Rachel+Song

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Homework #1: Death of cell
==== Just like a live organisms, cells also get old and die. In the human body, the specialized white blood cells called //macrophages(//which means "big eater" in Greek//)//. remove cells by eating them. There's two process that living cells become dead at a prescribed time. This process called apoptosis. The red blood cells has a limited time which is after 120 days of service. When cell dies, they still flow to the bloodstream or the organs, but not working. One interesting fact is that a macrophage cell can detect the dead cells through smell. When dead cells came to the bloodstream, the macrophage surround and remove it. During this process, macrophage covers the dead cells, which later help immune system to protect the harmful disease. When there's too many difference,====

[[image:holyokewikifall2011/Macrophage-3.jpg width="400" height="314"]]
Picture of Macrophage.

Pollick, M., & harris , B. (2011, June 26). How does the human body eliminate dead cells? ([])

**Assignment #1: Apoptosis**
Basically apoptosis is the death of the cell. It follows this step to the death (A). The breakdown of chromatin in the nucleus often leads to nuclear condensation and in many cases the nuclei of apoptotic cells take on a "horse-shoe" like appearance (B). Cells continue to shrink (C), packaging themselves into a form that allows for their removal by macrophages.

In some cases the apoptotic stimuli comprise extrinsic signals such as the binding of death inducing ligands to cell surface receptors called [|death receptors]. These ligands can either be soluble factors or can be expressed on the surface of cells such as cytotoxic T lymphocytes.(Hard words!)



"Apoptosis." Photograph. //Phil dash//. Web. 10 Oct 2011. []

Personal wiki #1: Skinniest girl in the World
There's a 21 year old women name Lizzie Velasquez. She lives just like normal people, but she is little different. Her disease caused by **undiagnosed genetic disorder**. Even though she eats like us, she never get fat. Her weight stays 62 pounds. For her, she needs to eat every 15 minutes to maintain 5000 to 6000 calories to survive. When she was born, she was so tiny and small, she had to wear toys clothes, because there wasn't any clothes that fit for her. She had hard time with school sometimes, because some people bullied her, but because her parents and friends, she could see her positive way of life. Now, her main work is to give a speech to young people how she felt when she was bullied. She says don't lose yourself. No matter how she looks she loves herself. In the World there's only 3 people who have that disease. You could see this disease is very rare.

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MEENA, MEENA HARTENSTEIN. "Lizzie Velasquez, 21-year-old with undiagnosed genetic disorder, must eat 60 times a day to survive Read more: []

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Personal wiki #2: Caffeine


Whenever we go to Tim Hortons, Star Bucks, or Timothy's, they always sell coffee.Drinking coffee makes me feel comfortable and warm. Every time I drink coffee, my parents said it contains a lot of caffeine, and it would make me awake all night, but fortunately I slept well. Anyway those caffeine made me curious about the function. Why does it make us hard to sleep? What other functions does caffeine contain? Caffeine is medically known as  trimethylxanthine. Caffeine is a white crystalline powder that taste very bitter. Some plants contain caffeine naturally. It also can be produced synthetically and used as an additive in food products. It is a central nervous system. To easy way to say about the function would be it makes you hyper. It makes you hard to sleep, because it touches nerve system. Caffeine is addictive. That's why its hard to stop drinking coffee. Caffeine can lead heartbeat fast, so it would be another reason for hyper. The thing that made me surprise most was that caffeine can prompt a loss of water in the beverages. That indicates caffeine makes hard to absorb calcium, which is needed for children for string teeth and bones. That is why caffeine is not good for children!



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**Personal #3 Tuberculosis**
In western Europe, around the end of the eighteenth century or the beginning of the nineteenth, horrifying disease appeared. People coughed, had fever, sweat at night and even lost weight. Soon people lost their life. It is one of the disease that took many people's life in this World. Death rate was 50%, and for global, it stole100 000 population. In 1882, one of the Berlin Physiologist named "Robert Koch" discovered bacteria, and show people real side of Tuberculosis. This bacteria is called mycobacterium tuberculosis. It came out from those of patients who is having Tuberculosis. When they cough, bacteria goes through the air, and effect people. This disease is very strange. When you were effected by Tuberculosis first time, you can cure it. About 30% survived, but 10% of Tuberculosis comes again. When it comes again, it wouldn't listen your treatment, then you would die. Still, these days, very few people die, because of this disease. When Tuberculosis attacks you, you are not able to stop coughing. Then blood will come out while coughing. Then dyspnoea happens, and you die. Also Tuberculosis can happen all over the body. When it spread all over the body, your symptoms would be fever, inability to digest, weak concentration, and loss weight. It can give you different symptoms to different part of body. For example, in your brain, you will have headache, vomiting, and loss of concentration. At your back, you'll have bad pain to vertebra. At past, people treated Tuberculosis by send people to forest, and let them have clear air, or blocked path of lungs, so it can't have contact with the air. These days, there's two types of medicine. You'll have first step medicine if it was first time of Tuberculosis you had. When it comes to you again, and in emergency situation, you use second medicine which is more powerful. Also doctors require chemotherapy. Still, some part of Tuberculosis steal people's life!



