Stinky Feet

The author does created a really good paper it was both interesting and terrifying, he really did a good job utilizing all the rhetorical tools like emotion and logic. He did not seem to use a lot outside research perhaps including other opposing articles could establish a better credibility. The report especially utilized emotion putting in grotesque pictures and details explaining the true terror of the disease. All in all the report was really good it kept you interested wanting to learn more and more since as it explained athlete’s foot isn’t too foreign at all. Adding in more data and outside research even opposing research probably would make  this report a lot better.

The blog I chose to write about this week was Steve Cabrera’s athlete’s foot report paper we were tasked to critique. Athlete’s foot is all around us whether we want to admit it or not, we have it everywhere that is moist. Yep in our showers, in the local gym and even at our schools, you could even say it could be found in the high end offices and businesses. Athletes foot is a fungal infection, although it is unique for each victim the symptoms could be cracking of the skin, redness, swelling, extreme pain in the feet, underarms or groin regions. It starts off usually as a red mark or rash and could eventually move to an infection that any person would be terrified of.

Picture 1: http://asafoot.wordpress.com/category/odd-funny-facts/

Picture 2:  http://www.someecards.com/usercards/viewcard/MjAxMi1mYmUzY2QyYmFmZDM0ZWE5

Death Has A Name

The video I had selected explained some hidden clues behind the rise and occurrence of Yersinia pestis, although I had done the microbe previously there are contradicting believes about the actual transmission, livelihood of this deadly virus. The video immediately starts off with a melancholic song, a women singing in a foreign language very operatic and dramatic, this is followed by a bunch of pictures all adding to the image we immediately create as she sings. This is followed by two guest speakers, both accredited historians and doctors, this I didn’t think was too good, although the information they provided was adequate just having two guest appearing explaining their belief is a bit biased. The test directly correlates well with other outside knowledge and beliefs.

The author really took advantage of pathos, emotion played a critical role like explaining the mortality rate of this disease was 1:2 per Europeans resident, and also they compared the disease to us today. They compared our society and that was one factor, we are in a world of constant reliance on people or places like a grocery store, a paradox society handled this disease a lot better and were able to cope better than we would today. The last thing I really liked they had incorporated was the statement the dead were outnumbering the living, they were burying more people than the people alive this really made us understand the incredible strength of this virus. I think some questions I might ask that you don’t see a lot has to do with the counter measures, were the apothecaries and medication given at all helping? What type countermeasures were done and their effect? Perhaps the biggest question we all would have is the reason it just stopped, did we as human evolve a specific way to combat this deadly plague?

Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pRZYb2Jl22g

Picture 1:https://www.google.com/search?q=black+plague&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Pr9ZU56EFpKNyAT06YDQCQ&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=648#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=rb6kSmurZM0HkM%253A%3BULLUP_v383CNCM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fupload.wikimedia.org%252Fwikipedia%252Fcommons%252F2%252F2f%252FPlague_-buboes.jpg%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fen.wikipedia.org%252Fwiki%252FBubonic_plague%3B2877%3B2028
Picture 2: https://www.google.com/search?q=black+plague&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ei=Pr9ZU56EFpKNyAT06YDQCQ&ved=0CAYQ_AUoAQ&biw=1280&bih=648#facrc=_&imgdii=_&imgrc=bzeIoQQO7C0OtM%253A%3BC2HRIf0vAw8lYM%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fapi.ning.com%252Ffiles%252FJP0v*F0dtDPVeTM7lhykSsyP3VwIiqNaZTqRcBebN1xOFs6pLoeyc*E7*1QIpjn5AQQ-Fbe2Hgevvzs*rcFK4piRQobMRo8n%252FBLACKPLAGUEAD.png%3Bhttp%253A%252F%252Fwww.wickedzombies.com%252Fprofile%252FMICHELLEMALO%253Fxg_source%253Dactivity%3B495%3B638

Microbes in outer Space

The article I had chosen to write about was a ted talks, that Penelope Boston our guest speaker had been a part of. When she was in class her presentation was really fascinating, it got my immediately intrigued with the idea of extraterrestrial life based off of microbes. During her lecture she had mentioned some truly interesting idea of exploration on mars and other planets with machinery, and that idea is what introduced her notion, the notion of There might just be life on Mars. In this analysis I will try to examine her notion, as well as expand upon that identifying her strengths and weaknesses of her argument.

