Author: Danielle

Autism: Worth the Test?

by Danielle Hwang

With the rising uproar over speculations that vaccines cause Autism, there is a need to look into the causes of autism, especially to indicate that there is no credible evidence that indicated an actual connection between vaccines and the cause of Autism.

 What is Autism?

In modern days, Autism is actually referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder. Autism Spectrum Disorder is described by NIMH as a developmental disorder that affects communication skills and behavior.1 This change in the name is due to the fact that the symptoms of Autism span over a spectrum. Therefore, symptoms are specific to each individual. However, there is still a set criterion used to diagnose the disorder, which are outlined in the DSM-5. These diagnostic criteria fall into five different categories: reoccurring lack of social skills (such as communication and interaction) in multiple scenarios, restrictive and repetitive acts of behavior, symptoms must be present in early childhood or developmental stages, symptoms must cause clinical impairment in the functioning of areas of one’s daily  life, and lastly these impairments must not be better explained through other intellectual disabilities or developmental delay.2

In the US, it was determined that there are approximately 1 out of 59 children diagnosed with this disability during 2018.3

Genetic Relevance?

According to Genetics Home Reference, there are at least 1000 genes that are associated with the disorder, but not all of them have been confirmed (none of which are listed).4 Most of these associated genes (left unnamed in the article) have little effect in causing the disorder.4 The specifics of the effects of these genes are not listed; however, it is known that the probability of these mutations combined together and with other risk factors, the risk of autism can be calculated. Therefore, autism is not cause entirely by genetic factors alone.

Other associated genes mutations are rare and happen in a single gene. One such genes is ADNP, which also causes ADNP syndrome (another intellectual disability).4 The syndrome has additional conditions to Autism Spectrum Disorder. Another set of genes associated with Autism Spectrum Disorder are ARID1B, ASH1L, CHD2, CHD8, DYRK1A, POGZ, SHANK3, and SYNGAP1.4 Most of these mutations are used for brain development.4 Another gene that has a significant effect on the development of Autism is rs1858830.5 The allele for G;G codes for normal genes.6 However, the allele C;G is known to increase the risk of Autism development by 1.6, and the allele C;C is reported to increase the risk of Autism development by 2 fold.6 The specifics of how these mutations affect brain development is unknown.

Testing?

There has been a study that connected abnormalities of certain genes to the development of autism.7 This study recommends taking genetic testing as a precaution, given that not every family would follow the advice.7 However, other studies do not recommend using genetic tests as a method of diagnosis and even detection.

Similar to the other studies, the CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) does not include any medical testing (such as a blood test) as a method of diagnosis.8 Instead they use behavioral and developmental cues through developmental screening and comprehensive diagnostic evaluation.8

Despite genetic testing for Autism being possible, there is no actual test provided by companies.

It is important to note that since autism is a behavioral disorder, it is hard to diagnose through physical tests, such as genetic tests and blood tests.  This does not mean testing is waste a time per se. These tests can determine the probability of a person developing autism; therefore, genetic testing should be taken as a precaution but not as a diagnosis. It is advised to use developmental screenings and diagnostic evaluations to diagnose the disorder. In the end, it can be concluded that there is absolutely no connection between vaccines or the ingredients and autism.

Resources:

  1. Autism Spectrum Disorder. National Institute of Mental Health. https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/autism-spectrum-disorders-asd/index.shtml. Published March 2018. Accessed December 3, 2019.
  2. Ciccarelli SK, White JN. Psychology: DSM 5. Boston: Pearson; 2014.
  3. Autism Facts and Figures. https://www.autismspeaks.org/autism-facts-and-figures. Accessed November 14, 2019.
  4. ASD – Genetics Home Reference – NIH. https://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/autism-spectrum-disorder. Published November 26, 2019. Accessed November 14, 2019.
  5. Autism. https://www.snpedia.com/index.php/Autism. Published October 25, 2017. Accessed November 14, 2019.
  6. rs1858830. SNPedia. https://www.snpedia.com/index.php/Rs1858830. Published December 1, 2018. Accessed December 3, 2019.
  7. Çöp EM, Yurtbaşi PM, Öner ÖM, Münir KM. Genetic testing in children with autism spectrum disorders. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4560248/. Published 2015. Accessed November 14, 2019.
  8. Screening and Diagnosis of Autism Spectrum Disorder. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/autism/screening.html. Published August 27, 2019. Accessed December 3, 2019.

