The Sponge: Fall 2014

8/10/2019 The Sponge: Fall 2014

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Vol. 5 Issue 1 - Fall 2014Research Images as Art! Plus:

Poetry - p. 2, 9, 10

The Thief of Eden - p. 3Head and Neck - p. 6Ebola - p. 7Male Contraceptives - p. 8


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Welcome to The Sponge!

The Sponge is a literary magazine for science and engineering studentsat the University of Utah. We believe that art and writing are an essen-tial part of the human experience, even for technical people like our-selves. So, we provide a platform for science and engineering studentsto share everything from poems to scienti c reviews, short stories toopinion articles, photography to cartoons, and publish everythingonline and in print twice per year with funding from the University ofUtah Student Media Council.

In this issue, we joined up with the Research Images as Art competitionhosted by the HSC Cell Imaging Core, the Huntsman Cancer Institute,and The Leonardo museum. Images are important in science and engi-neering because of their power to convince and explain, but they ofteninadvertently achieve an artistic beauty independent of their meaning.$100 was awarded to three winners, and four more received honorablementions. You can nd these throughout this issue or see all the entrieson our website: h p://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 Malle . Best in Show ($100). This image visualizes a mul -tivalue depth bu er computed using a parallel-step distance estimationraytracer. By applying the distance estimation to parallel rays using thealgorithm under research, volumes can be traversed orders of magni-tude faster than previous approaches for certain distance functions. Inaddition, a dense sampling of every area of the scene--including hiddensurfaces--that a ect visible light transport paths is generated for free asa byproduct of the algorithm.

Opposite page: Rebecca P e er. Honorable Mention. This is a horizon -tal section through a biopsy from a human retina a ected by retinitispigmentosa. This disease is a retinal degenerative disorder in whichthe photoreceptors of the eye die and the underlying neural retina then

goes through massive structural and metabolic changes. The imagewas obtained via a light microscope after using computational molec-ular phenotyping to label the cells for taurine (an amino acid associat -ed with water regulation), glutamine (an amino acid involved in cellmetabolism), and glutamate (an excitatory neurotransmi er), whichare represented in red, green, and blue respectively. The long swirlingstructures are muller glial cells. These cells are responsible for a numberof functions within the retina; primarily amino acid recycling, struc-tural support, maintenance of the blood retinal barrier, and metabolicsupport. In the normal non-diseased eye, they present with identicalsignatures. In this eye however, the molecular signatures have becomewidely diverse and demonstrate the metabolic chaos taking placeduring degeneration.

The People of The Sponge

Severine BatemanEditor and Sta WriterUndergraduate, Bioengineering

Kacey DavisEditor and Sta WriterUndergraduate, Biology

Dallin HubbardSta WriterGraduate Student, Bioengineering

Xavier HumbergSta WriterUndergraduate, Computer Engineering

Sourav KoleEditorGraduate Student, Bioengineering

Lane MulveyEditor and Sta WriterUndergraduate, Biology

Nicholas Nolta

Editor in ChiefGraduate Student, Bioengineering

Monir ParikhEditorGraduate Student, Bioengineering

Georgia SinimbuEditorGraduate Student, Biology

Steve StafsholtSta Writer

Undergraduate, Chemical Engineering

Jet VellingaEditorUndergraduate, Computer Science

Print edition made possible by:

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GoneBy Severine Bateman

Bioengineering

Youre great, youre amazing, but I have something to sayNo ma er how much I want to, I really cant stayYou make me happy and smiley, and wanting to danceYour eyes that gli er give me shivers, but theres no chanceYouve been called by another, who needs you more than meNo ma er 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 stayedBut 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.

Don't Be Too LateBy Severine Bateman

Bioengineering

No one's asking, no one knowsHow she su ers from their blowsShe doesn't see help on its wayShe can't keep her hurt at baySo she gives it to another

So someone else will su er

No one's speaking, no one sharesHow he's thinking no one caresHe hates when he feels emptyHe doesn't wish to beSomeone else must feel the sameMakes her feel like she's to blame

Day by day, night after nightNo one hears them when they ghtEvery day, we walk on byNo one sees pain in their eyesNo one's there when they breakNo one's there when they hateNo one's there, they can't waitThey end it, help's too late.

