Payment For Eggs

Tunell Polk
Eng 122
Prof. B. Kern
5-11-10

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/11/health/11eggs.html?ref=health

A May 10th New York Times article titled "Payment Offers to Egg Donors Prompt Scrutiny", discusses the business of collecting eggs from fertile women for stem cell research and couples who are unable to conceive. The article states that women are sometimes offered up to 50,000 dollars for donating eggs. There are guidelines set for the payment of eggs, and anything above 5,000 dollars is considered questionable. According to the article, some Ivy League schools have advertised high payments to their intelligent students for donations. These students are considered the "cream of the crop" of donors because of the universities they attend. Some think women should be paid closer to the amount men get for sperm donation, if at all. The reason for the high payments could be because "A typical payment for sperm donation is under $100, and providing the sample is quick. The egg donation process, in contrast, takes weeks." The article also cites symptoms women often get after giving donations. Those opposed to stem cell research have a problem with the high payments especially, because it obviously will bring more donors.

I don't have a problem with women being paid large amounts of money because it is a more serious process, but I do think men should get paid more. I think the law should be respected, but payment is, and should be at the discretion of whomever is paying. If someone wants to pay someone 50,000 dollars for an egg because she graduated in the top 1% of her class, then so be it.

Neanderthals said to have mated with humans

Tunell Polk
Eng. 122
Prof. Kern
5-7-10

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/05/07/science/07neanderthal.html?src=me&ref=general

Nicholas Wade of the New York Times reports, "Neanderthals mated with some modern humans after all and left their imprint in the human genome, a team of biologists has reported in the first detailed analysis of the Neanderthal genetic sequence." Scientist have been examining Neanderthal bones in hopes to recover the entire Neanderthal genome, of which they have recovered 60 percent. They want to find how humans evolved after the two species split 600,000 years ago. Wade states, "So far, the team has identified only about 100 genes — surprisingly few — that have contributed to the evolution of modern humans since the split. The nature of the genes in humans that differ from those of Neanderthals is of particular interest because they bear on what it means to be human, or at least not Neanderthal. Some of the genes seem to be involved in cognitive function and others in bone structure." According to the article the Neanderthal genome had little effect on human evolution. However, it's interesting that "about 1 percent to 4 percent of the genome of non-Africans today is derived from Neanderthals."

This is interesting to me because from what I've learned, very little is known about Neanderthals and if I'm not mistaken, they were thought to have virtually disappeared around the time homo-sapiens (you and me) became prominent. Reading that they may have mixed genes with early humans makes me rethink what I've learned.

Mosque to be built near Ground Zero

Tunell Polk
Eng. 122
Prof. Kern
5-7-10

http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/05/07/new.york.ground.zero.mosque/index.html


A May 7th article by Nicole Bliman of the New York Times, reports that a "...15-story community center including a mosque, performance art center, gym, swimming pool and other public spaces", is planning to be built two blocks away from Ground Zero. The article states, "The project is a collaboration between the American Society for Muslim Advancement and the Cordoba Initiative, both of which work to improve relations with followers of the religion." The hope is that the building of the building will promote understanding between Muslims and non-Muslims in the city. There are mixed emotions about this building plan. the article quotes individuals on both sides, for and against. Some think its a good idea, and a good step in the right direction towards understanding. Some think although it is meant to be respectful, it isn't right to place a shrine to the faith at that exact place.

I believe the society has the right to build wherever they like as long as they own the land, but I don't think that so close to epicenter of the tragedy of 9/11 is the right location. It is difficult enough for families and loved ones of victims to cope with their loss, but to have a mosque near the place where those victims lost their lives is a bit too much. I do believe that the area's surrounding the WTC should be used for memorials and such, but it's nobody's call but the owners of the land. I just hope everything remains peaceful at the site.