Bacteria of mycobacterium tuberculosis

Those arrows show evidence of Tuberculosis.

John, F. Murray. "Mycobacterium tuberculosis and the Cause of Consumption." N.p., January 2, 2004. Web. 22 Oct 2011. : []

Personal Post #4 Dying Hair
I have brownish-black hair. You guys may have blond, brown or black hair. Some parts of my hair are not natural color. I dyed them long time ago. Not just me, many people dye their hair. For my mom, her life is dying her hair, because her white hair grows to fast! Just like this, some people dye hair, because they don't want white hair. Different color of hair gives you different look and style. BUT... in those liquids, there's a lot of bad chemicals that can cause of cancer. Most times, they are mixing ammonia and peroxide, which is also dangerous chemicals.Lead is the one of the chemicals that being used in dyer, which is very harmful to human body. That's why you can see "warning" or "caution" signs at the back of the product. When you dye your hair with very dark liquid, there would be high risk of danger chemicals than others. How does it effect? You know that scalp is the base part of your hair. Importantly, scalp has a lot of blood supply of our body. It can be dangerous. Also it can cause allergic reaction, too. It was found out that women has more sensitive skin than men, because women used dyers many times than men does. It shows that dying can make your skin very sensitive, and bad! Also researchers found out that people who are dying their hair are getting high risk of cancer. People who giving them dying hair also have high risk of cancer, too. Some parts in United States made a law to wear masks during the dying process. It also kills your hair. If you want to live healthy life, you better be careful while dying your hair!

I found interesting article about danger reaction of dyer. This reaction resulted her burning skin. I want you to read this article if you are interested in.
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 * Elana, Gorgan. "Woman Ends Up in Burns Unit After Allergic Reaction to Hair Dye." //Softpedia//. N.p., October 30th, 2009. Web. 25 Oct 2011.



Cathy, Sherman. "The Dangers in Hair Coloring and Safer Alternatives." //NaturalNews.com//. (2008): Feb 1,. Web. 25 Oct. 2011. []

Personal Post #5 - Contagion
After watching movie Contagion, I was looking for interesting video about bacteria. Then I found this video to preview the movie. This is one of the trailer for Contagion. It is very interesting, because they let bacteria grow in the board, and it made words Contagion. Basically what they did is build two giant petri board, and treated bacteria and fungi. Then they installed them in front of Toronto storeshop. I just wanted to share this video, because I found this video very interesting.

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Personal post #6 - Curing Blindness with Stem cells?!
When I was reading the packet about the stem cells, I was very curious about the fact that stem cells can cure blindness. I did more research about them. In the pocket, it says one of the scientist says stem cell can replace the photoreceptor cells(capture the light). One of the scientists from the UCL told us the experiment she had with mice. The cells were able to become a new cone photoreceptor. Also this cone showed those new ones were looked good. It allowed eyes to read vision, and color vision.It proved photoreceptors can help to cure blindness.Dr Jane Sowden added it might be possible to cure blindness with photoreceptor to human's body. Professor Robin Ali from UCL said research is not yet done, but this hope that this experiment helps future treatment for blindness causing from photoreceptor degenerated. Part of LV prasad Eye Institute in hyderabad, India, will keep research begun by scientists. They use eye stem cells from living adults to grow new cells that are them implanted into damaged eyes. When area around the cornea where stem cells are stored to create a layer of healthy cells, so they could replace damaged ones, would use for curing blindness. Still some people see this curing experiment very positive side. Maybe they can see someday. I also hope this experiment success, so there would be less blind people in this World.



