By Daniel Edman ’16, News Staff Writer

On October 3, 2013 the Newark Academy Science Department hosted Dr. Sam Rhine and his Genetics Update Conference in the Kaltenbacher Hall. Kristie Petillo ’14, a student taking Biotechnology, called the presentation “an amazing learning opportunity and completely worth the year’s long wait.”

Dr. Rhine is a professor at Indiana University and has been travelling the world for thirty years teaching students and teachers about the most up to date discoveries in genetics. All parents, students, and teachers in the area were invited to attend. During his presentation, Dr. Rhine spoke about human genetics, biotechnology, cloning, stem cells, reproductive biology, and the prevention of birth defects.  In doing so, Dr. Rhine summarized approximately fifteen hundred science journals in under 5 hours, captivating the community with his knowledge. Cillian Connor ’14, an IB Biology student who attended the conference, thought “It was pretty awesome and extremely thought-provoking and exciting. He really focused on the latest discoveries in the field, which was extremely interesting seeing as genetically tailored organisms and the complete decoding of the human genome are not just possibilities for our future, but rather are examples of recent scientific breakthroughs.” The conference opened the eyes of students and teacher alike to the world of astonishing scientific discoveries. As Kristie Petillo stressed, “he reminded me of a larger-than-life…car salesman except instead of selling Volvos he was firing off stunning scientific discoveries.” Ms. Tavares, the organizer of the conference and a genetics teacher at Newark Academy, felt it was important to invite Dr. Rhine to Newark Academy because, “he is helping American students become aware of what is going on today in genetics”.

In addition to informing his audience about recent scientific breakthroughs, Dr. Rhine also emphasized how important it is to understand the field of genetics and what it can accomplish, especially for diseases.  He spoke about how through genetics, a cure for cancer might be found. Cillian Connor added, “I was astonished at how he concluded that stem cells are basically the key to the elimination of common human diseases.” Also, given the Academy’s relationship with F.O.P., Dr. Rhine’s in depth discussion on gene therapy, the practice of “turning off” harmful genes and turning on “helpful genes” hit close to home.  Ms. Tavares noted that, “The ramifications for some of the research that is happening now is mind boggling. These are game changing times and this information can really change the world for the better”.

Overall, students and faculty who attended the conference were pleasantly surprised by Dr. Rhine’s presentation. Kristie Petillo reflected, “I listened to every new technology he mentioned thinking that each one would be excellent in a science fiction story before it really sunk in that all of the treatments were science, not science fiction.” Clearly, the Genetics Conference was not only filled with interesting information about the current discoveries in the field, but also led students to ponder upon how modern advances will impact our community and the world around us.