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Katie Engel submitted a video of her spinning on the ice to demonstrate the work of Emmy Noether.

*This article was updated  Feb. 13 to reflect a change in the Jocelyn Bell Burnell lecture from Feb. 13 to Feb. 14 due to the weather.

By Daniel Dunaief

And the winner is … women in science! 

While Stony Brook University’s Institute for Advanced Computational Science (IACS) announced the winners of its inaugural challenge to celebrate the scientific and engineering achievement of women on Feb. 7, the organizers and participants feel like they’ve already come out ahead.

The inaugural competition, which 195 students kindergarten through 12th grade in schools on Long Island entered by submitting a one-minute video, included prizes for the 13 finalists. The winner received $1,000 prize, the runner up got $750 and the third-place finisher collected $500.

Marivi Fernández-Serra

“The goal of it was to celebrate the International Day of Women and Girls in Science, while simultaneously promoting the important role that women had in science in the last century,” explained Marivi Fernández-Serra, Professor in the Physics and Astronomy Department and at the Institute for Advanced Computational Science.

In their videos, the students selected one of nine scientists that included experiments showcasing the work of these researchers by using computers or household products to demonstrate the search for dark matter, explore the laws of conservation, create homemade telescopes, simulate a volcano with lava and many more.

Fernández-Serra, who had helped with a similar effort at the Institute for Theoretical Physics in Madrid, Spain, brought the idea for the competition to Mónica Bugallo, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Vice Provost for Faculty Affairs and Diversity, Equity and Inclusion and affiliated member of the IACS  Faculty Director of the Women in Science and Engineering Honors Program, who immediately supported it.

Fernández-Serra thought the competition might attract 10 entrants in its inaugural year while Bugallo, who reached out to Long Island schools to showcase the competition, was confident local students would embrace the opportunity.

“Wait for a tsunami of participants,” Bugallo said she told Fernández-Serra, with whom she’s been a colleague and friend for years. “I was not surprised” by the contributions from the 103 teams, which included entrants from individual students and groups of as many as three students.

Bugallo, who recommended computer scientists Grace Hopper and mathematician and writer Ada Lovelace as important scientists for the competition, was impressed with the student effort.

“It was extremely tough to come up with the finalists,” said Bugallo.

Stony Brook plans to share the videos from the finalists after naming the winners.

Figure skating and conservation

One of the finalists, Katie Engel, a senior at Cold Spring Harbor High School, chose to demonstrate the work of Emmy Noether.

A German mathematician, Noether contributed to theoretical physics and abstract algebra. A theorem named after her, the Noether Theorem, explains that any continuous symmetry in a system has an associated conservation law. That helps explain how the speed of someone spinning in a chair changes depending on how far their arms re-extended.

Mónica Bugallo

An ice skater since she was six who is also interested in studying computer science or engineering, Engel had never heard of Noether but was intrigued with the physics and with the person who helped discover ways to characterize it.

In her entry, Engel explained the mathematical principals on a white board and then recorded a video of herself spinning on ice. When she learned about Noether’s life, Engel discovered that Noether was an important contributor to her field, despite some resistance to her work from men. “Reading about her stories is really inspiring,” said Engel.

Engel is stunned at the conclusions Noether reached with the tools at her disposal.

Currently working as an intern for Peter Koo at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory, Engel suggested she is committed to pursuing her interest in science, technology, engineering and math fields during and after college.

Engel was also a member of the robotics team at Cold Spring Harbor High School that won the regional conference and went to the World Championships in Houston last year. In robotics, Engel said the number of girls on the team declined from 10th through 12th grades. 

She is, however, heartened to learn that 180 boys and 200 girls attended a recent research fair at her school.

New teaching tools

Fernández-Serra and Bugallo are hoping that teachers at all levels can use the videos to inspire students and help them connect with scientists whose contributions continue to resonate with current researchers. The purpose of activities like the competition is to “spark interest, so students want to investigate more,” said Bugallo.

Stony Brook plans to build on this experience in future years through either similar efforts or ongoing programs or initiatives. “Our intent was to have these challenges year after year if this was successful, and it obviously was,” said Bugallo.

In the immediate future, Fernández-Serra encourages students in the area to attend the upcoming talks given by University of Oxford astrophysicist Jocelyn Bell Burnell, who discovered the pulsar, as a part of the Della Pietra lecture series at the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics on Stony Brook University’s West Campus from February 13 through Feb. 15.

Bell Burnell is giving a general public lecture on Feb. 14 at 5 p.m., with a reception at 4:15 p.m. in the Simons Center Lobby. The lecture will also be livestreamed at scgp.stonybrook.edu/live.

Bell Burnell will also offer a special talk for high school students titled You Are Made of Star Stuff! on Feb. 15 at 11 a.m. that examines how and where elements in the human body were created in the cosmos. Both lectures will be held in the Della Pietra Family Auditorium (room 103).

A curiosity outside the classroom

For scientists, what they learn and study often stays with them long after they finish an assignment or submit or publish a paper.

Fernández-Serra, who studies the fundamental properties of liquid water using quantum mechanical simulations, thinks about how amazing water atoms are that are holding her when she swims.

As for Engel, thoughts of Noether will stay with her when she figure skates. “I probably can’t do a spin without thinking about her,” she said.

