Flu Vaccines V.S. Autism

     Chances are that when you were a young child you got vaccinated against deadly diseases such as polio, HepB, DTaP, MMR, and many others. Where would you be without these vaccinations? Maybe in a hospital, in long term care, or maybe even dead. These vaccines have had amazing outcomes and have prevented deaths to many children. Children who have grown up to be lawyers, presidents, astronauts, anything they wanted to become because they had the chance. The flu vaccine isn't any different. The flu vaccine has saved 40,000 lives in a 9 year period. Thats 40,000 people who have gotten a second chance because of this vaccine. Many parents are scared to vaccinate their kids because they feel that there will be long-term mental deficits and this just isn't true. Scientists have proven time and time again that the flu vaccine does not cause Autism or any other mental deficit, yet we are still having this argument. Even though Andrew Wakefield is a discredited doctor and his research about vaccines linked to autism has been disproven many times, (image 2) people still talk about him like he was right. Not everyone knows that he was discredited and still look at his research like it is true and quotes him to others, spreading the wrong information. It is harder to disprove wrong data like this when powerful people "agree" with what Dr. Wakefield has said, for example our President Donald Trump. Mr. Trump is a very powerful man who influences many people with his platform.

image 1

 Just because someone is in a power position doesn't make them right. (image 1) One ingredient in the Flu Vaccine that was in question was thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative. Just reading that name and not knowing anything about it, it sounds really bad but it actually does good. The CDC have a whole article disproving any thoughts that thimerosal causes autism. 

     Autism is a genetic disorder, you are either born with or without it, you cannot develop autism after you are born. Autism is a spectrum and "autistic signs" can show up later in life, like Asperger's Syndrome. Asperger's can start to show when a child starts talking or socializing with other children, but it's always been there no vaccine made it show up. Vaccines don't change your genome. Vaccines introduce an unaffected disease into your blood so your white blood cells can form antibodies to fight the infection should you contract it. Vaccines can make you temporarily sick but they in no way can change the genetic makeup of your genes. 

image 2

     The flu kills between 3,000 and 49,000 people each year, it is a deadly disease that is very smart. The flu virus changes every year and better adapts to its environment and gets stronger and more deadly each year. If you aren't vaccinating your kids because you believe a hoax that they might get autism you are putting them at more risk. Not getting the flu vaccine might put your kids in more danger. Every vaccine has its pros and cons but most of the time the pros and they chance at life outweighs the cons. 

     Picking up any credited, critically acclaimed, science reviewed article/ book about vaccines vs. autism you would find out that they aren't related and they don't even belong in the same book together they are so unrelated. Doing research and not just bandwagoning on with any politician will get you the mot accurate information possible. They are politicians for a reason, not scientists. This shouldn't be an argument because any credible scientist will say that the flu vaccine and autism do not correlate. Fact check who you are sourcing. 

     Overall, Flu Vaccines do NOT cause autism or any other mental deficits. The internet is a great source to find information as long as you know it is credible and not opinionated. The CDC is an amazing resource to find any information about any vaccine because they have the raw data. Vaccinate your kids, vaccinate yourself and wash your hands.

Resources: 

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccinesafety/concerns/autism.html

https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/flu.htm

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/parents/downloads/parent-ver-sch-0-6yrs.pdf

https://www.cdc.gov/flu/news/flu-vaccine-saved-lives.htm

https://www.historyofvaccines.org/content/articles/do-vaccines-cause-autism

Engaging The Public With Science

     In the past couple months of this semester I have participated in service learning projects in and outside of class. My favorite was when the elementary school students came to our classroom to participate in the 'Archie Carnival' because I could see first-hand our handwork in place. They really seemed to enjoy it and we enjoyed having them. It was exciting to see them participate and have fun while also learning something new.

     Another service learning activity was the Earth Day display at the Watauga Public Library. I liked the Archie Carnival more because I could see the effects right away but this one was also nice because it will have a more long term effect. This way local people who may not attend Appalachian can still learn about our professors and some of the research going on right in their backyard. It was fun to meet outside of class and also see other people there at the library utilizing the free information. I hope the information we gathered interested someone and made them learn more about the scientists in their community!

     My out of class service hours didn't have to do with science because I was unable to find one that fit well with my schedule but I did volunteer on campus so I gave back to my community in a different way. I ushered at the school's production of Sweeney Todd because I knew they needed the help to make sure everything ran smoothly and I could help. It was a great performance and i'm glad I could be one of the people behind the scenes to help it run.

     From all of these experiences I remembered how much I enjoy volunteering and giving back. I volunteered a lot in high school and I haven't done it nearly as much as I would like to since coming to college because of the packed schedule but I really did enjoy getting back to that. I have always liked to volunteer for things that I can see the immediate effects for and those are the things I would volunteer for in the future, like helping at the humane society, or at a soup kitchen, or volunteering at the veterans house at home.

     Scientists and science enthusiasts can help their community understand science in so many different ways. Most scientists give lectures or informational talks and post about their research which helps the community. A lot of science enthusiasts talk about things casually, or have more fun ways to portray the same information which can be easier for the public to understand the information given. Both are great ways to gain knowledge, it's just whichever you understand better and have access to.  The more information available to the community, the better because everyone learns a different way.
   

Helping People Understand Science

     Science is an important part of everyone's life no matter what you are studying or your occupation. It plays a prominent role in our everyday lives. You cannot walk into any building or establishment and not see science at work. Your electricity, microwave, computer, almost everything that you use on an everyday basis includes science. Medicine is a big one, you take all these medications for any of your symptoms that you have but you might not always think about where they come from. Your food can even be science, GMO's occur in most foods nowadays. Some people life GMO's and some don't, but you can't know if you like them or not if you don't know what they are.

