http://anqilao123.blogspot.com/2012/11/week7-wordmaster.html
-knacker's yard (172): a rendering plant, a place where dead animals and diseased carcasses are processed into commercial products such as meat-and-bone meal
-fibrils (173): a small slender fiber or filament
-greaves (176): the fibrous matter or skin found in animal fat, which forms a sediment on melting and is pressed into cakes to serve as meat for dogs or hogs, fish-bait, etc
-offals (179): the entrails and internal organs of an animal used as food
-euthanized (185): put to death humanely
-stalactites (194): a tapering structure hanging like an icicle from the roof of a cave, formed of calcium salts deposited by dripping water
-stalagmites (194): a mound or tapering column rising from the floor of a cave, formed of
calcium salts deposited by dripping water and often uniting with a
stalactite
-culling (218): reduce the population of (a wild animal) by selective slaughter
-ataxic (227): loss of the ability to coordinate muscular movement
Sunday, November 25, 2012
Quotes for Chapters 11-13 for Deadly Feasts (Week 7)
1. "Soon, the media would nickname the new condition more sensationally for the nervous, aggressive behavior it provoked in normally peaceful animals, calling it mad cow disease. Caricatures of [it] became a staple of British cartoonists" (173).
-----This quote shows how even though a new disease was discovered, people took it as, in a way, a joke. Any disease is very serious and should be worried about, but instead, people were joking around about it and drawing cartoons about it.
2. "The epidemiologists concluded that the combination of lowering processing temperature and abandoning solvent extraction had protected the hardy BSE agent from inactivation and thus spread the disease-much as CJD had spread in contaminated human growth hormone or kuru in undercooked human brain" (177).
-----This quote is significant because the scientists are trying to figure out how the disease occurred and spread in the first place. They are trying to connect it back to CJD and kuru in order to find out more about it.
3. "If BSE wasn't scrapie, British veterinary scientists argued, what was it?" (178).
-----This quote is important because it shows how difficult it was to determine what a disease was. It was difficult to determine what caused it, how it spread, and many other ideas. This troubled scientists a lot and they had difficulty solving everything.
4. "When the heads arrived at the plant, the meat from the cheeks-usually this is poor-quality meat-was trimmed off for use in hamburger, for human consumption" (182).
-----This quote surprised me a lot because I never actually thought about where the meat that we eat comes from. The meat we eat affects us, so it is risky for us to eat the meat from the heads of slaughtered cows.
5. "I just cannot believe a scientist will say: 'In order to find out how big the problem is we are going to see how many people die'"(187).
-----This quote is significant because Lacey is right. It isn't right for a scientist to see if a problem is big or not before working on it. The number of casualties will only rise so they might as well work on a problem once it shows up.
6. "A plant that was making EDT became infected with a nucleating agent that caused its EDT to precipitate in an abnormal crystalline state...It was junk"(196).
---This quote is important because it's an example of how different nucleants would lead to different physical properties, which would lead to catastrophic results. Similarly, diamond could easily turn into graphite depending on the structure/organization.
7. "One of the great breakthroughs in Alzheimer's research came in the 1980's as a direct result of the work of Gajdusek and his colleagues on spongiform disease..." (197).
---This quote demonstrates the importance of Gajdusek to science and how his contributions helped science.
8. "...assuming that the two families were unrelated, the mutations must have arisen independently; they were identical, and they caused identical illnesses" (201).
-----It is important because this showed that the "protein only" hypothesis was even closer to being right.
9. "..TSEs were somehow both genetically controlled and transmissible"(203).
-----This quote is important because it shows how TSE was transferred and the conditions of it. Having it be genetically controlled and transmissible only made it harder for scientists to work on.
10. "Wouldn't you know" (212).
-----This quote is repeated in this chapter and I believe it is important because the suspicions of mad cow disease in humans was around before the discovery that BSE was probably spread to humans by eating beef.
11. "McDonald's decision to switch to Dutch beef at its 660 outlets..."(213).
