A Brief Discussion of Genetic Diseases Essay -- Biology Genetic Disease

Since the discovery in 1928 via the Griffith experiment (an experiment dealing with bacterial transformation) that DNA carried genetic information, many important discoveries have been made regarding the human genome and its extent in the determination of phenotypic traits. Not least of these is the discovery and study of genetic disorders, or diseases caused by abnormalities within the genes. Disorders of this nature can be caused by a variety of factors. Some diseases such as Huntington's disease must be inherited, while others, such as some cancers, can be the result of environmental factors slowly mutating the genome over time. Still others can result from random errors in normal DNA replication. Typically, genetic disorders tend to be rare due to the ability of DNA to repair itself and also because of the tendency for damaged cells to undergo programmed cell death to preserve the overall health of the organism. However, when genetic disorders do appear, they represent a considerable problem for the afflicted, because although some are treatable and possibly manageable, very few, if any, are ever curable. DNA of a living individual cannot be altered by any existing technology. Nevertheless, research is continually improving our ability to treat these diseases, particularly with diseases such as cancer, trisomy, and Huntington's disease. Of particular interest in modern medicine is the study of the various forms of cancer and the genes involved in causing it. Cancer is a disease in which cells of the body mutate to the point where they lose the ability to regulate their division and DNA replication, causing uncontrollable growth to the extent of interfering with the function of normal, healthy cells... ...gton's Research. 26 August 2007. 1 December 2010 . National Cancer Institute. Common Cancer Types. 15 July 2010. 1 December 2010 . Reiness, Gary. Cancer Part II-Mutations and Cancer. 13 April 2000. 30 November 2010 . Starr, Barry. DNA Mutations Cause Cancer. 8 February 2008. 30 November 2010 . Woollams, Chris. Using Viruses To Treat Cancer. 2010. 1 December 2010 link.aspx?n=1106&Title=Using%20Viruses%20To%20Treat%20Cancer>. WordIQ.com. Experimental Cancer Treatment - Definition. 2010. 1 December 2010 .

Supply and Demand

Automotive Industry Supply and Demand Katharyn E. Moore Supply and Demand The automobile industry has certainly have seen fluctuations in supply and demand, especially in the last decade. The economic turmoil of the United States has only been one factor in supply and demand of vehicles. This is evident with employment and income of consumers, interest rates, gas prices and the consumers need for more efficient cars. The demand for more fuel-efficient transportation increases as gas prices rise and the supply for fuel-efficient cars also rises. Manufacturers will increase the supply of fuel-efficient cars to meet the demand. If the prices of these cars are more than what the consumer is willing to pay, the demand will decrease and inventory of these cars will increase. A decrease in price of the fuel-efficient care will cause the demand to increase and the manufacturer to increase supply at the price the consumer is willing to pay. Equilibrium is the supply and demand of fuel-efficient cars will meet at a price that the consumer is willing to pay and the price the manufacture will charge for the car (Colander, 2011). The resources needed for the industry whether it is employees, raw materials, financial and technology affect supply and demand in the automotive industry. These resources are needed to facilitate the making of vehicles and their supply either abundant or scarce will affect the industry. The unavailability of steel in manufacturing of fabricated metal product decreases the ability to supply the framework for a vehicle will decrease (Gross output by Industry, 2010). The manufacturer will have to decrease the supply. The limited availability will increase prices of metal and decreases demand for the product at a higher price. If the demand for cars is high, the manufacturer will have to pay the higher cost and forward that increase on to the consumer increasing the price of the car. The consumer may not want the higher cost car and demand for the car will decrease a factor in moving the supply and demand curves of cars. Alternatives in the automobile industry are ongoing as manufacturers are introducing more fuel-efficient cars as well as biofuel (e85) and electric cars. New technology and consumer preference of these alternatives will affect the supply and demand of vehicles. Consumer preference to a more ecological friendly vehicle increases demand and encourages supply increases from the manufacturer. Consumers have the opportunity to help the environment and decrease the usage for gas when renting a vehicle. Enterprise has added electric cars to their rental fleet along with hybrids and fuel-efficient vehicles (Finance News, 2011). The shift in demand for these vehicles will change the demand curve of alternative vehicles. Consumers are the important factor in supply and demand in the automobile industry. Our decisions of a fuel-efficient vehicle and the price we are willing to pay for these vehicles influence the supply and demand. We have choices as consumers, and these choices influence competition, pricing, and demand of vehicles available for purchase. The supplier will act accordingly to these demands and make available the supply of product the consumer wants. The demand for vehicles is dependent on pricing, new technology, fuel efficiency, alternative fuels and competition (Colander, 2011). These decisions will increase or decrease the supply and demand curves with these choices. With all of these and other factors the supply and demand curve will increase and decrease as the market changes with these influences. Supply and demand will always be changing as we choose to purchase products and services that we need for our psychological and physiological needs. References Colander (2011). Introduction into Macroeconomics. Macroeconomics (7th Ed. ), Chapter Four, United States: McGraw-Hill-Create. Finance News. (2011, October 27). Enterprise Rent-a-Car expands electric vehicle fleet. Retrieved October 30, 2011, from Yahoo. com website: http://finance. yahoo. com Gross output by Industry. (2010, December 14). Retrieved October 28, 2011, from Bureau of Economic Analysis website: http://www. bea. gov U. S. International Trade in goods and services. (2011, October 13). Retrieved October 28, 2011, from U. S. Census Bureau – Economic Analysis News website: http://www. bea. gov

