Evaluation

REGARDING YOUR OWN PERFORMANCE
1. What were the three aspects of the assignments I've submitted that I am most proud of?
I am most proud of my nutrition lab, major lab, and the ethical essay. I found those all to be quite enjoyable.
2. What two aspects of my submitted assignments do I believe could have used some improvement?
I believe that improvement wise would be the quizes, I lack when it comes to the testing area. I also even though I was proud of my major lab project, it could have used some more work.
3. What do I believe my overall grade should be for this unit?
I believe that I should get a B for this unit, I feel that I have tried very hard on it, and really I think that the effort that was put in is the most important part in a student.
4. How could I perform better in the next unit?
I could probably get a lot more information on the subject, because even though I researched everything, I feel the heart rate and blood pressure on how they work was hard.


REGARDING THE UNIT (adapted from Stephen Brookfield, University of St. Thomas "Critical Incident Questionnaire")

At what moment during this unit did you feel most engaged with the course?
I felt most engaged when doing the nutirtion lab. I found that to be the most interesting assignment, I thought it was interesting to put everything I had eaten and in an instant I got my calorie intake.

At what moment unit did you feel most distanced from the course?
Probably doing the blood pressure lab, I got pretty confused on how to exactly take in blood pressure and what exactly I was seeing.

What action that anyone (teacher or student) took during this unit that find most affirming and helpful?
Probably the Nutrition part, how the things were worded and what we were suppose to do was very helpful.

What action that anyone (teacher or student) took during this unit did you find most puzzling or confusing?
It was confusing to have to find a way to get the heart rate, and read what It was.

What about this unit surprised you the most? (This could be something about your own reactions to the course, something that someone did, or anything else that occurs to you.)
I was surprised by the nutrition part of my life and how I eat. How well I eat actually. If anything I feel maybe I should eat a little bit more in a days worth.

Major lab project

Introduction:

I started this project by wanting to compare different transformations of the heart rate. I went from a stage of resting, to a stage of running, and then a stage of walking. I feel that all of these stages brought very different reactions for me.

"Heart rate is a term used to describe the frequency of the cardiac cycle. It is considered one of the four vital signs. Usually it is calculated as the number of contractions (heart beats) of the heart in one minute and expressed as "beats per minute" (bpm). See "Heart" for information on embryofetal heart rates. The heart beats up to 120 times per minute in childhood.
When resting, the adult human heart beats at about 70 bpm (males) and 75 bpm (females), but this rate varies among people. However, the resting heart rate can be significantly lower in athletes. The infant/neonatal rate of heartbeat is around 130-150 bpm, the toddler's about 100–130 bpm, the older child's about 90–110 bpm, and the adolescent's about 80–100 bpm.
The pulse is the most straightforward way of measuring the heart rate, but it can be deceptive when some heart beats do not have much cardiac output. In these cases (as happens in some arrhythmias), the heart rate may be considerably higher than the pulse rate.Your hypothesis. What do you expect to happen to your metabolic measurements after each activity?

I believe that I will have a big transformation in these activities. Where when I am do the running I will have the fast heart rate, and have the biggest reaction of feeling tired, and sore. While during the walking my heart rate will be somewhere in the middle, and resting it will be a calm and steady heart rate. "

Your data.

running-

My heart rate is higher when running on a hot day. The temperature was around 75 degrees, my heart rate at a given speed increases by about 2 to 4 beats per minute. When the temperature increased from 75 degrees to 90 degrees, my heart rate running at a given speed to increase by approximately 10 beats per minute.

walking-

My heart rate was not as high as when I ran on the hot day, But at about 85 degrees and walking my heart rate increased by 2 to 3 beats per minute.

Resting-

My heart rate sitting in my chair in a air conditioned place, was 72 beats per minute.

Conclusion.

I felt that this was a very interesting assignment, Many of the changes in the heart rate when doing this assignment were very different then one another. I was amazed that just sitting there, how often my heart beat was.

blood pressure lab #3

Blood Pressure Lab Journal
1. State a problem about the relationship of age and gender to blood pressure.
A problem with age and gender in relation to hypertension is that the older you get the more available you to more things that are not good for you. People begin to lack activities to help thier heart stay strong, and do activities that could destroy you as far as drugs and alcohol.

2. Use your knowledge about the heart and the circulatory system to make a hypothesis about how the average blood pressure for a group of people would be affected by manipulating the age and gender of the group members.
I feel that as you get older the more people will get a higher blood pressure. I feel that men will have a bigger problem then women, because of their built, and the more they eat. Men and women live very different lifestyles, that can also affect a persons blood pressure.

3. How will you use the investigation screen to test your hypothesis? What steps will you follow? What data will you record?
I will be taking ten different blood pressures at a time. There will be a series of 10 groups, 50 women and 50 men. By calculating the results of all the women and all the men. I will record all of my information, especially those with hypertension for that group, and repeat that process for every group.

4. Analyze the result of your experiment. Explain any patterns you observed.
A surprising fact for me was how many more men were hypertensive than women. There were 13 men that were hypertensive with seven of those men in the 45-54 age range. Only five women were hypertensive in the whole experiment. it was steady in both the systolic and the diastolic blood pressure in the male category as the age range increased. The female group had a small decline in the second age group then a steady increase in both the systolic and diastolic blood pressures. A pattern I observed in the woman was that a high salt diet was the biggest factor in hypertension. In men the biggest factor was basically their lack of exercise and was a tie between family history, obesity, and a high salt diet.

5. Did the result of your experiment support your hypothesis? Why or why not? Based on your experiment what conclusion can you draw about the relationship of age and gender to group blood pressure averages?
In my hypothesis I stated that men would have a bigger problem then the women, and that was proven true. Men did result with a higher blood pressure average as age increases, as well as have more hypertensive cases than woman total. In result higher blood pressure did overall increase.

