Journals

AUGUST 10, 2022
My name is Nithya. I’m a senior, and this is my second year doing EMC. Last year during EMC, I researched cancer. I’m very much interested in STEM in general but more specifically in the science and health science field. During my free time, I like to run, go hiking, bake, draw, and spend time with my family and friends. I also love to travel and see new things. I’m also part of the varsity track and field program at my school. My main events are triple jump and sprinting but I’ve been recently getting into hurdles too, I’m also a pentathlete. Track and field is a big part of my life and I hope to continue it in college. I also used to play soccer, do competitive swimming, and was a competitive figure roller skater. I really like to get involved with a lot of things in my school as I’m part of key club, science olympiad, Sources of strength, and Civil Conversation. In addition to taking part in these clubs, I’m also the president of Math Leagues, board of education rep for student government, social media manager for class of 2023, and event coordinator for chem club. This summer I am doing an internship at Albany med, where I am working in the Regenerative and Cancer Cell Biology department. I work in Dr. Wenzheng Zhang's lab, where the main focus is Kidney Fibrosis. I’ve never worked in a lab before, so I’ve learned a lot of cool things about different procedures, research protocols, etc. My favorite thing about working in this lab is that it’s very hands-on, and I get to do a lot of experiments and use technology and machines that I haven’t used before. For example, I learned western blotting, IF, how to cut and make slides, imaging, and a lot more. My summer has been pretty busy with track, my internship, work, and getting ready for the college application process. I’m excited for EMC to start; I learned a lot about how to manage my time last year doing EMC so I feel like this year I’ll be even better at managing my time and doing more research. My favorite things to watch are probably Marvel and DC shows so if I had to pick a favorite character that I’m most like it would be Caitlin Snow from The Flash because she is nice, quiet, likes science, helps others, and is persevering.

AUGUST 17, 2022                I can’t believe I’m a senior already. This summer went by pretty fast, but I’m kinda excited to go back to school and enjoy my last year in high school. The experiences I had at school with my classmates over lunch, after-school activities, and sports will always be some of my best recollections from junior year. I also had some pretty great memories while doing labs in my college physics class last year as well. The thing I look forward to most every day is going to practice after school; It’s the best part because I get to go outside, spend time with my friends and do something I love, and it’s the perfect thing I need after a long day of school.
                 In my personal opinion, I feel as though our traditional grading system isn’t that fair. Sure it has advantages to it, but I feel that there are things that should be changed about our grading system. I don’t really believe that a number on a report card can really indicate how much you learned in a certain class. Also, every different teacher has a different method of grading, and I feel that’s not really fair either. I’ve had teachers that give me grades for completion and other teachers who grade for accuracy, and obviously, I would have a lower grade in the class where the teacher grades for accuracy however, that doesn’t determine that I didn’t learn as much just because I have a lower grade. I’ve also experienced times when I’m taking the same level class as a friend, and they might have a lower grade than me because their teacher grades more harshly.
                There are a lot of things I’m looking forward to this school year. I’m really excited for my track and field season, and I’m also excited to be a senior and being able to enjoy my last year of high school. I’m also really looking forward to my supa biology class. My biggest challenge in terms of motivation in EMC is just making sure I make time for it. Surprisingly I thought I would struggle with being motivated to get my work done since EMC isn’t an actual class, but after experiencing it last year, I really enjoyed being able to research a topic of my choice, and I didn’t struggle with motivation at all.

AUGUST 24, 2022
This year I plan on researching nanotechnology or, more specifically, how nanotechnology is used in medicine. While I was researching cancer last year, I learned about many new and upcoming treatments, some of them including nanotechnology. Last year I read up on a potential cancer treatment called CRISPR, and it's a new and upcoming technology for gene editing; scientists are trying to use nanotechnology as a sort of delivery system for not only CRISPR but also immunotherapy. Although I didn’t get the chance to dive fully into this topic, I found it really interesting. This summer, I took part in the Albany Medical Center’s neuroscience exposure program, where I also learned that NanoNeuroscience is a progressing field where neural networks are able to change and heal. This piqued my interest more, and I started doing some light reading on this. I think the most exciting thing to me that made me want to learn more about nanotechnology is that it’s a progressive field that’s not yet entirely been explored. The power nanotechnology has in science and medicine is amazing as it could potentially be the future of medicine.
Nanotechnology is an advancing field. The creation of designed objects at the atomic, molecular, and macromolecular levels in the nanoscale range is known as nanotechnology. There are many other applications to nanotechnology other than medicine, as nanotechnology is used in the industrial and energy industries. I know that currently, there is a lot of research and trials on using nanotechnology as a form of treatment delivery. There isn’t a lot I know about this topic, so I know before I go forward in researching the questions I have, there is a lot of background research that needs to be done. I’ve been reading some really cool articles and getting to know how nanotechnology was first formed and how it's developing. I look forward to researching this topic more.

How does nanotechnology help with the early detection of diseases?
What potential dangers does nanotechnology use in medicine pose as of right now?
What progress has been made in using nanotechnology in medicine?

