Ross

Week 4: A Return to Genetics This past week, a very interesting article made the cover story of CNN.com. It has to do with the genomic mapping we discussed a couple of weeks back, only this time there is a break through in genetic testing to determine the DNA of an embryo. [|Determining DNA in Unborn Children]

A fascinating discovery has been made in the realm of genomic mapping. Researchers at the University of Washington were able to take two DNA samples, one from each parent, and recreate the entire genome of their child. Normally, chorionic villi sampling or amniocentesis must be performed but this is done at a risk to both the mother and unborn child. With the new advances in technology, a safer more effective way to determine a child's entire genetic makeup. With these new testing capabilities, people can determine what genetic disorders, if any, their child will have. As of right now, the technology is still 5 to 10 years away. The article also brings up the ethical implications of a selective abortion of a fetus, not necessarily due to a genetic disease but even if eye color, hair color etc. are not up to the parents standards. I personally find this appalling that someone would consider killing a life for such baseless reasons. Maybe some type of restrictions should be put in place to determine what the parents can and cannot know from these types of tests in the future. Week 3: The Little Guy //Doesn't// Matter The biggest focus in class the past week was sustainability. We started off with the pond activity showing how cooperation between a community can maintain the population of fish in a pond to keep the community living. I became intrigued about what we can do to save the world, as a whole not just a single population. I stumbled upon this TED Talk which was made a few years back: media type="custom" key="18972128" Jason Clay, the man discussing sustainability in the video, explains why cooperation between large corporations is the only thing that can achieve a sustainable world. He shows that too many people have conflicts of interest in what they do (to the environment) and therefore cooperation is only effect on the large scale. As the population increases exponentially, especially in developing countries, people are out stripping their resources. Also, there is an uneven distribution of resources around the world, as more developed countries consume a vastly greater quantity of goods and services. He further explains the necessity for people to find more productive ways to engineer "stuff" in order to use less to make more. Consumers, he explains, must also learn to consume less in order to maintain a sustainable world. Week 2: Stem Cell Therapy/More Biotech

After listening to Juan Enrriquez discuss the benefits of stem cell research and state that it would "regrow limbs by this time" I remembered an article that I had read about a boy and his family who have been going to India to receive stem cell therapy. This therapy is highly controversial and has received a lot of backlash from the medical community.

[|Embryonic Stem Cell Therapy] Essentially, a physician in India who is a former obstetrician with no background in research and stem cell therapy has been charging American families upwards of $25,000 for a chance to have stem cells injected into them, hoping for a cure. I feel very strongly about this case because there is no evidence to prove this doctor's claims. In fact, she has never been published for any research whatsoever. This in and of itself makes me extremely skeptical to the benefits of this experimental treatment.

Specifically in the article, a boy who has a rare genetic disorder has been receiving this treatment. He is developmentally disabled which means that he does not talk, has trouble walking (uses the aid of braces) and needs hormone supplements in order to grow at a normal rate. After enduring his first round of treatments, he began to walk without the braces; however, was this due to the stem cells or just his normal development? Most people have seen no substantial effect from the treatments except a giant hole in their pockets. Is this potentially fraudulent procedure worth anything at all?

Since were are discussing a lot of biotechnology in class, I thought this would be interesting and beneficial to share with everyone:  I just stumbled upon this amazing science fair project. A freshman in highschool just won the top prize at the Intel International Science and Engineering Fair (ISEF) for his implementation of a new blood test to detect pancreatic cancer. He used a paper tester with carbon nanotubes and human antibodies which react with a specific hormone called mesothelin (present in high levels with those with pancreatic cancer). His new sensor costs 3 cents (compared to the $800 gold standard test) and only 8 minutes to complete (compared to the 14 hours of the gold standard). The greatest impact is that this cheap alternative is 100% effective and more sensitive than any other test on the market. This means pancreatic cancer can be detected even at its earliest stage. media type="youtube" key="Q9mutro7h7k" height="315" width="560" Week 1: The Genomic Revolution

After being made to feel like a completely incompetent student for my sub par definition of the Human Genome Project and the rash rejection I was given during the grad student's presentation, I decided to take a deeper look into genomes. Though I did understand the Human Genome Project, I realized that there must be a greater use to a genomic map than just knowing where every gene lies and what its function is. I wasn't sure if people wanted to go as far as the movie GATTACA, dictating what line of work one ends up in, or whether people just wanted to identify new genetic diseases etc. Upon reviewing some videos on Ted.com, I discovered a presentation on the genomic revolution. media type="custom" key="18358612" The video discusses the great benefits on genome mapping, particularly on the personal scale. When the Human Genome Project first came into existence, it cost $1 per base pair to synthesize genetic code. Since then, the cost of mapping has fallen by 100 million times, with its productivity increasing 67 fold. These dramatic advancements and low costs have allowed every day consumers to start having their genomes sequenced for the first time. For example, a woman who died of cancer had her genome sequenced. In her lifetime, she had breast cancer, ovarian cancer twice, and then leukemia. Upon review of her genome, it was discovered that her cancer cells were missing nearly 2,000 base pairs. If her family is tested and has the same mutation, they can get early testing to hopefully prevent cancer in the future. This type of activity is just one of the great benefits of genomic mapping.