Drafts

Based on the current literature and to maximize engineering efficiency of treatment, the researchers plan on engineering two liposomes to successfully eliminate all PaCSCs throughout the body. One liposome will encompass the metabolic treatments and include phenformin (OXPHOS inhibitor), devimistat (Krebs cycle inhibitor), RRx-001 (c-Myc inhibitor), auranofin (glycolysis inhibitor), and ONC201 (Akt/ERK inhibitor, TRAIL regulator). The second liposome will encompass the self-renewal treatments and include navicixizumab (bispecific antibody for VEGFR and DLL4 in Notch), a bispecific antibody for VEGFR and JAG2 in Notch, vantictumab (frizzled receptor inhibitor), PRI-724 (β-catenin inhibitor), LGK974 (small molecule porcupine inhibitor), ETC-159 (small molecule porcupine inhibitor), BMS-833923 (smoothened inhibitor), and PF-0444913 (smoothened inhibitor). Both liposomes will be decorated with PaCSC specific antibodies that bind to PaCSC specific antigens cluster of differentiation 44 (CD44), cluster of differentiation 24 (CD24), and epidermal surface antigen (ESA) to ensure targeted delivery to cancerous stem cells. Cells positive to all these antigens had a 100-fold increased tumorigenic potential compared to non-tumorigenic pancreatic cancer cells (Lee et al. 2016). The researchers will therefore incorporate three monoclonal antibodies, one for each of these antigens, into the membranes of the two liposomes.

Myristic acid was produced in a 34.5% yield (0.02g)  from the once recrystallized trimyristin. To obtain the theoretical yield for myristic acid, one had to calculate the number of moles present in the hydrolysis of trimyristin and multiply that number by three. This is because one mole of trimyristin is balanced when three moles of myristic acid are present. As a result, the theoretical yield of myristic acid was 0.058 g while the actual yield for the experiment was 0.02 g, which therefore led to a percent yield of 34.5%. To improve the percent yield, the filter paper form the filtration should be allowed to dry overnight to obtain any remaining crystals that may have been stuck on the paper.

    For myristic acid, the melting point recorded was 51-52℃, whereas the theoretical melting point is 54.4℃. This demonstrates that the experimental end product was relatively pure. To improve the purity, the trimyristin from the second recrystallization should have been used to measure the melting point because it was more pure than the product from the first recrystallization and thus making the myristic acid more pure.

For the concept that these culturale ideas may onday free themselves from our us and begin to move away there may be a chance that something along the lines of this happens. While these ideas will most likely never be able to leave the realm of inside of intelligence due to the nature of them there is a possible that we, as humans may lose control over them. As our technological understanding increases and we get closer and closer to creating true artificial intelligence these ideas will eventually transfer to this other intelligence. This would result in us losing our monopoly over the environment that is these memes and result in us not being the sole dictators of how we wish to shape them. In communities that are completely separated from us human beings, we might see ideas arise that we are unable to comprehend as humans. In this sense I believe that these cultural ideas might be able to free themselves from us however due to the nature of their existence they will always be bound to the ecosystem that is inside some form of intelligence.

These Cultural ideas however are very vulnerable to being exploited by us for our own desires. While these ideas can have unintended consequences that cause them to have a major increase in replication such as the tide pods example, humans can also purposefully artificially craft memes to help spread an idea. In the “can we weaponize memes?” video its takes a very literal and humorous interpretation on how memes could be used as a weapon against a group of people, however these ideas today are already used in this way today due to shaping from human influence. The culturals ideas are commonly used in politics to express and spread one sides political agenda in absence of true data or facts or can seek to belittle or insult people who believe in the opposing view. This purposeful shaping of memes can lead to further decisiveness in ideological views and result in people ignoring alternate points of views due to repeat exposure to the same message and repeat degradation of the other messages.

It is very possible that our cultural ideas are using us to try and survive as best as possible in the ecosystem that is our minds. These cultural idea possess many different qualities that we can parallel to the real world with how life has evolved over time. As stated in the “Ecology of memes” article, these cultural ideas vary in a large number of different traits that can lead to different forms of how they replicate themselves and change overtime. Some examples of things these ideas can differ in for different replication effects would be in Adaptability, ability to assimilate other ideas, the ability be a parasite off of other idea or work together with other ideas in symbiosis. We see these strategies and many more used in cultural ideas trying to survive also long as possible. This use of these strategies to attempt to remain relevant in the minds of humans for as long as possible could be compared to the fact the these cultural ideas might be exploiting us for their own reproductive success. one examples showing directly negative effects from this exploitation would be from the tide pod video. This IDea went around at the expense of the health for many individuals but as a  result I became a huge and widely known idea. Even now, while the trend has died off a lot this idea still sits in the back of our mind due to the effects it has on some individuals in our community.

Jaguars are an endangered species which through poaching and habitat loss, populations began to fall in the mid 1900s. Human development has also hindered their populations, between building expansions and an increase in agricultural fields. Conservation should give this species top priority because jaguar populations continue to decline and suffer as a direct result of human impact. Jaguars help keep a balance in the food chain as a top predator, as they help to control populations of subspecies. Ecology can help conserve this species through the protection and conservation of designated habitat patches and corridors so that jaguars may be allowed space and ability to survive and grow. Providing protection for the connectivity between different landscapes will allow the jaguars to be able to expand their population gene pool, which will then in turn create a healthier, more stable population. Ecology itself will allow humans to better understand changes in populations, and how more space will allow for increased population growth. Ecology cannot help with the politics and law behind creating these protected habitat patches and preventing further illegal poaching and deforestation. It also cannot account for the enormous financial expenses that would be required to conserve these patches.

    Children with autism have lower levels of autism, which is partially the reason why autistic children have a hard time with being social. Oxytocin is a peptide hormone that is produced in the hypothalamus. Oxytocin plays a role in social bonding and sexual reproduction. Scientists attempted to answer the question of whether having autistic children take an oxytocin spray and whether if it would be able to increase their social behavior. A factor scientists have to consider is that hormone levels change throughout the day. Which would mean that the behavior of the children could also change along with the hormone levels. Scientists had found that the spray does work, but only on children with lower levels of oxytocin to being with.

Botox is a form of botulinum toxin, which is a neurotoxin produced by the bacteria botulinum. When this toxin is injected into a certain area it temporarily reduces muscle contractions as it blocks the release of chemicals involved in pain transmission. Botox is often used cosmetically, but many have found that those suffering from chronic migraines could benefit from this treatment. In 2010, the FDA approved of the use of medicinal botox on patients suffering of chronic migraines, those who had headaches for more than 15 days a month. Botox has been found to prevent migraines before they begin, but it does take some time for the botox to settle in, but treatments often last up to 10 weeks and can be covered by insurance companies.