Biophysics Week 3 - Bionics

1. Bionic person?
As with most ideas of this nature, my biggest concern is the waste of resources! As a thought experiment, I think the idea is fascinating, but I absolutely do not think that the great minds of our generation need to be thinking about something so unnecessary to human and planet health and happiness. I also think that these bionic people would inevitably be used for things that required increased strength, decision making speed, and a certain amount of invincibility... military? I am opposed. However, I am not opposed to the use of technology to improve people's lives -- for example, prosthetic limbs, pacemakers, and many more are examples of appropriate use of technology.

2. Headset for Locked-In Patients
The biggest issue of the article seems to be the effectiveness of the headset in question. I think it would be a true tragedy for these to be marketed as a saving grace for those with the condition described, while actually doing very little for them. With so little feedback from the patient, it seems as though this could easily happen, leaving people feeling perhaps more helpless than before. As someone who has never been close to anyone experiencing this sort of condition, I could never form an opinion on the utility of such a device. I can't even imagine the frustration and heartbreak for all involved.

Biophysics Week 2 - Energy Medicine and Energy Fields

1. Acupuncture as effective energy medicine:
Acupuncture, along with all branches of TCM, is absolutely an effective medicine. I, personally, have experienced the effects of acupuncture and herbs on a huge variety of conditions, ranging from an acute ear infection to a low back injury to insomnia. Wow! I would absolutely prefer to be treated with an energy medicine than through the conventional health systems in place. However, as with everything, TCM has its limits, and I am grateful that western medicine is available to me for those cases in which TCM cannot be as effective.

2. Kirlian Photography
I love Kirlian photography! It's so pretty. Also, I believe that it is picking up on some sort of energy that we cannot see with our naked eyes. There is a huge spectrum of light that goes unnoticed by our limited senses, and I have no problem imagining that many things outside of our range of vision could be captured by other means.

3. Intent and its effect on health
I think this is both very important and very diverting. Intent of the practitioner and of the patient of course effect health, but this should not be confused with the placebo effect or similar ideas. I've heard so many people, when talking about acupuncture, compare it to taking a placebo, and I think emphasizing the effects of intent only increase this misconception. Within TCM, where intent is critically important, doctors are still necessary, and a patient cannot simply heal themselves with intent. Therefore, although intent is important, it is not the medicine.

Biophysics Week 1 - Live and Living Systems

1. I know I'm a living system because...
The article in class that defined living systems described them as being able to constantly maintain and create themselves. Therefore, by that definition, I am certainly a living system! I rely on input from the environment, but my body/mind is in a constant process of regeneration, recovery, and growth, as proven by my ability to heal, grow more hair, make new friends, or learn new things.

2. Biophysics and TCM
I really do not think that there is much overlap between these two ways of looking at life and the human body. While western science relies heavily on computers and microscopes, the science of TCM is empirical - that is, it relies on observation and experimentation to form a knowledge base. Biophysicists will continue to be skeptical of TCM or the effectiveness of Chinese medicine until the invention of a machine that measures qi, and that's personally all right with me. The studies from class, such as on the effectiveness of TCM in treating menopause symptoms, are great, and also make me wonder how many things TCM will need to prove to treat until it is accepted as medicine by the scientific community.

Why birth, you ask?

I love birth! Are you kidding?! So incredible.

I've worked on and off as a doula (a non medical labor and delivery support person) for a few years, and I have never felt as amazed by the human body as I have during a birth. I remember in high school, watching my first birth video (probably shown to us with the intention of scaring us away from having sex), and feeling repulsed, intrigued, and most of all, surprised! It wasn't nearly as scary as I'd thought, nor as gross. Anyways, I guess that's when I fell in love.

It amazes me that, even though each and every person in the world was birthed, very few people know much about it, nor have they ever seen it happen! I think there is a lot of fear and stigma around giving birth, and I hope that increased knowledge will breed more comfort and confidence in the process, and in the human body to make miracles happen! Although there are many possibilities for things to go horribly wrong in pregnancy and childbirth, and even though birth is painful and hard and exhausting... well, you should see for yourself. It's a beautiful thing.