Heroes with staying power

For Fernández-Serra, Mildred Dresselhaus, one of the celebrated scientists of the past who was a part of the contest, was a “number one hero” in condensed matter physics.

Called the “Queen of Carbon,” Dresselhaus earned numerous awards, including the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the National Medal of Science and Engineering.

“She was a positive and brilliant scientist who never lost her enthusiasm and curiosity,” Fernández-Serra explained.

Stony Brook’s IACS team hopes this competition, the Bell Burnell lecture, and other efforts ignite such enthusiasm in the next generation of STEM students.

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METRO photo

By Daniel Dunaief

Daniel Dunaief

My wife and I recently, chocolate, went out to celebrate our anniversary. We got married near Valentine’s Day, so we try to pick a date that’s, chocolate, a week or so before or after our anniversary, to avoid competing for a table. 

We picked one of the more romantic restaurants in the area, read the, chocolate, online menu, got dressed up for a romantic evening, and headed out. My digestion prefers an earlier dinner, especially when it’s a, chocolate, bigger meal, and my, chocolate, wife accommodated me, getting an early reservation for our celebratory dinner.

We chose a restaurant that’s further away than our usual search for, chocolate, food, while leaving the customary, chocolate, amount of time. Slightly concerned that the restaurant might give away our, chocolate, table if we were too late, we arrived at a nearby parking garage only about 10 minutes late.

Once on the street, we hurried down the block and entered the, chocolate, restaurant, where the hostess Jordan introduced herself and, in a silky smooth, soft voice that could also easily qualify her to work at a soothing spa, escorted us to a magnificent, chocolate, table filled with beautiful china, napkins held together in a fancy holder, and plush seats.

When she scanned the menu, my wife recognized that the fish dish we had picked when we checked out the, chocolate, restaurant wasn’t there.

“What are you going to eat?” she asked. Close to a quarter of a century of marriage together makes such, chocolate, shorthand possible.

I told her I’d find something. When we told the maître d’ about our food preference, she came back with alternatives that worked, but weren’t my, chocolate, preference.

“Let’s go,” my wife said, shrugging. “We can try somewhere else tomorrow night.”

My wife had put considerable effort into making this reservation and was excited about dinner in a quiet, romantic spot that didn’t have a single television blaring a sporting event and that had thick, lush drapes on the windows and picturesque framed, chocolate, scenery hanging on the wall.

“Are you sure?” I asked.

She told me we’d be fine. When we returned to the, chocolate, car, we ordered take out from a Thai restaurant and drove to the parking lot exit.

I pulled incredibly close to the machine to make it easier to insert the credit card. When I put the card in, the, chocolate, machine rejected it. I tried another one, with the same result. 

I reinserted the first card and, when I took it out, it came flying out of my hand, landing under the car. I could barely squeeze out the door to search for the card. At this point, the car behind us drove to another exit. Continuing her string of practical advice in an evening of curve balls, my, chocolate, wife suggested I try to get through the gate and walk back to retrieve the card.

I pushed the help button and put another card in. At this point, the gate lifted. I parked by the, chocolate, curb and grabbed my phone to use the light to find the card. The car beeped incessantly, annoyed that I took the keys while the engine was running.

Fortunately, no other cars were exiting and I found the, chocolate, card quickly.

I walked back to the car where my wife awaited with a quirky, half smile.

“Can you imagine if this was our first date?” she laughed.

We picked up our Thai food and returned home to our pets, who seemed surprised to see us so soon. Usually, when we wear our nice, chocolate, shoes, we disappear for several hours.

The next night, we had a much more successful dinner at a local, chocolate, Italian restaurant. As a reward for my wife’s support of her food-limited husband, one of the main dishes included four ingredients she loves, covered in her favorite sauce.

Oh, and if you’re wondering about all the chocolate references? About a week ago, I stopped eating chocolate because the caffeine was keeping me awake at night and increased my, chocolate, heart rate.

So far, chocolate, I’ve resisted and I barely, chocolate, think about it anymore. Well, maybe I haven’t conquered the cocoa bean yet, but I’m getting there.

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By Leah S. Dunaief

Leah Dunaief
Publisher, TBR News Media

Did you know that many people love their pets more than their spouses? We read that somewhere, and it inspired us to produce our “Love My Pet” section each year in time for St. Valentine’s Day. More than 75 smiling (I think) pets are included in this week’s issue, and while most of them are dogs and cats, we also have a parrot, a pair of nine-year-old water garden fish and a frog. We enjoy looking at all of them.

My experience with pets has been limited to dogs. We’ve dearly loved three golden retrievers and one royal standard white poodle over a period of 42 years. They were like our children, much better behaved, and it devastated us when they were so ill we had to put them down. Now I am just every dog’s adopted grandmother.

I can certainly understand the impulse of the California man who recently jumped into the flooded Los Angeles River after his dog fell into the swiftly moving current. Fortunately he was rescued by a helicopter. The dog, too.

Dogs are special companions. Somehow they sense our moods and comfort us when we are needy. Funeral Homes offer dogs on the premises for those who are grieving. Schools are using dogs to help students with mental health issues. Just the sight of a dog can be calming unless the human is afraid of dogs.

My sister was one such person. She had Down Syndrome and would stop, then back away when she saw a dog. This fear was probably transmitted to her by our mother, who had been badly bitten by a dog when she was a child and carried the mental and physical scars of that unfortunate incident all the rest of her life. 

