YSM Issue 86.1

January 2013
ecology microbiology bioethics
Vol. 86 No. 1
January 2013 Volume 86 No. 1
Editor-in-Chief
Publisher
Managing Editors
Articles Editors
News Editor
Features Editor
Copy Editors
Production Manager
Layout Editors
Arts Editor
Online Editor
Multimedia Editor
Advertising Manager
Distribution Manager
Subscriptions Manager
Outreach Chair
Special Events Coordinator
Staff
Daniel Arias
Andrew Deveau
Andrew Goldstein
Walter Hsiang
Bridget Kiely
Katie Leiby
Kaitlin McLean
Contributors
Shaunak Bakshi
Grace Cao
Kirsten Dowling
Selin Isguvin
Sophie Janaskie
Savina Kim
Jennifer Ky
Yale Scientific
M A G A Z I N E
Established 1894
William Zhang
Elizabeth Asai
Jonathan Hwang
Robyn Shaffer
Nancy Huynh
Shirlee Wohl
Mansur Ghani
Renee Wu
Ike Lee
Jessica Hahne
Li Boynton
Jessica Schmerler
John Urwin
Jeremy Puthumana
Jonathan Liang
Chukwuma Onyebeke
Stella Cao
Naaman Mehta
Karthikeyan Ardhanareeswaran
Lara Boyle
Mary Labowsky
Theresa Oei
Terin Patel-Wilson
Rebecca Su
Nicole Tsai
Elisa Visher
Dennis Wang
Jason Young
Jared Milford
Meredith Redick
Josephine Smit
Ike Swetlitz
Nicole Tsai
Elisha Visher
Joyce Xi
Advisory Board
Sean Barrett, Chair
Physics
Priyamvada Natarajan
Astronomy
Kurt Zilm
Chemistry
Fred Volkmar
Child Study Center
Stanley Eisenstat
Computer Science
James Duncan
Diagnostic Radiology
Melinda Smith
Ecology & Evolutionary Biology
Peter Kindlmann
Electrical Engineering
Werner Wolf
Emeritus
John Wettlaufer
Geology & Geophysics
William Summers History of Science & History of Medicine
Jeremiah Quinlan
Undergraduate Admissions
Carl Seefried Yale Science & Engineering Association
F R O M T H E E D I T O R
Science and the End of the World
Despite the flurry of apprehension, the world did not end on December 21, 2012. As the winter
solstice passed and midnight crept by on the 21st, there was no onset of natural disasters, no
planetary collision, no apocalyptic catastrophe. Just like a classic automobile resets to zero after
reaching 99,999.9 miles and like our calendars restarted in the year 2000 after the conclusion of
1999, the course of the supposed doomsday only brought about the beginning of the next day.
And while the Mayan calendar may have ended on this day, this culmination likewise only signified
the end of a cycle — not the end of the world. As the New Year was ushered in, any credence of
Mayan doomsday theories have largely dissipated; however, it is likely that new doomsday theories
will take its place, nestled again in popular culture.
It would seem wise to learn from these false alarms, but tales of brimstone and fire have spread
throughout the course of history. For example, the Millerites believed the world was ending in
1843; an ancient Sumerian culture is claimed to have predicted the encounter of Earth with another
celestial body in 2003; and the evangelist radio broadcaster Harold Camping forecasted dates of
supposed rapture in both 1994 and 2011. Clearly the world did not end in any of these instances,
and experts assured that there was no reason to buy into the hype of the Mayan doomsday —
there was no scientific basis for these predictions, no hard evidence, but still, many entrenched
themselves into the phenomenon.
Although these cycles of doomsday frenzy will likely continue to occur, this is not to say that
the world will not end. According to scientific data, Earth has a defined expiration date of approximately
four to five billion years as the supply of hydrogen from the sun dwindles. Scientists
also speculate the possibility of catastrophic collision of meteors or comets, wiping out all life
before the biological expiration — though the estimated timeline is still sometime far in the future.
Until then, scholars suggest that humans are accelerating our own demise as we are unable to
resolve aspects of problems such as diminishing natural resources, thinning ozone, increasingly
pervasive natural disasters, and emerging epidemics. Though some of the rhetoric in arguments
may be exaggerated, these issues shine light on arguably more realistic threats to our lives, those
that have grounding in actual evidence, as opposed to doomsday theories that are generally based
on superstition and speculative rumors. In this issue of the Yale Scientific, we found it apt to explore
some potentially disastrous threats and the scientific developments in these fields, ranging from
the mysterious phenomenon of honey bee colony collapse with potential ripple effects in the
greater ecosystem to the perils of biological warfare and research at Yale conducted on predicting
the theoretically catastrophic events of volcanic eruptions.
As the 2012 Masthead concludes its tenure, we thank you all for your readership and support
as we welcome in the new year, the new Mayan era, and the scientific advancements that will
hopefully preclude the world from ending anytime soon.
William Zhang
Editor-in-Chief
About the Art
The Yale Scientific Magazine (YSM) is published four times a year by
Yale Scientific Publications, Inc. Third class postage paid in New
Haven, CT 06520. Non-profit postage permit number 01106 paid
for May 19, 1927 under the act of August 1912. ISN:0091-287.
We reserve the right to edit any submissions, solicited or unsolicited,
for publication. This magazine is published by Yale College
students, and Yale University is not responsible for its contents.
Perspectives expressed by authors do not necessarily reflect the
opinions of YSM. We retain the right to reprint contributions,
both text and graphics, in future issues as well as a non-exclusive
right to reproduce these in electronic form. The YSM welcomes
comments and feedback. Letters to the editor should be under
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Please send questions and comments to ysm@yale.edu.
Yale Scientific
Established in 1894
THE NATION’S OLDEST COLLEGE SCIENCE PUBLICATION
The
ELIXIR
of Life
How water is
pouring new
power into
electricity
generation
PAGES 14-16
Mollusk Mystery Secrets of Bee Bacteria Vaccination Decisions
New fossil evidence sheds
Studies on gut microbiota
The emerging influence
light on the evolutionary
may yield promising clues to
of altruism on vaccine
history of mollusks
honey bee health
coverage rates
PAGE 11 PAGES 17-19 PAGES 22-23
The cover, designed by Contributing Artist Chanthia Ma, depicts a
glass of water — the elixir of life — transformed into electricity to
power a city (image adapted from work by Ferdi Rizkiyanto). With the
growing global demand for electricity, the need for viable alternative
energy sources is ever-present. Dr. Menachem Elimelech, Professor of
Chemical and Environmental Engineering at Yale University, studies
how water can be used as a sustainable and cost-effective energy source.
The theme page and headers on pages 12 and 14 were designed by
Production Manager Li Boynton. The header on page 20 was designed
by Arts Editor Jeremy Puthumana.