Large Hadron Collider Is Working

Tunell Polk
Eng. 122
Prof. B. Kern
3-30-2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/03/31/science/31collider.html?ref=science

A New York Times article by Dennis Overbye reports that the Large Hadron collider, the most expensive and ambitious science project in history, is finally operating properly. He states, "following two false starts due to electrical failures, protons whipped to more than 99 percent of the speed of light and to record-high energy levels of 3.5 trillion electron volts apiece raced around a 17-mile underground magnetic track outside of Geneva a little after 1 p.m. local time. They crashed together inside apartment-building sized detectors designed to capture every evanescent flash and fragment from microscopic fireballs thought to hold insights into the beginning of the universe." The project is reported to have cost 10 billion dollars, and take 16 years to build. The physicists hope to discover information about the origins of the universe and how particles reacted at the moment of the big bang. Overbye states, "Among their top goals are finding the identity of the dark matter that shapes the visible cosmos and the strange particle known as the “Higgs,” which is thought to imbue other particles with mass. Until now, these have been tantalizingly out of reach." It is thought that 90 percent of all the matter in the known universe is invisible dark matter, though scientist do not yet know its origin. The Higgs-Boson, a.k.a. the "GOD particle," is a particle theorized by scientist to exist, and may hold the key to the origin of mass in the universe. It has yet to be observed.

I think this is wonderful news, especially for those scientists who have spent 16 years on the project. I am fascinated by the science of physics and have been waiting on good news from the people at CERN since the beginning of the 40 million dollar repair that had to be done last fall. It will be difficult for scientist to spot the Higgs, but observing it can give scientists valuable information, and evidence to help to solidify theories on sub-atomic particles. It will be interesting to see if the scientists find what they're looking for.

Tragedy at Sea World

Tunell Polk
Eng. 122
Prof. B.Kern
2-25-2010

Article

A February 25 article on CNN.com continues on the horrific story of a Sea World whale trainer who died after being drowned by a killer whale. Whale shows at Sea World have been canceled, understandably. Witnesses say that Dawn Brancheau, "was interacting with the whale, named Tillikum, in knee-deep water when the animal grabbed her by the hair, said to be in a long ponytail, and pulled her underwater." What stands out most is the report that the whale was involved in two previous deaths. Due to the "whale's aggressive nature," quoted from the sheriff's office, she was unable to be rescued in time. It is unclear whether the whale was playing with the trainer, or "frustrated for some reason", says Nancy Black, a marine biologist with 20 years experience with killer whales. Chuck Tompkins, sea world's curator of zoological operations is quoted saying, "This is the first time in 46 years that we've ever had an incident like this with a trainer," he said. "to mark him as a killer is unfair."

I don't think in anyway with a track record like that should anyone have been in the tank with that whale. I know that places as credible as sea world do wonderful things for animals, and give people the gift of seeing some of nautures most beautiful creatures up close. I'm convinced they took safety measures, but how many incidents will happen with this animal until his "trainers" realize this isn't the whale to play around with. Whether the whale was playing or not, when a persons life is in danger just by being around an animal of that size, different precautions must be taken. Precautions like taking more care of the animal elsewhere, at a distance where perhaps no harm can be done if he decides to "play". I don't believe any harm should be done to the whale, but i don't think re-opening the whale shows with this whale as the main event is the right choice either. Some animals are peaceful all the time and are easy to handle. Some are not and can be dangerous to have captive. Even though an animals behavior can be unpredictable, you don't need a psychic to tell you that that whale was involved in two prior deaths.

Dismissal On a Colossal Scale

Tunell Polk
Eng. 122
Prof. B. Kern
2-25-2010

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/25/education/25central.html?ref=us

A New York Times article written by Katie Zezima entitled "A Jumble of Strong Feelings After Vote on a Troubled School" discusses a school board's decision to fire the entire facultly at Central Falls high School in Rhode Island. The school is one of the state's worst performing schools. It's not so ironic that Central Falls happens to be the poorest city in the state. Students and teachers alike have gathered in continuing protest against the decision. It seems the school board is focused on the numbers, and decided that radical change was needed. Zezima includes this statistic, "the school’s graduation rate is 48 percent, and only 7 percent of students are proficient in mathematics by 11th grade.."

