The development of the heart is a complicated process that implicates cell specification and differentiation, including tissue formation, shaping and alteration, to create a functional organ. The zebrafish has become a potential model system to disentangle the fundamental genetic, molecular, and cellular mechanisms of cardiac development and function. The liver is one of the essential organ in mammals. It performs many functions such as help the body digest food, store energy, and remove poisons. The liver also completes many regulatory functions that are critical to fetal development and to life in general. However, failure to perform theses function can result in many mammal liver diseases. Hepatomegaly is a symptom that associate with several liver disorders. Surveys had shown that a large number of the death in the US is caused by chronic liver disease. Liver cancer is another type of liver diseases that is one of the main cause of cancer-related death worldwide.
For the past decades, zebrafish has been used as an experimental model to study human liver diseases because of the ability of zebrafish to study vertebrate development. There are many advantages on using zebrafish to study human diseases and using the embryos to grow models of liver diseases. First, there are a lot of benefits such as genetic and embryological-based of zebrafish and the embryonic hematopoiesis does not locate in the liver as it is in mammals. Therefore mutants that has liver size or structure will not have the perplexing phenotype of hematopoietic dysfunction. Second, it takes the zebrafish embryo approximately 3-4 days of development and survives on yolk. After the developmental period, the digestive system of the embryonic fish is fully functional...
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...ape formation, movement of cardiac progenitor cells, heart tube, and heart function. A novel development of more specific assays, advance genetic screen efforts will provide new knowledge on cardiac development in the following years. Additionally, because of the zebrafish distinct features and its similarities to vertebrae, the zebrafish might become many researchers preferred model organism to study many mammal organs. Recently, the zebrafish has been used to study mechanisms that cause human cardiac and liver diseases and to model human hereditary and developed cardiac diseases. Due to the increase in sequencing efforts, the developing interest to study human liver and cardiac diseases. Also, the increase of resource and the more availability of the zebrafish model used in clinical and basic researchers involved in studying the liver, as well as cardiac diseases
Liver is a vital organ and performs several roles; produce proteins that help the blood to clot and removing body wastes; regulates the supply of substances such as glucose throughout the body (Potter et al., 2012). To be able to perform these functions the liver cells must function normally. Alcohol abuse is usually connected to alcoholic liver disease that permanently damaged the liver due to excessive drinking and continued excessive drinking can shorten lifespan. If liver cirrhosis has not yet occurred, the liver can heal once the patient stop drinking alcohol (ABS, 2010).
Blackfish is a 2013 documentary attempting to elevate public awareness regarding the orca that are being kept in maritime amusement parks, specifically SeaWorld, and the inherent danger of their captivity. The film is effective because it raises a set of important ethical questions for the viewer while presenting with a necessary fact-based style of documentation that does not evoke gratuitous scenes of abuse in order to inspire sympathy, unlike some of the other films that are intended to raise awareness about animal abuse.
After rigorous evaluations of the extensive data submitted by AquaBounty Technologies by the scientists at FDA. FDA says that the genetic engineering is safe for the fish and for consumption as the inserted genes will remain stable over several generations of fish.
Stem cells are pluripotent cells of the body which are “undifferentiated.” This means that stem cells can ultimately give rise to any type of body tissue. Thus stem cells have the potential to cure a vast number of diseases and physical ailments including Parkinson’s, diabetes, spinal cord injury, and heart disease. Consequently, stem cell research and the development of associated medical applications are of great interest to the scientific and medical community. The area of stem cell research involving human embryonic stem cells is of particular interest in that embryonic stem cells are derived from week-old blastocysts developed from in vitro fertilized eggs. As opposed to adult stem cells, which must undergo a complicated process of de-differen...
Cardiofaciocutaneous syndrome may be generated through various genetic mutations. As mentioned before, there are four genes that can cause this condition to be brought about in an individual. The most frequent mutation of these is the BRAF gene, because it is responsible for approximately 75 to 80 percent of each case of the syndrome. The two genes, MEK1 and MEK2, are very much alike and together are the result of 10 to 15 percent of ...
Cardiovascular disease is currently the leading cause of death in the United States. It is responsible for one in four deaths every year, about 600,000 mortalities. This disease affects men and women, as well as every ethnic group. Coronary artery disease is the most common cardiovascular disease, representing approximately 400,000 deaths per year of the aforementioned 600,000 total deaths from cardiovascular diseases as a whole. In 2010 alone, coronary artery disease cost the United States $108.9 billion for health care services, medication, and lost productivity. These chilling statistics, published every year by the American Medical Association, demonstrate the immediate need for new and innovative ways to prevent, detect, and treat coronary heart disease. This paper will explore the molecular biology behind the disease while explaining the current treatments and prevention that are available today, why they work and what can be done to improve them.