So life is, life can't changeUnless they come and rearrange.

He is asking, he does knowHow she su ers from their blowsShe sees him, he's on his wayHe helps her keep her hurt at bayShe goes on out and helps anotherWorking so not one will su er

She is speaking, she will shareHow he's thinking no one caresShe knows that he feels emptyAnd he doesn't wish to beShe helps him to not feel the sameHe knows we care, she's to blame

Day by day, night after nightThey don't hear them as they ghtEvery day they walk on by

And they see pain in their eyesThey are there when they breakThey are there when they hateThey are there, so they waitWon't let them end it, won't be too late.

The ChaseBy Steve Stafsholt

Chemical Engineering

Something foreign in your bearing brazenly de es capture.Illustration, from pencil to paint,form gaping paper shacklesthat slip from your wrists like

Houdinis props.Description hounds youlike a doe through the woods,

but neither Portuguese Foxhound,English Se er, nor German Shepherdcan snare your essence.Your would-be wardens,painters, poets, and the like,never let you catch your breath,

but maybe your essencelies in the endless pursuit and ightthat keeps artists up, scribbling all night.

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The Thief of EdenBy Xavier Humberg

Computer Engineering

They call me the thief king.My kingdom is everywhere. Eden

is my palace. The sand-stained wallsof the city are my throne. My glovesare my golden scepter. The citizens are

my servants. Money is my crown. Fearis my gold.The religious extremists are my

usual target. Religions equate moneyto God. So I guess, in essence, youcould say I steal God. The L in golddoesnt ma er: Gold versus God. Idont do it for the money. I do it forfear. I do it for power.

If you have money, you shouldexpect a visit from me. Im silent,e cient, and, most importantly,non-lethal. No ma er where you hideit, your most valuable possession will

be mine. I have my ways of sneakingaround; just like you.

I am not a Robin Hood. I stealfrom 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 Adamand put him in the Garden of Edenwith Eve. A serpent tricked them into

breaking the only commandment theirGod had given them: Of every tree ofthe garden thou mayest freely eat: butof the tree of the knowledge of goodand evil, thou shalt not eat of it.

This forbidden fruit was gold.Mankind was allowed to partake ofeverything the world had to o er,except the gold. Except the currency.Except that which di erentiates thegood and the evil. The fruit may giveyou the knowledge, but it also givesyou the will to choose one over theother.

There is no garden. Only a city.My city. My palace overlooking theworld. My palace of sandstone wallswithin a glass case. You may look, butnot touch. That goes for either side.

I am the God of Eden. Not inthe sense that I created the people,for I did not. But in the sense that Icommand them. The people of mycity are not allowed to partake of theforbidden fruit. Those who do will bevisited by the thief, and expelled fromthe city.

However, I am also the serpent.I am the lone merchant to set up onthe streets. An apple vendor, the onlytemptation my own people face. I amthe reason my people want gold.

I aim to perfect them.This particular day, the worn

sandstone walls of houses blurred pastme as I ran from my own guards, my

long blond hair constantly blowing back into my face as I struggled tokeep it from su ocating me. I smiledas I turned the corner and the guardscontinued to run past. I removed myextravagantly jeweled merchant garband changed into my pure tan suit.

We had a hit.A man, a li le taller than me,

had snuck his way over to my standto buy an apple. His brown hair wasonly a li le darker than his weatheredhand as it shakily stretched forward.

I watched as his blue eyes cautious-ly scanned the empty area, shakingwildly. He obviously knew the con-sequences that his action brought. Hedropped the small gold square intomy hand.

I smirked. I thrusted my hand intothe small bag, and pulled out the onlynon-brown thing Id seen all day. Themarbled, green spheroid in the palmof my hand seemed to rejoice as Iplaced it the mans hand.

He o ered a quick, nervouschuckle and turned to run. He hesitat-ed. Th- Thank you, sir, he croaked

before he ran o into the mild sand -storm.

I snapped twice, calling my twoincognito guards from their posts inthe surrounding houses, and then pro-ceeded to cautiously follow the man tohis house.

Finally, the man yelped in front ofa two story house. His hay oor had

been poorly maintained as a majorityof it hung out the front door. A tat-tered, red cloth u ered from the onlysecond story window.