I can understand why the school board felt it needed to make a big change, but I don't believe it's the right one. In my opinion, you don't go and dismiss an entire faculty, one that has been hands on with students in difficult situations. Something needs to change, but firing the whole staff and bringing new faces may not necessarily be the solution. There are other options like maybe creating programs that are designed to help specific needs that kids have. Mandatory after school tutoring perhaps. It will be surprising if this move suddenly makes kids better at algebra, I wouldn't bet on it.

Military increases availability of morning-after pill

Tunell Polk
Eng. 12
Prof. Kern
2-8-10

(1)http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/02/05/military.morning.after.pill/index.html?hpt=Sbin
(2)http://www.cnn.com/2009/WORLD/meast/12/25/iraq.us.soldiers.pregnant/index.html

A February 5 article on CNN.com reports that the birth-control drug levonorgestrel, the generic name for Plan-B one step, is now being carried by all U.S. military health facilities. The Pentagon's Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee made a recommendation which was approved on last Wednesday by the Pentagon's secretary of defense for health affairs, Allen Middleton. The "Morning-After pill", as it is more commonly known, was already available at many military hospitals, but it is now standard.

Until the end of last year, the act of becoming pregnant or causing a female soldier to become pregnant had been banned(2).The article(1) reports that a commander in Iraq tried to install a clause in his code of conduct that would make becoming pregnant or impregnating a soldier a punishable offense. The commander's reasons are thus, When female soldiers become pregnant and have to leave, "a burden is place on the other troops".
There was controversy surrounding the policy and it was not put in order.

Having the pill available in all U.S. military health facilities was the smart thing to do for a military who can't afford to lose soldiers to pregnancy. It remains to be seen if the pregnancy rates drop, but this is a good start. As long as the sexual encounters between soldiers don't interrupt the mission at hand, I personally don't see a problem.

Not So Vegetative

Tunell Polk

Feb. 4th, 2010

Eng 122 Prof. Kern

http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/04/health/04brain.html?em

A New york Times article written by Benedict Carey titled "Trace of thought is found in 'vegetative' patient", discusses the use of a technique involving Magnetic Resonance Imaging or commonly, MRI, to find traces of brain activity in patients in states of Persistent Unconsciousness. You may know it as being brain dead. The article is about a 29 year old patient in a clinic in Belgium, who after five years of silence and immobility, demonstrated slight activity in the brain when prompted with yes or no questions from doctors. The implications are clear, "Experts said Wednesday that the finding could alter the way some severe head injuries were diagnosed — and could raise troubling ethical questions about whether to consult severely disabled patients on their care." Currently, some of the accepted ways to determine a patients consciousness at bedside include, but are not limited to, "checking whether patients’ eyes can track objects, and carefully looking for any signs — eye blinks, finger twitches — in response to questions or commands." According to Carey, experts say the new MRI tests are not ready to be widely used and still present some technical problems, but there seems to be promise. Carey sites an interesting quote from neurologist, Dr. Allen Ropper. "Physicians and society are not ready for ‘I have brain activation, therefore I am,’ ” Dr. Ropper wrote. “That would seriously put Descartes before the horse.”

While these new studies and data are very encouraging, especially for those dealing with the condition directly or indirectly, the idea of someone who can't "do" for themselves, but can think for themselves can be scary one. I pose a question to you, suppose doctors were to ask a patient if he or she wants to live or die? Suppose their wishes contradict those of family members and loved ones? In the article, Carey brings up the perhaps familiar case of Terry Schiavo. In 2005, she was taken off of life support after a long controversy over a persons rights once deemed 'vegetative'. One can assume that more and more controversies like this are to appear, once technology like the MRI technique gets 'off the ground' so to speak. People who can respond yes or no to questions about treatment can create problems for the families, loved ones, and the doctors themselves who have a job to do. It can be argued (and is) that if a person can think for themselves, they should be allowed to make the decisions on their own life, be it to prolong, or to end it.

Although I do believe a person should have the right to make their own decisions, the feelings of loved ones who are active in that persons life should be considered as well. There may be a tremendous amount of pain and stress being placed on them, and that can only make a situation more difficult. Watching a loved one go through that must be very emotionally taxing, and doctors should be put under pressure to work with families and patients in a way that will make the recovery process, or termination, as comfortable a situation as possible.