Wednesday, May 6, 2009

Genetic Disorder Response Blog

I read gymnasticsgirl817 's blog and it turned out to be very interesting. It was about the genetic disorder called Turner's Syndrome. Turner's Syndrome is a disease that happens only to women. You see, according to this blog women's genes are XX while men's are XY. Turner's Syndrome is when a women is missing an X gene or one is defective. When I read this blog it was very upsetting to hear all of the possible symptoms of having Turner's Syndrome. For example, some symptoms are, you can be smaller in height, your hands and feet can swell up, you can have droopy eyelids and a short neck. All of these issues are very serious and they can affect the daily activities of the people with this disease. Unfortunately, Turner's Syndrome has no cure yet but some treatments that can be done are, growth hormone injections can be performed to increase the women's height, and apparently estrogen replacement therapy can help the women live a more happy, and productive life.

Clearly, this disease sounds complicated to live with. It is very unfortunate for people with this disease because it makes life a whole lot harder for them. Reading this blog made me feel very fortunate that I don't have to deal with these problems everyday of my life. Although there is no cure for Turner's Syndrome yet, I am sure that there will one day be one and it will help patients with this disease to thrive and be happy and healthy.

Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease

Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease

As you may know a genetic disorder is a pathological condition caused by an absent or defective gene. Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease is yet one of the many genetic disorders that can be found in our world.

This disease is very complex. There are several different types of CMT disease. These include CMT1, CMT2, CMT3, CMT4, and CMTX. It is very unfortunate that there are several different conditions of this disease. All it does is it makes people more vulnerable to have it. In fact 1 in 2,500 people in the U.S. have this disease. Unfortunately more and more people are diagnosed with this disease every day. Before doctors diagnose they look at the patient’s history and family history to see if anyone else in their family has ever had this disease before. This helps to determine weather or not the patient has the disease.
Sadly, there are many symptoms to Charcot-Marie-Tooth Disease. A couple of these symptoms include weakness of the foot and lower leg muscles and it affects both motor and sensory nerves. Also, it can cause people to have a disability in their hands and feet. Therefore, life is made much harder for them. It is a struggle to even do the daily task of brushing your teeth. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for this malfunctioning disease, but some people with the disease go to therapy and sometimes even orthopedic surgery to help “them cope with the disabling symptoms of"CMT disease. Currently there is research being doProxy-Connection: keep-alive
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for CMT disease. There are efforts to “identify more of the mutant genes and proteins that cause the various disease subtypes.”

Overall, this disease makes me feel very upset because it is hard for me to realize that this disease actually exists. Anyone with this CMT disease has a hard life because their motor skills are affected. I guess I take for granted the simple tasks that I do everyday. I cannot imagine not being able to get dressed or brush my teeth on my own. Even for one day. CMT disease patients have to deal with these challenges everyday. Clearly, Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease is very serious and I think that everyone needs to be informed about it so that they know about other people’s troubles when they think that they’ve got it bad.

http://www.ninds.nih.gov/disorders/charcot_marie_tooth/charcot_marie_tooth.htm

Tuesday, February 24, 2009

Social Studies Blog

Tips For Easing Your Worries

Who- Everyone
What- This simple trick can help you "ease you money worries", Or any other worries you might have. All you have to do is write down what is bothering you such as " are you concerned about paying bills late" on a piece of paper and this will make you less stressed about getting it done. Sometimes by seeing your worries it can help ease your worries. It can make what you are stressed about "seem more manageable."
Where- Everywhere
When- Anytime you want!
Why- This will help you become less stressed about getting your bills paid, or whatever you are worried about.

In my opinion I think this is a great idea. In fact a couple minutes before I even read this article and made this blog I wrote down what was worrying me. I made a list of things that had to get accomplished, and it automatically made me feel less stressed. It is funny because you would think that by looking at your worries it would just make you more stressed, but in reality it lets you know that you have to set your priorities straight and get done what needs to be accomplished. Overall, I think that writing down your worries and what is stressing you out is a great way to vent your feelings and help you finish your work faster!

For more information visit-
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/personal/02/24/p.8.tips.for.money.worries/index.html

Monday, February 23, 2009

Friday, February 20, 2009

Current Event Blog #8

Volunteers Guard and Search for Whales

Who- Glenn Wood.
What- Glenn Wood "searches for whales at least once a week."
Where- She searches for them at Flagler Beach in Florida.
When- At eight o'clock a.m. once a week.
Why- Glenn searches for whales because she wants to have hope that there is still a chance for the endangered species of right whales to survive.

In my opinion I think that it is great that people volunteer to guard and search for whales. This is a fantastic thing to do because there are not too many people in the world who care about whales and their becoming of extinction. If there were more people like Glenn Wood in the world, it would be a safer place for whales, and they probably would not be going extinct. Overall, this is something that I hope to be able to do in my life and I hope that many others will be able to do it too.

For more information visit-
http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/science/02/19/saving.right.whales/index.html

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

Social Studies Blog

Steelers Fans Gone Wild

Who-Steelers fans
What-Fans were so happy that the Steelers won the game, they got a little out of hand with their celebration. They possibly injured a police officer's arm and they also "threw bottles at the police." Over one hundred people were arrested.
Where- The Steeler's fans partied in the streets at night.
When- Sunday, February 1, 2009
Why- The fans were overjoyed at the success of their favorite football team winning Superbowl 43.

In my opinion I think that this was very likely to happen. Anyone could have expected people to do this after the Steelers won the game. I do believe that it did get to wild though. These people should not have injured the police officers and they most definetly should not have partied in the streets. Overall, this was a bad decision made by these Steeler's fans but I bet that most people knew that this would happen somewhere.

For more information visit-
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090202/ap_on_sp_fo_ne/fbn_super_bowl_pittsburgh_reax

AP – Pittsburgh Steeler fans

Tuesday, February 3, 2009

Class Response Blog

Smart Board Acceleration Game

In science class we played a game on the smart board that had to do with acceleration. In this game you had to find the block with the correct height that would move the car down the track all the way to the number 100. You also had to find the correct type of weight to place on the car in order for it to increase acceleration.

Three Interesting Facts Are...
* The higher you make the starting point for the car (or whatever you are dropping) the more acceleration to move forward it recieves.
* The smart board makes the game interactive and even more fun then it would be on a regular computer.
* This game shows you how force and acceleration are related and can make something move.

In my opinion I think that the Smart Board acceleration game is awesome. It is really fun to play it and you are learning while you are playing. By playing this game you really learn a lot about life and how acceleration plays a major part in it. I find it amazing that acceleration and force are what makes a marble move down a hill or a book slide down a set of steep stairs. Overall, this game is great for people that want to learn more about acceleration and how it works.