Her initial PowerPoint begins with a strong introduction to who she is and why she studying what she is involved in now. This strengthens her argument because it shows us how reliable she is. Next she involves the earth’s environment and the interesting microbes that inhabit the caves of our world. Immediately she explains how earth could give answers to possible ways to find extraterrestrial life since some of the microbes that inhabit our world of possibly present on other planets. She explained how lava tubes are places that are formed after lava has gone through an area and this is where microbes might inhabit. These types of systems are found on the planets we are discovering. The last thing she explains was the certain equipment that is being developed that will allow us to research such things. The types of machinery would be a hopping microbot swarm, she then explained the ways this machinery would do its research and the strengths it had.

This video was really interesting, Penny does a really good job of explaining the reasons why we would want to invest our time and research into her beliefs. Right at the beginning she establishes her credibility, as well as backing every piece of information she introduces with facts and data. Her entire argument is really strong she makes sure to make it interesting as much as she can with really cool pictures, the only thing she could improve upon is perhaps shorten her introduction to who she is, although it is really good to incorporate this information I felt like she dragged it on and it was too excessive, perhaps including more information on research already done in outer space could make her argument more interesting. But all in all the presentation was really fascinating, and really gets the viewer think of the possibilities for outer space exploration and life which was her purpose for the presentation.

Video URL: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NWvXyobH9fg
Image 1 : https://ksj.mit.edu/sites/default/files/images/tracker/2007/itcamefromouterspace.jpg
Image 2 : http://i.space.com/images/i/000/032/806/iFF/comet-elements-life.jpg?1379366296

Microbe Research: Ebola

The Ebola virus, a known virus to impact millions of people even to this day, its death toll continues to rise killing millions and some continents like Africa have more problems. This type of virus is a level 4 virus and requires level 4 access, which basically there is an organization that contains most of the world’s most dangerous viruses. This place is called National Institutes of Health/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. First originated in the Ebola River wiping out millions of Congo residents and spreading widespread chaos in the surrounding villages.

The article I wrote about brought an interesting idea, since the Ebola virus has different classifications it doesn’t qualify to be researched in as much as it should be. The research is more focused on more dangerous viruses, however this should be changed, and as seen in many movies like Outbreak, and even scientific articles all have stated the accessibility for a bioweapon. This main thought it terrifying, All in all the article makes an interesting idea, the scientists and officials are focusing on things like AIDS and Malaria, although these truly are detrimental diseases it doesn’t mean that the Ebola virus should be overlooked, The disease is truly dangerous and with enough research perhaps there could be a cure or a solution before it gets worse and we have outbreak problems we cannot control.

Article: http://www.ibtimes.com/us-defense-department-spent-140m-ebola-treatment-research-theyre-getting-close-1566666

Picture 1:http://www.ibtimes.com/us-defense-department-spent-140m-ebola-treatment-research-theyre-getting-close-1566666

Picture 2: http://visualscience.ru/feature-img/ebola-virus/ebola-virus.png

The Dark Microbe Knight

In the article I had searched up it had used Yersinia pestis to research into other strands, more recent ones that do cause problems in the present. Although nothing could compare to its predecessors catastrophic impacts on the worlds society. The researches however thought if we could expand research into the older strain perhaps we would be able to understand the new daughter strains.  The article is a little broad and utilizes huge vocabulary words that would be somewhat confusing to the average reader, it feels as if the article is meant for PH.D’s and professors. Although the article is broad in its vocabulary uses it still gets its point across affectively.

Picture: http://media-2.web.britannica.com/eb-media/22/19422-004-634AA551.jpg

The idea to introduce an older strand to possibly come up with solutions for younger strains is scary, the plague back in time wiped out millions of people automatically comes up, what is there was a possible contamination or leak. Although it is dangerous the article does explain why it is so important for us to study the older one, it could save thousands of lives. Also it explains how sequencing a small amount of Genetic code would also get rid of the risk factor reassuring us that the risks are low. The article does lack in the sense it is targeting a certain audience, if the article would be broader in vocabulary uses maybe it would attract some younger people to read it. All in all though the article is interesting and very effective in relaying its purpose, research and data. Although it is difficult to understand at first that doesn’t sway the reader at all, it also introduces an interesting idea, should we research other dangerous microbes which impacted our history to perhaps save lives in the present?

Article: http://www.plosone.org/article/info%3Adoi%2F10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0049803

Microbes in the Hot Springs

The article I chose to write about is amount extremophiles living in places like hot springs and extreme temperature conditions. I really wanted to write about this article because of spring break, we went to Pagosa Hot Springs, in Colorado, when you are inside it you immediately notice the conditions of the water. It’s oily, extremely hot and around the edges of all the ponds there is a layer of biofilm. These types of conditions are critical for microbes, water is the essence of all life, with these huge amounts of water the ecosystems thrive, even with conditions reaching in the hundreds of degrees still consist of a vast ecosystem of creatures thriving.

