A New York Times article talked about the microbiome and how it’s impacted by antibiotics.
I made this meme from my take on the article.
Month: August 2016
The 2 Most Prevalent Issues in Biology Today
There are many prevalent issues in biology today. Although we have made many advances, a lot of questions remain unanswered. Some diseases kill lots of people every year, and there is no cure for them. Also, with the use of new technology, several ethical issues arise regarding the proper uses of this technology on the living world.
#1: Cure for Cancer
“This year about 564,800 Americans are expected to die of cancer—more than 1,500 people a day. Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the US, exceeded only by heart disease. One of every four deaths in the US is from cancer. Since 1990, there have been approximately 5 million cancer deaths.”
Courtesy of Thomara Latimer Cancer Foundation
URL: http://www.thomlatimercares.org/Cancer_Facts.htm
Currently, there is no single “miracle” cure for cancer. Surgery, chemotherapy, and radiation therapy are some of the most common treatments for cancer. These are effective but don’t always work. Remissions can occur in the same area, nearby, or in a different area.
Treatment #1: Surgery
This treatment involves the removal of the cancerous tissue and a little bit of the surrounding healthy tissue through an operation.
Reasons for Surgery
- Diagnose cancer
- Remove all or some of a cancer tumor
- Locate where the cancer is
- Find out if the cancer has spread and is affecting other body organs’ functions
- Restore the body’s appearance or function
- Relieve side effects
Information about the sections surgery and reasons for surgery are courtesy of cancer.net
URL: http://www.cancer.net/navigating-cancer-care/how-cancer-treated/surgery/what-cancer-surgery
Treatment #2: Chemotherapy
This is the use of drugs to try to cure cancer. It is more common to have a combination of drugs applied, which is called combination therapy. If only one drug is used, the the cancer cells could develop resistance to that. Also, different drugs work in more ways to kill cancer cells together.
Treatment #3: Radiation Therapy
Radiation therapy uses high energy rays to shrink tumors and kill cancer cells. The radiation can come from an external source like a machine or come from within your body from radioactive material placed near the cancer cells.
It works by damaging the DNA in cancer cells beyond repair. When this happens, the cancer cells can’t grow and divide, so they die and are cleaned out by the body’s natural processes. However, radiation therapy can also cause side effects to normal cells as well.
“Radiation Therapy Head Mask. Patients getting radiation to the head may need a mask. The mask helps keep the head from moving so that the patient is in the exact same position for each treatment.”
Photo and caption and information on radiation therapy from source: http://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/types/radiation-therapy/radiation-fact-sheet
#2: Abortion
In the first scenario, the developing baby has no birth defects and is going to be a healthy boy or girl. Is it ethical for the parents to choose abortion of their child before it becomes a fetus, which is an 8 week old baby in the placenta?
One argument would be NO because once an embryo is developing in his mother’s placenta, it has a right to life.
The other side of the coin is YES because the baby isn’t a fetus yet and doesn’t have a right to life because it’s just a mass of cells constantly dividing.
In the second scenario, the developing baby will have a birth defect or a genetic disease. In this case, is it ethical to abort the baby before it becomes a fetus?
YES, if the baby is going to have a severe birth defect or a genetic disease which could prevent him or her from living more than a couple of years, why not spare the baby of the pain of death at such a young age?
NO, the baby might not have a severe birth defect or a genetic disease and could live much longer. Regardless of the severity of the birth defect or a genetic disease, abortion isn’t natural and goes against nature’s laws. Let the baby be born and die a natural death when his or her time comes.
Related: Baby Shane
Baby Shane was a baby diagnosed with anencephaly, a birth defect in which the baby is born without some parts of his or her skull and brain. During the time he was in his mother’s womb, his parents made a bucket list for him and took him to many places. He met the Philadelphia Phillies, went to the top of the Empire State Building, and shared a cheese steak before he was even born.
Is it Is it okay for babies who have cases similar to Baby Shane to be aborted?
Source of information for this section on Baby Shane and photo courtesy of CNN
URL: http://www.cnn.com/2014/10/09/living/bucket-list-baby/
Aditya's Bio Blog 