Blog 17

I mentioned in my previous blog posts that Bio tech is not cheap, and as Hoven puts it: "So while you might not die, the U.S. health care system does give you the age-old offer of "your money or your life..."" And a lot of the general public cannot afford most of the new technologies that could save their life. Joel Harrison found out that "The United States accounts for 51% of all global spending on medical research, according to a 2006 Global Forum for Health Research report. The report estimated that 60% of this is public funding, 8% comes from nonprofit institutions, and only 32% comes from the private sector." Funding for research to progress Cancer vaccines is lacking, since a working vaccine for tumors announced in 2000 and 10 years later it still hasn't made major news worthy progress. George F. Will made the analogy "In the auto industry, if the steering-wheel maker charges an exorbitant price, the car company finds a more competitive supplier. In health care, if the medical equipment supplier charges an exorbitant price, none of the other medical participants care." The biotech industry can price its products whatever it wants, sometimes the price really does encompass all the costs put into its research and development. And other times its priced to make a large profit margin, either way there is no price regulation for these vaccines.

"The president’s grandiose government-takeover-and-control strategies are going to make things worse and worse — that is, unless members of that tiny band known as the Republican party can stand on their hind legs and just say no." I totally disagree with Larry Kudlow’s statement here. I believe our health care system requires change, In Joel Harrison’s article the US pays the most for healthcare, yet other countries’ systems are far more efficient. According to Harrison “more than 60% of the $2 trillion annual U.S. health care bill is paid through taxes, according to a 2002 analysis published in Health Affairs by Harvard Medical School.” And if we already have been paying for a universal healthcare system, why not expand it to benefit ourselves too? When we pay for health insurance most of that money doesn’t even get used on us, plus our providers can deny coverage for what we need even if it is not the best choice for us. So I think our new healthcare system should be a pool of what we’ve been paying but it actually gets spent on us. But it should be justified when it gives out the money, for example, if somebody gets a cold, they can pay out of their pocket for some over the counter cold medicine, but if somebody breaks a leg or gets cancer, they should get a stronger coverage. So money is not spent unless it is completely necessary and the chances for putting our country in debt are slimmer, unless everybody breaks their legs at the same time of course.

Blog 16

Even though there are a lot of vaccines readily available for cancer patients, most people either cannot afford it, or their insurance does not cover it. "Our current private health insurance system is the most costly, wasteful, complicated and bureaucratic in the world. Its function is not to provide quality health care for all, but to make huge profits for those who own the companies.” A lot of these products are priced to make a large profit for the company. Then again these technologies take a lot of money to fund the research and development. But as Iain Murray puts it: "Because rights entail claims on other people, they are necessarily negative in their construction and limited in their definition." This could hinder the development and research of new technology if they have to give out their products for free, they won't be able to keep themselves in business.

For every problem there is a solution. And I think that having some form of universal healthcare will overall increase the quality of life in the US. I also believe that healthcare is a right in the sense that without it, we would consistently have citizens dying. We all have a right to life, and I'm pretty sure that means helping somebody who is on the verge of death. Jacob Sullum states "They represent a legally enforceable claim on other people’s resources. Taxpayers must cover the cost of subsidies; insurers and medical professionals must provide their services on terms dictated by the government." While that might be true, what we will be paying will be just as much as we pay normally for healthcare. And if the system works the healthcare we receive will be sufficient and we will have no need to pay any more premiums or out of pocket expenses. Or it could be that the more dire the disease/injury is the more coverage we get, and minor afflictions that can be paid out of the pocket should be that way.

Blog #15

Describe the types of health care problems Americans face, and the government's role in seeking solutions.

Not everybody has it, in 2004 1/6th of Americans did not have healthcare, they ran up a a bill around the same cost of the war in Iraq and the war on terror operations. We don't pay doctors according to the quality of their work.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/healthreform/healthcare-overview#healthcare-menu

The government is implementing small portions of the reform, but whats already taking place is that they are removing the life time limit on insurance so people with serious or chronic diseases will have healthcare when they need it the most. In order to stop unnecessary out of pocket costs insurance companies must: cover recommended preventive services without charging out of pocket costs, provide an opportunity to appeal coverage decisions, and guarantee enrollees their choice of primary care provider. Other measures will also be implemented to reduce the cost of healthcare in the future.

What specific steps do authors take to write non-jargon-based scientific writing?

• They don’t use profession-exclusive words
• Break down everything to language anyone can understand.
• Describe different things clearly.
• If there are abbreviations they first state what they mean or are explained somewhere on the paper
• Instead of putting out the name of a very complex concept, they summarize it.
• They use comparisons and examples.
• They make the context clear.
• The sentence doesn’t sacrifice information for simplicity.

Blog #14

1. Adulthood, and I am interested in DNA vaccinations. The direct injection of naked plasmid DNA is much more effective than inserting a weakened or killed bacteria or virus. And with DNA vaccines you can produce an immune response to viruses and even cancer cells.

2. The NIH funds a lot of research projects and they provide funding to the University of Texas. http://report.nih.gov/recovery/ARRAGrants.cfm

http://www.latimes.com/health/ky3-story-brain-cancer-vaccine-10042010,0,4699074.story

3. DNA vaccination has shown the promise to treat almost any disease, and it also creates a very attractive market with an explosive growth rate http://www.wealthdaily.com/articles/cancer-vaccine-stocks-and-the-race-for-a-cure/2759 "Shares of Celldex Therapeutics Inc. (NASDAQ :CLDX) are up 48% over the last four weeks after the company announced patients who received their CDX-110 lived twice as long as those who only received chemotherapy and radiation." And a definite cure for cancer is estimated to be 50 trillion for the US alone. This is huge news for our economy, with the biotech industry growing this will affect us.

