Survival of the Sickest Journal
Chapter 1: Ironing it out
Notes:
Most of chapter 1 was about hemochromatosis. I learned that Hemochromatosis is an inherited disease, one where the body continues to gain iron because it is unable to regulate its maintenance of iron. It seems as if people with Hemochromatosis also have problems with other infections and that these people could also have problems with macrophages with them lacking iron. Although the rest of the body has tons of iron, macrophages are deficient of them. But it turns out that these iron-deficient macrophages have led unexpected benefits over the past such as the ability to resist the Bubonic Plague.This hereditary disease originated from European decent during the times of the
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Bubonic Plague. And due to natural selection, people with this disorder during the Plague have successfully survived and reproduced. Draining the blood is a possible cure for this although it has both positive and negative effects — too much iron within the blood level could kill someone, while draining this blood could help prevent other bacteria to grow within the body. Opinions: I had never heard of Hemochromatosis before. Reading about what Aran Gordon has and about how he acquired it via his ancestors is quite interesting. It also surprises me that the chance of obtaining this disease is only about 1/200 assuming that your ancestors are of Western Europe. I like that, “What doesn’t kill us, makes us stronger.” True quote. Questions: Has there been any other origins of this disease besides Europe during the Black Plague? Chapter 2: A spoonful of sugar helps the temperature go down Notes: In this chapter, the topic transitions to diabetes and its correlation to temperature. Diabetes is a disease in which the body is unable to regulate the sugar level within a person’s bloodstream, therefore having excess sugar within the bloodstream. A benefit that scientists learned about this is that sugar allows water to freeze at a lower temperature than water without sugar, which is why people during the Younger Dryas, an ice age that occurred 13000 years ago, may have survived as they used this excess sugar as an antifreeze. This evidence could support the claim that people with diabetes in the present and past could’ve had descendants from that Younger Dryas time period. Opinions: Now diabetes is a term that I am actually familiar with, unlike Hemochromatosis. I am learning more and more in this book about how diseases can have positive side effects although in my opinion are still quite bad. This book also says that diabetes is more common in Northern Europeans than Hispanics and African Americans which is a statement I can agree with. Once again, this book explores the duality of things in life, emphasizing that good things can have bad effects and vice versa. Questions: Since the world is warmer now than during the Ice Age, shouldn't diabetes be less common? Chapter 3: The cholesterol also rises Notes: Chapter 3 is about the benefits of sunlight and Vitamin D and how it can help lower cholesterol levels within a body.
The sun makes Vitamin D therefore those in colder regions with less sunlight are at a disadvantage although there are other supplements such as tanning salons and cod-liver fish oils. Although the sun produces Vitamin D, it also destroys folic acid. People with darker skin can prevent the depletion of folic acid better than those with lighter skin, but people with darker skin would have to carry more cholesterol to utilize the sun’s benefits. Folic acid aids in cell replication and the cell growth system. Melanin is a pigment that absorbs light and determines the darkness of skin color along with hair and eye color. This chapter also introduces the gene ApoE4, which is related to evolution. ApoE4 makes sure that people with darker skin have higher levels of cholesterol, therefore aiding the production of Vitamin D. But we also learn the flaw that ApoE4 can also increase the chances of heart attacks and …show more content…
strokes. Opinions: This chapter is quite intriguing as it has something to do with things I am related to. It has many topics related to things that I do my daily life and facts about Vitamin D which I can use. Since I am a dark-skinned person, I learned about how I take in sun rays compared to other people and that I am more resistant to folic acid depletion. Questions: Do all people with dark skin have the gene ApoE4 or do just some have it? Chapter 4: Hey, bud, can you do me a fava? Notes: Chapter 4 is about plants and how they can be useful to humans, as well as harmful. We learn that plants are much like their counterparts, humans in that they also have defense mechanisms and work in many different ways. For example, some plants may produce toxins to product themselves from predators. This chapter introduces fava beans and its disease to human beings. It is a fatal inherited disease that causes enzyme deficiency and is known to carried by many people in the world. The disease is known as Favism, and if a person with this disease eats a fava bean, he or she could experience fatal effects, usually fatal anemia and death. This disease likely originated from the location where fava beans were cultivated. It turns out that people with Favism are also more resistant to malaria as malaria parasites do not like the red blood cells attacked my free radicals of Favism. Opinions: Just like the previous chapters, there is a duality, a positive and a negative, to all these diseases. This book’s emphasis on diseases