The article I chose to write about introduces you to ecosystem of Yellowstone national park, it consists of trillions of thriving organisms, world renounce for its extreme conditions this is what puzzles the science community, if we understand the ways organisms can thrive in extreme conditions it could open the door for us to thrive in those same conditions. The article specifically focuses on a type of organisms called Chloracidobacterium thermophilum, this unique creature has developed the way to convert light into energy, like us it has many types of energy production we go through cellular respirations and fermentation, what if we could go through their type of energy creation, and we could create energy by light. This organisms is truly fascinating, currently there is only 5 other microbes that could go through this type of energy production, now being the 6^th, this brings a question forward to the table what else is out there, what other organisms in the deep dark caverns or oceans could also bring answers to the most sought after questions in science.

Article : http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/tech/science/discoveries/2007-07-26-yellowstone-new-bacterium_N.htm

Picture : http://content.usatoday.com/_common/_scripts/big_picture.aspx?width=490&height=652&storyURL=/tech/science/discoveries/2007-07-26-yellowstone-new-bacterium_N.htm&imageURL=http://i.usatoday.net/tech/_photos/2007/07/26/bacteriumx-large.jpg

Microbial Justice

Microbes in criminal justice have been used for hundreds of years, to catch the killer or even be the cause of death for the victim.  Little is known however that microbes could in fact be a new concept to discovering key factors for victims. Right now we have a less effective method, the way we identify the Time of death for victims is fly larvae. This is incredibly flaw because we don’t know when the bug could have landed on the victim, the article I viewed instead discovered new methods of research, identifying when the victim had died is crucial, it can create a window of opportunity and answer some questions detectives have for suspects. Could microorganisms help us uncover secrets that could bring the killers down?

The article was extremely interesting and understandable, when the article introduced new ideas it was immediate backed with research and quotations from prestigious professors and experts in the field. The article also introduced an interesting historical point explaining how we identified Point of Death for people. The idea for microbes being the key organisms for this new idea was also tested, rats were tested after they died and samples of their microbial ecosystems were identified. It was found that Achaea, bacteria and Rhizobiales all are key organisms for identifying point of death. The article in the end introduced an interesting solution to a problem, the sooner we can test this method on humans could help answer questions for grieving families and put people behind bars a lot quicker.

Article: http://www.the-scientist.com/?articles.view/articleNo/37652/title/Microbes-May-Help-Solve-Mysteries/

Picture 1: https://i.chzbgr.com/maxW500/7092183040/hFA23D397/

Picture 2: http://www.newyorker.com/images/2007/05/07/p465/070507_r16153_p465.jpg

Snakecrobes

Snake, the minute someone thinks of a snake the same reaction comes up for most, “gross slivering beings only wanting one thing to kill.” And for snake owners this could be a truly aggravating thing, many of us know that snakes can be so gentle, never hurting us trying to do the same thing that we do and that is live. This idea brought me to the article I chose to write about it was introducing ideas for diverse microbial ecosystems (some good, and some bad) being transported in trade.  Millions of people even now are buying and selling snakes, little do they know they carry such things as Aeromonas hydrophila, Citrobacter freundii and , Corynebacterium jeikeium, some is not all of these are potentially harmful to humans, all in the mouths of snakes.

The article which I agree with introducing ideas backed with studies done to increase security also awareness for people transporting snakes. The true question which intrigues me is the bacteria present in snakes not showing symptoms. The article explained a trade between a US zoo and a Korean one, the snakes tested positive with potentially harmful pathogens, but no symptoms were displayed in the snakes. If we could harness their abilities to be carriers and not victims we could change the lives of many human victims. Even now we harness their micro bio-me, using their bile and liquids to medicate us. Anti-venoms are taken from snakes to save people who have been bitten and would otherwise die. The possibilities are endless, these creatures who have lasted millions of years could answer some of our greatest questions in medicine.

Article: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3188728/#!po=10.0000

Picture 1: Taken by me

Picture 2: http://pixdaus.com/files/items/pics/9/74/301974_77409d92a57ec326d252e7834ff693a2_large.jpg

Microbes and Volcanoes!!!

