Zach+O'Kane

=Biology 111- The Weird and Wonderful Study of Our Living Planet =  __**Personal Post 10- The Physical Effects of Exam Week on the Human Body** __ 
 * --**Zach O'Kane
 * I personally have been stressed over the last few days, and I really wanted to know what the effects of stress really did to your body. It is exam week right now at LHHS, and the stress is literally in the air. But what is is actually doing to us students, and are their hidden effects that we cannot recognize before they take their toll? Continue to read to find out what's happening in YOUR body. **


 * Scientists have narrowed the types of stress down to four categories. For the sake of the audience, I believe that two really apply to us as students and teachers in a school environment. The types of stress I will outline are as follows: **


 * Survival Stress **
 * Internal Stress **
 * Environmental Stress **
 * Fatigue and Overwork **

    **You can battle stress with simple activities like exercise and even talking it out with someone you're close with. Take a walk, eat a good healthy breakfast, and GET YOUR SLEEP. Sleep deprivation is one of the leading causes of stress in teenage students. Take that advice, and get that stress off your shoulders. Good luck with the rest of your exams guys! :)**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Survival stress is our "Fight or Flight" response to activities that may harm us. When a situation confronts you that is dangerous, our body reacts within milliseconds, pumping chemicals through our blood stream that increase our heart rate and get us ready for what is to come. Often, this type of stress is helpful, as in many cases it increases our awareness and strength to levels we cannot attain while relaxed and unthreatened. **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Internal stress is defined as worrying over circumstances that we have zero control on, that are dependant on chance, or fate in some of our cases. In these instances, we play with our odds in our heads so often, that we become obsessive. And this pushes our body to ignore it's normal functions. We lose sleep, we don't eat, and we push those around us away so that we may "protect" them from the stress we may be feeling. **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Environmental stress is caused by the area that we are in. This is really common in a student's case, as I have seen. When one student is stressed, we ALL fuel from it, making us worry, and reverting us in the Internal stress state that causes us even more damage. I believe this is one of the main causes for stress in students because if you aren't stressed now, talk to some of your friends, and BAM, now you're stressed out about that upcoming exam. Just fueling the fire to what can really cause harm. **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">And in the end, as all of us students have felt, we get overworked and tired. How can you possibly study for one exam, only to charge into another one the next day? As we work harder and harder, our body becomes less responsive to things around us. We miss out on key factors in the environment, and that can cause serious accidents in daily events. **

http://www.mtstcil.org/skills/stress-definition-1.html <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;"> __--__ __<span style="color: #079707; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Personal Post 9- Hot Zone Spinoff: What is Panic?** __


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">I have seen a reoccurring pattern in the story "The Hot Zone". As research begins, each new tier in the results causes a different stage of panic and pandemonium. The reason why the Army was given full control is because of their extreme confidence level when it comes to "need to know" basis's. While they attempted to keep the population from stirring into utter turmoil, the fought to keep their own panic subsided. I wanted to know what panic does to a person, and how those reactions would effect their performance within the Level 4 battlefields. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The dictionary defines panic as ****<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">a sudden, overpowering terror, often affecting many people at once. This directly defines most of the story. As ****<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">developments lead the scientists closer to extinguishing the fire of Ebola, it increased the inferno that was their panic. They worked within a space ****<span style="background-color: #ffffff; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">suit that, if breached, most certainly under their knowledge, would create a painful and incredible death. These symptoms and effects would affect them while they worked under the stress of the world on their shoulders. **


 * - <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">A racing or pounding heart- could cause shaking hands and throw off dexterity **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">- Chest pains- may cause trouble breathing in the suits **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">- Upset stomach- causes reduced time able to stand disturbing sights/smells **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">- Numbness of the joints and muscles- makes movements jerky and often uncontrollable **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">- Trembling- causes inability to handle minute tasks with hands **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">- Distortion of Reality- may cause inability to judge situations **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">- Terror- may cause the subject to flee an important task at the first sight of danger **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">- Fear of Death- may stop the subject from taking any risks **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">As you can see, all of these components of panic could ultimately cause death in the situations that the scientists faced. If those men and women had not controlled this sense of panic that most surely welled up within them from their very core, we may not have had the chance to even be born. **

