2023年紐約時報STEM寫作比賽競賽報名中?。ǜ将@獎作品）

說起形式多樣、主題領域廣泛、能覆蓋大部分學生需求的學術活動，一定非NYT系列寫作學術活動莫屬，每年都有上萬名的中學生參與這些賽事。2023年紐約時報STEM寫作比賽學術活動報名中?。ǜ将@獎作品）

STEM寫作學術活動

STEM（科學、技術、工程、數學）寫作學術活動是由《紐約時報》主辦的，是全球寫作學術活動中最受矚目也是含金量最高的大賽之一。STEM寫作學術活動邀請來自全球的高中生圍繞自己感興趣的科學話題展開寫作，對于世界運轉規律的思考、生活中觀察到的科學現象或者課堂中所學到的知識都可以作為選題。2021 年話題包括蛇毒、蛋殼、小提琴、長須鯨和 COVID-19.

通過寫作的方式普及科學知識，對于擅長理科的同學來說是擺脫“理科怪人”刻板印象的好機會，對于擅長文科的同學而言也是展現你嚴謹邏輯和對科學興趣的平臺。而且參加STEM學術活動的獲獎作品會刊登在全球知名度最高的刊物之一《紐約時報》的版面上。

學術活動時間：2023年2月2日至3月9日

適合群體：全球11-19歲的初高中生

作品要求：

1.STEM領域的任何題材均可，建議選擇自己感興趣的話題

2.確保你的主題足夠窄，可以在 500 字或更少的時間內很好地涵蓋它。

3.作品如果有任何形式的引用需要單獨的文獻引用頁。

4.學生可以選擇個人或組隊參賽，但每位選手只能提交一份作品。

獲獎作品展示：

Winner's Article?1

Stayin’ Alive: How the Immortal Jellyfish Cheats Death

by Varun Fuloria

15, from The Harker School in San Jose, Calif.

Two thousand years ago, the first emperor of China became obsessed with acquiring immortality, ruthlessly deploying his empire’s vast resources toward this quest. Unfortunately, Qin Shi Huang died at the age of 49 from ingesting mercury, which he mistakenly believed to be the elixir of life. Could the secret that eluded the powerful emperor, and the rest of humanity, be instead found in a humble jellyfish smaller than a fifth of an inch?

In 1988, Christian Sommer, a young German marine biologist on vacation in Italy, stumbled upon a peculiar trait in a known species of jellyfish. Instead of always growing older, Turritopsis dohrnii could seemingly reverse time until it reached the youngest stage of its development and began aging again. We now know that the adult jellyfish, also called a medusa, can transform into its youngest state, a polyp, in response to stressful conditions such as physical damage and starvation. An analogue of this “reverse metamorphosis” would be an adult butterfly that, when faced with danger, would transform into a caterpillar and would later grow back into a butterfly. Moreover, this magical insect would be able to repeat this process over and over again!

In order for the so-called “immortal jellyfish” to accomplish its curious transformation, its adult cells, which are already specialized for specific purposes, need to change into entirely different types of specialized cells. Turritopsis dohrnii represents the only known instance of this reprogramming process, called transdifferentiation, occurring in nature. However, there is considerable scientific interest in identifying artificial ways to repurpose cells in order to help reverse degenerative diseases. For example, heart failure is usually caused by the lack of healthy cardiac muscle cells called cardiomyocytes. This could be addressed by reprogramming other heart cells, such as widely available fibroblasts, into new cardiomyocytes. Similarly, the transdifferentiation of adult liver cells into insulin-producing pancreatic cells could help reduce the impact of diabetes.

While Turritopsis dohrnii can be challenging to keep in the lab, being sensitive to temperature and diet, its transdifferentiation can be readily stimulated and occurs within 48 to 72 hours, making the process easy to study. Maria Pia Miglietta, an associate professor of marine biology at Texas A&M University at Galveston, is studying the messenger RNA molecules of the animal throughout various stages of its “life,” both during regular and reverse metamorphosis. Dr. Miglietta’s research identifies biological processes that are significantly over- and under-expressed across these stages, unlocking clues for artificially inducing transdifferentiation of cells in other organisms.

Despite its nickname, Turritopsis dohrnii is not really immortal in the manner that Qin Shi Huang aspired to be; it can easily be killed by predators or die of disease. However, its ability to reverse the aging process by reprogramming its cells could help develop treatments for some of humanity’s most widespread diseases. And that would bestow an undying legacy on this tiny sea creature.

(478 Words)

Works Cited

Gannon, Megan. “China’s First Emperor Ordered Official Search for Immortality Elixir.” LiveScience, 27 Dec. 2017.

Ieda, Masaki, et al. “Direct Reprogramming of Fibroblasts into Functional Cardiomyocytes by Defined Factors.” Cell, 5 Aug. 2010.

“The Immortal Jellyfish.” American Museum of Natural History, 4 May 2015.

Ling, Thomas. “The Secrets of the Immortal Jellyfish, Earth’s Longest-Living Animal.” BBC Science Focus Magazine, 15 May 2021.

Miglietta, Maria Pia, et al. “Transcriptome Characterization of Reverse Development in Turritopsis dohrnii (Hydrozoa, Cnidaria).” G3 Genes|Genomes|Genetics, 1 Dec. 2019.

Nagata, Renato. “Small Jellyfish and the Secret to Eternal Life.” Bate, 19 Nov. 2020.

“Research.” The Real Immortal Jellyfish, 10 Dec. 2020.

Rich, Nathaniel. “Can a Jellyfish Unlock the Secret of Immortality?” The New York Times Magazine, 28 Nov. 2012.

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