Everybody poops; it’s as simple as that. Girls count too. It’s a need for humans to excrete waste. We take in food and that food must end up somewhere. Usually it’s in our toilets and I use “usually” liberally. Once we flush (or not, for those who forget to) we never really think about our waste; where it goes, what happens to it. Now people have found a way to utilize it and put it to use. I mean, it’s not like we have any sentimental attachment to it once we release. When we do our business and flush, our tiny ( or large) works of art float down the sewage and into treatment facilities. Back then we did nothing to them. Now we have something called biosolids. Biosolids are the untapped potential of our sewage. The treatment facilities treat the sewage and turn it into fertilizer for the agricultural business. Biosolids are rich in nutrients and are wonderful for the environment. They are good poop.
Environmental poop
In elementary we learned about the “Three R’s” for recycling; reuse, reduce, and recycle. Biosolids are the first and last of the three. Let’s face it; even though they came out of us, we will never use them again, so why not put it to good use instead of just letting it go to sewage? Instead of synthesising chemicals to form fertilizers for plants, which I learned due to my plant project suck pretty bad, why not use a more organic choice. Organic things seem to be the trend these days anyways. I think it’s a good idea to learn to reuse things that we won’t end up using otherwise. While the smell may be a problem to people, it is actually good for the plants. Most of the odour emitted by the biosolids is ammonia and nitrogen which in fact help plants grow. The only downside may be the view of biosolids by the world.
Bad poop
When we think of poop the first thing that pops into mind is “eww”, well for most atleast. When we think about the process, I can understand why people may be disgusted by it. Spreading organic fertilizer made from sewage containing human feces all over our vegetables to make them grow. It may make some lose their appetites. We also have to consider that human feces do have a lot of the unwanted bad things from our food. This includes the excess of the metals in our body like zinc and iron. These metals are going into the plants which can harm it. There are downsides but the tests conducted say that it is nothing to worry about and that there will be no major harm done to humans.
Wrapping this poop up
Biosolids are a new funky smelling wave of the future. It is an eco friendly was to utilize waste. It also works more efficiently than chemical fertilizers due to the fact of it being less water soluble. The nutrients stay with the plants and help them grow. It is also an economically friendly was to spread a field with "black gold". Biosolids may not smell the best, but who cares. People make it sound like they don’t wash their vegetables before eating it. Maybe we can feel sympathy for our farmers. That or toss them a pair of ear plugs. For their nose though...
Advancements in medical technology allow people to live longer and more fulfilling lives. It creates more chances and hope for the people who really need it. The technology that we have today saves millions of lives and as our technology gets better we can save millions more. The CAT scan is a futuristic example in our modern day life that really makes a difference in the medical field.
A Computerized Axial Tomography scan or CAT scan is a technology that provides a non invasive way of looking inside the body without cutting it open. Doctors are then able to diagnose a lot easier and are able to take more tests without causing the patient to suffer. Who knows how long you would survive you were being sliced open constantly so they can check something inside you, then stitch you up and repeat the process. Sounds a bit dangerous to me! CAT scans are able to see the soft tissues, organs, bones, and vessels with greater clarity than an x ray. Radiologists are then able to diagnose with the scans they see. It is a preferred method to diagnose cancer because they are able to pinpoint the location of the tumour as well as the size. CAT scans look like large boxes with a tunnel in the middle. The patient lies down in the tunnel, stays still and then pictures are taken. CAT scans are not a technology that has been around very long. The first one like it came to be in 1972 by a company called EMI. They were supported by The Beatles and because of that, they were given enough funding to finish the first model of the CAT scan that we know today. The idea however has been thrown up in the air for quite a long time now. In 1900 Alessandro Vallebona; and Italian radiologist proposed that there should be a way to study the human body by using a piece of radio graphic film to represent a slice of the human body. The actual CAT scan that we use today was invented by a British engineer named Sir Godfrey Hounsfield and Dr. Allen Cormack. They were awarded a Nobel Prize for this invention.