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__-__ <span style="color: #079707; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">__**Homework Post 5- The Hot Zone: Part 4**__


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The story comes to a dramatic but finalizing close in this section of the book. Part 4 begins with a trip down memory lane for the author, and a grand description of the Ebola region around Mount Elgon. As he explains the region, he also elaborates about the AIDS Highway, which is said to have been the first passage of the AIDS virus from within the rainforest to the rest of the Earth. If the Ebola virus has been given the same chance to travel, I would not be writing this wiki post. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The author is able to go into his won adventures on the search for the deadly Ebola virus, but he starts with his childhood. As a child, he was able to grasp the wild beauty that is Africa, as he grew up there. Before beginning his virus hunt, he had not been to Africa since he was 12 years old. At this point, his life was care free, filled with amazing views, and the freest of feelings. But upon leaving his home in Africa, and starting on the road to knowledge, he became entwined in the web of Ebola and destruction. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">He traveled all around the globe, and interviewed many people, being able to live their lives as though he was there when Ebola struck. From near brushes with death, to literal death as people crash and bleed out, he had seen it all through the eyes of countless people. His description of his involvement in the Ebola studies, and in depth views on when North America rubbed shoulders with one of the deadliest viruses known to man show just how insightful and educated he is upon the matter. This matter just happens to deal with the most excruciating deaths a human can be involved in. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">As the author takes his own look into the Reston Monkey House, he notices life flourishing behind the glass of a window. Simple plants. But with that simple life, comes the simple production of thousands of viruses within every living space. "It will be back." The author is sure. Our small brush with fate may lead to a full on collision with death the next time we may meet. **

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__-__ __<span style="color: #079707; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Personal Post 8- Ten Most Common Phobias** __

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Around the world, studies have shown a common trait among all of Earth's people. In every civilization, there will always be fear. Fear is said to be the most primal of our emotions, and can stem back to our first creation. There will always be fear, but fear is evident in different ways for every person. A list has been created with statistics to present the 10 most common phobias, and here are also a few video clips to show people confronting their fears and thier reactions.**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**10. Necrophobia- The fear of death, or dead things. __Causes__- Often seen to stem from the media's over inflation of horror.** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**9. Brontophobia- The fear of thunderstorms. __Causes__- Most likely to be developed under limited understanding during childhood.** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**8. Carcinophobia- The fear of Cancer and carcinogens. __Causes__- A family member or friend being afflicted by the disease.** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**6. Acrophobia- The fear of heights.** **__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Causes- __ S****<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">een to be caused by the helplessness of no control. **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">7. Emetophobia- The fear of vomit and mucus. ****__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Causes __-** **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Often caused by extreme squeamishness. **

media type="youtube" key="nmgMMcw1xTY" height="314" width="420" align="left"


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Note how the child is put under the same stresses, but seems unharmed by the situation? Introduction to such situations from a young age may help to keep a phobia from forming, as it did in this man. **

media type="youtube" key="iTS-RB-R7gA" height="315" width="420"
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">5. Claustrophobia- The fear of enclosed spaces. __Causes__- Childhood encounter or even genetics. **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">4. Agoraphobia- The fear of crowds and lack of safety. __Causes__- Often caused by a chemical imbalance or childhood experience. **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">3. Aerophobia- The fear of flying. __Causes__- Often stemmed from lack of control and fear of death/terrorism (Necrophobia) **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">2. Social Phobia- Very broad fear of being judged socially. __Causes__- A bad encounter or insecurity and self esteem issues. **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">1. Arachnophobia- The fear of spiders, where half the female population and 10% of the male population of phobia affected people are afflicted by. __Causes__- Media inflated fear from movies, and childhood experiences. **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">media type="youtube" key="bRV4d9LCawU" height="315" width="560" []

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__<span style="color: #079707; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Personal Post 7- Animal Phobias** __