How does Clint Eastwood, director of the film, Invictus, use the South African rugby team (the Springboks) as a vehicle to bring a troubled nation together? Essay

How does Clint Eastwood, director of the film, Invictus, use the South African rugby team (the Springboks) as a vehicle to bring a troubled nation together? Clint Eastwood shows the change in the nation of South Africa in Invictus, using the Springboks as a vehicle. He starts the film with large amounts of separation, followed by the steady change in the middle of the movie, and finishing with the nation combined. In the beginning of the film, Clint Eastwood shows how separated black and white people are and how they do not get along, due to the change of the government and the Springboks. Because of the change in government, Nelson Mandela’s staff started to pack their things up as if they were leaving their jobs, but Nelson Mandela stops them and says, ‘The past is the past, we look to the future now.’ Nelson Mandela has noticed the struggle between the two sides of the nation, and is willing to make a change. The nation is very separated at the beginning of the film, and Nelson Mandela thought rugby would be able to bring the two sides back together. To do this, Clint Eastwood made the start of the movie seem as if most South Africans did not like the Springboks and to make it seem like there would be some difficulty in bringing the nation together through the Springboks. Nelson Mandela said that, while he is in prison, he would cheer for any team who were versing the Springboks, encouraging the fact that South Africans did not like them. The Springboks were not liked at the beginning of the film because people thought that they still represented discrimination. An example of this happened during the film when the church is giving out some clothes to children. One child is handed a Springbok jersey but he turns it down and runs away, due to the chance of other children beating him up. After the child is gone, the ladies in the church say, â€Å"Why won’t he take it?† ‘If he wears it, the others will beat him up.’ â€Å"Because the Springboks are playing so badly?† ‘No. Because, for them, the Springboks still represent apartheid.’ – Ladies from the church. In the beginning of Invictus, everyone is very separate and many people dislike the Springboks. By starting the film like this, Clint Eastwood has set the story up for the audience to notice discrete change in the nation. In the film Invictus, Clint Eastwood showed the combining of the black and white people in South Africa. One thing that Eastwood made the Springboks do to bring the two sides of the nation together was to get them to host a coaching clinic for some children. At first the Springboks are not happy to do the coaching clinics, but do so anyway. At the start of the coaching clinic, all of the children race over to Chester and cheer for him, not paying any attention to the rest of the team. The Springboks begin to teach the children how to play rugby, teaching them throwing skills and how to kick goals. After a while, the children begin to open up to the rest of the team, and start to enjoy the game. Clint Eastwood did this to show how the nation began to come together through the Springboks. In the middle of the movie, it becomes more noticeable that the two sides of the nation are coming together because of the Springboks. Clint Eastwood used the Springboks to bring the nation together by gradually showing the acceptance of white people towards black people throughout the film. A parallel storyline that runs during the rugby match involves a South African child and some white police officers. This demonstrates acceptance. In the beginning of the scene, the South African child wanted to hear how the Springboks were playing by eavesdropping on a police officer’s car radio. At first, the police officers rudely send him away and continue to listen to the game. The African child still tries to get closer and closer, while pretending to collect soft drink cans. But, towards the end of the scene, the Springboks score and win the game, and the police become more accepting and forgiving. They begin to celebrate with the child and raise him up on their shoulders as if he were a mascot. Ironically, in the beginning of the film, the same child is seen refusing to wear a Springbok jersey. By using the same child in the beginning of the movie and towards the end, this shows the audience how the South Africans have changed their view on the Springboks. This acceptance of the Springboks showed the beginnings of a nation coming together. During the World Cup, the final game in the film, the scene occasionally cuts to shots of empty streets and empty houses. This technique shows that everyone is watching the game and that everyone is excited to see the outcome. Another thing Clint Eastwood did to show the black and white people combined is at the end of the movie. He used the world cup to symbolise the nation had been brought together. He did this by making Francois and Chester to both hold the World Cup up above their heads, showing the black and white hand together. By the end of the film Invictus, during the final scene, one can see that the crowd watching the rugby game has changed quite considerably, compared to the game in the start of the film where the Springboks play against England. During this game, Clint Eastwood makes it seem as though the crowd is not the main part of the scene, the game of rugby is. Clint Eastwood makes the focus before the game when Nelson Mandela comes out to greet the players. Then the focus comes off the idea that it is a game of rugby and shows how many people do not like Nelson Mandela. The crowd ‘boo’ and throw rubbish at him. At the end of the movie, the crowd is cheerful and excited. South Africans are cheering for the Springboks and everyone in Africa is witnessing the game. This makes the audience realise the difference between the crowds at the beginning and the end of the film showing how the nation became one. Clint Eastwood has shown the change of the nation through the Springboks by starting the film with distinctive separation between the two sides. By the middle, the Springboks have started to make small changes to unite the nation. By the end of the movie, it is clear that the Springboks are fundamental in making a large difference in uniting the nation. Word Count – 922