Biology Week 11 - Vaccination and Public Health

1. Parents' roles in vaccination schedules
I'm not sure that I have a strong opinion about whether or not parents "should" be active in their children's vaccination schedules. I see the value in universal vaccination, and yet also think that people should be able to choose what happens to their children and when. I think it is very easy to frame the conflict around the issue of whether or not parents that opt out are putting an unfair burden on the rest of the population to protect their child via herd immunity, but I think the issue lies deeper. Parents that have reservations about vaccinations are not selfish, nor are they more paranoid than any other parents. I, personally, don't think that their skepticism of the medical establishment is crazy or unfounded, and relate the fear of having an unknown substance injected into a child's body. I think the true issue is that it IS so easy to develop unease about pharmaceutical companies and public health systems, and that it has become normal to feel ignored or left in the dark by doctors and other healthcare professionals.

2. Compulsory vaccination programs?
I think my answer for this question is fairly similar to the above. I would not be opposed to a compulsory vaccination system if I felt that the medical establishment could be absolutely trusted to maintain the best interest of the people as the SOLE priority. But, as it stands, privatized health care and big pharma make me feel less enthusiastic about such a program, not just because I reject the idea of taking away the choice to say no to these institutions, but because I would worry about what such a program would do to the standards of care - wouldn't it be a little like making the purchase of some good mandatory? If you are working within a capitalist system, aren't you supposed to encourage competition? Of course, this seems absurd in healthcare anyways, as the basic tenants of "supply and demand" have grave implications, but a good whose purchase is considered a given would certainly not be given the same amount of development, research, and marketing as one that was subject to the competition of the free market. Why do we have privatized healthcare, again?

Biology Week 10 - Restoring the American Bison to its Rightful Range

- Prioritizing Bison Restoration
Honestly, I know so little about the ecology of the great plains that I would have no idea where to start in bison restoration. I think that, from a human perspective, such a project would take the involvement of many people, and could be a wonderful rallying point for a diverse group. So, I would probably prioritize developing a cohesive stance and plan, and recruiting as many people as possible to the cause. As we read, there is certainly an anti-bison restoration sentiment, so having a strong and organized platform would be crucial!

- Record breaking temperatures...
No! Of course we not doing enough to curb global warming. Not to be a complete pessimist, but are we doing anything? Can we do anything?

Biology Week 9 - Ecosystems and Deep Ecology

1. The 8-Point Deep Ecology Platform
All in all, I believe in the sentiments of the Deep Ecology Platform - mainly, that life on earth has inherent value, and that humans should not take more than their fair share of resources and put nonhuman life at risk. However, I especially agree that the "flourishing of human life and cultures" depends on a strong, vital, and incredibly specific ecosystem, and I wish that this were more of the focus of the platform. Although I find personal value in nonhuman life, I think a much more convincing stance is one of necessity, which is certainly valid and perhaps more universal. Changing the way we interact with our environment cannot come solely from a moral obligation to our fellow beings to be kind and share, but a from a serious need to stabilize the system which we depend so heavily upon for our basic needs, such as food, water, and clean air.

2. Ecosystems are both strong and fragile...
My way of explaining this statement would be to rephrase it, by saying that even though and because ecosystems are strong, they are incredibly fragile. This, I think, is because their strength comes from the ability to support so many forms of life, which creates vulnerability, as the removal of any part of the system causes the intricate matrix to rearrange, if it can, or to fall apart.

Biology Week 8 - HIV and AIDS

1. I have a hard time forming an opinion about HIV/AIDS treatment in the west as a whole, as there are many players in the game and pieces of the puzzle to evaluate. Perhaps the most negative aspect of the treatment is that it relies heavily on the pharmaceutical companies who make antiretroviral drugs. Just the idea of private interest capitalizing on medical needs seems absurd and horrible, and there have been many instances in the global fight against HIV/AIDS where treatment was denied because of the prohibitive cost of antiretroviral drugs and intellectual rights to the medication. On the other hand, though HIV/AIDS is certainly preventable, it is not a condition in which preventative or holistic medicine could be a better option than western treatment, as is true for many other chronic conditions. Thus, coming from the TCM perspective, I have a hard time judging the western approach to a disease for which TCM is perhaps even less effective. Of course, the harshness of western treatment is horrible, and I hope that, as time goes on, there will be more options for HIV/AIDS positive people that have less detrimental side effects.