6. During the course of your experiment, did you obtain any blood pressure reading that were outside of the normal range for the group being tested? What did you notice on the medical charts for these individuals that might explain their high reading?
There were 18 total out of normal blood pressure readings in both the experiment. Of those 18, 13 were male and 5 were female. Womenhad a combination of a high salt diet, lack of exercise and obesity seemed to be the leading causes. Men the secondary factors to mostly play into the hypertension were a high salt diet, a family history of hypertension, and obesity.

7. List risk factors associated with the hypertension. Based on your observation, which risk factor do you think is most closely associated with hypertension?
The risk factors associated with hypertension include family history of hypertension, obesity, a high salt diet, a lack of exercise, alcohol consumption, gender, and age. Based on my observation, the biggest risk factor to hypertension would be a lack of exercise.

8. What effect might obesity have on blood pressure? Does obesity alone cause a person to be at risk for high blood pressure? What other factors, in combination with obesity, might increase a person's risk for high blood pressure?
Obesity has had a hug affect of a persons blood pressure. Some one that is over weight and not eating the right food could have a devastating defeat. Obesity, a high salt diet, and a lack of exercise seem to be the deadly combination for hypertension. In this experiment alone, about sixty five to seventy percent of the hypertensive patients had this combination.

Conclusion
It is obvious that men have a bigger problem with high blood pressure and hypertension. Although both men and woman both have risk factors, that can affect someone in the long run. This experiment showed me exactly how important it is to eat right.

Nutrition lab #4

My Breakfast:

-Banana

-Glass of Orange Juice

My Lunch:

-20oz bottle of water

-Peanut butter and Jelly sandwhich

Dinner:

-Chicken pasta

-Vegatable Salad

-20oz bottle of water

The questions and answer:

-How healthy a daily diet do you think this is? Why?

I think that this was a extremely healthy diet, It wasn't really hard for me to eat healthy, because I usually do anyways. Although I think that I should get more of a variety of the food groups in my daily meals. I didn't even reach 1000 callories, although this does change on a day to day basis.

-What would you change about this day's eating, if anything?

I would eat more yogurt and gronola, and probably change my lunch a little bit to make it bigger.

-Do you find this kind of nutritional tracking helpful? Why or why not?

I loved this nutritional calculator. I loved to see everything I was eating and exactly what I was taking in. It was very fast and simple, and really didn't take a lot of time. I love it!!

Ethical Essay #2

Ethics and Food-

"None of us can avoid being interested in food. Our very existence depends on the supply of
safe, nutritious foods. It is then hardly surprising that food has become the focus of a wide
range of ethical concerns."1

I feel that food has a huge impact on everyone in one way or another. Whether it is people making it, selling it, eating it, or growing it. Food has much importance in the world today. Yes it is fact that we can not live without food. The question remains is, what food do we eat that we will also make us not live.

I was reading an article from the economists print edition that made some really great points when it comes to the ethics of food.

"THERE are no bad foods, only bad diets. So say many nutritionists, who object to the demonisation of some foods as junk. On the evidence, then, there are an awful lot of bad diets around. Two Britons in five are now overweight, and another one in five is obese. A nationwide weigh-in of 11-year-olds last year revealed that at least a fifth were obese—and since being weighed was voluntary and larger children were less likely to step on the scales, this was no doubt an underestimate. In November it was announced that teenagers who are so overweight that their lives are in danger would be able to get their stomachs stapled on the NHS."

This paragraph above was very interesting, in stating that there are no bad foods, yet bad diets...I disagree with this sentence. I feel that there are a lot of foods that simply should not be eaten. I think that kids growing up overweight, is a lack of a balanced between the food they are choosing to feed their kids, and the activities that they push their kids to do. I also feel if there was more of a balance of cooking at home, instead of going out to eat makes a big difference.

Self image has become such a big issue in the world today, that food has also affected people. People are growing up thinking that food is bad for you all together. Which then comes Anorexia,

Many girls already avoid dairy products because they fear gaining weight—but, partly as a result, more than a fifth of them have so little calcium in their diets that they risk going on to develop brittle bones.

This is not the only initiative on the menu to warn consumers off certain foods. Backed by the FSA, manufacturers and retailers are working on a “traffic light” scheme, with green, amber and red signs on the packaging of processed foods denoting whether their salt, sugar and fat content is low, medium or high.

There are quite a bit of differences between how food is used according to ethics. How much food is to much, and how little is to little. There are many different extremes that can affect someone when taking in food.

Food & Nutrition

Glucose and Diffusion-nutrients to the cell-

Diffusion-
Spontaneous movement of particles from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration
Does not require energy (exergonic)
Occurs via random kinetic movement
Net diffusion stops when concentration on both sides equal (if crossing a membrane) or when there is a uniform distribution of particles
Equilibrium is reached
Molecules continue to move, but no net change in concentration (hence the phase "net diffusion" above
Diffusion of one compound is independent to diffusion of other compounds

How to Cheat - Glucose Enters the Cell by Facilitated Diffusion-
Glucose binds to transport protein
Transporter changers conformation and glucose is released into cell
Intracellular glucose is immediately phosphorylated
phosphorylated glucose does not diffuse out (remember that the transport protein is very specific)
internal glucose (unphosphorylated) concentration remains low providing large concentration difference for entry

Blood glucose levels are routinely obtained by invasive and painful methods using glucose meters and test strips. The development of less invasive or non invasive techniques would be beneficial for diabetes patients. In this study, a noninvasive method was evaluated using the back diffusion of glucose across skin with or without permeation enhancement methods. An in vitro model was utilized. The stratum corneum was the predominant barrier for both back and were used as chemical enhancers to promote the back diffusion of glucose. A cationic surfactant showed the highest enhancement, followed by anionic and nonionic surfactants. d-Limonene and 1,8-cineole dispersed in appropriate proportions of ethanol could enhance the glucose diffusion after pretreatment of the skin surface. Electroporation, defined as a physical method, significantly increased the amount of glucose that diffused back. The percentages of diffused glucose by 300 V and 500 V high voltage pulses on skin for 10 min were found to be 45 and 75 times greater than the control group, respectively.

