Blog #6: Can a Shark and Stingray Reproduce!?

    In North Carolina, there's been a recent controversy about a pregnant stingray at the Aquarium and Shark Lab by Team ECCO. One pregnant stingray with two white-spotted bamboo male sharks...is it possible!? Smithsonian Magazine wrote that staff said Charlotte the stingray had bite marks on her, which could be a sign of shark mating. Would a shark-ray be a cute hybrid or creepy?? Well, Charlotte the stingray can prove the impossible...or perhaps not.

(not a image of Charlotte) Image Source

When news of a stingray getting pregnant without any male rays in her tank, people began asking questions! At the beginning, staff discovered growths swelling on Charlotte's body, assuming it could be cancer until the ultrasound was conducted. Is it possible that a shark and stingray can reproduce? As interesting as it may sound, it's not scientifically possible! In fact, it's common along stingrays to asexually reproduce like 80 other vertebrate species; including, zebra sharks, California condors, Komodo dragons, crocodiles, and more. It's a known process called parthenogenesis, meaning virgin birth or creation. According to NBCnews.com, parthenogenesis is common during meiosis (cells that create new organisms during sexual reproduction), "eggs are produced, byproducts are created called polar bodies, which contain genetic information." Parthenogenesis is most common when animals are in human care rather than the wild. It's not 100% confirmed why some species do this but scientists have theorized it could be a lack of mate or the last option to save a species.

How come a shark and stingray can't reproduce? It's actually simple! Kevin Feldheim, researcher at Chicago's Field Museum states, "The divergence between sharks and stingrays is 350 million years. And as comparison, the divergence between humans and platypus is 180 millions years." However, there are some species that can create "hybrids" because of their similar genes. Factanimal.com provides examples of real-life animal hybrids; including, coywolf, liger, wolfdog, Bengal cat, mule, zonkey, and more! Crossbreeds/hybrid animals are offspring of subspecies mating. 

                                                                    picture of a liger! Image Source

    

    Even though the thought of a shark-stingray hybrid could be cool, it's not possible. Nonetheless, hybrid animals between species with similar genetics do exist! It's important to learn about biology and do research on a species before spreading a false rumor. Pure reason I wanted to write this blog as when I heard about Charlotte, I was cringing at the fact people truly believed a shark and stingray could reproduce with each other. 

    Let's hope Charlotte has a safe and healthy pregnancy!!

Blog #5: Better Income Success for Arizonan College Grads

     Who doesn't love the idea of more money!? Especially when you've worked hard to earn it! After reading both AZcentral.com articles, it gives me hope as a current college student that I'll be prepared for my future. Education is an important part of growth as it affects how we learn and our choices. I'm supportive of Governor Ducey's Achieve60AZ plan to encourage Arizonan youth to go beyond a high school diploma.

    I remember marching with my mom during the Red for Ed protest around the late 2010s. I was just a kid, but I remembered how much it meant to her. My mom is a middle school science teacher (I don't know how she does it) and has been one for over 20 years. I personally see how much effort and how she uses her own money to educate her students. She was even my teacher for 2 years! She works hard with making sure each of her students understand the subject: troubled kids, class clowns, quiet kids, kids with mental disabilities, and more. I love teachers and understand their efforts regardless of what they're teaching. Educators deserve a raise, and it should be a high paying job as they affect younger generations. Furthermore, when I read Ducey added $142 million budget to k-12 education and provided an additional $38 million to universities, it's all good news!

                                                         Getty Images, Ralph Freso

    2030 continues to inch closer and I wonder if there has been a raise in college graduates. However, what both articles failed to provide is student loans and debt being a tribute to why some people don't go to college. According to Investopedia.com, as of 2021, "total amount of outstanding student loan debt in the United States was $1.6 trillion as of Q4'23." That's a lot of money and can easily turn someone away from wanting to attend college. I consider myself lucky as I have free tuition attending GCC, but I see how it's hard for my partner to keep up with his monthly payments or how my friends just ignore the debt.

    There have been times I question if I'm choosing the right path for my future. I ponder if these classes are worth it as I struggle with an assignment or don't understand a lecture. Dropping out seems like a easy way out! However, that doesn't look good on a resume...and how would I ever become a wildlife biologist with no experience!? I tell myself that my efforts will pay off because I want a job that'll provide me a good income and I'll be happy. As AZCentral.com stated, the median income for those with a college degree is $65,791 compared to only a high school diploma education, $38,423.

    Overall, both articles are positive with the future of Arizona's plan of Achieve60AZ. The promises of higher wages, more taxes, less poverty, and more jobs are promising! Nonetheless, plans are plans as I hope the goal is met for future generations and provide a healthier economy. 

