Vol.

5 Issue 1 - Fall 2014

Research Images as Art!
Plus:
Poetry - p. 2, 9, 10
The Thief of Eden - p. 3
Head and Neck - p. 6
Ebola - p. 7
Male Contraceptives - p. 8

Welcome to The Sponge!

The People of The Sponge

The Sponge is a literary magazine for science and engineering students

at the University of Utah. We believe that art and writing are an essential part of the human experience, even for technical people like ourselves. So, we provide a platform for science and engineering students
to share everything from poems to scientific reviews, short stories to
opinion articles, photography to cartoons, and publish everything
online and in print twice per year with funding from the University of
Utah Student Media Council.

Severine Bateman
Editor and Staff Writer
Undergraduate, Bioengineering

In this issue, we joined up with the Research Images as Art competition

hosted by the HSC Cell Imaging Core, the Huntsman Cancer Institute,
and The Leonardo museum. Images are important in science and engineering because of their power to convince and explain, but they often
inadvertently achieve an artistic beauty independent of their meaning.
$100 was awarded to three winners, and four more received honorable
mentions. You can find these throughout this issue or see all the entries
on our website: http://thesponge.eng.utah.edu.
Thank you for your continued interest, and see you again in the spring!
Research Images as Art contest sponsors:

Cover: Ian Mallett. Best in Show ($100). This image visualizes a multivalue depth buffer computed using a parallel-step distance estimation
raytracer. By applying the distance estimation to parallel rays using the
algorithm under research, volumes can be traversed orders of magnitude faster than previous approaches for certain distance functions. In
addition, a dense sampling of every area of the scene--including hidden
surfaces--that affect visible light transport paths is generated for free as
a byproduct of the algorithm.
Opposite page: Rebecca Pfieffer. Honorable Mention. This is a horizontal section through a biopsy from a human retina affected by retinitis
pigmentosa. This disease is a retinal degenerative disorder in which
the photoreceptors of the eye die and the underlying neural retina then
goes through massive structural and metabolic changes. The image
was obtained via a light microscope after using computational molecular phenotyping to label the cells for taurine (an amino acid associated with water regulation), glutamine (an amino acid involved in cell
metabolism), and glutamate (an excitatory neurotransmitter), which
are represented in red, green, and blue respectively. The long swirling
structures are muller glial cells. These cells are responsible for a number
of functions within the retina; primarily amino acid recycling, structural support, maintenance of the blood retinal barrier, and metabolic
support. In the normal non-diseased eye, they present with identical
signatures. In this eye however, the molecular signatures have become
widely diverse and demonstrate the metabolic chaos taking place
during degeneration.
1

Kacey Davis
Editor and Staff Writer
Undergraduate, Biology
Dallin Hubbard
Staff Writer
Graduate Student, Bioengineering
Xavier Humberg
Staff Writer
Undergraduate, Computer Engineering
Sourav Kole
Editor
Graduate Student, Bioengineering
Lane Mulvey
Editor and Staff Writer
Undergraduate, Biology
Nicholas Nolta
Editor in Chief
Graduate Student, Bioengineering
Monir Parikh
Editor
Graduate Student, Bioengineering
Georgia Sinimbu
Editor
Graduate Student, Biology
Steve Stafsholt
Staff Writer
Undergraduate, Chemical Engineering
Jet Vellinga
Editor
Undergraduate, Computer Science
Print edition made possible by:

Don't Be Too Late

The Chase

By Severine Bateman
Bioengineering

By Steve Stafsholt
Chemical Engineering

No one's asking, no one knows

How she suffers from their blows
She doesn't see help on its way
She can't keep her hurt at bay
So she gives it to another
So someone else will suffer
No one's speaking, no one shares
How he's thinking no one cares
He hates when he feels empty
He doesn't wish to be
Someone else must feel the same
Makes her feel like she's to blame
Day by day, night after night
No one hears them when they fight
Every day, we walk on by
No one sees pain in their eyes
No one's there when they break
No one's there when they hate
No one's there, they can't wait
They end it, help's too late.
So life is, life can't change
Unless they come and rearrange.
He is asking, he does know
How she suffers from their blows
She sees him, he's on his way
He helps her keep her hurt at bay
She goes on out and helps another
Working so not one will suffer
She is speaking, she will share
How he's thinking no one cares
She knows that he feels empty
And he doesn't wish to be
She helps him to not feel the same
He knows we care, she's to blame

