bserve

Science
Magazine

Issue 1
April 2019
 2
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Letter from the Editor | pg 3
Neusha Kharrati

World map of observe's reach | pg 4

Machine Learning: Modern Day

Artificial Intelligence  |  pg 5
Alex Zavalny

Should Designer Babies Be

Allowed?  |  pg 12
Helia Pashmforoush

Circuit Theory and Intuition for

Physical Equivalence  |  pg 17
William Zhang

Artificial Intelligence within

Medicine: Promising Diagnosis Success
Rate  |  pg 19
Isabella Polsfuss

3D Bio-printing: A Way Out for Organ

Shortage  |  pg 22
Kyle Hui

WDS 05599-3703B 1044AD | pg 26

Neusha KHarrati
 3
Letter from the Editor
Dear readers,

It is with great pride that I launch Observe

International Science Magazine. I want to thank all of
the contributors who dedicated time to writing articles
and recruiting other students to spread the word. I have
been collecting articles since the beginning of this year
and will be publishing once a month to showcase the
work of the talented scientists and authors who took
part in this effort.
I first got the idea of starting a science magazine this summer at CSSSI, a
cardiothoracic surgical skills internship I participated in at Stanford. Throughout the
course of this internship, I met so many interesting and diverse students who
shared a passion for learning and science. I remember hearing interesting stories
exchanged about personal research experiences and concepts students found
interesting in class, and this was when I first considered creating a platform off of
which to share these stories.
Observe was founded to be a center of collaboration where likeminded
individuals could be exposed to the interests of others. As my idea began to
evolve, so did the extent of Observe’s network. I was curious to compare interests
not just among individuals at my internship but throughout the city in which I live,
my country, and eventually across the globe.
With the assistance of social media and word-of-mouth, Observe has expanded
around the world, with participants from the United States to the United Arab
Emirates to China. I am publishing Observe digitally so that individuals everywhere
can access it. I look forward to seeing Observe grow and hope that it makes
scientific discourse more accessible to high school students.

Sincerely,
Neusha Kharrati
Editor of Observe Science Magazine
 4
Observe's Global Reach
 Machine Learning: Modern 5
Day Artificial Intelligence
Alex Zavalny
Malvern Preparatory School, Malvern Pennsylvania
Modern Day Artificial Intelligence
Until nearly twenty-one years ago, it
was deemed impossible to beat the
world renown chess grandmaster, Garry
Kasparov, when something finally
defeated him. It was International
Business Machines’ supercomputer,
Deep Blue, which finally beat Kasparov
in the nail-biting worldwide match in
1997. While still a huge achievement in
the field of Artificial Intelligence (A.I.),
Abstract
The following paper discusses Machine
Learning in relation to being the most
influential part of A.I. (Artificial Intelligence),
and how it’s had an impact in the modern
day. Firstly, by providing historical context
of A.I., and how it lead to the creation and
application of Machine Learning. Secondly,
giving a brief technical explanation of
Machine Learning and how it’s used by
companies and businesses. Thirdly, how
companies like Google and Apple currently
use Machine Learning in order to improve
their line of products. With all of this, it can
be concluded that Machine Learning is,
without a doubt, an important part of our
lives and our future.
Deep Blue was still hardcoded to only
play specific chess matches; it also
lacked the ability to adapt from its
mistakes unlike systems built on
Machine Learning (Demis, 2017).The
following paper discusses the relevance
of Machine Learning and how it’s the
most important application of modern
Artificial Intelligence. First, by retelling a
brief history of Machine Learning from
 the ancient Greeks, to the Turing Machine, Learning, is currently used to help
and leading up to the creation of Artificial companies and businesses. Before the
Intelligence and Machine Learning. Second, creation of Machine Learning or even A.I.,
a brief technical explanation of
Machine Learning, its
related fields, and how it relates to the
Advanced Placement Computer Science
curriculum. And third, the multitude of ways
Machine Learning, specifically Deep
Historical Context
Machine Learning is a subset field of
Artificial Intelligence as defined by
Market Researcher and Social Media
Analyst Sanke Garbhe. Artificial
Intelligence’s earliest traces can be
found in the ancient Greek myths of
Hephaestus, who would regularly build
himself mechanical servants to help him
manufacture weapons for the gods of
Mount Olympus (A.A.A.I., 2013). Also, in
Greek mythology was a giant made of
bronze, named Talos, who was
considered to be an intelligent robot that
guarded the island of Crete against
pirates (A.A.A.I., 2013). Fast forward into
the 17th century, philosopher René
Descartes proposed a theory, that
shocked all philosophers during this
time, which was that all animals,
including humans, were just complex
machines and nothing more (A.A.A.I.,
2013). In that same century German
mathematician, Gottfried Leibniz, had
co-developed the Calculus Ratiocinator
(A.A.A.I., 2013). It was a theoretical
universal calculation framework where
arguments could be solved mechanically
(A.A.A.I., 2013).
6
a lot of ancient stories, theory, and
philosophy first sparked the interest of
many computer scientists to later join the
field in the mid 20th Century.
This universal calculus of reasoning is
currently used by algorithms in Machine
Learning systems in order to logically
calculate and make decisions (A.A.A.I.,
2013). Then, in 1939, came the creation
of the famous Turing machine. Inspired by
mathematician Kurt Gödel’s
Incompleteness Theorem, that there are
certain statements believed to be true but
cannot be proven, Turing wanted to
create a machine that would be able to
prove statements through the use of
algorithms (Smith, McGuire, Huang, &
Yang, 2006). The Turing Machine would
be able to do this using a reader that
reads symbols on a long piece of tape,
and its sequence is used to build an
algorithm (Smith, McGuire, Huang, &
Yang, 2006). These researchers from the
University of Washington also said that
Turing’s algorithms laid the foundations
for a framework of how algorithms in
Machine Learning systems would work.
Demonstrating the power of the Turing
Machine, Turing was able to decipher the
previously undecipherable codes of
Enigma by the Nazis.
 Based on the practical uses of
algorithms, Turing later hypothesized an
idea that machines could think and solve
problems in the same way humans
would (Smith, McGuire, Huang, & Yang,
2006). The researchers at the University
of Washington also said that the creation
of Artificial Intelligence began in 1950
when Turing published a paper, titled
Computing Machinery and Intelligence.
The paper posed the question, can
Machines think, and it described a
method to evaluate how a machine could
think. This method was called the Turing
Test, and it proved that a machine is
able to think by reasoning and
completing logic puzzles similar to
humans. The test itself was asking a
human and a computer a question, and
trying to determine which of the two
responses came from the computer
Technical Explanation
Artificial Intelligence instructor Sam
Eduonix defines Machine Learning as
programming algorithms to steadily get
closer to perform exactly how the
programmer wants them to perform. He
says it also can be described in a similar
process to Linear Regression; a random
line is drawn, and the error, the distance
from each point to the line, is recorded.
Then, new lines are continuously drawn
until they reach a point where the error is
minimal and the line best describes the
points. Machine Learning is made up of 3
parts which are Supervised,
Unsupervised, and Reinforcement
Learning (Eduonix, 2018). Statistically,
7
and the human (Smith, McGuire, Huang,
& Yang, 2006). Researcher Darrell West
from Brookings Institution said that the
promising results of the Turing Test had
given inspiration to computer scientist
John McCarthy. He then took the
development of the field a step further
by being the first scientist to coin the
term Artificial Intelligence. West also said
that McCarthy described it as how a
computer is capable of completing tasks
in the same way as a human does. West
also gives credit to computer scientist
Arthur Samuel for inventing the idea of
Machine Learning. His idea,
revolutionary at the time, was to
automate a computer to learn from data.
This began Machine Learning which is
currently an enormously important field
of A.I. says Leading Instructor at
Eduonix Learning Solutions, Sammy
Eduonix.
Supervised Learning is a predictive model
type where examples of input and output
data are given in order to make a
prediction; this type of learning is what the
Linear Regression example described.
Unsupervised Learning is a descriptive
model type, where the type of input isn’t
given, and associations must be made
for the types of output data. An example
Eduonix gave was a supermarket
associating the types of products to the
types of people buying them.
Reinforcement Learning has similar
techniques of association in Unsupervised
Learning, but it instead performs in a way
to maximize a reward

