Ecstasy is a drug that is often taken during all night "raves" by young adults. And while this may be a popular drug, the side effects are immense, even when only a few doses are taken.
A study was done by Johns Hopkins University on just how destructive ecstasy can be, even in small quantities. They found that this drug is far more dangerous than thought previously. They studied monkeys and baboons who were given two or three sequential doses of ecstasy - the amount that is typically taken. It was found that ecstasy kills 60 - 80% of dopamine neurons that control movement, emotion, cognition, and pleasure. And that is after only 2-3 doses of the drug. In addition to these effects, a disease called Parkinsonism is commonly developed many years later.
From this evidence, it is clear to me that ecstasy is a drug that has serious consequences both in the short term and the long term. I think that if more research is done about this drug, further proving what it can do to your body, then perhaps the usage of ecstasy will go down, and more people will be saved from a devastating future.
Thursday, May 12, 2011
Tuesday, February 8, 2011
Selective Breeding and Genetically Modified Organisms
Imagine a chicken that weighs 3 kg. Next, imagine plants with pesticides in them, as a part of them. You may think that these are horrendous, and would never happen, but this is the reality.
In Britain they are breeding broiler chickens for size and meat production. This kind of a life is not pleasant for the chicken. They have many health problems, and around 32 million birds die each year from these problems. The plants life may not be affected by the pesticides in them, but we may be, and there are many impacts on the environment. These broiler chickens are the result of selective breeding - where you find a certain trait that you like, find another chicken with the same trait, and continue to breed them bigger and bigger. This can be taken to a more scientific level, by evaluating each cell that would go into the chick, and making sure that it contains the gene for a larger size, or whatever you might be breeding for. In genetic modification however, (what is going on with the plants) you actually take specific genes from different species and implant them in your animal or plant. The result of this is plants with a resistance to certain pesticides, and bunnies that glow in the dark. There are many benefits that are easy to see in these two applications of science. For one, it is easier to protect plants from harmful diseases and pests. As for selective breeding, it is far more convenient to have a chicken that is twice the size of a normal chicken, if it is for eating. You can basically breed any animal to fit your specific needs. At the same time, there are many downfalls to both of them. In GMOs, there are many health and environment issues. One of these is those of us who don't want pesticides in our food. The pollen of the GMO corn can easily transfer to the organic corn, and there is nothing you can do about it. Also, having these GMO plants can make pesticide resistant bugs and diseases. In selective breeding, there are high levels of suffering, and many welfare issues. These birds suffer quite a bit, and many die before they are slaughtered. It makes you question many of your ethics - what would you do for cheap chicken?
Personally, I think that both of these are very important issues, and neither can be ignored. There is a possibility that GMOs are more important, but that is just to me. You see, when I was little, I used to get rashes, and we figured out that they were from strawberries. But then we realized that it was only non-organic strawberries. Strawberries are covered in tarps, and then they are fumigated to get rid of any bugs or pests. This is what was causing my reaction. If these pesticides were to be a part of the plant, it is simply horrible to think of - there is no way that you can stop the transferring of the pollen from one plant to another. I feel like this is a much more immediate issue to be taken care of. Selective breeding has been going on for years, it doesn't have as immediate of consequences. I think that the geneticist Gregor Mendel would be pretty amazed with what we have done with his discoveries. We have come a long way, but we are still only building on what he discovered. At the same time, he might be kind of horrified at what we are using this technology for. He probably meant it to help disorders (which it is), but not so much for just convenience.
In Britain they are breeding broiler chickens for size and meat production. This kind of a life is not pleasant for the chicken. They have many health problems, and around 32 million birds die each year from these problems. The plants life may not be affected by the pesticides in them, but we may be, and there are many impacts on the environment. These broiler chickens are the result of selective breeding - where you find a certain trait that you like, find another chicken with the same trait, and continue to breed them bigger and bigger. This can be taken to a more scientific level, by evaluating each cell that would go into the chick, and making sure that it contains the gene for a larger size, or whatever you might be breeding for. In genetic modification however, (what is going on with the plants) you actually take specific genes from different species and implant them in your animal or plant. The result of this is plants with a resistance to certain pesticides, and bunnies that glow in the dark. There are many benefits that are easy to see in these two applications of science. For one, it is easier to protect plants from harmful diseases and pests. As for selective breeding, it is far more convenient to have a chicken that is twice the size of a normal chicken, if it is for eating. You can basically breed any animal to fit your specific needs. At the same time, there are many downfalls to both of them. In GMOs, there are many health and environment issues. One of these is those of us who don't want pesticides in our food. The pollen of the GMO corn can easily transfer to the organic corn, and there is nothing you can do about it. Also, having these GMO plants can make pesticide resistant bugs and diseases. In selective breeding, there are high levels of suffering, and many welfare issues. These birds suffer quite a bit, and many die before they are slaughtered. It makes you question many of your ethics - what would you do for cheap chicken?
