Article Questions/Answers

1.  What does Betsy McCaughey identify as a problem in her commentary?

The CDC wants to make hospitals Ebola-ready in a presumption of taking just a few days.

2.  What solutions does she offer?

She thinks we should expand capacity at our nation's four bio-containment hospitals which could treat Ebola patients without having the virus spread to the workers.

3.  How does infection expert Sean Kaufman view the CDC’s guidelines for protective gear in treating Ebola patients?

He called them "absolutely irresponsible and dead wrong"

4.  What point did Rep. Michael Burgess make about CDC head Thomas Frieden?

He pointed out the difference of protective suits from Africa and the ones the CDC issued for nurses and doctors.

5.  Ms. McCaughey concludes her commentary by recommending: “The best Ebola strategy is to protect our local hospitals, health-care workers and patients by relying on the nation’s bio-containment facilities. That’s what they were built for.”
a) Do you agree with her recommendation?

Yes I do agree with her because Ebola is a virus we do not have a cure for and those bio-containment facilities are where peoples best hope stands. On the other hand there are not enough facilities for everyone.
b) Ask a parent to read this commentary and answer this question.

Yes they agree with this strategy of protecting local hospitals and other community places because it would stop the expanding of Ebola among the community.

Article Summary

In the science text titled Are we alone in the universe? Maybe not! by Seth Borenstein focuses on the possibilities in search of extraterrestrial life and the search of planets like Earth. First, Borenstein points out that astronomers have confirmed a three or four planets that are in the not-too-cold, not-too-hot zone for liquid water to form. These planets can be to about 500 to 1,100 light years away. A light year is approximately 5.9 trillion miles. Next, Borenstein informs readers that astronomers are a bit closer to finding twins of Earth and answering the question Are we alone? Guillermo Torres, an astronomer, says they are looking for signs of life but it will take many years. Also, Borenstein reports that the known number of planets no bigger than twice the size of Earth and in the habitable temperature zone falls to about 8 or 9 planets. In addition, Borenstein mentions that there are two new planets that are closest to Earths size. Kepler #1 is 12% larger than Earth and gets more energy from its star which would make it warmer. Kepler #2 is 34% bigger than Earth and receives two thirds the energy from its sun as we do. Finally, Borenstein concludes by an announcement from NASA stating that their planet hunter telescope has confirmed its 1,000th planet out side our solar system. That gives astronomers more than 1,800 planets discovered out side our solar system.