...Patrick Zimmer Home | Projects | Music | Sitemap | Contact Genetic Engineering Essay Projects / Academic / Genetic Engineering Essay GENETIC ENGINEERING - The benefits and problems Genetic engineering is a powerful and potentially very dangerous tool. To alter the sequence of nucleotides of the DNA that code for the structure of a complex living organism, can have extremely ill effects although the potential benefits can be huge. Before advances in genetic applications, gene therapy was unheard of and genetic defects were always inherited, plaguing generations. Today genetic testing is widely available, such as prenatal karyotyping of chromosomes to check for genetic abnormalities. Genetic testing is also useful for families in which autosomal recessive disorders are known to exist, when these are planning to have children. In addition, genetic testing is available for people who might have inherited a genetic disorder which only becomes apparent later in life (for example Huntington's Disease). Individual choice decides whether a person would rather know if they are particularly vulnerable to certain diseases or more likely to die young. Knowing that your life may be short could inspire you to make the most of it while it could equally well cause severe depression. Today`s advances in gene therapy make it possible to even remove a faulty gene and replace it with a functioning gene in cells lacking this function. Though these techniques are available, they are still in...
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...of biotechnology in medical field has brought tons of benefits to people. For an example, diabetes are now being able to be controlled better by having a synthetically produced insulin through the recombinant plasmid inserted into a bacteria- Escherichia coli. Insulin that is able to be produced in a large amount and a much lower cost to be compared to the extraction from cattle or pigs which is the previous method in getting insulin. Moreover, Dr. Michio Kaku which is a physicist and also a futurist have shown us in his video about the scientists are now trying to repair and grow human organs and tissues in the labs. Replacement organs such as blood vessels, kidney and other tissues are now being grown in the lab without the need of growing those on lab mouse! Furthermore, Dr. Michio also show us that the great improvement in our understanding in biology through the Human Genome Project where many diseases are now able to be treated and cured. More incredibly, we will be able to save our...
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...Is Ipilimumab the best solution for the treatment of malignant melanoma? Chloe Walton Malignant melanoma although rare is a form of cancer that without treatment progresses at an extremely fast rate. The development of drugs to try to halt the rapid rate at which malignant melanoma can grow and infect another organ of the body is an on going project by specialists. Dr Alison developed Ipilimumab in 1999 and it was found in the clinical trials that it does, in most cases, exactly what medical professionals have been looking for. However drugs such as ipilimumab come with risks associated with them. This poses the question of whether the benefits outweigh the risks and cost of the drug. Skin and how malignant melanoma develops Skin is the largest organ in our body, responsible for creating a barrier between the outside and our internal organs. The skin is made up of three layers. The first layer is the epidermis, which is made up of mainly keratinocytes; they make micro-layers, which continually grow outwards to compensate for old layers dying and flaking off. Within the epidermis Langerhans cells are contained which alert the immune system to virus’ and bacterium. The next layer is the dermis, which gives the skin its strength due to the elastin and collagen fibres. Also present in the dermis are; blood vessels which allows the skins temperature to be maintained, and nerves which pick up feelings of heat, pain etc. and relay to the brain. The final layer is the...
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...Matthew Schopp Professor Mary Frances Heinsohn English 2210.28 9/27/2012 Tartuffe: Not a Christian! Do Not Be Fooled! In the French play Tartuffe, playwright and actor Jean-Baptiste Poquelin Molière creates a character whose treachery and capacity for evil know no limits. The character named Tartuffe reveals throughout the play that his nature, though seeming to be humble and pious, actually reeks of foul treachery and deception. His pious shell that he wears so pompously, places him among those who exploit the church for their own means by using an exterior false piety. This false piety fools only two characters, yet the effects of the deception nearly deal very harsh consequences. The Oxford English Dictionary defines piety as “the quality of being religious or reverent .” A negative connotation does not usually resound when the topic of piety is discussed. In fact, those who practice piety generally receive higher levels of respect from all. Tartuffe exploits the trust and respect of a French Nobleman named Orgon, having no intentions other than to bring evil schemes to his household. Tartuffe solidifies his title as a villain because of his air of being pious while having no intentions to bring glory to God, only putting on pleasantries to deceive, thus fulfilling the true definition of false piety. Tartuffe makes it very clear that he has devious intentions from his very first scene of play. In act III scene 2 Tartuffe makes his first appearance and is seen very...