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">An animal phobia is most often caused by a childhood experience, or even more commonly, the media. As technology has progressed, movies we all ****<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">have come to love have become more and more realistic. "To see a gigantic spider ravaging a small town can even send shivers down the spine of a ****<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">concrete wall." **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**There is practically a phobia for ever type of animal out there. If it moves, we can be scared of it. But there are a few phobias that are most common, due to large media coverage.**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">And these fears creep closer and closer to our lives the more we watch, and the more encounters we have with the specific animals. **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**-Fear of Wild Animals- Agrizoophobia** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**-Fear of Spiders- Arachnophobia** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**-Fear of Dogs/Rabies- Cynophobia** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**-Fear of All Insects- Entomophobia** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**-Fear of Sharks- Selachophobia** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**-Fear of Snakes- Ophidiophobia**

h <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**While a child is progressing through the years, it is necessary to keep the child in close quarters with animals and their behaviors. If the child sees at a young age, that the animal will not hurt him/her, or will not attempt to hurt him/her, a serious phobia that can carry throughout their whole lives can be avoided.**

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__<span style="color: #079707; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Personal Post 6- Social Phobias** __


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">A social phobia is a simple phobia that occurs due to close proximety or relations in a social area, such as a restaurant or during a presentation. **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">These conditions are often met during teenage years, when the weight of social faux pas' are really shovelled onto us. High School is a grand example of a developmental point in a social ****<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">phobia, where classmates often are judgmental towards their own peers due to their performance socially **

__**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">There are three most popular Social Phobias- **__


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">-Fear of Public Speaking- Glassophobia **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">-Fear of People- Anthropophobia **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">-Fear of Crowds- Agoraphobia **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Agoraphobia often affects every person differently. It is a broad phobia that covers crowds, marketplaces where large transactions are made, and even the absence of a quiet are. It is commonly seen as a fear of leaving a safe haven that can provide isolation from the outside world. **

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__<span style="color: #079707; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Personal Post 5- What is a Phobia?** __


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Anything from spiders and clowns, to the unthinkable like toothbrushes and small children, can possibly make even the hardiest of humans cower. What causes this fear of simple objects, activities, living beings? The question can be answered with a broad answer. A Phobia. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The dictionary definition of a phobia is as follows- ****<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">"A persistent, irrational fear of a specific object, activity or situation that leads to a compelling desire to avoid it." This encompasses a very large amount of phobias that have thus been discovered. These I will go into detail in later posts, but for now, I will get down to the biology of such things. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Scientists are unable to pinpoint the cause of a Phobia. But through studies over decades of these social disorders, a few major factors have been layed down, as a basic groundwork. **


 * __<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Life History __**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">When a child, being curious, lays his or her palm on a hot surface, impulses in the brain stimulate the child to **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">remember what had happened, and avoid a similar consequence. After the incident, you will not often see the child attempt the stunt again. These actions occur throughout our lives until the day we die. It plays crucial parts in our daily events, as it dictates what types of risks we will make, and risks dictate injury or health, failure and success, and ultimately death or survival. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Scientists believe that in extreme encounters with a situation, the brain my react with unimaginable measures. This may include depression, such as PTSD (Post Traumatic Stress Disorder), or in other cases, a phobia of the situation. This often occurs during your childhood, where rational behaviour has not quite developed. A nasty encounter with the local dog may lead you to believe that **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">any dog may act as such, and cause you to go out of your way to avoid all dogs, for the rest of your days. **

__**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Cultural Stimulus **__
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">In other studies, scientists have tested subjects who have developed phobias that come from strict social bindings and cultural belief. Their recordings have shown that a tough upbringing under the stresses of social behaviour have led some individuals to develop a phobia to a common situation. That situation is often peer/elder disappointment, embarassment, and punishment. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">In some cultures, rituals and traditions have been established over hundreds of years. Complete professionalism is required while performing them, and they are often performed under the watchful eyes of everyone else who studies along side you. A mistake while your performance may cause you to shy away from ever being under that spotlight again, to never disappoint another individual or group, ever again. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">__Genetics__ **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Studies have shown that a phobia may trace its way through your DNA, and may have afflicted a close relative or even a distant ancestor. In these cases, it is often the stress of the family or common situations that the members may experience that have caused it in the past. **
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">In other cases, it may be caused by chemical inbalances in the brain. Chemicals within our bodies help to create homeostasis daily. Our bodies are finely tuned sensors, and even a slight difference in chemical levels in our brains can cause huge differences in our actions and reactions. If your father was afraid of brightly colored clowns, you may develop it too, from passed down genetics that cause simpl inbalances within your brain. **

