Binland Lee
Writing Samples
Lack of clam research leaves scientists and harvesters puzzled after half a decade
December 2012
A fatal parasite once affecting populations of Northern Hard-Shelled Clams (Mercenaria mercenaria), or quahogs, in New Jersey and Massachusetts, has now spread to Virginia and New York since its initial discovery in the United States in the 1990s.
The pathogen Quahog Parasite Unknown (QPX) occurs naturally in clam-growing waters. The organism spreads by traveling from infected hard clams to non-infected hard clams where it then can develop into a disease called the Chytrid-like disease. Infected hard clams display symptoms such as a decrease in new shell growth, discolored mantles, and inflammation of the gills.
“This particular organism only affects hard clams. It is the only host we have found this parasite in,” says Roxanna Smolowitz. Smolowitz is a shellfish disease researcher at the Marine Biological Laboratory at Woods Hole, Massachusetts and the Aquatic Diagnostic Laboratory at Roger Williams University in Bristol, Rhode Island.
Breast cancer nonprofit spreads college awareness with laughs and humor
October 2012
Check your boobies.
That’s the advice Elizabeth Crouch gave to almost 150 female BU students at Jacob Sleeper Auditorium on September 18, 2012. Crouch is an instructor with Seattle-based Check Your Boobies, a non-profit organization that aims to educate women on breast health and self-examination.
“Touch those puppies!” she says.
She and her team flew in on an overnight flight from Seattle to speak to an audience of mostly Gamma Phi Beta sorority sisters, who hosted the event.
Crouch was one of three women representing the Seattle-based nonprofit organization CYB, which was founded in 2003 to educate women about self-awareness and early detection. She discussed the importance of younger women becoming more self-reliable, proactive, and persistent.
“Young women need education…[and] to realize the power of their own voice,” Crouch says. “Then, that’s when they become their best advocate.”
The Sea’s Students
November 2012
“If you want to save the fish, [there is] no dicking around. No cheating. Or it simply won't work.” A man stands at the podium in front of a spacious, but intimate lecture room filled with students. He is in a fitted brown jacket and his hair is almost appropriately messy, as if he just climbed out of the water and gusts of wind dried it for him. His beard is thick and full enough to rival that of Poseidon's.
The lecturer has been speaking for some time now but the college students' full attention has not wavered. The man's voice is animated, bright, and clear. Even though he is simply relaying the words on the projector screen next to him, there is an undeniable tone of focused ardor and excitement in his diction. It easily travels to the last row in the room, but it is not because of the microphone perched near him.
For Professor Les Kaufman, 59, this is simply a guest lecture for an introductory marine biology course. This 50-minute lecture is merely one of the hundreds of lectures and speeches he has given, both as a professor at Boston University and as a world-renowned marine scientist. He is a Research Scholar with The New England Aquarium, a Senior Marine Scientist for Conservation International, and an Associate in Ichthyology at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology.
Kaufman currently serves on the Science and Statistics Committee (SSC) for the New England Fishery Management Council, and works with National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) colleagues to modernize federal ocean science. His consistent determination in ecological and biological conservation efforts has resulted in worldwide recognition by peer scientists.
A semester-long WordPress blog tracking CNN.com and posting comments, opinions, and observations its contents
Fall 2012