Digestion-food into the body-

Your digestive system started working even before you took the first bite of your pizza. And the digestive system will be busy at work on your chewed-up lunch for the next few hours - or sometimes days - depending upon what you've eaten. This process, called digestion, allows your body to get the nutrients and energy it needs from the food you eat. So let's find out what's happening to that pizza, orange, and milk.
The Mouth Starts Everything Moving-
Even before you eat, when you smell a tasty food, see it, or think about it, digestion begins. Saliva or spit, begins to form in your mouth. When you do eat, the saliva breaks down the chemicals in the food a bit, which helps make the food mushy and easy to swallow. Your tongue helps out, pushing the food around while you chew with your teeth. When you're ready to swallow, the tongue pushes a tiny bit of mushed-up food called a bolus toward the back of your throat and into the opening of your esophagus, the second part of the digestive tract.

The esophagus is like a stretchy pipe that's about 10 inches long. It moves food from the back of your throat to your stomach. But also at the back of your throat is your windpipe, which allows air to come in and out of your body. When you swallow a small ball of mushed-up food or liquids, a special flap called the epiglottis flops down over the opening of your windpipe to make sure the food enters the esophagus and not the windpipe.

Once food has entered the esophagus, it doesn't just drop right into your stomach. Instead, muscles in the walls of the esophagus move in a wavy way to slowly squeeze the food through the esophagus. This takes about 2 or 3 seconds.

Your stomach is attached to the end of the esophagus. It's a stretchy sack shaped like the letter J. It has three important jobs:
to store the food you've eaten
to break down the food into a liquidy mixture
to slowly empty that liquidy mixture into the small intestine
The stomach is like a mixer, churning and mashing together all the small balls of food that came down the esophagus into smaller and smaller pieces. It does this with help from the strong muscles in the walls of the stomach and gastric juices that also come from the stomach's walls. In addition to breaking down food, gastric juices also help kill bacteria that might be in the eaten food.

The small intestine is a long tube that's about 1 1/2 inches to 2 inches around, and it's packed inside you beneath your stomach. If you stretched out an adult's small intestine, it would be about 22 feet long that's like 22 notebooks lined up end to end, all in a row!
The small intestine breaks down the food mixture even more so your body can absorb all the vitamins, minerals, protiens, carbohydrates, and fats. The chicken on your pizza is full of proteins - and a little fat - and the small intestine can help extract them - with a little help from three friends: the pancreas liver, and gallbladder.

Your food may spend as long as 4 hours in the small intestine and will become a very thin, watery mixture. It's time well spent because, at the end of the journey, the nutrients from your pizza, orange, and milk can pass from the intestine into the blood. Once in the blood, your body is closer to benefiting from the complex carbohydrates in the pizza crust, the vitamin C in your orange, the protein in the chicken, and the calcium in your milk.

The nutrient-rich blood comes directly to the liver for processing. The liver filters out harmful substances or wastes, turning some of the waste into more bile. The liver even helps figure out how many nutrients will go to the rest of the body, and how many will stay behind in storage.

At 3 or 4 inches around the large intestine is fatter than the small intestine and it's almost the last stop on the digestive tract. Like the small intestine, it is packed into the body, and would measure 5 feet if you spread it out.
The large intestine has a tiny tube with a closed end coming off it called the appendix. It's part of the digestive tract, but it doesn't seem to do anything, though it can cause big problems, because it sometimes gets infected and needs to be removed.

The large intestine pushes the poop into the rectum the very last stop on the digestive tract. The solid waste stays here until you are ready to go to the bathroom. When you go to the bathroom, you are getting rid of this solid waste by pushing it through the anus. There's the flush we were talking about!

Nutrition&Diet-

Nutrition is simply defined as the “Science of Food” in relation to health. Eating the right kind of food and complying to a diet suitable and at the same time acceptable and palatable makes eating a pleasurable and enjoyable activity.

Remember food?-

Food is any substance, usually composed primarily of carbohydrates, fats, water and/or protiens, that can be eaten or drunk by an animal or human being for nutrition or pleasure. Items considered food may be sourced from plants, animals or other categories such as fungus or fermented products like alcohol. Although many human cultures sought food items through hunting and gathering, today most cultures use farming, ranching, and fishing, with hunting, foraging and other methods of a local nature included but playing a minor role.
Most traditions have a recognizable cuisine, a specific set of cooking traditions, preferences, and practices, the study of which is known as gastronomy. Many cultures have diversified their foods by means of preparation, cooking methods and manufacturing. This also includes a complex food trade which helps the cultures to economically survive by-way-of food, not just by consumption.
Many cultures study the dietary analysis of food habits. While humans are omnivores, religion and social constructs such as morality often affect which foods which foods they will consume. Food safety is also a concern with foodborne illness claiming many lives each year. In many languages, food is often used metaphorically or figuratively, as in "food for thought".

Compendium Review #1 Unit 2

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Self Unit Evaluation

REGARDING YOUR OWN PERFORMANCE
1. What were the three aspects of the assignments I've submitted that I am most proud of?
The three assignments that I am most proud of would be for one the lab project. On top of being fun and having to be creative I feel that I did very well, and worked really hard on this project. The other two would probably be the online labs. I really enjoyed them, and it was fun and educational at the same time.
2. What two aspects of my submitted assignments do I believe could have used some improvement?
I feel this was the first unit, so to be honest I am not sure if I feel any of them could use improvement, because I worked to hard on it. Although because it was my first unit, probably all of it will need some improvements in areas.
3. What do I believe my overall grade should be for this unit?
I really feel that I deserve an A, because for the fact the I worked so hard on this unit. I put so much work, and time into the assignments.
4. How could I perform better in the next unit?
I think I will know how I can perform better basically once I see how I did on this unit. Feedback is one of the best way to do better on something.

