Julia+Lee

Week 3: Winning the Genetic Lottery In class this past Wednesday, we had a bit of a Q&A/ discussion on a couple of questions, one if which particularly interested me. I believe it was the question that was posed by Johnson and Johnson that stated "If you could take a pill to change your eye color or add two inches to your height,  would you?". Personally, I think that this question was the most popular and controversial topic of all the questions we asked in class. I was put on the affirmative position, but found that it was easier to argue on the opposite position. For starters, the only thing I could argue was that it is an  individual's right to do what they will with their body. When you think about it, YOU are the only thing that is 100% yours. However, my Biology mind told me to argue against the idea. Not only will this tamper with natural selection, in a sense, but it will alter the gene pool greatly. If a population favors blue eyes, for example, it is possible that brown eyes or hazel eyes might disappear. And if not these colors, would it be possible that we could introduce a new trait? (This photo is obviously photo shopped, but could become a possibility?)

(Also, imagine how much difficult security would become. A criminal could commit a crime and take a pill to become a completely different person. The TSA would surely come up with more ridiculous security measures... )

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to find any Ted Talk or article about this matter. However, I can only try to picture all of the questions and arguments that could come out of this subject. The other day, I was watching an episode of 'Black Box' on ABC and one of the topics mentioned was this idea of "winning the genetic lottery". One of the doctors who works at Catherine Black's facility was jealous of their coworker's ability of having a superior memory, hence winning the genetic lottery. But could a pill such as this change that? If this pill transitions from physical traits to mental capacity, everyone would be smart, right?

I guess the question isn't "could you" as it is "would you". It is impossible to say which option is better, seeing that we don't have any way of testing this theory, but it is an interesting topic that I'm sure we will encounter in the future.

Going back to the discussion in class, sadly, it didn't come to an end, as the bell rang before we reached a conclusion. So, would you take a pill that could alter your physical traits?

Week 2: Do We Waste Our Waste? So this week we focused a lot on sustainability in class and, surprisingly, my presentation in AP World History class also pertained to sustainability; specifically waste. I found the topic to be very intriguing, so I decided to continue my research here. I guess I should start by asking, "What is waste?" Solid waste is defined as "the non-biodegradable material collected by municipal waste management units". It may seem obvious as to why waste is bad for the environment, but I'll go ahead and name a few imperative reasons. (**Warning! This post contains many lists/bullet points.) As you can see, we humans need to be smart with our waste management. If we aren't able to correctly deal with our trash, our entire ecosystem could collapse (and that is not an overstatem ent). Here are a few statistics that I found that I also found interesting:
 * 1) Waste that is created naturally is bio-degradable, meaning that they are broken-down normally through nature and all of its beautiful being. However, seeing as though humans have developed chemicals and material that are not naturally formed beginning from the Industrial Age, this waste CANNOT be "digested" as easily. Therefore, we have a build-up of trash that has to be disposed of through different processes.
 * 2) [[image:udapbio/Boat-sea-plastic-krichim.jpg width="335" height="19.5" align="right" caption="Just one of many examples of waste pollution in our waters."]]This trash, as it sits in the landfills, emits greenhouse gases and toxic fumes. As many know, this is the primary source of global warming.
 * 3) Usually, the greenhouse effect, where the atmosphere traps heat, is a good thing, it being one of the reasons that life on Earth is possible. This, however, is not good when **TOO** much heat is trapped. It can lead to the polar ice caps melting which in turn raises sea levels.
 * 4) The most obvious reason that waste generation is bad: pollution. Although we have trash cans to collect our trash, not all waste makes its way to the designated locations. Most often then not, this waste ends up in our water. As Mrs. Lil said in class on Friday, less than 1% of all the water on Earth is pure, usable water and we're running out quickly.
 * 5) The organisms that drink from contaminated water carry toxins which are extremely detrimental. Not only can these animals pass the toxins off to their offspring, but they can also simply die, negatively affecting other organisms that rely on them.
 * The United States creates 35% of the world's waste and uses 25% of its natural resources.
 * 14 billion pounds of trash are dumped into our oceans every year.
 * We spend $3.7 billion every year just to manage waste.