Microbes, some of the most intriguing organisms alive, although they are tiny; not even visible by eye. Don't let that fool you, these organisms have changed the face of the world as we know it, although they are tiny they have overcome the odds and lived in an environment thought to be impossible. The Atacama Mountains in South America have been known throughout the world to produce some of the most dangerous and extreme conditions known to man, at night it could go below negative, in the day it peaks around 133 degrees. If that wasn't scary enough for you it is a barren wasteland filled with active volcanoes and hardly any rainfall, but as the article explained these tiny organisms have uncovered a way to thrive where few dare even spend a day.

The article immediately draws you in, explaining the South American mountains landscape, and why it is crucial for us to investigate these little organisms. The article also doesn’t make assumptions immediately explain that there is no information yet about how these remarkable beings convert energy. Energy is required for all living things to strive without energy nothing works, in the bacteria, fungi and protists discovered all are not known organisms, it seems they do not possess any photosynthesis organs. So this ponders the question how, without any way of converting energy how are they living. Then we think about water, it is crucial for any organisms to sustain life water must be present. In a dry wasteland like this how is it possible for these organisms to be present. The article addresses all these questions not as an answer because truly there is not one, it simply states with more research the answer would become clear. In the end it was truly intriguing and opens your eyes to the wonder that are microorganisms.

Article :http://www.bitsofscience.org/extremophile-bacteria-archaea-volcano-6094/

Picture: http://d.wapday.com/animation/ccontennt/7596-f/volcano_eruption.gif?__sid=ggl&lang=en

Is being sick actually Healthy?!?!?!?

The Article introduces a unique concept instead of rushing to the nearest hospital, so bad that your nurse is the god awful pink coloration. What if they are good for you, what if that cold you are trying to get rid of actually is on your side even if it doesn’t know it? This concept is a new more accepted one, as science continues to evolve so does our reasoning; before the modern area any signs of sickness would get you quarantined so fast you wouldn’t even know you were sick until you are locked away. So the author explores this ideal even further, he adequately defines what goes on during a cold and why, if so whether letting it’s run through your body actually is better than killing it off.

The site is a little sketch, not really giving you the whole sense of a credible source, as you read threw it that notion is quickly gone. Along the site is a numerous amount of hyperlinks all taking you to prestigious sites of medicine and science. The author lacked however outside sources, simply stating his own data to convince his audience, with other sources like quotes from medical doctors and professionals it would strengthen his argument. This is the only flaw I saw, threw out his argument he took a unique point of view, explaining why we get sick and the importance of our cells when we are. This is fundamental after all, you must understand the roles of bacteria and viruses before you can speculate whether they are good or bad. In the end he describes is perfectly, the cells that get infected are going to die off already, the bacteria and viruses target weak cells and kill them off, a quicker execution than what your body would of done.

Article : http://drbenkim.com/cold-flu-difference-health.html

Picture: http://rebloggy.com/post/gif-gifs-spongebob-spongebob-squarepants-sick-moments-when-spongebob-gif-spongeb/30111667816

Microbial Communication!!!

www.hollywoodjesus.com

The minute we think of bacteria we see little organisms floating on a dish with all kinds of shapes and sized, big little, spiky and non-spiky. For me I particularly see little organisms like the ones from the movie evolution, organisms going from worm like creatures to weird looking dog things. However what if those organisms could socialize, the thought of tiny little microorganisms using antibiotics and defenses at a type of chemical warfare. The article does that, introducing the concept of little organisms have massive battlefields. After each complete thought it introduction of an idea they backed it up immediately with thoughts from a prestigious professional.

http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=125338

They also do a nice way of introducing their studies done, explaining what their results were when they paired specific microorganisms, the results were as predicted the organisms would create a battlefield attacking other competition with everything they possibly got. The interesting key fact that they mentioned was the microorganisms did not attack their same team members or other organisms like them. They developed a way to communicate with each other in such a way for us to realize how that type of behavior the ones we display today in warfare originated. How different are we from the bacteria that invaded us, how truly different over millennia’s of evolution are we when we see our behavior in the organisms we examine.

Article :http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=125338

Microbes as a weapon!!!

    http://urania-josegalisifilho.blogspot.com/2012/02/disseminated-primatemaia-john-grays.html
 

     The first thing I think of when I hear bacteria and viruses are never good, anytime someone hears bacteria or virus they think of being sick. When I was in high school my teacher after explaining what they were told us the real threat in the world isn’t going to be war, famine, no it will be a biological or chemical warfare, either manufactured or natural. Think of it throughout history typhoid, influenza, it caused a time in history only could be known as the dark ages for a reason. The black plague of 1347 was a testament to the devastation of biological catastrophe. In the article I read it explained why scientists need to invest more time into and put a stop into weaponizeing certain microorganisms. Steven block writes and explains why these catastrophic past diseases should only be talked about in the past. However he goes on to explain how it is nothing like that, these nightmares are on our front doorstep unless we do something.
 