2. I'm not sure of our reliance on the possibility of a cure for HIV/AIDS. I think that, of course, the hope is for the development of a safe and effective form of treatment, but that in lieu of this, there has been a huge effort to work on preventing its spread. But, I think the debate around Truvada brings up the fact that, although safe sex and clean needle awareness has been a popular and fairly successful cause, the fact remains that sexual politics and issues of "morality" are shaping the conversation around HIV/AIDS treatment in ways that may not serve. It makes me wonder if whether a cure for HIV/AIDS would be stigmatized in much the same way as Truvada is - that it would be an enabling agent for the young and careless to continue have unsafe, promiscuous sex, much as abortions or birth control can be.

Loafing Around Without Feeling Guilty

I found that loafing around without feeling guilty came much easier to me on my family vacation in Canada than our actual field trip week. In a foreign country with no cell service, it's incredibly easy to let go of the feeling of responsibility for a little while and just enjoy yourself.

However, it is much harder to not feel guilty lying around in the sun or going for leisurely bike rides when NOT on vacation, and being around school and work and home certainly does not create a free and easy atmosphere. I found myself trying to make things "count": for example, does it "count" as loafing around to go for a walk? How about to clean the kitchen? Or organize my class notes (not studying!!)? Clearly, I wasn't doing a very good job not feeling guilty!

However, one thing that I did appreciate more while trying to do this assignment were the moments of being far from home without a bike or study materials and having to walk or take public transportation home, twiddling my thumbs and enjoying the scenery. No guilt! What could I do? I think it's an important part of life, letting things happen and going with the flow, waiting around and appreciating whatever comes your way. Taking the long way round, so to speak.

Biology Week 7 - Cell Biology and Cancer

1. Using the word "sophisticated" to describe the western medical approach to cancer would be quite a stretch. It seems that we have neither a clear and effective treatment strategy for cancer, nor a deep understanding of the pathophysiology of this epidemic. Though many causes have been identified (such as sun damage in malignant melanoma) and many people treated, western medicine provides no guarantee in cancer treatment. Again, I believe this reflects the disconnect with our bodies and surroundings that comes from relying solely on Science to provide answers, where perhaps none fit within the medical paradigm of the moment.

2. The approach to cancer treatment in TCM largely and unsurprisingly differs from the western medical approach, as the understanding of the body and pathologies associated are entirely different in the two paradigms. Western science understands cancer on a cellular level, whereas Chinese Medicine views cancer as a combination of patterns with similar manifestations, usually Blood or Qi stasis, or Phlegm.

The Biology of Pregnancy and Birth

Here is the link to my PPT that I presented in class:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B-aGOf4YS8NQMU1sZmZYWmJrdlk/edit?usp=sharing

Let me know if anyone has a hard time accessing it! I'm a little technically challenged.

Biology Week 6 - The Nature of Life

1. I think the distinction between living and non-living systems is all about scale. Clearly, there are some things that are non-living - for example, a rock. However, as a part of a larger system, that rock could play an important role. It could be washed into a river and broken down into small pebbles. One of these pebbles could be swallowed by a chicken, which uses that pebble to digest its food. I would include the rock inside the chicken's body as part of a living system, but the rock itself, not. Therefore, I don't think there is such a distinction - I think that if you zoom in or out enough, even the most inanimate, inorganic things are playing key roles in living systems.

2. I definitely think that it is valuable to know and understand that, genetically, there is more in common across "racial" lines than within populations. Therefore, I suppose I would agree that "DNA doesn't determine race". However, I'm not exactly sure what this proves and how it reflects on our society. As someone mentioned in class, even if skin color is not a valid way of grouping genetically similar people, we see, for example, health trends within populations that do correlate to skin color. This does not negate the statement of the article, but I think it is important to hold that, though "race" as a concept may not be scientific, it is incredibly relevant, and cannot be dismissed . It is unfortunate that articles such as this do not enforce our social structures, but rather demonstrate how, even though a group of people may not be the most genetically similar, the systems in which we live affects populations so drastically as to create serious biological trends within them.

