BOW 9 Pathogen

Find an example and a picture of each type of disease/pathogen: bacteria, virus, prion, genetic, environmental and invertebrates


Bacterial: Staph infection

Viral: Smallpox

Prionic: Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease

Genetic: Hemophilia

Environmental: Asthma

Invertebrates:Babesiosis

Finish your epidemic simulation
Do a screen capture of your settings and data and in your blog explain which is more critical to the impact of a disease contagiousness or lethality

I beleave that the contagiousness of a disease is more critical because while some diseases may be highly fatal, it wont have as much of an effect if it cannot spread. Compared to less lethal disease that could spread more, where everyone is sick and there are no people left to take care of the ill, the situation is much worse.


Sources:
http://starmap.causeway.co.uk/epidemic.asp
http://www.asthmatreatmentreport.com/
http://www.globalsecurity.org/wmd/intro/bio_smallpox-pics.htm
http://www.staph-infection-pictures.com/staph-infection-pictures.php

http://www.aphis.usda.gov/lpa/issues/bse/bse_photogallery.html

BOW 8 Action Potential

Go to http://thevirtualheart.org/CAPindex.html
Click on ions
Run the regular action potential and the cardiac potential compare and contrast what is happening in each


In the regular neuron action potential, the membrane current gradually becomes larger and once it reaches a maximum, decreases accordingly. In addition, the membrane voltage climbs quickly and decreases fairly gradually. However, in cardiac cells, as action potential is generated, membrane current quickly spikes and stays constant until the end of the process, while the membrane voltage spikes and stays high through until the end.

Source:
http://thevirtualheart.org/CAPindex.html

BOW: Thinking/Body nerves

BOW 
PART 1
Go to http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/leonardo/thinker_quiz/What are the implications in terms of how you study? In terms of potential careers?


According to the quiz, I am a logical mathematical thinker, or one who learns and solves problems using rationality and enjoys understanding patterns. This means that I should study more of a cause-effect relation in my work and it should make more sense to me when things have a backing or logical support. As far as potential careers go, I should aim to be a physicist, engineer, scientist, etc.

PART 2
Now go to
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/index_interactivebody.shtmldo the nervous system challenge. Write three things you learned about how your body is "wired".


1. The vital organs and direct sensory structures generally connect directly to the brain
2. The parts of the body used less are usually connected to lower sections of the spinal cord
3. Skeletal muscles can connect to various places, but arm muscles generally connect to the cervical portion while leg muscles connect to the sacral portion.






Sources
http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/leonardo/thinker_quiz/

http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/index_interactivebody.shtml

BOW: Leprosy

Look up a disease of one of the senses: vision, hearing, skin, taste and smell. What causes the disease? What are the symptoms? How can it be treated? Include a picture an a reference 

Leprosy is a chronic disease caused by the bacteria Mycobacterium leprae and Mycobacterium lepromatosis. The symptoms of this disease do not appear till long after exposure, making it difficult to track. However, it is not easy to spread from person to person, while people have been known to contract the disease from armadillos. Essentially, what this disease does is create various lesions and bumps, cause numbness on the skin, and weakness in the muscles. There are many various antibiotics that attack the bacteria, and several are generally used together to treat the disease, along with drugs designed to control inflammation. However, leprosy can have long lasting effects, including permanent nerve damage, muscle weakness, and disfigurement.




Reference:


http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0002323/


http://www.dmoz.org/Health/Conditions_and_Diseases/Infectious_Diseases/Mycobacterial/Hansen's_Disease/


http://www.wayang.net/?page_id=169

BOW: Phantoms Ch 2

What is the significance of brain plasticity? How does the mapping of the brain explain various fetishes?


After loss of a limb or body part, it is not uncommon for amputees to "feel" sensations in the area of the body that they lost, even though there are no nerves to feel with. This is caused by brain plasticity, or the ability of the brain to connect various neurons located in the brain and make one feel as though their lost limb can feel sensations felt by actual flesh in other areas. These re-mappings are also the cause of various fetishes, with the area of the brain that feels genitalia located close to the foot and trunk areas, causing foot fetishes to have a valid excuse.