Jae

Wednesday, June 1, 2011

Technology: There Is Always More To Come

This is perhaps the most beautiful time in human history; it is really pregnant with all kinds of creative possibilities made possible by science and technology which now constitute the slave of man - if man is not enslaved by it. -Jonas Salk

The 21st century is an era where technology is made ubiquitous, much to regard it as a need in everday life. Technology’s development and innovation is significant because it improves our quality of life. Advancement in technology has lead to medical research curing numerous diseases, new drugs and equipments and has given us an opportunity to better maintain ourselves and understand the world rather than focus on our own. Technology is important today because it provides us the knowledge we need about ourselves and what we can do to better maintain it.

Science alone is useless without application. Technology allows us to create machines and conduct researches and make everything in science and healthcare field possible and beneficial to all.

Computerised Tomography (CT) scanner first installed in 1974, is a special kind of machine that sends out x-ray beams simultaneously from different angles in our body and produces virtual images. Originally designed to take pictures of the brain, it is now used for taking pictures virtually of any part of our body.

Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) scans are machines which provide detailed images of our anatomical structure and open a vital window to other parts of our body. It detects signs of arterial sclerosis in the heart and finds ruptured disks, torn cartilage and tumours in our spine, bones, and joints - with the no harmful side effects attached, thanks to the weak magnetic and radio waves used in the procedure.

John Hopps, a Canadian, is the pioneer of the artificial pacemaker and is regarded as “father of biomedical engineering” for his contribution in Canada. At the age of 12, he joined the National Research Council in 1941 after training at the University of Manitoba as an electric engineer. He found that through mechanical means, the heart could artificially start again after its exposure to a cooling process. He was able to build the first pacemaker in 1950.

An x-ray image of the pacemaker inside the body

In 2009, the Japanese company, Panasonic, also unveiled their latest invention – a robot capable of distributing drugs to its patients and have the ability to write prescriptions. The robot will require 2 hours to complete a job in a hospital with 400 beds, compared to 4 hours a skilled pharmacist needs to do the same task.

An image of the Panasonic Robot who is capable of distributing drugs and prescribing medications to its patients.

Our modern development in technology has lead to the increase of many inventions and research responsible for finding solutions to problems we deem impossible to cure.

The shift in our era is reflected upon significant inventions such as the CT scanners, pacemakers, stethoscopes, x-rays, heart monitors and defibrillators which all have been successful contributions to healthcare and is responsible for saving many lives. It proves that improvements in science and medicine goes hand-to-hand with technology in providing us better diagnostic tools, imaging techniques and equipments leading to better research and treatment. Without technology, many of the advancements today wouldn’t be possible and goes to show technology is not something we should take for granted. Technology has in fact come a long way and while many think technology is at its peak, I believe that there is always more to come.

Work Cited List:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0932661.html
http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/mriscans.html
http://mri-side-effects.net/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-ray_computed_tomography
http://www.netdoctor.co.uk/health_advice/examinations/ctgeneral.htm
http://www.emedicinehealth.com/ct_scan/article_em.htm
http://www.healthscanner.info/category/general-health/
http://www.infoniac.com/hi-tech/latest-invention-robot-that-writes-prescriptions-and-doles-out-drugs.html
http://inventors.about.com/od/cstartinventions/a/Canadian_2.htm
http://www.essortment.com/john-hopps-invented-pacemaker-27221.html
http://inventors.about.com/library/inventors/blcardiac.htm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_Alexander_Hopps

Pictures Used:
http://medicalimages.allrefer.com/large/ct-scan.jpg
http://www.iuhealth.net/ADAM/doc/graphics/images/en/1107.jpg
http://www.linternaute.com/actualite/magazine/dossier/les-inventions-qui-ont-change-le-xxe-siecle/image/pacemaker-406795.jpg
http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2009/07/pyxis-robot-07-07-09.jpg
http://hes.met.nagoya-u.ac.jp/IMG/kensa-img.jpg

Blogs I commented On:
Kyle Tran's Technology at it's best

Patricia Relatado's The Fifth Incision: Dissection without Dissecting

Have a great summer guys! :)

Sunday, March 20, 2011

Opt For Sustainable Agriculture Or Go Industrial?