     YouTube is a great place to find information and find it in ways that you understand. Usually the information is described in detail, you just need to make sure that they are a credible source ant telling you the right information. Crash Course is a great YouTube channel that "dumbs" and information down to help everyone understand the information being presented. They have science videos as well as other topics. Museums are one of the best places to find accurate information if you have one near. In most cases museums that are state or federally funded are reliable and very good sources. North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences in Raleigh is a very informational place to learn about science.

     My game was "Archie Memory" and it tested your skills to be able to answer the questions while also trying to remember where the cards are. It tests your memory and your knowledge. One of my peers wrote "How are we suppose to know if the answers are right", but I had an answer key with the game, it was folded so you couldn't cheat they probably just didn't look for it. The whole purpose of the game is for the cards to be turned upside down and for you to remember where the questions and answers are by process of elimination. Maybe having more questions could improve the game, I reworded some questions for easier understanding so its better for all audiences. I thought the game worked well, it wasn't too difficult but definitely tested your knowledge of the subject of Archie. The cards could have been cut more evenly but I did the best I could, it's more difficult than it looks to cut absolutely even and straight. If I was to do it again I would print the cards back and front so they look nicer, but I did redo them like that when I resubmitted my project. Overall, I feel that my game was a success, just a few tweaks could be made to make it that much better!

Good Science Information Resources

https://www.youtube.com/user/crashcourse

http://naturalsciences.org

Engaging Scientists in Public Discourse

     Dr. Ellen Cowan is a distinguished geology professor here at Appalachian State University. She teaches two introduction to physical geology classes and one oceanography course. She received her undergraduate degree in biology and geology at Albion College in Michigan. She does most of her research in the summer when she is not teaching and she usually does her research in polar regions like the north arctic and other remote places. After returning from her two month research trips she collects all of her data and gets it peer-reviewed after it is all put together.

Since Dr. Cowan works outside with the environment and physical changes impacting the environment I asked her about her views on climate change. She said that when she started studying glaciers about twenty years ago the glaciers were huge but now they are rapidly declining and she saw it first-hand. Her area of research is glacial-marine sedimentology and sediment transport of coal ash, so while climate change isn't her main focus she still has some very strong opinions about it. She attempts to disprove climate change in her teaching here at the university and while it can be tough she has to keep trying. Her suggestion for climate change prevention is to keep documenting/researching the information and getting the information out there, anything that has happened in the past can happen again.

She chose to be a Geology professor, because it pays the bills but also because students bring new perspectives on her research and her ideas. With her teaching she can keep science going through the next generation. Her research is still ongoing and always being tweaked and updated to her liking. Dr. Cowan's future plans involve an extension of her work into ancient glacial deposits exposed in Canada, she's broadening her scope. She plans to continue her research and continue teaching for the years to come.

source: Dr. Ellen Cowan

https://earth.appstate.edu/faculty-staff/dr-ellen-cowan

Bad Data, and Good Data Turned Bad

     The internet is a great place and brings information to everyone around the globe, to include wrong information. Most people tend to believe in what their parents and friends tell them to be true without further questioning. You have a friend that repost an article on Facebook, you see the headline and nothing else, you don't question it or check its validity, you trust that your friends read it and know whats going on.

     Influenza kills between 12,000 and 56,000 people per year in the United States and as of 2018 there is no fool-proof way to 100% prevent contracting it. There are flu vaccines that can help prevent contracting the flu, but they don't work all the time, which most Americans know to be true. In current years, there has been rumors (bad data) floating around that flu vaccines cause mental deficits such as autism. You would think that most people would know this to be untrue just by the sound of it or just knowing basic information, but thats giving too much credit to the public. But don't blame the public, blame the people who give the public information, such as Donald J. Trump; the current leader of our free country.

 

     Donald Trump tweeted this before he was elected president in 2016 and it has over 13,000 retweets. Besides that fact that President Trump is not a doctor and has probably never opened a medical textbook in his life, people full-heartedly believe in him and trust him. This is an example of bad data, there are no facts or citations, no accredited people backing it up, terrible grammar, and it is located on a website that is 110% opinion. Don't get me wrong, I love twitter just as much as the next millennial but it is not a good place to get information on important issues that are causing people to die. 

     A more proper place to gain knowledge and information on a medical issue would be your doctor (not web m.d.), CDC website, WHO website, anywhere that is accredited. The power of unlimited knowledge is right before each and every one of us but we need to use it properly and responsibly, don't believe everything your friends, parents, or colleagues tell you and definitely don't believe everything you read on the internet.

     These are two more examples of good and bad graphs. If you cannot accurately read the information provided on a graph or if the data isn't added up correctly, chances are you are looking at a bad graph. If you feel like you are looking at a bad graph, take the time to find a new, better, more accurate graph that you can cite. These graphs aren't for anything specific, but they are good representations of what to look for.

 Bad Data Graph

image 1 - https://davidbridge.wordpress.com/2011/08/02/looking-for-suspicious-data/

Good Data Graph

image 2 -https://people.uwec.edu/ivogeler/w111/3-proj1.htm

Credible websites:

http://www.who.int/en/

https://www.cdc.gov

Science and I

     In high school I had really great Biology and Chemistry teachers who made me enjoy learning about science in all forms but once I took a Biomedical Technology class I fell in love with science. I learned a lot of new material in that class and eventually moved on to take the classes BioMed Tech 2 and Health Sciences 1 and 2. After I completed all of those classes I applied for a Nursing Fundamentals class and received admission and through this course I earned my CNA certification. While it's not directly science, working in a nursing home you really see a lot of "behind the scenes" knowledge that you need to know. I'm currently a Biology major with a concentration in Cellular and Molecular Biology and a minor in Chemistry. I plan to continue my science career in the years to come.