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Ethical considerations primarily focus on the effects on future generations. Relating to gene editing concerning athletes, a current controversy regards whether we should be allowed to use these methods to enhance our own abilities. The use of genome editing in somatic cells raises some concerns due to the array of unpredictable outcomes that accompany gene editing (Krishan et al. 2015). Many are in favor of genome editing when it concerns the elimination of certain diseases. Yet, many are against the idea of altering the DNA of embryos, citing it as crossing an ethical line. This is due to the possibility of newly created diseases developing due to DNA insertion from CRISPR-Cas9 in locations other than the target site (Cyranoski 2015).

Based upon figure 1 the effect of Ulva on Gigartina is a positive effect following the facilitation model. A facilitation model means that early colonists modify the environment so that it is more suitable for late successors and less suitable for other early successors. The Gigartina is a late species and when the Ulva is present then the number of Gigartina increases over time. When Ulva is removed the Gigartina levels are consistently low throughout both years.

The pattern of mortality for fir and aspen changes when the aspen plots are thinned. When the aspen plots are thinned the fir mortality increases but the aspen mortality stays the same. This could be due to the fact that the fir are more susceptible to fire in the absence of aspen. The likely mechanism controlling these interactions is a tolerance model. In a tolerance model the earlier successors modify the environment so that is has a small effect on the later successional species. The later successor then takes over the colony and can eliminate the earlier species. In figure 2 Aspen is the earlier successor but over time the fir can still increase in density despite the presence of the aspen. However, as the Fir continues to grow the density of the aspen starts to decrease.  

Organisms who are challenged with moving through air or water as a way of locomotion are each posed with substantial mechanical problems. In air, animals must overcome the force of gravity and sustain force to stay aloft. Flying animals do this by generating lift. Lift is the positive net force of air beneath and above their wings. Flying organisms also often use local weather patterns to assist in generating lift. In water animals must move against water which is both dense and viscous. Fish use trunk and tail musculature to propel themselves through the water. Musculature is composed of bands called myomeres. In air, as objects become larger their overall speed tends to increase but their relative speed decreases. Meanwhile in water the smaller the organism the more viscous the environment is to that organism, making it more difficult to move.

1.011 grams of nutmeg and 3 mL of TBME were added to a round bottom flask. The solution was gently boiled in an air distillation apparatus for 10 minutes and then cooled to allow the solids to settle. A micro-scale filtration apparatus was used to filter the liquid into a tared 25 mL flask. To remove the rest of the solid from the flask another 2 mL of TBME was added to the flask and heated briefly. The remaining solution was filtered through the micro-scale apparatus again. The solution was dried gently with air until the solvent evaporated and only the crude trimyristin remained. The crude product was dried before being weighed (0.704 grams) and recrystallized. 6 mL of acetone was added to the flask with the crude product and the solution was heated until the solid product dissolved completely. The solution was then cooled for 5 minutes to room temperature and then placed in an ice bath for 15 minutes allowing crystals to form. The crystals were collected via vacuum filtration and rinsed with 1 mL of acetone. In a clean round bottom flask 0.06g of trimyristin, 2 mL of 6M NaOH, and 2 mL of 95% ethanol were added. The solution was refluxed for 45 minutes. While the solution was being refluxed a second recrystallization was performed on the remaining trimyristin product. After the reflux was competed the solution was cooled to room temperature and then added into a 50 mL beaker with 8 mL of water. 2 mL of HCl was added dropwise to the beaker while stirring. The final solution was cooled in an ice bath for 10 minutes and vacuum filtered to produce 0.046 grams of myristic acid.

 The starting materials were reacted to obtain a crude trimyristin product. Trimyristin was obtained in a 82.9% yield. The final product, myristic acid, was obtained at a 80.9% yield. The products were identified and compared using melting points. The melting point of the first recrystallized product was 56°C compared to the melting point of the second recrystallization of 58°C.  Comparing these two melting points it is clear that the more times a recrystallization step is performed then the closer the experimental melting point is to the theoretical melting point. The melting point of the myristic acid was found to be 53°C which is comparable to the actual melting point of 54°C.

During and following the study the participants function of fitness will be expected to change over time. Factors such as VO2 max, BMI, one rep max, heart rate, and blood pressure will be expected to improve in their own regard. Possible predictors in change in nerve function may include: nerve conduction velocity, vibration perception threshold, nerve action potential, and nerve fiber branching. The variables and results expected to be most likely to change are a drop in blood glucose/A1C, increased nerve conduction velocity in both motor and sensory neurons, and an overall increase in function of fitness.

0.515 grams of Benzoin and 4 mL of ethanol were added to a 25 mL flask and swirled until fully dissolved. 0.10 grams of sodium borohydride was added over a 5-minute period and swirled for 20 minutes at room temperature. The mixture was then cooled in an ice bath. 5 mL of distilled water and 0.3 mL of 5M HCl was added to the mixture. After 15 minutes an additional 2.5 mL of distilled water was added to the sample and the product was collected via vacuum filtration. The product was dried on the filter paper for 15 minutes. The yield and melting point of the crude product was determined. The crude product was then recrystallized from acetone in a flask and the crystals were allowed to dry before the melting point and mass of the purified 1,2-diphenylethan-1,2-diol were determined. After recrystallization a small amount of the starting material (benzoin), the crude product, and the recrystallized product were all dissolved individually in vials with ethyl acetate. Two TLC plates were spotted. One TLC plate was spotted with the starting material, the recrystallized product, and a mixture of the starting material and the recrystallized product. The second TLC plate was spotted with the starting material, the crude product, and a mixture of the starting material and the crude product. Both TLC plates were run in a 9:1 CH₂Cl₂ : ethanol and then analyzed.

Despite the possible benefits of genome editing, the potential effects on future generations may outweigh the positives according to Lanphier et al. The technology could easily be abused and used for non-therapeutic modifications. There is also a potential danger in using CRISPR/Cas9 for genome editing due to the possibility of making accidental changes elsewhere in the genome. This is problematic because the precise effects of the modification may not be known until birth or even years later. Genetic modification is further an issue legally due to the lack of policies regarding genome editing in some countries such as the US (Lanphier et al. 2015).

Genome editing has potential to eliminate or minimize deadly diseases in the human genome. It has been popularly used among agricultural scientists, for genetically-modified organisms, and those specialized in infectious diseases and epigenetics (Petherick 2015). Genome editing has been progressively trialed for treating single-gene diseases, such as cystic fibrosis and sickle cell disease (Hsu et al. 2015). Germline editing could knock out a disease not only in the embryo in which it is being performed on, but also eliminate the disease from future generations.  Human diseases such as HIV could potentially be eliminated from the human genome. Gene editing in conjunction with stem cells might make it possible to generate gametes for reproductive purposes and correct errors in their genome. This would minimize the need for oocyte donation (Sugarman 2015). Also the use of CRISPR/Cas9 is an efficient and inexpensive method for gene editing.