SEPTEMBER 14, 2022
I think I know nanotechnology is used to study really small things, and it’s important because it helps us understand the universe better. I think nanomedicine can be used to deliver medicine and but I also think that injecting these nanoparticles into your body can also be harmful. I also think that what makes nanotechnology so great is that it can be programmed and complete tasks in an automated way. I also think nanotech could be used to enter the body and be used as a form of treatment instead of surgery. I think this technology will replace things like pacemakers and help to access inaccessible areas of the body. I think nanobots can be used to break apart blood clots and maybe even take biopsies. I think a current challenge is trying to get nanobots to travel to the designated location in the body safely. Another challenge is to find a way for these tiny particles of technology to stay in the body without being perceived as a threat by the immune system. Because if the body perceives nanobots as a threat, then the body will try to get rid of it like any other toxin in our body. I know that nanotechnology is the manipulation of atoms; the way atoms are arranged has the ability to manipulate what things do around us. Nanotech has many uses in science and technology. When we’re studying nanotechnology, we are studying particles at the subatomic level. I know that nanomedicine is used for disease diagnosing and treatment. For example, I know there’re cancer treatments being produced through nanotechnology like CRISPR. I also know that nanotechnology has many applications and is used in industrial and energy industries.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2022
10 things I don’t know about my topic:

How do nanobots move around the body?
What are the side effects and the negatives of this technology? Can they malfunction?
What is the biggest issue or challenge with this technology?
How will nanobots be used to manipulate genes?
How can these little pieces of technology move through our body without the body treating them as foreign objects?
How can these little nanobots carry drugs or treatments?
To what extent or areas can nanotechnology be used to revolutionize medicine?
How are nanoparticles removed from the body?
How realistic or how far off are we to introducing more viable treatments with nanoparticles?
What current medicine or medicine trials are using nanoparticles?

I have determined that from my 10 “don’t knows,” I need to know how nanotechnology works. I need to do more research on the specifics of nanotechnology, different devices, how these tiny pieces of technology work, and be capable of carrying medicine, scanning, and carrying out various treatments. I think this is the most important “don’t know” that I should address first because knowing how these pieces of technology work will help me better understand and prompt more questions. This will also lay the groundwork for research that I will eventually get to. I also think that it’s important for my audience and readers to know and understand the basics of nanotechnology, and how it works before I dwell deeper into the specifics.

SEPTEMBER 21, 2022
QUESTION: What are the basics of nanotechnology, and how it works?
Everything around us depends on the individual atoms and their composition. Because you can utilize quantum physics to generate new things when you start fiddling with atoms, rearranging them will result in new things. Here are a few examples to help you appreciate just how tiny nanoparticles are: a human hair is 50,000 nanometers (nm) thick, a tip of a pen is one million nm broad, and if every person on earth were the size of a nm, they would all fit inside of one little toy vehicle. In discussing nanotechnology, we are referring to the atomic level. Everything around you is controlled by the arrangement of its atoms, and nanotechnology allows you to manipulate and rearrange atoms, making nanotechnology such a vital and promising field.
Think of atoms as legos and nanotechnology as the person who is putting together the legos or arranging the legos to make the structure you want. Nanotechnology holds the power to change/rearrange whatever property it wants, such as melting point, Fluorescence, electrical conductivity, Magnetic permeability, and chemical reactivity. How does this all play into medicine, you may ask? Well, the ability of nanotechnology to change such properties can advance current treatments and make them less invasive and, in some conditions, even safer. Before we get into that, another vital part of nanotechnology is called quantum dots. Think of these quantum dots as the special pieces you get in your lego set. Similar to how these lego pieces have unique properties and are used under unique circumstances, quantum dots also have different properties and are used in different circumstances. Quantum dots are semiconductors, meaning they are tiny light-emitting particles with unique optical and electronic properties. Referring back to how normal legos have different properties than special legos, quantum dots also differ from nanoparticles. Due to their distinct physicochemical properties, quantum dots are regarded as effective fluorescent markers utilized in a drug delivery system for tracking the metabolism of pharmaceuticals in the body. Although not a cure, quantum dots can penetrate the skin and slow cancer cell development by 80%. After they are in the body, nanoparticles, quantum dots included, depart the body through the feces if not absorbed by the gut or lungs.
As we piece together our legos and special legos, we create our final product: nanobots. Automated tasks can be carried out by nanobots. They possess the capacity to perceive, react, identify a friend or an enemy within the body, and deliver payloads. Diagnostic nanomachines provide medical professionals immediate access to sick regions by allowing them to track the interior chemistry of the body's organs. Additionally, nanobots might replace pacemakers by directly addressing the cardiac cells. Nanobots can also collect biopsies, open blood arteries, and monitor the concentration of certain substances in parts of the body that are difficult to reach. Like legos which can make an infinite number of structures, there are also infinite ways and uses based on how nanotechnology could be put together.

<-- Special Legos

Legos!!!