Something foreign in your bearing

brazenly defies capture.
Illustration, from pencil to paint,
form gaping paper shackles
that slip from your wrists like
Houdinis props.
Description hounds you
like a doe through the woods,
but neither Portuguese Foxhound,
English Setter, nor German Shepherd
can snare your essence.
Your would-be wardens,
painters, poets, and the like,
never let you catch your breath,
but maybe your essence
lies in the endless pursuit and flight
that keeps artists up, scribbling all night.

Gone
By Severine Bateman
Bioengineering
Youre great, youre amazing, but I have something to say
No matter how much I want to, I really cant stay
You make me happy and smiley, and wanting to dance
Your eyes that glitter give me shivers, but theres no chance
Youve been called by another, who needs you more than me
No matter what it is Im feeling, this has to be.
Even if I say this, inside I beg and plead.
Staring at your back, crying please dont leave.
Youre they reason I came here, the reason I stayed
But the future keeps saying, it must be this way.
So as you walk past me on your way to her side,
Ill turn the other way, my tears I will hide.
Even with pain creeping into my chest,
Ill smile at you and wish you the best.
Treat her the way that I know you will,
while I wait alone and wish for you still.

Day by day, night after night

They don't hear them as they fight
Every day they walk on by
And they see pain in their eyes
They are there when they break
They are there when they hate
They are there, so they wait
Won't let them end it, won't be too late.

The Thief of Eden

By Xavier Humberg
Computer Engineering
They call me the thief king.
My kingdom is everywhere. Eden
is my palace. The sand-stained walls
of the city are my throne. My gloves
are my golden scepter. The citizens are
my servants. Money is my crown. Fear
is my gold.
The religious extremists are my
usual target. Religions equate money
to God. So I guess, in essence, you
could say I steal God. The L in gold
doesnt matter: Gold versus God. I
dont do it for the money. I do it for
fear. I do it for power.
If you have money, you should
expect a visit from me. Im silent,
efficient, and, most importantly,
non-lethal. No matter where you hide
it, your most valuable possession will
be mine. I have my ways of sneaking
around; just like you.
I am not a Robin Hood. I steal
from anyone. I steal from everyone.
How do I do it?
I am the actual monarch of Eden.
They say that in the beginning
there was God; God created Adam
and put him in the Garden of Eden
with Eve. A serpent tricked them into
breaking the only commandment their
God had given them: Of every tree of
the garden thou mayest freely eat: but
of the tree of the knowledge of good
and evil, thou shalt not eat of it.
This forbidden fruit was gold.
Mankind was allowed to partake of
everything the world had to offer,
except the gold. Except the currency.
Except that which differentiates the
good and the evil. The fruit may give
you the knowledge, but it also gives
you the will to choose one over the
other.
There is no garden. Only a city.
My city. My palace overlooking the
world. My palace of sandstone walls
within a glass case. You may look, but
not touch. That goes for either side.
I am the God of Eden. Not in
the sense that I created the people,
for I did not. But in the sense that I
command them. The people of my
city are not allowed to partake of the
forbidden fruit. Those who do will be
visited by the thief, and expelled from
the city.
3

However, I am also the serpent.

