BARD SCIENCE JOURNAL SPRING 2019 TABLE OF CONTENTS LETTER FROM THE EDITORS ...... 2 a message from liam bach and lucy christiana GABRIEL’S HORN ...... 4 a paradoxical shape, by shea roccaforte DEE IS FOR DANGER ...... 6 on chickadees, by wallis boram and aidan furze OUR LIVING FOSSIL ...... 8 on ginkgo trees, by liam bach and mary reid NEGATIVE FEEDBACKS ...... 10 drivers of biodiversity, by lucy christiana IMPLICIT BIASES ...... 14 an interview with clarencë bronte, by liam bach FLORAL RADIOGRAPHS OF ALBERT G. RICHARDS . . . . 20 on petals and x-rays, by violet saxon MAMMALS ON CAMPUS ...... 24 an introduction to bard’s mammals, by mary reid VECTORS FOR DISEASE/KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION . 30 an ethnography of the lab, by melissa yost-bido SHOULD I GET A MENSTRUAL CUP? ...... 33 what a period costs, by addie fi nch and isa jones THE ANTI-VACCINATION EPIDEMIC ...... 34 on vaccine refusal, by amelia van donsel PHOTOS AND NOTES ...... 37 from suki sekula’s sketchbook PHOTOGRAPHING A TOXIC LANDSCAPE ...... 40 what humans left behind, by franklin savulich THE CRISPR CATASTROPHE ...... 42 a bioethics disaster, by audrey russell GET INVOLVED WITH THE MATH DEPARTMENT ...... 45 on programs and outreach, by shea roccaforte ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS AND REFERENCES ...... 46 LETTERS FROM THE EDITORS Dear reader, Dear reader, Science is a trench. It’s incredibly deep, but it’s We live in a warming, changing, creature and strictly finite. We can go as deep as we like but chemical filled world. Not only are we embedded the farther we go, the harder it gets to progress, in nature, but we are embedded in technology. which is why scientists are constantly coming up We could easily drift through life without deeply with new technologies and strategies to approach investigating our own embeddedness. Science, this excavation that is science. No matter how far to me, is about taking this physical and material we go, there is an end. We can’t know how or Liam Gehrig Bach world seriously, adding meaning to our lives Lucy Christiana when it will be reached because we are in the through a deeper understanding of what it is Editor-in-Chief Editor-in-Chief dark, but it is human nature to want to exactly that we are embedded in. [email protected] [email protected] illuminate the dark. I don’t want science to feel cold, stern, sterile, Art is a mountain. It can reach infinitely high because artists – humans lifeless. I don’t want jargon or technicalities to get in the way of access to – decide its limits. However, the higher we go, the less space we have to a general understanding of what we know, or what we think we know, build on top. Anything can be contributed to the mountain, be it gar- about the world around us. I don’t want residues of racism, sexism, and bage or godlike, but it will all inevitably either stick or fall. The stuff that homophobia to continue to go unchecked in the world of science. reaches the summit is what we all remember, but every peak is ultimately This book is an attempt to reframe science in a fresh, buzzing light. Un- covered by something else because it is human nature to want to break locking science from the confines of the lab, we have invited students of the limits. all disciplines to share their thoughts. Bard Science Journal aims to educate and perform simultaneously. As you read, please remember that we are scientists and artists, and you Thank you for taking the time to read this journal. probably are too! I am so grateful for the team that I worked with this Lucy Christiana semester, and this publication is an acknowledgement of Bard’s collec- tive prowess as a body of researches, explorers, authors, photographers, artists, and teachers.
Thank you for reading! Liam Bach WHAT IS BARD SCIENCE JOURNAL? Bard Science Journal is a student-run science publication that seeks to liberate science from the bounds of the lab. This jour- CONTACT US AT: nal is intended to be a forum for students to explore scientific [email protected] ideas through writing and art. We want to make quality science accessible for everyone.
3 GABRIEL’S HORN: between x = 1 and x = ∞. This gives a shape of a bugle, and A PARADOXICAL SHAPE thus, Gabriel’s Horn is born. BY SHEA ROCCAFORTE When considering this shape that is created by being rotat- Paradoxes are one of the most interesting aspects of math- ed around the x-axis, there are different tools that can be ematics because they demonstrate how while some things used to determine the volume and the surface area by math- can be mathematically correct, they cannot always manifest ematical methods learned in a standard Calculus I/II class. in a physical sense. Contrary to popular belief, math is not always ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ in the physical world, even if it To calculate the volume of the horn, integrate from is always theoretically correct. There are several cases that 1 to infinity with the equation πr2dx to get a have lead mathematicians to a dead end. Gabriel’s Horn volume of π (where r = 1/x). (Torricelli’s Trumpet) is a paradoxical shape mystery—a mathematically correct figure that contains two contra- dicting properties.
