User talk:Mones jana/sandbox

New York City Subway

8 Challenges

8.6 Rodents

Question: What was the study and the findings of the study done on rodents in the New York City Subway?

The infestation of rats in the subways has been equated partially to the unsuccessful poisoning formulas. A 1976 study recreated the conditions of the underground New York Subway system and put rats found above ground into the controlled environment. As a control group, rats found from the subway system were also placed in an identical recreation of the environment. A majority of the rats from above ground died, whereas those originally from the subway survived. In appearance, both groups of vermin were identical. Given the observation that there are still rodents living in the subways, it can be concluded that the pests have adapted. As noted in Darwin’s theory of evolution, the rats in the subway system are a species variation of the free range rats.

 8.7 Bed Bugs

Question: What is the study and what does it conclude about the challenge of bed bugs in the subway system of New York City?

For years, New York City has been attempting to combat the pestilence of bed bugs. Taking on the challenge, researchers from the American Museum of Natural History paired with Weill Cornell Medicine. They set out with the goal of finding a pesticide that could limit the spread of the bed bugs. The study was done by collecting DNA and RNA of both male and female bed bugs spanning from 1973 to present day, optimizing the accuracy of the results. A bed bug has six stages of life, throughout the before and after of blood meals. Multiple samples were taken of microbes at the different stages. The extracted samples of DNA and RNA observed over 1,500 genes. Bed bugs were taken from over 1,400 locations around New York City, however focusing primarily in the subway system.

8.8 Bacteria

Question: What bacteria is specific to the New York City subways? What kind of challenges do the microorganisms present? What is the study and how has it developed based on the findings?

The genome mapping project of bacteria and microorganisms was conducted by Cornell Weill Medical after lead scientist, Professor Christopher Mason began the study by swabbing handrails in the NYC subways. Upon analyzing the swabs, Mason found that 48% of the collected data did not match any known organisms. With growing curiosity, Mason sought out to develop a map of the New York City subways, gathering specimen from turnstiles, benches, handrails, garbage cans, Metro Card Kiosks, and the doors, poles, handrails, and seats on the trains.

Mones jana (talk) 19:12, 4 April 2016 (UTC)