I am the lone merchant to set up on
the streets. An apple vendor, the only
temptation my own people face. I am
the reason my people want gold.
I aim to perfect them.
This particular day, the worn
sandstone walls of houses blurred past
me as I ran from my own guards, my
long blond hair constantly blowing
back into my face as I struggled to
keep it from suffocating me. I smiled
as I turned the corner and the guards
continued to run past. I removed my
extravagantly jeweled merchant garb
and changed into my pure tan suit.
We had a hit.
A man, a little taller than me,
had snuck his way over to my stand
to buy an apple. His brown hair was
only a little darker than his weathered
hand as it shakily stretched forward.
I watched as his blue eyes cautiously scanned the empty area, shaking
wildly. He obviously knew the consequences that his action brought. He
dropped the small gold square into
my hand.
I smirked. I thrusted my hand into
the small bag, and pulled out the only
non-brown thing Id seen all day. The
marbled, green spheroid in the palm
of my hand seemed to rejoice as I
placed it the mans hand.
He offered a quick, nervous
chuckle and turned to run. He hesitated. Th- Thank you, sir, he croaked
before he ran off into the mild sandstorm.
I snapped twice, calling my two
incognito guards from their posts in
the surrounding houses, and then proceeded to cautiously follow the man to
his house.
Finally, the man yelped in front of
a two story house. His hay floor had
been poorly maintained as a majority
of it hung out the front door. A tattered, red cloth fluttered from the only
second story window.
A blonde head popped out from
the white cloth door, and cautiously
surveyed the scene. Her eyes frantically scanned the area, looking for somebody following him. Looking for me.
I ducked behind the building
across the alley, and my toes began
to burn from the sand in the cramped
space.
Did anybody see you? whis-

pered a soft, feminine voice. Likely the

female.
None other than the merchant,
responded the man, as hushed his
rough voice would allow.
Come. Let me see. Ah! Its beautiful.
It is not for decoration my dear.
It is for ingesting.
A silence followed as the woman
fumbled with the apple. And then
came the sound Id been waiting for.
The sound that reverberated
through the city from her bite was
loud and sudden enough that I
jumped.
I turned the corner again till the
couple was barely in sight. I watched
as they both surveyed their neighbors
houses for wandering eyes, only to
find none.
The man nearly ripped the apple
from his wifes hand and took a longer, much quieter bite. Suddenly, in
a spectacular flash of color, starting
with his face his entire body swelled
with a lush red color until his skin
tone matched that of his wifes. He
was now alive. Able to tell right from
wrong. Subject to temptation. Desirous of food.
The two looked at one another as
if it was the first time theyd seen the
other. They interlocked their hands
and walked inside the house.
I wandered my way through the
city back to my stand, keeping track of
every last turn, so as to be able to navigate back. Dariah, Gabriel, pack it up.
They ate it, I said in my high-pitched
voice to the two guards.
Yes mlord, Dariah shouted
in her feminine-in-an-oddly-masculine-way voice. Such a shame. Drea
was a good man. She sighed as she
began to take down the hurriedly
constructed stand. As she slipped her
chainmail tunic on, she turned to me.
Ready?
Ready as Ill ever be.
Stop merchant! yelled Gabriel.
I started running and my guards
followed.
It was symbolic really. It gave my
people another reason to reconsider
buying the apple. If my people saw
my guards chasing the lone merchant,
theyd more easily remember gold was
against the commandment. Its the
appearance of deterrence that I thrust

Below: Brian Baker. Surface micromachined polysilicon micromotor powered

by a scanning electron microscope. Image acquired using an optical microscope.
Potential for use in energy harvesting applications.

upon my people.
I turned a corner and changed into
the tan suit. After all, tan blends best
against tan. Gabriel, Dariah. Be sure
to pack up the apples! I yelled with a
smile as they ran past.
Gabriel nodded indiscreetly.
I was off. I climbed to the top of
the building behind me and jumped
from rooftop to rooftop. It was the
fastest way to travel through the tight
grid of a city.
It was also the appearance of the
thief that deterred my people. The
thief, leaping from house to house was
to remind them that the thief could
get whatever he wanted, whenever he
wanted. My people, long since Adam
and Eve, have learned that the thief is
the sign of banishment.
I finally reached the mans house,
and in one fluid movement I jumped
from the top of the roof and in the
second story window, punching a new
hole in the cloth. I dusted the sand off
my suit and started looking for the
apple.
As I said before, I take the most
valuable item in a persons possession.
I steal what remains of the apple: the
only object in a persons possesstion
worth any monetary value. Then I
wait. Wait for the person to notice the
apple is missing. Then I strike. Wrap
them up and throw them off the city
wall.
But this time was different.
I found the apple, three bites taken
out of it, on the floor by the cheap,
hay-stuffed bed in the upstairs room. I
grabbed it quickly and hid in the cloth
covered closet on the opposite side of

the room. And then I waited.