(Eduonix, 2018). given, and associations
must be made for the types of output
data. An example Eduonix gave was a
supermarket associating the types of
products to the types of people buying
them. Reinforcement Learning has
similar techniques of association in
Unsupervised Learning, but it instead
performs in a way to maximize a reward
(Eduonix, 2018). Machine Learning also
incorporates the use of Neural Networks
which are structures based on the
neurons and synapses in the human
brain (Eduonix, 2018). They are
structured in layers comprised of nodes
that hold data. Then, data from one node
is sent to another node in the next layer
in a movement similar to the motion of
how an algorithm in a Turing Machine
works. The first layer is the Input Layer,
the last layer is the Output Layer, and the
layers in between are the Hidden Layers.
Sam Eduonix describes them as the
most crucial part to a Machine Learning
algorithm because it’s where most of the
association from node to node is done. In
normal Neural Networks, there is usually
one Hidden Layer, however, the famous
concept of Deep Learning explores the
use of multiple Hidden Layers to be able
to associate with many, many nodes.
Having multiple Hidden Layers allows
Future Relevance
In the modern day, the amount of data
humans generate daily is estimated to be
2.6 quintillion bytes says Business and
Technology Advisor at Forbes, Marr
Bernard. Through the further
development and refinement of the
8
for more association to be done from
node to node, and at the same time
having more nodes allows the algorithm
to do more advanced learning. This
allows Deep Learning to train from
extremely large amounts of data, proving
itself to be a very useful tool for
companies said Sammy Eduonix.
According to the College Board, the
Advanced Placement Computer Science
curriculum includes many topics of
programming such as data structures
and different types of sorting and
searching algorithms. In fact, these
topics are the fundamental ideas that the
fields of A.I. and Machine Learning are
based on. The structures of Neural
Networks holding nodes of variables are
similar to arrays and array lists holding
primitive types and objects. Some
algorithmic concepts learned in A.P.
Computer Science include conditional
statements, looping, and combining the
two to make algorithms that analyze
data. Algorithms that parse through
items in an array are an example of how
data moves through the Hidden Layers
in a Neural Network. These algorithms
are the key for large companies to be
able to learn and predict from large
amounts of data in order to improve
themselves according to A.I. instructor
Sam Eudonix.
internet, databases, and servers Bernard
also describes how important it is for
companies to be able to parse through
that enormous amount of data. He also
mentions how major companies such as
Google and Apple use Deep
Learning, specifically Supervised
Learning and Unsupervised Learning, in
order to gather patterns and make
inferences about their enormous amount
of data. This allows them to analyze,
interpret, and make predictions on their
data. Researchers from Harvard
Business Review said that companies
like the accounting network organization,
Deloitte, use Deep Learning to “extract
terms from contracts, which enables an
audit to address a much higher
proportion of documents, often 100%,
without human auditors having to
painstakingly read through
them”(Davenport and Ronanki, 2018).
The researchers also said that other
applications of Machine Learning by
businesses include predicting what a
customer is likely to buy, identify credit
and insurance fraud in real time,
identifying safety or quality problems in
manufactured products, and automating
the process of targeted advertisements
to the user. In addition to data analysis,
another major use of Machine Learning
is with modern virtual voice assistants
which can analyze, recognize, and
understand human speech (Bernard,
2018). Bernard also found that Google’s
Google Home, Apple’s Siri, Amazon’s
Alexa, and Microsoft’s Cortana are all
virtual voice assistants, used daily in
most modern homes, that are Deep
Learning based. Many of the modern
phone companies use facial recognition
on their newest cell phones, and they’re
also built on Machine Learning
algorithms (Bernard, 2018). Apple’s
iPhone X, Samsung’s S9 and S9 Plus,
Samsung’s Galaxy Note 9, Window’s
OnePlus 6, LG’s G7, and Motorola’s 9
Moto G6 are all examples of flagship
phones using facial recognition as a form
of identification in order to unlock the
device. That means that most people
carry many Deep Learning programs in
their pockets every day without even
realizing it. Along with companies taking
advantage of Machine Learning with
speech and facial recognition, other
products and tools used by people every
day take advantage of it as well. Some of
the most used areas in Machine
Learning include handwriting recognition,
stock market analysis, news
categorization, search engines like
Google, and weather prediction (De
Spiegeleire, S., Maas, M., & Sweijs, T.,
2017). In 2016, Google switched to using
a Deep Learning algorithm with Google
Translate. This switch caused a 60%
decrease in errors, according to the
Google computer scientists who worked
with the new algorithms (Castelvecchi,
Davide.). With all this, it’s pretty evident
that Machine Learning is extremely
important, because of its enormous
impact.
For over seven years, Game of Thrones
fans have been waiting patiently for
author George R.R. Martin’s next book in
series: The Winds of Winter Since.
Impatient but eager software engineer
Zack Thoutt is currently training a neural
network that predicts the events of the
next book, which is an example of
Supervised Learning (Hill, 2018).
Although the network isn’t sophisticated
enough to write a complex narrative, it’s
a step into a world where A.I. is able to
write as well, if not better, than humans
(Hill, 2018). And who’s to say the very
paper being read right now isn’t written
by a neural network? We can never
know for certain. Machine Learning isn’t
a new concept and has been around
since the mid 20th century with ties all
the way back to the Ancient Greek myths
of Homer. Machine Learning is made up
of Supervised, Unsupervised, and
Reinforcement Learning which are used
by major companies and
businesses.They also continue to 10
use Deep Learning in order to grow and
to progress which allows for the creation
of new technology to be made. With all
the data and information present, it’s
clear that Machine Learning has given
and will continue to be a major impact on
humanity. Hopefully, the field of A.I.
progresses toward a future where
humans can become chess
grandmasters of the world like Kasparov
before Deep Blue.