At what moment during this unit did you feel most engaged with the course?
It would probably be the lab project. I really enjoyed how it brought the creative side out of me, and allowed me to go above and beyond. Not because it was required, but because I wanted to.
At what moment unit did you feel most distanced from the course?
Probably when I first started going over it all, I was lost, and it just was so much to do. The area I felt like I was most distant would definately be the quizes, I have never been a test person.
What action that anyone (teacher or student) took during this unit that find most affirming and helpful?
I felt that the teacher gave us step by step instructions of what was needing to be done. I thought he did really well, on giving us an overview on what order the assignments should be done in, it was really helpful.
What action that anyone (teacher or student) took during this unit did you find most puzzling or confusing?
I found the online labs to be a little puzzeling at first. I was not really sure how to start or go about it. It took time, until I finally got the hang of it.

What about this unit surprised you the most? (This could be something about your own reactions to the course, something that someone did, or anything else that occurs to you.)
I didn't really think I would enjoy it as much as I did to be honest. Science has never been my favorite, but I actually had fun with it, which made it more enjoyable for me.

Lab # 2

This picture below is the final matching phenotypes for the two dragons.This Piture is the final stage of the punnet square.

The traits or characteristics of an organism are determined by genes. The gene for a particular trait can have two or more different forms, which are called alleles. For every gene, a person has two alleles, one inherited from each parent. The combination of inherited alleles represents the genetic makeup, or genotype, of the organism. The way a genotype is expressed in an organism is called its phenotype. For many traits the phenotype is a result of an interaction between the genotype and the environment.
For a specific trait, some alleles may be dominant while others may be recessive. The phenotype of a dominant allele is expressed regardless of what the other allele is, while the phenotype of a recessive allele is expressed only when both alleles are recessive. However, in some cases, one allele is not completely dominant over the other allele, and the resulting phenotype is a combination of each allele's phenotype. This is known as incomplete dominance. In addition, some traits are determined by a combination of several genes, and the resulting phenotype is determined by the final combination of alleles of all the genes that govern a particular trait.

Phenotype:

This is the "outward, physical manifestation" of the organism. These are the physical parts, the sum of the atoms, molecules, macromolecules, cells, structures, metabolism, energy utilization, tissues, organs, reflexes and behaviors; anything that is part of the observable structure, function or behavior of a living organism.

Genotype:

This is the "internally coded, inheritable information" carried by all living organisms. This stored information is used as a "blueprint" or set of instructions for building and maintaining a living creature. These instructions are found within almost all cells, they are written in a coded language (the genetic code), they are copied at the time of cell division or reproduction and are passed from one generation to the next. These instructions are intimately involved with all aspects of the life of a cell or an organism. They control everything from the formation of protein macromolecules, to the regulation of metabolism and synthesis.
Allele-

One member of a pair or series of genes that occupy a specific position on a specific chromosome.

Recessive Inheritance-
Both parents carry a normal gene (N), and a faulty, recessive, gene (n). The parents, although carriers, are unaffected by the faulty gene. Their offspring are affected, not affected, or carriers.

Dominant Inheritance-
One parent has a single, faulty dominant gene (D), which overpowers its normal counterpart (d), affecting that parent. When the affected parent mates with an unaffected and non-carrier mate (dd), the offspring are either affected or not affected, but they are not carriers.

Ethical Essay

I was reading through some articles on how genetics have had a huge impact on a person of why they are the way they are. I came across one article that stated if a child is born handicapped due to a genetic defect that should have been detected by his mother's doctor, should the child be allowed to sue for damages? When I saw this I thought that it was insanity for a doctor to be blamed for someone having certain special traits to them. I looked up other peoples outlooks on the issue and here is what I found was viewpoints from other people interpretation of it.

"As I sit here looking for research for Wrongful Life for my this ethical essay. I was disturbed by the issues that any parent would even consider the thought to choose if our child should be or not be. My stomach has turned in knots for the Fact that if you choose to play you must take responsibility for whatever may happen after you play. Sex is not a toy that most people take it to be it is an act of love and if a child be conceived through the grace of god then through the grace of god shall you find the strength to care for the child that has been born onto thee. Further more the reason that I can say that you find the guidence you need to handle the challenging tasks of takeing care of a child or even a disabled child is I DO IT EVERY DAY AND I HAVE 1 DISSABELD CHILD AND 3 SMALLER CHILDREN. MY first born child at 18 years old and have had 10 years of doing what other people won't do because they don't want to. A child is a bleesing and should always be looked upon as such. And also one of the TEN COMANDMENTS says THOU SHALL NOT KILL...... "(Maurice Bernstein)

"My answer in this case would be no. I realize that this is a very sensitive subject for some and I can sympathize with both sides of the spectrum. I think it is interesting that the common denominator for all the responses is that they are more happy having and loving their child even with defects than not wanting them at all. In my limited understanding of genetic testing, it is the parent’s responsibility to ask their doctor for these tests to be performed. I believe that it also is the parent’s job to be mindful of their own genetic history so that they may inform their physician of possible defects. Genetic testing is a relatively new science, and it is my understanding that there are often skewed results in this tests. I do not feel that this is the physician’s or parents’ fault. It is impossible at this stage for any doctor to ensure parents that their child will be 100% perfect. When two people decide to have children together, they are assuming the risks some possible birth defects. Does this mean they are liable to be sued by their progeny if they are born with a defect? I think not. My belief is that life is the greatest gift that can be given. Someone raised an interesting point that a child that was aborted is not able to sue for wrongful death, so how can a child born with a defect sue anyone for wrongful life? "(Jeffrey W. Hilburn II )