One time, shortly after we moved into our new house and bought the first golden, my parents and sister came from New York City to visit. As she walked through the door and spied the dog, my sister began to cry out and tremble. The puppy, whose name was Tigger, immediately fell on his belly and crawled toward her, finally dropping his head onto her shoe tops. The act was so disarming that she stopped yelling and watched him with fascination. At that moment, he looked up at her and wagged his tail. We watched in amazement as she then entered the house, the dog beside her. Never again, on subsequent visits, did she shy away from him, but only him. She continued to be unnerved by other hounds.

I was once bitten by a dog, a German Shepherd. It was entirely my fault. I was about seven, it was summer, we were vacationing with relatives in the Catskill Mountains, and I was playing outside with the dog from the neighboring farm as my family chatted nearby. I had a ball and would bounce it, then race the dog to see which one of us could get to it first. In the ensuing melee, I jumped on his paw, he cried out and instinctively caught my calf in his jaw, his teeth breaking the skin. Everyone became excited, I was rushed to a doctor, a report was filed, and the dog was ordered tied up for 28 days to be watched for signs of rabies. Of course there were none, and I felt terrible watching him restrained. A couple of times, I would sneak out after dark and bring him bits of food from our supper.

He would greet me by leaping to his feet with tail wagging because dogs forgive more readily than humans.

I am sometimes asked which of the dogs was my favorite. To me, that is like asking which of my sons is my favorite. I believe I love equally and I enjoyed each dog for its own personality and idiosyncrasies. Our last dog, Teddy, had a particularly amusing trait. When we were seated at dinner, he would sneak under the dining table and grab the paper napkins from our laps. Someday, I may write a children’s book called, “Teddy, the Napkin-Snatcher Dog.” 

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Game Day Chicken Wings

By Heidi Sutton

Scoring big on game day (February 11 at 6:30 p.m.) requires champion snacks that keep the crowd full and ready for action. You can take your tailgate to the house with this salsa-based dip and chicken wings to kick off the party and delicious brownies for celebrating a sweet victory.

Game Day Chicken Wings

Recipe courtesy Culinary.net

Game Day Chicken Wings

YIELD: Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

1/2 cup butter, cubed

1/3 cup flour

2 teaspoons paprika

1 teaspoon garlic powder

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon black pepper

10 chicken wingettes, thawed

dipping sauces

fresh parsley

DIRECTIONS: 

Preheat oven to 425 F. Line baking sheet with foil. Arrange butter cubes on foil. In medium bowl, combine flour, paprika, garlic powder, salt and pepper. Coat both sides of wings in flour mixture then evenly space among butter cubes on baking sheet. Bake wings 30 minutes. Turn wings over and bake 15 minutes, or until crispy and fully cooked. Serve with dipping sauces and sprinkle with fresh parsley, if desired.

Mexican Pizza Dip

Recipe courtesy of Chef George Duran

Mexican Pizza Dip

YIELD: Serves  6 to 8 

INGREDIENTS:

Nonstick cooking spray

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

1 pound ground beef

1 package taco seasoning mix

8 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

1/2 cup sour cream

1 cup chunky salsa, plus additional for topping

1 cup grated mozzarella

1/2 cup blended Mexican cheese

sliced jalapeno (optional)

sliced black olives (optional)

green onions (optional)

tortilla chips

DIRECTIONS: 

Preheat oven to 350 F. Spray 8-by-8-inch glass pan or large souffle dish with nonstick cooking spray; set aside. In large saute pan, heat oil over medium-high heat and add ground beef, breaking up with flat wooden spatula, until fully cooked. Sprinkle taco seasoning throughout beef and combine.

Place warm beef mixture in large bowl and add cream cheese, sour cream, 1 cup salsa and mozzarella. Mix well until combined and pour into prepared pan. Top with blended cheese and sliced jalapeno, black olives and green onions, if desired.

Bake until fully warmed and cheese is melted, 30-35 minutes. Top with small spoonfuls of salsa. Serve with tortilla chips.

Marbled Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies

Recipe courtesy of Dominos Sugar

Marbled Peanut Butter Chocolate Brownies

YIELD: Serves  6 to 8 

INGREDIENTS:

Chocolate Brownies:

1/2  cup (1/4 pound) butter

2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, chopped

1 cup sugar

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 eggs

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

Peanut Butter Marble:

1/4 cup natural (no added sugar) peanut butter

4  tablespoons butter, softened

1/2 cup sugar

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

powdered sugar, for topping (optional)

DIRECTIONS: 

Heat oven to 350 F. 

To make chocolate brownies: In medium saucepot over low heat, melt butter and chocolate. Remove pot from heat; stir in sugar and vanilla until blended. In small mixing bowl, whisk eggs until frothy then stir into chocolate mixture. Sift flour into batter and stir just until smooth. Pour batter into prepared pan, smoothing to edges.

To make peanut butter marble: In mixing bowl, cream peanut butter, butter and sugar. Add egg and vanilla; beat just until blended. In separate bowl, sift or whisk flour and baking powder then stir into batter just until combined. Carefully spread peanut butter marble over chocolate batter. Use knife to swirl batters together, first horizontally then diagonally. Bake 20 minutes, or until toothpick inserted in center comes out almost clean. Cool completely on wire rack before cutting. Top with powdered sugar, if desired, before serving.

