Revolutionizing a Better Era of Technology in the Future of Medicine Essay Example for Free

Revolutionizing a Better Era of Technology in the Future of Medicine Essay Alan Kay states, â€Å"The best way to predict the future is to invent it yourself† (qtd. in Garreau 88). Many Americans ponder what the future might hold. Will technology bring a new era to mankind or will it be the end to all eternity? Ray Kurzweil, inventor of the year by MIT, argues â€Å"he is convinced that medicine is moving sufficiently fast; therefore, any person who can stay healthy for the next 20 years may so benefit from the explosion in biological technology as to be immortal† (Garreau 90-91). With the advancements of medical technology continuing to climb, this quote illustrates that the future will make for a better world. Organizations such as The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency known as DARPA, The Continuous Assisted Performance known as CAP, and The National Science Foundation fund studies that demonstrate how genetic engineering will impact America’s future by developing a bigger, better, stronger individual (Garreau 19-35). Each day as the advancements of technology doubles, the world will soon not worry about diseases and health; everyday gene technology will better our minds, bodies, and most future generations, thus making the â€Å"Heaven Scenario†. In the Article â€Å"Gene Technology and Tissue Engineering† Andree, department of Plastic and Surgery, Freiburg University Hospital, states â€Å"Gene therapy is based on the concept for certain proteins or polypeptides into a cell and, thus, may be used for potential modulation of t issue. Genes can be delivered using either an in vitro approach, and with viral or non-viral vectors. Genes may therefore be stable, or transiently expressed by the cells† (93). This fact illustrates the concept of genetic manipulation and how each cell is expressed. Both Rob DeSalle, Ph.D. in Division of Invertebrates, and Michael Yudell, MPH in Molecular Laboratories, summarize that the study of Genomics will have a major impact in medical services. If doctors knew how to discover someone’s exact diseases, then they can transform and improve those cells to stop in in its act (117-118). With the help from DARPA and CAP and the study and treatments  of Gene therapy, Americans’ will soon find themselves living longer and healthier lives. DARPA funded by Michael Goldbatt, is one of the world’s foremost drivers of human enhancement (Garreau 19). Their vision is to â€Å"accelerate the future into being† (Garreau 21). DARPA help fund the computer mouse, graphics, weather satellites, and many other technologies (Garreau 25). One independent agency that works strongly with DARPA is CAP managed by John Carney (Garreau 28). CAPs advanta ge over DARPA is the laboratory. One idea that they are studying is â€Å"finding an enzyme that appears only in bacteria but not in us. It might exist only for a brief time in the bacteria, but without it, that life form cannot exist. Then you attack it† (Garreau 28-30). Organizations such as DARPA and CAP strive to make unstoppable human beings. For instance, take the well-developed movie Gattaca which came to theaters in 2010 and was about a man that manipulates his DNA to hide his identity to be a more advanced, genetically engineered, human being. No one is capable of stopping him from becoming a better meaningful species to society. Most Americans strive to build themselves up to become the best they can be. Americans study the use of DNA manipulation in bodies and cells to help fight off diseases and illnesses such as the common cold or flu. Goldblatt proclaims, â€Å"We do not fear the unknown, and we relish exploring the unknowable† (Garreau 19). Americans should be more like this quote and strive to become the best species that has ever existed. DARPA is studying a vaccine that will help in pain management. Such vaccines will make milestones in terms of medicine. If someone is hurt they will feel the first trigger of pain but the pain will soon subside (Garreau 19-28). This pain vaccine will have many benefits to Americans dealing with diseases and to society. The National Science Foundation believed in the â€Å"Heaven Scenario†: They predicted in 10-20 years the world will evolve much better. Wearable sensors will enhance every person’s awareness of his or her health condition, environ ment, chemical pollutants, potential hazards, and information of interest about local business, natural resources, and the like. The human body will be more durable, healthy, energetic, easier to repair, and resistant to many kinds of stress, biological threats, and aging process, and technologies will compensated for many physical and mental disabilities and will eradicate altogether some handicaps that have plagues the lives of millions of people. (qtd. in Garreau 112-113) This statement  unveiled a world where technology advancements will mature in a way that Americans are capable of being healthier and happier individuals. The effects of genetic engineering impacts the future by manipulating genes to help Americans live longer. Enzo Russo and David Cove, authors of Genetic Engineering: Dreams and Nightmares, tell a brief story about a little