References
AAAI(2013)N/A(N/A). A Brief History of AI. Association for the Advancement of Artificial
Intelligence. i2k Connect. Retrieved from
https://aitopics.org/misc/brief-history.
Brogaard, Jonathan and Zareei, Abalfazl. (August 16, 2018). Machine Learning and the
Stock Market. Retrieved from
https://ssrn.com/abstract=3233119 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3233119
Browne, Ryan. (August 1st, 2018). Five of the Scariest Predictions for A.I. CNBC Tech.
Retrieved from::
https://www.cnbc.com/2018/08/01/five-of-the-scariest-predictions-for-ai.html
Castelvecchi, Davide. (September 27th, 2016). Deep Learning boosts Google Translate
tool. Nature International Journal of Science. Retrieved from
https://www.nature.com/news/deep-learning-boosts-google-translate-tool-1.20696
Davenport, Thomas and Ronanki, Rajeev. (January, 2018). Artificial Intelligence for the
Real World. Harvard Business Review. Retrieved from
https://hbr.org/2018/01/artificial-intelligence-for-the-real-world
De Spiegeleire, S., Maas, M., & Sweijs, T. (2017). ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND
THE FUTURE OF DEFENSE: STRATEGIC IMPLICATIONS FOR SMALL- AND
MEDIUM-SIZED FORCE PROVIDERS (pp. 43-59, Rep.). Hague Centre for Strategic
Studies. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/resrep12564.8
Eduonix, Samy. (Udemy). (November, 2018). Projects in Machine Learning: Beginner To
Professional. [Webinar]. Retrieved from https://www.udemy.com/machine-learning-for-
absolute-beginners
Garbhe, Anket.(November 3rd, 2017). What is Artificial Intelligence. Medium.com.
Retrieved from
https://becominghuman.ai/what-is-artificial-intelligence-ai-4bde325e5462.
Hassabis, Demis. (April 27th, 2017). Artificial Intelligence: Chess match of the 11
century
Nature International Journal of Science. Retrieved from
https://www.nature.com/articles/544413a
Hill, Sam. (August 28th, 2017). A Neural Network Wrote the Next 'Game of Thrones'
Book Because George R.R. Martin Hasn't. Motherboard.Vice. Retrieved from:
https://motherboard.vice.com/en_us/article/evvq3n/game-of-thrones-winds-of-winter-
neural-network
Lou, Harbing. (August 28th, 2017). AI in Video Games: Toward a More Intelligent
Game. Harvard’s Science in the news. Retrieved from
http://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/ai-video-games-toward-intelligent-game/
Marr, Bernard.(October 1rst, 2018).What Is Deep Learning AI? A Simple Guide With 8
Practical Examples. Forbes. Retrieved from
https://www.forbes.com/sites/bernardmarr/2018/10/01/what-is-deep-learning-ai-a-
simple-guide-with-8-practical-examples/#4fb0f1ef8d4b
[Serrano, Luis]. (September 9th, 2016). A Friendly Introduction to Machine Learning.
[Video]. Retrieved from
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IpGxLWOIZy4
Smith, McGuire, Huang, Yang. (December, 2006). History of Artificial Intelligence.
History of Computing, University of Washington. Retrieved from
https://courses.cs.washington.edu/courses/csep590/06au/projects/history-ai.pdf
Strauss, Karsten (Febuary 2, 2018). Role of Artificial Intelligence in the future of job
search. Retrieved from https://www.forbes.com/sites/karstenstrauss/2018/02/02/the-
role-of-artificial-intelligence-in-the-future-of-job-search/#402935c94cb0
West, Darrell. ( October 4th, 2018). What is artificial Intelligence? Brookings. Artificial
Intelligence and Emerging Technologies Initiative. Retrieved from
https://www.brookings.edu/research/what-is-artificial-intelligence/
 12
Should Designer Babies
Be Allowed?