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George Hoffman of Setauket Harbor Task Force tests water chemistry in Port Jefferson Harbor. Photo by Alex Petroski

The Long Island Sound, our shimmering jewel, is not just a watery highway or a scenic backdrop — it’s the very lifeblood of our region, pulsing with economic vitality, ecological diversity and recreational wonder. But this precious resource is increasingly under threat, its vibrancy dimming in the face of pollution, overdevelopment and climate change.

The Sound is an economic powerhouse, supporting jobs in fishing, tourism and maritime industries. Its oyster beds once rivaled those of Chesapeake Bay, and our waters teemed with cod, lobster and striped bass, fueling a profitable fishery. For generations, Long Islanders have cast their nets and lines, and livelihoods into the waters.

But pollution casts a long shadow. Runoff from urban centers and fertilizers alike can choke the Sound with nitrogen, feeding harmful algal blooms depleting oxygen and leaving behind dead zones where no life can thrive. Plastic waste can drown marine life, and microplastics enter the food chain, silently posing a threat to human health.

The changing climate adds another layer of urgency. Rising sea levels inundate coastal communities, eroding beaches and threatening infrastructure. Hurricanes become more frequent and ferocious, battering our shores. As the waters warm, delicate ecosystems shift, impacting fish populations and the intricate web of life beneath the surface.

To stand idly by as the Sound fades would be a betrayal of our heritage and a reckless gamble with our future. We must act now, with resolute hearts and committed minds, to become stewards of this irreplaceable ecosystem.

The solutions are multifaceted. 

We must support policies that curb pollution, reduce runoff and invest in clean water infrastructure. Solutions like the Long Island Sound Restoration and Stewardship Act set for reauthorization from the U.S. Rep. and advocate Nick LaLota (R-NY1). Solutions that allow for stricter regulations on coastal development and responsible management of our shorelines. 

We must continue to uplift the work of the Setauket Harbor Task Force in Setauket and Port Jeff harbors. We must recognize the diligence and continued efforts from Stony Brook University researchers at SoMAS to the ongoing betterment of our beloved Sound. 

Individual actions matter too: reducing our use of pesticides, adopting responsible waste disposal practices and supporting sustainable seafood choices — each ripple contributes to a healthier Sound.

The Long Island Sound is not just an expanse of water, it’s the soul of our region. Let us rise to the challenge, not just for ourselves, but for generations to come. 

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Are OTC medications really low risk? METRO photo

By David Dunaief, M.D.

Dr. David Dunaief

Many of us keep a supply of over-the-counter medications for pain relief, fever and inflammation in our medicine cabinets. Typical “staples” are acetaminophen and a variety of NSDAIDs (non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs), like aspirin, ibuprofen, naproxen sodium and diclofenac sodium. These tend to be our “go to” medications when something ails us.

Americans consume more than 30 billion doses of NSAIDs a year, including both over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription-strength (1). As for acetaminophen, also known by the brand name Tylenol, one quarter of Americans take it weekly.

Unfortunately, many think these drugs are low risk, because they’re so accessible and commonplace. Many of my patients don’t even include them in a list of medications they take. I have to specifically ask about them. According to a poll of regular OTC NSAID users, 60 percent were not aware that they can have dangerous side effects (2).

What are risks of taking NSAIDs?

Unfortunately, NSAIDs, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, are responsible for 7,600 deaths annually and 10 times that number in hospitalizations (3). 

NSAIDs increase the risk of heart attacks, gastrointestinal bleeding, stroke, exacerbation of diverticular disease, chronic arrhythmias (abnormal heartbeats) and erectile dysfunction. In some instances, the cardiovascular effects can be fatal.

These risks prompted the FDA to strengthen the warning labels on non-aspirin NSAID labels in 2015, advising that those taking NSAIDs should immediately seek medical attention if they experienced chest pain, shortness of breath or trouble breathing, weakness in one part or side of their body, or slurred speech (4).

As recently as late 2020, the FDA added a warning label to non-aspirin NSAIDs about the potential for fetal kidney damage and pregnancy complications beginning around week 20 of a pregnancy (4).

In a case control study using the UK Primary Care Database, chronic users of NSAIDs between ages 40 and 89 had a significantly increased risk of a serious arrhythmia (abnormal heartbeat) called atrial fibrillation (5).

Interestingly, researchers defined “chronic users” as patients who took NSAIDs for more than 30 days. These users had a 57 percent increased risk of atrial fibrillation. A Danish study reinforces these results after the first month of use (6). This is not very long to have such a substantial risk. For patients who used NSAIDs longer than one year, the risk increased to 80 percent. 

NSAIDs also increase the risk of mortality in chronic users. Older patients who have heart disease or hypertension (high blood pressure) and are chronic NSAIDs users are at increased risk of death, according to an observational study (7). Compared to those who never or infrequently used them over about 2.5 years, chronic users had a greater than twofold increase in death due to cardiovascular causes. 

High blood pressure was not a factor in this study, since the chronic users actually had lower blood pressure; however, I have seen that NSAID use can increase blood pressure with some of my patients.

What are the risks of acetaminophen?

The FDA announced in 2011 that acetaminophen should not exceed 325 mg every four to six hours when used as a prescription combination pain reliever (4). The goal is to reduce and avoid severe injury to the liver, which can cause liver failure.