"Most everyone on the list seems to be pretty much focused on their opinion or their belief about this topic. However, my understanding of the purpose of bioethics is to try to reach a reasoned - not emotional - decision about what options are best out of a selection of potentially all unpleasant choices. The "best" option is generally the one that most closely reflects the societal moral values and does the most good with the least harm. The discussion before us is not supposed to be about whether abortion is right or wrong, or whether the mother SHOULD have the right to abort an impaired child/fetus, or even whether the physician should counsel a couple or single mother to continue the pregnancy OR end the pregnancy. The issue is "Should a child who was born handicapped due to a genetic defect that should have been detected by his mother's doctor, be allowed to sue for damages, claiming wrongful life, i.e., that he would have been better off not being born at all?" First, it seems to me that the child would not the be person to bring action if one were brought. At the time of the "offense," the child was a non-person with no rights, not even the right to be born if the mother chose otherwise. This is not a slap at the current abortion situation. It is a statement of fact, based upon the law of the land as interpreted by the Supreme Court of the land. Therefore, it would seem that since the child could not have acted on the knowledge of a genetic problem, the child has no standing to claim offense. Second, genetic testing is not without risk. Acquiring the sample prior to birth carries risks, as another poster on this list noted. Poor outcome from the testing, the doctor is in court. Some alternatives exist, such as some high resolution ultrasound scans, but they cannot reveal all defects. Nor are they perfect. The fetal heart is extremely tiny, especially in the first and second trimesters, which is when the freedom to terminate a pregnancy is greatest. Detecting holes in a very small, beating organ when what you are actually seeing is "sonic shadows" is exceedingly difficult. The same is true of other fetal organs. Given the imprecision of some of these alternative tests, imagine the headlines and the size of the damage award if a healthy child were aborted on the basis of an incorrect test result! Third, the word "should" in the question is a pivotal issue. "Should have been detected" according to whom? Is this according to widely accepted standards of care for similar circumstances, or is it the opinion of the suing attorney (who has a financial incentive to believe this is true)? Or "should" this have been detected because the mother or father want someone else to meet the cost of caring for a child that is not what they wanted? Or did the circumstance have no clear standard of what "should" have been done? Without a compelling understanding of the validity of the "should have been detected," the whole question is too nebulous to answer. Physicians are not psychic. They cannot divine the correct answer in every case. Society, as a whole, is not best served by rendering all physicians afraid to do any testing, make any recommendations, or perform ALL potential testing on the off chance of an unsuspected disorder. Clearly, on a strictly Utilitarianism basis, an occasional birth of a baby with undetected defects is far outweighed by a medical reality in which physicians perform the most appropriate tests - and no more - thus spreading the resources of health care most effectively, improving the lives of millions, instead of spending thousands upon thousands of limited health care dollars (lira, francs, pesos, etc.) to exhaust every last possible legal risk for each and every pregnancy. The current climate of litigation in the United States has already brought health care to its knees over just such unreasonable expectations and legal actions. Pregnant women in many areas of the country must travel vast distances to find a physician WILLING to provide prenatal care and deliver the baby, just because of the high risk of being sued for doing - or failing to do - "something" that someone else thinks they "should have done." Punish true negligence or malpractice or stupidity. However, unplanned outcomes occur even in the best of situations, with the best of care and the most reasoned decision making. If a physician makes a true, sincere, well-founded set of choices which are in keeping with the standard of care, and the patient survives ANYWAY, but doesn't like it, that is not malpractice. Punishing a physician in this situation produces the most harm to the most people by crippling the health care system. Such a decision, while perhaps emotionally and financially gratifying, cannot be viewed as ethical, in my opinion. No. A child as described in the question should not be allowed to sue for "wrongful life" in the absence of definitive, standards based neglect or malpractice."( Larry Conway)

Everyone of these viewpoints just from very different answers were different in there own ways. The first two viewpoints seemed to feel that if genetics were the cause of these situations, it shouldn't matter either way. Its no ones fault if a person is born with a disability. That abortion should never be an option, and there is no good excuse for aborting the child. The last viewpoint seem to have a little bit of an open mind on the issues at hand. Feeling that it is everyones own choice if they want to abort a baby or not. Basically sending the message that who are we to tell someone what they can and can not do. He was very precised and backed up his thoughts very well.

My own intake on it all is that, although me myself do not believe in abortion, especailly for the reason being that the child would be born with a disability. I do not see them as any less of a person. I feel that an innocent child should not be punished in any way shape or form. The one thing that got me thinking is that if they are blaming it on genetics for a person be born with a disability, the finger should not be pointed at the doctor. As for the future, I really don't know what the answer is for this one. I don't see how to prevent this sort of thing, it will always remain how it is now. Although the future is an interesting thing, you never know.

Lab Project

Cell: I based my cell off this model below.This is a model of a cell I used several different types of food products. This cell covers all of the major topics. Below I will describe what I covered and what the function is within the cell. Stage one- This is the basic start of the cell. In this picture above you see the plasma membrane, cytoplasm, and some free ribosomes. Sitting in the middle is the nucleus. In the nucleus is the chromatin, nuclear pores, nuclear enevelope.

Stage two- I added the rough endoplasmic reticulum and ribosomes.

Stage three- I added the nucleolus, mitochondrion.

Stage four- I added golgi complex, and the lysosome.

Stage Five- I added Smooth endoplasmic reticulum.

Stage Six- I added the microtubules, and the centriole.

Final Stage- Is the finished cell with every part of it labled.

Each part of the cell work differently, the job of a nucleus is to be the control center of the cell. The nucleus in a human cell has forty-six chromosomes. This stores the instruction of the cell's activity. The nucleus has a membrane called a nuclear envelope. The nucleus is like a vault. It contains the cell's DNA.

The Nucleolus of a cell is the sites of Ribosome Assembly. It consists of RNA, proteins, and ribosome in different synthesis, and DNA.

Cytoplasm is made up of all of a cell's internal contents, so all the organelles except the nucleus. Cytoplasm is composed of 65% water, with as much as a billion molecules contained within the cytoplasm of one single cell. The cytoplasm contains enzymes, and dissolved nutrients like amino acids and sugars.

The cell membrane is one of the many organelles that a cell contains. All cells of mammals hold a nucleus surrounded by a nucleus membrane. Ribosome, composed of RNA and protein, are important organelles. The beadlike ribosome is the site of protein synthesis. Its function is to maintain cells shape by holding all the different parts of the cell in an advanced web.