Sadler, T. W., and Jan Langman. Langman's Medical Embryology. Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2006. Print.
Liver disease resulting from alcohol affects more than two million Americans and is one of the primary causes of illness and death. The liver frees the body of harmful substances, such as alcohol. While the liver breaks down alcohol, it produces toxins that can be even more dangerous than the alcohol consumed (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 13). “These by-products damage liver cells, promote inflammation, and weaken the body’s natural defenses. Eventually, these problems can disrupt the body’s metabolism and impair the function of other organs” (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 13). A condition called steatosis is the result of fat build up in the liver and is the earliest stage of alcoholic liver disease. This condition causes the liver difficulty breaking down alcohol, potentially resulting in alcoholic hepatitis. Fibrosis of the liver, which is also related to heavy drinking, causes scar tissue to build up in the liver. The alcohol alters chemicals that the liver needs to break down this scar tissue, causing liver dysfunctions. If one does not refrain from drinking during the condition of fibrosis, the scar tissue can build up and create another condition, called cirrhosis. Cirrhosis is deterioration of the liver resulting from heavy scarring, causing the liver to not be able to function properly. If cirrhosis becomes severe, a liver transplant may be the only solution (“Beyond Hangovers: Understanding Alcohol's Impact Your Health” 14). It is difficult to calculate when a person would develop cirrhosis, because an alcoholic could never develop the disease, but someone who social drinks could. It is also unknown why cirrhosis is more prevalent in women (...
Thesis: Sharks should be conserved because they are an important part of the ocean, attacks are often incidental, and human behavior influences the behavior of sharks.
Therefore, when studying the cow heart I observed whether it had all the components Harvey identifies; and it did. Although, because the cow heart did not come with the lungs attach it was a bit difficult to find these pulmonary artery and vein, but previously having found them in the sheep heart it gave me direction to where they might be. Once I located all of the valves I began to make my incision into the muscle of the
What is hepatic cirrhosis? According to the medical dictionary hepatic cirrhosis is when scar tissue replaces the liver’s healthy tissue. This disease changes the structure of the liver and blood vessels that nurture it. It reduces the liver’s capability to produce proteins and process hormones, nutrients, medications, and poisons. Cirrhosis is an illness that gets worse over time and possibly can become life threatening. This serious illness is ranked as the ninth leading cause of death in the U.S. It is the third most common cause of death for adults between 45 and 65 years of age. It occurs in more than fifty percent of undernourished chronic alcoholics. Unfortunately it kills about 35,000 people per year. In other country’s such as Africa and Asia death from cirrhosis is usually caused by hepatitis B.
Introduction: In year 10, biology, we have been studying the heart: the functions of the heart, the parts of the heart (ventricle, atrium) and heart problems. We have also been studying the heart rate of humans. We were asked to create an experiment to see what affects heart rate. We discovered that diet, stress, cholesterol levels, excitement, mass, age, temperature and exercise affect the heart.
Genetics & Personalized Medicine. (2013). University of Ottawa Heart Institute. Retrieved on February 3, 2014 from: http://www.ottawaheart.ca/research_discovery/genetics-personalized-medicine.htm
Human genetic engineering has the capability to transmit usually fatal diseases. Although transmission is highly unlikely, it is one of the risk factors scientists have taken into great consideration. If animal cells or organs are transplanted into humans, zoonotic diseases may be spread. Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy, Porcine Endogenous Retroviruses, and Nipah Encephalitis are all potentially fatal zoonotic diseases that could be transferred (Glenn). According to Linda MacDonald Glenn, J.D., L.L.M., “The introduction of these diseases to the human population could have devastating consequences” (Glenn). Human genetic engineering may also cause the production of unwanted mutations such as developmental issues. The procedures that would be used for genetically modifying human cells would include numerous alterations to sperm, eggs, stem cells, or embryos before entering a woman’s uterus. This could potentially modify the growth and development of the fetus in ways that have not yet b...
In the world, there are many animals, both terrestrial and aquatic animals that we know and never know before. Plankton is the one organism that we have probably ever heard its reputation. Someone may know plankton is midget living thing in the sea and as food for animals. It was the best meal of life on the water. Moreover, its dwelling is completely place and a center of the most fishes and plantings. Although people would think the plankton is only food for sea animals but it can be useful to people for take care of various organs in the body and will be creating beauty cosmetics for woman, and human should be aware about ecosystem services to maintain plankton.