In the distance came voices walking towards the house. One of them
was the mans, rough and deep. One
was the womans, soft and sweet. And
another, one Id never heard before.
Thats strange. Ive heard everybodys
voice. Unless
Hes here, said the unfamiliar
voice.
Well block the door, said the
man, Drea was it?
The cloth door fluttered open as
the unfamiliar man walked in. I could
hear his breathing: the sign of humanity. He seemed to breathe almost like
an angry bull: deep, short breaths that
seemed to steam.
Weve been waiting, my liege,
said the man as he looked around
downstairs for me. Allow me to introduce myself. Outside of the city, I am
known as Cain. Inside the city walls,
however, I am known as a Nameless.
I was not born inside the city walls.
I was born to humans. He knocked
something over downstairs and continued. I know of the outside world. I
know of what you protect your people
from. The outside world is miserable,
but you know this already. Youve
seen it.
I remember when you used to
stand atop the wall and stare in curiosity. You used to try to jump down,
but you physically couldnt leave. But
you found a way to allow it. Another
cloth violently fluttered downstairs.
You found the apple tree hanging over the city wall, he continued.
Just within reach of picking. But you
were afraid to try it. So you grabbed

one and gave it to your closest friends:

Adam and Eve. They each took a bite
and turned human. You, then, out of
fear, cast them out of the city.
Nearly an hour of silence followed
I gathered enough bravery to leap
from my hiding place to the window
and try for an escape. I never made it.
Cain was there, right by the
window with some kind of stone tool,
likely a weapon. Muscles bulged from
every possible location as he stuck
his arm out to stop me. His skin was
dark, yet not red in any way. Weve
distracted you long enough, he said
in a deep voice.
What do you mean? I shouted.
Six hours and your kingdom will
be no more. With that, Cain jumped
out the window and ran out of sight.
His short brown hair never moved an
inch.
I stuck my head out the window to see Drea and his wife on the
ground, hopefully asleep. They looked
so peaceful as they breathed. Movement. Constant movement. Living
would be nice. But I cant break the
rule. No. I must stay strong.
I jumped down and created a
small brown cloud of dust where I
landed and a thud loud enough to
wake the sleeping couple.
The man pulled another one of
those stone weapons from a pocket
on the back of his robe. With all due
respect, the feelings living brings are
worth the troubles Cain told me comes
with it, he said. Breathing, he
smiled. Wouldnt you love to know
how it feels? How it feels to have a
pulse? What its like to eat? Money
hasnt corrupted me. Money has
SAVED me!
Out of panic I grabbed for the
smooth wooden handle of the weapon, only to have it be pulled back and
drawn, ready to strike.
Drea! the wife shouted. Dont
kill the man! Hes still your king! It
would be mutiny!
He lowered his weapon, shaking.
If I dont kill him, we wont be able to
see it!
See what!? I asked, speaking
nervously quickly. What are you
going to do?
Its none of your concern as of
yet!
4

I AM THE KING! I shouted.

ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS IN
THIS CITY IS MY BUSINESS! I took a
step towards the man.
He swung at me and I fell backwards, dodging the blunt stone edge.
YOU ARE THE THIEF! he yelled,
loud enough for the whole town to
hear. YOU ARE THE MERCHANT!
YOU ARE THE KING! YOU, my liege,
are EVERYTHING THATS GOING
WRONG IN THE CITY!
I am the protector! The perfector!
The perfector cannot sin himself! He swung again, this time
down, to which I backed up. If you
aim to perfect the city, you should
start with yourself!
There cannot be salvation without sin!
He scoffed at me. Nobody, anywhere is perfect! He turned and ran
in the same direction as Cain.
Well crap! I thought as I ran towards my own house across the city.
Theres only one thing that could be
used to destroy my kingdom!
As I ran into my house, I shouted,
Gabriel, dont let anybody touch the
app
And there Gabriel was, staring
blankly into the room where we store
the apples.
Gabriel! WHAT HAPPENED?
He looked at me, still in shock, his
face seemed paler than usual. The
TheNameless hehe
I looked him in the eyes frantically. Calm down and speak to me.
HeheHe took the apples.
SHIT!
The cloth door to the room was
ripped from its hanger, and the room
on the other side was completely empty. The room no longer even smelled
like apples, only reeked of mud.
II dont knowsir! he responded nervously.
We need to find those apples!
IIm sorry sir. I cacant do
that.
I AM YOUR KING! YOU WILL
FOLLOW MY ORDERS!
You are a sinner.
Drea!
The man you stole from today.
He took the apples from us at the
stand. We gave them to him. He promised us freedom. Knowledge.
5

WHAT IS HE DOING WITH

THEM!?
He shook his head, unwilling, or
possibly unable, to tell me. He licked
his finger and dabbed at something
on the back of his leg. As he pulled his
hand back up, a slight red tinge had
accumulated where hed licked.
WHAT IS HIS and then I got
it.
Red.
I knocked him aside as I ran past
him.
He yelped in agony as he slowly
skid to the floor, his face scraping the
wall the whole way down.
If you didnt want the consequences that came with life, you
shouldnt have eaten the apple! I
yelled as I ran out the door.
From somewhere in the city can
a thousand voices yelling one word
simultaneously. Five! The sound
echoed for almost a minute as I attempted to pinpoint its location in the
city.
Citizens of Eden! shouted Cains
voice from afar. He was here somewhere! Somewhere in the city. God
will not save you in your premortal
state!
HE WONT SAVE YOU IN
YOUR MORTAL STATE! I shouted
into the emptiness, stopping to listen
closely for the sound.
False, came Cains voice again.
The city center!
Four! shouted the multitude of
voices.
Nothing imperfect deserves to
be with God! I shouted as I turned the
corner to the city center.
Every citizen of Eden stood near
the central fountain holding an apple.
I couldnt pick Cain out of the crowd.
The apple is your salvation!
Cain continued from somewhere within the crowd. Eat it and be edified!
Three!
Noticing me, Cain shouted, BEHOLD! YOUR KING! The thief king!
The crowd booed me, and several
members of the crowd came towards
me with rocks. SINNER! shouted
some.
Behold the lone merchant! The
apple vendor!
The crowd booed louder. Enough
to hurt my ears. Two! they shouted.
BEHOLD YOUR KING! BE-

HOLD YOUR TEMPTATION! BEHOLD YOUR PROTECTOR! YOUR

PERFECTOR! YOUR CONDEMNER!
came Cain again, this time stepping
forward, out into the front of the
crowd.
One!
Behold the lone sinner! Behold
your king! Behold Lucifer! That is
your name, yes?
That was my name. The name
God had given me.
I shouted into the crowd You are
being led by one who wishes your
life to be simple and easy! That is not
Gods way! I shouted into the crowd.
No sir, came Drea from within
the crowd, now also stepping forward.
That is you.
With that remark, Cain turned
around to face the entire crowd and
threw his hands in the air. In his left
hand, the green spheroid apple. In his
right hand, a second. He then uttered
four words that changed the course of
my city: Gods will be done!
Every citizen who was holding an
apple bit into it. Sweet drops of nectar
flew every which direction.
Cain stepped farther forwards
as the crowd behind laughed and
screamed in awe at the miracle they
had just created. Lucifer, you can
choose to join us, or you can choose to
never be human, he said. He threw
me an apple and waited for my decision.
As I caught the apple, the surrounding citizens instantly hushed
and stared at me. Each with eyes of
yearning.
I slowly turned around as I spoke
my one word answer. No. I dropped
the sweet apple on the floor and
stomped on it, severing it into hundreds of small pieces. My people are
gone. I aimed only to perfect, and you
perverted the people! I shouted.
But my liege! shouted Drea as
he stepped forward, You may still
help us to be perfect.
I smiled, and took a deep breath as
I turned towards the crowd again. I
have a new goal. If there truly is a way
to get to heaven after sinning, I will
work to stop you. Mark my words!
I will drag ALL of you down to
Hell with me, and Ill start with you,
Cain!