The name Gabriel’s Horn stems from the tradition of the angel Gabriel blowing his horn to announce the arrival of Judgement Day, or the combination of the divine (infinite) with the world (finite). This is a fitting title for this dilemma because Gabriel’s Horn involves a space To calculate that relates infinity the surface area of the to a contained area. horn, take the derivative of 1/x which gives -(1/x2). Then, integrate from Consider the equation 1 to infinity with the surface area formula, which y = 1/x. To make the physical gives an improper integral. When solved, the surface area is horn, imagine that the discovered to be infinity. curve is rotated around the x axis 5 Th ey found that these calls were used as a language to “DEE IS FOR DANGER” classify predators based on size and location. When study- by Wallis Boram and Aidan Furze ing the chickadee call, they found that smaller, more agile Th e weather in Annandale-on-Hudson grows warm- predators elicited more dees than larger predators who do er and many birds journey back north to bask in the coming not target chickadees, and thus pose less of a threat. Th e Hudson Valley summer. While many birds travel south for study mostly focused on chickadees’ use of their namesake the winter, following warmth, some stick around through call: chickadee-dee-dee. Th ey found that the high-pitched the long and cold winter right alongside us. One of these seet call typically gives warning to the presence of a fl ying permanent residents, the black-capped chickadee, makes its predator, such as a raptor. presence known—no matter the season. Th e next time you fi nd yourself walking down one of Th e black-capped chickadee is a small bird classifi ed Bard’s wooded paths and hear the chickadees calling, know in the order Passeriform (which holds half of all species of that they are in fact sizing you up and gossiping about you. birds, including all songbirds). Th ey are most recognizable for their cotton ball-esque shape and a call that sounds like L e ft : variation of their name sung in repetition. But this call is not merely chickadee mobbing calls a self-proclaiming shout into the early morning—it is a (repetitive chickadee call) uniquely developed language for chickadees. in response to predator size. Number of “dees” Chris Templeton, a biology doctoral student at the increases as predator body length becomes shorter. University of Washington, conducted a study in which he and his colleagues looked at the variation in calls and call patterns of chickadees when in the presence of predators of diff erent threat levels.
If you’re interested in learning more about the language of chickadees, as well as other im- pressive bird feats check out Th e Genius of Birds Drawing by Aidan Furze by Jennifer Ackerman. Templeton, C. N. 2005 7 OUR LIVING FOSSIL
Bard’s Annandale-on-Hudson campus is an arboretum, a living Charles Darwin referred to the Ginkgo as a “living fossil” as it is collection of trees. Lining the north-facing walkway to the cam- the oldest tree species alive today. The earliest traces of the plant pus center and the entrance to the Hessel Museum is Ginkgo date to over 270 million years ago. Since then, the species appears biloba, or the Ginkgo tree. Their leaves are a distinct fan shape to have changed very little, likely due to its slow reproduction and turn bright yellow in Autumn. They are high in antioxi- rate and long life of about 3,000 years. dants and have been used for treatment of Dementia, anxiety, depression, and memory loss. Photos ELECTRIC by Liam Bach 8 Text by Liam Bach and Mary Reid PLANT-SOIL NEGATIVE FEEDBACKS: drivers of biodiversity By Lucy Christiana
“Th e thin layer of soil that forms a patchy covering over the con- tinents controls our own existence and that of every other animal of the land. Without soil, land plants as we know them could not grow, and without plants no animals could survive.” – Rachel Carson, Silent Spring
Biodiversity is the result of the coexistence of many diff er- ent species of organisms in one community. Th e term “bio- diversity,” however, is a vague one that is highly dependent on the size and scale of the community in question. As time goes on, biologists are only realizing the ways in which we have underestimated the interconnectedness of the world. Because of this, the priority for conservationists is to pre- serve the existing snapshot of species on Earth right now. But in order to “save” biodiversity, or even conserve it, we need to know how it works. Community ecologists–– ecologists who study the interaction of species and their environments at the community level––are all wrestling with the same question in some way: what are the processes that drive the world to be as diverse, as interconnected, as entangled, as full of life as it is? Plant biodiversity is wide ranging––from incredibly high biodiversity in a tropical rainforest, where one 1x1 meter square of land could have 300 species, to a golf course in New Jersey, which could have just 1 species per 1x1 m square plot. But what allows for this coexistence of species?
11 One pattern that could explain this phenomenon of coex- But why is this happening? istence is the Janzen-Connell hypothesis, established in the One way that we know this is happening is through plant- early 1970s by tropical rainforest ecologists Daniel Janzen soil negative feedbacks, which describe this exact phenom- and Joseph Connell. Th e basic gist is this: ena occurring between plants and the microbial fungal pathogens in their soil. Plants build up species-specifi c Each species of plant faces its own species-specifi c enemies. pathogens in the soil that eventually reduce the success of Th ese enemies negatively impact the performance of that neighboring plants of that species. So even if that plant was species, either through using it or its seeds for food or as a strong competitor, the pathogens suppress its dominance, a host. Th is means that any time one species builds up in allowing for the coexistence of multiple species. Th is would abundance in a given area, so do its species-specifi c ene- explain another observed ecological phenomenon known mies, which in turn suppress that species’ ability to domi- as conspecifi c negative density dependence, where plants nate an area, making space favorable for other species, and growing next to plants of the same species are less success- therefore facilitating biodiversity. Th is means that being ful than plants growing next to plants of a diff erent species. surrounded by plants that are diff erent from you is actually better for your own growth as an individual plant. Bard’s own biology professor Cathy Collins is tackling ques- tions of plant soil negative feedbacks and how they operate in continuous versus fragmented landscapes. With a grant from the National Science Foundation, she is exploring relationships between plants, their seeds, and the fungal pathogens existing in the soil below them. Her work takes place primarily at a landscape-scale land fragmentation fi eld site in Lawrence, Kansas, where for 30 years, ecologists have been able to study patterns of plant community assembly in a controlled setting. Some research questions at play are:
Are negative feedbacks the sole driver of biodiversity, or are there other processes at play? Th e Janzen-Connell Eff ect Is the strength of negative feedbacks the same for all From original Janzen and Connell papers 1970/71. While more seeds land closer to the parent tree, the probability of survival only species of plants or is there some variation? increases as the seeds get further from the tree, creating a “popula- How do abiotic factors like fragmentation aff ect negative tion recruitment curve” at an intermediate distance from the parent feedbacks? plant. In turn, there is now space for another species to occupy the area closest to the parent tree, and therefore increase biodiversity.