Here are a couple things you can do to reduce your waste! So next time you get stuck with a piece of trash, properly dispose of it! Although it's a pain to deal with at the time, it will most definitely be worth it.
 * 1) Recycle! - In Upper Dublin, we can recycle anything that has a number 1-7 in the middle of the recycling arrows, but try to make an arts and crafts project from the material instead!
 * 2) Pick up trash! - Yes, it's not ideal to touch dirty things in the street, but just picking up little bits of trash that are lying around can make a difference.
 * 3) Don't buy products that can't be recycled or become a lot of trash! - Certain materials such as Styrofoam cannot be recycled despite whether they have the recycling sign. (They block the machines that recycle waste.)
 * 4) Tell others! - People need to know that the flyer they toss on the street or they gum they spit out on the sidewalk does make a difference. We need to get rid of the "one little piece of trash won't hurt anybody" mindset.

Here's a trailer for a documentary about waste management! media type="custom" key="26109964"

Can you propose another method of how we should deal with trash? What measures do you take in our own house to reduce trash/ recycle?

Week 1: Can  We All Become Geniuses? Ever since I came across a video of someone with savant syndrome, I have been very interested in the topic. For those who are unaware of what savant syndrome is, savant syndrome is a mental disability, though not recognized as a mental disorder, that allows those who have it to express extraordinary abilities. Savant syndrome is highly associated with autism neural developmental disorder and although the cause of this syndrome is unknown, it has recently been discovered that you do not have to be born with savants in order to have it.

Jason Pagett, for example, was a college dropout who was diagnosed with savants after having head trauma. While being robbed, Pagett was knocked unconscious and later started to see things in a whole new light. He suddenly gained interest in math and science and returned to college where he displayed great talent in his field of study. But this isn't the only form of savants. According to Dr. Treffert, an expert on savantism, there are three different features of savants.
 * 1) " splinter skills "- anyone who displays splinter skills have remarkable memory. They can remember what shirt they were wearing or what they were doing on almost ANY day of their lives. I have also seen a video where a savant was able to tell you what day of the week a certain date was, even if the date was in the future.
 * 2) " talented savan t "- these savants are anyone who show good skills in a certain area. Jason Pagett would be classified as a talented savant because of his talent in math and science, but this can also be any area in the arts, such as music.
 * 3) " prodigal savant "- a prodigial savant has talents that are "beyond comprehension to the majority of the public". Daniel Tammet can be seen as a prodigious savant as his perception of words, numbers and colors are mixed together. For example, seeing or thinking of the number 4 may recall the color blue or a certain shape.

Going back to the topic obtaining savants, it has been thought that head trauma can lead to savants due to the brain's neuroplasticity, which is any change in the neural pathways or synapses. However, a new theory has arisen that states that savants occurs when the area of the brain that is responsible for logic and creativity is damaged. The brain then tries to repair this injury, but an error, although not confirmed, leads to a burst of creativity.

Now don't go and hit yourself on the head trying to get savants as you'll probably only end up with a headache and maybe a concussion. And while it may seem like an interesting ability to have, it is said that those who have obtained savants have seen a change in personality as well. Pagett, despite his aptitude in math and science, now has mysophobia, or more commonly known as germophobia.


 * __ If given the opportunity, would you like to have savants syndrome, knowing that you may also develop OCD and or a change in personality? If so, what area of " expertise" would you like to have? __**

Here are some videos of people who exhibit savants syndrome : media type="custom" key="26025686" Derek Amato is an example someone who got savants syndrome after head injury. Although the video is lengthy, it explains the proposed process of this phenomena very well. It gives detail of his story, but if you just want to get a better idea biologically, start watching from 4:07. media type="custom" key="26025692"Daniel Tamment, as mentioned earlier, explains his perception of numbers, colors, and words. But if you are more interested in seeing what his capabilities entail, then watch this video instead: media type="custom" key="26025726" media type="custom" key="26025748"This last video shows Stephen Wiltshire and his talent in drawing and memorization.