Strokes in young people could be due to meth

            Everything has a consequence but there are some things that have effects that could change, or even ruin someones life.  One of those things is meth, a very common drug that has harsh effects on its users.  

            One of those effects is strokes.  Meth increases blood pressure, costricts blood vessels, and also inflame blood vessel walls.  Not only that but it's been known to tear the aorta, which is the largest artery on the body.  Bad news.  

            My reaction to this is sadness.  I wonder why we have things in this world that are so addicting and dangerous to those who try it.  It's scary and sad to me because my birth father was addicted to drugs, so I know what drugs to not only to people's health but also to thier lives.  Of course when someone first tries drugs, they dont think about the effects it will have on thier bodies, how addicted they could become and how it will effect the people in thier lives.  

            THe fact that this is an artice about two women, one 29, the other 26, is sad enough, but the fact that they were unfortunate enough to become addicted is heartbreaking.

DNA project

Recently in biology class we have been studying DNA and we applied that to the justice system and how people are wrongfully accused of crimes.  We did a few labs to get a feel for this concept.  One of there lab activities was an online program called CSI where we had to find evidence and test it virtually.  We had to solve a fake case and find the real person who committed the crime.  We did another virtual lab and we learned about fingerprint and DNA testing and how the real suspect is found.  With DNA and the theology and knowing of how to test DNA people who have been wrongfully convicted can be exonerated.  There’s one thing that never lies and that’s DNA.

            Our project was based off on studying how people are wrongfully convicted and how DNA helps people who are innocent be free.  We all picked a person to do our project on which is called the innocence project and on that website are names from A-Z of people who have been wrongfully convicted and their stories.  I was assigned the part of the sculpture.  I know what you’re thinking, and no.  Our sculptures were made out of packing tape.  With our partners we used them as models and we taped parts of the body, sticky side up first then stick side down and cut the tape off.  We then put chains on our sculptures and a padlock.  Behind was a video of different slides that my partner made.  There’s one thing that I really like that we put in out project, hanging inside our sculpture was a light.  The light was symbolic the hope he still had in his heart, hope to someday be free and proved innocent and that someday the real person who committed the crime would pay.  The person we chose was only 17 and he was in a prison, after he and his cousin and a friend were wrongfully accused and convicted of taking a woman into a place in the middle of nowhere and raping and killing her.  He spent his entire childhood in prison so next to him we had a cage that my partner welded with money, car keys, and DNA testing materials in it.

            From this project I learned that the U.S. justice system isn’t what I thought it was.  I was very blind to the fact that so many people are wrongfully accused.  I also didn’t realize what a big role DNA plays into our justice system.  I didn’t realize that when police did a suspect line up, they often don’t have the real perpetrator in the line up.  We se these people and our mind thinks it has to pick someone.  I really connected with the art portion of this project because I really enjoy art.  I am very proud of the work I did on this project because I take pride in the projects I do.  I think if I did this project again I would try to find more connection with our project.  I would connect with his personal story of what he went through.

Gmo and selective breeding

Have you ever thought about how that chicken is able to be produced enough times to feed everyone? How it was able to grow at a fast enough paces to satisfy the demand set by human consumption that is.  That is what the article we read ion Biology recently was about.  Britain’s boiler chickens are selectively bred, in order to make them grow at a faster pace.  The chickens are forced to endure lameness and often also heart failure because they are too big for their own bodies.

The "benefit" of course is that breeders can keep up with the demand for chickens, for us the humans, the consumers.  On the other hand GM or genetic modification, this has both benefits and concerns.  Benefits include enhanced taste and quality for crops, more resistance, higher producing rates, hardiness and better feeding for animals.  Benefits also include efficient processing and food security for growing.  The concerns of selective breeding are what I stated above, that is harmful to the chickens and unhealthy for them to be in that state.  The concerns are human health concerns, like allergens, and unknown effects.  Another concern is domination of world food production by only a few companies.  Some other concerns include those to do with ethics, labeling and society. 

I think that the public should be more concerned with GM.  In my opinion GM could be considered animal cruelty.  The only reason why these animals, such as chickens have to go through all this is for us and I don't think that is a good enough reason.  So we can have chicken to eat and so breeders can make money.  Now I may be wrong but the price that these chickens have to pay to help us economically is not worth it.  Yeah sure they’re going to die anyways, so it doesn’t matter what happens to them before that?  I don't think that is right at all.  I don't know if the man who discovered GM and selective breeding in the 1800's, Gregor Mendel, would be happy or upset.  Maybe he would be happy that we furthered his experiment and made new discoveries, depends on if he is more concerned with animals or the economic state.