract, multiply and divide with
it was required, though these operations are now taken for
CAMBRIDGE
Newton by William Blake. Reproduced from [9]
granted in simple arithmetic calculations. The Indian mathematicians Mahavira, Bhaskara and Brahmagupta set out to
undertake this very task. They agreed that a number multiplied by zero is zero and that a number remains unchanged
when it is diminished or augmented by zero. However, the
issue which caused disagreements among the men was the
division of a number by zero [5]. Experience and common
sense tell us that two different numbers do not hold the
same value, that 5 is not the same as 15, for example. If one
were able to divide by zero, then all numbers would be the
same. Let us apply the method of proof by contradiction.
Any number multiplied by zero is zero – for example, 5 × 0
= 0 and 15 × 0 = 0. Hence, 5 × 0 = 15 × 0. If division by zero
were possible, this would yield 5 × 0/0 = 15 × 0/0 and the
zeroes would cancel leaving us with the result 5 equals 15!
Hence in elementary arithmetic, dividing by zero gives an
undefined value. The rules governing the use of zero as a
number in its own right (with the exception of division by
zero) appeared for the first time in Brahmagupta’s book The
Opening of the Universe, written in c.628 [8].
The brilliant work of the Indian mathematicians was
transmitted west to Islamic and Arabic mathematicians, as
well as east to China. The Italian mathematician Fibonacci
was one of the main people to bring the Indian numerals
to Europe [5]. In his book Liber Abaci published in 1202, he
described the nine Indian symbols along with the sign 0.
What is significant is that Fibonacci did not treat 0 in the
same way as the numbers 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9. In his work,
he speaks of the ‘sign’ zero, while he refers to the other
symbols as numbers. Despite the incredible achievements
References:
1. Isidore C. Fed: Economy better, rates to stay low. CNNMoney.com [Online]. 2010
Apr 28 [cited 2010 Aug 13]. Available from:
http://money.cnn.com/2010/04/28/news/economy/fed_decision/index.htm
2. Samuel E. Ghost in the atom. New Scientist. 2002 Oct 26;2366:30-3.
3. Shakespeare W. King Lear, Act 1, Scene 4.
4. Homer. The Odyssey Book IX: The Tale of Odysseus: Lotus-Eaters, Cyclops. Lines
360-409. Translated by Murray AT
5. O’Connor JJ, Robertson EF. A history of zero [Online]. University of St. Andrews;
2000 Nov [cited 2010 Aug 11] Available from: http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/
of Indian mathematicians and subsequent work by Arabic
and Islamic mathematicians, Fibonacci was unable to reach
the same level of sophistication in his treatment of zero.
While his book had a profound effect on European thought,
zero was not widely used in Europe for a long time. An
example of the resistance encountered in the acceptance of
zero by European mathematics is that in the 1500s, Italian
Mathematician Cardan solved cubic and quartic equations
without using zero. His work would have proven to be far
easier had he done so. In fact, it was only in the 1600s that
zero came into widespread use.
In spite of being a well established concept, zero is still
a source of difficulty. On 1 January 2000, when people around
the world celebrated the new millennium, they were in fact
only celebrating the completion of 1999 years, as when the
calendar was established, no year zero was accounted
for. This is why the third millennium and the 21st century
began on 1 January 2001, something that many have had a
difficulty understanding. After exploring the complex history of the number zero, the fact that it is still causing confusion is hardly surprising. Let us return to the present and
the Federal Reserve’s strategy of charging a near zero rate
for short term loans, which triggers the question: can ‘nothing’ save us? After the recent economic turmoil, zero seems
to be the option to settle for in financial terms. When you
consider the alternative… it sure beats going negative.
Ritika Sood is a second year student studying Chemical Engineering at King’s College.
HistTopics/Zero.html#s31
6. O’Connor JJ, Robertson EF. Mayan mathematics [Online]. University of St. Andrews;
2000 Nov [cited 2010 Aug 13]. Available from: http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/
HistTopics/Mayan_mathematics.html
7. Ciment J. Zero [Online]. 2007 [cited 2010 Aug 13]. Available from: www.
encyclopediawebsite.com/disc/entries/zero.doc
8. O’Connor JJ, Robertson EF. Brahmagupta [Online]. University of St. Andrews; 2000
Nov [cited 2010 Aug 13]. Available from: http://www-history.mcs.st-and.ac.uk/
Biographies/Brahmagupta.html
9. PD, Wikipedia. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Newton-WilliamBlake.jpg

Message from the Executive Chair

Transcription

Similar documents

View Our Helix Piles brochure

Full Text

TRIPLE SEVEN

INDBX NUMBER: SUPERVISOR: INSTITUTIOI{:

Babies born from HIV/AIDS positive mothers

AIDS in Tanzania: when treatment remains inaccessible

B U CA I

polytool application

profile - Jon Finkel