There is an intriguing paradox with acetaminophen: Hospitals typically dispense regular-strength 325-mg doses of the drug, whereas OTC doses frequently are found in “Extra Strength” 500-mg tablets, and often the suggested dose is two tablets, or 1 gram. At the FDA’s request, Tylenol lowered its recommended daily dosage for extra strength Tylenol to no more than 3 grams a day.

One study that showed acute liver failure was due primarily to unintentional overdoses of acetaminophen (8). Accidental overdosing is more likely to occur when taking acetaminophen at the same time as a combination sinus, cough or cold remedy that also contains acetaminophen. OTC and prescription cold medications can contain acetaminophen.

Of course, if you already suffer from liver damage or disease, consult your physician before taking any medications.

In order to protect yourself from potentially adverse events, you must be your own best advocate; read labels, and remember to tell your physician if you are taking any OTC medications.

If you are a chronic user of NSAIDs or acetaminophen because of underlying inflammation, you may find an anti-inflammatory diet is an effective alternative.

References:

(1) Medscape.com, 2021 Oct 21 (emedicine.medscape.com/article/816117-overview). (2) J Rheumatol. 2005;32;2218-2224. (3) Annals of Internal Medicine, 1997;127:429-438. (4) fda.gov (5) Arch Intern Med. 2010;170(16):1450-1455. (6) BMJ 2011;343:d3450. (7) Am J Med. 2011 Jul;124(7):614-620. (8) Am J Gastroenterol. 2007;102:2459-2463.

Dr. David Dunaief is a speaker, author and local lifestyle medicine physician focusing on the integration of medicine, nutrition, fitness and stress management. For further information, visit www.medicalcompassmd.com or consult your personal physician.

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The new species named, Booralana nickorum, may play a crucial role in maintaining the health of the ecosystem. Photo courtesy of OceanX

By Daniel Dunaief

Oliver Shipley recently shared one of the mysteries of the heavily photographed but lightly explored deep sea areas near the Bahamas’ Exuma Sound.

Oliver Shipley

A Research Assistant Professor at Stony Brook University, Shipley and his colleagues published a paper in the journal Zootaxa describing a new species of isopod they named Booralana nickorum.

A few inches long, this isopod, which was found at a depth of about 1,600 feet, sheds light on some of the mysteries in these waters, offering a glimpse into areas mostly too deep for sunlight to penetrate.

“The level of knowledge on deep sea biodiversity anywhere in the Caribbean is very poor,” said Shipley. The scientists were specifically studying the biomass housed areas around The Exuma Sound.

In the Bahamas, the researchers are interested in preserving species biodiversity and identifying links between the shallow and deep-sea ecosystems, which can inform management of marine resources and help conserve biodiversity.

Shipley suggested it was “exciting” and, perhaps, promising that this area has already produced two isopods that are new species, both of which he described with low-cost technologies deployed off small boats.

“We haven’t even genetically sequenced 95 percent of the creatures that we’ve captured” which includes fish and sharks, Shipley said.

Brendan Talwar, a co-author on the paper describing the isopod and a Postdoctoral Scholar at Scripps Institution of Oceanography at UC San Diego, added that “this discovery is representative of the lack of knowledge” in this area. “You can swim from one environment, where almost every species is known or has been studied, to a place where almost nothing is known and almost nothing is studied.”

Finding new species could have numerous benefits, including in the world of drug discovery. To be sure, such findings require “many years of work and analysis” he said.

Still, such a possibility for future benefits exist, particularly as researchers catalog and study these creatures.

In the meantime, understanding individual species and the ecosystems in which they live can reveal information about how, depending on the biomass of various species, different places affect the cycling of gases such as carbon dioxide.

“When you find high biomass of a new species, it could have potentially huge implications for mitigating climate change,” said Shipley. “We have a primitive understanding of the Caribbean deep sea ecosystem. We don’t know the full effects or benefits and services of organisms that live in the deep ocean environment.”

In addition to finding organisms that might provide various benefits, scientists are also hoping to understand the “food web dynamics of the eastern Bahamas,” said Talwar.

Long road to identification

Shipley first saw an individual of this isopod species in 2013. Over time, he has since identified numerous other individuals.

Dorsal views of the newly described Booralana nickorum on left and previously known Booralana tricarinata highlight distinguishing characteristics between the two species. Image courtesy of Oliver Shipley

The region in which Shipley identified this isopod has several potential food or energy sources. The deep sea area is in close proximity to shallower sea grass beds, which are closer to the surface and use light to generate food and energy through photosynthesis.

The tides and currents wash that sea grass into the deeper territory, sending food towards the deeper, darker ocean.

Energy also likely comes from coral reef productivity as reefs line the edge of the drop off.

Additionally, animals that traverse the shallower and deeper areas, whose poop and bodies sink, can provide food sources to the ecosystem below.

“There may be multiple sources of productivity which combines to promote a high level of biodiversity” in the ecosystem below, said Shipley.

The isopod Shipley and his collaborators identified lives in a pressure that is about 52 times the usual atmospheric pressure, which would be extremely problematic for organisms like humans. Isopods, however, have managed to live in most major ecosystems around the planet, including on mountains, in caves and in the deep sea.

“There’s something about that lineage that has supported their ability to adapt to a variety of environments,” said Shipley.

To bring the creatures back to the surface for study, researchers have used deep sea traps, including crustacean and eel traps, that are attached to a line. People working on boats then retrieve those traps, which can take one to two hours to pull to the surface. 

