VITAL SIGNSFriday, December 13, 2013

HOLIDAYS • 3Find your go-to place for your winter break!

Are you ready for Obama Care?

Ways to make your holidays extra special.

BRAVO MEDICAL MAGNET HIGH SCHOOL | LOS ANGELES, CA | VOL. XVII, ISSUE v| WWW.BRAVOWEB.LAUSD.K12.CA.US

MEDICINE • 2

HOLIDAYS • 4

On December 2, 2013 senior class President, Mikayla Torres, received a Congressional Award for her humanitarian deeds and service to the community. The award was given in honor of Pearl August, who dedicated her life to helping others until her death in January 2013. Torres was recognized for her involvement in environmental protection during a youth leadership summit where she mapped out areas where trucks idled and made signs to prevent excess vehicle emissions. Robina Suwol, director of California Safe Schools, presented Torres with the award as the audience applauded her achievement. Amongst those in the crowd were many educated and well-respected individuals such as university professors, politicians, and lawmakers. Bravo’s principal, Mrs. Maria Torres-Flores also attended the ceremony. After Torres graciously

accepted her award, Dr. Warren Porter, a recognized and published professor at the University of Wisconsin, personally congratulated and complimented her achievements. Soon Torres even found herself on the local KCAL 9 News channel. Mikayla Torres earned her award through dedication, passion, and ambition. Her feat was recognized at a national level and paved the way for her future success.“Throughout my

high school years, with the encouragement of many people in my school, I’ve gotten to work with people who have a different path in life than me, whether its kids who are disabled or elderly people who need some cheer for the holidays, each and every person whose life I can impact positively in turn impacts me positively,” Torres commented at the ceremony. Congratulations, Torres!

Culture Corner“Oh, the Who-manity!”- How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) Afrikaans << O, die Wie-man-ity

“I have a little Dreidel.”Welsh<<Mae gen i ychydig o Dreidel

“Kwanzaa greetings!” Esperanto << Kwanzaa salu-tojn

“Merry Christmas!”Hawaiian (spelled phoenetically)<< Mele Kalikimaka

Knight Honored with Pearl August Awardby Oziel Palma

Photo Credit:shuttershock

Remembering Steven Ly

For over 20 years, Bravo has hosted an annual boys’ basketball tournament in the wake of a new season. However, following the devastating loss of a respected student athlete in 2006, it came to a unanimous decision that in honor of Steven Ly’s inspirational contribution to the basketball team, the tournament be named after him. “We would not have done this just for anybody,” Coach Ota explained, “It would have taken a special person. I’m not saying that somebody passing away is [ever] a good thing. [But] if he would have been just an average person, we [probably] would have never done it.” Steven Ly spent his mornings like many basketball players, practicing and honing their skill basket after basket. Steven believed that there was always room for improvement, as Coach Ota recalls, “Because Steven had such a big heart, every year

[and] every day, he would try to get better.” Beyond the court, Steven also held a high academic standing as well as a high level of respect amongst his peers. Many who knew him remembered Steven as a person who was always willing to give his time to help those in need.With the loss of Steven’s life deeply impacting the school in 2006, the annual basketball tournament held before the start of a new season was named after him to remember his life of dedication towards his school, friends, family, and basketball. Though he no longer plays on the court, Steven will always be remembered as an inspiration to others. His words still resound amongst the dribbles and passes, “Your goal is to be the best you can be for yourself. The person who works the hardest will always be better.”

by Carissa Salazar

Parent Volunteers Give Backby Martin Gomez To coincide with the hol-iday spirit, dedicated vol-unteers from Bravo’s Parent Center prepared 13 baskets filled with canned foods for those in need. The school’s unsung heroes’ tradition of goodwill towards man con-tinues as the 2013 Thanks-giving season rolled by.

