Experimentation as Means of Discovery - Essay Example

Experimentation as Means of Discovery Throughout the ages, experimentation has been used by many as a way to make new discoveries. The use of experimentation is used to validate the previously spoken hypothesis by either proving, or disproving, that which was spoken to begin with. The most common usage of experimentation is performed by those who are in the sciences as a stepping stone towards instrumental innovations, such as the creation of medicines and vaccines to heal the ailing and sick. It is these sorts of experiments which have enabled countless people to live happier and more prosperous lives throughout the ages. In keeping with the idea of scientific study, journals and articles are best in amassing a clear and concise understanding of experimentation as it comes to the sciences or any other subject matter. In the article titled "Effects of nickel and temperature on the ground beetle", authors Agnieszka J. Bednarska and Ryszard Laskowski set out to address the effects of nickel on the ground beetle. They start the article with a notion that is very common throughout the science world. The idea that all living things are exposed to outsides inhibitors which can greatly impact their ability to survive and to function. These inhibitors can include a lack of available nourishment, moisture, and also temperatures which can cripple even the most thriving outside environment. To best understand the impact of nickel on the ground beetle, it is imperative to understand the composition of nickel itself. The authors write that, "Nickel (Ni) occurring element, but anthropogenic sources are responsible for its elevated concentrations in the environment. Since industrialization, large amounts of Ni have been released to the environment, especially from burning fossil fuels," Adding that, "Nickel is usually emitted from smelters as very fine dust particles which remain in the atmosphere for a long time and can be transported to long distances. In the vicinity of smelters, nickel concentrations in soil and plants may exceed its natural content 100 times (Eisler 1998; Kabata-Pendias 2000) or even more, since in smelter-contaminated soils concentrations as high as 22,000 mg kg -1 may occur (Everhart et. al 2006)," (Bednarska, 2008, p. 189). The authors show in this citation, as well as others that follow, which they themselves are no different when it comes to researching topics and providing the necessary credit to those who have formulated the works which they review. As the authors describe, the continued increase in the production of nickel had made the study of the environmental hazards of this metal even more important to be aware of. They go on to write that, "Toxic effects of Ni were studied in soil invertebrates such as earthworms (Scott-Fordsmand et al. 1998; Lock and Jansen 2002) and springtails (Scott-Fordsmand et al. 1999), where test organisms were exposed to increasing concentrations of the metal under constant ambient conditions in laboratory," Going on to write that, "However, in the field natural stressing factors are likely to modify responses of animals to chemical exposure through their influence on a variety of physiological processes. For example, high temperature, by increasing metabolic rates, can increase consumption and assimilation of toxicants contained in food and, thus, may lead to increased intoxication of exposed animals. On the other hand, the elevated metabolic rate at high temperatures may help to increase rates of detoxification and elimination of toxins from an organism," (Bednarska, 2008, p. 190). Therefore, they move on to discuss the experiment at hand. That is, the direct impact whatever it may be on the ground beetle when it is exposed to nickel. Or as the writers describe the insect in its Latin name, P. oblongopunctatus (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Bednarska & Laskowski describe the beetle as, "Carabid beetles are for many reasons particularly interesting for ecotoxicology: being important pest-control species they need special attention in environmental risk assessment, they are relatively abundant in most terrestrial ecosystems and can easily be collected for both field and laboratory studies," Further elaborating that, "They are poor accumulators of metals (Laskowski and Maryanski 1993), which may results from efficient mechanisms of detoxification and excretion (Janssen 1991; Kramarz 1999), but individuals inhabiting chronically polluted environments appear less tolerant to additional environmental stressors then those from uncontaminated areas (Stone et al. 2001). Thus, effects of exposure to metals can be magnified in field-living carabids by other chemical and/or natural stressors," (Bednarska, 2008, p. 190). In assessing this last statement, it can be determined that this particular species of beetle, while abundant in every way, in the end do not have a high tolerance for any kind of metal exposure. That being said, this species would make for a perfect test subject in the quest to determine the hazardous impact that metal exposure would inevitably have on an unsuspecting life form(s). Looking at the other side of it, it can also be said that laboratory experiments in their own right cannot fully represent what truly can happen when an aggressor is introduced into a species based on the fact that with all the innovations that have come in science, there are some things that develop in the outside world that no matter how much effort is put into it, would be impossible to recreate a duplication of the same occurrence inside a laboratory. As stated in the beginning, before experimentation a hypothesis is formed. The authors speak of their hypothesis by stating that, "We also hypothesized that effects of nickel exposure should be temperature dependant because higher metabolic rate at higher temperatures should result in increased food demand and, thus, higher metal assimilation. On the other hand, the increased metabolic rate may allow for more efficient detoxification. Thus, the relationship between metal exposure, temperature and toxic effects seems complex, and the net result is hard to predict," (Bednarska, 2008, p. 190). With further examining, one could say that further experimentation would be needed in the quest to determine the exact effect(s), to the best of one's ability, of nickel on the subject at hand and its surrounding environment. For that, the authors explain that in fact two experiments were performed by them, and they proceed to elaborate further. For Experiment I, the authors collected a total of 120 adult beetles from an uncontaminated area which they say was in Krakow, Southern Poland. For the number of beetles which they collected, it seems to be a healthy number of the specimen in possession for testing. By the figures given and the authors own assertions, the beetles were kept in a climate controlled environment and were separated in containers which had an equal amount of the specimen in each container. Samples were collected in a timely manner, all the while keeping the conditions at a set rate. The beetles were exposed to a simulation version of the standard transition of the seasons that normal human beings themselves face. Two hundred and six days after the experiment began, the beetles were separated based on sex, with one male and female beetle being place in each box. As to be expected, one of the final tests would be to study the reproductive capability of the female beetles in this study after they had been grouped with their individual male counterparts. The experiment ended after 245 days, and whichever beetles had died were immediately removed and the remaining were studied in the hopes of observing the metal in their systems if any, (Bednarska, 2008, p. 191). The second experiment continued the study by placing a certain amount of the nickel concentration dry food. Bednarska & Laskowski inform the readers of their work that by exposure to this concentration of the nickel dry food, the beetles found an increase in life and an ability to create life of their own, but their breathing became weaker and as a result showing the authors that in fact nickel had an impact when it came to metabolism, (Bednarska, 2008, p.191). Later on in the article the authors address nickel when they write that, "Nickel, like many other metals (e.g. Cu, Zn, Fe), is an essential element for any species and either deficiency or toxicity symptoms may occur when too little or too much Ni is assimilated," (Bednarska, 2008, p. 196). Reading further, the authors show that some form of nickel in the system of the beetles may actually have had some form of benefit, but that the real danger came when the level of nickel was increased. The sciences have always been an area in which innovation has been a precursor to discovery. New medicines to heal the ill have been found and new ways to determine how environmental, as well as, outside artificial influences can impact a species. For scientific research to be best performed, the researchers must hypothesize what it is they are trying to attempt, but it is also crucial for experimentation to occur because only then the hypothesis can be proven or disproven. In the case of the impact of nickel on the ground beetle, Bednarska & Laskowski would agree that only with experimentation were they able to succeed with their plan. References Bednarska, Agnieszka J., & Laskowski, Ryszard (2007). Effects of nickel and temperature on the ground beetle: Pterostichus oblongopunctatus (Coleoptera: Carabidae). Ecotoxicology (2008) 17:189-198. Accepted: 29 November 2007/Published online: 14 December 2007. Published by: Springer Science + Media, LLC 2007. Read More