Ouu, so that’s how The process of gathering this information is actually quite interesting. During a regular x-ray, let’s say at the dentist’s office. The x-ray machine is located in one location and targets an entire section. The process of the CAT scan is similar but there are differences. The x-ray portion of the machine does not stay in one location but instead revolves around the human body. This allows for the body to be seen in slices. The patient does have to keep very still for this process to be successful. Suppositories should be considered to be invasive, very invasive
The CAT scan has many purposes all throughout the human body. It can take slices of the brain without actually taking slices. This can then detect things such as tumours and infarctions. It can detect fluid in the lungs as well as problems in the heart. Basically, it shows doctors whatever is in the body helping diagnostics figure out what is wrong with the patient. It then provides a greater chance for the patient’s survival. CAT scans also do this without putting the patient’s life in anymore harm then when the patient already came in. Why be cut up when you already have a brain tumour?
It’s never perfect
CAT scans still have adverse issues to deal with. During a CAT scan, the patient has to stay very still. Unfortunately, it is not as simple as smacking them in the head and telling them to stop moving, as you would for a child. Instead they have to deal with sedation. Each procedure has a different amount of sedation needed to keep the patient still for the required amount of time. Sometimes these amounts of sedation may not be good for the body. The radiation given off by the machine is also a problem; giving controversies that it may give cancer. To be honest, almost everything in this world seems like it gives cancer nowadays. And to sum it all up CAT scans seem pretty futuristic if you think about it. It’s an x-ray scanner that lets you see a person’s tomography. Doctors from the past would have killed to have the technology we have in our day. The advancements in medical technology have saved many lives and it’s amazing to see how far we have gotten. To think of way back in medical history when people thought drilling holes in their head would relieve the pressure from headaches. Now we have ways to prevent cancer and lessen its effects. These advancements are great to society and pave a great future for more advancement in the medical field. The CAT scan is just one advancement in medicine today. Every day we are closer and closer to more and more breakthroughs. These breakthroughs may end up saving your life one day.
Humans really do like to mess with things for some reason. We mess with everything we can from agricultural resources to the emotions of tiny children. Our agricultural industry has been modified to fit the needs of the consumers increase in demand for convenience. This leads to taking some short cuts in the industry so that the company does not end up going bankrupt while it strives to keep its customers happy and by doing slightly chunky in the process. This is because of the slight genetic modifications that the companies have to do. This does not mean that the next time you buy chicken nuggets from THE happy clown you have to worry about it being an artificial blob of crunchy goodness, but companies do have to do something to keep up with the demand of its customers. Let’s use KFC as an example. If they were not to resort to the genetic modification of their chicken, they would have to produce a hefty armada to keep up with the order of hungry North America as well as the rest of the world. So what they would do is alter the chickens (real chickens) slightly by doing things like increasing the breast size or even how much skin is present on the chicken. Either way, the chickens are still chickens, just a bit more scary. The problem is that, the alterations that the companies use may have dangerous effects on the health of its consumers.
Humans can do this by a process called artificial selection. It is a process where beings are being bred for certain traits intentionally. While this process happens naturally, for example; in the case of coral snakes and king snakes. The coral snake is a dangerously venomous snake with the black, red, and yellow patterns on its scales. The scarlet king snake mimics this snake’s camouflage pattern to scare away predators. It’s when humans take over this process, where problems start to arise. The biggest danger of natural selection is that it creates a greater risk of genetic problems and health risks across blood lines. Artificial selection can also pose great risks in mutations. These mutations can lead to resistance and of course, affecting their ability to evolve naturally.
The artificial procedures that humans have done to plants have created super weeds which are weeds that are resistant to the normal herbicides. They were made over time, as humans used more and more chemicals. This resistant the weeds now wield pose great problems to farmers and their crops.