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__<span style="color: #079707; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Homework Post 4= The Hot Zone: Part 3** __

 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">As all chapters and parts start in this book, a hook is sent trailing by our faces and we chase it like dumb fish. The story line has us in a chokehold, one filled with Ebola blood smeared walls, and an unimaginable death. This time, the hook is the ticking time bomb called the Reston Monkey House, which has recently been the target of the US Army's largest biohazard operation ever on its own soil. Within the building, hundreds of frenzied, manic, caged but dangerous monkeys, who HAVE to be considered hot, or in street terms, filled to the brim with a the most horrific death possible. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">As I had mentioned before, Jerry Jaax plays a crucial role in the ever charging plot. He leads the first teams into the Monkey House, garbed in biomedical space suits, to combat the deadly Ebola that resides within its walls. As grizzled veterans of war on viruses, and fresh off the press Privates make their way into the battlefield, the stress is ever higher. A tiny rip in one's suit can cause death. A failed battery may mean crashing and bleeding out in front of your family days later. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Their target are the monkeys that are housed in the building. Each one is to be put to sleep, have blood removed to be tested, then put to death with an injection. After death, selected monkeys are opened up, and their rock hard kidneys and other organs are removed for scientific analysis. As hundreds of monkeys are put to death, stress and fatigue grip even the most elite of the task force, and bad decisions and mistakes come into existence. Even the tiniest error can cause the most grand of effects. And one tiny slip sent a live and possibly infected monkey hurtling through the house in search of a scientist to assault. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Through hardships and near fatal accidents, each of the personnel are still alive. The hundreds of animals are all dead, triple packaged for transfer to the furnaces, their organs and blood on their way to the Military Institute. While the soldiers move out, the Decon team moves in, and with rudimentary but very effective methods, the Reston Monkey House is deemed cleared. Cleared in the sense that not one living thing was alive within its walls. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Personally, I would hate to put hundreds of lives to rest with a single push of my thumb. The nightmares and stress would be totally unbearable. As read in the book, one rookie had terrible nightmares that were so real, she was shook violently from her sleep. The fact that a simple task of injecting needles, with the terror that lurks at every corner can cripple even the most hardy of scientists is crazy. I hope I never have to be put in a position such as that. **

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__<span style="color: #079707; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Homework Post 4= The Hot Zone: Part 2** __

 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The second part of this literal heart stopper places us just outside of Washington, in a place called Reston. An easy going town, filled with century old farms and brand new building projects, Reston is said to be //the//**
 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">place to raise a family. Little did we know, it could also be the epicenter of an earthquake in the form of a killer virus. **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**A monkey import center in Reston receives imported research monkey's nearly on a daily basis. Rooms, wall to wall with cages for the animals, are contained within its walls. But what foreshadowing shows us discreetly is that something else is lurking behind those same walls.**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**It all starts when the building manager contacted the go-to veterinarian, a man named Dan Dalgard. He begins to see monkeys with tell tale signs of sickness. The usually lively, screaming monkeys are now hood-eyed and very passive. Blank stares cover the faces behind those few affected cages. But as time progresses, those monkeys begin to die, and crash within their cages, dull expression still evident upon their faces. Dalgard takes the initiative to delve further into the animals' deaths, so he opens one monkey up. Inside, all looks normal except for minor amounts of blood in the intestines, and a swollen organ that is no longer even recognizable.**


