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A: Independent Research
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Genetics: What are the possible positive and negative impacts? Do you think the
positive impacts outweigh the negative impacts?
Genetic Testing:
Benefits:
- Early detection of cancer-->reduction in cancer incidence and mortality.
- Better quality of life because of relieve
Disadvantages:
- Increased level of anxiety
- Distress and difficult family relations.
My Opinion:
I personally feel that the positive impacts of genetic testing out weigh the negative impacts. Genetic testing is beneficial towards mankind for many reasons.
Genetic testing have many positive impacts on our life. Individuals identified as carrying potentially harmful genetic alterations can receive regular medical check-ups and be eligible for screening to enable early detection of cancer ; they may also choose to undergo preventative surgery. This can potentially lead to a reduction in cancer incidence and mortality.
Individuals who are found not to carry a harmful gene alteration which is known to run in their family may feel that they are less anxious and have a better quality of life; they may also benefit from the knowledge that they have not passed a gene alteration on to their children. Also, because such individuals do not require the same regular check-ups as do people who carry the gene, resources can be targeted to benefit those people who do have a higher risk of developing cancer.
Despite the significant advantages of genetic testing, there are also, however, several disadvantages which any individual considering undergoing testing should be aware of .
Because genetic alterations generally need to be identified in a family member who has already developed cancer this can lead to distress and difficult family relations, for example if there are no surviving family members who are able to undergo diagnostic genetic testing, or if an individual is reluctant to undergo testing he/she may be subject to pressure from other family members.
A positive genetic test can also lead to an increased level of anxiety and individuals may feel guilty for having potentially passed a gene alteration on to their children. There may also be issues for individuals wishing to obtain health and life insurance.
A positive genetic test can also lead to an increased level of anxiety and individuals may feel guilty for having potentially passed a gene alteration on to their children. There may also be issues for individuals wishing to obtain health and life insurance.
Receiving a negative genetic test can also affect family relations, with many individuals feeling ‘survivor guilt’, for example if they have a brother or sister who has been shown to carry that gene alteration, they may feel guilty at having escaped the increased cancer risk, while their sibling is still at risk.
Some people with a strong family history of cancer believe they would find it too difficult to receive a positive genetic test result. They may feel that knowing they are definitely a carrier of a harmful alteration will lead to increased levels of anxiety throughout their life. They choose, instead, to undergo regular medical check-ups, and screening, to enable early detection of cancer without ever having to know their genetic status.
In conclusion, the positive impacts of genetics can be said to outweigh the negative impacts as the negative impacts which i have listed such as distress and difficult relations between family members can be easily sorted out through constant communication and having an understanding that it is not their fault but rather a force of nature perhaps.
In conclusion, the positive impacts of genetics can be said to outweigh the negative impacts as the negative impacts which i have listed such as distress and difficult relations between family members can be easily sorted out through constant communication and having an understanding that it is not their fault but rather a force of nature perhaps.
B: Critical Reviews
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Drug
Treatment Corrects Autism Symptoms in Mouse Model
Intro:
This article I have chosen for the Critical Review is “Drug Treatment Corrects
Autism Symptoms in Mouse Model” and its main purpose is to introduce new
findings of possible cures for people with autism. However, this drug—suramin, is only tested on
Mice so far and now this bunch of Scientist is going to take it on to the next
step, conducting a small clinical trial. Robert Naviaux hypothesise that suramin
may provide an opportunity to develop a completely new class of
anti-inflammatory drugs to treat autism and several other disorders.
Summary:
Autism happens because cells get stuck in a defensive
metabolic mode and fail to talk to each other normally, which can interfere
with brain development and function.
Naviaux and colleagues (A dozen of scientist from UC San
Diego) introduce the concept that a large majority of both genetic and
environmental causes for autism act by producing a sustained cell danger
response -- the metabolic state underlying innate immunity and inflammation.
There are fifteen types of purinergic receptors are known to be stimulated by
these extracellular nucleotides, and the receptors are known to control a broad
range of biological characteristics with relevance to autism.