The Avian Flu caused a world wide scare, but thanks to bio tech and advances in DNA vaccination survival rates can be increased. http://www.virologyj.com/content/7/1/197 A study using lab mice have shown that being exposed to H1N1 and the H5N1 vaccine have an increased survival rate when injected with a lethal dose of H5N1.

Another thing I can focus on would be plant-based vaccinations, this could fit into adolescence or childhood.

I would think the NIH would also be involved with funding research related to this but I can't find any definite sources.

http://www.globalissues.org/article/218/diseases-ignored-global-killers In 2008 there were 2 million deaths from AIDS, tuberculosis kill 1.3 million a year with 9.3 million new cases a year. With plant-based vaccines we would be able to more effectively prevent and immunize many diseases. And without the need for a medical professional and syringe it is extremely cost effective. http://news.healingwell.com/index.php?p=news1&id=523946 Arntzen produced a potato that immunizes against Hepatitis B, showing it is possible to immunize people through genetically altered plants.

Blog #13

Post three (3) ideas for potential articles you might contribute to Life—The Book. For each idea, include the following:
1. The Big Idea—the science, the humanities & the relevant stage of life.
2. A picture that represents the big idea
3. A quick description of the genetic sc

ience involved.
4. A more substantial explanation of the relevant cultural, historical, geogr

aphical, economic and/or governmental context and his

tory.

1.The potential market for DNA vaccinations, how it works, how would it change our society, affects, all ages, maybe beyond.

2.

3. Scientists are able to make micro organisms produce proteins that fight HIV and AIDS and even cancer. These DNA vaccinations can be absorbed through hair follicles and also inhaled.

4. After we are able to cure all diseases, how will our political topics change, what will pop culture focus on? How will this affect the economy and how pharmaceutical companies will benefit and how it changes the economy.

Idea 2

1. Heart Disease and its affects on economics and ethics

2.

3. I could talk about the gene therapy that strengthen the arteries and explain other therapies and the details. And how mitochondria's life could be lengthened.

4. I could talk about how this would affect culture if people were able to live a lot longer and how that affects the medical industry.

Idea 3

1. Plantibodies and the 3rd world, all ages

2.

3. I'll describe the process of how they get potatoes to produce proteins that cure or prevent diseases.

4. I would do research on how the 3rd world will be impacted by this technology and what that means for medicine and agriculture today, and look into the FDA.

Blog #12

Idea #1 should be the type of environment in which you'd like to work.

I'd like to work in a lab, since I want to find an internship in the medical field as a biotech, bio chemist, bio engineer, or a pharmacist. I don't mind working alone or with others

, but working alone may not be a good idea.

Idea # 2 should be the type of skills you'd like to use at work.

I can efficiently work with computers, entering data commands, etc. whatever is required of me, just as long as it gives me work experience. I thoroughly enjoy stoichiometry so I wouldn't mind measuring out chemical reactions needed. Or just simply following procedures of an experiment or lab.

Idea #3 should be the types of things you'd like to learn at internship.

I want to learn what this field of work entails, I want to learn about what the company does and how. I want to walk out of this knowing what I will be working towards within the next 5 years of school and know I can achieve it. I want to learn all that can possibly be offered by my mentor. And even if I do not get the internship I wanted, I want to at least have learned one thing that will help me be successful in life.

Blog #11

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/10/07/opinion/07thu1.html?_r=1&src=tptw

The article talked about the court case of Snyder vs. Phelps, or more popularly known as the case against a soldier's family vs West Boro. Phelps was found guilty because the "First Amendment protected the protest as opinion about subjects of public concern." This raised questions about how the internet plays a role, if they hadn't advertised the funeral, would the protest deserve the protection? I think the judges made the right verdict by awarding the marine's family, using the 1st amendment to hurt others is not constitutional. To make it worse the West Boro church has been staining and misrepresenting Christianity to the point where people now associate them with Christians.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1191826-1,00.html

This article talks about how Christians have been misrepresented through politics and evangelists alike. West Boro is not the only one straying from the very teachings they claim to adhere to. Politicians use Christianity as a moral mask behind their intentions whether or not they follow or believe in Christ themselves. And in turn their views warp the public image of Christianity and cause stereotypes to emerge from that.

Blog 10 - Before the Storm

Are you ready?

For the most part yes... and no. I'm ready to answer the questions asked, but I am not ready to act. I am not a good actor, even though I had drama in middle school it was mostly comical improvisation.

How do you know?

As a witness I'll be following a set script, I read over it and I'll be able to practice even more tomorrow.

What are you doing as your last minute prep?

Reading over my script, and looking at possible facts I can use in my answers during the defense's cross examination. And making last minute changes on my script while communicating with my lawyers.

Blog #9

http://www.suite101.com/content/effects-of-the-american-civil-war-a90114

"The American Civil War created relationships between government and business concerns that continued after the war and sparked Gilded Age industrialization."

In the article it tells how the North was able to win the war through the growth of their industrial sectors combined with immigration and population growth.

From what I observe, I mostly pay attention to the economic affects the civil war has had on America. The major construction of railroads was a catalyst for the coming industrial boom, without it industrialism wouldn't have been as powerful as it is.