girl that was suffering from a disease called Severe Combined Immune Deficiency. â€Å"She was the first known human being to be treated using gene therapy†¦After two years of therapy, this young girl was able to attend school normally, to swim, dance, ice skate with her family and friends† (117-118). With this example it substantially shows the achievements of Gene Therapy and how Americans greatly benefit from them. Children will have the privilege to go out and play or do whatever else their little imagination wants to do so they can be just like every other child. If doctors had a way to catch or see a disease before it overtakes someone’s body then they would be able to do something about it. Jacobs, consultant genetic counsellor Guy’s and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust, believes â€Å"Early identification of individuals with, or at risk of, hereditary disease can make a difference to patients and families in terms of accessing genetic services, early detection and risk-reducing measures. Several clinical guidelines recomm end undertaking family history assessment in clinical setting† (Jacobs, Chris, Christine 38). Jacobs also states that â€Å"Recognizing when off spring may be at risk of genetic condition such as cystic fibrosis, Duschenne muscular dystrophy or Huntington’s disease, can help couples to make choices about prenatal testing and pre-implantation genetic diagnosis. These procedures increase the possibility of a healthy baby and reduce the risk of passing the mutation to future generations† (Jacobs, Chris, Christine 38). With this possibility, think of how it will make a new era to mankind. Parents no longer have to worry about unborn babies and whether they will have the same disease as their ancestors. Another person that was influenced by Gene Therapy is Gregory Stock. Stock, director on Medicine, Technology, and society at the school of medicine of California, proclaims â€Å"In the future Americans will benefit from using ‘Artificial Chromosomes’. Future generations will be able to switch out one or two chromosomes that may be transferring diseases with a stronger chromosome† (qtd. in Garreau 116-117). There are many believers of the â€Å"Heaven Scenario† although all the outcomes  might not be the same. Ray Kurzweil, who was granted the national medal of technology, was the inventor of the â€Å"Heaven Scenario.† He stated â€Å"is there is no problem or challenge that there [is not] an idea to overcome that problem† (qtd. in Garreau 115). This statement argues that no matter how difficult something might proclaim to be, there will always be a new improved way to get thru. In terms of medicine, there will always be new inventions of t echnology and drugs that will make a better advancement then the former. No matter what the statistics say technology will always have an astonishing outcome. If Americans’ had the opportunity to formulate themselves at a higher level of humanity then why not go for it? (Garreau 115) Most Americans’ dream that one day the world will be a heavenly place for all humanity. With the advancements of new medical technology doubling and continuing to climb up this progressive ladder, Americans’ soon will be bigger, stronger, and healthier individuals. The inventions of new drugs, either injected or manipulated into genes, will influence making the outcome of the â€Å"Heaven Scenario† true. If more organizations like previously stated DARPA and CAP continue to find new ways of implementing and then attacking infections and disease: Americans’ will live much longer non-stressful lives. Imagine the outcome of waking up clear headed and pain free with no worries in sight. Future generations will have the knowledge and ability to know when a bad enzyme links on and attacks cells; furthermore, being able to stop the infection before it explodes and travels thru DNA. It will be a new era to mankind. Americans will be able to determine and choose ho w their children turn out. Children will be healthier and live longer lambent lives. Like my opening quote â€Å"the best way to predict the future is to invent it yourself.† Negative controversies about technology being the end of mankind should not influence Americans into not believing in the â€Å"Heaven Scenario,† thus sit back and watch the never ending achievements and outcomes of Gene therapy transmute the world into a better brighter norm. Works Cited Andree, C., et al. â€Å"Gene Technology and Tissue Engineering.† Minimally Therapy Allied Technologies 11.3 (2002): 93-99. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 March 2014. DeSalle and Michael Yudell. Welcome To The Genome: A User’s Guide to Genetic Past, Present, and Future. Canada: John Wiley Sons. Inc., 2005. Print. Garreau, Joel. Radical Evolution: The Promise and Peril of Enhancing Our Minds, Our Bodies- and What It Means to Be Human. New York: Random House, 2005. Print. Jacobs, Chris, and Christine Patch. â€Å"Identifying Individuals Who Might Benefit From Genetic Services And Information.† Nursing Standard. 28.9 (2013): 37-42. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 March 2014. Russo and David Cove. Genetic Engineering: Dreams and Nightmares. Oxford New York Tokyo: Oxford University Press, 1998. Print.