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">These findings are then sent, haphazardly packaged, to the military center where our story brought us in the first part of the book. There, new aspiring scientists, under a much older leadership, investigate and research all manners of peculiarities that come their way. A duo of scientists inspect the now leaking evidence of sickness, and no conclusions are really drawn as they go so far as //sniffing//** **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">the opened remains. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">As investigations further, the scientists begin to realize familiar attributes with the infected evidence. It closely resembles something, much, much more serious. And as these findings are occurring, at the monkey house, the animals are dropping at around 3-5 a night, and even worse.. The sickness has spread to another room. This worries the manager and local vet, and they begin to pester the scientists for answers. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The answers are not enlightening. As more and more scientists get involved, and the leads begin to creep their way up the chain of command, the shocking truth is brought to the front. This sickness is a filovirus, something that closely resembles the rainforest killer, Ebola. Preparations are made hastily as as many possible and capable hands are recruited for the massive tasks ahead. Nancy Jaax, previously mentioned in the book, is asked to act as the Lead Pathologist for the operation. And when news of this outbreak reaches the Pentagon, the mission is set loose, and the team begins their way around containing this possible killer. **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**To think that people just handle possible biohazardous material such as the monkey remains with such ignorance is absolutely incredible. When looking at the grand scope of things, any little biohazard could contain a virus that could take your life, along with those around you. And if let loose, it could destroy the human population as we know it. OUR carelessness when given a task could end in the end of the world. Absolutely horrific.**

1) Preston, Richard. //The Hot Zone//. Expanded. 1. New York: Anchor Books, 1995. 153-282. Print []

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__<span style="color: #079707; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Homework Post 3= The Hot Zone: Part 1** __

 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">"A Terrifying, TRUE story by Richard Preston" The truth behind the facts, is the truth itself. What could be more terrifying than the bare, no holds barred truth? **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">In the beginning, we had one man. A lonely, unmarried, working class man, who was near unseen in the world he cohabited in. Charles Monet worked in the "shadow of Mount Elgon" in Africa, and it was there that on a wildlife excursion, he contracted the virus that has many faces, and one goal. Exterminate humans. Ebola, all strains discovered, and all strains being studied are extremely dangerous to us as mammals. A level 4 bio-hazard "hot agent", it is only handled by the most educated and sure-fire scientists around the globe. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The story leaps between the author's research, and the ever extending trail of death left behind Ebola. From one man, to hundreds of men and women, it disappears and shows up in remote areas that no studies have ever searched. The author writes very figuratively, but in the first part of his book, he does not sugar coat the deaths of characters we've come to know thus far. From massive puddles of //<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">vomito negro //,** **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">to innocent nuns crashing and bleeding out, Preston paints a stark image in our head, foreshadowing what is to come. **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Nancy and Jerry Jaax are introduced, and through them, we learn of the US's involvement virus wise. They are both in the US Army, and serve under the same rank, in the same affiliation. Except Nancy works beside one of the most nasty of all dangers, Ebola in its raw form. From the cleansing and decontamination, to flash backs of an accidental cut on the hand caused by carelessness, and a massive death scare caused by sheer coincidence, we are readily available for the future of this book.**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**The author jumps back to Dr. Silverstein, and the World Health Organization's struggle to locate the epicenter of this killer. Though huge amounts of work is put behind the locomotion of research, no figures are discovered, and Ebola remains a mysterious killer.**


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Richard Preston leaves us with the Jaax family, now very successful. We see how they have progressed from rank to rank, place to place, occupation to occupation. They come back to where //they//** **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">started, close to Washington DC, where we already know is the scene of major catastrophe. As a reader, I know there is still much to come, and it definitely has to do with Washington and the Jaax duo. **

1) Preston, Richard. //The Hot Zone//. Expanded. 1. Ney York: Anchor Books, 1995. 1-153. Print 2) First Last. N.d. Photograph. n.p.

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__<span style="color: #079707; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Homework Post 2= Stem Cell Research: Bare Bones** __

 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">In today's world, medical advancements in technology and new research capabilities are enabled and moved further ahead every day. Across the world though, many objections have been voiced by multiple groups, both religious and practical fields. One targeted medical strain is Stem Cell Research (SCR). **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">In my Biology Project, I had to be under the scrutiny of a town hall type setting, with one view to support. I was representing the stake holder group in the Industry division, so I was an acting CEO of a large company that would have its hands in Stem Cell Research that could possibly build our economy. We voiced our opinions under those constraints, and supported every strain of SCR. But my //personal//** **<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">opinion varies slightly from that aggressive, business type outlook. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">There are five loose-term strains of SCR- **