“THE CELTS WERE A BARBARIC AND PRIMITIVE PEOPLE.” TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE

â€Å"THE CELTS WERE A BARBARIC AND PRIMITIVE PEOPLE.† TO WHAT EXTENT DO YOU AGREE essay on celts - gEORGIA WEBB"The celts were a barbaric and primitive people." to what extent do you agreeIn Iron Age and Medieval Europe, there were a group of tribal societies called the Celts that spread all across Europe. The Celts were believed to be semi-nomadic, moving all around Europe. Recent tells us that they were essentially located in central Europe and then migrated. More recent news, archaeological studies are now telling us that the Celts were in Europe from 1000 BC, occupying Eastern and Western Europe. The Celts spoke Celtic languages and with their own unique culture. The Celts were believed to be barbaric and primitive people, but why?It is to be believed that The Celts were "barbaric but this is only in the eyes of the Romans. Romans believed that every non-roman were "barbarians". The Celts did produce a flourishing culture that has impacted the entire world, complete with art, jewellery, and religion and housing.Overview map of the Hallstatt (yellow) and La Tà ¨n...One time in history, they were the dominant people of Europe. The Celts never being on single nation, but because of their lack of union, they were ultimately overawed by the Roman Empire. Its well known that the Celts were terrifying in battle to the opposition.Sacrifice was an initial part of Celts spiritual life and culture. Gifts of weapons, jewellery, art and even the blood of animals and humans were given to the gods in thanks to what they gave back to the Celts. They worshipped gods such as Dea Matres, Sulis, Epona and Sucellos and According to ancient sources, in honour of their gods they began to practise human sacrifices. An ancient source, Caesar tells us what the Celtics did once they won a battle. "When they have determined on a decisive battle, they dedicate as...