Helia Pashmforoush

Torrey Pines High School, San Diego California

A designer baby
is a baby genetic
-ally engineered for
specially selected traits,
which varies from a lowered
risk of disease to gender selection.
Before the use of genetic
engineering, designer babies were primarily
a concept in science fiction. However, the
rapid advancement of technology before and
after the twenty-first century makes designer babies
an increasingly real possibility as already created by a
scientist in China. This new advancement in technology could
be used to change the looks of a child or prevent diseases. To
alter the appearance of a child is not bioethical, whereas altering a child's
genes to prevent harmful diseases is arguably justifiable.
CRISPR is a new technological and benefits of editing embryos. She
advancement used to alter the genetic supports this claim by first stating that
makeup of future generations and create CRISPR has made the engineering of
designer babies that are genetically embryos cheaper, then goes to explain
modified before birth as an embryo for how in most places it is not regulated to
appearances or genetic disorders. In the changes genes, then she mentions if
article Editing Embryos: Considering gene editing were to be used the United
Restriction on Genetically Engineering States would need to put up regulations,
Humans, 2015-2016, Anna Zeret and finally she claims that the use of
questions the safety gene modification without proper
 regulation could cause danger to the
individual and society. This technology
has already been used in China by
scientist He Jiankui when he leads his
team using the gene-editing technology
CRISPR to prevent disease in newborn
twins.
A Chinese scientist created the first
ever genetically altered twins using
technology that is banned in the United
States. His motive to create these
modified twins was to prevent any harm
that would come from having parents
with HIV. In the text, Chinese
Researcher Claims First Gene-Edited
Babies, November 26, 2018, Marilynn
Marchione claims that the use of
CRISPR provides great potential for
correcting mutations and diseases, but
could also be passed down generations.
She supports this claim by first
explaining the purpose of CRISPR which
allowed for the Chinese scientist to
create the genetically modified babies,
then going into the possibility that the
genetically modified babies could pass
down their traits to future generations,
then the scientist explaining as to why
he decided to edit the embryos which
was to get rid of any possibility of a
disorder from HIV, and finally how it
could be very helpful to get rid of other
genetic disorders. As this technology
becomes more widely used, precaution
must be provided to ensure that CRISPR
is only used for genetic mutations rather
than desired traits. With altering the
appearance of a child comes bio-ethical
concerns as opposed to the alterations
of genes to prevent harmful diseases,
which may be a
reasonable solution to a long-lasting
13
problem passed down generations. In
Genetic Inequality: Human Genetic
Engineering, Danielle Simmons argues
that “As genetics allows us to turn the
tide on human disease, it's also granting
the power to engineer desirable traits
into humans (Danielle Simmons).” She
supports this claim by first, stating the
reasons why someone would want to
genetically engineer a human, then
mentions how genetic modification had
already been tried on animals, then she
mentions that wealthier people may
consider changing traits to make their
child superior, and finally claims that if
the option to genetically modify children
was possible, regulations would need to
be enforced. These new technological
advances are beneficial for correcting
genetic disorders but could be harmful
by opening the door to genetic haves
and have-nots without chances for a fair
and just future.
The use of genetic modification has
its benefits of preventing diseases but
may be used to change appearances,
which is not bioethical. In the statement
Claim of Genetically Modified Babies,
the Center for Genetics and Society
claims that “throwing open the door to a
society of genetic haves and have-nots
undermines our chances for a fair and
just future (Center for Genetics and
Society).” The author supports this claim
by first explaining to us that “Jiankui He
has announced the birth of twin girls
whose DNA he claims to have altered
using the gene-editing technique
CRISPR”, then says that the benefit for
gene-editing would be the prevention of