SDA 1 Reflection
I spent a pretty good amount of time on my project. I was able to manage and organize my time and attention. Normally I would spend more time on research than spending time on the visual, but this time I did spend more time on creating the visual. I chose to do a video because I wanted to try something new, as I’ve never created a video before. I also thought a video would best suit the info that I wanted to present because it would allow me to add in pictures and voice-over. Next time I would make my sda more detailed and go more in-depth. I found a lot of information I just didn't know how much to include on my SDA, but next time I think I should focus on more detailed information on each topic and subtopic on my SDA. I found that the critical thinking using SPECS helpful and easy to understand. I think the process was useful and the journals and research helped me and set me up for what I wanted to do on my SDA on. I think the directions and everything were clear and useful.

OCTOBER 26, 2022
           My first SDA focused on how nanotechnology can be used in drug delivery. I knew that nanotechnology could be used for various medical reasons, but while researching about this, I became interested in how nanotechnology came to be. In order to explore this topic further, I have decided that my need-to-know question would be, “How has nanotechnology been developed through time”
                 Nanotechnology is still a vastly growing field, and in order to get a better understanding of how quickly we’re making progress in this field and what we can expect in the future. I think learning the history of this is very important and help us better understand the current issues and hurdles that we face in using nanotechnology for medicine. With that being said, I don’t know much about the history of nanotechnology, so I have to do more in-depth research as I have a lot of questions.
            3 Sub Questions:

Who introduced nanotechnology into the world in the first place, and how did they get the idea to come up with nanotechnology.
To what extent has nanotechnology grown since it was first discovered (have we made a lot of progress of little progress)?
What misconceptions or false claims/theories have been made about nanotechnology

I definitely think as I read more articles, more questions will formulate. My 3 Sub questions above are kind of the basis of the research that I will be doing and developing. I think the first sub-question is a need to know because when researching the history of nanotechnology, you want to start from the very beginning and find out how it was discovered and what led to the discovery of nanotechnology. My second question was prompted by an article I was reading on the National Library of Medicine website while researching for my previous SDA. I found a lot of articles on current research that was happening, but I was very curious about how quickly this field has been advancing, so I think researching the history of advancements made in nanotech will help me get a better understanding of the advancement of nanotech in the future. Lastly, my third sub-question was prompted by a couple of articles that I was reading on the history of nanotechnology. Whenever we come up with new discoveries, there are always new theories and claims that people and scientists make, so I wanted to research more about how theories have been developed about nanotechnology, and if some of these theories are wrong, I want to look at the evidence as to why it was proved wrong and what new theories have developed from it.

November 2, 2022
My need to know question falls into the analysis category of the HQTQ’s. I say this because I’m taking the history of my topic and using it to analyze further questions and make predictions. Using the history that I learn from my topic I need to ask how these pieces and advancements made in the history of nanotechnology are all related. Using all this information I need to predict what will happen in the future of nanotechnology and estimate future results. I need to make inferences in order to make connections and these are all reasons why I think my need to know questions falls underneath the analysis category.
My first sub question “Who introduced nanotechnology into the world in the first place, and how did it develop through medicine” falls into the category of comprehension. I believe this falls into comprehension because I’m learning and understanding about the history of nanotechnology in medicine. The knowledge and how well I understand it and comprehend it will serve as the backbone for my research and for me to better develop and answer my need to know question. Some of the question starters such as “What facts or ideas show…?” and “Can you explain what is happening…? What is meant…?” are similar to my question.
My second sub question “To what extent has nanotechnology grown since it was first discovered and how can we use this information to predict the future of this feild?” falls under the evaluation category. I believe this falls into evaluation because I’m using the history and information that I’ve researched and to predict what future outcomes are possible. Some of the question starters such as “What evidence can you find…?” and “Do you agree with the actions…? Outcomes…?” are similar to my questions as I plan to evaluate and examine different aspects of history and how they’ve shaped a role and/or will continue to shape a role.
My third sub question “What misconceptions or false claims/theories or controversies have been made about nanotechnology” falls under the analysis category. This subquestion is a little bit harder to place in a category but I believe it would best fall into the analayis category because I’m asking questions such as “How would you classify…?” and “What conclusions can you draw…?” Using the evidence and research I’m trying to analyse what parts of the discoveries of nanotechnology have bee proven wrong and why. Using this information I want to also be able to find out how these controversies have created more questions and I want to analyze how much of an impact and these false theories or misconceptions have led to or what impact they’ve made. My need to know didn’t change much. I think it’s important that i grasp an understanding of the history of nanotechnology to understand to what extent it plays a role in advancements today and the future. My sub questions wre also pretty much the same, but after doing more research I did change them a little bit.One sub question that will drive my need to know is “To what extent has nanotechnology grown since it was first discovered and how can we use this information to predict the future of this feild?” I think this is an important question that will really help me answer my need to know because this question addresses how we can use the history of advancements made in this field to analyze what advancements can be made next in the future.
I plan to use the following 3 sources to address my questions.
"Towards new frontiers." Nature, vol. 593, no. 7860, 2021, pp. S24-S27. ProQuest; eLibrary, https://explore.proquest.com/elibrary/document/2534659438?accountid=51266, doi:http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-01405-0.
Bayda, Samer, et al. “The History of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: From Chemical-Physical Applications to Nanomedicine.” Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), MDPI, 27 Dec. 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6982820/.
The Future of Nanotechnology: Cross-disciplined Progress to Improve Health and MedicineJinwoo Cheon, Warren Chan, and Inge ZuhornAccounts of Chemical Research 2019 52 (9), 2405-2405DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.9b00423