This quote is important because McDonald's switched their supplier of beef from the British to the Dutch. I thought it was weird how they just switched suppliers instead of cutting beef out as a whole because the mad cow disease didn't just stay in one specific area.
12. "...BSE contamination of lamb and mutton" (215).
-----This quote is significant because it shows that lamb and mutton might also be contaminated because they are also fed the meat-and-bone meal that cows were fed.
13. "However troubling his personal life, [Gajdusek's] authority as a scientist was never in doubt"(216).
-----This quote is important because though Gajdusek faced hardships in his life, his words as a scientist were still believed. His own personal life didn't have an affect on his role as a scientist.
14. "...the six sheep...had each been fed only five hundred milligrams of brain extract...and the fact that so small an oral dose had infected one with BSE did not encourage optimism"(217).
-----This quote is important because it shows how consuming just a small amount of infected meat may lead to the consumer getting BSE.
15. "My colleagues want a simple formula. It's too complex. You need a little piece just big enough to give the pattern" (241).
-----This quote is significant because Gajdusek is saying how getting a simple solution to something is too hard. Your solution needs to be small, but not too small. It has to give an answer to the conflict you're faced upon.
-----This quote shows how even though a new disease was discovered, people took it as, in a way, a joke. Any disease is very serious and should be worried about, but instead, people were joking around about it and drawing cartoons about it.
2. "The epidemiologists concluded that the combination of lowering processing temperature and abandoning solvent extraction had protected the hardy BSE agent from inactivation and thus spread the disease-much as CJD had spread in contaminated human growth hormone or kuru in undercooked human brain" (177).
-----This quote is significant because the scientists are trying to figure out how the disease occurred and spread in the first place. They are trying to connect it back to CJD and kuru in order to find out more about it.
3. "If BSE wasn't scrapie, British veterinary scientists argued, what was it?" (178).
-----This quote is important because it shows how difficult it was to determine what a disease was. It was difficult to determine what caused it, how it spread, and many other ideas. This troubled scientists a lot and they had difficulty solving everything.
4. "When the heads arrived at the plant, the meat from the cheeks-usually this is poor-quality meat-was trimmed off for use in hamburger, for human consumption" (182).
-----This quote surprised me a lot because I never actually thought about where the meat that we eat comes from. The meat we eat affects us, so it is risky for us to eat the meat from the heads of slaughtered cows.
5. "I just cannot believe a scientist will say: 'In order to find out how big the problem is we are going to see how many people die'"(187).
-----This quote is significant because Lacey is right. It isn't right for a scientist to see if a problem is big or not before working on it. The number of casualties will only rise so they might as well work on a problem once it shows up.
6. "A plant that was making EDT became infected with a nucleating agent that caused its EDT to precipitate in an abnormal crystalline state...It was junk"(196).
---This quote is important because it's an example of how different nucleants would lead to different physical properties, which would lead to catastrophic results. Similarly, diamond could easily turn into graphite depending on the structure/organization.
7. "One of the great breakthroughs in Alzheimer's research came in the 1980's as a direct result of the work of Gajdusek and his colleagues on spongiform disease..." (197).
---This quote demonstrates the importance of Gajdusek to science and how his contributions helped science.
8. "...assuming that the two families were unrelated, the mutations must have arisen independently; they were identical, and they caused identical illnesses" (201).
-----It is important because this showed that the "protein only" hypothesis was even closer to being right.
9. "..TSEs were somehow both genetically controlled and transmissible"(203).
-----This quote is important because it shows how TSE was transferred and the conditions of it. Having it be genetically controlled and transmissible only made it harder for scientists to work on.
10. "Wouldn't you know" (212).
-----This quote is repeated in this chapter and I believe it is important because the suspicions of mad cow disease in humans was around before the discovery that BSE was probably spread to humans by eating beef.
11. "McDonald's decision to switch to Dutch beef at its 660 outlets..."(213).
This quote is important because McDonald's switched their supplier of beef from the British to the Dutch. I thought it was weird how they just switched suppliers instead of cutting beef out as a whole because the mad cow disease didn't just stay in one specific area.