The population of the world is increasing continuously. We’re facing immense difficulty regarding whether or not we have sufficient resources to supply mankind. As humans, we’re able to make a decision: we can opt for sustainable agriculture or go industrial, the faster but vulnerable way towards exposing the natural resources of the environment. Sustainable agriculture simply is raising food that’s healthy for consumers, animals and environment while embracing an organic, holistic and biodynamic approach towards food production. Alternatively, industrial agriculture is a capitalistic system that’s dependent on mechanization, chemical pesticides and fertilizers, biotechnology and government subsidies replacing human labour. Both options have benefits and ill-effects however it comes down to whether we meet global needs for food first or prioritize maintaining biodiversity, which I believe should come first.

While it’s true that Industrial agriculture has made food abundant and affordable, the environmental and social price has been detrimental. It resulted to countless erosions, depletion and contamination of soil and water resources, loss of biodiversity, pollution, and deforestation. The benefits of IA are insufficient to cover the obliteration it causes.

Direct disposal of waste into natural waterways causes waste to build up within the water. A pungent odor is the result. Additionally, this waste decreases the amount of oxygen in water, causing the death of aquatic animals or other organisms.

Industrial agriculture raises alarming issues regarding health, with the heavy use of pesticides which are linked to cancer risks. It is accountable for water waste issues, contaminating ground and surface water with toxic pesticides, fertilizers and hormone and antibiotic residues flowing into water systems damaging the environment. IA promotes the inhumane treatment of animals who are crowded in cramped areas without any sunlight, fresh air or access to pasture. This leads to unsanitary conditions of industrial slaughterhouses which causes high levels of meat contaminations - resulting in epidemics of food-borne illnesses sickening approximately 76 million people, killing 5000 people yearly. Hormones like rBGH are given to chickens and beef cattle to speed up their growth and production although it causes diseases like mastitis, hoof diseases and internal bleeding.

Many pesticides have been shown to cause significant damage to wild species. Carbofuran, for example, was recently banned for most uses, as it was responsible for the near extinction of the burrowing owl.

Large numbers of animals are slaughtered rapidly in an assembly line. Chickens are lifted by their legs when they are fully conscious. Their heads are immersed in water to make electrical contact, but some flutter and are not stunned. Chickens and pigs are subjected to scalding water to remove their feathers and hair. When stunning is not done properly or exsanguination has not progressed enough, a significant proportion of animals is burnt before going unconscious.

Sustainable agriculture, in contrast, preserves the environment so the resources used are replenished and are available for future productions. It prefers biodiversity, raising different types of vegetation and livestock which are treated with respect. Chemicals are limited and used only when required resulting in healthier food options. Most importantly, farmers who practice sustainable agriculture are paid a fair wage, work in a safe atmosphere and are presented proper living conditions and food. Therefore, a farm that’s cost-effective boosts the local economy and investments and new jobs are created.

While Industrial agriculture may carry the global needs for food, it holds a severe threat to our health, destroys the natural way of the environment and damages our ecosystem. Sustainable agriculture offers advantages when it comes to our health and our environment. We have the option to help the environment or to choose the easier but abusive way of producing food. There are lots of ways to help, like buying from farmers markets, community and school gardens, community-supported agriculture or pick-your-own-farm and roadside stands. We do have the decision to make a difference.

