Running head: SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

Science and Society

Monique Czaczkowski
0488464
Lakehead University
Faculty of Education
EDUC-4260
Prof. Wayne Melville

SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

Article 1:
Birth control pill threatens fish populations
http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/birth-control-pill-threatens-fish-populations-1.2796897
The article titled Birth control pill threatens fish populations describes the situation that
involves fathead minnows nearly going extinct after small amounts of estrogen were added to a
lake, interfering with the fishs ability to reproduce. The specific scientific issue mentioned
includes the effect of estrogen on fish, causing male fish to begin to develop eggs. When this
hormone was introduced in their habitat, the male fish immediately responded to the estrogen
exposure by producing egg yolk proteins initially, followed by eggs. The male fish were
essentially being feminized. This reduced the populations ability to reproduce, causing the
number of fathead minnows to crash drastically to just 1% of the population. This created a
large-scale domino effect on the lakes ecosystem, causing the trout population, the fathead
minnows main predator, to also decline. The fathead minnows main food source- insects,
increased as a result of the reduction of fathead minnows. Lead researcher Karen Kidd, from the
University of New Brunswick, claims that the introduction of birth control pills in waterways
created a chain reaction in a lake ecosystem, nearly wiping out freshwater fish. This study has
been ongoing since the late 1990s, when researchers in the United Kingdom discovered that in
the presence of estrogen, male fish began to develop eggs. Kidd then validated these claims by
introducing small amounts of estrogen into an Ontario freshwater lake research facility in 2001.
He immediately observed a very evident, dramatic and rapid population decline of fathead
minnows. He was able to conclude that this decline was related directly to the estrogen addition.
Once estrogen addition was stopped, the fathead minnow population recovered back to what it
was before the research began. This study is being published in the Philosophical Transactions
of the Royal Society B. This study suggests that improvements should be made to some of
Canadas waste water treatment facilities as several areas in Canada have already experienced

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males being feminized due to municipal water sewage being released into waterways. These
include Wascana Creek in Saskatchewan, Grand River in southwest Ontario, and South
Saskatchewan River in southern Alberta. I would be willing to accept this claim as it is based on
research conducted by institutions I believe to be reputable as well as; it is being published in a
prestigious journal. This study has been ongoing for many years and the data supports previous
discoveries. The data was also collected at a research facility where the environment was
controlled. This allowed the researchers to attribute the changes in male fertility solely to the
introduction of estrogen.

Article 2:
Breastfeeding doesnt seem to prevent celiac disease in babies
http://www.ctvnews.ca/health/breastfeeding-doesn-t-seem-to-prevent-celiac-disease-in-babies1.2035092
The article titled Breastfeeding doesnt seem to prevent celiac disease in babies
describes two studies, one involving breast-feeding and the other involving the timing of
introducing gluten-containing foods to babies, which neither make a difference in whether a
baby, at higher risk for celiac disease due to family history, will develop it. The scientific issue in
both of these studies lies in the rise of individuals being diagnosed with celiac disease, an
autoimmune disorder triggered by gluten. Found in wheat, barley, and rye, gluten affects the cells
in the small bowel, causing pain, diarrhea, and other symptoms. The claim being made suggests
that there is no specific time to introduce gluten to a baby in order to avoid celiac disease and
delaying its start until the baby is one year old just briefly postpones the onset of symptoms. This
claim was made by Dr. Alessio Fasano, director of the Center for Celiac Research and Treatment
at Massachusetts General Hospital, and published in the New England Journal of Medicine. His
study confirmed this claim, as it involved over 700 infants who either began in taking gluten-

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containing foods at 6 months or 12 months of age. By age 2, more babies who ingested gluten
starting at 6 months old had signs of celiac disease, but after 5 years, the groups were at similar
risk. The second study, funded by the European Commission, tested the idea that an early start to
gluten might build tolerance to it. 944 children where either given small amounts of gluten or
placebo every day from 4 to 6 months of age. By age 3, 5% of both groups developed celiac
disease. The implication of this claim suggests that the biggest factor was the babies immune
systems driven by their genetic makeups. Individuals born with two copies of a certain gene are
forty times more likely than the general public to develop celiac disease by age 10. This inherited
risk of celiac disease cannot be avoided by introducing gluten specifically at the age of 4 to 6
months as recommended by doctors. Although breast-feeding does not make a difference in
terms of developing celiac disease, it does have many other benefits. The researchers concluded
that environmental factors must have been increasing celiac diseases prevalence as genes related
to risk have not changed, nor has the gluten content of wheat flour. I would be willing to accept
these claims as both studies involved a large sample size and concluded with similar findings. In
addition, both Dr. Jonas Ludvigsson of the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm and Dr. Peter H. R.
Green of Columbia University in New York agreed with the findings and stated in their journal
that this research is likely to change medical advice. In addition, the study concluded that celiac
disease has a genetic component, which would be difficult to completely mask through
breastfeeding or delaying the introduction of gluten-containing foods.

Article 3:
Climate change forcing fish stocks north: study
http://www.ctvnews.ca/sci-tech/climate-change-forcing-fish-stocks-north-study-1.2048783

SCIENCE AND SOCIETY

The article titled Climate change forcing fish stocks north: study describes the situation
in where hundreds of valuable fish species will migrate toward the poles due to the rising
temperatures of ocean waters. The scientific issue mentioned is the warming of ocean waters as a
result of climate change, affecting the distribution of fish stocks. The claim being made in the
article suggests that Canadian and Arctic waters may end up with more species and greater
abundance while the diversity of species in the tropics will decrease. Although this is good news
for the Arctic, the tropics will suffer as many people in this region depend heavily on seafood
from fisheries for their diet and economy. This claim is being made in the ICES Journal of
Marine Science by co-author William Cheung of the University of British Columbia. He
validated this claim by determining the possible distribution of 802 commercially exploited fish
species including cod, tuna, herring, and halibut, using a combination of three different
mathematical models and the latest climate data. He found that the fish are slowly moving at a
rate of 15-26 kilometers per decade toward the South and North poles, especially in the Arctic
where the temperature of the water is increasing the fastest. The implications of this claim
suggest that although this movement towards the poles creates opportunities, it will also create
problems for international fisheries management as stocks shift across different boundaries and
countries. With this prediction, it is important that governments start thinking now about how
climate change will affect natural resources such as fisheries in the future, but that they do not
rush to exploit new fish stocks until further research has been done to avoid a fishery collapse. I
would be willing to accept this claim as his projections match up with the modeling results of
actual fisheries data in the last 30 years. Although it is only a prediction, this claim is being
published in the ICES Journal of Marine Science making it more reputable. Based on my
previous knowledge of fish, each species have their own unique optimal water temperature and it

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only makes sense that if the water begins to warm outside of their optimal range, going towards
the poles will solve this problem where the water will be closer to their preferred conditions. The
study also involved different species of fish such as cod, tuna, herring, and halibut. Since he
observed the same pattern for all these species, it reduces the probability that his results were
randomly produced by some other environmental factor.