12. "...BSE contamination of lamb and mutton" (215).
-----This quote is significant because it shows that lamb and mutton might also be contaminated because they are also fed the meat-and-bone meal that cows were fed.
13. "However troubling his personal life, [Gajdusek's] authority as a scientist was never in doubt"(216).
-----This quote is important because though Gajdusek faced hardships in his life, his words as a scientist were still believed. His own personal life didn't have an affect on his role as a scientist.
14. "...the six sheep...had each been fed only five hundred milligrams of brain extract...and the fact that so small an oral dose had infected one with BSE did not encourage optimism"(217).
-----This quote is important because it shows how consuming just a small amount of infected meat may lead to the consumer getting BSE.
15. "My colleagues want a simple formula. It's too complex. You need a little piece just big enough to give the pattern" (241).
-----This quote is significant because Gajdusek is saying how getting a simple solution to something is too hard. Your solution needs to be small, but not too small. It has to give an answer to the conflict you're faced upon.
Sunday, November 18, 2012
Responses to Week 6 Deadly Feasts
http://anqilao123.blogspot.com/2012/11/week-6-time-master.html
I agree that the time when Carleton Gajdusek adopts children from New Guinea is important because it shows that Gajdusek is a kind man and is willingly to give back to those who have helped him before. Also, Gajdusek receiving a Nobel Prize in Medicine is important because it shows just how much he has contributed to the medical field. Gajdusek deserved every little bit of recognition he received.
http://tracybioap.blogspot.com/2012/11/week-6-deadly-feast-word-master.html
-Novocain: procaine hydrochloride: procaine administered as a hydrochloride (trade name Novocain).
-cerebral atrophy: the loss of brain cells over time (http://www.localhealth.com/article/cerebral-atrophy).
-Pick's disease: a rare and permanent form of dementia that is similar to Alzheimer's disease, except that it tends to affect only certain areas of the brain (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000744.htm).
-autoclave: an apparatus for sterilizing objects (especially surgical instruments)
-aborigines: a member of the indigenous or earliest known population of a region; a native.
-antigen: any substance that causes your immune system to produce antibodies against it (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002224.htm).
-dwarfism: an occurrence when an individual person or animal is short in stature resulting from a medical condition caused by abnormal (slow or delayed) growth (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002159/)
-pediatric endocrinologist- a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of children with diseases of the endocrine system, such as diabetes and growth disorders.
I agree that the time when Carleton Gajdusek adopts children from New Guinea is important because it shows that Gajdusek is a kind man and is willingly to give back to those who have helped him before. Also, Gajdusek receiving a Nobel Prize in Medicine is important because it shows just how much he has contributed to the medical field. Gajdusek deserved every little bit of recognition he received.
http://tracybioap.blogspot.com/2012/11/week-6-deadly-feast-word-master.html
-Novocain: procaine hydrochloride: procaine administered as a hydrochloride (trade name Novocain).
-cerebral atrophy: the loss of brain cells over time (http://www.localhealth.com/article/cerebral-atrophy).
-Pick's disease: a rare and permanent form of dementia that is similar to Alzheimer's disease, except that it tends to affect only certain areas of the brain (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/000744.htm).
-autoclave: an apparatus for sterilizing objects (especially surgical instruments)
-aborigines: a member of the indigenous or earliest known population of a region; a native.
-antigen: any substance that causes your immune system to produce antibodies against it (http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/002224.htm).
-dwarfism: an occurrence when an individual person or animal is short in stature resulting from a medical condition caused by abnormal (slow or delayed) growth (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002159/)
-pediatric endocrinologist- a doctor who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of children with diseases of the endocrine system, such as diabetes and growth disorders.