Biology Week 5 - The Complexity of Life

1. I, personally, believe that the emergence of new species is happening all the time (how exciting!), and that this can occur in many ways. Of course, the easiest way to imagine divergence is in the case of geographic isolation (like in the Galapagos), where an isolated population adapts to its surroundings in a different way than its closest relatives who have different environmental pressures. Evolution and divergence of macroscopic beings without this isolation is hard to conceptualize because of the fairly long length of generations, but I bet that if we knew more about microscopic life forms we could watch species emerge every day without geographic isolation. I imagine this happening through some sort of selective reproduction or spontaneous mutations. Also, it's also worth considering that an existing species may evolve into a new species without any divergence, and where do you draw the line between new and old?

2. As for the chicken and egg question, I always vote egg! An animal cannot spontaneously turn into something else (think dinosaur --> chicken), and, ruling out divine intervention, there is no other way for the chicken to be first. 

Biology Week 4 - The Pattern of Life

1. Animal Intelligence
Our views of human intelligence seem both so simplistic and so unnecessary! Why do we seek our signs of "intelligence" from our animal cousins, anyways? What is it that we want to prove? Surely we can tell that animals are capable, communicative, and adaptive. Personally, that is all the evidence of intelligence that I need. The differences between animals' behavior is certainly interesting, but creating an intelligent hierarchy does nothing but maintain our own pedestal in the animal kingdom.

2.Wow! The game of Life is awesome. It looks like ice patterns or something being scattered by a stream. For such a contrived, technological thing, it struck me as very "natural" looking - ordered but not necessarily symmetrical.

Biology Week 3 - Genetic Evolution

1.
a. "99% of the most critical DNA sites are identical in human and chimp genes"
This finding is interesting to me for two reasons. First, it is always intriguing to note the idea of "critical DNA" in research, how it effects the reception of the findings, and how it reflects our understanding of our own genome. That some DNA is "critical" leaves the rest to be... what? Secondly, I love the idea that we are so genetically similar to chimps! Yay for pan sapiens! It's comforting to think about having close planetary cousins, almost like discovering a long lost relative.

b. Wow! Prokaryotes are awesome. I had no idea that they moved at 30 mph, or that our own mitochondria are prokaryotes. It is also terrifying to think that we may be creating diseases that we cannot fight with our use of antibiotics. Eukaryotes may be more complex, but it seems like the prokaryotes will win out in the end after all.

2. Cybernetics and Autopoiesis
The study of cybernetics and classification of "autopoietic" both rely on the concept of a closed system and the relative scale of observation. Studying engineering, we talked a lot about systems and their borders - distinguishing a system as "closed" or "open"... though, of course, no system is ever truly "closed". Similarly, it seems to me that no system could ever be truly autopoietic or allopoietic, because every tiny cell and every giant planet is a part of a larger system. So, my question is: is the universe autopoietic? What if it were allopoietic? What comes after infinity?

Biology Week 2 - Evo-Devo

1. I find the concepts studied in evo-devo to be both interesting and important, particularly research into the commonality of species origin and the study of environmental stimulus on gene expression. Understanding our close relationship/kinship with fellow animals is a worthy pursuit, especially if this understanding leads to increased respect for the lives of the animals we eat or for wild animals' habitats. However, as was mentioned in class, this respect and understanding for other animals can be found in other cultures without this research, so perhaps we could and should try to get in touch with the commonality of life, with or without genomes. I am also particularly interested in the idea of gene expression through environmental stimulus because of how it could effect our understanding of embryonic development. It could it change the way we approach pregnancy and prenatal care! Also, how fascinating to think about this as it relates to surrogate pregnancy.

2. Thank you, Darwin! Although Dawinism perhaps does not tell the full story of evolution and species differentiation, I believe that Darwin's work and research have allowed for incredible positive change. To understand that two different looking birds could, in fact, be incredibly close relatives who happened to evolve in different environments is a profoundly important realization in how it informs the way we view other people and other creatures on the planet. Also, as discussed by the article "Why Darwinism Matters", the ways that Darwinism has allowed us to move away from the idea of a universal Truth is a great step towards universal inclusivity and understanding. Yay! The argument in Answers in Genesis is true, that evolution has been used to justify racism... but, excuse me, so has religion?

