Arami p1d1

Robine Arami Prof.
Mussleman
Project 1 ENGW3307
When I was in the third grade, I performed my first dissection in science class. It was on
an owl pellet. At the ripe age of eight years old, nothing had even been more fascinating to me
than this. It was in that moment that I knew I wanted my future to include science. Little did I
know; owl pellets were only the beginning of how interesting science truly is. Once I began to
learn more about this subject, I was constantly floored by the geniuses who made all of the
discoveries that I would learn and read about. How did they even know where to begin? What
made then believe that such theories that they developed could be true? To this day, and to the
end of time, I will never be able to wrap my head around what certain theorists have been able to
accomplish. Specifically, Charles Darwin and Ivan Pavlov, as well as Yoshizumi Ishino, who
developed gene editing techniques. These three scientists have taught me that there is no scale
for what science, or the human mind, can do.
As mentioned above, my first memory of science class was the one that stuck out to me
the most. My first dissection, which was on an owl pellet. Shortly after this unit was completed,
we began to learn about fossils, which I also found intriguing. Charles Darwin’s theory of
evolution and natural selection consisted of observing fossils like these. Charles Darwin was a
British biologist, naturalist, and geologist who studied at and received his medical degree from
the University of Edinburgh Medical School. Darwin is famous for his theory of evolution and
natural selection. His theory proposes that organisms with traits best suited to help them live in
their given environments will survive to reproduce and pass those traits down to their offspring.
As a matter of fact, fossils are what ignited Darwin’s interest in evolution. He first came across
fossils in the 1830’s in South Africa, before he began his studies in the Galapagos Islands.
Fossils allowed him to observe the changes in the skeletons of different species, allowing him to
note how they were able to change/adapt to their environments over time.
As I grew into my studies, I picked up an interest in psychology, which is now my
minor. I was very observant as a child, and I always wondered how people’s minds work in
different ways. Why aren’t we all the same? What causes some of us to be born with different
mental strengths and weaknesses than others? The first psychology course I ever took was
Foundations of Psychology here at Northeastern. One theory that I think about every single day
and witness in the actions of myself and others is Ivan Pavlov’s theory of Classical Conditioning.
Ivan Pavlov was a Russian physiologist. He studied at University of St. Petersburg, then
continued his studies at the Imperial Medical Academy in St. Petersburg, where he received his
graduate dissertation in centrifugal nerves of the heart. He continued to conduct research at the
Imperial Medical Academy, where he studied the digestive systems of dogs. It was during his
studies here that he created the concept of the conditioned reflex. He is most well-known for his
experiment where he would ring a bell just before giving a dog its food. This later led the dog to
salivate every time it heard the bell, because it learned to associate the sound of the bell with
being fed. Classical conditioning, the theory that Pavlov is best known for, has been touched on
in every psychology course I have taken. This theory is so relevant to mankind that it occurs
even when we are unaware of it. Classical conditioning is engrained in our physical actions and
in our emotions. It is quite literally how we are trained to live. I became aware of this in
Developmental Psychology, when I was taught about parenting styles. How a parent raises their
child is a form of conditioning. There is positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement.
Positive reinforcement consists of rewarding a child when they do something right, whereas
negative reinforcement consists of punishing a child when they do something wrong. Studies
found that negative reinforcement is the least effective way to parent a child, and that it could
lead to many issues in the child's future, including but not limited to, anger management, social
issues, and even PTSD in some cases. This was a hard pill for me to swallow, as my parents are
from the middle east, where all they know is negative reinforcement. Learning about this made
me better understand why I felt different than other kids my age when I was growing up, and is
why psychology is such an important part of my life and education.
Another piece of science that leaves my brain asking “How?” is CRISPR (clustered
regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats). CRISPR is essentially gene editing, and has
been used to alter DNA sequences in order to eliminate certain genetic diseases, mutations, and
disorders from DNA. CRISPR was developed by Yoshizumi Ishino and his colleagues in 1987,
who conducted research at Osaka University in Japan. I learned about CRISPR in the Spring
2019 semester while taking General Biology 1 here at Northeastern. I had no idea that such a
thing had been invented, but then soon realized that it isn’t used often because of how expensive
it is, as well as because of the controversy around it. Many believe that genes are not to be
tampered with, and that every human is meant to be the way that they are for a reason. CRISPR
will also eventually lead to what many people know as “designer babies”, or altering physical
traits of babies who have not yet been born. CRISPR is illegal for superficial uses because
scientists believe that the human gene pool may eventually become so altered that we may
deviate into a new species. However, others believe that CRISPR could lead to an advance in
humankind. CRISPR stuck out to me because I believe that it will be an extremely relevant and
highly discussed topic, not only among scientists, but among everyone, in the next few decades
to come.
One of the reasons why I love science is because no matter how new or how dated, it is
always relevant. Science depends on itself and builds on itself. Just when you think it can’t
advance itself any more, it advances itself in five new directions. But of course, history across all
subjects begins somewhere. Theorists like Charles Darwin and Ivan Pavlov have been some of
the most influential, and have given rise to so many unthinkable possibilities. Scientists like
Yoshizumi Ishino have taken advantage of these possibilities and have developed mechanisms
that could completely change mankind. Whether that is viewed as a positive or negative, it is
undoubtedly extraordinary, and shows just how little of a boundary there is to what can be done
through science.
Sources
1. Biography.com Editors. “Ivan Petrovich Pavlov.” Biography.com, A&E Networks

Television, 14 May 2019, www.biography.com/scientist/ivan-petrovich-pavlov.
2. Cyranoski, David. “The CRISPR-Baby Scandal: What's next for Human Gene-
Editing.” Nature News, Nature Publishing Group, 26 Feb. 2019,
www.nature.com/articles/d41586-019-00673-1.
3. “Darwin, Evolution, & Natural Selection.” Khan Academy, Khan Academy,
www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/her/evolution-and-natural-selection/a/darwin-
evolution-natural-selection.
4. Pavid, Katie. “The Giant Fossil Mammals That Inspired Charles Darwin's Theory of
Evolution.” Natural History Museum, 9 Apr. 2018,
www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/news/2018/april/giant-fossil-mammals-inspired-charles-
darwin-theory-evolution.html.
5. Wikipedia. “Charles Darwin.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 10 Sept. 2019, 6:00,
en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Charles_Darwin&oldid=914929538.
6. Wikipedia. “CRISPR.” Wikipedia, Wikimedia Foundation, 11 Sept. 2019, 11:34,
en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=CRISPR&oldid=915130238.
7. Zimmer, Carl, and Quanta Magazine. “CRISPR Natural History in Bacteria.” Quanta
Magazine, 6 Feb. 2015, www.quantamagazine.org/crispr-natural-history-in-bacteria-
20150206/.

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Robine Arami Prof.

for what science, or the human mind, can do.

As I grew into my studies, I picked up an interest in psychology, which is now my

child is a form of conditioning. There is positive reinforcement and negative reinforcement.

why psychology is such an important part of my life and education.

1. Biography.com Editors. “Ivan Petrovich Pavlov.” Biography.com, A&E Networks

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