and how it affects evolution may have generated some insights on evolution for myself. Questions: How do all the diseases mentioned up to this chapter relate to each other if any at all? Is there a type of diagnosis for Favism? Are there any other ways of obtaining Favism other than inheriting the genes or being there when it originated? Chapter 5: Of microbes and men Notes: This chapter introduces the parasitic worm, Dacunuculus medinenesis, also known as the Guinea worm, a common problem in Africa and Asia. The guinea worm grows up to 3 feet long in an infected person as it makes it way to the skin, burning through it with acid. The only treatment currently known is to wrap a worm around a stick and pull it out slowly, which is a process that could that weeks. Folklores are also mentioned in this chapter as it claims that rabies could be the possible source for werewolf stories. Contact or bite by someone with rabies can transfer the disease to the receiver. Problems about malaria patients also arise in the chapter as a way to combat this infectious disease could be to protect malaria patents with mosquito nets so the microbe will be more successful. Opinions: I am starting to like this book more as the topics mentioned in this chapter are very interesting — it seems as if Dr. Moalem is writing a science fiction rather a nonfictional one. The mentioning of the guinea worm makes me cringe or squirm a little bit but is still yet quite interesting as I believe I have seen a video on this once before. And after that the author writes about the diseases and patients as if they were like werewolves or zombies, in that we need to prevent the infections from spreading, and letting evolution do its job. Favorite quote: “At the end of the day, every living thing–bacteria, protozoa, lions, tigers, bears, and your baby brother–shares two hardwired imperatives: Survive. Reproduce.” Questions: How does one obtain all these mentioned parasites within the chapter? Chapter 6: Jump into the gene pool Notes: This chapter mentions Lamarck’s theory of acquiring genes as scientists have recently found that DNA can be modified in other ways than random mutations. A form of Lamarck’s theory is making a comeback after being overshadowed by Darwin’s theory of evolution. There was evidence in the 1950s that whole DNA sequences have moved places during environmental stresses also known as “jumping genes.” It says in this chapter that a lot of DNA that does not code for proteins are made of these so called jumping genes. This chapter also introduces the topic of HIV, which is a retrovirus and can be written into the DNA. To combat HIV, the enzyme that helps the HIV retrovirus become part of DNA must be stopped. HERVs are retroviruses apart of our DNA, and are also responsible or healthy side effects such as producing a healthy placenta. Opinions: A mentioning of Lamarck’s theory, a theory that I learned and that I am familiar with this year. I did not know that such viruses (or I guess retroviruses) could have any positive effects. I am surprised to learn that viruses are responsible for our DNA and evolution. Questions: When do “jumping genes” occur? Can it be triggered when wanted? Could these genes be manipulated to create stronger species? Chapter 7: Methyl madness : road to the final phenotype Notes: This chapter introduces the topic of epigenetics, which is the study of how children inherit and express new traits from their parents without changing their basis of DNA. In other words, the trait is expressed differently physically but the genes don't change. It is possible that the behavior of the mother and environment during the child’s early years could affect the child’s traits and possibly both defects. There was an experiment done in this chapter involving 2 mice groups. The first and control group of mice was fed normally, and therefore the fat yellow mice produced similar fat yellow offsprings. The second group was fed normally, treated better, and was also given a vitamin supplement, acting as the independent variable. Because of this, the offsprings of this group turned out to be were skinny and brown. This could lead to the fact that Lamarck may not have been completely wrong, as it is apparent here that environment could play a big factor on offsprings, therefore genes being acquired. Probably one of the most interesting things I can take away is that offspring have a higher chance of developing asthma if their grandmother smoked rather than their mother. I learned so much about this concept of epigenetics and methylation, and it really makes me appreciate DNA and genetics. We are who we are because of our parents and grandparents. Methyl markers are things that can attach and change a gene. Because of this, although the Human Genome Project has already been mapped out, the Human Epigenome Project is also being made to map out all the Methyl markers. Opinions: It is quite crazy to learn that Lamarck may not have been entirely wrong all this time. If so my basis and world of learning biology through Darwin’s evolutionary theory and inherited genes may be flipped up-side down. It is also quite interesting for me to learn that kids with asthma may result from grandmothers smoking, instead of the mothers. Questions: When will the Human Epigenome Project be finished? Is it possible to map out all these such methyl markers since there are so many environmental factors that play into child development these days? Chapter 8: That’s life : why you and your iPod must die Notes: This final chapter focuses on dying, why we die, and telomeres.