diseases, then says how the experiment
that Jiankui He performed may have
been unregulated, and finally mentions
“It’s hard to imagine a graver abuse of a
child...If this goes unchallenged, other
rogue actors will soon offer wealthy
parents purported genetic
enhancements for their children.” There
are different types of gene alterations
that come at different high prices.
Wealthier families may use CRISPR to
enhance their child's features.
The uses for CRISPR are
consequential if used for the wrong
reasons such as improvement in skills.
In the article, Human Genetic
Modification, the author claims that gene
editing is “the most consequential type of
genetic modification. If used for
enhancement purposes, it could open
the door to a new market-based form of
eugenics.” The author supports this
claim by first stating the two different
types of gene modifications known as
somatic and germline, then explains how
the costs of these treatments would be
very high, then says how if a modified
baby were to reproduce in the future the
new modified traits would be passed
down, and finally mentions that this new
technology is outlawed “in more than 40
countries, and by a binding international
treaty of the Council of Europe.” This
technology is very new, and not many
laws and regulations are put into action
yet. If CRISPR becomes more widely
used, safety precautions would need to
be established.
CRISPR is an enzyme that acts like
14
a pair of molecular scissors, capable of
cutting strands of DNA which could
correct or alter the genetic code. In the
text, Genetically Modified Babies
February 23, 2014, Marcy Darnovsky
claims that “We should carefully and
thoughtfully apply the tools of human
genetic engineering to treat medical
conditions in people, but we should not
use them to manipulate the genetic traits
of future children (Marcy Darnovsky).”
She supports this claim by first saying
that genetically engineered children
would pass down their new genes to
future generations, then going into how
many newborns have mitochondrial
diseases that could have been
prevented if using CRISPR, then
explains how parents could prevent any
harm coming to their child, and finally
claiming that the new technology should
only be used to prevent any harm that
may come to the baby. The use of new
technology raises moral concerns about
the safety and destruction of the embryo.
An issue that comes with genetically
modifying embryos is safety and access.
In Balancing Ethical Pros and Cons of
Stem Cell-Derived Gametes January 13,
2017, Seppe Segers argues that “The
technology of SCD-gametes raises
moral concerns of how reproductive
autonomy relates to issues of embryo
destruction, safety, access, and
applications beyond clinical infertility
(Seppe Segers).” He supports this claim
by first providing an overview of the
ethical pros and cons of stem cell
derived gametes, then stating that stem
cells hold promising applications
research and for clinical use in assisted
reproduction, then explores the “ethical
issues connected to gametes derived
from embryonic stem cells (both patient
specific and non-patient specific)” and
finally discussing the moral concerns
that come with altering an embryo.
Another concern with the modifying of
embryos is the rights the child is born
with.
When a Chinese scientist modified
the embryos of twins, many moral
concerns came with how the newborn
child should be treated. In A Chinese
Scientist Says He Edited Babies' Genes.
What Are the Rights of the Genetically
Modified Child? December 6, 2018,
Eileen Hunt Botting, questions that
genetically modified children may have
different rights. She supports this claim
by first explaining the process of
modifying an embryo, then explaining
the reasoning behind why someone
would want to alter a gene, then using
examples of movies such as “Gattaca”
that display modifying babies as a
normality, and finally stating that children
with genome modifications have the right
to share love with parental guardians
and have no discrimination on the basis
of birth. There are other cases of
embryos being modified already in order
to keep the baby out of any danger.
Since this new technology has been
created, there have been other few
cases in which parents have been
allowed the chance to alter their
embryos to maintain the safety of a child.
Example from Source: In
15
Designer babies aren’t futuristic. They’re
already here. October 22, 2018, Laura
Hercher suggests that designing
inequality in genes may occur. She
supports this claim by first telling the
story of Matthew and Olivia and how
they had to alter their embryo, then goes
into the description of the cost of these
procedures, then talks about how
“Americans approve of using
reproductive genetic tests to prevent
fatal childhood disease, but do not
approve of using the same tests to
identify or select for traits like intelligence
or strength” and finally how the choice to
get rid of a disease is ideal to most
people. The use of CRISPR to aid a
healthy pregnancy for the child has
recently been an available option for not
many families, but in the future could be
widely accessible and used for the births
of healthier children.
The increased ability to control and
manipulate embryos broadens many
possibilities for improving the health of
children, yet these possibilities are faced
with potential social repercussions that
could have negative consequences in
the future. Designer babies represent
great potential in the field of medicine
and scientific research and allow the
ability to treat children through prenatal
diagnosis.
 16
References
Botting, Eileen Hunt. “A Chinese Scientist Says He Edited Babies' Genes. What Are the
Rights of the Genetically Modified Child?” The Washington Post, WP Company, 6 Dec.
2018, www.washingtonpost.com/news/monkey-cage/wp/2018/12/06/a-chinese-scientist-
