Kevin+Ho

=**__// Week 4: //__** Weather Control= Since ancient times, man has struggled to control weather. Control over the clouds signifies dominance over nature, and the possible aversion of natural disasters, such as Hurricane Katrina. MIT has been developing a suitable method to weaken or divert hurricanes and other rainy weather (It involves chemical trails and soot, while others, like HAARP (High Frequency Active Auroral Research Program), use concentrated ion channels. It also could have applications within environmental methods of obtaining energy, such as directing a storm with a high airflow into a wind turbine power plant, or even as a potential weapon. media type="youtube" key="jcmMtUb0mh8" height="315" width="560" This video, while sort of paranoid and conspiracy-prone, gives a good overview of what control over the weather could bring. However,many urge populations to accept this new technology in order to save lives: however, the diversion of the weather, while saving some, could destroy others. Perhaps in the future, mankind will be able to control nature at its whim, but today, while an important step, is not the time for controlling nature. [|Veiw sucroe hree]

=**__// Week 3: //__** Bioremediation= Bioremediation is the use of the metabolism of micro-organisms in order to remove pollutants and other like things from a variety of locations. Remediation is helpful because it allows soil and ground to recover from the spillage of harmful chemicals. It is particularly helpful for cleaning up oil spills; it has been used numerous times, with mainly positive results. media type="youtube" key="UArfzsUAJCM" height="315" width="420" This video explains a little about bioremediation. However, what I want to talk about is the potential use of bioremediation as a cleaning agent for people. While this may sound far-fetched (and probably is), rather than wasting hundreds of millions of gallons bathing per day (entire U.S. population), why not open your heat-controlled bacteria canister and take out some bacteria in order to cleanse your epidermis of impurities? Or how about use on pets? If bioremediation can, in fact, be used on living organisms, then why messily clean your dog or cat? Put some bacteria on and let it work! [|Click for source]

=**__// Week 2: //__** Gene Therapy= Gene therapy is the newest method to treat diseases. It uses DNA to alter genes which then can be used to treat infected cells. It is used to correct mutations or other disabled genes. It is inserted into a vector, which is then introduced into the patient's body. Once inside, the patient's cells use the DNA to produce proteins which can be used to treat the disease [|Click here to view source] .media type="youtube" key="imL1Zmi3mWk" height="315" width="560" This is a fabulous new breakthrough of technology; the ultimate goal of gene therapy is to cure all diseases, and with new recent developments such as using nanotechnology as vectors, perhaps humanity can be one step closer to eradicating disease. It may, in fact, be possible to use gene therapy to introduce new genes into the human genome, or even construct the "perfect" human with perfectly expressed genes. = =

=**__// Week 1: //__** Divine Ratio/Golden Ratio/Divine Proportion, (1 + sqrt(5))/2= ====Called "phi", after the Greek sculptor who studied this proportion, this number can be found in everything one interacts with on a daily basis. It is found in the growth patterns of flora and fauna. It is found by the Fibonacci sequence: 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13,... and so on. Phi is found by dividing one number by its' predecessor, which comes very, very close to 1.618.==== [|Click here to view source.] media type="youtube" key="085KSyQVb-U" height="315" width="420"

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This is an interesting phenomenon which can be used in architecture, art, music, and science. Use of the golden ratio will offer insight into the minds of people, and perhaps animals, increasing our knowledge of animal behavior. Although humans do not yet have the technology to find all examples of the golden ratio in nature, someday it may be possible to use these ratios to construct bodies capable of perfect efficiency (with the aid of cloning).======


 * Nautilus shells are in perfect synchronization with the golden ratio.