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.

The Ocean

The ocean is the home of many different fish, sea mammals, and other oceanic organisms, but what about humans? There are many jobs that pertain to the ocean that humans have, and therefore the ocean allows them to pay for their home. If you think about it that way the ocean serves as the basis of many humans own homes. Without the ocean many humans would be out of work and without a home. You can find a job that involves the ocean in just about any subject or background. From the infamous life of a whale/dolphin trainer, to the not so glorious life of a fisherman the ocean serves as a beacon of life in more ways than one.


Marine Biologists
One occupation that involves the ocean extensively is a Marine Biologist. Marine Biologists are not always just whale or dolphin trainers like most people think. They actually are anyone who studies, protects, manages, or observes marine organisms. Many Marine Biologists are responsible for exploring and discovering new organisms of the not very known deep sea. They research the behavioral patterns of sea creatures and study what the animal eats and does in their environment. Very few Marine Biologists actually become dolphin or whale trainers, the likelihood of becoming one is like becoming a rock star.


Environmental Enforcement Officer
The ocean of course is shared by all the continents of the earth, and therefore needs to be kept clean and unpolluted to ensure the safety of every continent. To make sure this happens the career as an Environmental Enforcement Officer was created. Their job is to find ways to protect the ocean from pollution. They do this by finding and correcting sources of pollution, and finding new ways to prevent oceanic pollution from happening. These people aren't as involved with the wildlife as other careers, they are kind of an underground career dealing with the ocean that doesn't recieve much glory.


It seems to me that the ocean is a very important role in many humans lives as well as in sea creatures lives. There are a whole abundance of different jobs that you can choose from. Just in Marine Biology alone there are tons of different and creative jobs. Marine Biology has so many different opportunities for employment that no matter what you're interested in you could probably find a job doing it in Marine Biology. I think that being a whale or dolphin trainer would be one of the coolest jobs, but not many people get that chance.

The Beginnings of the Universe

Everyone wonders at least once in their lifetime where they came from and where the world that they live in came from.  Well, there are several theories as to how the universe came about, and the most heard of is the “Big Bang Theory”.  According to this theory the world is not infinite.  There was a definite beginning and will be a definite end.  The beginning started with a huge explosion that extended the universe into what it is today.  It is not known what existed before this explosion, but is thought that the explosion contained all the energy in the universe.  The name "Big Bang" was given to this theory by Fred Hoyle in 1964. He tried to make fun of the theory by calling it this but the name stuck.

Of course there is a lot of controversy surrounding this theory and the many others that describe the creation of the universe.  Theists believe that this theory defies God and the belief that God created life and the universe.  Since the Big Bang theory accredits the beginnings of life and the universe to an explosion, many theists do not agree or believe in this theory.  The Big Bang theory also supports the belief of Darwinism which also goes against the bible.  The Big Bang theory and Darwinism are generally atheistic views on the beginnings of life and the universe.  Although there are many who believe in a God and believe in one of these theories, the lines of belief and science tend to cross when talking about this subject.

There are many other theories about the origin of the universe and many of them do include a belief in God.  The Steady State theory is a theory that supports the Big Bang theory, it states that matter is constantly being created.  This supports the Big Bang theory because it explains why there was a "big bang".  Matter was constantly being created and then Bang!(well more like after much growth) A universe was created.  Before the Big Bang theory was created many believed that we lived in an infinite universe without a beginning or ending.  This theory was thrown out with the new discoveries that led to the Big Bang theory.

Man will continually search for reason and explanation of the unknown, but sometimes I feel like we look to far than we need to.  Many people are fine with not knowing the truth behind everything.  Many believe that some questions should remain unanswered.  Our quickly advancing technology is giving us the materials to find these answers, but should we?  The origin of the universe is such a touchy subject to many, especially since you have the question of religion on the line.  I don't think humans will ever be able to truly understand the origins of life, and really why should we?

Solar Systems and Galaxies

Solar systems and galaxies, you can't really have one without the other. Galaxies are huge systems of stars and other interstellar material. We happen to live in the Milky Way Galaxy, which is a spiral galaxy. A spiral galaxy is a type of galaxy that has a spiral structure and a halo like component also. In the group of galaxies that the Milky Way belongs to it is the second largest galaxy to the Andromeda Galaxy. There are many galaxies all around ours that contain many different solar systems that we are currently unable to explore.

Our solar system is composed of the sun, nine planets (Well actually eight now because Pluto is not a planet anymore.), and many stars and moons. All the planets in our solar system orbit in an elliptical pattern, although some are more circular than others. We know that there are other galaxies besides our in space, but whether or not there are other solar systems has not been proven. Scientists are finding new evidence that they feel almost certainly has proven the existance of other solar systems. New discoveries like 51 Pegasi, 70 Virginis and 47 Ursae Majoris have forced many to believe that there are other solar systems orbiting a star. Advances in technology is the only way we could ever find out for sure, because as of right now we are limited to how far from "home" the earth we can travel in space.

I personally feel that space is such a weird and interesting topic. There really is so little that we actually know for sure beyond the clouds of our atmosphere. I feel that we all tend to forget how small and insignificant our world is compared to that of space. We are just one planet, in one solar system, of one galaxy, of thousands of other galaxies in space. When stated like that our lives seem pretty insignificant. The fun question associated with this topic is whether or not aliens truly exist. Which when you look at our solar system and how many other galaxies and solar systems there are, if each have one planet with life in them there must be billions of "aliens" we don't know about.

**Stars**

We all take for granted the beautiful stars that sprinkle the sky at night. Most of us don't know how they are made, what they're made of, or even the names of some familiar stars. Hopefully everyone knows of at least one important star, the sun. The sun is primarily made up of helium and hydrogen, and some 2% contains metals. It is the largest component of our solar system, and has a surface temperature of about 5800K. The sun's core is of very high temperature and pressure, it is also extremely dense.

Stars go through many stages through out their lifetime, which include a Red Giant and White Dwarf stage. A star is considered a red giant when the core temperature raises very quickly and immensly, causing the star to inflate like a balloon making it much larger. This usually occurs near the end of a stars lifetime. Helium is burned in the inner core of the star, and causes the star to expand. The white dwarf state of a star occurs when the star has used up most of it's nuclear fuel. When this happens only the core of the star is left, this core has an extremely high temperature.

Another strange topic in our solar system are black holes. When most of us think of black holes we automatically imagine a man and spaceship eating hole of death, but this isn't true. A simpler and less SciFi explanation of a black hole is the evolutionary endpoint of a star. Black holes occur when supermassive stars, even larger than the sun, create a supernova explosion. Because of the lack of gravity the star collapses into itself causing a black hole. The black hole does not have sucking power to engulf the universe like in movies, so you don't have to worry about the earth being swallowed up by a black hole.

It seems that the solar system, and all the components of it, all interelate and depend on each other immensly. The life and death of a star has impact on neighboring planets and stars. I was surprised to learn that black holes do not suck other planets into them. Hollywood once again has spread myths about science that are not true. I'm curious about what would happen if the sun turned into a black hole. Would human life be able to survive? Could we come up with a way to live without the sun?