smomalley's blog

Vaccines are extremely important for the health of our society as a whole. Vaccines do not only work to protect the recipient, they protect immunocompromised individuals in the population. Vaccines work by training your immune system to fight specific diseases. Many deadly diseases have been almost eraticated in the United States because of the high rates of vacinations. If a high percentage of individuals in a population are vaccinated for a certain disease, it makes it difficult for that disease to infultrate the community. This is how immunocompromised individuals are proteccted from diseases. An individual who is undergoing chemotherapy cannot be vaccinated, they are thereofre vulnerable to diseases. If that individual lives in a community with high rates of vaccination, it is much less likely that the disese will enter the community and infect that individual. Some individuals choose not to vaccinate their children, this is a big problem for everyone. These children are not only more susseptible to diseases, but they are endangering individuals who depend on herd immunity. There are certain pockets in America with high rates of unvacinated children. These communities could easily cause an epidemic of a previusly eradicated disease. Travel is made easy in today's world; this can spread disease from foreign countries to the US. If an unvaccinated individual contrcts this disease, it could cause an epidemic in the United States.

Negative feedback loops are a vital part of human anatomy and physiology. Negative feedback loops are involved in a wide variety of functions such as body temperature or insulin regulation. When these feedback loops go awry, all sorts of problems can take place. One example of a malfunctioning negative feedback loop is seen in type 1 diabetes. Insulin regulation is controlled through a negative feedback loop where pancreatic beta cells are the receptor cells. In type 1 diabetes, there are no pancreatic beta cells, they are destroyed by the immune system. Because of this the regular negative feedback loop, which supplies insulin to the blood when blood glucose levels are elevated, cannot function properly. This lapse in negative feedback loop function results in no insulin delivery to cells based on glucose levels in the blood. This is why individuals with type 1 diabetes need to inject themselves with insulin, their cells cannot deliver it on its own. 

In-situ hybridization is a method used in many different areas of science. This is a lab technique where anti-sense mRNA probes are used to target spacific mRNA sequences in an organism. This method allows scientists to locate cells where specific genes are expressed. The mRNA sequence is targeted for a reason. Every cell in the body has the same DNA sequence, so targeting a section of DNA would label every cell. Proteins are made as a result of the central dogma; proteins are exported from the cell to other cells, so it is not possible to determine the specific cells that encode for that gene. This method allows you to pinpoint the exact cells that encode a specific gene, and count those cells. This process is very useful in genetics and neuroscience in particular. This method can be used in any area of the body and with any organism, so you can compare where one gene is expressed in different organisms. 

In-situ hybridization is a method used in many different areas of science. This is a lab technique where anti-sense mRNA probes are used to target spacific mRNA sequences in an organism. This method allows scientists to locate cells where specific genes are expressed. The mRNA sequence is targeted for a reason. Every cell in the body has the same DNA sequence, so targeting a section of DNA would label every cell. Proteins are made as a result of the central dogma; proteins are exported from the cell to other cells, so it is not possible to determine the specific cells that encode for that gene. This method allows you to pinpoint the exact cells that encode a specific gene, and count those cells. This process is very useful in genetics and neuroscience in particular. This method can be used in any area of the body and with any organism, so you can compare where one gene is expressed in different organisms. 

Vaccinations are an extrmely important part of our societies health as a whole. Vaccines do not only protect the recipient, they can provide protection for the immunocompromised in that community. Vaccinations work to prevent different diseases by training your immune system to fight them. Some diseases have been almost erradicatied in the United States because of vaccines. Certain groups are more vulnerable to diseases because they have a compromised immune system. These groups include the elderly, and people undergoing chemo therapy.  In areas where individuals choose not to vaccinate their children that endangers many more people than just their children. These rare diseases could easily come back as an epidemic if less people are vaccinated. Traveling from one country to another is so easy today, someone who is not vaccinated could come into contact with a disease that has been previously erraticated in the US. This could lead to an epidemic if the disease reaches a population of people who are not vaccinated. 

Figure 1. Microscope image of E. coli bacteria. This bacteria is found in the human gut, as well as in the environment. "E. coli Bacteria" flickr photo by NIAID https://flickr.com/photos/niaid/16578744517 shared under a Creative Commons (BY) license

In current neuroscience, we know that neurons carry electrical signals across the synapse both to and from the brain to relay information, Throughout history this was not the case. A doctor to the Roman Gladiators, Galen, believed that because the cerebellum was the firm part of the brain, it was responsible for muscle movement. The cerebrum is the softer part of the brain, so he believed perception of different experiences imprinted on this part of the brain. He was generally right in the sense that the brain does control muscle movement, and the cerebrum is mostly responsible for sensory percention. These ideas evolved over the years to the knowledge we have today, that different sections of the brain have different functions and control different parts of our physical and psychological being.

In the depate of nature versus nurture, a recently discovered gene has added contributed to the debate. A mutation to the MAOA  gene, or the "Warrior Gene", is linked to anger management issues and violent behavior. When the MAOA gene is shortened, it inhibits the body's ability to clear excess seratonin in the neural synapses of the brain. This excess seratonin causes a good mood to turn agressive, pretty quickly. Research about this gene and the symptoms is relatively new. A team of scientists took genetic samples from a wide range of participants; ranging from buddhist monks to violent gang members. The genetic samples were tested for the Warrior Gene which some think is nature's cause of human violence. The results of the genetic tests showed that the three sampled buddhist monks had the gene, while other more violent participants did not. This result argues for nurture's cause of human violence, that a person's surroundings and upbringing are more perswasive in personality and behavior. Although some results were shocking, overall this research still leaves the debate of nature versus nurture up for debate. 

The microbiome is so extensive in the living body, it is hard to think about life without it. There are so many functions of our microbiome that we don't think of everyday. Some of the functions are obvious, such as assistance in digestion. Other functions include vitamin K digestion and the processes that aids seratonin production. Current research is looking for a link between different autoimmune diseases, such as type 1 diabetes, and a malfunction in the microbiome. The microbiome of everyone is slightly different, even among identical twins, because of different diets, exersizes, and experiences. The microbiome between an obese and a lean identical twin is very different, and research in mice is used to test if the lean mouse's microbiome can be safely transfered to the obese mouse to help that mouse loose weight. One form of microbiome transfer has been succesful for treating C.diff. This disease removes helpful microbacteria in the gut and leads to digestion and gastrointestonal problems. In this case the use of a fecal transplant from one healthy relative to the infected relative, is used to treat this disease. 

The Hershey and Chase experiment is vital in the study of genetics. This ecperiment prooved that DNA is the hereditary material in bacteria and bacteriophages. This experiment radioactively labeled the phosphorous in DNA, and the sulfer in protein in a bacteriophage. The bacteriophage was allowed to infect a bacterial cultrue. Hershey and Chase used a blender to separate the bacteriophage from the bacteria, after the infection. They then placed the cells in a centrofuge and let the materials separate by weight. The heavier bacteria fell to the bottom of the centrofuge to form a pellet, while the lighter bacteriophage was suspended in the supernate. The radioactively labeled phosphorous in the DNA was found in the pellet, the radioactively labeled sulfer was found in the supernate. This proved that the DNA was the hereditary material of the bacteriophage, and baceria, and not the protein which remained outside of the bacteria.