Personally, I think that both of these are very important issues, and neither can be ignored. There is a possibility that GMOs are more important, but that is just to me. You see, when I was little, I used to get rashes, and we figured out that they were from strawberries. But then we realized that it was only non-organic strawberries. Strawberries are covered in tarps, and then they are fumigated to get rid of any bugs or pests. This is what was causing my reaction. If these pesticides were to be a part of the plant, it is simply horrible to think of - there is no way that you can stop the transferring of the pollen from one plant to another. I feel like this is a much more immediate issue to be taken care of. Selective breeding has been going on for years, it doesn't have as immediate of consequences. I think that the geneticist Gregor Mendel would be pretty amazed with what we have done with his discoveries. We have come a long way, but we are still only building on what he discovered. At the same time, he might be kind of horrified at what we are using this technology for. He probably meant it to help disorders (which it is), but not so much for just convenience.
Sunday, January 23, 2011
Ecosystem Services
Ecosystem Services are the things that the natural world provides - such as air, water, storm protection, and pollination.
We wouldn't be able to survive without them, so recently, there have been efforts to put a dollar value on them. They want to do this, because it seems that in order to get any kind of acknowledgement, you need to have a dollar value on it. This is difficult though, because it is hard to put a definite value on something that nature made. At the same time, it might be worse if they just left no value on them.
I think that we don't need a dollar value, we just need to pay more attention to these things. I don't think that it is possible to put a dollar value on them. Although, if someone disrupts one of these (say, clean air), it should be punished.
We wouldn't be able to survive without them, so recently, there have been efforts to put a dollar value on them. They want to do this, because it seems that in order to get any kind of acknowledgement, you need to have a dollar value on it. This is difficult though, because it is hard to put a definite value on something that nature made. At the same time, it might be worse if they just left no value on them.
I think that we don't need a dollar value, we just need to pay more attention to these things. I don't think that it is possible to put a dollar value on them. Although, if someone disrupts one of these (say, clean air), it should be punished.
A World Without Mosquitoes
Would the world be better without the threats that mosquitoes pose to many people? According to the author of 'A World Without Mosquitoes', Janet Fang, the world would have much less diseases, and the world would be a much healthier place overall.
Mosquitoes have always been a nuisance to us - and difficult to get rid of. In addition to this, they transfer tons of diseases. If we were to get rid of them, these diseases would be spread much less easily. But mosquitoes inhabit nearly every corner of the planet - from the freezing tundra to tropical islands. And while it might not seem like they do much for us, they actually do play a big part in many ecosystems. They pollinate many plants, they are food for many fish and birds, their larvae help to produce nitrogen in some plants, and for the caribou in the tundra, they direct where the caribou travel. Without them, many ecosystems may collapse.
I think that before, I didn't really appreciate how big of a part that mosquitoes play in ecosystems around the world. I didn't think past the itchiness of their bites. I realize now that we could never get rid of them - they play far too big a part in the world to extirpate.
Mosquitoes have always been a nuisance to us - and difficult to get rid of. In addition to this, they transfer tons of diseases. If we were to get rid of them, these diseases would be spread much less easily. But mosquitoes inhabit nearly every corner of the planet - from the freezing tundra to tropical islands. And while it might not seem like they do much for us, they actually do play a big part in many ecosystems. They pollinate many plants, they are food for many fish and birds, their larvae help to produce nitrogen in some plants, and for the caribou in the tundra, they direct where the caribou travel. Without them, many ecosystems may collapse.
I think that before, I didn't really appreciate how big of a part that mosquitoes play in ecosystems around the world. I didn't think past the itchiness of their bites. I realize now that we could never get rid of them - they play far too big a part in the world to extirpate.
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