When they are brought to the surface, many animals suffer high mortality, which is a known sensitivity of deep-sea fisheries.

“We must gain as much knowledge as possible from each specimen,” Shipley explained

Scratching the surface, at depth

Talwar and Shipley have each ventured deep into the depths of The Exuma aboard a submersible.

The journey, which Talwar described as remarkably peaceful and calm and akin to an immersive aquarium experience, is “like a scavenger hunt,” he said.

When scientists or the sub pilot see a new species of sea cucumber, the pilot can move the sub closer to the organism and deploy the manipulator arm to store it in a collection box. Shipley and others hope to explore deep sea creatures under conditions akin to the ones in which they live in high pressure tanks on land.

Talwar described Shipley as “an extremely productive scientist” who works “incredibly hard.” Talwar also appreciates how Shipley will put collaborative projects at the top of his list, which is “fairly unique in a field where people are so busy with their own stuff.”

Shipley, who lives in Austin, Texas with his girlfriend Alyssa Ebinger, explained that researchers are pushing to support scientific leadership by Bahamians to conserve marine resources threatened by climate change.

Looking under rocks

As a child, Shipley, who grew up in York, England, spent about three years in Scotland, where they spent time at a beach called Trune.

“I remember looking in rock pools, picking up stuff and inspecting it,” he said. He was naturally inquisitive as a child.

While Shipley enjoys scuba diving and is a committed soccer fan — his favorite team is Leeds United — he appreciates the opportunity to build on his childhood enthusiasm to catalog the unknowns of the sea. He’s so inspired by the work and exploration that it “doesn’t feel like a job,” he said. He’s thrilled that he gets paid “to do all this exciting stuff.”

 

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By Nancy Marr

An Equal Rights Amendment for the United States was first drafted in 1923 by two leaders of the women’s suffrage movement, Alice Paul and Crystal Eastman, who believed that the ERA was the next logical step following the campaign to win access to the ballot. 

While the text of the amendment has changed over the years, its focus has remained the same. Article V of the U.S. Constitution requires that a proposed amendment be passed by the Senate and the House in a two-thirds majority in two consecutive legislative sessions in order to be sent to the states for ratification by their legislatures or conventions. 

The version approved by Congress in 1972 and sent to the states with a deadline of 1979 reads: “Equality of rights under the law shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex. The Congress shall have the power to enforce, by appropriate legislation, the provisions of this article.” Although the deadline was extended to 1982, only 37 of the required 38 states ratified the amendment. 

Opposition to it came from conservative Phyllis Schlafly, saying it would require women to serve in the military or lose protections for alimony or child custody cases. The result? Five states voted to revoke their ratifications, but these reversals were not counted as part of the result, and the count of ratifications remained at 37. The amendment was not passed.

In the absence of a national equal rights law, the constitutions of twenty-five states now do provide guarantees of equal rights on the basis of sex. The New York State Legislature, in 2022 and 2023, passed an ERA bill that has looked further. Currently, our state constitution only protects against racial and religious discrimination. 

The proposed bill would protect all those who have been discriminated against based on ethnicity, national origin, disability, age, and sex, including sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, pregnancy, and a person’s reproductive autonomy or access to reproductive care. The new ERA bill explicitly includes language to clarify that discrimination based on a person’s pregnancy or pregnancy outcomes would be sex discrimination, protecting women from punishment. It will also ensure comprehensive and inclusive equal protection that will guard against attacks on our rights from the federal government or federal judges, including threats to the legal equality of LGBTQ1+ people.  

Do we need protection if the Fourteenth Amendment already guarantees equal protection of the laws? The Fourteenth Amendment, passed in 1868, added the word “male” to the Constitution but failed to include women in the right to vote. The proposed New York State ERA is not “a women’s equality amendment” but seeks to protect women as a class and men as a class against discrimination under the law for any reason. 

The Brennan Center has commented that the amendment process is an ineffective way to correct shortcomings in our United States Constitution. Given the difficulties and delays that have been faced by those who have fought for amendments, is our Constitution unamendable?  

Congressman Jamie Raskin (D-MD) is the leading constitutional scholar serving in Congress today. Reflecting on the progressive activism that “built the modern Constitution,” Raskin urges reform-minded Americans to shed their fear of advancing reform through Article V. “It’s a betrayal of our history if we don’t talk about amending the Constitution in order to create a more perfect union,” he says. “We need to be planting flags in the unfolding history of democracy. That’s what the constitutional amendment process is all about.”

Voting to amend the New York State Constitution with the New York State ERA will provide protection for New Yorkers who have faced discrimination through the years. Make a plan to turn your 2024 ballot over and vote yes on the proposed amendment.  

Nancy Marr is Vice-President of the League of Women Voters of Suffolk County, a nonprofit nonpartisan organization that encourages the informed and active participation of citizens in government and influences public policy through education and advocacy. Visit www.lwv-suffolkcounty.org or call 631-862-6860.