Head and Neck by Chris Bowen, Bioengineering - We are all totipotent cells with unlimited capability. Some divide to specialize in one area and some to another.
Occasionally in our lives, challenges arise and struggles present themselves. Understanding the nature and the development of the problems provides a guide to
take steps to resolve them. Embryology is the art of understanding developmental progressions and challenges; it tells the story of the past and gives guidance to
the future.

Right: Janet Iwasa - Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV): Immature.

Honorable Mention. This 3D model of
an immature HIV particle shows the
virus soon after it has budded from a
host cell. The viral particle will undergo significant conformational changes
as it becomes a mature, infectious
particle. The model was created in 3D
animation software using structural
data files from the Protein Data Bank.
Opposite page: DiSilico - Tungsten
Tide. Best in Show ($100). This is
a zoom into a very high resolution
impact simulation. A tungsten plate
(seen) is shot at a porous rock (hidden)
at 10x the speed of sound. The red
symbols on the bottom relate to the
high dimensional objects I work with
that define material behavior.

Ebola, the Plague of the

21st Century
By Dallin Hubbard
Bioengineering
Why is Ebola so deadly and
contagious? The real answer: nobody
knows. With the largest outbreak of
Ebola virus the world has ever seen,
and more than 4,000 deaths documented, a succinct report is warranted.
The first Ebola virus was discovered
after two separate outbreaks occurred
almost simultaneously in Nzara, South
Sudan and Yambuku, Democratic Republic of Congo in 1976. The virus has
caused fear and dread worldwide as
people have observed the horrifying
images of patients bleeding from their
eyes, mouth and other parts of the
body. This disease is estimated to have
a large impact worldwide as health
care systems gear up and economies
bottom out in response to the plague.
Some of the hardest hit regions have
been Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia where fear, lack of healthcare
and broken economies are leading to
catastrophic consequences [1].
The Ebola virus comes from the
order Mononegavirales which includes measles, mumps and rabies.
The Ebola virus belongs to the family
Filoviridae, which are enveloped,
negative-stranded RNA viruses of various morphology. These viruses have
filamentous particles with a uniform
diameter of 80 nm but vary greatly in
7

length, with lengths up to 14 m [2].

Can the Ebola virus reach you?
Possibly. Ebola has been shown to
be carried by animals. It has affected
chimpanzees, gorillas, pigs and maybe
even dogs [3,4,5]. Could it be spreading silently across the US among the
wild deer population? No one knows.
The source host for the Ebola virus is
still a mystery. No one knows why the
disease can be contracted without any
apparent direct contact with infected animals or humans. The mystery
behind this disease gets even more
complicated by the fact that dogs have
been found to carry antibodies for
the disease, but not the Ebola virus.
Dogs eating Ebola infected material
remained asymptomatic. How do they
avoid dying from the initial infection?
No one knows [5]. Pigs have been
shown to be susceptible to Ebola (as
occurred in the Philippino outbreak),
yet no one knows the transmission
vector. Recent research data shows
that three types of fruit bats carry the
virus asymptomatically, thus giving
evidence that bats are the host organism and source of the disease, but how
it travels from the bats to humans is
still not fully understood [6].
All these questions point to the
fact that we still have a lot to learn
from Mother Nature. People who are
skilled in immunology, epidemiology,
chemistry, medicine and other areas
are needed to combat this deadly disease. This disease may not strike the