My Year in France Essay -- How Education Has Changed My Life

The bus is swerving around corners at uncomfortable speeds, but no one seems to notice. My bags are falling all over the place, while everyone else's are clutched calmly at their sides. I'm wearing a collered shirt with khakis, and everyone else is wearing black I'm feeling a little out of place. Â   As the shuttle zooms between the various terminals at Paris's Charles de Gualle Airport, I glance nervously at my watch. I have a reservation on the train to Marseille that leaves in 20 minutes. In French, I call up to the driver from the middle of the bus, 'is this stop the train station ?' No one responds. I call again, 'is this stop the train station?' A girl my age timidly shakes her head 'no.' I approach the bus driver three stops later and ask him which stop is the train station, and he responds, 'it was the last stop, Monsieur.' I asked him why he didn't indicate that fact to me, as he had heard me call out earlier, and he curtly replied, 'you didn't ask me, Monsieur.' Â   I missed that train, and had to go into Paris to take the next train, which got me into Marseille several hours later than planned, and into Aix-en-Provence with just enough time for the receptionist at my hotel to inform me that my room had been sold because they thought I wasn't coming. My year in France was off to a frustrating start. Â   Flash to mid-November, ten weeks later. After rolling out of bed in my loft, which is decorated with seventeenth century frescos, I climbed downstairs to fix my French toast in my well-equiped kitchen, complete with a view of a courtyard. I'm worried about finding time to go shopping for tonight's dinner party, what kind of wine I should pick up, and whether I should go to Florence or ... ...ure don't look American anymore. Gone are the bluejeans and concert T-shirts. Gone are the IU sweatshirts. In are turtleneck pulls, dark slacks, and smart shoes. Â   I have grown accustomed to the breakneck speed French drivers maintain, and have learned to travel light. I now know to ask the bus driver first thing to signal my stop, and they are always happy to do so. Â   It's amazing how quickly something so different can become so familiar. For me, that is what I love about traveling-learning to understand the differences in order to discover all the similarities. Looking into that girl's eyes and seeing her complete and utter despair, I realized that my mere ten weeks had already given me the knowledge and attitude necessary to feel comfortable in this foreign place. The learning curve in the months that have followed has been exponential.

A Professional Moral Compass Essay

Ethics, a branch of philosophy refers to the values for human conduct, considering the rightness and wrongness of actions and motives. As nursing profession is an integral part of the health care environment, the nursing ethics provides the insight to the values and ethical principles governing nursing practice, conduct, and relationships. The Code of Ethics for Nurses, adopted by the American Nurses’ Association (ANA) is intended to provide definite standards of practice and conduct that are essential to the ethical discharge of the nurse’s responsibility (American Nurses Association, 2012) A nurse cultivates personal ethics through personal, cultural and spiritual values which becomes a moral compass for their professional ethics. Personal ethics in combination with the code of ethics often assist the nurses in personal and social decision making during ethical dilemma. This ability prompts them to better respond to needs of the suffering patient and their own well-being. This paper will discuss the personal, cultural, and spiritual values contributing to nurses’ individual worldview and philosophy of nursing and the moral and ethical dilemma being faced in this profession. Values Contributing to Individual’s Worldview and Philosophy of Nursing Born in a Christian middle class Western Indian family, the strict traditional values helped to embed the concept of service, trust, respect, integrity and responsibility through family, friends, education and beliefs. The personal and spiritual belief on the remarks, â€Å"Do to others as you would have them do to you†, from the New International Version of Bible has kindled the concept of service, integrity and respect at an early age of one’s personal life. The cultural quench to care for fellow humans and strive to make difference in one’s own life prompts one to accept Nursing as a profession. Acquaintance to different cultures, languages and religions influences the world views and nursing decisions in providing culturally sensitive care. The traditional spiritual and cultural moral values along with diverse worldviews became the directorial moral compass to take the right decision on behalf of the patients and personal life and empowered to improve the confidence and capability as a nurse. Values, Morals and Ethics in Nursing Practice Values, Morals and Ethics are often reflected as interweaved behavioral rules. Values are one’s fundamental beliefs developed from childhood through family and society. Morals are values that attribute to a system of beliefs. Ethics is the ability to make right and wrong decision based on adopted morals (Navran F. J. , 2010). When values, morals and ethics of an individual have influence over the nurses’ professional conduct, it often tips to conflicting situation in one’s nursing practices. One such situation is the issue of ‘abortion’. When a nurse’ spiritual doctrine is against abortion, it would be against their moral to assist in decision making to abort the baby even when the fetus is deformed, thus arising an ethical dilemma between the personal moral values and the professional ethics. Thus a communication barrier is often felt by nurses while dealing with physicians/ patients during the early days of practice in different cultures but eventually scholar to converse on behalf of the patient and to be an efficient patient advocate. The moral values adopted during the years of experience gets reformed with new believes and practices and hence enables to provide better ethical care during the nursing profession. The Codes of Ethics serves as guidelines when the nurse’s individual moral values conflict with the actions expected from their profession (American Nurses Association, 2012). Morals and Ethical Dilemmas Faced in the Health Care Field As nurse’s role in health care environment varies from caring, communicating, teaching to advocating and leadership, the likelihood of moral and ethical dilemma is inescapable. Such situations arise when there is an opposing conflict among intentions, decisions, and actions between the right and wrong. A common dilemma faced by the care providers is based on religious and spiritual background. Some religions do not support induced death by humans and nurses may have trouble supporting the patient and family about cases like abortion. Although it is the individual’s right to make decisions about their bodies, the religious values do not allow one to be a part of the procedure. Another issue is when nurses encounter’s with patients diagnosed with AIDS or other sexually acquired diseases. The nurses become judgmental towards the patient ultimately interfering in the care of such patients. Any of the above circumstances affects the behavior and decision making to provide quality care to the patients that will place nurses in ethical dilemma, and will force them to turn towards the ethical guidelines set forth by the Code of Ethics for Nurses. The nurses should always strive to safeguard patient’s right, and their well-being while maintaining professional integrity (American Nurses Association, 2010) . Conclusion Nurses’ being the important element of the health care field, their decisions along with commitment plays an essential role for the welfare and safety of humanity. Their decision making capabilities molded from the framework of their personal, cultural and spiritual values often lead them to ethical dilemma. In situation with conflicting moral values, the nurses are expected to be professional and ethical, and refer the Code of Ethics to get guidance for the ethical dilemma to allow nurses to deliver quality care. Although a nurses’ worldview is influenced by the cultural, religion and moral values, one should follow the code to maintain the respectability and integrity of their profession.