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**1. Existing Stem Cell Lines** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**2. Excess From In Vitro Fertilization** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**3. Creation of Stem Cell Lines** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**4. Therapeutic Cloning** <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**5. Reproductive Cloning**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**All five were supported in our project, but I support all but the last. Reproduction of living organisms is frowned upon worldwide as inhumane and under intense scrutiny. I believe that we need to further our technology and knowledge before we create, and may ultimately end a life needlessly. If, in future instances, we need to delve into the subject, then under the right circumstances with a specialized team, we may be able to accomplish something. But until then, I believe we should continue our scholarly endeavors, and learn as much as we can before we take on such a task.**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**As for the remaining four, I believe they all will benefit the human race greatly. With the exception of needless creation of new stem cell lines, they should all be funded heavily, and new research opportunities should be opened daily. We must not abuse these tasks though, and we should proceed with the utmost care so as not to spark outrage globally.**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**My views on these subjects have been instilled in me through my knowledge that I have gained this year, and my outlook on life that may be shared or shot down by others. With care and respect, and bright minds for the future, I believe that Stem Cell Research can create a stable and fertile age in the coming years.**

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__<span style="color: #079707; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Personal Post 4= The Pupil (Not a student)** __

 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">The pupil plays a very important role in the function of the eye. It can be comparable to the "Diaphragm" of our very own LHHS Compound Microscopes. The function of the pupil is the control of light entering the eye, thus helping us to see in any variance of brightness and in some cases, darkness. The pupil was once thought to be a flat disk that was solid in its compound, but researchers found that it was nowhere near solid, it is actually a hole. Our eye is hollow in a sense, and the pupil is merely a door into that cavern. **




 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Muscles surrounding the pupil flex and relax to adjust the overall diameter of the pupil, thus restricting the amount of light filtering in. Receptors that fast track information to the brain surround the pupil, and the diameter of the eye is corrected depending on what intensity the light is at. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">//Bene Dilitatism// is a disorder that afflicts the optic nerve and photo receptors in the eye called Rods and Cones. This disorder causes widened pupils in normal light, which acts fine, but high intensities of light cause pain to the patient. Some people with this disorder have a very hard time seeing in low light situations, but approximately 3/10 cases of this actually enhance low light vision. Many people actually have some form of this disorder, as it has been bred by many bloodlines in previous ages. **

http://www.nei.nih.gov/healthyeyes/images/dilated_eyes.gif http://www.nei.nih.gov/healthyeyes

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__<span style="color: #079707; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Personal Post 3= Typhus Epidemic __
__<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">*WARNING* __ Some of the following photos may be disturbing


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Typhus is a water and food borne disease that has wiped out millions of people on Earth. Most commonly it has been seen in times of war and famine, due to the neglect of proper hygiene. Its pathogen is through //Salmonella Typhi// w<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">hich poses its largest threat to those who do not show any symptoms. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">This epidemic is transferred from host to host by means of contaminated water and/or food. Humans, being the only recorded host to the disease, have often been put through cruel and unlawful treatment through history, namely Nazi Concentration Camps and Crop Blight. When times get rough, the least of peoples' worries are cleaning themselves. So feces and common excrement eventually meet with a water or food source, and that is where Typhus is bred. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">A louse or tick of sorts bites and draws the blood of a feverish human. It then travels from that person to another healthy host. That person then contracts the disease through the infected blood. But due to the healthiness of the new victim, none or very minimal symptoms are shown. This makes that person evermore dangerous. Because he/she will not be quarantined, and will continue the daily events and spread the disease easily. **


 * <span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Said to be the hardest hit of any group of people, the Jewish population of Germany and surrounding countries were devastated by the epidemic. They lived in poor conditions, often starved and made to live in extreme proximity to other people. This caused wide spread infection, and ultimately what you see below. **



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Symptoms were recorded as a high fever without chills, early constipation and stomach pain, and small rashes in covered, warm areas of the skin. This progressed to extreme high temperatures, large open sores, a constant stool that held no shape, and eventually massive internal bleeding of the intestines.**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**Under normal conditions, mild doses of antibiotics and skin treatment would cure such outbreaks, but due to the conditions the epidemic was bred in, the mortality rate was through the roof. Often in the concentration camps, 2/3 of the infected did not live pass the one month mark after being infected with the disease.**