US very hard but that doesnt abrogate

our responsibility to understand the
disease and find a cure. Scientists are
spearheading this across the world
with a multitude of new vaccines in
clinical studies. One new vaccine for
Ebola has been shown to be 100%
effective in animals and has entered
clinical trials as of October 10, 2014. It
is slated to be released in January of
next year [7,8].
References:
1. Mirzayev, Elvin. Ebola's Economic Impacts on
Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Investopedia
2014 October 13. <http://www.investopedia.
com/articles/investing/101314/ebolas-economic-impacts-liberia-sierra-leone-and-guinea.asp>.
2. H Feldmann, TW Geisbert. Lancet. Ebola
haemorrhagic fever. Mar 5, 2011; 377(9768):
849862.
3. Johnson E, Jaax N, White J, Jahrling P. Lethal
experimental infections of rhesus monkeys by
aerosolized Ebola virus. Int J Exp Pathol. 1995
Aug;76(4):227-36.
4. Weingartl HM, Nfon C, Kobinger G. Review
of Ebola virus infections in domestic animals.
Dev Biol (Basel). 2013;135:211-8.
5. Allela L, Boury O, Pouillot R, Dlicat A, Yaba
P, Kumulungui B, Rouquet P, Gonzalez JP,
Leroy EM. Ebola virus antibody prevalence in
dogs and human risk. Emerg Infect Dis. 2005
Mar;11(3):385-90.
6. Gonzalez JP, Pourrut X, Leroy E. Ebolavirus
and other filoviruses. Curr Top Microbiol Immunol. 2007;315:363-87.
7. Ebola outbreak: 1st human trials of Canadian
vaccine start in U.S. The Associated Press 2014
Oct 13. <http://www.cbc.ca/news/world/ebolaoutbreak-1st-human-trials-of-canadian-vaccinestart-in-u-s-1.2796859>.
8. Ebola: UN says experimental vaccine trials in
West Africa could begin by January. UN News
Centre 2014 Nov 6. <http://www.un.org/apps/
news/story.asp?NewsID=49269#.VF1PtPR4rgZ>.

Male Contraceptives
By Kacey Davis
Biology
Imagine a world where men could
take responsibility of contraceptives in
a way that isnt detrimental to physical or emotional health and doesnt
diminish sensation. Recent research
regarding male oral contraceptives
presents a new possibility for birth
control that could revolutionize the
way men approach their role in preventing unwanted pregnancy.
Essentially daily doses of ingested
spermicide, male contraceptives use
various methods to effectively deactivate sperm and prevent pregnancy.
Theoretically, these types of contraceptives wouldnt include hormones,
and thus wouldnt cause emotional
roller coasters like the kind seen in
many women who are on the Pill.
This method of contraception
would be purely for birth control;
research has not indicated any protection against STIs. However, dont underestimate the possibilities for male
oral contraceptives. A male equivalent
of the Pill would invite men in hetero-

sexual relationships to take charge of

their reproductive lives in a revolutionary way, shifting the responsibility
of preventing pregnancy from mostly
a females job to more of a shared role
and marking a step towards gender
equality.
Current contraceptive options for
men include condoms, vasectomies,
and experimental gel injections. Two
of the three of these routes are painful,
and the other decreases sensation (or
so Ive heard). In women, there are
many more options, including hormone injections, IUDs, progestin-only
pills, mixed-hormone pills, female
condoms, diaphragms, and mastectomies, just to name a few. However,
a majority of these wreak havoc on a
womans natural hormones and essentially turn her into an emotional mess.
Others are difficult to use and often
end up with sub-par effectiveness. By
introducing a male equivalent of the
Pill, we would open another option
to couples who arent yet ready for
children.
Potential issues arise when we
consider men taking on this new role
in heterosexual relationships. Male

oral contraceptives would most likely

have to be taken daily, at the same
time every day, much like female pills.
This comes with the same problem of
forgetfulness a missed dose could
mean a lapse in birth control coverage.
In a situation where both partners are
currently on an oral contraceptive, a
forgotten dose may be less worrisome.
However, if the couple isnt careful,
they may end up with coinciding lapses, possibly resulting in an unwanted
pregnancy. With good communication
(and an alarm on your phone), risks
like these can be minimized, but never
altogether eliminated.
There is room for men to have
a say in their reproductive lives. By
exploring male contraceptive options,
men gain more freedom and responsibility, resulting in greater equality of
preconceived gender roles. Research
on male birth control holds promise
for a bright future where couples can
jointly take precautions to prevent
unwanted pregnancy and men can
take control of their own bodies with
virtually no effect on physical or emotional well-being.

