Jeff

Klc
BIOL 1090

Animal Studies For A Itchy Situation

In an article published by The New York Times it shows the comparison
between the African elephants’ skin and humans who have a certain skin disease.
Their research design was based on skin samples to see what the cracks in
elephants’ skin consisted of and why the elephant has no need to shed. The research
found and tested hopes to find a cure to the genetic skin disease of ichthyosis
vulgaris, a dry and thick scaly surface on humans, which is very similar to the skin
of an elephant.
The hope of this study is to find a cure to the human skin disease ichthyosis
vulgaris. Scientists are still far from finding a cure other then moisturizers but this
would open the door to ideas of cures for the illness. Because this is new research
it is unclear of how this cure would be conducted. Genetics of the African elephant
are part of the conversation, which makes it possible genetic modification could
be an option. From the facts we know if the cure is in fact found then this would
be a huge break for health care practices by hopefully finding a cure to ichthyosis
vulgaris. This could also open the door for testing other aspects with the African
elephant that could help the health of humans.
The research and tests that was provided for this article are from a group of
scientists. This group is formed mainly from either individuals representing
Universities or individuals representing zoos and reserves. It is not certain if the
zoos and reserves are nonpartisan, however it would seem they would have no
benefit by altering the research based on opinion. It is possible that the zoos or
reserves could receive benefits for supplying the elephants but there is no evidence
of this accusation. All the scientists seem to be in unison with their findings, the
articles show no evidence of disagreement.
Before reading the article I knew about tests done on elephants prior but not
in regards to curing a type of skin disease. My knowledge is limited on what tests
were done and the findings but to my recollection I believe it was ideas to help cure
cancer. I was mainly interested in what the next step is and what needs to be done
to cure the human skin disease. I found it incredibly interesting to understand the
beginning process of finding cures for humans. In human biology we have studied
genetically modified animals and foods. I felt that genetically modification would be
a great deal of the article however it was mentioned very little in the article. I feel
like the research from this article could contribute to it in the future. The New York
Times article was intriguing and gave a basic idea of the study and its benefits,
however it didn’t really dive deep into the research of the study. There was a link as
part of the original article that lead to full in depth information about the study. In
the article presented by the link the layout was very well done with setting up
reader and providing detailed information about the research. They had different
sections titled for example they had an introduction section, a results section, and a
methods section. I am not against the research found as long as no elephants were
killed in the process.
.
 Jeff Klc
BIOL 1090


Works Cited

Martins, A. F., Bennett, N. C., Clavel, S., Groenewald, H., Hensman, S., Hoby, S., . . .

Milinkovitch, M. C. (2018, October 02). Locally-curved geometry generates bending

cracks in the African elephant skin. Retrieved October 3, 2018, from

https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-06257-3

Quenqua, D. (2018, October 03). Why Elephants Don't Shed Their Skin. Retrieved

October 3, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/03/science/elephant-

skincracks.html?rref=collection/sectioncollection/health&action=click&contentColl

ection=health®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlaceme

nt=1&pgtype=sectionfront

 Jeff Klc
BIOL 1090

Signature Assignment Reflection

3Reflection prompt 1. Did your article, or things you saw in your search for
articles, change the way you think about science? Did you see evidence of
scientists actively engaged in public policy debates, and were you surprised by
their level of advocacy?
The article I chose to write about focuses on genetically modified organisms
specifically with animals. The section of the textbook that talks about genetically
modified organisms intrigued me because I like to know what I am putting into my
body. I didn’t know much about medicines and vaccines that use modified genes so
it was interesting to learn more about that. This particular article talks about how
elephants could possibly help heal a human skin disease. Genetically modified
products are always being debated on the ethics behind its uses and depending on
the situation I switch from one side to the other. Studying this topic and reading
articles on this topic has helped me understand the sides of the topic. I have found
myself when grocery shopping I notice more the products that are labeled as
genetically modified or not.
Reflection prompt 2. Discuss how your article made connections to another
discipline, like business, government, politics, economics, or humanities. If it
didn’t make any connections to other disciplines, discuss a connection it could
have made.
I mentioned in the paper I wrote that the research and tests that was provided for
this article are from a group of scientists. This group is formed mainly from either
individuals representing Universities or individuals representing zoos and reserves.
Many people from various disciplines are intrigued with the discovery the article
talks about. If this discovery could help cure the skin disease then I would imagine
many more disciplines would be interested. Business and government would for
sure get involved if a medicine were made because money would play a factor and
regulations would probably have to be set.
Reflection prompt 3. Describe how the class as a whole has impacted your
views on science, the human body, and human impacts on the planet.
Science has always been a tough subject for me because it seems to never make
sense and I have tended to lose focus in the past. This class has helped me see
science in a new way and a simpler way which has helped me enjoy it more.
The class as a whole has taught me many things about the human body. For
example it was interesting to learn about genotypes and phenotypes. It’s been fun
to learn which dominant traits have played a factor with genetics. It was intriguing
to see which traits are carried depending on the sex of the human.
Human impacts on the planet was probably what changed my views on
science the most out of all the topics covered this year. It was interesting to me that
an entire section focused on global warming. This section showed me how much of
an impact humans have on the planet and all the many things we need to do to save
 Jeff Klc
BIOL 1090
the earth. I used to think recycling and saving the earth was just messages told by
hippies but now I know the severity of the message. Since taking this class I have
focuses more on recycling better and reusing things. I have focused on limiting the
amount of plastic I use and usually pick up litter around my community. I
understand there is so much more I can do to help the environment so everyday I’m
working on it.