Recently on the Science Daily online magazine, I came across an article that talked about a scientist who developed the first, full-sized bone from stem cells (Jaw Bone Grown from Adult Stem Cells). Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic and her team managed to grow a jaw bone with stem cells from bone marrow. Some of the main reasons for the creation of this particular joint is that it is a complex structure no able to be grafted easily and also about 25 percent of people suffer from temporomandibular joint (TMJ) disorders.
As of today, the only way to treat these disorders is to replace them with bones from other parts of patients’ bodies. With this new technique, it’s going to be possible to grow new jaws from a patients’ stem cells.
What’s most interesting about this technology is the fact that the possibilities are endless. This technique can also be used to develop other bones in the body so it may be possible, to become your own donor. If you need a repair, stem cells can create a new piece of your body to replace a broken one. The things we can do today are amazing. We have learned almost how to play God.
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Obama and Change: Blog 5
This week, Obama announced that the U.S. is opening up new areas of our coastal waters to be used for offshore drilling for oil and gas (Is Offshore Drilling Worth the Risk). Hundreds of million acres will be utilized in an attempt to reduce dependence on foreign oil and make money from the sale of leases. Lots of energy companies and economists have been big advocates of the increased drilling since gas prices began rising, hoping that there will be “decades of new oil fields to plunder”, but environmentalists think that there isn’t as much oil to be found in these offshore areas. They believe that there might be more risk than reward.
It isn’t known how much this will affect our economy, but it is definitely going to impact the ocean. Think about the habitats that will be affected in the ocean by the drilling taking place deep in the oceans. What if there are oil spills? But there may be a huge payoff if a large amount of oil is found. At the least it creates more job opportunities for lots of people. This could be a disaster waiting to happen or benefit to America’s economy; only time will tell.
It isn’t known how much this will affect our economy, but it is definitely going to impact the ocean. Think about the habitats that will be affected in the ocean by the drilling taking place deep in the oceans. What if there are oil spills? But there may be a huge payoff if a large amount of oil is found. At the least it creates more job opportunities for lots of people. This could be a disaster waiting to happen or benefit to America’s economy; only time will tell.
Thursday, March 4, 2010
Blog 4: No More Itchy Summers
The article, New Way to Control Disease-Spreading Mosquitoes: Make Them Hold Their Urine, from the online magazine, Science Daily, is interesting because it discusses a possible solution to a problem that we have today: mosquitoes spread diseases when they invade our bodies and steal our blood! According to the article, mosquitoes pick up diseases when they feed off of infected hosts, then travel to new hosts and infect them. A particular type of mosquito, the Aedes aegypti, is responsible for putting 40% of the world’s population at risk of catching dengue fever, a disease that leads to 50-100 million infections and 22,000 deaths annually. There are no vaccines for this fever, so controlling mosquitoes is necessary for the spread of this disease to stop.
Cornell researchers found that as mosquitoes feed off of blood, they need to urinate at the same time to prevent fluid and salt from overloading in their bodies which could kill them. Also, they need to get rid of excess weight in order to be able to fly away. The renal tubes of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the parts of the body that lead to the promotion of urination as they feed on blood and if there are insecticides that can disrupt the renal system then mosquitoes may not be able to pee. They’ll feed and end up killing themselves because of the salt and liquids that are not being relieved from their systems.
This process would limit the spread of diseases by restricting the mosquitoes’ ability to feed on more than one host, which will potentially save millions of lives. But what effect will this have on nature? Mosquitoes will never know that they are going to die if they drink blood so they will certainly continue to do it, which has the potential to wipe out their entire species depending on how widespread the usage of the new insecticides are. Dragonflies and fish, as well as many other predators, feed on mosquitoes and their larvae, so how well will they be able to adapt to this sudden lack of available food. This could start a huge ripple effect in the natural environment if we act without knowing the potential risks.
Cornell researchers found that as mosquitoes feed off of blood, they need to urinate at the same time to prevent fluid and salt from overloading in their bodies which could kill them. Also, they need to get rid of excess weight in order to be able to fly away. The renal tubes of the Aedes aegypti mosquitoes are the parts of the body that lead to the promotion of urination as they feed on blood and if there are insecticides that can disrupt the renal system then mosquitoes may not be able to pee. They’ll feed and end up killing themselves because of the salt and liquids that are not being relieved from their systems.
This process would limit the spread of diseases by restricting the mosquitoes’ ability to feed on more than one host, which will potentially save millions of lives. But what effect will this have on nature? Mosquitoes will never know that they are going to die if they drink blood so they will certainly continue to do it, which has the potential to wipe out their entire species depending on how widespread the usage of the new insecticides are. Dragonflies and fish, as well as many other predators, feed on mosquitoes and their larvae, so how well will they be able to adapt to this sudden lack of available food. This could start a huge ripple effect in the natural environment if we act without knowing the potential risks.
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