~A Look to The Past~

FINAL REFLECTION


Wow, this quarter went by really fast, as did the assignments for this blog. Of all of the topics that I had to research the final topic that I researched was definitely my favorite. I enjoyed researching this topic because it's something that I'm actually interested in and I find very fascinating. My favorite part of this whole blogging experience was finding out how much the media likes to exaggerate things that pertain to science. It is really eye opening to see how different my perceptions of something is compared to what the real facts are. I myself have never really researched any of these topics before and my only knowledge of them prior to this was only what I had heard from the media.


My only dislikes of this experience were the problems we faced due to lack of technology, and lack of communication. Many problems arose because, lets face it, Hebron is not very technologically advanced. Trying to do this blogger thing was a fun and different idea, but could have ran smoother if we had more technology here. Also the lack of communication in changes of criteria for grading and assignment requirements made the assignments sometimes frustrating. Overall I think this could have been less frustrating for the facilitator and students alike if we had more communication and technology inside and outside of the classroom.

Stem Cell Research

Stem cell research has been the topic for much debate in the recent years. Some people feel that this research is ground breaking and could save many lives in the future. While others feel that it is not something that we should pursue further, because it could be potentially dangerous in the wrong hands. Whenever you here of stem cell research what do you automatically think of? Cloning. Although cloning is not the only application for stem cell research it is associated with that research the most. Before you make your own judgments about the issue of stem cell research you should know the basic facts about it first.

Stem cells are cells in the body that have the potential to develop into almost any different cell in the body. They are able to divide and replace other damaged cells infinitely for as long as the organism is alive. They act as the body's repair system by replacing the damaged, old cells. Also anytime that the stem cell divides the new stem cells have the option of staying a stem cell or becoming a different cell. This is very helpful, stem cells can replace brain cells, blood cells, and even muscle cells if needed. As you can see researching these cells can come in handy when we need to make new cells or even organs to save lives.

Stem cell research is an area of much interest by scientists, but many new questions are being brought up as new research is found. Research is being done on these cells to figure out how organisms become from one cell, and how the body replaces old cells in adult life. Scientists hope to be able to harness the concept of stem cells and be able to replicate their actions. They are hoping to be able to produce cell-based therapies to treat disease. These therapies are known as regenerative or repairative medicines. If these therapies are discovered and proven advances in treating disease would be astronomical.

There is a difference in the types of stem cells being researched and what each type can be used for. The two types that are under research are embryonic stem cells and "adult" stem cells. Adult stem cells are cells that are in adult organisms that are used for replacing and repairing the old cells . Embryonic stem cells are the cells that start out as a single cell and replicate to produce a whole organism. Each type of stem cells have different properties and applications for modern health care. Understanding each type of stem cell will allow for the development of new unique treatments and ways for curing diseases.

Embryonic Stem Cells

This type of stem cell comes obviously from embryos. Many people think that these embryos are fertilized while in the womb of a women, but this is not true. The embryos that are used for research are fertilized in a lab and are not taken from a woman. Donors that donate their eggs for experimental use do not have them fertilized in their body as many think. Egg and sperm donors donate their eggs and sperm separately and then they are used in test tube type fertilization to produce embryonic stem cells. Media and imagination tends to make it seem like these stem cells are being taken from pregnant woman when really they are not.

To grow this type of stem cell the labs use a cell culture. This culture uses mouse embryonic skin cells that have been treated so that they do not divide as a feeder layer for the human embryonic stem cells. These cultures are observed and used for experimentation. These culture dishes contain constantly dividing and expanding stem cells and can be used to make more culture dishes. Subculturing is used to make more cultures of stem cells once a culture becomes crowded with stem cells. These cultures can then be frozen and kept for later use.

There are many different types of uses and experiments done with the cultures of embryonic stem cells. They test to see how long the stem cells can keep replicating and dividing to find the life of stem cells. They test for a specific protein found in undifferentiable cells called Oct-4. The presence of this protein ensures that the cell is undifferentiable and can take the form of any other cell needed. They also check the chromosomes of the cells and determine whether they are damaged or not. Each one of these tests are done to find out whether or not we can duplicate and/or use stem cells to make cells that we need.

