Tuesday, February 26, 2013
Reptiles as pets
Many people have pets, some of the pets are more exotic than others. One of the more common "exotic" animals are snakes, and other large reptiles. I think that if you will have the means to care for the animals currently and in the future, along with enough space for the animal to be comfortable for a large amount of time. If a person is going to take a reptile in as a pet they should take how long the animals live and the size that the animal will grow to into account. One of the snakes most commonly kept as pets, the burmese python can grow to be 20 feet long and over 200 pounds. I think that keeping the animals as pets, if you are able to, is amazing and an acceptable idea.
Monday, January 21, 2013
Platyhelminthes
Schistosoma japonicum - Looks like most flatworms but with a fishtail, it grows to 15mm in length. Males are shorter than females. This type of flatworm is found in the Southeast regions of Asia. This species causes schistosomiasis at this time there are no vaccines.
Paragonimus westermanii is a lung fluke found primarily in Asia. Prazipuantel is the drug typically perscribed with a 95% success rate. To asssist in the prevention fully cook all crustations and other seafood.
Taenia solium is a tapeworm found worldwide. T. solium is a white segmented tapeworm. It is found in undercooked pork. Prazupuantel is the drug used for treatment. The best way to avoid contracting the tapeworm in to avoid undercooked meat.Citations:
Photos:
http://drugline.org/img/term/schistosoma-japonicum-13250_0.jpg
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4S4p4gIZTmxdR5MdPIxAFSVHXOCQBuHy4df9xHTfq6owBY96F-AnEqeAAy75PRWEwgB2ENwvtGh8StMH0w_RaWvx0dT0h4XftOj3rEsrIZ7vz1Cq8xpf_JbHUgxTz-Ygr_MlhCuZeesU/s400/compAdultos+de+Paragonimus+westermani.jpg
http://www.chaffey.edu/mathandscience/TR/categories/photos/taenia.soleum.scolex.40x.jpg
Information:
http://animaldiversity.ummz.umich.edu/accounts/Schistosoma_japonicum/
http://atlas.or.kr/atlas/alphabet_view.php?my_codeName=Paragonimus%20westermani
http://www.chaffey.edu/mathandscience/TR/categories/photos/taenia.soleum.scolex.40x.jpg
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Viruses
Viruses on Prezi
Part 3
A: Smallpox is believed to have killed more people than any other infectious disease. It continued until Edward Jenner created an effective vaccine in 1796. He used a less severe form of smallpox that was found in cows. After this form was injected it triggered the immune system to fight it. This type of vaccine creates a less threatening version of a pathogen so it is able to be recognized by the body.
B: Similar pathogen vaccine- Sample of less severe form is purified to isolate virus and is injected. (Smallpox)
Attenuated vaccine- Tissue cultures grow a new strain of a virus, injected. (Measles)
Killed vaccine- Tissue grow sample which is purified and killed with formaldehyde and injected. (Polio)
Toxoid vaccine- Grow copies, purify sample, add aluminum salts, inject (Tetanus)
Subunit vaccine- Remove a segment of DNA and add it to yeast cell DNA purify the sample and inject. (Hepatitis B)
Naked- DNA vaccine- Grow copies combine with vectors and purify with bacteria, inject. (HIV)
C: 55,000 people die each year, one every 10 minutes. The rabies virus damages the brain and affects the nervous system. It is found everywhere except Antarctica, in North America the most commonly affected animals are raccoons, skunks and bats. The virus is transmitted through saliva. The current shots for humans go in the arm and is no more painful than any other shots. The best ways to avoid rabies is to get vaccinated and don't pet wild or stray animals.
Commonly affected animals include: dogs, foxes, raccoons, skunks and bats.
In humans the initial symptoms are like flu symptoms with aches and pains, the symptoms will escalate to include hallucinations, excess salivation, insomnia, heart and respiratory problems, and will lead to a comatose state and death.
D: Acyclovir slows the growth and spread of herpes, it doesn't cure it, but it does lessen the symptoms.
Part 4
Prions are variations of proteins, they are usually found outside of cells and are benign. They have no known function yet. When it moves inside the cell membranes it causes brain damage. The disease in humans is similar to Mad Cow Disease and Chronic Wasting Disease in deer. The disease has a long incubation period, it is contracted through infected foods, heredity or through random mutations in prions. The risk of contracting the disease is low in the United States, but there is no treatment if infected. Any animal that has contracted the disease should be destroyed by being incinerated at 1000 degrees Celsius or boiled in lye for more than 15 minutes and soaked in concentrated bleach. The best way to prevent it is through regular testing of meat products.
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| Virus representation |
Part 3
A: Smallpox is believed to have killed more people than any other infectious disease. It continued until Edward Jenner created an effective vaccine in 1796. He used a less severe form of smallpox that was found in cows. After this form was injected it triggered the immune system to fight it. This type of vaccine creates a less threatening version of a pathogen so it is able to be recognized by the body.