Blindfolded
By Steve Stafsholt
Chemical Engineering
A scientist famous for titrating
unicorns into horses learned of
a mystical spring on a remote
mountain. Intrigued by another
opportunity to shine the sunbeam of science into the dark
den of superstition, he hired a
native to guide him and carry
his shiny equipment.
They discovered the spring
after hours of hiking a well
worn trail. Barely winded, the
scientist went straight to work.
The native had sweated his
whole way up, so he went to
the spring for a drink. After
reverently dipping his cupped
hands into the clear water he
took his first swallow. Before
he could finish his drink, he
was pulled into the spring by a
mermaid.
The scientist scrutinized the
water through thick spectacles,
concentrating on his hypothesis. With one quick test he satisfied his nonexistent doubts,
proving to himself that the
water was chemically unexceptional. As the native swam with
the mermaid, she taught him
to breathe water. Both men,
impressed by their discovery
rushed to tell the other. The
scientist showed the native his
test results, and the native told
the scientist of his new skill.
The scientist chuckled, explaining to the native that human
lungs could never function
with H2O instead of O2. The
native dutifully drowned, and
the scientist concluded the man
died of heart failure due to his
now tranquil heart. Leaving the
spring untasted, the scientist
returned to the university to
saw off narwhal horns, forever
unaware of how he wore his
logic like a
blindfold.

Above: Valentin Romanov. The following is an image of a liposome, essentially an

artificial cell. This liposome is about 300 times smaller than the diameter of a human
hair. The inside of the liposome contains salt. In order to look at this liposome, we
have to stain it with a dye. The dye dehydrates the salt and leaves interesting shapes
behind for us to look at. This image was taken using an Transmission Electron Microscope (TEM). In this case, the salt looks like a tiny ram, most likely one of the smallest
images of a ram in the world!
Opposite page: Michael Bridge. This image displays the vasculature (blood vessels)
of developing zebrafish embryos. A confocal light microscope was used to capture
fluorescence signals to form a multislice mosaic 3 dimensional image of the specimens. The signal in these fish is a fluorescent protein expressed by cells that form the
surfaces of the blood vessels.

Skeleton
By Lane Mulvey
Biology
Sometimes I am a skeleton
I walk around in my suit of bones
Sometimes their stares go straight through me as if they were x-rays
Sometimes I am a skeleton
I walk around in my suit of bones
Sometimes their stares go straight to me as if I were a magnet
Their stares strike me like sticks and stones
They break my bones
So that when their words come after me
There is nothing to stop them
They hunt together
And I am a lone skeleton
Broken to bits but they dont stop there
These wolves drag my broken beams my collapsed self-esteem and carry the bones home so that they can chew on me
even when Im not there
Even as I lay in this pile
I wish I could build myself a wall not of wood nor brick nor stone
I would take blood, fat, and flesh and build myself armor
So that at least I could have the dignity of holding myself together when they come after me
And next time
Next time they wont be able to tear me to pieces and take me as take out
Sometimes I am a skeleton
Sometimes that means that Im strong

10

Clockwise from top left: Bonneville Salt Flats by Logan Raming, Zeolite Radial Crystals by Bryony Richards, Metabolomic Eye by Bryan Jones (Honorable Mention), Artificial Intraocular Lens by Liliana Werner, Retinitis Pigmentosa by
Rebecca Pfeiffer, Esophageal Garden by Hope Morrison (Best in Show $100), and Eye Candy by Jefferson Brown. You
can find all 81 entries on our website at http://thesponge.eng.utah.edu!