Transmission of Diseases from Animals

Nathan Wolfe is a scientist who is working on preventing diseases from spreading out of the animal population and into humans.  HIV was one of these diseases that came from animals (chimpanzees).  The chimpanzees were hunted and caught for bushmeat.  Usually, when bushmeat is hunted, the hunter comes into contact with with the animal's blood - and that is how the diseases spread.  We never really catch the diseases when they are in that transition stage - before they adapt to humans.  This is what Nathan Wolfe is trying to do.  So far, he has made different stations throughout south africa to help to moniter the diseases before they spread.  He is doing this by giving hunters paper to take samples of the animal's blood, that they will then turn into one of his stations, where they will be tested for diseases.


Personally, I think that this is a great method of disease prevention - stopping the disease before it begins and the way that he is going about doing that.  I think that it is pretty amazing that people are still hunting primates (some of our closest relatives) for food.  Even more amazing is how much this practice impacts everyone else's lives in the rest of the world.  Who would have thought that some guy in africa who hunted a chimp would make so many people eventually accuire HIV and AIDS.  I think that trying to tackle this where it starts (in the bush) is the best possible way to stop more of these diseases from becoming worldwide.

Research Chimpanzees Leaving Retirement

The chimpanzees of the Alamogordo Primate Facility in New Mexico are being called back to be used as medical research lab animals after 10 years of retirement.  The 186 chimps have already been used as research animals and moving them back to the research facility has sparked many debates.  If they were to be moved, they would join about 150 other chimps in an environment that is a lot like where they live now in New Mexico.  In the new facility, they would be allowed to socialize and go outdoors, unless it is required to be isolated. 

My personal opinion on animal testing in general, is that humans aren't any better than any other animal, so we shouldn't test on other intelligent beings when we really need to test on humans.  In addition, when you are testing on a different species that are locked up in isolation, you aren't going to get the same results that you would on a human in normal circumstances.  In this case however, it seems as if it might be different.  It doesn't seem like they would be keeping them in isolation, and it seems like they would be happy there.  On the other hand, you never know what could happen to them there.  It isn't guaranteed that they will be treated well.  Where they are now, they are safe. 

These chimps have been through a lot, and I don't think that they should have to go back to being tested, regardless of the conditions. 

Did You Know? Drinking Too Much Water Can Kill You!

Contrary to popular belief, drinking large amounts of water isn't good for you.  In fact, it can make you very ill, and even kill you!

In the article, 'Strange but True: Drinking too Much Water Can Kill' it tells of studies done that show how drinking too much water can harm you.  If you don't drink enough water, then your cells shrivel up.  If you drink the right amount of water, then they are perfectly inflated with the water.  But if you drink too much water, then your cells expand, and if they expand too much, they explode.  Generally, in the rest of the body, it is hard for them to expand to the point that they burst - the muscle tissue around them expands with them.  But in your brain, you have your skull all around the cells, so they don't have any room to expand.  Therefore they burst, and you get a headache, and then you die (because all of your brain cells are bursting, fun huh?).

When I read this article, I was shocked that you could actually die from too much water intake.  I thought it was best to drink as much water as possible.  Now I am going to be much more careful about how much water I drink - enough, but not too much.

Felons Getting Organ Transplants

As of today, felons who have committed grave crimes have just as much access to donor organs as innocent people.  Should these people who have potentially taken a life have a right to an organ that could potentially save theirs?


This is the question that is addressed in the article 'Should Violent Felons Recieve Organ Transplants?'.  The author's opinion is that they shouldn't. 


I'm not sure if I agree with him.  I think that we need to decide depending on the person's crime, and if it is thier first time commiting the crime.  For example, if someone killed a person, got out of jail, and killed another person, they shouldn't recieve the organ.  But if someone broke into a person's house once, they should be able to recieve the organ - you never know who they will become.

So, in some ways I agree, but in some ways I disagree with this article.

First Blog!

This blog is going to be about Biology! (unsurprisingly)  It is for my high school biology class, and it is where I will be posting about what I will be learning.  Enjoy!