B: Similar pathogen vaccine- Sample of less severe form is purified to isolate virus and is injected. (Smallpox)
Attenuated vaccine- Tissue cultures grow a new strain of a virus, injected. (Measles)
Killed vaccine- Tissue grow sample which is purified and killed with formaldehyde and injected. (Polio)
Toxoid vaccine- Grow copies, purify sample, add aluminum salts, inject (Tetanus)
Subunit vaccine- Remove a segment of DNA and add it to yeast cell DNA purify the sample and inject. (Hepatitis B)
Naked- DNA vaccine- Grow copies combine with vectors and purify with bacteria, inject. (HIV)
C: 55,000 people die each year, one every 10 minutes. The rabies virus damages the brain and affects the nervous system. It is found everywhere except Antarctica, in North America the most commonly affected animals are raccoons, skunks and bats. The virus is transmitted through saliva. The current shots for humans go in the arm and is no more painful than any other shots. The best ways to avoid rabies is to get vaccinated and don't pet wild or stray animals.
Commonly affected animals include: dogs, foxes, raccoons, skunks and bats.
In humans the initial symptoms are like flu symptoms with aches and pains, the symptoms will escalate to include hallucinations, excess salivation, insomnia, heart and respiratory problems, and will lead to a comatose state and death.
D: Acyclovir slows the growth and spread of herpes, it doesn't cure it, but it does lessen the symptoms.
Part 4
Prions are variations of proteins, they are usually found outside of cells and are benign. They have no known function yet. When it moves inside the cell membranes it causes brain damage. The disease in humans is similar to Mad Cow Disease and Chronic Wasting Disease in deer. The disease has a long incubation period, it is contracted through infected foods, heredity or through random mutations in prions. The risk of contracting the disease is low in the United States, but there is no treatment if infected. Any animal that has contracted the disease should be destroyed by being incinerated at 1000 degrees Celsius or boiled in lye for more than 15 minutes and soaked in concentrated bleach. The best way to prevent it is through regular testing of meat products.
Bacteria
Pathology is the study and diagnosis of diseases.
What is an endotoxin?
A toxin that is secreted by both gram positive and negative bacteria; it destroys or disrupts the metabolism of the cell An example is tetanus
What is an exotoxin?
A toxin that is released when a gram negative bacterium is destroyed An example is botulism
What is antibiotic resistance?
The antimicrobial agents fail to work because microbes adapt to them when people don't take antibiotics for the full dosage, leaving some resistant bacteria
Typhus
9 million affected by a single outbreak
Spreads through body lice and fleas
Results in:
a high fever 105-106 F
nausea
backache
cough
headache
confusion
Treated with antibiotics
Cholera
More than 100,000 people affected
Spreads through infected food and water
Results in:
dry skin
sunken eyes
nausea
lethargy
Treated with fluid replacement and antibiotics
What is an endotoxin?
A toxin that is secreted by both gram positive and negative bacteria; it destroys or disrupts the metabolism of the cell An example is tetanus
What is an exotoxin?
A toxin that is released when a gram negative bacterium is destroyed An example is botulism
What is antibiotic resistance?
The antimicrobial agents fail to work because microbes adapt to them when people don't take antibiotics for the full dosage, leaving some resistant bacteria
Typhus
9 million affected by a single outbreak
Spreads through body lice and fleas
Results in:
a high fever 105-106 F
nausea
backache
cough
headache
confusion
Treated with antibiotics
Cholera
More than 100,000 people affected
Spreads through infected food and water
Results in:
dry skin
sunken eyes
nausea
lethargy
Treated with fluid replacement and antibiotics
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
Anencephalic Babies
A condition that effects 1,000 babies in the US each year is anencephaly. Anencephalic babies are born with no cerebrum or cerebellum; they possess only a brain stem. These babies can breathe on their own and their hearts beat normally, but the children will never be able to think or become aware. The babies are not technically brain dead, but the longest a child has ever lived is two and a half years.
The child to live that long was Baby K, her mother continued to keep her alive despite how futile it was. Baby K's medical bills got up to $500,000 she died of a heart attack; $500,000 dollars for 2 1/2 year is $16,666 a month. Most people wouldn't be able to afford that kind of care and Baby K's mother was no exception. Baby K was kept alive using insurance money. Is this fair? Other people's money is going to keep this "born-dead" child alive. Probably making insurance more expensive for others.
Another famous anencephalic baby was Theresa, whose parents wished to donate the child's organs to extremely young recipients. Around 2,000 newborns need organs that can only come from other newborns. Theresa's parents were denied a choice in the matter because she was still "alive". When Theresa died ten days later it was to late to harvest and donate her organs. This makes it seem as though Theresa's short life was for nothing, ten days is not long enough to create a large impact on the world. But Baby Theresa's story has helped to try to change the law, so the parents of these babies can donate the child's organs. Should this law be changed?
