Slide 1
Air pollution is a growing field in scientific exploration, and a growing problem
throughout the world. It has been confirmed that human longevity increases with
cleaner air, by at least 5 months, directly correlating to the purity of the air. (Pope,
2009) This leads us to the issue that ozone pollution is four times greater now than prior
to the Industrial Revolution in the mid-1700s.
Slide 2
The above graph displays the relationship between the exposure to nitrogen
dioxide versus the amount of forced expiratory volume. The x axis represents the
amount of NO2, whereas, the y axis represents the ability to intake and exhale a certain
volume of air in the human lung.
Slide 3
Air pollution has negative effects on organisms other than humans as well
expressed by the following figures: By 2100, it is said that there will be a reduction of
tree growth at almost 20% since the late 1800’s, and the early 1900’s. (Wiley – Blackwell
2008)
Slide 4
The decrease in trees, although significant, is very gradual. That is shown in the
above graph which displays the decrease in mean density of the trees over time. The x
axis represents years from 1987 up until 2005, and the y axis represents mean crown
density. Some trees shown in this graph are the oak, scots pine, beech, sitika spruce, and
Norway spruce.
Slide 5
Many organisms are at risk due to the negative conditions brought along by air
pollution. 35% of bird species, 52% of amphibian species and 71% of warm-water reefbuilding coral species are at risk because of a changing climate, and increased air
pollution. (Wiley – Blackwell 2008)
Slide 6
This graph shows organisms being affected by air pollution. The x axis on this
graph represents the organism being affected, and the y axis represents the percent of
the species shown that are affected by air pollution. As expressed in the previous slide,
35% of bird species, 52% of amphibian species and 71% of warm-water reef-building
coral species are at risk.
Slide 7
Evidence of the fact that air pollution is in fact a rising issue, is shown in the fact
that 10% of total bank lending in the United States, totaling to about 15 billion dollars,
was spent on environmental investment projects in 2000. (Michaels, Patricia A, 2007)
The costs for dealing with this problem have increased over time. The cost of air
pollution systems in the United States initially peaked at 4.2% of all total annual
investments made by US industry in new plants and equipment, and continued to
sharply rise in the 1980’s, and then again in the 1990’s. (Castagno, 2005)
Slide 8
Air pollution can cause negative effects to the lungs as well, such as chest
tightening. People with asthma, lung disease and other respiratory ailments, can
experience worsening symptoms and heightening gravity of their illness. In areas with
higher levels of polluted air than clean air, people can acquire bronchitis. (Kelly, 2008)
Slide 9
In a study done by Dr. Nafstad, it was found that although it is a small
population, a significant amount of people exposed to air pollution have an increased
risk for acquiring lung cancer. 1800 men were tested. They were exposed to moderately
high levels of air pollution, and 418 developed lung cancer. A small, but nonetheless
significant, increase in lung cancer risk was seen with high nitrogen oxide levels but not
with sulfur dioxide levels. Lung cancer risk rose by 8% for every 10 mg rise in the
nitrogen oxide level. (Begany, 2006)
Slide 10
A prominent scientist in the field of research on air pollution, is Dr. Hanwant B.
Singh. His studies for the past 25 years have focused on the composition and chemistry
of the atmosphere, and the publishing of more than 190 scientific papers and a textbook
in this field, chemical engineering. His primary research goal is to better understand the
impact of human activities on the chemistry and climate of the earth’s atmosphere
through direct observations and data analysis. (Czech, 2008)
Slide 11
Another scientist working in air pollution and conservation is Dr. W. James
Gauderman. Dr. Gaudermanis working in the fields of the results of environmental
exposures on correlating health outcomes, and in the field of genetic- epidemiology. He
has also evaluated a technique known as joint segregation and linkage analysis. He
works with the Children’s Health Study, which focuses on the study of lung function and
respiratory health. The ultimate goal of his studies is to determine whether or not air
pollution and its components are associates with lung growth and an increase in
asthma, and bronchitis among many other respiratory illnesses. He was involved with
the publication of approximately 25 pieces of literature pertaining to environmental
studies. (Thomas, DC. 1997)
Slide 12
Scientists, Inoue, Fukunaga, and Okubo tested whether or not nitrogen dioxide
induces lethal mutations, or decreases longevity in the model organism drosophila
melanogaster.
Slide 13
An appropriate model organism to measure longevity when exposed to
air pollution would be Drosophila melanogaster, otherwise known as the fruitfly.
Drosophila are well known model organisms with a short lifespan, which would
make them appropriate for longevity studies. They are small and cheap making it
easy to keep and test on them in large numbers. In order to determine how old a
fruitfly is, one must synchronize the drosophila. Synchronization is a process in
which many adult flies are left in a vial for several days, and after 2-5 days, you
remove all adult flies, leaving the immobile embryo to hatch a day later. These new
flies will be one day old. You sex these flies, which means to separate them into
separate containers by gender in order to prevent further reproduction. Each day you
count the number of flies living, and flies that have died. (Manning, 2006)
Slide 14
The purpose of this experiment would be to test the effects that Nitrogen Dioxide
has on the longevity of Drosophila melanogaster in progressive concentrations.
Slide 15
Alternative Hypothesis- Increased levels of nitrogen dioxide would have an effect
on the longevity of the model organism, Drosophila melanogaster
Slide 16
The above chart shows my methodology. A sample size of 360 drosophila
melanogaster would be divided into six groups of 60 drosophila. The control group, or
group 1, would be exposed to no nitrogen dioxide to demonstrate the natural air
conditions for the organism. Group two represents the first variable group which would
be exposed to ten milligrams of nitrogen dioxide, group three would be exposed to 20
milligrams of nitrogen dioxide, group four would be exposed to 30 mg of nitrogen
dioxide, group 5 would be exposed to 40 mg of no2 and group 6 would be exposed to 50
mg of no2. All would be fed artificial drosophila medium, and would be sexed and
synchronized daily. The dead males and females would be counted in order to acquire
longevity data. This data would then be analyzed by means of a one way ANOVA scheffe
post hoc test
Slide 17
A nitrogen dioxide test kit, an extra large drosophila culture, instant drosophila
medium, culture vials, plugs, and caps would be necessary for this experiment. All of
this would be ordered from Carolina scientific supplier, other than the Nitrogen Dioxide
Kit, which would be ordered from Thomas scientific for $95.10. The Thomas scientific
website and phone number are as follows- thomassci.com, 1-800-345-2100.