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...use and disuse of one of these sense can affect the others. Sight is also a major sense for both authors and they explore how the senses of vision relates to the use of other senses. In this essay I will show how that the “architecture of the mind” is nothing more than the structure of one’s mind and that sight is a major component of this structure, regardless of it being retinal or imaginative, and that when one sense is lost our minds restructure and strengthen the other senses. The mind shares many functions with architecture, such as the processes of observing, designing, constructing, selecting and supervising. The mind conducts these processes with our senses just like an architect conducts each of these processes for every project they create. The mind develops a certain way depending on the senses we use and the way that we use them. A question that is raised by both Pallasmaa and Sacks is whether or not we as humans are capable of controlling our minds. In Sacks’ essay he explores the questions “but to what extent are we-our experiences, our...
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...Project 2.1.3: Map-A-Brain | Name: Lauren Caplinger Date: Block: Introduction---highlight important info The brain is a truly amazing organ. But while there is a good deal we know about the way it functions, there is still much that is unknown. Neuroscientists have the daunting task of trying to decipher how this one structure can control every aspect of our lives. Over the years, scientists have worked tirelessly to uncover the mystery of the human brain. They have studied the external features of the head, the internal structures of the brain and the effect of injuries on this organ to understand how this one organ is able to control the functioning of every human system. In this activity, you will explore the case of Phineas Gage, a young man who, in the 1800’s, suffered a horrific brain injury and simply walked away. He recovered and went on to live many more years, but his friends and co-workers said he was never the same. Physical wounds healed, but internal damage changed the personality of the man they all knew. His case will introduce you to the way our brain works and to the way in which specific areas of the brain control different parts of our personality and our ability to function. You will also explore the history of mapping the function of the human brain, from early methods based purely on observation to current methods using high-tech scans and measurements. In Activity 2.1.2, you built a brain on your Maniken® and explored the primary...
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...cases is adheres to these traditions. It is vital to be able to see the overall message in a pop culture text in order to understand its implications. Some texts hold messages that were not intended to be there in the first place. There will forever be controversy when it comes to pop culture, especially when it comes to television shows, as the average Canadian watches 30 hours of T.V a week. (Ryan, 2013) When being constantly exposed to these messages it is important to know what information you are being fed. Some shows are more complex than others, and consist of mixed messages when looking at them from a feminist standpoint. One example of this would be The Mindy Project, a sitcom that first aired in 2012, and has since gained an average of $2.34 million viewers per episode, (IMDb, 2012) The Mindy Project is packed full of messages that can be depicted from a feminist standpoint, but are often blurred behind the hilarity it is known for. To give a brief synopsis of the show, Mindy Lahiri, played by Mindy Kaling, also the director of the show is the main character and also the narrator. The show is about her life as a young OB/GYN, navigating through her professional life and romantic relationships with the help of her friends and coworkers. Gender roles are what it is to be male or female, males being masculine and females being feminine. Some common words that are used to describe femininity are: dependent, emotional passive, sensitive, quiet, graceful, innocent, weak...
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...(1 page). ‘On the origin of species by means of natural selection : or, The preservation of favoured races in the struggle for life’ by Charles Darwin (1860) was the first book to put forward the scientific theory that populations evolve over a period of generations by the process of natural selection. The first part of the book described observations in support of common descent. One such observation is that of the homologous structures possessed by a wide variety of animals. Darwin used the fact that lizards, bats, whales, birds, frogs cats and even humans all contain a pent dactyl limb to support his theory that all life is descended from one common ancestor. As he says himself , “What can be more curious than that the hand of a man, formed for grasping, that of a mole for digging, the leg of the horse, the paddle of the porpoise, and the wing of the bat, should all be constructed on the same pattern, and should include the same bones, in the same relative positions?”(Darwin 1860) Another observation of common descent from the first part of Darwin’s book is that of convergence of form. This is the presence of similar biological traits in members of different species. Darwin illustrated this using the example of the finches. He observed a variety of forms encountered in related species that converge upon forms in unrelated species adapted to similar environments( Dr John Finarelli 2012). The similarity in embryology between members of different species is another...