Sources:
http://www.sustainabletable.org/intro/whatis/
http://environment.nationalgeographic.com/environment/habitats/sustainable-agriculture/
http://www.economywatch.com/agriculture/types/industrial.html
http://scienceblogs.com/worldsfair/2009/05/industrial_agriculture_v_susta.php
http://www.indigodev.com/Susagr.html
http://www.sustainabletable.org/intro/comparison/
http://www.helium.com/items/703906-industrial-agriculture-and-the-loss-of-biodiversity
http://www4.agr.gc.ca/AAFC-AAC/display-afficher.do?id=1175526032952&lang=eng
http://www.helium.com/items/1321039-why-sustainable-agriculture-is-important-in-todays-world
http://www.faqs.org/nutrition/Smi-Z/Sustainable-Food-Systems.html
http://www.jstor.org/pss/1311588
http://webcache.googleusercontent.com/search?q=cache:Bcte4ddjeV0J:attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/trans.html+why+is+sustainable+agriculture+important&cd=8&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=ca&source=www.google.ca
http://www.hedweb.com/hillman/animpain.htm
http://www.sierraclub.ca/national/programs/health-environment/pesticides/pesticid.html
http://greenliving.lovetoknow.com/Effects_of_Water_Pollution

Pictures:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_sPZcfO0ivVo/S_GGhIo-ZYI/AAAAAAAAAKQ/dps0h605KD0/s1600/pesticides+2.jpg
http://www.all-creatures.org/anex/chicken-slaughter-02.jpg
http://www.treehugger.com/ugandan-children-fetch-contaminated-drinking-water-photo.jpg

Commented on:
Kyle Tran's Amazing post : Industrial Agriculture: is it Worth it?
Anker Gonsalves' Amazing post : Feeding a Growing Population vs Conserving Biodiversity

YAY. I'm done unit 8. :)

Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Are Designer Babies Worth The Price Tag, and the Consequences It Comes With?

Our swift improvement of reproductive technologies over the last decades had given birth to several ethical and moral dilemmas. In 2004 the coinage “designer baby” made its transition into reality. Designer babies are babies whose genotype, physical characteristics, and susceptibility to hereditary diseases, are selected by its parents, through genetic engineering with Invitro fertilization. This ensures the presence and absence of particular genes that will be passed onto the baby through their parents. However the problem is, are we modifying the future for the right motives for instance: To detect and prevent genetic diseases from the parents or, are we abusing technological advancements for our own purposes?

Procedures like PGD are not only limited to screening disease-free embryos and hereditary disorders but is capable of allowing the parents to choose the baby’s gender, eye, skin and hair colour and decide on physical traits and characteristics like intelligence, beauty, height, athletic ability and tendency towards obesity.

Finding divergence between treatment and enhancement is complicated because enhancement is inevitable. Through PGD, Pre-implantation Genetic Diagnosis, scientists can pre-screen embryos to find and select few that are healthy and disease-free. Genetic screening reduces the baby’s probability of being born with diseases like Down Syndrome to rare blood diseases like Diamond Blackfan Anaemia. Substituting versions of the genes linked with heart diseases ensures that the person’s functioning doesn’t fall below the standard level. We call it therapy because it prevents diseases. However, adding an extra copy of a gene to a human embryo can lead to produce a baby beyond the considerable level in which exceeds enhancement. While many propose that designer babies conceived for medical purposes are tolerable, enhancement and cosmetical reasons are not.

I agree that interfering with human genetics is morally wrong. The suggestion of designer babies based on choice takes away the natural process of procreation. As if we’re playing the role of God. I find that there's no excuse as to why parents would modify their own children. Nevertheless procedures like PGD are not only limited to screening disease-free embryos and hereditary disorders and implant them in the mother’s womb but is capable of allowing the parents to choose the baby’s gender, eye, skin and hair colour and decide physical traits and characteristics like intelligence, beauty, height, athletic ability and tendency towards obesity. If we are given the option to decide how one should look, and given all parents choose a light skinned, blue eyed baby, the biodiversity in our world will tumble. Also, the choices potential parents make come with no guarantees that their preferences will turn out perfectly. If this mutations happen, adoptions and abortions will increase and become a scapegoat. We think our actions will benefit us in the end, but in truth we’re unaware of the consequence that comes with it.