13 Aversive racism is a theory in which all people – even IMPLICIT BIAS: or especially those who claim to not be racist – subcon- AN INTERVIEW WITH CLARENCE BRONTË sciously avoid people of another race or ethnicity. Th is by Liam Bach theory has ignited research looking at implicit bias, the In 2018, Clarence Brontë completed a senior project in the manifestation of internal prejudices as uncontrollable psychology department that focused on implicit biases. He responses or actions. investigated jurors’ perceptions of criminals’ races and eth- LB: What was your hypothesis in this experiment, and nicities in the context of their crimes by presenting infor- was it supported by the results? mation to study participants in the form of a case summary. Th e experiment used an eye tracker and memory test to CB: I had a bunch of diff erent hypotheses (not recom- ascertain the validity of each subject’s results. I interviewed mended), and they were proven tentatively correct. Be- him to fi nd out his take on the results and where this infor- cause of this, I think the structure of my study was radical, mation can be taken in the future. but the history of this research fi eld has at least partially LB: Why were you interested in the subject of biases and mandated radical approaches. For context, many stud- juries? How did you come up with the idea for your ies have looked at juror decision making in a tradition- experiment? al sense, with a group of participants “judging” a white defendant and another group “judging” a black defendant. CB: I fi nd the complexities of implicit bias, and how they’re Th ese studies shared the hypothesis that, if jurors were perpetuated by unconscious behaviors, infi nitely fascinat- racist, they’d “judge” the black defendant more harshly. ing. I became interested in juror decision making specifi - Overall, they have had mixed results, leading researchers cally because legal disenfranchisement is one of the most to question whether jurors are actually biased despite the impactful manifestations of bias in terms of the severity of fact that there’s substantial and growing evidence regard- outcomes, and jurors are literally built into the system to ing how pervasive racism and other biases are in human provide average people the opportunity to infl uence these behavior. outcomes and fi ght back against biased or otherwise prob- lematic legal offi cials. I noticed that the previous research My study started to focus on a ‘why’ question rather than looking at biased juror decision making is really represen- a more concrete ‘true/untrue’ question. Th e ‘why’ I wanted tative of a lot of the larger scale methodological problems to explore was aversive racism, or the theory that, when relating to how bias is studied by psychologists. For exam- people don’t want to seem biased, they’ll hide their bias- ple, there’s a huge debate in the fi eld, spurned by a bunch es, but when given a secondary characteristic to manifest of meta-analyses of past studies, about whether or not par- their internalized animosity in, they’ll act biased again. ticipants feel more or less comfortable making biased de- Th us far the theory has only ever been retroactively ap- cisions. plied to studies’ fi ndings due to its complexity, rather than built into studies’ designs. As a result, this study looked at many sub-hypotheses, remember probably just weren’t paying enough attention, each of which might provide evidence for future studies not that people were selectively forgetting relevant info about whether or not aversive racism should be explored if their defendant was a certain race). Second, of all the further. For example, one hypothesis in my study looked ‘important’ traits (race, mental health, drug use), people at whether or not specifi c secondary characteristics tended to remember race best. Th is is likely due to the fact (which have a huge amount of importance in relation to that they received this information twice, fi rst in written real-world legal outcomes for people of color) have the form and then through viewing a picture of the defendant. power to make juror decision making more biased. On Finally, and most interestingly of all the important traits, this hypothesis, I found evidence that drug use history is people were most likely to forget their defendant’s mental able to change juror decision making and tends to make health. It’s worth noting that people who forgot this tend- jurors think defendants deserve longer sentences when ed to forget a lot of things, so the driving reason for this they’re black drug-users compared to when they’re white is likely inattention. Nevertheless, in legal settings, men- drug-users. tal health is exceptionally important, as it has a lot to do All this said, I think that no ‘why’ question can be thor- with determining intent, culpability, and other mitigating oughly answered through one study (especially one study factors. I fi nd it worrying that, in cases where people aren’t conducted over the course of just a single year). Any putting in full eff ort to remember information, the mental study, even if it just has one hypothesis and proves that health of a defendant seems to be one of the fi rst things hypothesis ‘right,’ will still end with a thousand questions to go—more so even than irrelevant information like the that future researchers need to answer, especially when defendant’s name, which would have nothing to do with studies are about human behavior. Still, this research did their legal fate. provide a lot of analysis covering why aversive racism LB: Would you consider juries to be appropriately un- should be explored further by researchers, rather than biased (whatever that may mean to you) given what you simply used retroactively to explain confusing or counter- found in your experiment? intuitive results. CB: I don’t know that I can make that conclusion from LB: One part of the study featured a memory test to my experiment specifi cally, as it was more so focused on ascertain the validity of each participant’s results. What methodological norms. I do think that one of the underly- results did you see in that test? Did anything in particu- ing philosophies of my senior project is that everyone has lar stand out? the potential to be biased, and that bias is, to some extent, CB: Although the memory test wasn’t exactly the focus of a part of the ‘human condition.’ One of the problems with this study, there were some intriguing results. First, there psychological science in its study of bias is that research- wasn’t a diff erence in recall accuracy for the important ers seem to be exploring bias with the ultimate goal that, if traits across conditions (meaning people who failed to we make people aware of bias, bias can be eliminated. A theoretical underpinning of aversive racism as a behav- Th e last thing I’d say is that this experiment really funda- ioral paradigm is that it perseveres even when people have mentally changed my perspective on psychology’s ‘replica- been made aware of bias. Its very existence as a behavioral tion crisis.’ trend suggests that merely making people aware of their LB: For those unaware, the replication crisis is a phe- biases and establishing social norms that prevent direct nomenon occurring in the sciences, but speci cally/ discrimination fails to eradicate bias. especially psychology, in which scientists are having I, as an individual, ultimately believe that juries will al- trouble replicating supposedly signi cant results. Rep- ways be biased to some degree. A jury, as a group of hu- lication is a practice that includes the execution of an man beings, is naturally subject to infl uence from societal already-complete experiment to validate the results. A norms. 2016 survey from Nature polled 1,576 scientists and found that more than 70% of all respondents have tried LB: What’s your big takeaway from the entire experi- and failed to replicate another study’s results. On this ment, be it about the process of conducting a study or topic, Brontë says this: about the results you found? CB: In the fi eld, researchers have been replicating past CB: My big takeaway is probably not ‘fi t’ for Bard Science psychological studies, and fi nding that the results of the Journal, because it was one of the things that made me earlier study could not be confi rmed. I think we tend to want to study human behavior outside the realm of the see this as invalidating the results of the fi rst study, rather sciences. Overall, my biggest takeaway was that human than identifying that the fi rst study had some unknown, behavior is infi nitely complex, and that the fi eld of psy- unspecifi ed factor that infl uenced its results. I believe we chology is only just beginning to understand how biases should see these confl icting results as evidence that some- operate, or what happens when we attempt to hide or thing deeper—something we don’t fully understand—is overcome our biases. As a result, I struggled somewhat to going on, and we should explore studies that question craft an experiment that could consider these complex- and incorporate theories that might speak to those deep- ities, which makes me wonder whether or not a perfect er processes. We shouldn’t, as a fi eld, be throwing out the study of human behavior, even when it is relegated to a work past researchers have done, but rather we should be very specifi c behavior in a very specifi c setting under very questioning what we know, and pushing ourselves to ask specifi c conditions, could even be possible. If anything, radical questions and expand the scope of what conditions I think that a variety of fi elds, from human sciences, to we consider in our research. psychology, to legal theory, all need to be aware of these complexities in any way they can, and people should push I’m incredibly grateful that Clarence was able to spare some of his them to increase their awareness, even if it requires con- time to share his fi ndings and thoughts about psychology and his structing a potentially overwhelming experiment in order study. Clarence Brontë graduated from Bard College in spring of to do so. 2018 majoring in psychology. He aims to pursue a master’s degree in English at the University of Rochester next fall. THE FLORAL RADIOGRAPHS OF ALBERT G. RICHARDS by Violet Saxon Albert G. Richards was a dentist and a photographer working in the mid-to late-20th century. There is a common belief that dentists are sadists; and while I can’t speak to Rich- ards’s medical practice, his pictures are some of the gentlest I’ve ever seen. This might be owing to the fact that they are not, precisely, pictures, but radiographs, of flowers. The tech- nology of the x-ray, when shot at floral tissue, has precisely the opposite visual effect of the same technology used to de- pict human bones. An x-ray of teeth is invariably eerie—the uncanniness of recognizing something inside you and yet made perhaps more visible than you would like it to be. But Richard’s floral radiographs contain no medical traces. They are milky, delicate, fluorescent. They are romantic. Despite this, they also, like all x-rays, reveal something hidden—a feature Richards was apparently interested in, as he called the collected publication of his pictures The Secret Garden. What is the secret Richards thought he was revealing in x-raying flowers? His images are not technically instructive or instru- mental in the acquisition of new knowledge; they are not, in this sense, akin to Eadward Muybridge’s famous photo- graphs of a running horse, which revealed hitherto unknown aspects of that animal’s physiology, nor do they possess the thrill of a moment stopped in time, like the photographs of Harold E. Edgerton. These pictures, the ones by Muybridge and Edgerton, appear to posit themselves as straddling the divide between art and science, serving both functional and aesthetics ends. But for Richards—though he made his living as a doctor—floral radiography appears to serve a purely vi- sual purpose. Th ere is something comforting in the strictly aesthetic concerns of Richards’ images, particularly because the tech- nology by which they were produced is, in other contexts, so functional. X-rays reveal broken bones and tumors, medical secrets of the malignant sort. But in Richards’ work they also reveal something not lacking in vividity for its docility. Th e se- crets divulged by Albert’s pictures are not scientifi c innovations or discoveries. Th ey are, in fact, not even plural. Th ey are just the suggestion (clandestine, whispered) that the world might be looked at in a diff erent way than we typically see—that per- haps the world is a diff erent way than we see it, all of the time, everywhere. Th ere is sentimentality in this suggestion, as there is sentimentality, undeniably, in Richards’ images. But I don’t think that sentimentality is anywhere near as destructive as the use of photography as a driving force for progress, or as painful as, say, pulling teeth.
Th e fl oral radiographs of Albert G. Richards are on per- manent display at the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Los Angeles, California. Th ere, tucked in a back room, Dr. Rich- ard’s images are presented in three dimensions, rendered so via hand-held viewing apparatuses available at the entrance to the exhibit. Moving from one illuminated image to the next, I can picture, each time I visit the radiographs, what a relief they must have been to their maker, accustomed to the necessity of fl uorescent lights, the gleam of clean metal, the distortion of magnifying glasses. Th ese are vague markers of a medical prac- tice in which I have only ever been a patient. But I have spent time in the darkroom (albeit never producing radiographs), and I can sense the soft passion with which Richards pursued the making of these strange objects, as I stand, with my hands lift ing strange dark glasses, in front of an image of a rose, an aphid a white smudge on the fl ower’s translucent petal, a ghost image of a live thing, hovering in the dark.
