Friday, January 22, 2010

Genetic research question 7

· Yes we should try and use the gene therapy to concoct a cure for lethal disease but in the present time no cures have been found.

· Types of Genetic Testing

Carrier Identification includes genetic tests used by couples whose families have a history of recessive genetic disorders and who are considering having children. Three common tests include those for cystic fibrosis, Tay-Sachs disease, and sickle-cell trait.

Prenatal Diagnosis is genetic testing of a fetus. This may occur when there is a risk of bearing a child with genes associated with mental retardation or physical deterioration. Down Syndrome is one of the most common genetic diseases screened by this method.

Newborn Screening is frequently done as a preventative health measure. Tests usually have clear benefit to the newborn because treatment is available. Phenylketonuria and congenital hypothyroidism are conditions for which testing is conducted in all 52 states.

Late-onset Disorders include adult diseases such as cancer and heart disease. These diseases are complex and have both genetic and environmental causes. Genetic tests may indicate a susceptibility or predisposition for these diseases. There are diseases caused by single genes, such as Huntington's disease, that also are seen later in life and can be tested at any time.

· Curing?

As of now a person with a genetic disorder can undergo gene therapy, which is manipulating ones organism of genes to attempt to cure the disorder. Even though you could go into gene therapy there are no cures at the present time for the major diseases such as tay-sachs, cystic fibrosis, Huntington’s and downs. The genetic tests are able to detect if a person has the disease and where it’s located but as of now there is no ability to cure them.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

New third quarter book

For this post I decided to post about the book that I have chosen for my third quarter outside reading project.  I have gotten sick and tired of talking about lone survivor so I decided to talk about the book “Blades of Glory” written by John Rosengren.  This book is about the 2000-2001 Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars and the hockey season and team.  The kids mentioned in this book were born and bred to play hockey and they are also great members of society.  The book is a true story of a young high school hockey bred to win, that means undefeated and the state championship.  The Jaguars were very underrated and unexpected by many teams to beat the teams that were in front of the pack (aka the top 5 in state).  The book follows the talented you seventeen year old on the quest to glory, their coaches, their parents and their fans.  The book offers a unique view in side the art of an unexpected hockey to bred to be victorious. As the book says, for a championship hockey team like the Bloomington Jefferson Jaguars, hockey is religion and failing to win is a sin.  In Bloomington hockey was everything and this glorious team left behind and amazing legacy of near perfection, great demeanor, respect and honor to all and the great game of hockey.  The author of this book was given unlimited, season long access to every harsh reality and euphoric high these teammates experienced along the path to their glorious near perfection season. Blades of glory puts immense focus on the challenges that high-school student athletes face throughout the course of just one season.  Theses challenges include suicide, divorce and many others.  This book follows only one team but it can happen to any and every team in the nation. 

Wednesday, January 7, 2009

Lone survivor 5

Now in Lone Survivor Marcus has gotten past the BUD/S “Hell Week” and is stuck on the Seals underwater comprehensive test which is basically where the official harasses you while you try and hold your breath and re-attach your scuba tank air supply.  If your feet touch the ground you fail or if you can’t get the not un-done but it was possible you fail.  For Marcus, this should have been easy but he thought the not was one that was impossible but the officials got it un-done so he failed.  The next time he made sure that he passed.  After all of that he traveled to the final stage of training, the advanced seal training, which is basically actual warfare training.  Marcus and the other people who passed BUD/S are now traveling to different bases to practice different tactics such as, sniping, demolitions, hand to hand and underwater fighting.  For Marcus the sniper school was most difficult because you couldn’t give up your locations so you had to move very slowly and stealthy.  For a sniper precision, accuracy and stealth are everything.  Once he passed that he moved to what is known as Graduation Island because it is the final stage where you put everything together before graduation.  Here Marcus goes through advanced demolitions and has to pass several tests to become a unique person, a U.S. Navy Seal.  After his graduation he was sent immediately to the Middle East where he went into the mountains. (At this point the flashback is over) Marcus and SDV Seal team 10 is traveling through Hindu Kush Mountains on the border or Pakistan and Afghanistan waiting for any Taliban fighters to engage with.  They are looking for the secret cave and Osama Bin Laden.  It’s really hard for the American soldiers because the Taliban fighters look like civilian farmers and they have to wait until they are shot at to engage, so if they don’t do so they will be charged for murder. 

