Who died?

Diagnosis: The man on the Thomson Creek Trail was an Olympic athlete, staying in shape by running on the trail when he had time. The man who shot him was a rival from Switzerland. The bullet entered the mans body above the third rib and then left the body near the eighth rib. By following the  bullets path, I determined that the bullet must have damaged the lung, aorta, heart, diaphragm, and liver. The athlete most likely died due to internal bleeding and lack of oxygen. Additionally, the ruptured liver released toxins into his system, causing other  internal complications.

Stem cells week two!!!

This week we started watching a move called "The Island", where "mad" scientists begin to create humans only for the use of harvesting their organs. This brings up the ethical questions related to stem cell research. Do humans have the right to play god? Some scientists argue that humans are already playing god by destroying habitat with pollution and construction.


Just like in the book Frankenstein, humans are warned time after time not to try to play god.--- Emily Hansen  However, there are people that see stem cell research in different light:

How far will stem cell research go? No one really knows, but research will continue. I learned to day in class that Obama Care has lightened some of the limits on stem cell research and given more funding to its cause. The UK has already developed many organs from pig organs so why can't the US?

Stem Cell Research and "The Island"

To be honest, stem cell research (especially the current research being done) is a very intimidating concept. The idea that humans can take over the role and the power that one usually considers to be in the hands of god is a scary thing. "The Island" clearly depicts this fact on a much larger scale than currently possible; however, their is always the possibility that their are some "mad' scientists out there.



 My question(s):

1.)Is it worth to put human morals and ethics aside in order to advance in stem cell research, or is it better to leave the option of human creation to the natural world?
If you think we should continue stem cell research, give  some reasons why the benefits outweigh  the moral problems. If you disagree, explain some disadvantages that stem cell research could or has brought up.

2.) Do you believe there are any real or current "mad" scientists in the world today? If so, give an example. Also, are any of the examples you have found supported by stem cell research?

Stem cell as a cure?

On the interactive site, (on page 9) I found it really interesting on how scientists said in about ten years hopefully these generated stem cells can help cure many diseases such as diabetes. Stem cells are useful because they are stuck in an embryonic stage that allows them to create any tissue that is needed or programmed.

 It made me wonder of stem cells could also be used to reverse the aging of the skin. However, we still have a while before that becomes an option in the medical field.  

Cancer week two

This week, our main focus is to be finalizing our research papers and checking in with our teacher. We also watched some videos giving some background on how cancer forms. Cancer usually forms from multiple mutations in cancer - suppressor genes. This transforms proto- oncogenes into oncogenes or cancer genes. 

^here are some of the ways these mutations can happen. 

Then we also learned about the RAS gene and the P53 gene that help control the crazy cell division that causes cancer. 

^This image shows some of the functions of the "guardian angle" gene 

Cancer week one

This week we started a new "unit" on cancer. The big project for this unit is the cancer paper. In class, we discussed the different types of research papers we could write. It took me a while to decide on my topic but with the help from my teacher, I decide on how canines can detect cancer in patients. 

In these scientist's experiments, they used breath samples from people with cancer and without cancer. Then they put these samples in front of trained dogs to see if they could sniff out the difference.