23 EASTERN GREY SQUIRREL MAMMALS ON (Sciurus carolinensis) CAMPUS Drawings and text by Mary Reid
One of the most common mammals on campus is the white- tailed deer (Odocoileus virginianus). Th ese deer oft en reside where the forest meets open land as they use the forest as protec- tion and forage in the open land. Even though deer do not hiber- nate, their diet of plants changes depending on the season. Deer habituate with people, as humans drive their predators (wolves, mountain lion, coyotes) away. Because of the increase in human population, the population of deer has greatly increased. Deer can be found on every continent except for Australia and Antarctica. If you approach a deer on campus, it is likely to sense you and run away Th e eastern grey squirrel Sciurus( carolinensis) is a common tree squirrel that can oft en be spotted scurrying across the grass or deft ly climbing branches of a tree. Squirrels are one of the most adaptable animals in the world, spanning every quickly due to its continent with the exception of Antarctica. Grey squirrels cre- strong sense of smell, ate their homes in leafy nests or in the cavities of nut-bearing sharp hearing, and trees, as their diet is comprised mostly of acorns, walnuts, and wide fi eld of vision. seeds. If they must, they will eat green plants, twigs, or bark. Th e eyes of the Grey squirrels are usually active during the day, and although deer are positioned on they do not hibernate during the winter, they do spend most the sides of its head, so of their time in their nests with the food that they have hoard- it has a 310° view ed from the warmer months. One of the ways you may notice around itself, which is squirrels on campus is not by seeing them, but by hearing partly why the deer on them talk to each other. Squirrels can bark, chatter, purr, and WHITE-TAILED DEER even scream at each other to communicate. ( Odocoileus virginianus ) campus can be quite skittish. 25 Th e groundhog is a member of the marmot family, a group of STRIPED SKUNK ground squirrels. Also referred to as a woodchuck, ground- (Mephitis mephitis) hogs are diurnal hibernators, meaning that they are active during the day to gather food before they enter a deep sleep that begins in October and ends during early spring. Ground- hogs are the largest species in the squirrel family and are adept climbers and swimmers, allowing them to elude predators such as coyotes and foxes. Moreover, groundhogs build incred- ibly complex burrows where they store food, sleep at night, and hibernate. Groundhogs, however, are also known for being somewhat destructive, especially to agricultural developments. Th ey can damage crops, weaken building foundations, chew wires, and destroy irrigation systems thanks to their very One of the most unwelcome mammals on campus is the striped sharp claws skunk (Mephitis mephitis). Skunks spray a powerful odor as a and long defense mechanism, so seeing one can be startling. Even though incisor teeth. spraying is usually only employed as a fi nal eff ort to protect themselves—they also growl, puff their fur, and spit—it is im- portant to keep a distance from skunks, particularly for pets. If a skunk feels threatened by you, it will likely stamp its front feet GROUNDHOG and charge. If it decides to spray, the skunk will lift its tail and re- (Marmota monax) lease a sulfuric odor that can hit you up to fi ft een feet away and be smelled within a one and a half mile radius. In addition to spraying, skunks are primary carriers of rabies. Aggressiveness, seizures, activeness during the daytime, and stumbling can all be indicative behavior of rabies, and it is important to get away from a potentially rabid skunk and call local animal control. Th e opossum is an order of marsupial including several dif- ferent species. Th e species seen here on campus is the Virginia Opossum (Didelphis virginiana), which is the only marsupial found in the United States. Opossums are known for their gray fur, long white snouts, big round eyes, and their ability to act sick or dead as a defense mechanism. If you spot an opossum that appears to be sick or dead, it is likely the opossum’s signa- ture response to a potential threat, and it is best not to move the opossum in a way that might harm it. Th is “playing dead” is not voluntary but rather an automatic physiological response to Th e eastern danger. Opossums are nocturnal scavengers for the most part, chipmunk so you will likely spot them active at night. Th ough they have (Tamias striatus) is a small very sharp-looking teeth, the only danger they might present is member of the squirrel family that is easy towards cats, dogs, and other pets that they feel threatened by. to spot here on campus. All species of In addition, opossums are extremely unlikely to carry rabies, chipmunks are native to North America but recent studies have shown that they can carry other diseas- with the exception of the siberian es. Th erefore, even though opossums don’t attack humans, it is chipmunk, which dwells from central probably best to leave them be. Russia to Northern Japan. As opposed to VIRGINIA OPOSSUM other members of the squirrel family who (Didelphis virginiana) prefer dwelling in trees, chipmunks favor burrow systems that they rarely move far away from. Chipmunks are om- nivores, eating a fairly varied diet of plants, mushrooms, insects, seeds, and nuts. Th ey hoard the seeds and nuts for the wintertime when they hibernate in their burrows. Chip- munks are very vocal animals in their communication, and oft en make high-pitched chirps that are oft en confused for bird calls. EASTERN CHIPMUNK (Tamias striatus)
29 VECTORS FOR DISEASE AND At its core, this KNOWLEDGE PRODUCTION: ethnographic project An Ethnography of the Lab aims to help me by Melissa Yost-Bido understand my In the basement of the RKC is where I sat in an adjust- disease ecology able steel chair. I was peering into the large microscope that I research and the was using to look at a live tick that I had collected outside in broader culture of the forest at Bard College. My disease ecology research was undergraduate kicking off and I needed to amputate ten tick legs under the research through microscope to remain true to the timeline of my project. My an anthropological advisor, Franchesca, was standing to my right watching in- lens. I analyze tently as I strained my neck and struggled to grab the mobile proxemics, my own tick with a metal forcep in each hand. linguistic tendencies in I felt the weight of her watching me as the tick crawled regards to my project as out of the fi eld of vision of the microscope. Franchesca took well as those of others, and my a breath and said “Here, why don’t you push the seat down a overall stream of consciousness as little so you’re not hunched over and can see more clearly?” I conducted my experiments. In my research projects, I immediately recalled the rule about posture we learned in I worked with small insects, in a small solitary lab–just me class and pushed the seat down, scooted forward and could and my insects. I used several tools, materials, and methods see so much clearer and more comfortably than before. I then to investigate my questions about these organisms, and I had said “how about I try holding the tick down with the blunt advisors guiding me through the scientifi c research process edge of the forcep instead and once I got’er, use the