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File photo by Raymond Janis

Hooray for Theatre Three

As a longtime season ticket holder of Port Jefferson’s Theatre Three, I certainly appreciate the fine job Bradlee and Marci Bing did with their performance of “The Gin Game.” They still have it! To all who read this, we are blessed with live theater in our village. It is difficult these days to compete with modern technology, but on the other hand up close and personal performances are something special. This is more than a plug for Theatre Three. It is a message of do not miss these opportunities for live entertainment in your local area

Harry Faulknor

Port Jefferson

Glad for Lawrence Aviation action and looking for more 

The The tentative Metropolitan Transportation Authority deal at the former Lawrence Aviation site in Port Jefferson Station is moving forward with positive reactions from the officials on this plan. It is a partnership with federal, state, county and town officials that is making this happen: 

Proposed MTA electric line trainyard with a county bridge constructed if New York State requires it. 

A passive solar farm that is proposed in the old buildings site, which is being cleared and the metals being recycled.

The much-needed open-forested space in our hamlet as a buffer. All this is still in the planning process with the Suffolk County Landbank Corporation working on the details of which some are time critical such as the federal Environmental Protection Agency lifting the Superfund designation by the end of this year and the New York State Department of Transportation working on any Greenway rerouting. 

We in the community are glad for the positive results we see with the removal of these eyesores and are now asking our officials to move on with the paperwork. Our Port Jefferson Station has been looking for years for this progress. Let’s make it happen.

 Charlie McAteer

Port Jefferson Station

Legal immigrants justifiably fearful

If true, it is commendable that George Altemose [“Legal talented scientists are welcomed,” Jan.18, TBR News Media] and Paul Mannix [“The illegal immigration issue,” Jan. 25, TBR News Media] harbor no animosity toward legal immigrants, and only object to illegal immigration. Perhaps 40 years ago one could have reasonably argued that most conservatives felt that way. But unfortunately, they are wildly out of touch with the attitudes that now prevail in the Republican Party.

A 2019 Pew poll found 57% of Republican voters fear “losing our identity as a nation” due to immigration, a 13% increase in just two years. That phrasing gives away the game, as equating our “identity” as Americans to ethnicity or race is inherently bigoted. The leading Republican presidential candidate recently said that immigrants are “poisoning the blood of our country.” If they are really a threat to our “blood” it is clearly irrelevant whether they are documented or not. He gleefully separated children from their families and is now promising internment camps and mass deportation for 11 million people peacefully living, working and paying taxes in the U.S. His followers are loving it.

Prospective foreign Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory students and employees rightly recognize that such rhetoric wouldn’t exist if the MAGA faction of the Republican Party was making nuanced distinctions between legal and undocumented immigrants. They understand that this rhetoric, and the normalization of the hatred behind it, pose a real threat to their physical safety.

Let’s be frank: U.S. business loves illegal immigration because it gives a huge pool of vulnerable workers. The farming, meatpacking, construction, landscaping, hospitality, health care and food service industries all heavily exploit cheap, undocumented labor. Republican politicians refuse to effectively punish employers — the only way to actually reduce illegal immigration — because the issue lets them exploi their voters’ racial and ethnic fears in every election. Witness their blocking the recent bipartisan Senate border security bill. MAGA voters, currently driving the Republican Party, are virulently anti-immigrant because they believe the U.S. should be a white, traditional, Christian country.

By all means let’s implement a humane, legal immigration system that actually addresses the obvious workforce needs of the country, punishes illegal hiring, while addressing impacts on infrastructure and services. Let’s pursue a more enlightened foreign policy that helps stabilize and develop Mexico and Central America — by far the largest sources of illegal migration. But let’s not pretend that most Republicans are happy to welcome nonwhite legal immigrants.

John Hover

East Setauket

Wernher von Braun is considered a great American

I would like to respond to a recent commentary letter from Professor Lester G. Paldy regarding my characterization of Wernher von Braun as a great American, as a consequence of his enormous contributions to our space program [“Hardly an example of a great American,” Jan. 25, TBR News Media]. 

It is true that von Braun was instrumental in the development and use of the German V-2 rocket during World War II. He was forced to join the Nazi party in 1937, when he was 25 years of age, and the SS in 1940, when he was 28. He showed no enthusiasm for activities other than rocket development, and advocated for work on space travel. In 1944, von Braun was suspected of having a defeatist attitude, for which he was arrested by the Gestapo and held for two weeks, before being released because his contributions were deemed essential for the German war effort. 

Following the defeat of Germany, von Braun and more than 100 of his associates were brought to the United States, where they were attached to the U.S. Army Ordnance Corps for the purpose of developing advanced military rockets. This effort was enormously successful under von Braun’s leadership. They produced the Redstone and Jupiter-C missiles, leading to our entry into the space program with our first satellite in 1958, closely following the Soviet Union’s Sputnik a year earlier. This was followed by the Saturn V rocket, which took us to the moon in 1969, and is still the most powerful machine ever built by man. None of this would have been possible without von Braun, both for his technical leadership and for his popular promotion of the importance of sending people into space.

Today, von Braun remains a controversial figure, primarily as a result of the brutal use of Holocaust slave labor for the manufacture of the V-2 rockets. Research appears to show that he was aware of this situation, but was powerless to prevent it. Had he tried, he would have been immediately removed from the program, and almost certainly killed. As it turned out, he spent the first 33 years of his life in Germany, and his next — and last — 32 years as a model citizen of the United States. Was he a great American? I believe that he was.

George Altemose

Setauket

Need to reassess Hochul’s plan to decrease our school aid

As a lifelong member of the Three Village community, alumnus of Ward Melville High School and parent of a school-aged child, I am incensed by Gov. Hochul’s [D] plan to decrease our state aid by nearly $9 million. 