November 9, 2022
             The subject of my first SDA was the application of nanotechnology to medicine delivery. I was aware that there were numerous medical applications for nanotechnology, but as I looked into these applications, I developed an interest in the history of nanotechnology. I've determined that my need-to-know inquiry will be "How has nanotechnology evolved over time" to delve more into this subject. Though I wanted to take this a step further, so instead of just learning about the history, I want to use what I learned to analyze the progress we’ve made in the past and connect it to our current research in this field; so my essential question is how nanotechnology has developed through time and how this impacts current and future advancements. My most crucial sub-question that’s driving my research is To what extent has nanotechnology grown since it was first discovered, and how can we use this information to predict the future of this field?
           To better grasp how swiftly we're advancing in this subject and what to anticipate in the future, we must first realize how rapidly nanotechnology is still a tremendously expanding field. I believe that understanding the past will help us better comprehend the challenges and problems we currently encounter when applying nanotechnology in medicine. Because it tackles how we might use past achievements in this sector to predict future developments, I believe it is a crucial question that will really assist me in addressing my curiosity. I chose the three sources below because I believe they would best help me answer my questions. The first source I chose was a scholarly article on Proquest, which is one of the library databases that my school provides. This article is very detailed orientated and very thorough on what nanotech is and how it came to be, and its evolution. This source was a great place to start my research and get the base of my info. The second source I chose was from a gov website called National Library of Medicine. This article dwelled deeper on the Chemical–Physical Applications of Nanomedicine. A lot of info on discoveries and how they were made and what led to them making those discoveries, and what misconceptions were made were addressed in this article. I was really able to use this article to help take the info I have further and use this information to get a better understanding of the progression that’s been made and use that to analyze what can be made. My third source, which came from ACS, had information about the future of nanomedicine, which will help me piece together what I learned about the history and connect it to the present and future.
         As I’m researching the history, I believe a timeline would be best to present my sda. Since I’m dwelling deeper into not just the history but also analyzing it and using the info about history to make connections to the present, I believe an interactive timeline would work best. I think this would be great for my SDA, and I’ve never created a timeline, let alone an interactive one, so I’m excited to create this. The article from the National Library of Medicine cites how “Lithography involves the patterning of a surface through exposure to light, ions or electrons, and the deposition of material on to that surface to produce the desired material.” Using Nanolithography, creating small structures like microchips and nanochips is possible. Nanolithography is something that can create a kind of “tiny computer” where we can use this technology for scanning purposes in the body. We can use this to diagnose and scan areas of the body, and evidence from the article suggests that nanotechnology used for diagnosis is achievable in the near future; however, there are other factors, like how a piece of technology can function safely in the human body, that hinder nanotech from being implemented for diagnosis purposes.
              Below are some of the sources I will use to address my questions:
"Nanotechnology 2007: a Revolution in Miniature." World Book Inc 2009. ProQuest; eLibrary, https://explore.proquest.com/elibrary/document/1972293355?accountid=51266.
Bayda, Samer, et al. “The History of Nanoscience and Nanotechnology: From Chemical-Physical Applications to Nanomedicine.” Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), MDPI, 27 Dec. 2019, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6982820/.
The Future of Nanotechnology: Cross-disciplined Progress to Improve Health and MedicineJinwoo Cheon, Warren Chan, and Inge ZuhornAccounts of Chemical Research 2019 52 (9), 2405-2405DOI: 10.1021/acs.accounts.9b00423

SDA 1 Reflection
In my sda for this month, my goal was to research the history of nanotechnology and analyze it to the current. The history of nanotechnology dates back pretty far, however, I really focused on the nanomedicine part. My thoughts about the SDA are pretty fine. I think my presentation and all that was fine I thought that I could go more into the analysis part. I kind of underestimated the amount of time it would take to research the history. I thought I would find like a source or two about a detailed history, instead, I has to look through a whole ton of sources to get the information on the history and background I needed. I think because I was focused on nanomedicine it was a bit harder to research the history and all the history of it wasn’t just all in one place. Then after gathering the info, I had to pick out the key events or most important info to add. Originally I was going to do an interactive timeline, but I realized that it wasn’t really the best way to present the information I collected so I proceeded to make a google slideshow timeline thing with a voiceover. That whole process took up a lot of time, so didn’t have much time to spend on the analysis part, which was my fault. To be honest, I think I conveyed my So What in general but not really in depth because I should have spent more time on the analysis portion of it. As far as time and attention go, I think I spent a pretty great deal of time and attention working on my sda. I did spend a good amount of time researching, but I think what would be helpful is to organize my time and give myself allotted time for each portion of the sda
Something that I can improve on in the 5Cs would be the critical thinking aspect and collaboration. This month sda I didn’t really collaborate with anyone. I also think the critical thinking portion of it and going even deeper with my analysis could be better. This sda was very helpful, and I learned a whole lot of new information. Researching the history helped me gain a better understanding of where we are right now with nanotechnological research and inventions. I was also pretty surprised at how many nanomedicines were FDA approved already. I think the HOTQs were helpful and kind of were like a guide. Moving forward, I need to work on my analysis skills. I also hope to involve some sort of collaboration for my midterm.