scalpel to and the handling of my insects. cut?” Franchesca nodded, shrugged her shoulders and said What are the eff ects that each of the fi ve aspects of my “Yeah! Whatever works best.” project that I just presented, ie. idea of the “scientifi c process,” I pinned down the tick who was running at full speed itself, my advisors, myself, my vectors, and my equipment because she looked agitated from being prodded, looked into have on each other? I want to trace the associations and ef- the microscope, saw at 40 times magnifi cation the crimson fects between all fi ve dynamic parts to uncover connections red of her back, located her two front legs, and used my scal- between them that may be uncanny or nonobvious, to both pel to amputate the tips of them just aft er the small dark pit understand why one might enjoy doing science, and to prob- called the Haller’s organ was visible. lematize the dominant conceptions that both the scientifi c Aft er smoothly amputating both Haller’s organs off of community itself and others have of the scientifi c process. this female tick I pulled my eyes from the microscope and To answer these questions, I draw on anthropological turned to Franchesca as she said “Nicely done, see you got it. theories of refl exivity, agency, and power, Bruno Latour’s Ac- Tick surgery!” tor Network Th eory, and Donna Haraway’s situated 31 knowledge to explore and problematize my experience con- ducting disease ecology research. I aim to discuss the as- SHOULD I GET A MENSTRUAL CUP? by Addie Finch and Isa Jones semblages and entanglements that exist between all parties involved with my research projects to say something larger about the nature of the entanglements that I am embedded in as a female mixed race undergraduate disease ecology researcher at Bard College. I fi nd that the relationships be- tween the agent in the assemblage are dialectic and they act on each other in ways that would not be able to be seen or noticed without the usage of ethnography and the theories of Menstrual cups are small silicone cups which you fold and insert other scholars who came before me. I argue that biological into your vagina while you are on your period. Th e cup opens and research is a layered, multi-species experience of entangle- creates a suction, collecting the blood until you empty it about ments, not simply a one directional pursuit of knowledge. every 10-12 hours. When inserted correctly—which takes a cou- ple tries—you shouldn’t feel the cup. Th ey are reusable for several Th is is an excerpt of a longer anthropological ethnographic work that years, getting rid of the need to bring extra pads and tampons senior Melissa Yost-Bido (‘20) produced to accompany her senior project wherever you go! in Biology. It has been shortened and adapted to fi t this journal. Names have been changed. If you are interested in reading more, reach out to Melissa at [email protected] Th e average person with a period will go through 10,000-14,000 tampons in their lifetime. Th is costs each person about $60 dol- lars per year, without taking into account the cost of painkillers, heating pads, and potential time off from school or work. Men- strual cups retail for only $20-$30. And if that price still seems too steep for you, CodeRed at Bard proudly off ers free menstrual cups for anyone who fi lls out the google form (scan code below).
Menstrual cups are also far kinder to our environment than tra- ditional pads and tampons. In the US alone, 12 billion pads and 7 million tampons pollute landfi lls every year, which is unsettling considering that these products are made of cottons—which re- quire a lot of water to produce—and plastics—which take centu- ries longer to degrade than the individuals that use them. Men- strual cups, on the other hand, are made of silicone, which is a type of sand that is the second most prevalent element in earth’s crust. As the silicone of the menstrual cup degrades, it slowly goes back to its original state, making menstrual cups one of the most environmentally friendly period products on the market. 33 THE ANTI-VACCINATION dangerous, especially as the choice to vaccinate is framed as an action. Th is is caused by a perception of potential EPIDEMIC regret—that the parents will feel worse if they had taken by Amelia Van Donsel an action which harmed their child than if their failure of action did. If vaccination is presented as a personal Vaccine refusal in the United States has increased choice instead of a moral obligation or necessity for public fourfold since 2001. Some cite mercury contamination and health, then potentially harmful inaction can seem more personal freedom as reasons for not vaccinating, but one of moral than potentially harmful action; this leads to a de- the most pervasive myths is that vaccines cause autism. Au- crease in vaccination rates. Consider risk perception: with tism diagnoses have been steadily increasing, and although even the smallest suggestion that vaccines cause autism, vaccines do not cause autism, there is no defi nitive answer parents weigh something they have seen against some- as to what does; known contributions, however, are envi- thing they haven’t seen. Th e distant probability of a future ronmental factors. Many anti-vaxxers (people opposing illness (such as measles or polio) is far less motivational vaccination) rationalize this using cognitive bias—the er- than specifi c and immediate onset of autism. It is the very roneous simplifi cation of ideas resulting in deviation from success of vaccines which have made parents less likely to rational thinking. For instance, parents of a young autistic vaccinate their children; parents underestimate the likeli- child may search for a cause and note that the child was hood of affl iction because of its distance from developed recently vaccinated, deducing that vaccines cause autism. countries and the modern world. It is ironic, however, that Despite this being a logical conclusion, numerous scientifi c these parents would rather their children contract poten- papers have disproved it, among them being a widely-cit- tially fatal diseases when autism spectrum disorder ulti- ed study of 657,461 children in Denmark which conclud- mately does no damage to a child. ed that the vaccine “does not trigger autism in susceptible Measles is on the rise globally, particularly in Eu- children, and is not associated with clustering of autism rope, which has seen a new resistance to vaccination. Th is cases aft er vaccination.” is attributed to a growing distrust in government; false Even in the face of fact, this belief is persistent, par- rumors of pig tissue involved in manufacturing vaccines, ticularly online, where parents can be validated by commu- for instance, was enough to halt vaccination in Muslim nities of like-minded individuals. When left to do research countries. According to UNICEF, a recent outbreak in on their own, parents will oft en turn to their computers Ukraine “is driven by false safety claims about vaccines, and are left with confl icting, unsourced, and incorrect in- and Russian troll disinformation has played a role, in a formation. Confused, their default choice is oft en to take country where ongoing military clashes between Mos- no action. Th e average parent will only vaccinate their child cow-aligned and Ukrainian forces has bankrupted public if refusing vaccination is at least two times more