Chimp Experiments

Chimp Experiments
Would you like to be tested on? No. So why should chimps, out closest primate relative, be tested on? Chimps that have been unofficially retired from being tested on for 10 years have been reintroduced to the practices. We read an article about it for homework, and it was very hard to pick a side: either have chimps being tested on and save some lives, or do not have chimps tested on, yet people will die? It seems the answer should be obvious, but other people advocate for the chimps' side, such as Jane Goodall, who talked about how the chimps are older, and wouldn't it be wise to fully retire them now? Thank goodness I am not the one to make this decision, because I really couldn't. I do not agree with animal testing or animal cruelty in any way. However, if this research cannot be done in any other way, and if it saves numerous lives, you could argue that the chimps are giving their lives for the good of the people. Of course, thier consent was not asked for. So, for the lives of the many people who will benefit from the research, I think animal testing, but only for diseases and such, should continue. But please, please, let the animals have a better life while they are being tested on! These creatures are living in a black metal cage- not only does this effect the health and well-being of the animals, but of the outcome of the experiment!

HIV: Where Did it Come From?

Do you know how HIV, a virus that can lead to Aids and be deadly, started? And more importantly, do you know how it can be prevented? These are questions you should ask yourself. If you don't know, stay tuned, because the information could save your life.

TED Talks: Viral Pandemics Nathan Wolfe. This is a video clip my class watched last week. I encourage you to see it for yourself on YouTube at: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mMEPV-NTeZs. It started in Africa. In chimpanzees. We learned that native tribes, who hunt bushmeat, and often primates, for food, and these creatures can have HIV. Bushmeat, if you don't know, is animals that live in the forest that you just go into the jungle and hunt for, or set traps for.  It sounds cruel and awful, especially killing primates, but it is unfortunately the only source of food for many people.

HIV has spread around the globe. The good news, however, is that Nathan Wolfe has started taking blood tests of the animals so people won't eat dangerous meat. On the other hand, his research has shown that there are also new viruses, and that some are able to jump from animals to people. Not literally jump, but are transferable. Another piece of good news is that Wolfe is monitoring the viruses- keeping track of viral movement so hopefully that will offer new insights to ways to prevent HIV. His valiant goal is to help prevent the spread of viruses, and to be able to monitor it at a global level.

To prevent the spreading of HIV, we need to provide the people who hunt for bushmeat a new food source. Not only will this help the people, but it will help the chimpanzees, too, as they will be less likely to be extinct. The number one way to stay safe is to not draw blood.

Guest Speaker on Having Kidney Replacement

Kidney Transplant Questions- Tina Corbett

-where did your kidneys come from?

            First kidney- unknown deceased person, out of body for 21 hours.

Second kidney- from friend, but Tina lost it because she was given too much a drug for too long, and wasn’t monitored, which then destroyed the kidney

Third kidney- from sister, doing well so far

-does it hurt after the operation?

            No, not really. But it’s always harder for the person who gives the organ.

-is there anything you cannot do that normally you would not be able to?

Well, you’re not supposed to drink alcohol or play tackle football, but Tina doesn’t have a problem with that, so, no. Tina also participates in the Transplant Games, which are athletic games, like the Olympics. She down-hill skis and bikes for them, and has gotten several medals. She says this is to show other people that they can have a normal life after having transplants.  However, because she was taking steroids to help with her lupus disease,(steroids drain your bones of thier blood,which causes them to crack and fall apart, dry as a ...well, as a bone,) Tina had to have her hips removed, and therefore cannot run anymore. But other than that, nothing can hold her back! 

-do you have to eat healthy or exercise a lot to keep your kidneys healthy?

            Tina eats healthy and exercises already, so that wasn’t an issue, but she does have

            To watch the amount of salt she eats and drinks at least a gallon a day.

-does it change your outlook on life, and how?

            Yes, Tina said that now she has much more empathy than she did before. She also

            Is more aware of life, and is thankful for every minute of it, because you just

           don’t know…

-if you could go back, would you not have all of your transplants, or would you keep everything?

Tina said she’d keep the first learning experience with having her first kidney replaced, but she says she would to have liked to have been done there with the surgeries and everything.

Tina first had her kidneys fail after she had lupus, which was in 1986, and her kidneys failed in 1991. She had steroids to help her, but they sucked her bone dry of blood, so she had to have her hip replaced.

            Thank you for coming in and sharing your story with us, Tina!

Organ Donation Letter

This is a fake letter I wrote for my high school biology class. We're studying organs, and in the letter, we have to talk about our point of view on who should get the organ transplant. But first, we were put into groups- either kidney or liver. Within each group, there are assigned fictional parts, such as a doctor who does not agree with how people who have more wealth and status are a higher priority, no matter thier age, than perhaps, a young and poorer person; an 80-year old grandmother who has served as a nurse in Vietnam and needs a liver transplant; a 50-year old recovered alcoholic who is divorced, has two grown children, and needs a liver; and a 40-year-old 4th grade teacher who's a single mother of two young children who also needs a liver transplant. The group's job is to discuss who would get the liver. The fun part is that everyone needs to stay in their character, so everyone advocates for him or herself, saying why they think they ought to get the liver. As for the doctor, who doesn't need the liver, she says who, in her opinion, should get the liver. That's me- the doctor. A letter was written by each person in the group to advocate for what they think. Here's my letter to the people in charge of giving out the organs:
Dear Madam or Sir,
             I am a local doctor by the name of Dr. Celey McBuster, MD. Personally, it makes me extremely frustrated to see the advantage wealthy and 'high ranking' citizens seem to have over those who do not have as much wealth, yet contribute just as much to society. Growing up poor, I have come across many injustices that have happened to me and people I know, just because we did not have much wealth. I do not think people should be allowed to buy thier way into or out of anything. Unfortunately, that injustice happens all the time, from jail to organ donations. I watched helplessly a week ago as a 16 year old boy died in my care because he did not receive the liver transplant he so badly needed. Later that week, I read in the paper of a 60-year-old politician who got a liver transplant. I believe the boy should have gotten the transplant, and it makes my heart break to know he did not. The instance I have just described is not the first time I have seen wealthy, 'high ranking' citizens have priority over others. I find the current system of organ donation un-ethical. I believe doctors, such as myself, should have more control over who gets the organ donation and who doesn't. I think age should have a higher priority over wealth, health a higher priority over status. Please take my concerns into account, as it will greatly affect the lives of many.
                                                                       Sincerely,

                                                            Dr. Celey McBuster, MD

P.S. May I add that, being a doctor, I do realize how, in certain situations, it would be better for an older person to get the liver, such as if the liver would not work for anyone else, or if the older person needed it right away, but the younger person could wait for a while. I beg you to know that while it may seem like a good idea to have a wealthy person pay their way up in line for a transplant, it is not always the right thing to do. Doctors, I feel, would have a positive influence on this decision, as we are much learned in this area.

My First Blog

Uh...hi. I've never actully written a blog before. It makes me feel like Julie Powell, with her cooking through Julia Child's cookbook in a year. Of course, what this will be nothing like that. Not that I know of.  Anyways, we are making this blog for my high school bio class. So I'm not really sure if you're going to be on the edge of your seat with this. That is, unless you loooove biology. Which, if you do, great. But even if you do, this might end up a little dry. I really don't know. Depends on what Colleen, my biology teacher, has us do. Maybe it will be lush and fantastic. Who knows? Oh. I know who. Colleen.
 Life is a beach,
                        Carly