A blonde head popped out fromthe white cloth door, and cautiouslysurveyed the scene. Her eyes frantical-ly scanned the area, looking for some-

body following him. Looking for me.I ducked behind the building

across the alley, and my toes beganto burn from the sand in the crampedspace.

Did anybody see you? whis-

pered a soft, feminine voice. Likely thefemale.

None other than the merchant,responded the man, as hushed hisrough voice would allow.

Come. Let me see. Ah! Its beau-tiful.

It is not for decoration my dear.It is for ingesting.

A silence followed as the womanfumbled with the apple. And thencame the sound Id been waiting for.

The sound that reverberatedthrough the city from her bite wasloud and sudden enough that I

jumped.I turned the corner again till the

couple was barely in sight. I watchedas they both surveyed their neighborshouses for wandering eyes, only tond none.

The man nearly ripped the apple

from his wifes hand and took a lon-ger, much quieter bite. Suddenly, ina spectacular ash of color, startingwith his face his entire body swelledwith a lush red color until his skintone matched that of his wifes. Hewas now alive. Able to tell right fromwrong. Subject to temptation. Desir-ous of food.

The two looked at one another asif it was the rst time theyd seen theother. They interlocked their handsand walked inside the house.

I wandered my way through thecity back to my stand, keeping track ofevery last turn, so as to be able to navi-gate back. Dariah, Gabriel, pack it up.They ate it, I said in my high-pitchedvoice to the two guards.

Yes mlord, Dariah shoutedin her feminine-in-an-oddly-mascu-line-way voice. Such a shame. Dreawas a good man. She sighed as she

began to take down the hurriedlyconstructed stand. As she slipped herchainmail 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 sawmy guards chasing the lone merchant,theyd more easily remember gold wasagainst the commandment. Its theappearance of deterrence that I thrust

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upon my people.I turned a corner and changed into

the tan suit. After all, tan blends bestagainst tan. Gabriel, Dariah. Be sure

to pack up the apples! I yelled with asmile as they ran past.

Gabriel nodded indiscreetly.I was o . I climbed to the top of

the building behind me and jumpedfrom rooftop to rooftop. It was thefastest way to travel through the tightgrid of a city.

It was also the appearance of thethief that deterred my people. Thethief, leaping from house to house wasto remind them that the thief couldget whatever he wanted, whenever hewanted. My people, long since Adamand Eve, have learned that the thief isthe sign of banishment.

I nally reached the mans house,and in one uid movement I jumpedfrom the top of the roof and in thesecond story window, punching a newhole in the cloth. I dusted the sand omy suit and started looking for theapple.

As I said before, I take the mostvaluable item in a persons possession.I steal what remains of the apple: theonly object in a persons possesstionworth any monetary value. Then Iwait. Wait for the person to notice theapple is missing. Then I strike. Wrapthem up and throw them o the citywall.

But this time was di erent.I found the apple, three bites taken

out of it, on the oor by the cheap,hay-stu ed bed in the upstairs room. Igrabbed it quickly and hid in the clothcovered closet on the opposite side of

the room. And then I waited.In the distance came voices walk-

ing towards the house. One of themwas the mans, rough and deep. One

was the womans, soft and sweet. Andanother, one Id never heard before.Thats strange. Ive heard everybodysvoice. Unless

Hes here, said the unfamiliarvoice.

Well block the door, said theman, Drea was it?

The cloth door u ered open asthe unfamiliar man walked in. I couldhear his breathing: the sign of human-ity. He seemed to breathe almost likean angry bull: deep, short breaths thatseemed to steam.

Weve been waiting, my liege,said the man as he looked arounddownstairs for me. Allow me to intro-duce myself. Outside of the city, I amknown 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 knockedsomething over downstairs and con-tinued. I know of the outside world. Iknow of what you protect your peoplefrom. The outside world is miserable,

but you know this already. Youveseen it.

I remember when you used tostand atop the wall and stare in curi-osity. You used to try to jump down,

but you physically couldnt leave. Butyou found a way to allow it. Anothercloth violently u ered downstairs.