Free to a Good Home - Why You Should Not Give Pets Away

Free to a Good Home - Why You Should Not Give Pets Away Once you have taken an animal into your home and made him or her part of your family, you have an obligation to protect and nurture that animal because you made a commitment. The animal has a right to expect to be treated as a member of the family. And that’s what makes the issue of re-homing pets an animal rights issue. But sometimes life throws a curveball and there are circumstances beyond your control. If you have fallen into a situation where you need to find new homes for your companion animals, you are in a disastrous position indeed. If you care for your animals at all, you will take every precaution to ensure they are going to a forever loving home. If you are truly desperate and dont have the time or ability to vet a stranger offering to take your companion, your best move is to local rescues for assistance. Many are networked nationwide and work incredibly hard to secure safe alternatives for pets. If rescues cant immediately help, take him or her to a shelter, as much as it may pain you to do so. At least, the animal may be given a chance to find a good home. Having to surrender your companion animal to a shelter is not the best outcome, but its a better outcome than having your companion fall into the wrong hands.   Criminals easily prey on people who just want the animals to go to a good home. They know that sometimes you are pressed for time and apparently have no choice but to turn the animal over to you in your hour of need. They rely on that raw emotion you have over having to surrender your friend while time is running out. They try to convince you they will be good guardians, and you very much want to believe them, which works in their favor. First and foremost, always affix an adoption fee. People looking for animals to abuse will usually not pay a fee. You may even hear a sob story from someone who wants your animal but cant afford to pay an adoption fee. But chances are if they cant afford to pay a $50 adoption fee, what will they do when the animal needs to be seen by a veterinarian? How will they afford to keep up with dental cleanings, check-ups, and vaccines? Charging an adoption fee also prevents someone from taking your animals on a whim, and then, having lost interest, turning them in at the shelter or abandoning them on a dark, lonely street far from home. Abuse Torture Sick and amoral people cannot always be spotted on looks alone. Some individuals want your dogs and cats just to  abuse, torture and kill them. By charging an adoption fee, you make it much more difficult for these animal abusers to acquire animals - specifically, your animals. Dogfighting According to the Michigan State University Animal Legal and Historical Center, one of the methods used to train fighting dogs is to dangle a small dog, cat, rabbit or guinea pig on a rope in front of a dog who is forced to run on a treadmill or around a circle. Naturally, these small animals are terrified and the dog is given the animal to kill as a reward at the end of the session. Where do these animals come from? Some people steal animals right off the street or from a backyard. In dogfighting, dogs are trained to be vicious and trained to attack other animals, so-called bait animals. In a Florida shelter, an elderly woman and her clean-cut young son came to adopt a small animal. Ostensibly, the animal was to be â€Å"a companion† for the elderly woman. The pair went home with a small white mixed breed who was immediately thrown into a ring with a fighting dog and killed. Looks can be deceiving and people searching for dogs for this purpose will use any disguise, tell any l ies and use charm to separate you from your loving companion. Again, charging an adoption fee makes it more difficult for someone to acquire animals for dogfighting. B Dealers Although there are breeding facilities to supply the animal-testing industry with dogs and cats, some laboratories attempt to cut corners by hiring dishonest intermediaries who deal in stolen pets. A woman named Barbara Ruggiero was such a dealer, referred to as a Class B dealer, a random source animal dealer regulated by the  USDA  to sell animals to laboratories for experimentation. Class B dealers sometimes acquire animals in unscrupulous ways, and charging a small adoption fee makes your animal unprofitable to them. Finding a