©

On the Edge of Success

On November 14, 2013, Bravo Theatre, led by Mr. Ryden, performed its fall production, “On the Edge.” The event consisted of 4 plays full of laughs, romance, action, and the witty dialogue Bravo has come to expect from the drama group. “On the Edge” began by capturing the audience’s full attention with the performers props and creative dance moves. The first opening play was “Check, Please” which followed the mishaps of two unfortunate bachelors, newcomers Alma Esquer (’14) and Eddie Chavez (’15). Laughs filled Hernandez Hall as the two went through their odd dinner dates with virtuous patience. The second play, “The Philadelphia” starring veteran actors, Jessica Morga (’14) and Frances Zaldivar (’14) as well as newcomer Romy Rosas (’16), was a witty tale of bad luck and daily

life. Morga’s performance was outstanding alongside Zaldivar’s passionate portrayal of a woman who just couldn’t get what she wanted. The next play, “On the Edge” thrust Mario Martinez (‘15 ) and his seasoned opposite, Tania Bustos (’14) into a tale of love and loss as Bustos’ sass and attitude whipped Martinez’s reluctance and indecisiveness into place. The closing act, “Don Juan’s Wantons”, ended the show on an extremely high note. The dialogue was continually followed by cheers and laughter as Noe Trujillo (’14) attempted to put out the fiery rage he instilled in his on stage lovers, Lauren Espinosa (’15) and April Mendoza (’14). The fall drama production was, without a doubt, a spectacular mesh of acting, humor, choreography, and dedication. The energy was high throughout the performance as the actors became their characters. Nothing was held back as everyone worked together to put on the best performance they could. Hard work paid off as the cast danced out for a curtain call to an applauding and cheering crowd.

by Martin Gomez

Photo Credit:Martin Gomez

Photo Credit: Martin G

omez

Dances Unlimited Debut by Melanie Sobri

On December 8th, 2013, Bravo’s new dance team, Dance Unlimited, made their debut at Disney’s Cali-fornia Adventure Park after being chosen from a pool of thousands of schools. With the effort of each and every single member to the pas-sion of their performance, Dance Unlimited domi-nated the stage and left the audience in complete awe. With their first performance being such a remarkably outstanding success, Dance Unlimited really did prove that teamwork actually does make the dream work.

As the USC/ Bravo Science and Engineering Fair nears, Engineering Health Academy (EHA) students, Wendy Ramirez (‘14), Homer Torres (‘14), and Carolina Martinez (‘14), work alongside their principal investigator (P.I), Dr. Lormen Lue, at the Doheny Institute to measure the radio wave frequency that microwaves emit. Their research consists of trying to measure the amount of radio wave frequency they secrete and the end result can be very overwhelming. It is even possible to be “cooked alive [when exposed for long periods of time]” if a person stands close to a microwave while it’s working because

EHA: Radiation Frequency Wavesby Adrian Rodriguez & Jesus Javier Serrano

Beware of Herbal Supplementsby Pamela Ruiz

With the promotion of “wonder herbs” and their “healing powers”, there was nothing natural about the twelve herbal supplement companies busted by the Food and Drug Administration for false advertising and mislabeling of products. Supplement buyers beware; studies published by Biomed Central DNA showed that many pills labeled as healing herbs are little more than powdered rice and weeds. Using a test called DNA bar coding, a kind of genetic fingertip that has also been used to help uncover labeling fraud in the commercial seafood industry, Canadian researchers tested 44 bottles of popular supplements sold by 12 herbal supplement companies native to Canada and the United States. While conducting research, scientists found that many products were not what they claimed to be and that pills labeled as herbs were often diluted or replaced entirely by cheap fillers like soybean, wheat, and rice. “This

Just recently, USC Keck School of Medicine made the breakthrough development of highly-anticipated “knockout rats”, opening doors for people in the medical field to more effectively treat and cure diseases. Having physiological characteristics similar to that of a human’s, knockout rats, through embryonic stem cell targeting, are genetically modified to lack one or more genes. Qi-Long Ying, Assistant Professor of Cell and Neurobiology at the USC Keck School of Medicine, said, “We anticipate that many of the rat models generated using this technology will mimic

USCStem Cell-Related Research Develops Rosetta Rats by Rimon Hossain

MEDICINEFriday, December 13, 2013 - P2VOL. XVI, ISSUE v VITAL SIGNS

suggests that the problems are widespread and that quality control for many companies, whether through ignorance, incompetence or dishonesty, is unacceptable,” said David Schardt, a senior nutritionist at the Center for Science in the Public Interest, an advocacy group. “Given these results, it’s hard to recommend any herbal supplements to consumers,”claimed the New York Times. According to the Food and Drug Administration, the use of bar-coding technology was key in identifying and, therefore, prosecuting some cases of herbal supplements found to be “misbranded.” This DNA technique has also been used in studies of herbal teas, which showed that a significant percentage contained ingredients not listed on their labels. With such a widespread scandal in the industry, the decision is ultimately left to consumers as to whether or not they want to take the risk of consuming herbal supplements over prescribed medicine.