You found the apple tree hang-ing over the city wall, he continued.Just within reach of picking. But youwere afraid to try it. So you grabbed

one and gave it to your closest friends:Adam and Eve. They each took a biteand turned human. You, then, out offear, cast them out of the city.

Nearly an hour of silence fol-lowed

I gathered enough bravery to leapfrom my hiding place to the windowand try for an escape. I never made it.

Cain was there, right by thewindow with some kind of stone tool,likely a weapon. Muscles bulged fromevery possible location as he stuckhis arm out to stop me. His skin wasdark, yet not red in any way. Wevedistracted you long enough, he saidin a deep voice.

What do you mean? I shouted.Six hours and your kingdom will

be no more. With that, Cain jumpedout the window and ran out of sight.His short brown hair never moved an

inch.I stuck my head out the win-dow to see Drea and his wife on theground, hopefully asleep. They lookedso peaceful as they breathed. Move-ment. Constant movement. Livingwould be nice. But I cant break therule. No. I must stay strong.

I jumped down and created asmall brown cloud of dust where Ilanded and a thud loud enough towake the sleeping couple.

The man pulled another one ofthose stone weapons from a pocketon the back of his robe. With all duerespect, the feelings living brings areworth the troubles Cain told me comeswith it, he said. Breathing, hesmiled. Wouldnt you love to knowhow it feels? How it feels to have apulse? What its like to eat? Moneyhasnt corrupted me. Money hasSAVED me!

Out of panic I grabbed for thesmooth wooden handle of the weap-on, only to have it be pulled back anddrawn, ready to strike.

Drea! the wife shouted. Dontkill the man! Hes still your king! Itwould be mutiny!

He lowered his weapon, shaking.If I dont kill him, we wont be able tosee it!

See what!? I asked, speakingnervously quickly. What are yougoing to do?

Its none of your concern as ofyet!

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.

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I AM THE KING! I shouted.ANYTHING THAT HAPPENS INTHIS CITY IS MY BUSINESS! I took astep towards the man.

He swung at me and I fell back-wards, dodging the blunt stone edge.YOU ARE THE THIEF! he yelled,loud enough for the whole town tohear. YOU ARE THE MERCHANT!

YOU ARE THE KING! YOU, my liege,are EVERYTHING THATS GOINGWRONG IN THE CITY!

I am the protector! The perfec-tor!

The perfector cannot sin him-self! He swung again, this timedown, to which I backed up. If youaim to perfect the city, you shouldstart with yourself!

There cannot be salvation with-out sin!

He sco ed at me. Nobody, any -

where is perfect! He turned and ranin the same direction as Cain.Well crap! I thought as I ran to-

wards my own house across the city.Theres only one thing that could beused to destroy my kingdom!

As I ran into my house, I shouted,Gabriel, dont let anybody touch theapp

And there Gabriel was, staring blankly into the room where we storethe apples.

Gabriel! WHAT HAPPENED?He looked at me, still in shock, his

face seemed paler than usual. TheTheNameless hehe

I looked him in the eyes frantical-ly. Calm down and speak to me.

HeheHe took the apples.SHIT!The cloth door to the room was

ripped from its hanger, and the roomon the other side was completely emp-ty. The room no longer even smelledlike apples, only reeked of mud.

II dont knowsir! he re-sponded nervously.

We need to nd 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 thestand. We gave them to him. He prom-ised us freedom. Knowledge.

WHAT IS HE DOING WITHTHEM!?

He shook his head, unwilling, orpossibly unable, to tell me. He lickedhis nger and dabbed at somethingon the back of his leg. As he pulled hishand back up, a slight red tinge hadaccumulated 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 oor, his face scraping thewall the whole way down.

If you didnt want the conse-quences that came with life, youshouldnt have eaten the apple! Iyelled as I ran out the door.

From somewhere in the city cana thousand voices yelling one word

simultaneously. Five! The soundechoed for almost a minute as I at-tempted to pinpoint its location in thecity.

Citizens of Eden! shouted Cainsvoice from afar. He was here some-where! Somewhere in the city. Godwill not save you in your premortalstate!

HE WONT SAVE YOU INYOUR MORTAL STATE! I shoutedinto the emptiness, stopping to listenclosely 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 thecorner to the city center.