The recent proposal for the 2024-25 school year to cut nearly 18% of state aid to our district is quite plainly unjustifiable and contradictory to the current “hold harmless” policy. On Jan. 16, during the governor’s budget presentation, she touted “the highest level of education funding in state history,” yet she has chosen to penalize a district that was previously recognized by the State Comptroller’s Office as “susceptible to fiscal stress.” 

The decision to drastically cut aid to a high performing Long Island school district has the capacity to catastrophically fracture our incredible academic, arts, music, technology and extracurricular programs. We would also be vulnerable in areas concerning mental health and wellness, and physical safety and security at a time when these services are more essential than ever before.

Politicization of this situation would be a very easy sword to throw ourselves upon, but this is not the time to make this a “red-blue” issue. We need to stand together as it is truly incomprehensible to think that more consideration should not be given to all that would be lost by our district if these cuts were to happen. I, along with many other parents and community members, have reached out to the governor and other state officials in an attempt to urge a reassessment of the proposal. 

Our district simply cannot sustain the potential long-lasting damage that this proposed budget could cause, and our kids are worth the strength we can exude in our words and actions. 

Time is of the essence. Take a stand for our kids.

Stefanie Werner

East Setauket

Setauket Neighborhood House: a community gem

I recently attended a meeting of the Three Village Chamber of Commerce at the Setauket Neighborhood House and was intrigued on how our community came to own this wonderful place situated across from the lake leading into Frank Melville Park on Main Street.

The plaque in the house says the Neighborhood House was purchased by the 19th-century industrialist Eversley Childs and his wife Minnie and given to the Setauket community as a place for meetings and community gathering since 1918.

What a wonderful philanthropic gesture by the Childs couple to bequeath our community with a publicly-owned meeting house that in many ways is the center of community activity in the Three Villages. I know of few other places on Long Island that have such a community run and supported meeting house. 

Kudos to the members of the Setauket Neighborhood House’s board of directors and its manager for providing a special gathering place for civic, community and family events and for keeping it in such historic splendor. And a belated thank you to Eversley and Minnie Childs for their considerable community philanthropy and wisdom in providing a place for the Setauket community to meet and come together for more than 100 years.

George Hoffman

Setauket

Best person to serve as an MTA board member

Suffolk County Executive Ed Romaine [R] now has an opportunity to appoint a representative to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority 15-member board. Allow me to offer my services. I’ve been a regular Long Island Rail Road commuter for decades and previously worked for the Federal Transit Administration Region 2 New York Office. This included the development, review, approval and oversight for billions of dollars in annual grants that supported capital projects and programs for the MTA including the LIRR, NYC Transit subway, bus and Staten Island Railway, Metro-North Rail Road and MTA Bus along with 30 other transit agencies in New York and New Jersey. I also assisted the MTA in winning a number of national competitive discretionary grants. 

I possess a detailed knowledge of all MTA operating agencies including the LIRR physical assets such as equipment, stations, yards, shops and maintenance as well as management of capital projects and programs. I gave emphasis to completing federally funded projects on time, within budget with a minimum number and dollar value for contract change orders. They had to be justified as fair and reasonable. This was my motto for the MTA and LIRR. 

There is no MTA board member today who has had firsthand experience in applying for and managing federal assistance from Washington. Federal dollars play a key role in the success of MTA’s capital program. My addition to the board could be a real asset. Having no driver’s license, I have always been transit dependent. Being retired, I could represent the interests of Long Island commuters, taxpayers and transit advocates as a full-time member on the MTA board at no expense.

Larry Penner

Great Neck

Tell Hochul to keep the ‘hold harmless’ state school aid provision

I join fellow residents and school districts in shock and dismay after reviewing Gov. Hochul’s [D] proposed cuts to some local districts’ state education aid. There is no way to justify pulling the rug out from under our already strained school districts. This would only lead to hasty discussions about cuts to our children’s programming and staff, and likely increases to our already excessive property taxes. 

The proposed education aid reductions to 44% of New York state’s school districts — and increases in aid to the other 56% — result from the governor’s proposal to end the “hold harmless” provision. This provision has historically provided all districts with at least as much state education aid as they received in the previous fiscal year. 

Unfortunately, state Assemblyman Ed Flood’s [R-Port Jefferson] claim that “Hochul is dumping taxpayer dollars into New York City’s disastrous migrant crisis and leaving the priorities of New Yorkers behind” is either a misunderstanding of how the NYS budget works or a political attempt to pin our community’s upset on an unrelated issue. In the proposed budget, statewide education aid would actually increase by over 2% to a total of $35.3 billion, and our districts would lose funding only because this aid is being redistributed without the “hold harmless” provision.

Any attempt to tie this nonpartisan education policy issue to any partisan issues will weaken this urgent call to action. For the sake of our children’s quality of education and to avoid another burdensome tax hike, we must join in bipartisan opposition to this sudden abandoning of the “hold harmless” provision in the state’s foundation aid formula. We need all community leaders and residents to wholly engage in a clear message to Hochul: Reinstate the “hold harmless” provision for the 2024-25 state budget.

Rebecca Kassay

Port Jefferson

                                                               The writer has declared her candidacy for New York’s District 4 Assembly seat under the Democratic ticket.

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