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...England in the 1990s, Ishiguro presents two distinct classes in a power driven culture in which one class works and the other gains the benefits. In the novel, Kathy notes that the recovery centers are run at minimum costs to maximize profit. Specifically, Kathy says: “you can always hear traffic on the big roads beyond the fencing, and there’s a general feeling they never properly finished converting the place” (Ishiguro). In the beginning of the novel, Kathy mentions a higher class “they” Who hold complete control and get to decide how long she gets to work as a carer. Throughout the story, it is learned that there are people in society who receive the organs donated by the clones. Through Kathy’s descriptive...
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...have been considered by some people to be deviant acts and are not socially accepted. Controversial issues relating to the altering of human organisms has created a stigma of being a deviant act. Extensive research for scientific breakthroughs and innovative technological advancements in the medicine field has provided the necessary tools to improve human life. Many would argue that genetically altering human organisms is immoral and would cause problems beyond our control in the near future. In the following scenario, a doctor has made it clear that whether or not a patent is granted for his research, he will continue with studies either in the United States or overseas. A patent can be approved if all measures of the project have been consented upon by the Federal Government which would allow the creator the opportunity to protect the invention or discovery from other companies trying to create replicas to seek profit. Fortunately, this doctor does not need to be concerned with continuing the research since no law prohibits anyone from conducting further research in the United States if the patent is not granted. No prohibitions exist on scouting other national policies and regulations regarding patents using computer advancement to have the capability...
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...invasion of Japan. But with Allied casualties from an invasion estimated to reach 1 million deaths — plus another 10 million Japanese casualties, including civilians — Allied planners searched for another way to end the war, which they found in the Manhattan Project. Advertisement This is a mockup of "Little Boy," the atomic bomb that was dropped over Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945. This is a mockup of "Little Boy," the atomic bomb that was dropped over Hiroshima, Japan, on Aug. 6, 1945. Credit: U.S. National Archives The Manhattan Project Concerned over reports that Nazi Germany was developing a new type of weapon using radioactive uranium, in 1939 U.S. government officials began to investigate the potential of uranium — particularly the uranium-235 isotope — for making a powerful bomb. Within a matter of months, a coalition of American, British and European scientists — many of whom were refugees from Germany, Italy and other fascist nations — began collaborating on a vast international project to develop a uranium-based bomb before any Axis powers beat them to it. Because one early component of the project was based in the U.S. Army's Manhattan District, the name Manhattan Project...
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...Pancreatic Cancer Wendy Carlin Unit 4 Capstone Project: Pancreatic Cancer Kaplan University 6/25/2013 Abstract Andre is a 69-year-old man who was just diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He owns a chain of Italian restaurants and is well known in the community. He is married and has a large family including children, grandchildren and great-grandchildren. Every holiday all of his family is treated to a home cooked meal that Andre prepares himself. This year he is concerned that he may not be able to cook for an upcoming holiday. This saddens Andre and he feels depressed. Pancreatic Cancer is a cancer that starts in the tissues of the pancreas and because the pancreas is a gland, the most common type of pancreatic cancer is adenocarcinoma. Adeno means relating to a gland and carcinoma is cancer, so adenocarcinoma is cancer of a gland. (Mandal, Dr.) The average age of people with pancreatic cancer is between 70 and 80, and it is more common in men than women. There are two ways a pancreatic cancer can be diagnosed; clinically and pathologically. A clinical diagnosis is done by radiology and or the physician’s evaluation by lab test and the physical exam. A pathological diagnosis is by taking a tissue sample from the primary or metastatic (cancer spread) site and having a pathologist exam the tissue. By looking at these cells, the pathologist can tell if there is cancer and what the primary site is. Because the pancreas is located deep within the body, it is hard...