It starts off by mentioning a disease known as progeria, which causes a carrier to age 10 times faster than normal, although it is very rare. The Hayflick limit is related to telomeres at the end of DNA. Telomeres hold extra information, and can stop cancer. A telomerase is an enzyme carried by cancer, which causes telomeres to get larger and larger, thus causing the cancer cells to rapidly reproduce. It also mentions in this chapter that larger animals have stronger abilities to repair DNA as well as the savanna theory and the aquatic ape theory. Another cool thing I learned is that in most cases, the larger you are, the longer you live. Humans have less hair and walk upright because of the aquatic ape theory which explained that our ancestors evolved from a wet environment which is now somewhere around present day Ethiopia. The male-savanna theory explained that our ancestors had walked with two legs into the savannas.
Opinions:
A wonderful journey what this book has been. This chapter was quite captivating, as it related on topics such as dying and originating. The book also ends with a plethora of questions and the repeated use of “just” as solutions for our questions. It emphasis on asking questions and how good they can be, “If we don’t ask, we’ll never find out.”
Questions: Most of my questions are basically summed up within the last two pages but, Will lifespan increase as we age longer? What are all the factors that influence a child’s traits prior its birth?
Anthropologists and geographers have studied and overtime come to the conclusion that distribution of skin color is not random. Darker skin color has been found to typically come from near the equator and lighter skin colors are typically coming from closer to the north and south poles. Over the years, researchers have found that darker skin colors has protected the skin from having skin cancer. Recent studies have shown that “skin color is the product of natural selection acting to regulate the effects of the sun’s ultraviolet radiation on key nutrients crucial to the reproductive success” (169).
1. Life is more abundant in the North Atlantic than in the Pacific because the ocean area of the North Atlantic is directly in the path of iron-rich dust from the Sahara Desert, which leads to the development of bigger communities of phytoplankton, and in turn plankton, and so on. This fact is related to global warming because someone thought of an idea to fight global warming by putting huge amounts of iron solution into the ocean so that extreme plant growth would occur and these plants would remove enough carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to counter the negative effects of humans.
The Civil War era divided the United States of America to a point that many Americans did not foresee as plausible throughout the antebellum period. Generating clear divisions in even the closest of homes, the era successfully turned businessmen, farmers, fathers, sons, and even brothers into enemies. Many historians would concur that the Reconstruction Era ushered in a monumental turning point in the nation’s history. The common rhetoric of what the Reconstruction Era was like according to historians is that it was a euphoric era. Those same historians often write about the Reconstruction Era as a time of optimism and prosperity for African Americans. Attempting to illustrate the era in a favorable light, they often emphasize the fact that African Americans had gotten the emancipation that they were fighting for and they were free to create a future for themselves. Jim Downs, author of Sick From Freedom African-American Illness and Suffering during the Civil War and Reconstruction, is not like those historians at all. Downs takes a completely different approach in his book. He asserts that both the Civil War Era and
The theme of this novel is to look at the good you do in life and how it carries over after your death. The moral of the book is; "People can make changes in their lives whenever they really want to, even right up to the end."
Throughout all texts discussed, there is a pervasive and unmistakable sense of journey in its unmeasurable and intangible form. The journeys undertaken, are not physically transformative ones but are journeys which usher in an emotional and spiritual alteration. They are all life changing anomaly’s that alter the course and outlook each individual has on their life. Indeed, through the exploitation of knowledge in both a positive and negative context, the canvassed texts accommodate the notion that journeys bear the greatest magnitude when they change your life in some fashion.
This lead to the demise of the population when the disease was transported through the heart of an infected man. Once the doctors completed the heart transplant, the man came to life with the generic grey blood and he was much more hostile.... ... middle of paper ... ...