Climate Simulation (Other Developing Countries) – Danielle Hwang

When I played my role in this exercise, I felt like I had an important and that I could be able to add an impact to the climate change.

However, this changed as we started to negotiate. At first negotiations seemed to be an easy give and take. We receive money, and the countries providing the fund can monitor our progress and use of the fund. After negotiating with other developed nations and the European Union, we believed we had enough funding to plan out how we were to divide and use the given funding. But as time progressed, US came back to us, asking for our regions to raise our annual reduction rate. This frustrated me, as well as other group mates, because it did not seem fair to target us. After all, our high emissions rate was only due to the fact that half of the world’s land was within our jurisdiction. Despite this, US (and India) kept pressing that we still lower our emissions rate.

Our group changed how we approached our spending. After looking into the many countries in our jurisdiction, we realised that we could not just focus on the Amazon and needed to also look into spending the funding for Africa, as well as many other countries and regions. We also changed our projected years and looked into possibly limiting our carbon emissions. We were prompted to change these factors because other countries were pressuring us to contribute more.

Looking back, the total emissions for other developing countries may be able to be cut. Although the other developing nations can cut their emissions, I do not think the emissions can be cut as much as the other countries want it to be.

One major barrier as I mentioned before was the how large of an area our group covered. Because of the large area of information to resolve, it was hard to know how our carbon emissions could be reduced etc. It was also hard to pinpoint causes of the high carbon emissions and to address the needs of each country. Another major barrier is the condition of the country/ the region. Because the conditions of some countries are not ideal, the country’s main focus would be using the money to improve their situation. I think if we could also incorporate ways to improve conditions in a more environmental-friendly option, this could already cut some carbon emissions.

We can catalyze this change in the US through education and demonstration. I think if the restaurants started slowly integrating more eco-friendly options, then people will also spend a few extra dollars for more eco-friendly options.

Danielle Hwang Watershed Reflection

  1. In this picture, I see some trees and a bridge and sculpture behind the trees.
  2. What I notice is the sculpture in the background and the walls around it. The walls seem to indicate that there was once something it blocked in, most likely water.
  3. At a first glance of the picture, people might just see trees and branches because the art instillation seems to blend in with the earth.
  4. When I look at this picture, I feel relaxed because of the overall color scheme and the trees.
  5. I think picture is about bringing attention to UGA’s watersheds because the art instillation intrigues one to learn more about why it is there, bringing attention to the watershed.

Danielle Hwang

1)

2a) I have taken AP Environmental Science, Biology, Chemistry, and Physics in high school.

b) Out of the 4 that I’ve taken, I really enjoyed taking Environmental Science. My teacher was very nice, and I also enjoyed learning about the way the ecosystems and organisms cooperate and affect one another. I also liked learning about the impacts humans make on their surrounding environments and the Earth, as well as ways to lessen my own impact.

3) From this course, I hope to take with me, any new knowledge of the world around me or biology, in general.

4) I would like to participate in the Outreach with Clarke Central High School students or the Rivers Alive Watershed Clean Up. I don’t have much scientific skills I can bring to the table for either of these projects, but I have worked and socialized with people younger than me and participated in clean ups for my church.

The issue of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is that probably biggest appeal to most of my fellow students for the safety of well-being, as well as the people around us.

As for the watersheds, the cleanliness of the water sources is what concerns most of my fellow classmates. Because the condition of our water sources affects both our health and future generations.

5) Through participation in a service-learning, I will learn ways to address issues within environments and how to engage with the community to help solve the issue.

6) I am interested in ecology like how different organisms and ecosystems impact each other and are impacted by changes. In this class, I hope that I can learn about the different impacts of changes, such as adding new organisms or the change in gene pools, on an ecosystem and its organisms. And how to lessen these impacts if they’re not beneficial for the environment, especially in the long run.