New Home It is strongly recommended that you affix an adoption fee. You can always waive the fee if you find someone you truly trust. Whether or not you charge an adoption fee, there are steps you can take to make sure your animals are going to a good home: Home visit: Visit the potential adopters home and speak with the other family members. Are there other pets in the home? Who will care for the animals? Does anyone have allergies? Where will the animals live? If there are children, make sure that the adults know that they should be responsible for the animals; not the children. If the potential adopter doesn’t live near you, ask a rescue in the town where s/he lives to visit the home. Because of Facebook and Petfinder, the perfect guardian may be miles away, even in another state. Rescues often have volunteers to help you facilitate your adoption and put your mind at ease. PilotsNPaws may be able to transport your companion anywhere in the country where you find a suitable home. Consider relatives who live out of state; they may be willing to adopt your precious family member.Ask for references: Call the references and ask if the family has taken good care of their current or past pets. Ask what happened to their past pets - d id they die of natural causes after fifteen years, or did they seem to disappear after a few weeks? Ask for a vet reference: Call their current or past veterinarian and ask about the familys other pets and how well they were cared for. The vet may not give you very detailed information, but confirm that they have a relationship with a vet and ask whether the vet recommends the family as good  guardians.Animal abuser registry:  Animal abuser registries  are growing rapidly in response to public pressure. If you live in an area that has such a registry, be sure to take advantage of it. They list local people who have been convicted of animal cruelty in the past so that shelters and rescue groups can avoid them.Google  them: Whether or not someone has a history of animal abuse, an internet search might turn up past crimes and brushes with the law.Be prepared to take the animal back. You may have taken all of the important steps, but the pet may not be a good match for this family. Maybe your dog doesnt get along with their current dog. Maybe a family member has a previously un known allergy. To keep your animals safe, you have to be prepared to take them back and let the adopter know that you will take the animal back if it doesnt work out. Have the adopter sign a pet adoption contract.  Petrescue.com offers boilerplate adoption contracts that can be downloaded and printed outNever use Craigslist. Because Craigslist offers free or cheap items, those surfing Craigslist are looking for free cats and dogs. Even if you do have a fee, they’re confident they can con you into waiving it. Craigslist is never a good place to advertise an animal. Horror stories abound about animals given away to someone who found him or her on Craigslist. With reputable databases such as Petfinder and all the breed rescue sites, why would someone even be looking on Craigslist? Because they don’t want to deal with the paperwork and systems these sites have put in place to protect their animals.Breed Rescue If your animal is a purebred, reach out to the specific breed rescue and ask them to step in. Frequently they have a waiting list of anxious, but vetted, adopters. German Shepherd Dog Rescue and Siamese Rescue are two examples of a specific breed rescue group. If you still have doubts about the safety of giving your animal away to someone without vetting them first, consider these cases. In 2007, Anthony Appolonia of Aberdeen, NJ, convicted of  torturing and killing 19 cats and kittens, many which came from local free to a good home advertisements in the newspaper. Local rescuers had given him the cats but became suspicious when Appolonia requested additional cats. In 1998,  Class B dealer Barbara Ruggiero  and two accomplices were found guilty of felony grand theft of dogs in Los Angeles, CA, after they answered hundreds of free to a good home ads and then sold the dogs to laboratories,  to be used in experiments. The information on this website is not legal advice and is not a substitute for legal advice. For legal advice, please consult an attorney. Doris Lin, Esq.  is an animal rights attorney and Director of Legal Affairs for the Animal Protection League of NJ.