Cheap meat...plz Now, this does not mean that all artificial selections are all bad for the world and its inhabitants. Artificial selection does have a positive impact on the food that we eat. Humans need food to survive, and most of us don’t want to be paying top dollar for food that shouldn’t be. I mean, who would pay $20 for a carrot. Artificial selection allows for off season fruits and vegetables to be produced as well as mass produced. This adds up in the reduction of costs while trading off the loss of some vitamins. This also affects the animals as well. People know what they want in the food that they eat and demand it from the grocers. We want fat, juicy cuts of beef, pork, chicken and anything else that moves, but obviously, God did not create all the animals in the world to fulfil the selfish food needs of the human race. Then again, we wouldn’t be doing our part as humans if we followed all of God’s work to his intentions, THEN AGAIN, who said it wasn’t his intentions for us to manipulate his creatures? I mean, how come he’s still letting us continue? Back to my point, to obtain these succulent cuts of meat, one must pick the prime animals to harvest its internal glory. This would obviously make the price of the cut higher, and less accessible to the normal working person. So, farmers would then breed the most delectable male (taste-wise) to the most delectable female (taste-wise) to create tasty children. Then these children will continue to have tasty babies and the cycle continues, and becomes the wise economical choice for the masses. Now that $50 piece of 12oz steak is now reduced to $30 because there is plenty more where that came from.
Here we go again
As with everything, it’s the ethical reasons, which seem to weigh down everything. Not that ethics are a bad thing. It’s what keeps us human; err... humane. Some say that this practice of breeding animals to serve our purpose is cruel to animals. They seem to become objects to serve us humans, but the way I see it is that, if we don’t resort to this, I think more people will complain due to the rising prices in the grocery store. We already do complain when it has a small increase, but think about the major controversy it will cause when it will cost and arm or a leg for a chicken wing. I’m not saying I am all for it, but I understand it, and I guess I accept it. I know about all the things I’ve said about genetic modification, but this is different. I believe that the benefits may actually outweigh the cons of artificial selection in the short term. This is a totally different thing in the long run. That’s where we run in to the genetic and evolutionary problems. So the ethical reasons for me depend on the way you look at the situation. To conclude, artificial selection along with other natural manipulators of the world can be a good and beneficial thing to humanity if used correctly, that is; if you put aside ethics for a while. As long as people don’t abuse this and only take the food that we need, then the need for artificially selecting our live stock will drop. The best thing to do is really to just stick with natural selection, but that’s nothing but a pipe dream after considering human nature. How about everyone who read’s this tries to consider chewing on something organic? Or not? Well, let’s rephrase that, how about everyone who read’s this considers the effects and the foot prints that we all leave on our earth. We were instructed by God to be stewards of our wonderful planet, so the least we can do is at least think about our responsibilities. Yay earth! (That was a bit corny...)
Designer babies is a term used to describe a child that was genetically modified to meet the specifications desired by the parent. This is done by the advancements in genetic technology allowing for the alterations of an embryo for either cosmetic or characteristic traits. While this is possible with our current technology, it is not stable to the extent that a person could randomly walk into a shoppers drug mart, take a number, sit down and have someone modify their child like it was a piece of deli waiting to be sliced to their preference. While the ability to genetically modify your child to become whatever you want sounds cool, there are too many conflicts that keep it from being a viable option for someone to choose without having an extreme case. Also, did we not talk about this in my last blog post? Designer fruits and such are scary things!
Test tube baby...creepy (not real baby)
There always seems to be moral conflicts with everything intense
With all things extreme there are extreme controversies that follow. That’s just how it is, due to the nature of an extreme action. Many people have different conflicting views with something like designer babies.The ethical issues flood this topic with a torrent of both religious and humane conflicts. Even animal rights groups have problems with genetic modification. Scientists would perform tests on lab rats and mice first, and when these tests would prove to be successful, they would move on to primates. This is because of their similar genetic make up to humans. Someone who is against animal testing will have a problem with this which would give them a negative mindset on genetic modification. The rights of the fetus also come into question.One may believe that the child should have the right to choose while another may argue that the fetus has not developed enough to have its own conscience to warrant a decision. The extreme nature of these questions forces someone to either side, the grey areas in these types of cases are very thin. Its either you are pro designer babies, or against designer babies. Then again, there may actually be a happy medium.