December 13, 22

Global Interest: Nanoparticles may damage cells because they can produce free radicals and also affect brain development when they cross the blood-brain barrier. It could overall cause side effects that can harm humans
Global Interest: There is quite a bit of ethical and social controversy with nanotechnology. Nanoparticles can cause harm to the environment. There are also debates about the government regulations regarding nanomedicine.

This problem matters because nanoparticles are still an upcoming and progressing field. There is still no definite data on some of the long-term effects of nanomedicines. This matters because we have to take into account if these treatments are doing more harm than good. The ethical aspect of nanotechnology is also becoming a very big problem in society. There are a lot of questions and debates on what regulation should be placed. Because of the rate of development of nanotechnology there are social and environmental issues that are coming forward. This problem affects will affect all people of society. The people being administered the nanomedicines might have a more impact. But eventually, some of the harm and toxic waste that nanotechnology produces will be harmful to all of society. This is a serious problem as there are many articles and news about some of the controversies. In a journal titled “Ethical Issues in Clinical Trials Involving Nanomedicine” from the National Library of Medicine talks about how quantum dots have proved to have side effects because it can disrupt cellular function. This article also talks about the different problems involved in risk minimization, management, and communication in clinical trials involving nanomedicine.
Source: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2695593/
Resnik DB, Tinkle SS. Ethical issues in clinical trials involving nanomedicine. Contemp Clin Trials. 2007 Jul;28(4):433-41. doi: 10.1016/j.cct.2006.11.001. Epub 2006 Nov 17. PMID: 17166777; PMCID: PMC2695593.
Currently, I think my biggest weakness right now is just finding out what I want to research next early so that I can focus on doing more than presenting the information I find, and delve more into analysis.

December 20, 22
I’ve decided to take a look at the problems involving nanoethics. I think one of the questions that I will be focusing on is to what extent, if possible, can ethics in nanotechnology be created or changed and to what extent do these ethical problems hinder our society. I think this would be a good question to research as ethics can always be a bit of a controversial topic. This is also a topic that I haven't explored a lot so I want to learn more about it. I did touch upon reading some of this while researching my last sda. This problem is very important as this can impact our world, society, and economy. These ethical problems and decisions can impact our healthcare system and also impact our environment. I want to explore more about what are the ethical controversies occuring pertaining to nanotechnology and how these are changing and affecting our society.
I found a scholarly article on the proquest database that I have read and annotated. I found a lot of interesting information that I didn’t think of when thinking about ethical issues. While reading this article there were references to some of the people and history of nanotechnology which and since I researched about this in my previous SDA, reading this article was easier and I was able to make better connections. I found that from reading this article that there is overlap between genethics and nanoethics. This article was also published in the early 2000s so I’m sure certain issues have changed and progressed since when this article was published so I want to research more into that. This article did talk about some of the ethical challenges we face including significant health and environmental concerns, privacy invasion, reducing labor, gene modification.
I’m looking forward to the winter break and just being able to take a break from school and catch up on sleep over break.
Link to annotated article: https://docs.google.com/document/d/14LVxH73zwrrLnykGjAEq7CYJdvw8L9Yj1e_XXl-hP9Y/edit?usp=sharing
Article Cited: Litton, Paul. ""Nanoethics"? What's New?" The Hastings Center report, vol. 37, no. 1, 2007, pp. 22-5. ProQuest; eLibrary, https://explore.proquest.com/elibrary/document/222367032?accountid=51266.