says-hes-edited-babies-genes-what-are-the-rights-of-the-genetically-modified-child/?
noredirect=on&utm_term=.371777bac664.
Center for Genetics and Society. “Claim of Genetically Modified Babies: If True, a Grave
Abuse of Human Rights.” Claim of Genetically Modified Babies: If True, a Grave Abuse
of Human Rights | Center for Genetics and Society, 2018,
www.geneticsandsociety.org/press-statement/claim-genetically-modified-babies-if-true-
grave-abuse-human-rights
Darnovsky, Marcy. Genetically Modified Babies. 23 Feb. 2014.
Darnovsky, Marcy. “Genetically Engineered Children?” Genetically Engineered
Children? | Center for Genetics and Society, 2015,
www.geneticsandsociety.org/article/genetically-engineered-children.
“Human Genetic Modification.” Human Genetic Modification | Center for Genetics and
Society, www.geneticsandsociety.org/topics/human-genetic-modification.
Ly, Sarah. “The Embryo Project Encyclopedia.” Temperature-Dependent Sex
Determination in Reptiles | The Embryo Project Encyclopedia, Arizona State University.
School of Life Sciences. Center for Biology and Society. Embryo Project Encyclopedia.,
31 Mar. 2011, embryo.asu.edu/pages/ethics-designer-babies.
Marchione, Marilynn. “Chinese Researcher Claims First Gene-Edited Babies.” AP News,
Associated Press, 26 Nov. 2018,
www.apnews.com/4997bb7aa36c45449b488e19ac83e86d.
Roger Lock & Colin Miles. “Biotechnology and Genetic Engineering: Students'
Knowledge and Attitudes.” Taylor & Francis, 2010,
www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00219266.1993.9655347.
Rosenberg, Dr.Eugene. “Genetic Engineering.” Genetic Engineering - an Overview |
ScienceDirect Topics, 2017, www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/genetic-
engineering.
Segers, Seppe, et al. “Balancing Ethical Pros and Cons of Stem Cell Derived Gametes.”
SpringerLink, Springer, 13 Jan. 2017, link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10439-017-
1793-9.
Simmons, Danielle. “Genetic Inequality: Human Genetic Engineering.” Nature News,
Nature Publishing Group, 2008, www.nature.com/scitable/topicpage/genetic-inequality-
human-genetic-engineering-768.
Zaret, Anna. “Editing Embryos: Considering Restriction on Genetically Engineering
Humans .” HeinOnline, 2015, heinonline.org/HOL/LandingPage?
handle=hein.journals%2Fhastlj67&div=51&id=&page=.
 17
Circuit Theory and
Intuition for Physical
Equivalence
William Zhang
Ruben S. Ayala High School, Chino Hills California
 One of the most basic ideas taught
early on in the study of basic circuit theory
is Equivalent Resistance, which allows
one to decompose a complicated circuit
into its simplest form. For those more
familiar with chemistry, I would liken it to
molecular formulas and empirical
formulas, where the empirical formula is a
“simplified” version of the molecular
formula, but that’s where the analogy
ends. The idea of Equivalence in Circuit
Theory is much more useful to the
engineer than empirical formulas are to
the chemist.
A bit of background to make sure we’re
on the same page: The resistor is likely
the most ubiquitous component in circuitry.
In the real world, each resistor is assigned
a certain resistance value that is basically
a measurement of how well it impedes the
flow of current. Ohm’s law relates the
resistance value of a resistor with the
voltage across it and the current that
passes through it.
Essentially, resistors placed in series or
in parallel to each other can be
mathematically manipulated to create an
Equivalent Resistor. Multiple resistors in
series is equivalent to a single resistor with
a resistance value that is the sum of the
resistance values of every resistor that
contributes to it. The reciprocal of the
equivalent resistance of resistors in
parallel is equal to the sum of the
reciprocals of each resistance value in
parallel. This enables one to convert a
complicated looking circuit into a much
simpler form, turning some extremely
complicated systems into simple math and
logic problems.
A common theme that one will notice
in their study of circuitry is this 18
idea of equivalence, which is not limited to
resistor values, but also to the structure of
the circuit itself. It is a mysterious idea at
first, that a seemingly impossible to
analyze circuit can be manipulated into an
arrangement that, structurally seems very
different, but physically is absolutely
equivalent. A great example of this that I
learned of recently is the Delta to Y / Y to
Delta transformation (figure A). Within the
context of the system, the conversion
doesn’t change the behavior of the circuit.
This logic is also what leads to the
concept of Black Box circuits. Black Box
basically means that a circuit can be
replaced by another circuit as long as the
overall behavior is maintained. Imagine a
circuit with two resistors A and B, with an
infinite amount of three resistors in series
made parallel to B, as shown in (Figure
B). Due to the way resistors in parallel
are calculated, the equivalent resistance
of the section parallel to Resistor B
eventually approaches a certain value R,
which finally allows the circuit to be
analyzed.
Thankfully, calculus provides us with
the mathematical foundation behind all
the murkiness. Calculus is what permits
these equivalent systems, as it sets up
the relationships between currents,
resistance, and voltage. While Ohm’s law
is a great tool for high schoolers, it
becomes useless when the values of
interest have rates of change, as in the
real world. Therefore, differential
equations are required. Equivalent
systems yield thesame differential
equations. Thus, they produce the same
solutions and exhibit identical behavior.
 19
Artificial Intelligence within
Medicine: Promising Diagnosis
Success Rate
Isabella Polsfuss
Francis Parker School, San Diego California