Biology Week 1 - Our Biological World

1. I think the article about multitasking and the gender divide was interesting in that it brought up a few questions for me. First, do we really know enough about our brain function to distinguish between two "modes of operation" (multitasking and single-mindedness) and to discount societal influences on behavior of participants; second, why do we like thinking about differences between men and women and is the leap from these findings to understanding meta societal structures valuable; and third, if we considered anything other than the gender binary, would the results of this study been more interesting? As for the first question, my general assumption is "no" - that we neither have an adequate grasp of our own brain function nor any awareness of how social structure influences our "innate" abilities to perform tasks. Therefore, even though I think the study is harmless and interesting, I don't know that I find it useful. As to the second question, perhaps studies of this sort are part of the effort to better understand ourselves in general, in which case I can get behind the effort, but they so often seem to rather be an attempt to confirm a social belief or observation that may, in fact, have no biological basis at all. To assume that the reason the women in study were able to more efficiently locate restaurants on a map, complete problems, answer a phone call, and search for a lost key in a field with a strict time limit is thanks to the traditional model of women at home and men out hunting seems like an absurd leap in logic. The third question, of course, has no answer because I cannot envision a world without the gender binary, but it's fun to think about!

2. Ha! Speaking of hypothesizing about the differences between males and females... the first article to turn up on the UC Berkeley evolution website was this one:  http://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/news/140513_ychromosome, which discusses why the Y chromosome is important, too! It seems fairly clear to me that the Y chromosome would have similar functions to the X chromosome, with less information because of its small size.

Week 14

I found the article on magicians especially interesting, not only as it relates to magicians, but rather how it examines the way we perceive and understand our surroundings. Knowing that we only actually see a small part of the world in detail, it seems incredible that we can, for example, walk down a street and not run into anything, have a conversation, watch a movie, or play sports. It makes me wonder how many things I do not see in my day to day life, and, thus, have no awareness of at all. It is sort of a vulnerable realization, but also incredible one, to appreciate the power of the mind as well as the body in the daily experience. I also wonder how much of the ability to fill in the blanks in what we do not see is based on experiencing similar situations and learning what to expect. For example, if I were able to re-experience my infancy, would I "see" less of my surroundings because I had not yet experienced enough to be able to fill in the blanks? I suppose one could figure that out by seeing if children or adults are more easily fooled by the sorts of magic tricks discussed in the article...

Week 13

1. "...the human species is living as if it had more than one planet to occupy..."

a. This quote is interesting in a few ways. For this discussion, I am assuming that the limitations of our planet are based on ideas of threshold quantities of pollution and consumption of resources. First of all, it needs mentioning that this quote does not, in fact, apply to all members of the human species - although many of us do live without regard to the planet's capacity, there are also many who make much less of an impact in terms of waste and consumption. It is also worth considering how much volition many people have to maintain a lifestyle that fits within the parameters of our planet. For example, in this country, at least, the ability to transport oneself by bicycle or public transportation (lower consumption and pollution transportation options) is very much a privilege, relying on proper infrastructure, the ability to find work and basic necessities such as a grocery store close to home, access to childcare, good health and healthcare, etc etc. It seems easy to imagine that a number of people, ironically, cannot afford to live within the planet's means while participating in financial systems as they exist today. Nevertheless, the opinion persists that, as long as we continue to live our lives as we have been for the past century, our planet will not be able to support human life for an indefinite amount of time. So... shouldn't we all be doing something about it? Together?