health services.” Th e American Public Health Association (APHA) even describes “Russian-language media and so- cial media trolls operating out of Russia actively promot- ing hysterical claims about contamination and harm from vaccines.” According to Laurie Garrett, a writer for global health at the Council on Foreign Relations, however, “the global anti-vaccination movement that predominantly confronts public health advocates today is dominated by highly educated, typically well-heeled individuals, such as the wealthiest residents of posh West Los Angeles com- munities like Santa Monica, Brentwood, and Beverly Hills, where rates of child vaccination are as low as those seen in civil war-torn South Sudan.” As vaccination becomes in- creasingly political, many simply resist being told what to do; a Republican state representative from Arizona, for in- stance, has been campaigning that compulsory vaccination undermines liberty. Garrett adds: “Republican politicians, including President Donald Trump, have voiced opposition to mandatory vaccination and insisted that government agencies are hiding data that allegedly proves immuniza- tion causes such health issues as autism and brain damage.” PHOTO BY SUKI SEKULA Expecting parents who think about vaccinating NOTES FROM HER SKETCHBOOK their child are eight times less likely to do so once the child ON THE FOLLOWING PAGE is born. Many anti-vaxxers have biases against the gov- ernment or large corporations, and refusing vaccination fi ts well with that worldview. Anti-vaxxers prioritize an- ecdotes, suggestions and teachings, and a community of shared belief over abundant facts, scientifi c evidence, and logic. Herd immunity is discarded, and the uninformed in- dividual takes authority.
ARTWORK BY NICO REH 37
Images from Franklin Savulich’s Senior project, A Handful of Dust. The work explores the history of industrial pollution and landfiling in the New Jersey Meadowlands, using a visual medium to discuss invisible contaminants buried deep within these wetlands.
41 The CRISPR Catastrophe: these people be given biological advantages guaranteeing How One Man’s Search for Significance their survival over others, but many speculate that this type Resulted in a Bioethics Disaster of work could lead to a new age of eugenics, where parents by Audrey Russell who can afford editing would change their embryos to a point of exacerbating social inequality. The scary thing When China’s He Jiankui first announced that he had about genetic editing is that it’s not just another medical created the world’s first-ever genetically edited babies, he procedure: it changes the gene pool of the human race as a got the praise he was expecting. On the surface, it was an whole, and has effects that will impact future generations. incredibly brave development in the field of gene-editing The socioeconomic effects of gene-editing technolo- technology as well as a favor to humanity. As He’s work was gy aside, critics have pointed out that He’s procedure itself scrutinized over time, though, he became a pariah rather was poorly done: one of the babies is now a “mosaic” mean- than a hero, and was fired from his lab in a cautionary tale ing that different cells within the individual have different illustrating the many risks of sloppy science. What exactly genotypes. Mosaicism is dangerous, and can lead to birth went wrong? defects on its own. Additionally, He’s inexperience with Experts were suspicious of He from the beginning. CRISPR (coupled with the novelty of the technology as is) His lab, relatively unheard of at this point in time, was fo- put the twins at risk for off-target effects. As of November cused on biophysics. It did not even concern itself with “wet 2018, no one knows whether any non-target DNA was af- biology”, much less clinical research, and was not in any fected or damaged. way affiliated with CRISPR. Nonetheless, the news dropped Considering all the risks of the procedure, many of a mere two days before He was scheduled to speak at the He’s colleagues and critics doubted that it provided much Second International Summit on Human Genome Editing. benefit to the girls. While mutating the CCR5 gene tech- So the organizers of the summit decided to ask some pre- nically (and hypothetically) would make them resistant to cautionary questions and allow him to present his research. HIV, smallpox, and cholera, the girls were not particularly His presentation was a hurried Gish gallop in which He susceptible to these afflictions in the first place. Discus- stunned the audience with an overload of data, describing sions have pointed out that vaccines exist for both smallpox how he had mutated the CCR5 gene in twin baby girls. and cholera, and that there are less complicated methods During the following Q&A, He was hesitant to answer sim- for preventing HIV infection as well. Studies targeting ple questions directly; nonetheless, he remained proud of the CCR5 gene in HIV-positive adults are under way, and his work. gene-editing scientist Fyodor Urdov expressed concern that A common, but perhaps less pressing concern with the rushed publication of He’s study was intended to over- He’s work is one that has plagued the gene-editing move- shadow this research. ment since the very beginning. Historically, complex med- As a consequence of this research, He has been fired ical procedures such as this one have only been available to from his post at the Southern University of Science and wealthy people in developed countries. Not only would 43 DO YOU ENJOY MATH? DO YOU LIKE Technology in China. He defends himself to this day, claim- ing on his website that the experiment was perfectly execut- HELPING OTHERS? CONSIDER THIS! ed and that the babies are safe. Furthermore, an internation- THERE ARE MANY WAYS YOU CAN GET INVOLVED IN THE al group of bioethicists called for a global ban on making MATH DEPARTMENT AS A NON-MAJOR! HERE ARE JUST gene-edited babies in March 2019, agreeing that while it A FEW PROGRAMS AND ACTIVITIES FOR YOU TO GET IN- placed “major speed bumps” on the adventurous plans of VOLVED IN TODAY. gene-editing scientists worldwide, the consequences of the alternative were much worse. Proposals are currently being GIRLS WHO CODE made to create rules that would allow for significant scien- “Girls Who Code is a nonprofit organization which aims to support and increase the number of women in computer science. The organization is tific progress while also keeping moral gray areas in check. working to close the gender employment difference in technology and Little is known about the health and status of the twin girls change the image of what a programmer looks like.” as the international scientific community wrestles with the prospect of introducing He’s techniques back into the field. Bard has a TLS Project AND club on campus! Today, the motives behind He’s controversial study On a weekly basis, (Thursday afternoon 1:30 pm - 3:30 pm), the group travels to Kingston High School (KHS) to facilitate the GWC club. remain unclear. Did he truly have good intentions? Did he want notoriety? Was He just trying to get ahead in modern Both are open to EVERYONE with any level of experience. You can just academia’s publish-or-perish environment? Regardless of code on your own, teach others how to code, or learn from scratch! how and why the study came to be, the new field of genetic Contact: Rahma Ahmed