Larry, Greenemeir. "A Visionary Approach Using Stem Cells to Repair Eye Damage." Scientific American . N.p., 30 January 2008. Web. 31 Oct 2011. []

This is the page where I found picture, but I thought it also has great information, so you should read it, too!
Gadi, Howard. "Shedding Light on Blindness." The future of things . N.p., 04 September 2007. Web. []

Personal post #7 - Sharks and Cancer
There were a lot of myths about sharks and cancer. In 1970, two scientists named Henry Brem and Judah Folkman from medicine school suggested that cartilage prevent the growth of new blood vessels into tissues. This creation of supply blood called angiogenesis. As the cells divide rapidly, it requires a lot of nutrients to continue growing. The angiogenesis is the common target for cancer. Then Brem and folkman started to research anto angiogenesis compound. Scientists believed it must contain some signaling molecules that prevent capillaries from forming. They found it from baby rabbit. They got the result of inserting cartilage from baby rabbit alongside tumors in experimental animals completely prevented the tumors of growing. More research gave them calf cartilage had anti-angiogenic properties. Then Robert Langer, a young researcher came up and repeated this experiment, but this time he used shark cartilage. Sharks skeleton is mostly cartilage. Because of this Robert explained this would be a far more accessible source for potential therapeutics. Around those times, scientist Carl Luer was looking at connection between sharks and cancer. He had noticed sharks have low possibility of getting disease, especially cancer. Her soon tested more experiments. __He exposed nurse sharks to high levels of aflatoxin B__ 1__ a known carcinogen, and found no evidence that they developed tumors. __ So one of the author named Dr I William Lane published "Sharks don't get cancer; How shark Cartilage could save your life." This book was bestseller. Then Lane started his own investigation. His big companies helped him to make a pills to prove his book. Then worse thing happens. Sharks population in America decreased. They decreased 80% in the past decades. Sharks have low pressure of increasing their population faster than other fish species. Also they realized sharks pill does not cure cancer. Ingestion of shark cartilage powders or extracts had absolutely no positive effects on cancers that varied in type and severity. To paraphrase Dr. Andrew Vickers, shark cartilage as a cancer cure isn't untested or unproven //. // Now their lost of sharks and failed experiments proved myths was lie. It is very important to know **Sharks do get cancer! ** Still, some people in these days believe sharks can cure cancer, and they are killing more sharks. People need to know how dangerous it is to killing them just for experiment, or they lose all sharks which is very important for food chain in the ocean.

Christie, Wilcox. "Busting Marine Myths: Sharks DO Get Cancer!." Science 2.0 . N.p., 09112009. Web. 5 Nov 2011

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It would be so cool if we were born old and died young. Just like a movie ' The curious case of Benjamin button'. In the Earth, there's one organism that can change itself from old to young shapes. Meet Turritopsis nutricula, the jellyfish that has two distinct stages in its life cycle. The polypoid or immature stage is when it's just a small stalk with feeding tentacles. The medusa or mature stage is when it's 1mm long polyps asexually produce jellyfish. Normally it took them to grow few months or years to get bigger. For Turritopsis nutricula, it has ability of transform itself mature to immature stage. This cell process called transdifferentiation, when non-stem cell transform into different type of cell or specialised stem cell creates cells outside this specialised path. Turritoposis nutricula requires tissue from both the jellyfish bell surface and the circulatory canal system. This process switch the cell role, which can be seen unusual, but it can be seen when part of organ regenerate. Their regular life cycle is reverting back to an immature stage. They used to be found in Caribbean, but these days they can be found in tropical region. Because they can bypass death, the number of individual is spiking.=====



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Mihai, Andrei. "ZME science." Meet the world’s only immortal animal . N.p., Fri, Dec 5, 2008. Web. 16 Nov 2011.

Ker, Than. ""Immortal" Jellyfish Swarm World's Oceans." National Geographic News . (January 29, 2009): n. page. Web. 16 Nov. 2011. []

Watch this video if you want to
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Homework Post #8 - My opinion on Stem Cell Research
I personally agree with stem cell research. Most of opinion on disagree with stem cell research is that they are ruining our lives and future, but when you see advantages, there's a lot more thing that we can get. Also we can improve our life. Just like what I said, it can cure and it can give us better life by cloning. Just like cloning more animals and get more advantages from them. I strongly agree with stem cell research with taxpayer monies, because stem cell research is using embryonic cell which is another part of life. Also I agree with stem cell research would be regulated by the government. If we give scientists to control it, they can hurt some of embryonic cell or stem cell. When we give more opportunity to religion people or groups, most of them would disagree with this research and they would block good side of stem cell. We all know stem cell research is one of the big issue in this World. We all don't know what's the right thing. There's big difference of advantages and disadvantages. I personally think stem cell research can lead us new science. Especially dealing with life and cell must be big challenge to scientists. Our future can be change if stem cell research goes on.