in many of our minds as we approach

university and beyond.
Of course, though the answer to such
a question is in many respects
theoretical, multiple developments are
currently being made to transform what
was once speculation into reality. I
currently hold an interest in medicine as I
have realized pursuing a career in
healthcare provides me with the
harmonious opportunity to synthesize my
love of science with human interaction.
However, I have recently come across
many instances in which the success
rate of artificial
intelligence is higher than that of
Our understanding of the world is
professional doctors, whom have
becoming increasingly complex through
devoted their lifetime developing
the immense knowledge gained by new
knowledge in such a field.
technologies. As a member of Francis
One prominent example of rising
Parker’s robotics team myself, I am
artificial intelligence is within an
aware that the capabilities of our
operating system created by researchers
workforce is dramatically changing with
from China’s leading hospitals to self-
such innovation. Could a machine or
diagnose patients. In mid-2018, a
computer system do the job I wish to
competition was held between this
pursue? This is a question that our
system - known to the
generation is left to ponder, and it lurks
world as “BioMind” - against well-reputed
doctors. The results were astounding;
BioMind diagnosed 87% of brain tumors
correctly in approximately 15 minutes. In
contrast, a team of 15 doctors achieved
66% success in 30 minutes (Dixon). This
artificial intelligence system runs under
repetition; essentially, the developers
provided BioMind with tens of thousands
of past images covering nervous
system-related diseases. Such
exposure-based algorithms have not
only been applied to the complexities of
the nervous system, but also have been
utilized to make other diagnoses
throughout the human body. For
example, the presence or absence of
tuberculosis, diabetes, or even
possibilities of future heart attacks have
all been studied using such methods
(Hsieh).
Another AI system researched in late
December 2018 has been found to
predict Alzheimer's disease (AD) years
before diagnosis, which is similarly as
promising. Diagnosis of AD is extremely
time-sensitive, yet also extremely
challenging. Glucose uptakes in certain
regions of the brain are able to indicate a
change in metabolism and show flags of
the disease, though are very subtle and
can easily diffuse. A research team
composed of physicians and engineers
utilized deep learning software and
trained the algorithm with over 2,000
brain scans. The performance of the
algorithm has a sensitivity enabling the
disease to be detected an average of six
years prior to the final diagnosis (“AI”).
These results are extremely 20
exciting, and should not be discouraging
for those, like myself, who have an
interest in perhaps pursuing medicine.
Dr. Wang Chongqing is one of many
Polsfuss 2
whom feels that “humans and machines
are good at different things” and can
“complement each other” (Tmg). Though
systems like BioMind may be more
accurate than humans on some levels,
there is an obvious lack of interaction;
they are unable to diagnose fully and
take into account important factors of the
patient such as age, gender, and history.
The best, most simplistic comparison to
this is like using a GPS to drive a car.
Though one may drive a car without this
system, it certainly is beneficial and often
prevents one from getting lost. The car
cannot drive solely with the GPS, of
course, so it will be the driver (doctor)
whom ultimately makes the decisions
(Tmg). Thus, the rise of artificial
intelligence within medicine shouldn’t be
feared, but rather accepted and
promoted. Developing systems will likely
not completely displace doctors within
our generation; instead, it should allow
leaders in healthcare to perform tasks
more efficiently and expand to new
research.
 21
References
“AI Predicts Alzheimer's Years Before Diagnosis.” RSNA,
www.rsna.org/news/2018/November-December/Artificial%20Intelligence%20Predicts%
20Alzheimers%20Years%20Before%20Diagnosis.
Dixon, Robyn. “China Plans to Dominate AI, with a Vanguard of Robotic Doctors like
'Biomind'.” Los Angeles Times, Los Angeles Times, 6 July 2018,
www.latimes.com/world/la-fg-china-ai-20180706-story.html.
Hsieh, Paul. “AI In Medicine: Rise Of The Machines.” Forbes, Forbes Magazine, 30 Apr.
2017,www.forbes.com/sites/paulhsieh/2017/04/30/ai-in-medicine-rise-of-the-machines/#
4302d7ababb0.
Tmg. “Why AI Could Be the Very Best Second Opinion in Medicine.” The Telegraph,
Telegraph Media Group, 24 July 2018,
www.telegraph.co.uk/news/world/china-watch/technology/artificial-intelligence-in-medic
ine/.
 22
3D Bio-printing: A Way
Out for Organ Shortage
Kyle Hui
St. Paul’s Co-educational College, Hong Kong
 As science advances worldwide,
technologies applied in healthcare
sectors improve as well. This progress is
a double-edged sword. On one hand,
stronger vaccinations and medicine gift
society with better public health. On the
other hand, the decrease in availability of
organs can be devastating to those in
need of transplants. Growing up in the
bustling city Hong Kong, a place
populated with over 7 million people, I
have always been worried about how the
healthcare system sustains the city. In
fact, Hong Kong is among the world’s
worst for organ donations, with only 5.8
donors for every million people in the city.
Many patients in the city die because of
the absence of suitable organs.
Having a strong passion for biology, I
keep my eyes open to solutions that can
alleviate this ever-growing problem in my
hometown. Last summer, I took a course
in Stanford on Tissue Engineering and
3D bio-printing. During the course, I had
a sudden moment of eureka. Can’t we
just print more organs to put an end to
this crisis? Little did I know that the
answer to this question is theoretical in
many ways. In fact, we are still quite a
long way from printing body parts like
how we print paper.
In essence, 3D bio-printing can be
broken into a few key steps. First,
scientists concoct bioink. In order to
create this, they differentiate stem cells
into specific cells, then encapsulate them
in hydrogels. Afterwards, medical
imaging technology is employed to
understand the 3D structure of organs,
allowing medical professionals to design
23
patient-specific constructs. The 3D digital
model is then sliced into a number of 2D
horizontal layers, facilitating the additive
printing process later on. Finally, the
bioink is printed onto scaffolds (may or
may not contain cells by the technique of
cell seeding) or scaffold-free molds.
Theoretically, an organ would then be
printed out. However, there are many
difficulties and limitations during each
step. For example, cells will die quickly if
not exposed to suitable environments in
the ink. In addition, many existing 3D
printers are not powerful enough to
create structures strong enough to
support the tissue.
Despite the numerous challenges
faced by scientists, researchers have
been taking small but exciting steps
towards a future of artificial organs. In
late 2018, scientists from the University
of Utah published a paper in the Journal
of Tissue Engineering. In the paper, they
described their success in manufacturing
human tissues like ligaments and
tendons through bio-printing. The team
harvested stem cells from human fat and
printed them onto a layer of hydrogel.
Over time, the structure developed into
tissues resembling ligaments and
tendons. Since connective tissue is a
complex of different kinds of cells, these
researchers developed a special
printhead that could lay down specific
cells at specific locations in a controlled
manner. This discovery was important
because current tissue replacement
methods rely on tissues from other parts
of the patient’s body. These tissues may
 24
not be of high quality and the harvested midst of all excitement, I believe that
locations may be damaged. The careful and small steps must be taken.
University’s research can effectively There are many ethical considerations
these issues and even serve to recreate on the technology of 3D bio-printing. Is it
spinal discs for transplants. morally right to create a new body part?
Another recent and ground-breaking Is it morally correct to harvest cells from
discovery is the printing of a half- an embryo to reprogram them?
functioning organ. In early 2019, Recently, Chinese scientist He Jiankui
researchers at the Tel Aviv University of claimed to have use CRISPR to disable
Israel managed to engineer a cherry- the gene for making CCR5 in babies,
sized heart using human cells. Like the making them immune to HIV. This has
scientists in the University of Utah, the caused uproar amongst the scientific
Israeli researchers took fatty tissue from community, saying that the study
humans and reprogrammed the cells to infringed on the babies’ rights, and that
become cardiac cells and blood vessel the technology was still unsteady at the
cells that know how to circulate blood time. Hopefully, scientists and the
through the cardiac system. Trapping government can work hand in hand,
these cells in bioink, they then printed taking slow but steady steps so that we
out the organ. What makes this can print organs safely and ethically in
discovery stand out is that the the future.
researchers succeeded in creating the
working blood cells to keep the organ
alive, something no other scientist could
before. Although the heart can contract,
the cells do not work in perfect harmony
to form a pumping ability. Moreover, the
current 3D-printers lack precision and
resolution that can accurately print the
tiniest of human blood vessels. This pint-
sized heart may still not yet be functional
in humans, but it marks a huge
milestone in biomedical sciences.
These results are amazing, pointing
us towards an era where we can literally
print out new ears or noses for
ourselves. The common medical
obstacle of immuno-rejection of cells can
also be eliminated in the future with
patient-derived organs. However, in the
 25
References
“3D Printing Human Ligaments, Tendons and More . . .” State of Utah Center of
Excellence for Biomedical Microfluidics, 17 Oct. 2018, mems.utah.edu/2018/10/17/3d-
printing-human-ligaments-tendons-and-more/.
Cheung, Elizabeth. “Hong Kong among World's Worst for Organ Donations.” South China
Morning Post, 20 July 2018, www.scmp.com/news/hong-kong/health-
environment/article/1989904/hong-kong-among-worlds-worst-organ-donations.
Cui, Haitao, et al. “3D Bioprinting for Organ Regeneration.” Advanced Healthcare
Materials, U.S. National Library of Medicine, Jan. 2017,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5313259/.
Lazarus, David. “Israeli Scientists Unveil World's First 3D-Printed Heart with Human
Tissue.” The Times of Israel, Apr. 2019, www.timesofisrael.com/israeli-scientists-unveil-
worlds-first-3d-printed-heart-with-human-tissue/.
Park, Alice. “Chinese University 'Shocked' By News of First CRISPR Babies.” Time, Time,
26 Nov. 2018, time.com/5463741/crispr-human-babies/.
 26
Astrometric Measurements
and Historical Data Summary
of WDS 05599-3703B 1044AD

