http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39101 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39447 From Gondwanaland, with love : the tale of how Boston got its rocks Cull, Selby (Selby C.) The rocks on which the city of Boston was built did not form as part of North America. They formed about 600 million years ago, at the South Pole, as the northern coast of a supercontinent called Gondwanaland. Boston's journey from the South Pole to its current location traces the world's geologic history over that period of time, including the emergence of animal life as we know it, the formation and destruction of Pangaea, and the rise and fall of the dinosaurs. More than that, though: the history of our understanding of Boston's journey illustrates how geologists think about their world, and how their ideas have changed over the last 150 years in one of science's great revolutions. Thesis (S.M. in Science Writing)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Humanities, Graduate Program in Science Writing, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 26-27). http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39446 The chosen genes : Jews, genetics, and the future of ethnic medicine Anthes, Emily Kennedy All humans have certain genes that cause or predispose them to various diseases. In the ideal medical future, scientists will have hyperfast gene analyzers able to sequence anyone's DNA in a matter of minutes. In that future, a patient could have his entire sequence of DNA screened for mutations that cause or predispose him to disease, and health care would be truly individualized to fit the genetic profile of each patient. But science isn't yet able to make this future a reality; DNA sequencing remains too time-consuming and expensive to allow for such completely individualized medicine. In the meantime, scientists have discovered a useful shortcut: race and ethnicity. Many genes vary across racial and ethnic lines. Geography is linked to genetic variation, and people who have the same geographic ancestry are more likely, on average, to be genetically similar than people who do not. Although there is no gene for "race" or "ethnicity," many genes do occur in different ethnic groups at different frequencies. This means that doctors can use a patient's race or ethnicity - indicators of geographic ancestry - to make inferences about his genes, including his likelihood of developing specific diseases. (cont.) Today's Ashkenazi Jews are appealing research subjects because they are both genetically interesting and culturally willing. For the past half-century, Jewish communities have been getting the genetic scrutiny other populations can expect in the future. Such research has helped scientists make significant headway in diagnosing, treating, and preventing certain genetic diseases. But as the research studies continued, some Jewish communities began to worry about their implications. Lessons learned from the participation of American Jews in genetic research will be important for and applicable to many ethnic groups as the approach expands. Thesis (S.M. in Science Writing)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Humanities, Graduate Program in Science Writing, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (p. 53-60). http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39445 Winging it : a bold step toward the whooping crane's return McKenna, Philip Rood Since the fall of 2001, biologists have taught endangered whooping cranes how to migrate over a once-lost course stretching from the wetlands of central Wisconsin to the mud flats of Florida's Gulf Coast. Wildlife biologists did this through an unusual method of reintroduction: training the endangered birds to follow behind ultralight airplanes for the entire 1,200-mile journey. The technique is highly invasive and expensive, but by the summer of 2005, it had established the first population of whooping cranes migrating east of the Mississippi in more than one hundred years. To supplement these ultralight-led migrations, crane biologists tried a new approach in the fall of 2005. Biologists with the International Crane Foundation of Baraboo, Wisconsin, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released four captive-bred whooping cranes directly into the wild. Biologists hoped that there were enough graduates of the ultralight program already making the migration for a few first timers to simply follow the older birds south. But no one knew if this bold new experiment, which relied entirely on the young birds following older non-related birds, would work. This thesis follows a year in the life of Maya, Poe, Waldo and Jumblies-the first four "Direct Autumn Release" birds. (cont.) The story begins with their parent's artificial insemination in the spring of 2005, describes their last-minute Thanksgiving-Day departure, and follows their successful southern migrations through Tennessee and Florida. The thesis relates the concerns of the biologists, who spent countless hours raising and tracking these birds. It also recounts historic episodes in the 80-year ongoing effort to save Grus Americana, the whooping crane, while providing a larger significance for why the conservation of biodiversity is needed now more than ever. Thesis (S.M. in Science Writing)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Humanities, Graduate Program in Science Writing, 2006. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 41-42). http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/39444 The buffalo wars Nasr, Susan L The wandering buffalo of Yellowstone National Park are the subject of a heated debate in the western United States. The animals carry a disease called brucellosis, which infects both buffalo and cattle and has economic consequences for ranchers. Some ranchers fear that buffalo, as they migrate out of Yellowstone in search of forage, will transmit the disease to cattle around the park and jeopardize their financial well-being. The Park Service and other government agencies have tried to control the situation by exercising a lethal form of boundary control for buffalo, though other wildlife species are unregulated. Animal advocates dispute the agencies' tactics. Native Americans wonder why the buffalo are entirely under agency control. The park has become somewhat of a war zone, where the groups quarrel throughout the migratory season. Their disagreement is about much more than the animals themselves, taking root in even older and deeper conflicts. Yet despite the tangled nature of the problem, there may be room for negotiation and eventual resolution. Thesis (S.M. in Science Writing)--Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Dept. of Humanities, Graduate Program in Science Writing, 2006. "September 2006." Includes bibliographical references (leaves 38-42).