January 12, 23
Article Citation:Resnik, David B, and Sally S Tinkle. "Ethics in nanomedicine." Nanomedicine, vol. 2, no. 3, June 2007, pp. 345+. Gale OneFile: Health and Medicine, link.gale.com/apps/doc/A225041591/HRCA?u=nysl_ca_guild&sid=bookmark-HRCA&xid=21c3b25c. Accessed 12 Jan. 2023.
The article I chose is from the Gale OneFile Health and Medicine Database. The name of this article is “Ethics in Nanomedicine.” This article was published by Future Medicine Ltd, and the authors are David B Resnik and Sally S Tinkle. American bioethicist David Benjamin Resnik is employed by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences. Sally S Tinkle Is a senior science advisor who specializes in nanotoxicology and emerging issues in environmental health sciences.
As for finding this article, coming up with the search terms for the database wasn’t too hard. I did a couple of searches: first, I just searched nanoethics to see what would come up, then I used the search terms nanotechnology and ethics, then I also added nanomedicine as one of the search terms. Though the search terms weren't that hard, I had to look through a lot of databases. I first went to ProQuest database as that is the one I usually go to a lot, and I did find an article, but I felt there wasn't much information. Next, I went to the gale research in context database and one other database, but I found a lot of news articles or articles pertaining to their areas of nanoethics that are not nanomedicine. So after looking at a bunch of articles and databases, I finally found this article through Gale OneFile Health and Medicine Database.
This article first starts off by talking about how nanomedicine has already been widespread, and it talks about the growing markets in nanomedicine. The article also mentions that the main area of discoveries and advancements that are most likely to occur in nanomedicine is cancer treatments, drug delivery, and neurology products/treatments (Resnik & Tinkle, 2007). The article also goes on to state how “Discoveries and innovations in nanomedicine have occurred at a breathtaking pace: in just a short time, uses of nanotechnology in medicine have moved from laboratory testing to clinical trials, to medical applications” (Resnik & Tinkle, 2007). I think it's important to note that the rate of nanotechnology has been increasing faster than a lot of other upcoming fields. Because of this rapid progression, there are a lot of ethical questions that go unanswered and are still in debate. The article then goes on to talk about the ethical concerns in specific areas of nanomedicine. Firstly in research and development, the article states that “Assessing the safety of nanomaterials can be a difficult undertaking because they have no common properties other than size (1-100 nm). Since nanomaterials are not a unified class of compounds, each type of material must be assessed on its own terms” (Resnik & Tinkle, 2007). We see right here the problem with not being able to fully understand these nanoparticles, which leads to questions about their safety ness and longterm effects. The article then states, “The risks associated with exposure to nanoscale materials often vary according to the route of exposure: a particle that is benign when ingested may be toxic when inhaled” (Resnik & Tinkle, 2007). There is really no way to test nanoparticles through different routes in animals, so testing has to be done in humans to determine overall safety. So here comes into ethical play about human tesing of nanoparticles and at what stage testing should be allowed, and how the regulations would be different for testing nanoparticles than other drugs. The article also mentions how nanodrugs that were tested in animals proved to be no side effects but then, when tested in humans, they became very ill. This again proves how animals aren’t reliable when it comes to testing nanodrugs. The article also advises that it would be best if the Data and Safety Monitoring Board (DSMB) should take more precautions and oversight on nanomedicine testing. After talking about the research and development stage of nanotechnology, the authors move on to talk about what happens after nanomedicine products are launched into the market. The article states, “It is probable that nanomedicine products will also be very expensive when they first enter the market and that nanomedicine may temporarily make health national and international inequalities worse” (Resnik & Tinkle, 2007). The USA is a place where healthcare isn’t covered, and this article was written in 2007, so I would say the authors were pretty factual about their predictions about temporarily making situations worse. The article also states, “Another ethical issue related to social justice concerns the use of nanomedicine for physical enhancement rather than therapy” (Resnik & Tinkle, 2007). I find this piece of information very interesting. I’ve been reading a couple articles and I never thought or read about medical enhancement being an issue. The authors talks about how about the difficulties of enforcing regulations and finally finish up by talking about some of the most important concerns with ethics that may arise in the future.
I’m researching to what extent, if possible, can ethics in nanotechnology be created or changed and to what extent do these ethical problems hinder our society. This article talks about how ethical issues haven’t kept up with our rapid progressions in the field of nanomedicine, so this hinders our society and keeps it from moving forward in the field. Also, this article mentions how nanomedicine is quite different from other treatments, and not being able to use animal testing as a reliable source shows us that the regulations and ethics may be different for this particular field. This article is relevant to the field of study because it talks about ethical issues and how they’ve arisen. The article also gives a few predictions on what ethical issues are most likely to become a bigger concern, so this contributes to the field of study of nanoethics.

