Arianna+Bloom

= WEEK 3: CANCER TREATMENTS =

==

=As you all know, on Friday we took a trip to J n J. As we were walking through all the labs, cancer research came up in the conversation. We were told that the newest research into cancer is focusing on treating it by trigger the body to fight the cancer. For a long time, all experiments involving this idea were failures. The drugs created all caused awful side effects. After a lot of research, it was discovered that cancer cells put "brakes" on the immune system, preventing it from fighting the cancer.=

The cells of the immune system
=One drug, however, looks like it is a success. Yervoy is a drug that lifts the breaks and allows that immune system to fight the cancer by itself. Yervoy helps cure about 20% of melanoma patients.=

=Because this practice is relatively new, these are very good numbers. Hopefully, with continued research, these numbers will go up.= == =Continuing with the idea of the immune system fighting cancer, Natural killer cells have been identified as white blood cells that can kill tumor cells without deliberate immunization or activation. In words, they are nonspecific defenses, or part of the second line of defense.= =It seems as though the future of cancer treatment is a bright one. The human body is amazing and complex. Even though cancer is also very complex, the preciseness of the immune system, along with a little help from new drugs, is definitely strong enough to beat cancer!= = = = WEEK 2: GENETICALLY MODIFIED ORGANISMS = = =

The affects of GMO's are mostly unknown. Whether they have good effects or bad effects is still debated. GMO's are organisms whose genetic material has been modified using genetic engineering techniques. The most common genetically modified organisms are bacteria, yeast, fish and mammals.

In fact, most of foods we eat today are GMO's. Corn and soy are two of the most common GMO's. Everybody eats corn and soy is an ingredient present in many foods.

Rice is a food that has recently been undergoing GMO experiments. Scientist are trying to genetically modify rice to make it resistant to pests. Rice is the staple crop of Asia, where more than half of the worlds population lives. Unfortunately, the effects of genetically modified rice is still unknown. While GMO's can seem so great because the food is tastier or their insect resistant. But the downfall is no one knows the effects. In the long run, GMO's could have awful effects on the human body. The rice that is genetically modified could be very Harmful. Because no knows the effects, the entire population in Asia that depends on rice for food could be at risk.

In class, we have talked about GMO's a lot, and have weigh the good and bad. On one hand, the

Population of the world is growing and GMO's can help feed the growing population, but they can also hurt it if the effects are bad. So, what side are you on? Are you for or against GMO's?

= = = STEM CELL RESEARCH = Stem cells are undifferentiated cells that can differentiate into specialized cells and divide by mitosis to produce more stem cells. There are two main types of stem cells, embryonic and adult. Embryonic stem cells can be found in the inner cell mass of a blastocysts or in the umbilical cord blood, just after birth. Research of the embryonic stem cells receives the most controversy and ethical debate. On the other hand, adult stem can be found in bone marrow, adipose tissue (lipid cells), or blood.

Much of the controversy surrounding stem cell research has to do with the question of when does life actually begin. Between scientific and various religious beliefs, it seems as though everyone as a different opinion on this question. The main reason why people are against stem cell research is because it involves tampering with a human embryos. However many of the stem cells used in research come from aborted fetuses. This can change many people's opinion about doing research because there is no question that an aborted fetus no longer has life. While this is very sad, stem cells are being tampered with are not taken at the expense of a living fetus.

Personally, I do not understand how anyone could be against stem cell research. So much good can come from this. If you still not convinced, please read on!

In 2011, an Israeli scientist was the first to produce stem cells from an endangered species. This breakthrough can save animals from extinction. Remember that stem cells have the ability to differentiate into any type of cell in the human body. So, this can help treat many specific diseases such as Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, schizophrenia, cancer, and spinal cord injuries. Studying stem cells can help scientists learn a huge amount about human growth and development.

Stem cells can also be used to grow limbs and organ for a specific person. For example if a person is in need of a liver transplant, scientists can use that person's stem cells to grow a liver that is specific to their body. This would ensure that the body would not fight the organ because it would not reject its own cells. Also, there are huge waiting list for all organ transplants. If a person is in need a transplant, it can be years before an organ is actually available to them, and then the transplant might not even be successful, if your body rejects the organ. By using stem cells to grow organs, it can decrease, if not fix, the problem of wait lists and unsuccessful transplants. Also, it can help slow down the aging process by giving people brand new organs. If someone's heart starts to slow down, years can be added on to their life by giving them a brand new heart that isn't tired.

Perhaps the most influential advantage to stem cells research is that scientists can test thousands of new and potential drugs without using human subjects or animals. They could find out how a drug and affect the body and a specific type of cells without harming any organism. We could find out exactly how GMOs are affecting our bodies, or how specific enzymes that are not found in the human body, like the one that digests cellulose, will affect the body. Those are just a couple of examples, but so much more can be done!

In class we watched Wall-E. There were a lot of obese people in that movie. There has been research into the possibility that there is a genetic link to obesity. If there is a genetic link, then it would be interesting to see if stem cell research can help treat or "cure" it.