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Personal Wiki #9 - 16 year old girl trapped in a baby.
What do you think what would it be like if you stays in baby's body, but you're growing up. It would be so strange and sad. There's a 16 year old girl baby. Her name is Brooke Greenberg. After her birth she stays in same body shape and weight. Her gene does not grow. It sounds so strange for me first time. Why not? Still doctors are looking for what caused her disorder genes. They had concluded that her body is not developing as a unit. Mentally she's an infant. She cries and giggles. When doctors got samples from her, her teeth was 8 year old ones, and her cellular age was 16. She already suffered with a lot of illnesses. When she was young some doctors said she wouldn't live long and their predict age was 5. Still she lives and her age is 16. No one knows how long she's going to live, but her parents think she's there for reason. They love her and no matter they promised they would there for her.

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Joey, Bartolomeo, and Grossman Wendy. "The 16-Year-Old Baby." People . 17 August 2009: n. page. Web. 25 Nov. 2011. [] Image : []

Homework Wiki #2 - The Hot Zone 
In 1980, strange disease appeared with a man Charles Monet from Kitum Cave in Mount Algon. Monet had symptoms like red eye, black vomiting, feeling really sick, and hard time with talking. Dr Musoke, who worked in Nairobi hospital had direct touch with Monet. Monet had vomited all over him, and died, but soon Musoke realized he had infected from Monet's virus. Soon they hear Dr Musoke had positive Marburg virus. Luckily he was survival that happens rarely. One of the U.S. Army personnel who is called upon when the Reston outbreak occurs is Major Nancy Jaax. Jaax is a mother and an Army veterinarian who works at United States Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases (USAMRIID) She had accepted to go in biohazardous level 4. While working with dangerous virus Ebola, she was close to catch the virus. Then one boy Peter Cardinal died after infected by Ebola after traveled to Kitum Cave. Also one more nurse from Nairobi hospital died, and result was Ebola. Soon Eugene Johnson send to Kitum cave to find out how this scared disease effected in the Cave.

Whoa Moment - For me, big Whoa moment was when Monet went to the hospital, and how his body showed symptoms. I had to close the book sometimes, because those symptoms were too gross and creepy for me to read it once. Black vomit and red eye were very gross. Also when they said blood came out from any whole of the body also made me sick. It is gave me goosebumps when I thought about blood came out from nose, mouth, ears, and maybe belly? Most of the time, symptoms of Ebola gave me Whoa moment.



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Homework Post #3 - The Hot Zone (Part.2)
In the city of Reston, Hazleton Reston research Products accepted hundred of monkey from Philippines. Soon manager noticed bunch of monkeys were killed. He called to Dan Dalgard. He observed dying monkeys, and guessed the disease called simian hemorrhagic fever or SHF which is deadly virus for monkeys. He check everyday how well monkeys were doing. Soon he realized this virus had been spreaded all over the rooms and even other rooms. Dan Dalgard starts to worry about his and other workers health. One of the intern at USAMRIID observed the virions that came out from one of the monkeys from the monkey house. He believes that he saw virus of Marburg. Soon Nancy Jaax involved in this case. They assigned her to dissect the monkey and she recovered shocking truth. She could not tell weather it was Marburg or Ebola. This result made all workers and Dan panic. They try to separate the people with possible virus of Ebola or Marburg from the citizens.

 Part 2 had shown the infected animals from Ebola or Marburg, and tell us they are also very poisonous for animals. My one of the whoa moment was when it talked about that disease spreaded all over the rooms later. It was really shoked, because that mean was Marburg and Ebola is highly infectious.



Crab-eater monkeys

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Personal Wiki #10 - Why are we sleeping?
Whenever times we slept late, we all fell sleepy and cannot concentrate on work. This is common problem for all of us. __Lack of sleep.__ One of my friend told me that we all fell in sleep somehow, because we are addicted to sleep. For example, if you see around, people who are smoker is having hard time with stop smoking. Just like this we cannot control our body, because we were addicted. It sounded pretty interesting to me. I researched more facts why we are sleeping, and there were a lot of theories about it. It said we are sleeping, because brain need to be maintenance. Stresses and pressure that you got all day or week can interrupt your life pattern, and they need to be gone from our body. Another theory was that sleeping had serve some as-yet unidentified physiological or neural function that cannot be accomplished when animals are awake. It sounded pretty interesting. Also fact was that sleeping also invokes survival benefits for human, and as you get older, your sleeping habit change, because metabolic rate reduces and we are the doing the alerting and protecting from danger.

David, Braun. "Why do we sleep? Scientists are still trying to find out." // National Geographic News // 11 Jan 2012, n. pag. Print.

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