45 THINK SOMETHING’S MISSING...?
Bard Science Journal isn’t making anyone write about what they don’t want to. Every piece of this publication is a work of passion. If you want to see more of your favorite science (for example, physics or computer science) then please join us! Even if you don’t want to write or contribute di- THANK YOU rectly, you can point us in the right direction. TO THE MEMBERS OF BARD SCIENCE JOURNAL Contact [email protected] to reach out. THAT MADE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE.
Pictured (left to right): Amelia Van Donsel, Audrey Russell, Lucy Christiana, Mary Reid, Liam Bach, Shea Roccaforte
And to all of our contributors (in order of page appearance): Gracie Carter, Wallis Boram, Aidan Furze, Suki Sekula, Nico Reh, Violet Saxon, Melissa Yost-Bido, Addie Finch, Isa Jones and Franklin Savulich.
Cover Art by Maia Weisenhaus
47 Knoepfler, Paul. “Why CRISPR Baby Production (If It Happened) Was Unethical & Dangerous.” The Niche, 26 Nov. 2018, ipscell.com/2018/11/why-crispr-ba- REFERENCES by-production-if-it-happened-was-unethical-dangerous/. ANTI-VACCINATION EPIDEMIC Regalado, Antonio. “EXCLUSIVE: Chinese Scientists Are Creating CRISPR Asch, David A, et al. “Omission Bias and Pertussis Vaccination.” SAGE Journals, Babies.” MIT Technology Review, MIT Technology Review, 26 Nov. 2018, www. 1 Apr. 1994, journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0272989x9401400204. technologyreview.com/s/612458/exclusive-chinese-scientists-are-creating-cris- pr-babies/. Baumeister, Roy F, et al. “Bad Is Stronger Than Good.” Review of General Psy- chology, Educational Publishing Foundation, 2001. DEE IS FOR DANGER Dibonaventura, Marco daCosta, and Gretchen B Chapman. “Do Decision Biases Templeton, Christopher N., Erick Greene, and Kate Davis. “Allometry of alarm Predict Bad Decisions? 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IMPLICIT BIASES Neuman, Scott. “Australia To Stop Payments To Families Who Refuse Baker, Monya. “1,500 Scientists Lift the Lid on Reproducibility.”Nature News, Child Vaccinations.” NPR, NPR, 12 Apr. 2015, www.npr.org/sections/thet- Nature Publishing Group, 25 May 2016, www.nature.com/news/1-500-scien- wo-way/2015/04/12/399145143/australia-to-stop-payments-to-families-who-re- tists-lift-the-lid-on-reproducibility-1.19970. fuse-child-vaccinations. OUR LIVING FOSSIL Ozonoff, Sally, et al. “The Onset of Autism: Patterns of Symptom Emergence in the First Years of Life.” Autism Research : Official Journal of the International Arbor Day Foundation Contributors. “Ginkgo Ginkgo Biloba.” Ginkgo Tree on Society for Autism Research, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Dec. 2008, www. the Tree Guide at Arborday.org, Arbor Day Foundation, www.arborday.org/trees/ ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2857525/. treeguide/TreeDetail.cfm?ItemID=1092. Romo, Vanessa, and Patti Neighmond. “Washington State Officials Declare State Nordqvist, Joseph. “Ginkgo Biloba: Health Benefits, Side Effects, Risks, and His- Of Emergency As Measles Outbreak Continues.” NPR, NPR, 29 Jan. 2019, www. tory.” Edited by Debra Rose Wilson, Medical News Today, MediLexicon Interna- npr.org/2019/01/28/689549375/washington-state-officials-declare-state-of-emer- tional, 18 Dec. 2017, www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/263105.php. gency-as-measles-outbreak-contin. Wikipedia Contributors. “Ginkgo Biloba.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 19 CRISPR CATASTROPHE Mar. 2019, 23:54, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ginkgo_biloba. Begley, Sharon, and Andrew Joseph. “‘CRISPR Babies’ Scientist He Jiankui Rose SHOULD I GET A MENSTRUAL CUP? from Obscurity to Stun the World.” STAT, Boston Globe Media, 18 Dec. 2018, www.statnews.com/2018/12/17/crispr-shocker-genome-editing-scientist-he-ji- Alptraum, Lux. “This Is How Much Your Period Costs You Over a Lifetime.” ankui/. 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