Every citizen of Eden stood nearthe central fountain holding an apple.I couldnt pick Cain out of the crowd.

The apple is your salvation!Cain continued from somewhere with-in the crowd. Eat it and be edi ed!

Three!Noticing me, Cain shouted, BE -

HOLD! YOUR KING! The thief king!The crowd booed me, and several

members of the crowd came towardsme with rocks. SINNER! shoutedsome.

Behold the lone merchant! Theapple vendor!

The crowd booed louder. Enoughto hurt my ears. Two! they shouted.

BEHOLD YOUR KING! BE -

HOLD YOUR TEMPTATION! BE -HOLD YOUR PROTECTOR! YOURPERFECTOR! YOUR CONDEMNER!came Cain again, this time steppingforward, out into the front of thecrowd.

One!Behold the lone sinner! Behold

your king! Behold Lucifer! That is

your name, yes?That was my name. The nameGod had given me.

I shouted into the crowd You are being led by one who wishes yourlife to be simple and easy! That is notGods way! I shouted into the crowd.

No sir, came Drea from withinthe crowd, now also stepping forward.That is you.

With that remark, Cain turnedaround to face the entire crowd andthrew his hands in the air. In his left

hand, the green spheroid apple. In hisright hand, a second. He then u eredfour words that changed the course ofmy city: Gods will be done!

Every citizen who was holding anapple bit into it. Sweet drops of nectarew every which direction.

Cain stepped farther forwardsas the crowd behind laughed andscreamed in awe at the miracle theyhad just created. Lucifer, you canchoose to join us, or you can choose tonever be human, he said. He threwme an apple and waited for my deci-sion.

As I caught the apple, the sur-rounding citizens instantly hushedand stared at me. Each with eyes ofyearning.

I slowly turned around as I spokemy one word answer. No. I droppedthe sweet apple on the oor andstomped on it, severing it into hun-dreds of small pieces. My people aregone. I aimed only to perfect, and youperverted the people! I shouted.

But my liege! shouted Drea ashe stepped forward, You may stillhelp us to be perfect.

I smiled, and took a deep breath asI turned towards the crowd again. Ihave a new goal. If there truly is a wayto get to heaven after sinning, I willwork to stop you. Mark my words!

I will drag ALL of you down toHell with me, and Ill start with you,Cain!

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Ebola, the Plague of the21st CenturyBy Dallin Hubbard

Bioengineering

Why is Ebola so deadly andcontagious? The real answer: nobodyknows. With the largest outbreak ofEbola virus the world has ever seen,and more than 4,000 deaths document-ed, a succinct report is warranted.The rst Ebola virus was discoveredafter two separate outbreaks occurredalmost simultaneously in Nzara, SouthSudan and Yambuku, Democratic Re-public of Congo in 1976. The virus hascaused fear and dread worldwide aspeople have observed the horrifyingimages of patients bleeding from theireyes, mouth and other parts of the

body. This disease is estimated to havea large impact worldwide as healthcare systems gear up and economies

bo om out in response to the plague.Some of the hardest hit regions have

been Sierra Leone, Guinea and Li- beria where fear, lack of healthcareand broken economies are leading tocatastrophic consequences [1].

The Ebola virus comes from theorder Mononegavirales which in-cludes measles, mumps and rabies.The Ebola virus belongs to the familyFiloviridae, which are enveloped,negative-stranded RNA viruses of var-ious morphology. These viruses havelamentous particles with a uniformdiameter of 80 nm but vary greatly in

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 a ectedchimpanzees, gorillas, pigs and maybeeven dogs [3,4,5]. Could it be spread-ing silently across the US among thewild deer population? No one knows.The source host for the Ebola virus isstill a mystery. No one knows why thedisease can be contracted without anyapparent direct contact with infect-ed animals or humans. The mystery

behind this disease gets even morecomplicated by the fact that dogs have

been found to carry antibodies forthe disease, but not the Ebola virus.Dogs eating Ebola infected materialremained asymptomatic. How do theyavoid dying from the initial infection?No one knows [5]. Pigs have beenshown to be susceptible to Ebola (asoccurred in the Philippino outbreak),yet no one knows the transmissionvector. Recent research data showsthat three types of fruit bats carry thevirus asymptomatically, thus givingevidence that bats are the host organ-ism and source of the disease, but howit travels from the bats to humans isstill not fully understood [6].

All these questions point to thefact that we still have a lot to learnfrom Mother Nature. People who areskilled in immunology, epidemiology,chemistry, medicine and other areasare needed to combat this deadly dis-ease. This disease may not strike the

US very hard but that doesnt abrogateour responsibility to understand thedisease and nd a cure. Scientists arespearheading this across the worldwith a multitude of new vaccines inclinical studies. One new vaccine forEbola has been shown to be 100%e ective in animals and has enteredclinical trials as of October 10, 2014. Itis slated to be released in January ofnext year [7,8].

References:1. Mirzayev, Elvin. Ebola's Economic Impacts onLiberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea. Investopedia2014 October 13. .2. H Feldmann, TW Geisbert. Lancet. Ebolahaemorrhagic fever. Mar 5, 2011; 377(9768):849862.3. Johnson E, Jaax N, White J, Jahrling P. Lethalexperimental infections of rhesus monkeys byaerosolized Ebola virus. Int J Exp Pathol. 1995Aug;76(4):227-36.4. Weingartl HM, Nfon C, Kobinger G. Reviewof 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 indogs and human risk. Emerg Infect Dis. 2005Mar;11(3):385-90.6. Gonzalez JP, Pourrut X, Leroy E. Ebolavirusand other loviruses. Curr Top Microbiol Im -munol. 2007;315:363-87.7. Ebola outbreak: 1st human trials of Canadianvaccine start in U.S. The Associated Press 2014Oct 13. .8. Ebola: UN says experimental vaccine trials inWest Africa could begin by January. UN NewsCentre 2014 Nov 6. .

Right: Janet Iwasa - Human Immu-node ciency Virus (HIV): Immature.Honorable Mention. This 3D model ofan immature HIV particle shows thevirus soon after it has budded from ahost cell. The viral particle will under-go signi cant conformational changesas it becomes a mature, infectiousparticle. The model was created in 3D

animation software using structuraldata les from the Protein Data Bank.

Opposite page: DiSilico - TungstenTide. Best in Show ($100). This isa zoom into a very high resolutionimpact simulation. A tungsten plate(seen) is shot at a porous rock (hidden)at 10x the speed of sound. The redsymbols on the bo om relate to thehigh dimensional objects I work withthat de ne material behavior.

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Male ContraceptivesBy Kacey Davis

Biology

Imagine a world where men couldtake responsibility of contraceptives ina way that isnt detrimental to phys-ical or emotional health and doesntdiminish sensation. Recent research

regarding male oral contraceptivespresents a new possibility for birthcontrol that could revolutionize theway men approach their role in pre-venting unwanted pregnancy.

Essentially daily doses of ingestedspermicide, male contraceptives usevarious methods to e ectively deac -tivate sperm and prevent pregnancy.Theoretically, these types of contra-ceptives wouldnt include hormones,and thus wouldnt cause emotionalroller coasters like the kind seen inmany women who are on the Pill.

This method of contraceptionwould be purely for birth control;research has not indicated any protec-tion against STIs. However, dont un-derestimate the possibilities for maleoral contraceptives. A male equivalentof the Pill would invite men in hetero-

sexual relationships to take charge oftheir reproductive lives in a revolu-tionary way, shifting the responsibilityof preventing pregnancy from mostlya females job to more of a shared roleand marking a step towards genderequality.

Current contraceptive options formen include condoms, vasectomies,

and experimental gel injections. Twoof the three of these routes are painful,and the other decreases sensation (orso Ive heard). In women, there aremany more options, including hor-mone injections, IUDs, progestin-onlypills, mixed-hormone pills, femalecondoms, diaphragms, and mastec-tomies, just to name a few. However,a majority of these wreak havoc on awomans natural hormones and essen-tially turn her into an emotional mess.Others are di cult to use and often

end up with sub-par e ectiveness. Byintroducing a male equivalent of thePill, we would open another optionto couples who arent yet ready forchildren.