What to Expect from Obama Careby Hannah Contreras With healthcare being the number one cause of bankruptcy in America (U.S Economy About), the transition to cheaper copayments and healthcare access for all has Americans on edge as the January deadline for Obama Care approaches. Designed to pan out over nine years (The Casey Report), Obama Care has already made changes for the better: allowing adults under the age of 27 to be covered by a family’s heal thcare p l a n , r e q u i r i n g i n s u r a n c e companies to receive approval from the government before raising premiums, and enforcing insurance companies to spend a minimum of 80% on issuing actual medical services. However, more change is in store for us. Among other things, the start of 2014 ensures that no person is turned away from insurance companies due to pre-existing medical conditions, families without health insurance have more access to Medicaid, citizens whose incomes are too high to be eligible for Medicaid will receive tax credits or

reduced copayments and deductibles, companies with fifty or more employees to provide health insurance by 2015, and elderly citizens will have the entire cost of their medications covered (About.com). Failure to comply with any of the laws and addendums under Obama Care will result in penalization and heavy taxation. So, how will Obama Care

affect you, or more specifically, your

family, you may ask? Requiring all citizens to acquire healthcare by March 2014

increases the chances that they

will take advantage of seeking medical

help, thus decreasing the likelihood of having minor illnesses coalesce into severe, debilitating diseases and ailments. Obamacarefacts estimates that the plan will increase inflation by a total of 400% . However, the long term effects are predicted to be a positive outcome for both the government and American citizens, in terms of the height of taxes for the nation. So, ask yourself, are you willing to pay less for healthcare and actually receive medical treatment that you paid for?

of the radiation, according to Wendy Ramirez (‘14). Research done through USC can potentially provide hardcore evidence that will inform the public of the hazards microwaves emit such as cancer, birth defects, weakness in the immune system, and other health risks. However, the research laboratory can be unsafe due to the loads of heavy machinery and chemicals present at the lab so precautionary measures must be taken in order to be protected. Nonetheless, their research on this microwave radiation study will prove to be very useful in the near future.

Photo Credit: iomedical.com

Photo Credit: norriscancer.usc.edu

Photo Credit: mackinac.com

human conditions more closely and can be used for drug screening and the testing of new treatments.” Ying and his colleagues tackled these genes by using a method called homologous recombination

where nucleotide sequences are exchanged to produce new combinations of DNA in rat embryonic stem cells. This research knocked out the p53 suppressor gene where carcinogenic

mutations take place while helping embryonic stem cells transmit their mutation through the germ line to create p53 gene knockout rats. “The p53 gene knockout rats will provide a very useful model for understanding the gene’s functions in preventing the occurrence of cancers,” said Ying. “We can also use this model to test different drugs and therapies for the treatment of cancers caused by mutations in the p53 gene.” Such a breakthrough in the eminent race to end cancer will unravel and apply to all avenues of science and research, on its way to saving patients around the world one innovation at a time.

Copyright: Carl and Hobbes

©

©

©

©

Funny Bone ‘ToonsCarl and Hobbes

Friday, December 13, 2013 - P3VOL. XVI, ISSUE v

Whether it be the bold, colorful costumes or the graceful, animated dancers, the holidays are just not whole without LA’s traditional Nutcracker productions that range anywhere from being hosted by local to global professional ballet companies. For those of you who are not familiar with the arts, let alone ballet, The Nutcracker traditionally follows the course of four scenes within two act intervals following the sequence of “The Party Scene”, “The Fight Scene”, “Land of Snow”, and last but not least “Land of Sweets”. The plotline artfully follows the adventures of the protagonist, Clara, who acquires a nutcracker from her mischievous godfather, Drosselmeyer, that becomes a real-life soldier and prince. After Clara’s brave fight against the antagonists, the Rat King and his entourage of evil soldiers, the prince shows her his kingdom in return for saving his life. Upon her journey, Clara is introduced to and thanked

Nutcracker Piques Across Southern California Turfby Hannah Contreras

Your Quick Guide to Wrapping Presents!by Genesis Angulo

by a variety of exotic characters and is able

Photo Credit: nytim

es.comVITAL SIGNS

HOLIDAYS

Top Holiday Attractions in Southern Californiaby Oziel Palma

Photo Credit: timeout.com Photo Credit: ryalinnbeach.comPhoto Credit: projectquinn.ocom