Sketch for Chapters 8-10 for Deadly Feasts (Week 6)
.jpg)
I made a sketch of eyes because our eyes give us our sense of vision. If Devoe had examined the cornea of the donor beforehand, the woman receiving the surgery wouldn't have gotten CJD. This made me realize that before doing anything, we really need to look closely and examine everything. If we don't, who knows what would happen? In a way, this reminds me of the quote, "Better safe than sorry" but in a way, it's different. By observing our surroundings and all, we would possibly be able to avoid being a victim of a crime. Doing little things like these can help people avoid big happenings that may affect them negatively. Also, weirdly and randomly enough, this kind of serves as a reminder to me that we only have one pair of eyes, so we should take very good care of them.
Sunday, November 11, 2012
Responses to Week 5 Deadly Feasts
http://anqilao123.blogspot.com/2012/11/week-5-quote-master.html
-Quote 1 is important because it shows his exposure to science during his younger years.
-I agree that Quote 3 is significant because it shows how a simple mistake or event can lead to the downfall of everything during an experiment.
-Quote 4 is important because it shows that though Gibbs tells people the diseases aren't infectious, people don't believe it.
-Quote 8 is also important because at first, people laughed at the idea of monkeys having kuru but in the end, it was proven to be true.
-I agree that Quote 9 is important because it tells us about the hard life of scientists. Mistakes and false claims may cause an end to their good reputation/career.
-Quote 12 is important because it proves that kuru was transmissible.
-Quote 14 is significant because it tells the readers why kuru was mostly found in women. It was mostly found in women because women were the ones who usually ate raw flesh.
-Quote 15 is important because it tells readers that germs may be killed by UV light. Germs are killed by damaging their DNA.
http://tracybioap.blogspot.com/2012/11/week-5-deadly-feast-discussion-master.html
1. The price of chimpanzees back then was $300 but nowadays, they cost around $25,000.
2. George was anesthetized and had a hole drilled in his skull. The scientists then put some of the kuru infected solution into a syringe and put it into George.
3. It was proven by the scientists through their experiments with other animals.
4. Robert Koch was a German physicist who listed the steps that researchers needed to follow in order to prove the fact that a disease agent causes a disease.
5. The agent must be present in every case of the disease, inoculations of pure cultures of the agent must profuce disease in animals, and cultures of the agent purified from such diseased animals must produce the disease again and repeatably.
6. Pathology of Georgette indistinguishable from human kuru.
7. Elisabeth Beck found an enormous loss of nerve cells, kuru plaques, astrogliosis and spongiform change in Georgette's brain.
8. Viruses were able to pass through filters that bacteria weren't able to pass through.
9. The scrapie agent resisted boiling, freezing, and many other methods and attempts to destroy it.
10. UV light kills germs by damaging the germ's DNA.
-Quote 1 is important because it shows his exposure to science during his younger years.
-I agree that Quote 3 is significant because it shows how a simple mistake or event can lead to the downfall of everything during an experiment.
-Quote 4 is important because it shows that though Gibbs tells people the diseases aren't infectious, people don't believe it.
-Quote 8 is also important because at first, people laughed at the idea of monkeys having kuru but in the end, it was proven to be true.
-I agree that Quote 9 is important because it tells us about the hard life of scientists. Mistakes and false claims may cause an end to their good reputation/career.
-Quote 12 is important because it proves that kuru was transmissible.
-Quote 14 is significant because it tells the readers why kuru was mostly found in women. It was mostly found in women because women were the ones who usually ate raw flesh.
-Quote 15 is important because it tells readers that germs may be killed by UV light. Germs are killed by damaging their DNA.
http://tracybioap.blogspot.com/2012/11/week-5-deadly-feast-discussion-master.html
1. The price of chimpanzees back then was $300 but nowadays, they cost around $25,000.
2. George was anesthetized and had a hole drilled in his skull. The scientists then put some of the kuru infected solution into a syringe and put it into George.
3. It was proven by the scientists through their experiments with other animals.
4. Robert Koch was a German physicist who listed the steps that researchers needed to follow in order to prove the fact that a disease agent causes a disease.
5. The agent must be present in every case of the disease, inoculations of pure cultures of the agent must profuce disease in animals, and cultures of the agent purified from such diseased animals must produce the disease again and repeatably.