The microtubules are tubes consisting of two proteins. They control the movement of chromosomes during cell division, the movement of organelles within cytoplasm, and the movement of cilia and flagella. The Golgi apparatus is an extremely important organelle in both plant and animal cells. The Golgi body consists of layers of sacs. These sacs have a very thin membrane. Vesicles are pinching off the edges of the sacs. This organelle has two parts to its function. First, it acts in the modification of lipids and proteins. Secondly, it serves to store and package materials for exportation from the cell. The Golgi body works together with the vesicles. They move back and forth from the organelle to the cell membrane carrying the packaged materials to the outside of the cell. The Golgi body is located near the nucleus of the cell. The function of the endoplasmic reticulum is to transport chemicals between and within cells.

Online Lab #1

The microscope is an invaluable tool in today's research and education. It is used in a wide range of scientific fields, where major discoveries in biology, medicine and materials research are based on advances in microscopy.
From the simple light microscope different techniques have evolved, aimed at making it possible to see certain objects or processes. Scientists use electron microscopes in order to get extraordinary resolution, microscopes that give three-dimensional images of surfaces or biological molecules, and microscopes that mark out specific substances.
The science of investigating small objects using such an instrument is called microscopy, and the term microscopic means minute or very small, not easily visible with the unaided eye. In other words, requiring a microscope to examine.
The most common type of microscope—and the first to be invented—is the optical microscope. This is an optical instrument containing one or more lenses that produce an enlarged image of an object placed in the focal plane of the lens(es). There are, however, many other microscope designs.

Focus Knob Adjustment:

Tension of the coarse and fine adjustment knobs can be adjusted. Again, various mechanical methods have been designed. Some microscopes are adjusted by simply turning the knobs on each side of the microscope in opposite directions to tighten or loosen as desired. Others have adjustable collars on the shaft and require the use of specially designed collar-wrenches or allen wrenches to make the adjustments. Moving the collars out usually provides more tension. If your microscope requires unique collar-wrenches, obtain these from your microscope supplier.

Condenser
A lens or system of lenses which collects light rays and converges them to a focus.
Depth of field
The ability of a lens to furnish an image above and below the focal plane; depth of field decreases with the increase in aperture or with an increase in magnification.
DIN
(Abbreviation for Deutsches Institut fur Normung) A German national standards body which has set internationally accepted standards for a variety of devices, including optics.
Field of view
The area which is seen through a lens system. In a microscope, it is the circular area viewed through the eyepiece. It will vary depending upon the magnification.
High power
The high power objective in the nosepiece of the microscope. Usually the objective in the 40X range is called the high power objective. If the scope has an oil immersion lens (100X), it is not referred to as the high power objective.
Intermediate power
The middle power objective; usually 10X.
Low power
The lowest power objective; usually 4X.
Magnification
The number of times an object is increased in size by a lens system.
Numerical aperture (N.A.)
A mathematical formula devised by Ernst Abbe for the direct comparison of the resolving power of objective lenses; the higher the N.A. the more complex and expensive the lens system becomes.
Parfocal
Characteristic of a microscope which allows the rotation from one objective to another and only requiring a small, fine focus adjustment to be in focus.
Ocular lens
The lenses closest to the eye; also called the eyepieces.
Objective lens
Any of the compound lenses mounted on the nosepiece.
Oil immersion
A high power objective (usually 100X) which requires an oil medium to focus the maximum light when in focus.
Rack and pinion
A device for interconversion of a rotary motion and a linear motion. Turning the pinion (small cog wheel) engaged in the rack (toothed bar) causes the slow linear motion of the up and down movement in the microscope.
Resolving power
The capacity of the optics to distinguish and separate fine detail, i.e., two points. The resolving power is limited by the N.A. of the objective and the substage condenser. The higher the N.A. the greater the resolving power.

Microscopes are separated into two main types:
optical theory microscopes
scanning probe microscopes
Optical theory microscopes - microscopes which function through the optical theory of lenses in order to magnify the image generated by the passage of a wave through the sample.

This is what I saw at 40x magnification.

Copendium Review # 2

For Chapters 18-21:

--Cell division: Mitosis

Cell division is an elegant process that enables organisms to grow and reproduce. Through a sequence of steps, the replicated genetic material in a parent cell is equally distributed to two daughter cells. While there are some subtle differences, mitosis is remarkably similar across organisms. Before a dividing cell enters mitosis, it undergoes a period of growth called interphase. Interphase is the "holding" stage or the stage between two successive cell divisions. In this stage, the cell replicates its genetic material and organelles in preparation for division. Mitosis is composed of several stages:

Prophase

-In prophase, the chromatin condenses into discrete chromosomes. The nuclear envelope breaks down and spindles form at opposite "poles" of the cell.

Metaphase

-In metaphase, the chromosomes are aligned at the metaphase plate.

Anaphase

-In anaphase, the paired chromosomes move to opposite ends of the cell.

Telophase

-In this last stage, the chromosomes are cordoned off in distinct new nuclei in the emerging daughter cells. Cytokinesis is also occurring at this time.At the end of mitosis, two distinct cells with identical genetic material are produced.

--Mitosis vs. Meiosis

Mitosis-

~Produces body cells(Somatic cells)

~Daughter cells diploid(2N)

~Two daughter cells produced

~In metaphase chromosomes line up singley

~One nuclear division

~Produces cells for growth and repair

~Daughter cells have two sets of chromosomes(pairs)

~Daughter cells are genetically identical to the parent cell

~Insures that all daughter cells are genetically identical

Meiosis:

~Produces sex cells(Gametes)

~Daughter cells haploid(N)

~Four daughter cells produced

~In metaphase I chromosomes line up as homologous pairs(synapsis)The two double chromosomes are called a tetrad when they are lined up side-by-side.Crossing over occurs during the formation of the tetrad.