MMMMmmmm technological developments
While the advancements of science have gone to a far region of “awesome-ness”, the idea of designing children at will is still very far off, but we do have many procedures that are already developed, in which we are able to “alter” a child to a small extent. The process of In vitro fertilization (IVF) is one of them. During in vitro fertilization the sperm is injected in the egg outside of the uterus. The embryo would then grow in a test tube or Petri dish. After it is then inserted back into woman’s uterus to develop naturally. In vitro fertilization (IVF) also reduces the risk of the transfer of diseases. Infertility is a big problem amongst couples. 6.1 million Americans are affected by infertility according to a survey taken in 1997. Processes like in vitro fertilization are good options for these couples who suffer infertility problems, even though it is not a natural birth. While this is nowhere near to the point of being able to change the features of the child, some may still argue on the controversies of this procedure. In my opinion, there is no harm in the development of In vitro fertilization (IVF) or procedures like this, the problem is when the thin line of helping infertile people and designing “perfect children” are crossed.
That very thin line“that one -> ---“
There are good things that can come from the advancement of genetically modifying embryos. People who have genetic problems that may transfer it to their children now may have the option to have safe child births due to the genetic modification of the embryo. A genetic disorder is linked with an abnormality in the genes or chromosomes of a person. This is then passed through to the next generation when a child is born. These abnormalities can create problems like diabetes, asthma, obesity and can even be a cause for cancer. If one was to create a designer baby for the purpose of protecting it from such health problems, then there would be nothing wrong. It would save a lot of lives, reduce obesity rates, help people breathe, and overall improve the life of a person who was doomed even before their birth to the high probability of obtaining such disease. The problem is when a person would abuse the procedure of creating designer babies and make something like a supreme soldier in the army, or an over achieving athlete.
Metal Gear!!!
The video game franchise Metal Gear used genetic engineering to create the perfect soldier, and with their success that soldier was able to stop the feared weapon “Metal Gear”from being released into the world and ensuing chaos. This soldier was codenamed “Solid Snake” and he was the genetically modified clone of “Big Boss” who was considered to be “the greatest soldier of the twentieth century”, the only problem was, “Big Boss” was a natural born human, and would eventually die off. The government then decided to clone him and mass produce him to make an invincible army. “Snake”was just a test subject, a very sucessfl one at that. Even though he is considered as a perfect soldier, he is not a perfect human. Because he is a clone that isn’t perfect, he would age faster than a normal human, and because of that, he has an extremely short lifespan. This gives an example of how designer babies today are not perfect. They still have defects, and in the case of “Snake” it was his age. Now let’s apply “Snake” to the real world. Let’s imagine an army of “Metal Gear” stopping super soldiers fighting the current wars in this world. There would be absolute destruction of the side without these soldiers. So a country in poverty would be at an unfair advantage, and would just increase the social gaps of a country with money and without. The country that would be first to develop such fearsome soldiers would have the control of the entire earth. That country would be un-opposable and think of how life would be in a dictatorship world.
Designer babies are kinda scary… I mean look at him
Well ok, maybe not all designer babies will end up looking like him but still, they could! What I’m trying to say is that while designer babies do have good qualities, their potential to be abused is very great, and as well all know, humans are known for abusing things. The thing is that, we have the potential to do great things with genetic engineering. We could save thousands of lives, get rid of diseases and even stop cancer from harming further generations. I guess it really all depends on what kinds of people get their hands on this technology. Let’s just hope that the future is one without an army of eye patch wielding soldiers controlling our planet.