Neusha Kharrati
Francis Parker School, San Diego California

Abstract
Position angle and angular separation for the
double star system WDS 05599-3703B 1044AD
were measured from images acquired through
the iTelescope network, and processed through
Maxim DL and MiraPro x64. These astrometric
measurements were calculated to be 189.9º and
27.3". The results of these measurements,
compared to historical measurements

Introduction
The selection criteria for determining a double
star system to study included a right ascension
between 00 and 06 hours, a separation of at least 6
arcseconds, and a maximum differential magnitude
of 6. The Washington Double Star
(WDS) catalog, managed by the United States Naval Observatory (USNO), was used to
find a candidate star system. Double star 05599-3703 B 1044AD (referred to as 1044AD
hereinafter) fit this criteria, with a right ascension of 05h 59m 55.79s, a separation angle
(Rho) of 21.3", and a differential magnitude of 4.58.
Historical data, provided by the USNO, shows two complete sets of previous
measurements. There are other measurements that did not provide position angle (theta)
 or angular separation (rho), but instead
provided data such as magnitude for a
given epoch. The earliest measurement
was made in 1999 indicating a theta of
215 º and a rho of 16.2". The other
measurement, also taken in 1999, shows
a theta of 216° and a rho of 15.8".
Materials and Methods
Images were taken through the
iTelescope network where each
observatory has multiple telescopes that
could be used for scientific research.
The first telescope used was the T27,
Figure 1, located in Siding Spring,
Australia at an elevation of 1122 meters.
T27 has a resolution of 0.53 arc-
secs/pixel, a pixel size of 12um square,
and a position angle of 0º. The second
telescope was the T30, Figure 2, also
located at 1122 meters in Siding Spring,
Australia. This telescope has a
resolution of 0.81 arc-secs/pixel, a pixel
size of 9um square, and a position angle
of 086º.
We requested images, with select
filters, exposure length, and time
windows for the images. The equipment
used to measure our stars included 2
images of Luminance with 30 seconds
exposure, one Luminance with 60
seconds of exposure, a Hydrogen-alpha
with 120 seconds of exposure, and Blue
with 120 seconds of exposure for T27
and T30, Table 1.
The luminance filter is a clear filter
that was used to get a general image of
the system. Hydrogen-alpha filters were
used to even out the difference in
Double Star 1044AD was
27
selected with the objective of taking new
astrometric measurements adding to the
historical measurements in an effort to
assist in determination of the system’s
gravitational nature, while also
evaluating the possibility of a chance
alignment of the A star over the D star.
magnitude between the A and D stars.
Because of the high magnitude of both
the A and D stars—which are G type
stars, indicating that they peak in yellow
—we wanted to look at them in a color
they didn’t peak in so to see less light,
and consequently ended up using the
blue filter. These different filters were
used to discern whether or not there
were differences in measurement that
could be attributed to the varying
wavelengths corresponding to each
filter.
Each image was processed through
Maxim DL, software for astronomical
imaging which processes data acquired
through imaging array detectors such as
CCDs (charge-coupled device). Mira Pro
was used to clean, label, and calibrate
images, along with measuring our
position angle and separation. To ensure
accurate measurements in Mira Pro, the
vertical transfer function was set to
99.5% or 99.9%, based on trial and error
to see which provided the clearest
image. Each image was then measured
using the Distance and Angle tool in
Mira Pro. This statistically located the
center of each star. Figure 3 is a CCD
image after being processed in
 28
Maxim DL and MiraPro x64. Theta and
rho of the AD pair was recorded and
organized in an Excel spreadsheet.
Then, we determined the mean,
standard deviation, and the deviation of
error for all measurements.

Figure 1. Figure 2.
iTelescope T27. iTelescope T30.

Table 1. Number of images with filter and exposure time.

Figure 3. Processed CCD image of WDS 05599-3703B 1044B under a

luminance filter with an exposure of 60 seconds.
 29
Data and Results

Table 2. The mean, standard error of the

mean, and standard deviation for WDS
05599-3703B 1044AD

Table 3. Summary of raw data from CCD

image measurements made in this study.
Table 4. Parallax and error measurements
for both stars

Table 5. Min, Mid, and Max distances from both stars to earth in
Parsecs and Light Years
 30

Graph 1. Historical Position of WDS 05599-3703B

1044AD

Discussion
The conclusion that can be drawn from this data is that the system of stars is not truly
linked; their connection is simply due to optical alignment. There has been movement
observed, however, this movement is observed when the two stars cross over one
another. The large distance between these stars manifests that they are not connected.
To determine these distances, parallax angles were given, and these angles were used to
determine the distance of each star from earth in light years, coming out to be 173.4 light
years for star A and 1410.83 light years for star D, as seen in Table 5.

Table 6. Current measurements and data available on WDS 05599-3703B

1044AD courtesy of the Washington Double Star Catalog.
 31
Stelledoppie Data
The online astronomical database,
Stelledoppie, states the nature of this
double is uncertain as of 1999.

Conclusion
The measurements from this study
indicate that there has been a decrease in
position angle and an increase in
separation for 1044AD since its first
recorded measurement in 1999. From
historical data and the data from this
study, it can be concluded that this is a
high proper motion double, however, the
stars are not gravitationally bound.

References
Genet, R., Johnson, J., Buchheim, R., and Harshaw, R. 2015, Small Telescope
Astronomical Research Handbook. Ed. Collins, D.
Mason, B. and Hartkopf, W. 2015, The Washington Double Star Catalog.
Astrometry Department, U.S. Naval Observatory.