~Two nuclear divisions

~Produces cells for sexual reproduction

~Daughter cells have only one member of each pair of chromosomes

~Daughter cells have one-half of the genes from the parent cell

~Generates genetic diversity through crossing over and ramdom seperation of homologous pairs of chromosomes

--Cancer The cancer cell
Cancer cells are different to normal cells in several ways. These are some features of cancer cells
They carry on reproducing
They don't obey signals from other neighbouring cells
They don't stick together
They don't become specialized, but stay immature
They don't die if they move to another part of the body
Cancer cells don't stop reproducingUnlike normal cells, cancer cells do not stop reproducing after they have doubled 50 or 60 times. This means that a cancer cell will go on and on and on doubling. So one cell becomes 2, then 4, then 8, then 16.... The cancer cells may be able to stop themselves self destructing. Or they may self destruct more slowly than they reproduce, so that their numbers continue to increase. Eventually a tumour is formed that is made up of billions of copies of the original cancerous cell. Scientists describe cancer cells as being 'immortal'.
Cancer cells do not obey signals. Something in the cancer cells overrides the normal signalling systen.This may be because the genes that tell the cell to reproduce keep on and on firing. Or because the genes that normally tell the cell to stop reproducing have been damaged or lost. So the cancer cell keeps on doubling, regardless of the damage the extra cells cause to the part of the body where the cancer is growing.
Cancer cells do not stick together

Cancer cells can lose the molecules on their surface that keep normal cells in the right place. So they can become detached from their neighbours. This partly explains how cancer cells spread to other parts of the body.
Cancer cells do not become specialised, Unlike normal cells, cancer cells do not carry on maturing once they have been made. In fact, the cells in a cancer can become even less mature over time. With all the reproducing, it is not surprising that more of the genetic information in the cell can become lost. So the cells become more and more primitive and tend to reproduce more quickly and even more haphazardly. A doctor will mention about the 'grade' of your cancer. This means how well developed or mature the cell looks under a microscope. The more the cancer cell looks like a normal cell, the more it will behave like one
The more normal a cancer cell looks, the lower its grade
The more abnormal or less well developed a cancer cell is, the higher its grade. A doctor may call this 'differentiation'. Cells can be well differentiated, moderately differentiated, or poorly differentiated. This is the same as low, medium or high grade. Other doctors may talk about grades 1, 2, or 3, where grade 1 is low grade.Although there are many different ways of talking about this, it all comes down to the same thing. A low grade cancer is likely to be less aggressive in its behaviour than a high grade one. Doctors cannot be certain how the cells will behave. But grade is a useful indicator. Grade is one of the factors doctors use to decide on treatment with some types of cancer.

--Genetic Inheritance:

Researchers have identified over 15,000 genetically inherited human traits. More than 5,000 of them are diseases or other abnormalities. As we learn more about the inheritance patterns for these traits, it is becoming clear that at least some of the twelve exceptions to the simple Mendelian rules of inheritance described here are, in fact, relatively common. Genes that follow simple rules of dominance increasingly seem to be rare. It would not be surprising if other "exceptions" to Mendelian genetics were discovered in the future.

Some traits are determined by the combined effect of more than one pair of genes. These are referred to as polygenic , or continuous, traits. An example of this is human stature. The combined size of all of the body parts from head to foot determines the height of an individual. There is an additive effect. The sizes of all of these body parts are, in turn, determined by numerous genes. Human skin, hair, and eye color are also polygenic traits because they are influenced by more than one allele at different loci. The result is the perception of continuous gradation in the expression of these traits.

Apparent blending can occur in the phenotype when there is incomplete dominance resulting in an intermediate expression of a trait in heterozygous individuals. For instance, in primroses, snapdragons, and four-o'clocks, red or white flowers are homozygous while pink ones are heterozygous. The pink flowers result because the single "red" allele is unable to code for the production of enough red pigment to make the petals dark red.

For some traits, two alleles can be codominant. That is to say, both are expressed in heterozygous individuals. An example of this is people who have an AB blood type for the ABO blood system. When they are tested, these individuals actually have the characteristics of both type A and type B blood. Their phenotype is not intermediate between the two.

There are three categories of genes that may have different effects depending on an individual's gender. These are referred to as:
1. sex-limited genes
2.sex-controlled genes
3.genome imprinting
Sex-limited genes are ones that are inherited by both men and women but are normally only expressed in the phenotype of one of them. The heavy male beard is an example. While women have facial hair it is most often very fine and comparatively sparse.

--Sex-Linked Inheritance

alleles on sex chromosomes are inherited in predictable patterns. For example, in Drosophila the locus for eye color is located on the X chromosome. The allele for red eye color, which is normal in wild flies, is dominant to the mutant allele for white eyes.
As females have two chromosomes X (with a locus for eye color), they might be homozygous or heterozygous for either allele.Males, who carry only one X chromosome, are always hemizygous. They carry only the one X chromosome inherited from their mother, and it determines their eye color.

For Exaple-Homozygous red eyed females (RR) mate with hemizygous white eyed males (w-). In the offspring, all the daughters are red eyed heterozygotes (Rw) and all sons are red eyed hemizygotes (R-). In the right hand, homozygous white eyed females (ww) mate with hemizygous red eyed males (R-). In the offspring, all the daughters are red eyed heterozygotes (Rw) and all sons are white eyed hemizygotes (w-).

Compendium Review # 1

For Chapters 1-4:

--Basic Characteristics of Life
Life has an astounding variety of forms and occupies a diverse range of habitats. Yet all life shares common characteristics. The structure of DNA, the ability to respond to environmental stimuli, and the existence of a finite lifespan are common to all living organisms. The characteristics shared by all living things and how organisms acquire their basic needs from their environment.

Cells are the basic and fundamental units of life

Carbohydrates are made up of simple sugars and its function is Energy.

Protiens are made up of Amino Acids and its functions is Catalyze reactions.

Fats are made up of Amino Acids and its function is the cell membrane.

DNA/RNA are made up of Nucleotides and its function is Information.

--Molecules of Life
All living organism pass information from one generation to the next with genetic material containing the information needed to construct a complete organism. The number of genes vary from organism to organism.The gene is the unit of genetic infomation. More complex organisms require a greater number of genes to perform life functions. A gene does not function autonomously, but relies upon other cellular components for its function.All cellular activities obey the known laws of physics and chemistry.What are genes made of?All genes regardless of the type of organism are made of the same basic building blocks called nucleic acids. These nucleic acids combine to form long strands know as deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). There are four different types of DNA adenine (A), cytosine (C), thymine (T), Guanine (G)

--Cell Structure & Function

Cell MembraneStructure

- same as unit membrane.