1.Select an attractive wrapping paper.2.Determine what shape to cut your paper, ie a rectangular and square-shaped box requires a rectangular section of 3.Place your boxed gift in the center of the paper, leaving a few inches of paper on every side. 4.Grab one side of the paper and lift it over the box tightly, meeting the box’s center or just a little over it. Then, tape to secure.5.Next, grab the opposite side of the paper and wrap it over the box, overlapping the other taped wrapping paper, if not meet it perfectly. Tape to secure.6.Close the ends neatly. Take the left and right edges and fold them neatly to form flaps. 7.Neatly press the edges inwards until they meet flat on the box.8.Pull the top flap down and secure with tape. Repeat with bottom flap.

9.Repeat step eight on other side of the box. 10.Run your fingers across the edges of the box to form a sharp crease. 11.At this point, if it is done correctly, you can leave as is or slap a bow on it and call it a night!

Chill is a winter wonderland located next to the Queen Mary. This ice kingdom fea-tures different ice sculptures complete with a 24-foot ice replica of the Queen Mary. This attraction comes with ice slides, animals, and a nice walk through the ice event.

Called one of the ten best holiday happenings in the United States, the New-port Boat Parade is a truly unique experience. Every year for the past century, people have participated by designing their million dollar yachts to enter them into this four-day parade.

Complete with Santa and his reindeers streaking across the sky, The Grove is a great spot to see some beautiful holiday lights. With the Los Angeles’ largest Christmas tree and the fountain’s water show set to holiday tunes, this place is sure to elicit “oohs” and “ahhs” from the little ones.

While California doesn’t have the snow and cold that guarantee the pres-ence of holiday spirit like

most of the United States, there are still a ton of great events that allow you to get into the holiday cheer.

Photo Credit: countryliving.com

Bolshoi Ballet

Inland Pacific Ballet

Los Angeles Ballet

to experience adventure like never before. Among others, the top three critically acclaimed Nutcrackers spread across Southern California are: The Bolshoi Ballet (shown live in private movie theatres this year since it will be touring in London instead of the US) with its Russian, French, and Italian–styled dance, The Los Angeles Ballet influenced by George Balanchine and hues of Russian classical ballet, as well as the local professional company, Inland Pacific Ballet, which is also infused with Balanchine-oriented dance. With such uniquely presented portrayals of Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s Nutcracker ballet, all productions had audiences immersed in standing ovations, filling auditoriums with wooting, awe-struck audiences. Congratulations to all three companies for another successful year of ballet and holiday tradition.

Photo Credit: losangelestimes.com

Photo Credit: flickr.comPhoto Credit: m

ybashamrentals.com

Queen Mary Chill The Grove Newport Boat Parade

Gift for Thought

Is it better to buy a gift or make a gift? Well, it all depends on how thoughtful the gift is. There is no real right or wrong answer in getting someone a present (well, maybe to them there might be). Be aware that some people may feel offended to receive gifts that are not purchased at a store. To many people the idea of homemade gifts is a cheap person’s paradise and lacks the chutzpah that store-bought gifts bring to the table, which is not always the case. If you are making homemade gifts, most of the time, they require effort and a certain creativeness and adeptness in crafts such as a knitted scarf or a crocheted blanket, in which the yarn is quite expensive. Whether the gift is homemade or store bought, one thing is for certain is that the gift should be received with gratitude because it doesn’t matter how much a gift costs but the thought put into its’ making.

by Mohini Lavin

Photo Credit: fotor.com

Photo Credit: amazon.com

Letters to the EditorsLetters to the editors concerning any topic relevant to Vital Signs are welcomed. Please refrain from using vulgar or disrespectful language. Letters should be brief and may be edited to maximize space and heighten clarity. Letters may be anonymous or signed by the author. Please send letters to:

bhsvitalsigns2014@gmail.comor

Drop them off in Mr. R. Rodriguez’s mailbox in rm. 312

Opinions expressed in Vital Signs belong to the writer. They do not reflect the opinions of the Journalism staff or those of Francisco Bravo Medical Magnet High School.

Vital SignsHannah ContrerasEditor-In-Chief

Martin GomezManaging Editor

Genesis AnguloEditor

Rimon HossainEditor

Sharon KimEditor

Scan this QR Code to check out past Vital Signs issues online!