How Resins Protect Trees and Increase Tree Value

Tree resin (along with other gum and latex fluids) plays an extremely important function in trees by rapidly sealing over wounds  used as introductory pathways by invading insects and fungal disease agents. Organisms that try to enter a tree via a wound can be flushed out, can become stuck and trapped in the seal and can be overcome by the resins toxicity. It is also thought that resins have high antiseptic qualities that prevent decay and that they also lower the amount of water lost from the plants tissues. In any event, consistent resin flow is essential to the continued health of most conifers. If you have regularly handled or touched the bark or cones of pine, spruce or larch, you know about the fragrant sticky resin they copiously ooze. That resin is contained in ducts or blisters that run through the bark and wood and diminish in size and number as they enter roots and needles. Hemlocks, true cedars, and firs have resin mainly restricted to the bark. Wound trauma to a tree can stimulate the production of traumatic resin canals that help in containing the injury and help in healing any resulting infection. Resin-laden blisters contained in the conifer secrete the light liquid, which immediately loses oils to evaporation and forms a heavy solid scab. It is interesting to note that this reaction to trauma by a tree is used in the manufacturing process of certain commercial resins and essential oils by stimulating resin flow by inflicting a purposeful injury or bark irritation (see tapping below). The production of resin is very common in nature, but only a few plant families can be considered of commercial importance to resin collectors. These important resin producing plants include the Anacardiaceae (gum mastic), Burseraceae (incense tree), Hammamelidaceae (witch-hazel), Leguminosae, and Pinaceae (pine, spruce, fir, true cedar). How Resins Are Formed, Collected, and a Little History Resins are formed as a product of the oxidation process of a trees escaping essential oils - also called volatile oils, ethereal oils or aetherolea. As already mentioned, the resin is usually stored in ducts or blisters and frequently oozes out through the bark to harden when exposed to air. These resins, as well as being critical to a trees health, can be commercially valuable when collected or tapped. Resinous concoctions have been used for millennia in the form of waterproof and protective coatings made by the ancients. Varnished objects have been found in Egyptian tombs and the use of lacquer in the practice of their arts has been used in China and Japan for centuries. The Greeks and Romans were familiar with many of the same resinous materials that we use today. It is the ability of tree resins to harden as essential oils evaporate that makes them necessary to the production of commercial varnishes. These resins are readily dissolvable in solvents like alcohol or petroleum, surfaces are painted with the solutions and as the solvents and oils evaporate, a thin waterproof layer of resin remains. Tapping is usually necessary in order to obtain a sufficient amount to be of commercial value but can also be extracted during the processing of a tree species for another product - pine resins and oils that can be collected during the paper pulping process. Commercial hard resins are also frequently mined and extracted from ancient fossil materials like copal and amber for varnish. It is important to understand that resins, unlike gums, are insoluble in water, but they are easily dissolved in ether, alcohol and other solvents and used in many products. Other Resin-Based Products Hard transparent resins, like copals, dammars, mastic, and sandarac, are mainly used for varnishes and adhesives. The softer odoriferous oleo-resins like frankincense, elemi, turpentine, copaiba and the gum resins containing essential oils (ammoniacum, asafoetida, gamboge, myrrh, and scammony) are more often used for therapeutic purposes and incense. Resin, Kraft or pine soap (one trade name is Pine Sol) is made by reacting resin acids in wood with sodium hydroxide. Kraft soap is a byproduct of the Kraft process for manufacturing wood pulp and used as a super strength cleaner for heavily soiled and greasy cleaning jobs. Resin in the form of rosin is applied to the bows of string instruments because of its ability to add friction to bow hairs to increase sound quality. It is used similarly in sports to provide tack to grip bats and balls. Ballet dancers may apply crushed resin to their shoes to increase grip on a slippery floor.