Since Plagues and Peoples covers several subjects of knowledge, he helps the reader understand key concepts by fully explaining parasitism and its dependence on humans and animals. People in the field of history, which make up a majority of this books audience, would need more insight into epidemiology to grasp its key concepts. It would not be likely for a historian to be knowledgeable in a branch of medical science that deals with the incidence, distribution, and control of disease in populations.
In Amy Hempel’s Short Story “Going,” we take part in a journey with the narrator through loss, coping, memory, experience, and the duality of life. Throughout the story we see the narrator’s struggle through coping with the loss of his mother, and how he moves from a mixture of depression, denial, and anger, to a form of acceptance and revelation. The narrator has lost his mother to a fire three states away, and goes on a reckless journey through the desert, when he crashes his car and ends up hospitalized. Only his thoughts and the occasional nurse to keep him company. He then reaches a point of discovery and realizations that lead to a higher understanding of mortality, and all of the experiences that come with being alive.
I have decided to write about four conditions, three of which are detailed in “Survival of the Sickest”, a book written by Dr. Sharon Moalem about how genetic diseases may have evolved to help the human race survive in the past. The diseases which I chose are Hemochromatosis, Diabetes, Transposons, and Sickle cell anemia. I decided to write about hemochromatosis because of how it affects the body by overloading the body with iron, how it evolved in Vikings to minimize iron deficiencies, and how it spread across the population as the Vikings began inbreeding as they colonized Europe. I chose to write about diabetes because of how it may have evolved to prevent blood from freezing during the Last Ice Age, and because of the impact which it has on society. I wrote about transposons, despite the fact that these are not diseases, because of the role they play in the development of cancer, the way they are used in cancer research, and the way they have affected the evolution of life. Lastly, I decided to write about sickle cell anemia because of its interesting relationship with a disease which continues to run rampant in Africa.
This meant that over time, humans lost most of their hair on their bodies, leaving their skin exposed. Sweat glands were going to help the body cool down, but they couldn’t protect the skin from harmful UV rays. This is where melanin works its magic, and it’s the reason for the diversity in skin color today. Melanin helps reduce the absorption of wavelengths into the skin (Chaplin, Jablonski, 59).... ...
The main cause of the Great Plague of Europe came from a deadly bacterium known as Yersinia Pestis. A smear of the bubonic plague is evades the human body and concentrates itself in the lymph node. A plague patient’s blood profile would contain or...
The concept between life and death cannot simply exist without one another, where the topic is widely discussed throughout “When Breath Becomes Air” by Paul Kalanithi. This memoir explores Paul’s definition of death as he passes through the distinct “stages” of his life. As Paul progresses through each stage, he views death differently as he transformed from a student to a neurosurgeon, neurosurgeon to a patient, and eventually becoming a father, where he needed to take full responsibility as an adult.
A physical journey occurs as a direct result of travelling from one place to another over land, sea or even space. The physical journey can occur individually or collectively, but always involves more than mere movement. Instead physical journeys are accompanied by inner growth and development, catalysed by the experiences and the decisions that impact the outcome of the journey. These journey concepts and the interrelationship between physical and emotional journeys is exemplified in the text; The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain, The Road Not Taken by Robert Frost, the children’s book Lost and Found by Oliver Jeffers and the film Stand By Me directed by Rob Reiner.
Lawhead, William F. (2013). The Philosophical Journey, An Interactive Approach, 6th Ed. McGraw-Hill Education. New York .
However, every moment we have on this earth is precious and it is our choice to make the most of it. As Carter and Edward learned that they had little time left , they reflected back on their lives and the achievements they had made. According, to Erikson's stages of psychosocial development, these two men look back with despair and strive to escape the harsh truth, death. However, as they embark on the adventure of a lifetime, they soon realize that rather than escaping the inevitable, the importance of life is the joy that we share with others. In the end, these two men died with a sense of integrity and reached the final stage of death, acceptance. Even though they were not able to achieve their lifelong dreams, they lived a life filled with love and wholesomeness. In the end, death is part of reality, and we all must come to terms with it, “we love, we die, and the wheels on the bus go round and