January 26, 23Article link: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1817662/
Article Citation: Schulte PA, Salamanca-Buentello F. Ethical and scientific issues of nanotechnology in the workplace. Environ Health Perspect. 2007 Jan;115(1):5-12. doi: 10.1289/ehp.9456. PMID: 17366812; PMCID: PMC1817662.
I found the peer-reviewed article on the National Library of Medicine source. This article was written by Paul A. Schulte and Fabio Salamanca-Buentello. Overall this article and the organization it is published by is reliable. This organization focuses on producing published and accurate information for the people. This organization documents a lot of biomedical-related stuff and houses relevant information for not only people but scientists to view. I believe the article itself is pretty non biased as the organization doesn’t seem to favor any topics as their main goal of their database is to just present the information. The author Schulte is the Director, Division of Science Integration he works in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Buentello is a physician and researcher and works on various ethical issues in the healthcare field. Both authors seem very knowledgeable, and they’ve certainly made an impact in their field. I do like how you get two different perspectives, one of a physician and one who works for a federal agency.
This article focuses on the Ethical and Scientific Issues of Nanotechnology in the Workplace. This is certainly a different article from the other two, it focuses on more specific issues. It also kind of connects to my last article that I found as both articles talk about the background and share possible solutions. The article mentions that numerous studies on the moral implications of nanotechnology have concentrated on broad themes including equity, privacy, security, the environment's influence, and metaphysical uses in human-machine relations. Since this article was written a while ago I wonder if any of these themes that we focus on today have changed or stayed the same. A possible step to help produce a solution is to provide a framework for the moral and intellectual concerns raised by workplace nanotechnology in order to foresee its effects. I completely agree with this being the first step to find a solution. It’s crucial to see and observe what concerns and problems are occurring and getting to know the different perspectives and stakeholders who hold opinions about this. The article mentions, “In emerging belief is that nanoscience and technology cannot be based on past practices in which ethical and social reflection is a second step to using newly developed science; rather, ethical reflections must accompany research every step of the way” (Schulte and Salamanca-Buentello). After gathering the data it’s important to ethically analyze this information, and this is also where it can get kind of unpredictable. I was kind of surprised to hear the article say that nanoscience shouldn’t be based on past practices. I feel like a lot of people when deciding ethical issues look at past ethical issues and use that to formalize solutions. However, I do understand why they might not encourage looking at past practices just because nanoscience has been proven to be very different from other areas. The article also goes onto mention that “Because a diverse mix of particles and processes exists, hazards and risks are likely to be more accurately assessed on a case-by-case basis—or at least according to the type of production methods and whether particles are embedded in a matrix or unbound” (Schulte and Salamanca-Buentello). This raises a lot of new problems and difficulties because if the characteristics are so variable then it does increase the challenge of setting limits to nanoethics. It’s also hard to draw a straight line or come up with a straight set of rules to explain nanoethics. Like the article mentioned, the way to get past this would be to look at each case separately, although it is a lot of work.
The foundation for risk management decision-making is the "hazard identification" step of risk analysis (Schulte and Salamanca-Buentello). Since the reasoning process is essentially qualitative and the outcomes prompt further study and judgments on preventative action, the stage's output is frequently hotly contested. Communicating the dangers and hazards presented to employees requires fundamental scientific understanding regarding the hazards of nanomaterials to be understood. Employers must effectively interpret and communicate information about hazards and risks in order to manage risk. Employers' decision-making will be centered on selecting the preventative measures that should be implemented to guarantee a safe and healthy workplace. Without appropriate understanding of the dangers associated with nanotechnology, ethical questions cannot be adequately addressed. In order to comply with the principles a continuing research effort is required because there is little evidence available on the safety of a large number of nanomaterials. Another thing that would help is that by evaluating the worldwide budget for nanotechnology research and development and figuring out the real sums allocated to occupational safety and health research and ethical research in this sector, researchers might contribute to the advancement of debates on ethical issues. Though such information is not extensively recorded globally, U.S. data already in existence can be taken into account.

Midterm Reflection

Prior to this assignment, I have been using scholarly articles. I’ve been reading articles from the ones I find by doing a web search and the ones on the databases. Both have had a significant role in my research. Doing a web search always helps my thoughts go and it helps me come up with keywords that I can look more into using the databases. Scholarly articles are great because they can help you focus on a specific topic and equip you with so many facts and information. It can be a lot to take in, but using these articles has helped me gather and analyze my thoughts. Sometimes I do wish I was able to use articles not on the database as well. Although they are great I would’ve liked to explore and really be able to research some of the news articles and other articles that I found. Like a lot of times on the databases there weren’t really that many up-to-date articles for me to choose from. Since nanotechnology is such a rapidly growing field I felt like it would’ve been better to incorporate both scholarly and other sources in.
This SDA was really an aspect that is hard to discuss and it's a topic I’ve never really touched on before. It was sort of challenging to really be able to analyze and learn enough information about this topic to look at the ethical side. I’ve also never really been into ethics so this was a new and challenging task for me in general. However, I do think this SDA helped me improve my analysis skills and helped me learn a lot more about the nanomedicine field in general, not just about ethics. The questions I asked in January did get answered partly in the SDA but it also left me with more questions as well. I did answer the nanoethical problems in our society and how we can deal with them. Keeping all of the information I learned in this SDA I can use to figure out what I want to research next and what perspectives I should look at when considering nanomedicines. I think my collaboration needs some improvement and also my creativity could be more for the next month of research.
I’m proud that I was able to put in the time and effort into my midterm. February was kind of a busier month than the previous months, so I’m proud of myself for organizing and putting time and effort into my research. I believe my EMC coordinator is doing great and gives me good suggestions and resources. For March I’m looking forward to go back into researching the science of nanomedicine. I want to look at some of the ongoing clinical trials and treatments that involve nanoparticles. Right now I’m kinda leaning towards researching about nanomedicine cancer treatments.

The InterviewOne of the people I would like to interview is Dr. Robert L. Brainard. He is a professor of nanobioscience and he works at SUNY polytechnic institute in the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering. I think his vast experience and time in this field makes him a great candidate to interview. His research areas include designing small molecules for biological applications and self-assembling polymers for biological applications. Since I’ve been researching nanomedicine and nanotechnological in biological applications, interviewing him would give me a lot of relevant information. I’ve actually come in contact with Dr. Brainard a few years ago, and he’s a really nice and great person who is very knowledgeable so I figured I will contact him again. I plan to email him.
The other person I plan to contact is Dr. Anne L. van de Ven. I found her information just by doing a google search. She is a professor and an Associate Director of CaNCURE Cancer Nanomedicine Co-op Program. I think she would be a great person to contact as her research combines high throughput nanoparticle synthesis with quantitative imaging & multi-scale modeling to optimize nanotherapeutics for cancer and antibiotic-resistant infections. She is also known to be an expert in drug delivery so I believe she could provide information related to that as well.
Dr. Mark Swihart is also another person who I plan to contact. He works at SUNY University of Buffalo. Dr. Swihart leads a research program that centers on the applications of nanoparticles. I plan to call him and contact him. I think he would be a great candidate to interview because of his research experience and knowledge that he’s been doing. I found his information through a web search of nanomedicine professors.