Lone survivor 4

At this point in Lone survivor Marcus has just past through the Indoc training for the navy seals.  As he explained in the book the Indoc training is just to prepare you for what is the most intense training in the world, Navy Seals BUD/S training.  This training is the elongated intense everyday workout of what it takes to become a seal.  In BUD/S the first week or two in intense but nothing compared to “Hell Week.”  In the first week or two you will experience and go through these underwater tests and running tests.  As “Hell Week” rolls around it is the hardest week in the entire world the most grueling training for any military branch ever.  It all starts on Sunday when you get a briefing and then tons of military official break down the doors and fire bullets ( blanks that is) left and right.  Your ears are buzzing and it’s so loud you can’t hear anything.  Then the yell, “Go get wet and sandy, ladies.” The first couple of days are just like that the officials yelling and screaming at you, and you have to run everyone.  If you are caught walking you have to drop and “push’em out” as they say, and then get wet and sandy (which me runs into chilling ocean and the roll around in sand)

Tuesday, January 6, 2009

Lone survivor 4

At this point in Lone survivor Marcus has just past through the Indoc training for the navy seals.  As he explained in the book the Indoc training is just to prepare you for what is the most intense training in the world, Navy Seals BUD/S training.  This training is the elongated intense everyday workout of what it takes to become a seal.  In BUD/S the first week or two in intense but nothing compared to “Hell Week.”  In the first week or two you will experience and go through these underwater tests and running tests.  As “Hell Week” rolls around it is the hardest week in the entire world the most grueling training for any military branch ever.  It all starts on Sunday when you get a briefing and then tons of military official break down the doors and fire bullets ( blanks that is) left and right.  Your ears are buzzing and it’s so loud you can’t hear anything.  Then the yell, “Go get wet and sandy, ladies.” The first couple of days are just like that the officials yelling and screaming at you, and you have to run everyone.  If you are caught walking you have to drop and “push’em out” as they say, and then get wet and sandy (which me runs into chilling ocean and the roll around in sand)

Lobe survivor 4

At this point in Lone survivor Marcus has just past through the Indoc training for the navy seals.  As he explained in the book the Indoc training is just to prepare you for what is the most intense training in the world, Navy Seals BUD/S training.  This training is the elongated intense everyday workout of what it takes to become a seal.  In BUD/S the first week or two in intense but nothing compared to “Hell Week.”  In the first week or two you will experience and go through these underwater tests and running tests.  As “Hell Week” rolls around it is the hardest week in the entire world the most grueling training for any military branch ever.  It all starts on Sunday when you get a briefing and then tons of military official break down the doors and fire bullets ( blanks that is) left and right.  Your ears are buzzing and it’s so loud you can’t hear anything.  Then the yell, “Go get wet and sandy, ladies.” The first couple of days are just like that the officials yelling and screaming at you, and you have to run everyone.  If you are caught walking you have to drop and “push’em out” as they say, and then get wet and sandy (which me runs into chilling ocean and the roll around in sand)

Sunday, January 4, 2009

Lone survivor 3

Up to now in the book Lone Survivor, Marcus has told us what he is up to in the Middle East with navy seal team SDV 10.  But, at this point in the book Marcus has taken us to a flashback into the world of the intense grueling training that a person must go through to become a U.S. navy seal.  The training is tough and painful it takes about a year or so to complete all of the stages at the base in Coronado.  The training has several stages the first of which is navy seal Indoc which is basically a brief overview of what the next stages are going to be like.  As you go through Indoc you get pushed to your limits because the instructors are getting you ready for what is the most painful, grueling and intense training any military personal goes through, that is the training of navy seals.  In the Indoc the trainees go through several exercises such as underwater exams ( holding breathe, scuba diving, and regular swimming) also they go through intense muscular work outs and have to run everywhere.  The next stage after Indoc is BUD/S training which has the hardest week ever known to man, Hell Week.