b. I was particularly fascinated by the article relating to "improvements" being made on plants, '"Nanobiotics" aims to give plants superpowers'. Even the first line, "[p]lants are an engineering marvel of nature" leaves much to be discussed. According to Google (which should know, as it is in fact a product of engineers), engineering is "the branch of science and technology concerned with the design, building, and use of engines, machines, and structures". By the first page, it seems, two concepts, that of nature (which I would consider to be something that occurs without human input) and engineering, have been confused in this article, not just by the author but by the scientists involved in this project. The article does not mention whether or not any research is being done to consider the effects of introducing nonnative aspects to plants within the global ecosystem, nor how these materials could effect our own food and water supply, but rather briefly asserts that such concerns "[do] not seem to be a problem here". Though we have introduced many things into our own environment that have later proven toxic, such as cigarette smoke, radioactive materials, or asbestos, it seems we are still willing to trust science to give us an accurate assessment of dangers posed by new technologies. Also, very little reason is given as to the motivation behind this project. One idea is to "turn plants into communications antennae", another to use features inherent to plant life to build devices with similar functions, and, of course, by "rational design", to improve upon the "inefficient" plant. None of these reasons are particularly inspiring to me. We already have plenty of communication antennas, mimicking a plants' function would surely be better if the plant were functioning normally, and plants don't seem very upset about "inefficiently" converting sunlight into ATP. Perhaps the reason is to simply prove we can, to exert some power on our surroundings and pursue knowledge for the sake of knowledge. But, if that is the case, or even part of the inspiration for this project, I must ask, aren't there more pressing things to do with these brains and money?!

Week 12

1. Radiation contamination has been on my mind since reading articles and talking about the potential fall out from the Fukushima meltdown, bringing up such questions as: When will they stop the leak? What if something similar happened closer to home? and, of course: Do I really NEED this banana? (eek!). All of these questions are unanswerable and stressful, and highlight something that, in my opinion, is even more worrying than the questions themselves. What really worries me is that, even if I did know the timeline for clean up at Fukushima, or the potential for nuclear contamination on the West coast, would I really understand what it meant? Acknowledging that I'm no expert, it seems to me that not a whole lot of people really understand the implications of what is going on, or even fully understand the long term effects of living with radiation on the human body and its surroundings. A man posting a video of a Geiger counter going off in Half Moon Bay causes a stir that is just as easily quelled by the release of statements that there is nothing to worry about. Even learning more about the units of radiation measurement does not make me feel confident in determining danger from acceptable, and I can't imagine I'm the only one. The inability to understand is very disempowering, and could be preventing necessary action from being taken on this issue.

2. Wow, cells! How cool and beautiful. I've always found the structure of viruses especially fascinating when compared to its cellular counterparts, their geometry and single-"minded"ness in function. In fact, when you look at an animal cell and a virus together, the virus seems much more relatable, cleaner, like something you'd find in a kitchen. Isn't it surprising that we, living in boxes (houses) on grids (streets) within well defined lines (cities), are made up of these amorphous, cluttered blobs instead of nice polyhedrons?

Week 11

The article last week about the continued efforts and failures to "clean up" after the meltdown at the Fukushima power plant brought up an old soap box topic for me: the issue of the difference between a naturally occurring environment and a closed system and how it relates to the waste we create as a species on a small planet. I've always found the idea of a closed system an academically convenient but purely theoretical one, that an environment smaller than our planet could be completely separated from those around it to substance (or people, idea, etc.) transfer. And yet, it seems that the idea of a closed system is central to our society's world view. When we hear about species extinction, chemical spills across the country, or even political upheaval in foreign countries, we may feel empathy, but rarely do we think about how our own small, daily environment will be effected by these tragedies.

With the continued nuclear contamination of the seawater off of the coast of Japan, the connection to our environment may be more obvious, as we share an ocean with currents, winds, and animals migrating back and forth all the time. In my opinion, to maintain the view that this pollution won't find its way into our bodies in some quantity (not to mention all people's bodies who share the Pacific coastline) would be naively optimistic. Now, I'm not nuclear expert, so I have no solutions to propose to stop the contamination, but it seems as though no one has any solutions. So, (some of) my questions are... why build it if you can't take it apart?  Why create something (nuclear waste) that you can't get rid of? And, finally, why did no one think about this possibility? The world is connected in so many ways, and water that runs down the slopes of a mountain in Japan will certainly find its way to other countries and other people's gardens and childrens' bedside glasses of water.

But, on the bright side, I once heard a woman speak who said something along the lines of this: a caterpillar, when it is growing, consumes an unbelievable amount of food. It will eat everything around it, and some caterpillar's starve because they destroy their surroundings and, thus, cannot find enough to eat. However, after a little while of this, they make themselves a chrysalis, and in time emerge as butterflies, which go on to pollinate and live symbiotically with their surroundings. This woman postulated that this time in human history is our caterpillar phase, and that our inevitable course is that of the butterfly. I'll take it.