    http://ec.europa.eu/research/research-for-europe/life-science-vizier_en.html

     The author thoroughly explains diseases throughout his entire argument, introducing anthrax as a major concern addressing the strengths and weaknesses of the disease and how it could be weaponized to cause catastrophe. The author however doesn’t address a solution, he constantly addresses the problems of warfare but all he poses is “Scientists should concern themselves before it’s too late” he does make a compelling conclusion, relying on biologist to stand up against corporations wanting to exploit microorganisms for warfare, however in all of his research he never addressed the opposing sides for biological weaponry, many people believe we should exploit biology before someone else does, in order to address this controversial topic we have to address that mentality. All in all the argument was really good however, he must address this opposing views to this topic in order to make a successful debate.

Article:  www.americanscientist.org/issues/feature/2001/1/the-growing-threat-of-biological-weapons/10

 

Microorganisms and our Brains!!!

Microorganisms, these versatile organisms are everyone, in our bodies, the things we consume, where we move and walk, even the air we breathe in. So one crucial thing that we must ask ourselves; do they influence the way we act and feel, do they impact the people we grow up to be today. The article already when you open it intrigues the intellectuals with this cool brain pictures, with a thesis to back it up and a quote from a M.D immediately with a link taking you to a website that introduces his credentials. After listing these you are bombarded with different studies done to prove whether gut bacteria impacts our brain. Among those studies are human verses animal studies. In humans comparing different brain structures and activity due to the different bacteria present in their bodies. It was found that the brain structure as well as movement was different.;

So what if we were able to manipulate that, the next study done on mice multiple time did that. Injecting mice with different probiotics, and bacteria. In one example they would inject an aggressive or anxious mice with a bacteria that relaxes or calms the body, it was found to impact the brain exponentially. The article is inefficient however, it seems like the idea of microorganisms impacting the brain is a unique concept. Where it is lacking however it does the unexpected by opening your mind to the possibilities of the unknown. He introduces such things like curing mental disorders with bacteria. He introduces a patient that is beginning to test with probiotic introduction. But the results of hers aren't necessarily needed, it is already known with a study they did with yogurt, by ingesting yogurt it was found to lower your amount of anxiety. All of this information is fascinating, could we cure serious crippling mental illnesses by simply injecting the patients with microorganisms, if we could do that could we cure such devastating things like cancer with them.

Citations

Stein,Rob Gut Bacteria Might Guide the Workings of our minds. November 18,2013, Retrieved from http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/11/18/244526773/gut-bacteria-might-guide-the-workings-of-our-minds on January 29,2013

Microbial Ecosystems

http://www.ted.com/talks/jessica_green_good_germs_make_healthy_buildings.html

Microbes; “tiny little organisms living in in air, soil, rock, and water. Some live happily in searing heat,” National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, 2010. These highly diverse organisms vast and intelligent, causing us humans great pain, or could save billions of lives. Not only could they impact the way we live our lives, but they impact our careers, could architecture impact the different types of microbial ecosystems present in different buildings? The video I watched was an episode of ted talks hosted by Jessica Green, explaining why or why not we should build our communities around ecosystems.

http://www.ufz.de/export/data/1/23691_UFZ_CMS__do_not_use_this_in_another_pages__.jpg

Jessica green takes a unique aspect on microbial ecosystems, and whether they should impact our building construction. Explain facts with constant references to their field trip on a college campus, this was extremely useful. Among her data she introduced interested ideas of ecosystems among separate areas of the building. For example, the bathrooms had a completely different type of organelles then an office area, or hallways. This concept isn’t a new thought, we all know that different germs are present in different areas, but to know that the minute you completely walk out the ecosystem separates. It’s like an invisible barrier blocking different access and denials to different microbes. If we were to impact the way buildings are made, for say more windows, light, different types of walls it would house a completely separate ecosystem. If you were to think about this in a larger scale, the week after visiting someone in the hospital you get sick the next week. What if we could change that, in her data it is stated patients immediately contract infections, if we could change that by increased the presence of more defensive microbes we could save millions of life’s, save trillions of dollars and decrease hospital visits tenfold.

Microbes and Eng FLC

I chose this course because it sounded so fascinating, I think anything relating to biology is so cool. In the description it talked about disease, viruses and all involving tiny little organisms, who doesn't want to learn about that? Then we talked about going to field trips like carlsbad caverns, a treatment plant, that all sounds so fascinating.

http://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/3d-microbes-1361845.jpg