<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**In today's world, small parts of Africa, often secluded, are struck by the disease. But through history, European countries like Germany and Ireland were affected greatest. Anywhere that has mass starvation and poor living conditions is an ideal breeding ground for the Typhus epidemic.**

//Typhus information on disease//. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.vaccineinjury.info/typhus/disease.html (n.d.). //Typhus mass graves in germany//. [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://rodohforum.yuku.com/reply/56131/Mattogno-on-Prof-Kolas-Belzec-archaeology
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__<span style="color: #079707; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Personal Post 2= Steroid Condiments?! __
**<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Studies show that over 58% of the world's population (who can afford such things) like to use regular yellow mustard as a condiment on a variety of food items. But what percentage of those people know that their very own peppy condiment is a natural steroid similar to //Anabolic Steroids//? <span style="color: #000000; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">A steroid acts as a production increaser in protein synthesis. This causes effects such as gain in body mass, muscle mass, and body hair. But thus far in studies, Anabolic Steroids have been deemed illegal due to their unruly side effects and unlawful use in competitive sports. **



<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**But in recent scientific studies, a natural alternative has been found in the one and only mustard plant. In labs, test subjects (Rats) were used in a controlled experiment. 1/3 of the subjects were fed normal feed, while the remaining portions were split off using Anabolic Steroids and Mustard Plant. Over the post examinations were completed, the studies concluded that the mustard plant showed similar effects to its cousin illegal steroid. An increase in body mass, and lean muscle was recorded compared with the non-steroid fed rats. Under these findings, and the fact that there was very minimal side effects noted, scientists have concluded that one day, this steroid may be available to patients suffering from muscle deformities and weight gain problems. And possibly, it may be used in competitive sports and performance experiments.**

//Steroid in mustard plant production//. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.geekosystem.com/mustard-plant-steroid-anabolic-steroids/ (n.d.). //Steroid use//. [Print Photo]. Retrieved from http://www.300theworkout.com/home/ ____

__<span style="color: #079707; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Personal Post 1= True Medical 'Heartbreak' __
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**When strife hits the human body, through relationships broken or other such calamities, medical research has shown that it is quite proper to say that your "heart is broken". New research into the subject has proven the old sayings true. MDD's or Major Depressive Disorders caused by happenings in life have shown to help cause Coronary Heart Disease (CHD) through the influence to make bad choices and the lack of will to sustain yourself. Depression, all types included, has been shown to increase the likelihood of heart disease, and in approx. 50% of heart attack cases, depression beforehand has been noted. Also, within lengthy recoveries after extensive heart surgeries, emotions such as grief or sadness can prolong the healing process, or even stop it in its tracks. So don't be so quick to disprove the myth that love comes from the heart.** __**Citations-**__ //How sadness affects the heart//. (2005, November). Retrieved from http://www.cartercenter.org/resources/pdfs/WHANov05.pdf (2007). //Coronary Heart Disease//. (2007). [Web Drawing]. Retrieved from http://www.womanlypage.com/coronary-heart-disease

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__<span style="color: #079707; font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">Homework Post 1= "Hardy Cell" __
<span style="font-family: 'Comic Sans MS',cursive;">**"Small RNA (sRNA) molecules regulate a vast array of processes in biology, but evidence for adaptive evolution of sRNA sequences has been indirect. Here, we identify an sRNA, Pxr, that negatively regulates fruiting body development in // Myxococcus xanthus. // We further show that a spontaneous evolutionary mutation in Pxr abolished its regulatory function." In the wild, the production of Pxr is put in motion by the act of starvation. When the Myxococcus cell is under uninhabitable soil that lacks the right nutrient, it and others of the same cell group together at an average of 10,000 cells per grouping. As the cells group, they create platform after platform over themselves, and eventually bulge upwards to create a //mound//. They then produce Pxr that acts to increase production of the cell, even under the stress of starvation. This proves Myxococcus to be one of the hardier of cells found in nature that evolve rapidly so as to sustain themselves.**



__**Citations-**__ N. Yu, Yuen-tsu. Yuan, Xi. Velicer, Gregory. . //Adaptive evolution of an srna that controls myxococcus development//. Breva: