11. For Heart Health, Snake Oil

Cavte Bosler wrote about the pythons being studied in the laboratory for its ability to have a well-muscled heart. A python can stay healthy without food for a year or more because their body is able to keep the newly generated muscle mass. This characteristic of the pythons made many scientists interested because they thought of using this as a cure for the heart disease. Leslie Leinwand, a molecular biologist, decided to start investigating this animal in her research team. Their objective is to mimic the organ growth of the snake and hopefully be able to apply it on human body. Center for Disease Control and Prevention showed that the heart disease is the main cause of death in the United States. In Leinwand`s experiment, she transfused plasma from an unfed snake to a normal snake. She also transfused plasma from a fed snake to a starved snake. Through this experiment, she realized that the plasma of a fed snake has three key fatty acids, which are myristic acid, palmitic acid and palmitoleic acid. They are the main discovery in Leinwand`s project and the key elements for tissue growth. After Leinwand`s discovery, Dr. Cecilia Riquelme , a member of the Python Project, decided to perform an experiment to see the effect of python plasma on mammalian cells. She first injected the snake`s plasma into mice cells and she discovered that the fatty acid indeed enlarges the mammalian`s heart. These fatty acids were eventually called the “snake oil” and its effects have been so far beneficial. However, she is still not sure if it triggers other diseases and whether it will be able to reverse the progression of a already established heart disease. Leinwand believes that if this discovery succeeds, then it will be able to treat diabetes, high blood pressure, obesity and help the people who unable to practice sport due to their weak heart. Riquelme’s experiment caused the protest from PETA for her use of animals in the laboratory. However, she does not give up her research and hopes that the product may be in the market in 10 years.

             Bosler wrote a great article about the experiments done the pythons to test its fatty acids. She used specific vocabularies and formal language to inform the readers about the new discovery.  She also described the experiments done on the pythons and its results so that the readers may understand how the biologists discovered the fatty acids. She also showed the negative side of the experiments, such as the protests from the animal organizations and the high expense to perform the experiments. These negative sides showed the readers that it was not easy for the biologists to perform these experiments. Bosler’s main audience is the adults because her essay has a very serious tone and subject that are not very attractive for the teenagers. She started her essay with background information about the pythons so that the readers may understand why the scientists are interested for this reptile. She also included many quotes directly from the biologists in order to increase the credibility of the article. However, she did not consult any specialist in this area or other biologist who has performed similar experiments. She also could have asked the opinion of the animal organizations about this experiment, or the general opinions of the people so that the readers may have an overview of the feedbacks for this experiment.

http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2013/10/for-heart-health-snake-oil/280172/