Entry #4: The Threat of AI Art

     There has been an recent uproar in the art community about the usage of AI art. Before discussing this issue, it's important to understand what AI art is. According to Forbes.com, "AI art typically refers to images made using generative AI tools. These create images of all sorts, of almost any style, on almost any subject, based on a text prompt." AI standing for Artificial Intelligence, based off this simple definition what could the issue be..? AI art seems like a tool for artists to use for inspiration and referencing or those who can't draw to have the chance to "make" art. Welllll not exactly! In fact, many artists (including myself) are against AI artwork! 

    Children's book illustrator, Rob Biddulph tells The Guardian, "Fundamentally, I have always felt that art is all about translating something that you feel internally into something that exists externally. Whatever form it takes, be it a sculpture, a piece of music, a piece of writing, a performance, or an image, true art is about the creative process much more than it’s about the final piece. And simply pressing a button to generate an image is not a creative process.” I respect and agree with Biddulph's interpretation of art as humans have created art for tens and thousands of years with different purposes and creative usages.     

    One of the most famous art pieces created is Van Gogh's, Starry Night, an oil painting that creates movement with its brush strokes. Not only is the painting aesthetically pleasing to look at and admire, so is its history. Additionally, Van Gogh painted the Starry Night while he was staying at the Saint-Paul-de-Mausole asylum; furthermore, Britannica states that he "observed the night sky from his barred bedroom window and wrote a letter to Theo (his brother) describing a magnificent view of the morning star very early one morning in the summer of 1889." 

                                                                            Image Source

Van Gogh's history lives in his artwork and is what makes each of his paintings worth value. One can admire and see the different brush strokes he took. I decided to go to an AI generator, Deep AI, to see if the bot can capture a moment like Van Gogh once did, I used the prompt; Van Gogh Starry Night:

I think the AI did a decent job trying to generate an image to look just like the original Starry Night... but it's missing the history and beauty of the original piece. Personally, the images I generated begin to become an eyesore and messy trying to figure out what's happening. For example, the buildings begin to morph and become fuzzy. My purpose for using Van Gogh is to show human artwork has passion as AI is lacking and is only programmed to copy. 

    Artists are worried about being replaced with these AI programs as many artists rely on commissions for income. Some AI art is difficult to spot! People usually only look at a post online for a few seconds, like or comment, then move on. Another issue is the legality of AI art generators becomes blurry. How do AI art generators produce art? Well, it needs a sample of existing artwork posted on the internet, which includes copyrighted images. For example, TechRepublic.com states Getty Images is suing Stability AI, accusing the company of stealing their copyrighted images. The advancement of AI is truthfully scary, but I refuse to think that human creation can be replaced by a copycat bot. Spreading awareness of how dangerous AI art is to artists is important! Afterall, picking up a pencil and learning to draw takes practice and patience, the process is what makes art fun! I've been drawing for roughly ten years now and exploring my style makes the hobby enjoyable. (Remember if PewDiePie can do it...so can you!!!)

Blog #3: The Facts and Bias of Abortion

    The topic of abortion being ethical or not in America has been widely debated over years now and has become an political issue. I decided to research more about this topic and how some news sources have bias. Before reading, I already have a bias about abortion myself, but I wanted to put that aside and read the facts from The Washington Post article I came upon. The article, "The state of abortion in post-Roe America" written by Rachel Roubein and research conducted by McKenzie Beard. The bias hinted in this article presents "pro-choice" and used the rhetoric strategy of logos to prove their point.

                                                                         Image Source

    To continue, the article shows a picture of protestors outside the U.S. Supreme Court holding signs "Keep Abortion Legal", "Stop Calling Violence Feminism", and more. Under the picture the author writes, "This is what the nation’s abortion landscape looks like a year after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade." Furthermore, she continues to write about the data about how women have been affected with the ban of abortion in some states, including, Idaho, Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia, and more. Roubein's article takes the direction of how women are finding ways to continue to get abortion even in banned states. She is able to provide lots of evidence regarding this, but only a few claims about the opposing side. For example, the birthrates in Texas rose 4.7% after the ban of abortions, but it's not clear if this is due to the overturn of Roe v. Wade. Roubein claims it's not clear because this was the time after the COVID pandemic and the immigration of Hispanics, "a population that tends to have a higher birthrate." She twists it to where anti-abortion laws can't truly cause the rise in pregnancy which I believe causes bias.

    Overall, I believe The Washington Post article about abortion after the laws is a slanted report. The information provided caters that women need abortion because even if it is ban, they still have access. Personally, when Roubein provided the information that birth rates rose, it made me feel empathy to the women unable to have abortion access. Then again it's not 100% factual the birthrates rose in Texas because of the new laws. It's clear there's more research and data about "stopping" anti-abortion laws rather than how to stop abortion. Roubein provided a claim, "On the other side, some abortion opponents are urging Republican lawmakers to do more to crack down on illegal pill networks, backing measures that could help states to fully enforce their abortion bans," but she didn't provide lawmakers' names, information about these laws, or Republican statements. In conclusion, the article stated facts about how women are affected to anti-abortion laws with some bias in favor of "pro-choice."