6. Pathology of Georgette indistinguishable from human kuru.
7. Elisabeth Beck found an enormous loss of nerve cells, kuru plaques, astrogliosis and spongiform change in Georgette's brain.
8. Viruses were able to pass through filters that bacteria weren't able to pass through.
9. The scrapie agent resisted boiling, freezing, and many other methods and attempts to destroy it.
10. UV light kills germs by damaging the germ's DNA.
Vocabulary Words For Chapters 5-7 of Deadly Feasts (Week 5)
Chapter 5
centrifuge (86)- A machine that separates substances of different densities in a sample by rotating the sample at very high speed, causing the substance to be displaced outward, sometimes through a series of filters or gratings.
homogenate (87)- a tissue that is or has been made homogenous, as by grinding cells into a creamy consistency for laboratory studies. A homogenate usually lacks cell structure.
rhesus (89)- a type of monkey often kept in zoos and used extensively in biological and medical research
cynomolgus (89)- a type of monkey, also known as the long-tailed macaque or the crab-eating macaque
Aleutian disease (91)-A chronic fatal parvoviral infection of minks, which causes a polyclonal expansion of B lymphocytes, and affects minks that are homozygous for the Aleutian blue mink gene.
encephalitis (91)- inflammation of the brain. Viral infections are the most common cause of the condition.(http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/encephalitis/DS00226)
sclerosis (91)- an induration or hardening, especially from inflammation and in diseases of the interstitial substance; applied chiefly to such hardening of the nervous system or to hardening of the blood vessels.
viscera (91)-The internal organs in the main cavities of the body, especially those in the abdomen.
anthrax (91)- A serious bacterial infection caused by Bacillus anthracis that occurs primarily in animals.(http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2273)
formalin (98)- A 37% aqueous (water) solution of formaldehyde, a pungent gas, with the chemical formula HCHO, used as an antiseptic, disinfectant, and especially today as a fixative for histology (the study of tissues under the microscope).
Chapter 6
astrogliosis (103)-an abnormal increase in the number of astrocytes due to the destruction of nearby neurons.
cerebellar disease (104)- a disease that affects the cerebellum. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1802262)
cessation (104)- a temporary or final ceasing.
endocannibalism (105)- cannibalism of relatives.
somnolent (106)- sleepy; drowsy.
encephalopathies (107)- any degenerative brain disease.
Chapter 7
zoologist (113)- life scientists who study animals, observing them in the laboratory and in their natural habitat.
homunculus (114)- a little man
T4 phage (120)- consists of a head, phage tail, and baseplate. The head contains double stranded viral DNA, which is ejected into host cells in order to propagate the viral infection.
radiopathology (121)- a branch of radiology or pathology concerned with the effects of radiation on cells and tissues.
notorious (123)- famous or well known, typically for some bad quality or deed.
dogma (125)- a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true.
polyoma virus (125)- This virus, also referred to as Budgerigar Fledgling Disease is a member of the papovavirus family. This pathogen is considered one of the most significant threats to cage birds around the world. (http://www.avianbiotech.com/diseases/polyoma.htm)
aberrant (126)- departing from an accepted standard, abnormal
incongruous (127)- not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects of something; not in place.
transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE)- One of a number of progressive neurodegenerative disorders in animals and humans caused by similar uncharacterized agents that produce spongiform changes in the brain. (http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=21689)
centrifuge (86)- A machine that separates substances of different densities in a sample by rotating the sample at very high speed, causing the substance to be displaced outward, sometimes through a series of filters or gratings.
homogenate (87)- a tissue that is or has been made homogenous, as by grinding cells into a creamy consistency for laboratory studies. A homogenate usually lacks cell structure.
rhesus (89)- a type of monkey often kept in zoos and used extensively in biological and medical research
cynomolgus (89)- a type of monkey, also known as the long-tailed macaque or the crab-eating macaque
Aleutian disease (91)-A chronic fatal parvoviral infection of minks, which causes a polyclonal expansion of B lymphocytes, and affects minks that are homozygous for the Aleutian blue mink gene.