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...| Leonardo Da Vinci | Renaissance Man | | Jenny Bevier | 8/20/2010 | | Very few that have ever lived have been acknowledged as a genius. Leonardo Da Vinci was a renaissance man who was a true pioneer of his time. Though he is best known as an artist, he was far more than that. Leonardo was also an engineer, inventor, and scientist. He had one of the best scientific minds of his time. He carried out research in fields ranging from architecture and civil engineering to astronomy, anatomy, geography, geology, and paleontology. Leonardo was a renaissance man whose works of art and studies of mechanics and science paved the way for many artists, engineers, and doctors today. Da Vinci was born in 1452 in the small town of Anchiano, Italy. He was an illegitimate child of a Florentine Notary, Piero Da Vinci, and a peasant woman named Catrina (The World Wide Art Gallery, 2010, para. 2). Until the age of five Leonardo lived in the Hamlet of Anchiano with his mother. From 1457 on he lived with his father, grandparents, and uncle Fracesco in the small town of Vinci, Italy. Da Vinci never received a formal education. However, he was informally taught Latin, geometry, and mathematics by his stepmother Alberia, and her mother in law Monna Lucia. Also, he learned from scholarly textbooks that were owned by various family members. When Leonardo was fifteen, he was apprenticed to the artist Andrea Di Cione, known as Verrocchio. During this time is when Leonardo was...
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...shoulders for hundreds to thousands of years. Bog bodies are found buried in peat and many internal organs, skin and facial features are still intact due to the incredible conditions of the bog, which include: highly acidic water, low temperature and little oxygen. There are many theories concerning reasons for these bodies in the bog, and much evidence to support them. Some of the ancient remains have been religiously/politically sacrificed, through which has been discovered by various archaeological investigations and also, the amazing environment and amount of preservation of the bogs themselves. When Cashel man was first discovered it was difficult for the archaeologists to be tell that he was human. The leading researcher Carol Smith said that it was difficult at first to be able to distinguish the body from the peat it was buried in, but when the body was sprayed with ionised water, the body began to take on human qualities. Cashel man was found in a bog near Cashel in Ireland (hence his name) but was damaged due to a milling machine, however the body was extremely well preserved. Radiocarbon suggests that he is the oldest bog body with intact skin in the world. Post-mortem, Cashel man had a broken arm, caused by a sharp object and had his back broken into two places. He also had a deep cut on his back, perhaps by the same sharp object that was used to break his arm. Cashel man encountered a horrific death, highlighted by Ned Kelly of the National Museum of Ireland, “A world...
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...White Themes of Modern History 27 February 2015 The Renaissance The Renaissance, literally meaning “rebirth”, was a time of great change from the previous era of history. The Renaissance is a rebirth of Greco-Roman culture and ideas that differ greatly from the medieval way of thinking. During this period of time there were intellectual, artistic, and educational advances that were seen as a bridge between the middle ages and the modern era. A great number of Renaissance advancements can be credited to a few “Renaissance men” who achieved revolutionary things in many fields. A Renaissance man is a term defined as “a person with many talents or areas of knowledge” and, unsurprisingly, there were many of these men during the Renaissance. A well-known Renaissance man is Leonardo Da Vinci who was a painter, engineer, mathematician, and many more things that make him a renaissance man. Da Vinci embodied the characteristics of the Renaissance in his artistic works and paintings. One such characteristic is the Greek technique of linear perspective. Linear perspective was a Greco-Roman way of painting that seems to have been lost during the middle ages. Linear perspective is a much more advanced method of painting that results in a strikingly realistic image if used in the hands of a skilled painter such as Da Vinci. Linear perspective involves tracing all images in the painting to connect to one point in terms of angular position. Using this technique grants the painter the ability...
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