Adult Stem Cells

Adult stem cells are found in adult organisms while in the presence of specialised cells in the body. These cells are undifferentiated which means that they are not specialised or differentiated like the cells they are around. The adult stem cells can still divide and take on the form of any differentiated cell. Their main function in an adult organism is to repair and replace the old cells of the body. The origin of these cells in an adult organism is unknown unlike that of the embryonic stem cells. These stem cells are very fascinating and mysterious much is unkown about them, although much research has been found on them recently.

Around 40 years ago adult stem cell research began. The first adult stem cells were found in the bone marrow where at least two types reside. The two types of adult stem cells in the body are hematopoietic stem cells and stromal stem cells. Hematopoietic stem cells can form any cell that is found in the blood. Stromal stem cells take on the identity of bone, cartilage, fat, and connective tissue. Each group is very specialised in the type of cells that they repair and replace.

Lately many new discoveries about adult stem cells have been made. Scientists have found these stem cells in many different place through out the body that has brought about much hype. They think that because these are found in so many places transplants can be done to fix damaged cells. For almost 30 years adult blood marrow stem cells have been used in transplants. Some adult stem cells are able to differentiate better than others. They hope to be able to find a way that they can use all adult stem cells for different types of transplants that are needed.

There are many different tests that adult stem cells are used for, and not every lab uses the same tests. Some labs may test based on different criteria to determine an adult stem cell or distinguish how it replicates. They may label the cells in humans and try to determine the types of cells that they replace. Sometimes they take adult stem cells from a living organism and try to transplant them in another organism to see whether they survive in the body of another. They also plant them in a culture and try to grow different types of cells from that culture. Each method is used basically to push the limits of how stem cells can be used and whether or not new transplants can be used on humans.

I feel that stem cell research is a very interesting new technology. I always remember a story about scientists growing an ear on a mouse whenever I think about stem cells. It would be very beneficial to society if organs could be grown and transplanted from stem cells. The long wait list for organs would greatly decrease and many people would be given the chance to lead a normal life. Also then we would not have a need for live organ donors and people would be able to keep their own precious organs. :) All in all I think that this is a worthwhile field for further research.

Holography

A man by the name of Dennis Gabes invented the theory of holography in 1947. He stumbled upon this theory while working on improving the electron microscope. He received a noble prize in physics for this discovery in 1971, and from then on holography has been refined and advanced. The Thompson-Houston Company filed the patent for this technology in 1947, but really was unable to do anything with it until the laser was invented in 1960. Since then Holography has been used for many different applications. You used to see holograms on packages for marketing or on toys just for fun, but now research is being done to use holograms for security measures and other applications.

Holograms are 3-D images that are recreated or duplicated and put on some type of background or object. The most common type of hologram seen today is the holograms of things in crystals.  These are usually found in a store, or mall and are very fascinating.  Many people wonder how they get the 3-D image in the middle of the crystal or glass.  Most do not realize that this is a form of holography.  That's why when you first see one of these items they seem fascinating and a hard feet to produce when they really aren't.

A rainbow transmission hologram can be commonly seen on credit cards and product packages for security measures. These holograms use white light to illuminate the 3-D image on the package or card. Before this type of hologram was created a laser was used to illuminate the image on the hologram. Obviously the discovery of rainbow holograms made them easier to use for practical everyday uses. Scientists are working everyday to make advances in the holography field because it’s such a promising field for advancements. Their main goal is to make it affordable for low budget and everyday use.

The process of making a hologram seems pretty complicated to me. It involves the beams of light, how far apart they are, and the sin of the angles of the light. Holography has been called lens less photography and I guess that's because it obviously doesn't use a lens. Simple holograms are made by superimposing two plane waves that are from the same wave source. I have no idea how this is done and don't think I would ever understand how to do it myself.