encephalitis (91)- inflammation of the brain. Viral infections are the most common cause of the condition.(http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/encephalitis/DS00226)
sclerosis (91)- an induration or hardening, especially from inflammation and in diseases of the interstitial substance; applied chiefly to such hardening of the nervous system or to hardening of the blood vessels.
viscera (91)-The internal organs in the main cavities of the body, especially those in the abdomen.
anthrax (91)- A serious bacterial infection caused by Bacillus anthracis that occurs primarily in animals.(http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=2273)
formalin (98)- A 37% aqueous (water) solution of formaldehyde, a pungent gas, with the chemical formula HCHO, used as an antiseptic, disinfectant, and especially today as a fixative for histology (the study of tissues under the microscope).
Chapter 6
astrogliosis (103)-an abnormal increase in the number of astrocytes due to the destruction of nearby neurons.
cerebellar disease (104)- a disease that affects the cerebellum. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1802262)
cessation (104)- a temporary or final ceasing.
endocannibalism (105)- cannibalism of relatives.
somnolent (106)- sleepy; drowsy.
encephalopathies (107)- any degenerative brain disease.
Chapter 7
zoologist (113)- life scientists who study animals, observing them in the laboratory and in their natural habitat.
homunculus (114)- a little man
T4 phage (120)- consists of a head, phage tail, and baseplate. The head contains double stranded viral DNA, which is ejected into host cells in order to propagate the viral infection.
radiopathology (121)- a branch of radiology or pathology concerned with the effects of radiation on cells and tissues.
notorious (123)- famous or well known, typically for some bad quality or deed.
dogma (125)- a principle or set of principles laid down by an authority as incontrovertibly true.
polyoma virus (125)- This virus, also referred to as Budgerigar Fledgling Disease is a member of the papovavirus family. This pathogen is considered one of the most significant threats to cage birds around the world. (http://www.avianbiotech.com/diseases/polyoma.htm)
aberrant (126)- departing from an accepted standard, abnormal
incongruous (127)- not in harmony or keeping with the surroundings or other aspects of something; not in place.
transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE)- One of a number of progressive neurodegenerative disorders in animals and humans caused by similar uncharacterized agents that produce spongiform changes in the brain. (http://www.medterms.com/script/main/art.asp?articlekey=21689)
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Responses to Week 4 Deadly Feasts
http://tracybioap.blogspot.com/2012/11/week-4-deadly-feast-quote-master.html
Quote 2 is important because it is comparing the conditions of scrapie and acute infections.
Quote 4 is also a good quote because, like Tracy said, it tells about the diversity in human culture and in humans in general. Some cultures may seem odd to some but for Gajdusek to be experiencing the Fore culture, he believed it was amazing because it was soon going to disappear.
Quote 5 is significant because it shows that they are trying and aren't trying to deny reality. They know their limits and know that they can't do everything.
Quote 6's significance is that when attacking the corpses of the men, the women felt as if they had some power. Men would overpower the women in many other tasks but the attacking of corpses was solely for women.
http://anqilao123.blogspot.com/2012/11/week-4-word-master.html
toxoplasmosis (pg. 80)- an infection due to the parasite Toxoplasma gondii (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001661/)
encephalopathy (pg. 81)-any degenerative brain disease
Quote 2 is important because it is comparing the conditions of scrapie and acute infections.
Quote 4 is also a good quote because, like Tracy said, it tells about the diversity in human culture and in humans in general. Some cultures may seem odd to some but for Gajdusek to be experiencing the Fore culture, he believed it was amazing because it was soon going to disappear.
Quote 5 is significant because it shows that they are trying and aren't trying to deny reality. They know their limits and know that they can't do everything.
Quote 6's significance is that when attacking the corpses of the men, the women felt as if they had some power. Men would overpower the women in many other tasks but the attacking of corpses was solely for women.
http://anqilao123.blogspot.com/2012/11/week-4-word-master.html
toxoplasmosis (pg. 80)- an infection due to the parasite Toxoplasma gondii (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0001661/)
encephalopathy (pg. 81)-any degenerative brain disease
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