Currently, Naviaux
and colleagues are researching for a possible cure for autism and they have
found a possible cure and had tested it on mice and it worked very well.
The drug that they have tested on the mice
with autism is Suramin. Suramin is a well-known inhibitor of purinergic
signaling used medically for the treatment of African sleeping sickness since
shortly after it was synthesized in 1916 in mice. They found that this APT
mediator corrected autism-like symptoms in the animal model, even if the
treatment was started well after the onset of symptoms. The drug restored 17
types of multi-symptom abnormalities including normalizing brain synapse
structure, cell-to-cell signaling, social behavior, motor coordination and
normalizing mitochondrial metabolism.
The drug results
in striking effectiveness as shown in this study using APT to 'reprogram' the
cell danger response and reduce inflammation. This showcases an opportunity to
develop a completely new class of anti-inflammatory drugs to treat autism and
several other disorders. However, it is only tested on Mice and there is a
possibility that it won’t work on humans. This bunch of scientist acknowledge
that but are still encouraged enough to test this approach in a small clinical
trial of children with autism spectrum disorder in the coming year.
Even though this trial is still in its early stages of
development but it will offer a fresh and exciting new path that could lead to
development of a new class of drugs to treat autism which would be beneficial
for mankind.
Opinion:
I feel that Naviaux
and colleagues is really doing a good deed to mankind. They are figuring a cure
for autism and this is definitely beneficial for people with autism. If they do
find a cure for autism, it can help the people who suffer from autism walked
out of their health disability and prevent discrimination against them. This in
turn leads to a downstream of benefits such as improved performance in work and
high self-esteem. You probably won’t see a person suffering from autism being
confident during his period of autism and without confidence their performance
in work will most certainly decrease. This won’t be beneficial to the world as
they lost a lot of manpower and it definitely will be detrimental towards the
victim. Hence, I think that Naviaux and colleagues used Science the right way
in figuring a cure for autism and hopefully they can help autistic people to
regain what they have lost.
I feel that Science should be used when
appropriate like finding a cure for diseases like in this case Autism. The
power of Science is great and should never be manipulated or abused to harm
people.
Science per se is an important and powerful
tool in the human world. It helps the society in many different aspects such as
Genetic engineering, Medicinal Cures for diseases and etc. It can be said that
nothing on earth can operate on its own without science. An example would be light.
Thomas Edison was the inventor of light bulb. Without science, there wouldn’t
be any light bulbs for us and we might still be stuck in the period of time
where people uses candle which my in turn decrease our efficiency, in other
words affect our operation. Without Science there will also be no scientific
breakthroughs which of paramount importance to mankind. Take Autism for an
example. Without Science, Autism people would probably be left in the dark
forever without a cure. This is very detrimental to them as they can get
discriminated easily and most importantly their health is affected. A more
convincing example would be small pox. Without Science, there won’t be a cure
as cows won’t function without science and how would the inventor of smallpox
cure find out why the cow did not have smallpox without a lab? Science also
allow people to eat genetically modified vegetable which have a higher output
of Vitamin which is essential to our body, this can act as a health ‘supplement’
in its vegetable form. As you can see from the above examples, Science is
needed in every aspect of our life even in our food, our cures and our
scientific breakthroughs. Without science, none of the above would happen. This
signifies the extent of importance of science.
However, when Science is abused it can be
terrifying. Chemical warfare is one of the warfare that is detrimental to
mankind. Imagine a war with people throwing chemicals inside your country, you
would probably freak out. I mean chemical can be thrown can you out of the blue
and the effects are almost instantaneous. Certainly you wouldn’t want yourself
to be infected by a disease just because of a chemical warfare. Being shot by a
bullet during a war is bad enough, if chemical warfare was to be introduced in
a war, the consequences could be dire.
In conclusion, Science can be a boon and a
bane depending on the use of it. However, Science is definitely a powerful tool
beneficial to mankind and outweighs the negative impacts as the misuse of
science, in the case of chemical warfare can be prevented through a peaceful
consensus.
Source: (http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/03/130313182019.htm)
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