Review of Bankruptcy Study

Project 1

For project one, I chose three sets of article pairs: one on an arsenic-based life form, one on medical-based bankruptcy, and one on competitive ability of sperm in mice.

The popular article for the medical based bankruptcy was found at CNN.com. The purpose of the popular article was to show that the lack of comprehensive medical insurance during and after catastrophic illness commonly leads to bankruptcy (Tamkins). Building upon a study taken in 2001, the researchers found that if you are sick enough, long enough, and your treatments are expensive enough, current medical insurance plans offer very little financial protection. After reading the medical journal article this story was based upon (Himmelstein), the popular article accurately summarized extremely technical information into layman's terms. The funding source for the study was the Robert Wood Johnson foundation. There is no obvious conflict known. In this current political climate and economy, this article is relevant because it shows that anyone of us is just one serious illness away from bankruptcy.

The popular article for the arsenic-based life form was found on Wired.com. The purpose of the article was to show that researchers substituted arsenic for phosphorus in a bacterium (Ehrenberg). The bacterium continued to grow after arsenic was increased and phosphorus was reduced. Thus proving you can substitute phosphorus for arsenic. After reading the research article this story was based upon (Wolfe-Simon), the popular article seemed to accurately describe the academic article in layman's terms. It even pointed out that the researchers could not completely eliminate phosphorus in their samples. The research was funded by NASA. The authors claim no conflict of interest. However, it could be argued that NASA has a vested interest in proving there could be different life forms to support their theory of the possibility of life forms on other planets.

The popular article for the competitive ability in sperm in mice was found on MSNBC.com. The article claimed, "Multiple partners may be key to agile sperm that get the job done" (Walsh). The article summarized the study by stating that sperm from males that had been conceived in a sperm competition situation had stronger and faster sperm. Therefore a male who was conceived in this manner has a notable advantage against a male who had been conceived in a monogamous situation toward parentage of the offspring. After reading the research article this story was based upon (Firman and Simmons), the popular article seemed to accurately explain the academic article in layman's terms. This study was a manipulative experiment using discrete data, breeding pairs of mice in different configurations by genealogical line, to measure sperm competitiveness based upon selection and how different genotypes contribute to future generations. Their control was mating