Potential issues arise when weconsider men taking on this new rolein heterosexual relationships. Male

oral contraceptives would most likelyhave to be taken daily, at the sametime every day, much like female pills.This comes with the same problem offorgetfulness a missed dose couldmean a lapse in birth control coverage.In a situation where both partners arecurrently on an oral contraceptive, aforgo en dose may be less worrisome.

However, if the couple isnt careful,they may end up with coinciding laps-es, possibly resulting in an unwantedpregnancy. With good communication(and an alarm on your phone), riskslike these can be minimized, but neveraltogether eliminated.

There is room for men to havea say in their reproductive lives. Byexploring male contraceptive options,men gain more freedom and responsi-

bility, resulting in greater equality ofpreconceived gender roles. Research

on male birth control holds promisefor a bright future where couples can jointly take precautions to preventunwanted pregnancy and men cantake control of their own bodies withvirtually no e ect on physical or emo -tional well-being.

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BlindfoldedBy Steve Stafsholt

Chemical Engineering

A scientist famous for titratingunicorns into horses learned ofa mystical spring on a remotemountain. Intrigued by anotheropportunity to shine the sun-

beam of science into the darkden of superstition, he hired anative to guide him and carryhis shiny equipment.

They discovered the springafter hours of hiking a wellworn trail. Barely winded, thescientist went straight to work.The native had sweated hiswhole way up, so he went tothe spring for a drink. Afterreverently dipping his cuppedhands into the clear water hetook his rst swallow. Beforehe could nish his drink, hewas pulled into the spring by amermaid.

The scientist scrutinized thewater through thick spectacles,concentrating on his hypothe-sis. With one quick test he sat-is ed his nonexistent doubts,proving to himself that thewater was chemically unexcep-tional. As the native swam withthe mermaid, she taught himto breathe water. Both men,impressed by their discoveryrushed to tell the other. Thescientist showed the native histest results, and the native toldthe scientist of his new skill.

The scientist chuckled, explain-ing to the native that humanlungs could never function

with H2O instead of O2. Thenative dutifully drowned, andthe scientist concluded the mandied of heart failure due to hisnow tranquil heart. Leaving thespring untasted, the scientistreturned to the university tosaw o narwhal horns, foreverunaware of how he wore hislogic like a

blindfold.

Above: Valentin Romanov. The following is an image of a liposome, essentially anarti cial cell. This liposome is about 300 times smaller than the diameter of a humanhair. The inside of the liposome contains salt. In order to look at this liposome, wehave 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 Micro-scope (TEM). In this case, the salt looks like a tiny ram, most likely one of the smallestimages of a ram in the world!

Opposite page: Michael Bridge. This image displays the vasculature (blood vessels)of developing zebra sh embryos. A confocal light microscope was used to captureuorescence signals to form a multislice mosaic 3 dimensional image of the speci -mens. The signal in these sh is a uorescent protein expressed by cells that form thesurfaces of the blood vessels.

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SkeletonBy Lane Mulvey

Biology

Sometimes I am a skeletonI walk around in my suit of bonesSometimes their stares go straight through me as if they were x-rays

Sometimes I am a skeleton

I walk around in my suit of bonesSometimes their stares go straight to me as if I were a magnet

Their stares strike me like sticks and stonesThey break my bonesSo that when their words come after meThere is nothing to stop them

They hunt togetherAnd I am a lone skeletonBroken to bits but they dont stop thereThese wolves drag my broken beams my collapsed self-esteem and carry the bones home so that they can chew on meeven when Im not thereEven as I lay in this pile

I wish I could build myself a wall not of wood nor brick nor stoneI would take blood, fat, and esh and build myself armorSo that at least I could have the dignity of holding myself together when they come after me

And next timeNext time they wont be able to tear me to pieces and take me as take outSometimes I am a skeletonSometimes that means that Im strong

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Clockwise from top left: Bonneville Salt Flats by Logan Raming, Zeolite Radial Crystals by Bryony Richards, Metabo -lomic Eye by Bryan Jones (Honorable Mention), Arti cial Intraocular Lens by Liliana Werner, Retinitis Pigmentosa byRebecca Pfei er, Esophageal Garden by Hope Morrison (Best in Show $100), and Eye Candy by Je erson Brown. Youcan nd all 81 entries on our website at h p://thesponge.eng.utah.edu!

Documents

The Sponge: Fall 2014