Holography seems to be an area that will always be advancing since there is so much that can be done with it. Holographs can be used for everything from data storage to reading DVDs today. Scientists keep coming up with new applications for holographic technology. The mass produced holographs can be seen on products to prove that they are the original product and not an imitation. More expensive holograms are used for storing data, these allow great amounts of data to be stored in a smaller storage device. Cost for this type of data storage may potentially be cheaper but it doesn't have the same storage quality as the type currently used.

  

Most people overlook the tiny holograms that are used for security, but these are very important.  They can be seen on everything from cell phone batteries to packages from companies.  These holograms are very hard to counterfeit and help to protect the customer from false products.  Many techniques like this are being used on currency to protect from counterfeit also.  Although to actually put a hologram on a form of currency would be too costly so other developments like holography are being used.  The new $5 bill for instance has an almost 3-D looking purple "5" on the back to protect from counterfeit.

There is however some limitations to holography and what can be done with it.  A complicated limitation is that the hologram can only be the same size as the original object.  So not everything can be made into a hologram depending on the size of equipment you have.  Also holograms are not easily copied (that’s why they’re used for security).  To make a copy of a hologram is a strenuous process.  Furthermore holograms do not reproduce the object in the same colors as it was.  The color of the hologram depends on the laser used to make it.

I myself feel that holography is a cool technology, but I do not fully understand it.  I would think that people in marketing would want to use it more for designs of packaging for products.  I thought that holograms were only used to make things look cool but apparently not.  Whenever I would see them on my cell phone battery, or on packages I ordered online I thought they were just there to make the package look good.  I had no idea that they were actually used for security purposes.  I think that this technology is something worth researching further and possibly seeing what else we could apply it to.

Renewable Sources of Energy

Let's face it the resources that we rely on heavily for transportation, and everyday life will not last forever. We tend to rely the most on non-renewable resources like oil, fossil fuels, and nuclear power. These resources only have a fixed amount on our planet and tend to be used faster than the earth can produce them. So what happens when these resources run out? Well hopefully we won't have to worry about that because we will already have a solution before it happens. New sources of energy are being researched and discovered extensively today to save tomorrow.

*Solar Power*
Solar power as the name implies uses energy from the sun to do work. The energy from the sun's heat and light can be converted for use as heating, lighting, and electricity. Solar panels are used to absorb the heat and light from the sun and then can be used for electricity. Buildings can be engineered to use the sun to their advantage for heating, lighting, and temperature of the building. Properly positioning windows, the type of material of the building, and location of the building to the climate of the area can greatly help. Solar power can be used for lighting, heating, air conditioning, cooking, process heat, disinfection, desalination, electricity, and many other experimental technologies.

*Tidal Power*
Tidal power uses the movement of water from the tides to harness energy. Places with large changes in tides and tidal currents posses the most potential of energy from tidal power. There are different ways to harness this energy from the sea. One way is with a tidal stream system which uses turbines to generate energy. Another is Barrages these use the level change of the tides to generate energy. Europe has been using tide mills to grind grain for many years.

*Wave Power*
Wave power is just what it sounds like, it uses the energy from waves of the ocean on the surface and converts it to do work. Wave power is very different from tidal power even though many tend to get them mixed up. Wave power does not have anything to do with the tides or tide current, it only uses the waves on the surface of the ocean. So far a commercial wave power plant has not been built, but plans are in the making. In Northern California the first commercial wave power plant is supposed to be opening in 2012. They will harness the energy of the ocean by using bouys that rise and fall with the rolling waves.

*Wind Power*
Wind power uses the energy of the wind and converts it into electricity by the use of a wind turbines. Wind power really started to boom in 2000 and is still progressing today. Wind farms can be seen all over the country, but wind power still only makes up about 1% of the world's electricity. Why is this? Because wind power is very effective but takes a lot of wind turbines to produce electricity and these turbines are not small. Wind farms need a lot of room for many turbines to produce significant amounts of energy. This of course may disrupt the ecosystem in that area and therefore there aren't very many places that wind farms can be produced.