What constitutes a living person? Are we living because we can breath and our hearts beat, or are we living because we know we are alive? A statement parallel to Descartes' "I think, therefore I am", I am alive, therefore I live. Do we become alive when we start to understand our existence? If you argue this side we aren't technically alive until age one. Are we alive before the age where we reach self awareness? Do we count as living if there is no possibility of ever reaching this age? Is that where the line is drawn, the possibility of knowing of our existence? These questions are often brought up in the issue of abortion, when are we alive?
I think an anencephalic baby's parents should be allowed to make the decision to donate their child's organs if they wish to do so. I also think that Baby K shouldn't have been kept alive using insurance money, if her mother had the money and was able to afford the child's care on her own, she can spend her money on whatever she chooses to. This condition is one of very few that all doctors agree are futile to try to treat. Anencephaly is always fatal before the third year of a child's existence. If the organs or tissues can help another child have a life that this child has no possibility of having then that should be done. It should not be manditory of anencephalic babies' parents to donate organs, but the parents should have the option to.
The child to live that long was Baby K, her mother continued to keep her alive despite how futile it was. Baby K's medical bills got up to $500,000 she died of a heart attack; $500,000 dollars for 2 1/2 year is $16,666 a month. Most people wouldn't be able to afford that kind of care and Baby K's mother was no exception. Baby K was kept alive using insurance money. Is this fair? Other people's money is going to keep this "born-dead" child alive. Probably making insurance more expensive for others.
Another famous anencephalic baby was Theresa, whose parents wished to donate the child's organs to extremely young recipients. Around 2,000 newborns need organs that can only come from other newborns. Theresa's parents were denied a choice in the matter because she was still "alive". When Theresa died ten days later it was to late to harvest and donate her organs. This makes it seem as though Theresa's short life was for nothing, ten days is not long enough to create a large impact on the world. But Baby Theresa's story has helped to try to change the law, so the parents of these babies can donate the child's organs. Should this law be changed?
What constitutes a living person? Are we living because we can breath and our hearts beat, or are we living because we know we are alive? A statement parallel to Descartes' "I think, therefore I am", I am alive, therefore I live. Do we become alive when we start to understand our existence? If you argue this side we aren't technically alive until age one. Are we alive before the age where we reach self awareness? Do we count as living if there is no possibility of ever reaching this age? Is that where the line is drawn, the possibility of knowing of our existence? These questions are often brought up in the issue of abortion, when are we alive?
I think an anencephalic baby's parents should be allowed to make the decision to donate their child's organs if they wish to do so. I also think that Baby K shouldn't have been kept alive using insurance money, if her mother had the money and was able to afford the child's care on her own, she can spend her money on whatever she chooses to. This condition is one of very few that all doctors agree are futile to try to treat. Anencephaly is always fatal before the third year of a child's existence. If the organs or tissues can help another child have a life that this child has no possibility of having then that should be done. It should not be manditory of anencephalic babies' parents to donate organs, but the parents should have the option to.
Monday, October 8, 2012
Oscar Pistorius - The fastest man with no legs
Oscar Pistorius was born with no fibulae, and his legs had to be amputated just below the knees, lest he be confined to a wheelchair for the rest of his life. Oscar is now an award winning paralympic athlete, should he be allowed to compete in the Olympics with his artificial limbs?
4. Do the difficulties with the cheetahs (his artificial limbs) outweigh the benefits of them? (Ethical, Scientific)
5. Should Oscar Pistorius be labeled as "disabled" or is he "too- abled" for the Olympics? (Legal)
Some questions to consider are:
1. Should limits be placed on athletes born with defects who have artificial limbs? (Ethical)
2. Do artificial limbs make a person better at sports? (Scientific)
3. Should limits be placed on artificial limb technology to make it fair for other athletes? (Legal, Ethical)
5. Should Oscar Pistorius be labeled as "disabled" or is he "too- abled" for the Olympics? (Legal)
Wednesday, October 3, 2012
Bioethics
Dolly the Sheep
Dolly was the first sheep cloned from an adult cell. This was previously though to be impossible because the cells were already differentiated. The process is reversed by depriving the cell of nutrients. The egg, and DNA were from different sheep, and they were planted in a third sheep who was a surrogate mother. The egg cell was had its nucleus removed and the DNA from the original "Dolly" implanted in it. The egg is then given a small shock to stimulate growth. The cell divides until it is decided if it is viable, at which point it is implanted in a mother. Dolly was a breakthrough in the field of science, exact copies of animals could easily be created. Some people were worried though, if we can clone animals whats stopping us from cloning humans? Cloning makes an exact copy of another creature, is this ethical? Many people don't think cloning is right, because cloned animals face difficulties, as their DNA is older than their chronological age. This contributes to diseases and other complications early in the clones life. Dolly died of a lung disease that only affects older sheep.
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