Twelve Tribes of Israel

Twelve Tribes of Israel The Twelve Tribes of Israel represent the traditional divisions of the Jewish people in the biblical era. The tribes were Reuben, Simeon, Judah, Issachar, Zebulun, Benjamin, Dan, Naphtali, Gad, Asher, Ephraim and Manasseh. The Torah, the Jewish Bible, teaches that each tribe was descended from a son of Jacob, the Hebrew forefather who became known as Israel. Modern scholars disagree. The Twelve Tribes in the Torah Jacob had two wives, Rachel and Leah, and two concubines, by whom he had 12 sons and a daughter. Jacobs favorite wife was Rachel, who bore him Joseph. Jacob was quite open about his preference for Joseph, the prophetic dreamer, above all others. Josephs brothers were jealous and sold Joseph into slavery in Egypt. Josephs rise in Egypt- he became a trusted vizier of the pharaoh- encouraged the sons of Jacob to move there, where they prospered and became the Israelite nation. After Josephs death, an unnamed Pharaoh makes slaves of the Israelites; their escape from Egypt is the subject of the Book of Exodus. Under Moses and then Joshua, the Israelites capture the land of Canaan, which is divided up by tribe. Of the remaining ten tribes, Levi was scattered throughout the region of ancient Israel. The Levites became the priestly class of Judaism. A portion of the territory was given to each of Josephs sons, Ephraim and Menasseh. The tribal period endured from the conquest of Canaan through the period of Judges until the kingship of Saul, whose monarchy brought the tribes together as one unit, the Kingdom of Israel. Conflict between Sauls line and David created a rift in the kingdom, and the tribal lines reasserted themselves. Historical View Modern historians consider the notion of the twelve tribes as descendants of a dozen brothers to be simplistic. It is more likely that the story of the tribes was one created to explain affiliations between groups inhabiting the land of Canaan subsequent to the writing of the Torah. One school of thought suggests that the tribes and their story arose in the period of the Judges. Another holds that the federation of the tribal groups happened after the flight from Egypt, but that this united group didnt conquer Canaan at any one time, but rather occupied the country bit by bit. Some scholars see the tribes supposedly descended from the sons born to Jacob by Leah- Reuben, Simeon, Levi, Judah, Zebulun and Issachar- to represent an earlier political grouping of six that was expanded by later arrivals to twelve. Why Twelve Tribes? The flexibility of the twelve tribes- the absorption of Levi; the expansion of Josephs sons into two territories- suggests that the number twelve itself was an important part of the way the Israelites saw themselves. In fact, biblical figures including Ishmael, Nahor, and Esau were assigned twelve sons and subsequently nations divisible by twelve. The Greeks also organized themselves around groups of twelve (called amphictyony) for sacred purposes. As the unifying factor of the Israelite tribes was their dedication to a single god, Yahweh, some scholars argue that the twelve tribes are simply an imported social organization from Asia Minor. The Tribes and Territories Eastern  · Judah · Issachar · Zebulun Southern  · Reuben · Simeon · Gad Western  · Ephraim · Manesseh · Benjamin Northern  · Dan · Asher · Naphtali Although Levi was dishonored by being denied territory, the tribe of Levi became the highly honored priestly tribe of Israel. It won this honor because of its reverence for Yahweh during the Exodus.

Econometrics Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Econometrics - Assignment Example For RM (average number of rooms in the owner occupied housing in the census tract), in the first variant, a 1 percent change in RM causes 0.329 % change in MV (the median housing price). In the second variant, a 1 percent change in RM causes a 0.0306 % change in the median housing price (MV). Eventually, a 1 percent changes in RM causes a 0.294 % change in the median housing price in the third variant. In the second variable, the weighted distance to five major employment centers in the Boston region (DIS), the order of coefficients; 0.028, 0.027, and 0.027 in absolute values. In the criteria of absolutism, a one percent change in DIS causes a reduction of median housing price by 0.028 in the first variant, a reduction of 0.027 in the second variant, and a reduction of 0.027 in the third variant. In the third variable, nitrogen oxide concentrations in parts per hundred million (NOX), the coefficients are 1.479 and 1.529 in the second and third variants respectively. These figures suggest that 1 percent change in nitrogen oxide concentration increases the medium housing price by 1.479 in the second variant and by 1.529 in the third variant. Beta coefficient is the measure of the sensitivity of the estimates in influencing the median housing price. In the estimates, the beta coefficient is the slope of the model summarized into ÃŽ ²0, ÃŽ ²1, ÃŽ ²4, ÃŽ ²3, and ÃŽ ²2. Normally, the coefficients would imply 1 percentage change in the estimate 1 and 2 would cause an increase of 0.566 and 0.0261. However, using the beta approach, the two coefficients are below, suggesting that they are below the median housing price. 6. Suppose in model (3) I added in the variable NOX DCHAS, resulting in ln(MVi) = ÃŽ ²0 + ÃŽ ²1RMi + ÃŽ ²2 ln(DISi) +ÃŽ ²3NOXi + ÃŽ ²4DCHAS;i + ÃŽ ²5 NOX DCHAS +Æ i . How would the interpretation of Æ 3 change in model (3) after the inclusion of this variable? What is the interpretation of Æ 5 in this model? 9. Given