Editorial Matter

For those of you who ha-ven’t started to feel the Christmas spirit, here are some movies that just might be able to help. These tradi-

by Sharon Kim

Friday, December 13, 2013 - P4VOL. XVI, ISSUE v VITAL SIGNS

Traditional XMAS Movies

HOLIDAYS

1. First up, we have The Po-lar Express (2004), an an-imated film about a young boy who boards an express train in order to find his be-lief in Santa once again. This amazing movie will restore your belief in the true spir-it of Christmas as you go along the ride with the main character to the North Pole.

2. Next on the list is the hilarious comedy, Home Alone (1990). This mov-ie features a little boy who is accidentally left behind by his family during the holiday rush and must pull the best booby traps in or-der to defend himself and his house from two crimi-nals. This movie illustrates the joy and happiness of family during Christmas, with a few added pranks.

3. The third movie is Elf (2003), another Christmas comedy about Buddy, a human who was taken to the North Pole as a baby and lived almost his en-tire life there. He travels to New York City in order to find his real father and must help Santa get his sleigh flying by getting the people of New York to be-lieve in the Christmas spir-it. This flick captures the gift of Christmas perfectly.

Photo Credit: imdb.com

Photo Credit: imdb.com

Photo Credit: blogspot.com

Photo Credit: filmpop.com

tional Christmas movies, are a must to watch with the family or friends. Nothing’s better to start Christmas than some movies, right?

4. Finally, we can’t for-get the famous How the Grinch Stole Christmas! Whether it be the animated version (1996) or the one starring Jim Carrey (2000), both are amazing when it comes to how Christmas can fill even the smallest hearts with joy. The Grinch is a strange creature who hates XMAS but is able to gain a love for the hol-iday thanks to a little girl who manages to squeeze her way into his heart. .

by Meri Mak

Make Your Own Holiday Ornaments

Christmas is right around the corner, and it’s time to light up that tree again. Instead of pulling out those old, dusty ornaments stacked up in your closet for 11

1. Light Bulb Penguins Line up and glue three and white to resemble pen-g u i n s .

Photo Credit: boredpanda.com2. Wine-Cork Tree Glue wine-corks together in a stacking pattern to resem-ble a Christmas tree.

Photo Credit: boredpanda.com

3. Bottle Cap SnowmenLine up and glue three bottle caps to create a snowman.

Photo Credit:boredpanda.com4. Jigsaw Puzzle Reindeer Paint three jigsaw puzzle pieces and add eyes and a red nose to create a reindeer.

Photo Credit: boredpanda.com

months, why not make your own? Here are a few simple Christmas ornaments you can make yourself with sup-plies you can find at home!!

*Recipe derived from thim-bleanna.comIngredients:2 egg whites 2 cups all-purpose flour 2 teaspoons baking powder 1 tablespoon white sugar 1/2 teaspoon baking soda 1/2 teaspoon salt 2 egg yolks 4 tablespoons butter, melted 2 cups buttermilk 1 cup vegetable oil Directions1.In a clean glass or metal bowl, beat the egg whites with a mixer until they can hold a stiff peak. Set aside.

2.Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt, bak-ing soda, sugar, egg yolks, melted butter and butter-milk at one time and beat until smooth. Gently fold in the egg whites last.

3.Put about 1tablespoon of vegetable oil in the bot-tom of each aebleskiver pan cup and heat until hot.

4.Pour in about 2 tablespoons of the batter into each cup.

5.As soon as they get bub-bly around the edge, turn them quickly with a fork.

6.Continue to cook turning the ball to keep it from burning.

by Kimberly Parada

Aebleskiv-ers: A Dan-ish Dessert

Photo Credit: wordpress.com

Frosty the Snowman was a jolly _____ (adjective) soul with a _____ (ad-jective) pipe and a but-ton _____ (body part), and _____ (number) eyes made out of _____ (noun).

Frosty the Snowman is a fairytale they say. He was made of _____ (noun) but the children know he came to life one day.

There must have been some _____ (noun) in that old _____ (adjec-tive) hat they found. For when they placed it on his _____ (body part), he be-gan to _____ (verb) around.

Frosty the Snowman knew the sun was _____ (adjec-tive) that day so he said let’s _____ (verb) and we’ll have some fun before I melt away.