March 9, 23
For March I’m looking forward to going back into researching the science of nanomedicine. I want to look at some of the ongoing clinical trials and treatments that involve nanoparticles. Right now I’m kinda leaning toward researching nanomedicine cancer treatments. Depending on who I’m interviewing this might change slightly. I reached out to three nanoscience professors: Dr. Robert L. Brainard, Dr. Anne L. van de Ven, and Dr. Mark Swihart. Right now Dr. Robert L. Brainard is the only one who has reached back to me and said he was okay with doing the interview. So right now I’m in the midst of brainstorming questions, researching background information, and setting up an interview date and time.For my SDA I plan to use SoundTrap. I listened to the podcast Animal Minds from Radio Lab and plan to use that as a “mentor cast.”

Interview EMCer

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1f8cHeTvM_shFbDgjka7ebZpUoclDlkLv/view?usp=sharing

Interview Reflection
I found the task and rubrics helpful throughout the assignment. The time given to complete the assignment was more than sufficient. I always find interviewing someone helpful and insightful. It definitely is a great assignment to help gain new knowledge and real-world perspective on things. Sometimes when you just researching information the information may be outdated and some of the questions can’t really be answered by looking it up, also there may be more chance to misinterpret the information online as well. I think interviewing helps give a more realistic view and real-life view of research which is very important and vital. Although the interview did give me information but not as much as I hoped to gain. I did like the time given for the assignment because I was also able to do more research while prepping for my interview. This helped me think about the symposium and find the research necessary for me to present it. For me the podcasting was fine but in my case, I think other ways of showcasing my information could’ve been stronger.

April 18, 23
I began the year wanting to learn about how nanotechnology is used in medicine. Very quickly I realized how vast and deep this subject was. Now what do you think of when I say nanotechnology? I bet you’ll be thinking of some microscopic robot. Although nanotechnology does play into that, a lot of this nanotech is already used all around us. Nanoparticles are used in your everyday sunscreens and even hand washes. Yeah, it's pretty bizarre to think about how nanoscience is used for the simplest to the most complex things.
We have already advanced and innovated so much in our world. Despite the common misconception nanotech isn't some new invention; it's actually a way to enhance all the innovations and advancements we have. This means making things smaller, quicker, and faster
My journey researching this nanomedicine field has taken many winding turns. Not only did I learn about the ways nanotechnology is used to help diagnose and treat diseases, but I was able to take a deeper dive into the ethics involved and learn about the history and look at some of the predictions for future treatments and technology revolved around nanotech.

April 24, 23
We have made tremendous advancements in medicine but in some areas we are still stuck on same problems as we were decades ago. But with nanotechnology there can be a whole new of directly targeting sick cells and reducing damage to healthy cells; we can also detect diseases earlier. The National Library of Medicince states “When doctors gain access to medical robots, they will be able to quickly cure most known diseases that hobble and kill people today, to rapidly repair most physical injuries our bodies can suffer, and to vastly extend the human health span.” We’re not only talking about preventing one disease but preventing the millions of people dying from the infinite diseases around the world. This could be the next big step in revolutionizing healthcare and reducing mortality rates. Hearing this probably sounds unreal. And though we have quite a ways to go to actually achieve this, it may be a lot closer than you think.
Last year when researching cancer I came upon a treatment caller CRISPR. In simple terms CRISPR is like a pair of molecule scissors and it can be used to cut DNA sequences allowing for alterations in gene expressions. This treatment was developed from nano computing. Typically, antibodies cause your immune system to respond; by attaching themselves to antigens (unwanted substances that enter your body), they tell your immune system which cells to target and destroy. The DNA nanocomputer classifies whether or not medication delivery is essential and which particular physiological regions need targeted administration by employing specific antibodies as discrete inputs that are converted into distinctive DNA sequences. The implications for pharmacodynamics are significant because they let scientists and doctors employ pharmacological substances more sparingly while yet maximizing their effectiveness and duration in the body. This treatment nears a potential FDA approval this year. This is only one of many nanotechnological treatments thats becoming widespread.

May 9, 23
Clearly from this you can see that nanomedicine comes with positive and negative outcomes, however there have been many world discoevries that come with bad and good outcomes and we as a society have been able to deal with it. Since nanotechnology is a powerful field it's important to keep proper restrictions and regulations. That being said, we also want to make sure these rules don’t interfere with making advancements in research processes too much. I hope to see that nanotechnology continues to grow and help aid in the healthcare system. This is a big priority as every human being's health can depend on how we advance in nanomedicine.
Link to presentation: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1fYeYIJbYjbF3oMOwshHEHbtnsqkopnJlC8yYMmS4fPk/edit?usp=sharing

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