Function

- acts as a boundary layer to contain the cytoplasm (fluid in cell)

- interlocking surfaces bind cells together

- selectively permeable to select chemicals that pass in and out of cells
Cell Wall

Structure
- a non-living secretion of the cell membrane, composed of cellulose
- cellulose fibrils deposited in alternating layers for strength
- contains pits (openings) that make it totally permeableFunction
- provides protection from physical injury
- together with vacuole, provides skeletal support
- a single layer of unit membrane enclosing fluid in a sack

Function
- produces turgor pressure against cell wall for support
- stores water and various chemicals
- may store insoluble wastes

Nucleus
The nucleus consists of the nuclear envelope, nucleolus, chromatin, and nucleoplasm.

Nuclear Envelope
Structure

-two unit membranes with a fluid-filled space

-nuclear pores present

-outer membrane may be continuous with endoplasmic reticulum
Function

-selectively permeable to control movement in or out -contains nuclear contents

Chromatin
Structure

-composed of long thin strands of DNA
Function

-contains instructions that control cell metabolism and heredity

Nucleolus
Structure

-non-membraneous matrix of RNA (ribonucleic acid) and protein
Function

- instructions in DNA are copied here

- works with ribosomes in the synthesis of protein

Chloroplast
Structure

- composed of a double layer of modified membrane (protein, chlorophyll, lipid)

- inner membrane invaginates to form layers called "grana" (sing.,granum) where chlorophyll is concentrated
Function

- site of photosynthesis
chlorophyll Carbon Dioxide + Water --> Glucose +Oxygen radiant energy (food)

Centriole
Structure

- nine triplets of microtubules form one centriole

- two centrioles form one centrosome
Function

- forms spindle fibres to separate chromosomes during cell division

Endoplasmic Reticulum (ER)
Structure

- sheets of unit membrane with ribosomes on the outside

- forms a tubular network throughout the cell

Function

- transports chemicals between cells and within cells

- provides a large surface area for the organization of chemical reactions and synthesis

Ribosome
Structure

- non-membraneous, spherical bodies composed of RNA (ribonucleic acid) and protein enzymes
Function

- site of protein synthesis

Golgi Apparatus
Structure

- stacks of flattened sacs of unit membrane (cisternae)

- vesicles pinch off the edges
Function

- modifies chemicals to make them functional

- secretes chemicals in tiny vesicles

- stores chemicals

- may produce endoplasmic reticulum

Mitochondrion
Structure

- composed of modified double unit membrane (protein, lipid)

- inner membrane infolded to form cristae
Function

- site of cellular respiration ie. the release of chemical energy from food
Glucose + Oxygen --> Carbon Dioxide + Water + Energy (ATP)

Lysosome
Structure

- membrane bound bag containing hydrolytic enzymes

- hydrolytic enzyme = (water split biological catalyst). using water to split chemical bonds
Function

- break large molecules into small molecules by inserting a molecule of water into the chemical bond

--Cell Organelles

Living cells are divided into two types

- procaryotic and eucaryotic

This division is based on internal complexity.

Eucaryotic:

The cells of protozoa, higher plants and animals are highly structured. These cells tend to be larger than the cells of bacteria, and have developed specialized packaging and transport mechanisms that may be necessary to support their larger size.

Procaryotic:

These cells are simple in structure, with no recognizable organelles. They have an outer cell wall that gives them shape. Just under the rigid cell wall is the more fluid cell membrane. The cytoplasm enclosed within the cell membrane does not exhibit much structure when viewed by electron microscopy.

--Various Tissues

There are four major tissue types in the body.

1. Connective-

Connective tissues bind structures together, and form a framework and support for organs and the body as a whole, it store fat, transport substances, protect against disease, and help repair tissue damage. They occur throughout the body. Connective tissues are characterized by an abundance of intercellular matrix with relatively few cells. Connective tissue cells are able to reproduce but not as rapidly as epithelial cells. Most connective tissues have a good blood supply but some do not.
2. Muscular-

Muscle tissue is composed of cells that have the special ability to shorten or contract in order to produce movement of the body parts. The tissue is highly cellular and is well supplied with blood vessels. The cells are long and slender so they are sometimes called muscle fibers, and these are usually arranged in bundles or layers that are surrounded by connective tissue. Actin and myosin are contractile proteins in muscle tissue.

3. Nervous-
Nervous tissue is found in the brain, spinal cord, and nerves. It is responsible for coordinating and controlling many body activities. It stimulates muscle contraction, creates an awareness of the environment, and plays a major role in emotions, memory, and reasoning. To do all these things, cells in nervous tissue need to be able to communicate with each other by way of electrical nerve impulses.

4. Epithelial-

Epithelial tissues are widespread throughout the body. They form the covering of all body surfaces, line body cavities and hollow organs, and are the major tissue in glands. They perform a variety of functions that include protection, secretion, absorption, excretion, filtration, diffusion, and sensory reception.

Intro

Hello~ My name is Elizabeth Meyer, I am taking this class mainly because it is a requirement to have towards my degree. Science has never been my strong subject, and I honestly have tried to avoid it as long as possible. I always find that I do not do very well in a science of any sort. I am majoring in Elementary Education, and am hoping to start the Education program next spring. I am very excited to finally start persueing my passion.
A few interesting things about me, is one I am a big MOVIEHOLIC. I love movies, I pretty much have my very own video rental store at my apartment. Okay maybe not that many, but I love them, i love watching them at home, and going out to the movies.
I also LOVE spending time with my amazing boyfriend, we have been dating for a little over three years, and completely content with it.
Lastly, is any sort of outdoor sport you can think of I love. I ride dirt bikes, quads, weight boarding, softball, going to the lake and just keeping active.