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  Prenatal Diagnosis

Posted by Timothy Best in Science and Society · Best · A Band on

The science behind prenatal diagnosis

Prenatal diagnosis is the screening or testing for genetic diseases or other conditions before a child is born. Although there are many different techniques and tests, I will focus on a few:

  • Preimplantation genetic diagnosis (PGD): During an IVF cycle, cells from the developing embryo can be genetically analyzed for chromosomal abnormalities - usually trisomy 21 (Down Syndrome), trisomy 13 and trisomy 18. The parents can then determine which embryos, if any, to transfer into the uterus. It is also possible to determine the sex of the embryo.
  • Ultrasound: An ultrasound uses sound waves to “look” at a fetus as it develops in the uterus. Since sound waves reflect off of tissues differently depending on the density of the tissue, the sonographer can create images of the fetus’ external and internal anatomy. Ultrasound can be used to measure an embryo or fetus in order to predict the due date, detect twins, diagnose heart and other growth defects, measure heart rate, look for signs associated with Down Syndrome, and determine the sex of the fetus.
  • Chorionic villus sampling: The chorionic villi are a part of the placenta that arises directly from the embryo (as opposed to the mother). They are, therefore, genetically identical to the developing embryo. Chorionic villi can be removed from the placenta and genetically analyzed to detect Down Syndrome and other genetic disorders. CVS has a slight risk (.5-1%) of miscarriage, and can also lead to amniotic fluid leakage and/or infection.
  • Amniocentesis: A fetus develops in the amniotic sac, which is full of amniotic fluid. The amniotic fluid contains fetal cells that have naturally sloughed off. The doctor, using an ultrasound image as a guide, inserts a needle through the mother’s skin, abdominal wall, uterine wall, and into the amniotic sac, away from the fetus. Amniotic fluid is then collected, and the fetal cells contained in the fluid can be analyzed for genetic conditions such as Down Syndrome. Amniocentesis has similar risks as CVS, although CVS can be done earlier.
  • Maternal Blood Testing: A relatively recently developed technique can detect fetal DNA in the mother’s blood stream. Thus, with a simple blood draw, the fetus’ sex can be determined, and it can be screened for a variety of genetic disorders.

Societal Impacts

While the above techniques may sound like wonderful advances in medicine, they also have their downsides. First, there’s a difference between screening and testing. A prenatal genetic screen - like maternal blood testing - only gives the level of risk of a condition, but it can not with 100% certainty diagnose a condition. Prenatal genetic tests - like amniocentesis and CVS - are more diagnostic, but also have higher risks for the pregnancy. And if a non-invasive screen detects a high risk for Down Syndrome, for example, the parents are then faced with the decision of whether or not to do a more invasive, high risk test in order to more accurately determine whether Down Syndrome is present. If the results of a CVS or amniocentesis indicate a genetic disorder, then the couple could be faced with the decision to terminate the pregnancy. At the very least, these weeks of testing and waiting for results can be draining and extremely stressful. Pregnancy can already be a stressful time, and these prenatal screens and test can add to that anxiety.

On the other hand, some parents feel that they’d like to know the risks, regardless of the outcome of a test. If a screening test comes back positive for a genetic disorder, then the parents at least won’t be surprised at the birth. They’ll have time to prepare, educate themselves, and possibly arrange for special care that might be needed for their newborn.

Some people opt out of the screens and tests altogether. They might argue that what’s meant to be is meant to be, and they’d rather spare themselves the stress and anxiety surrounding these tests and their results.

And finally, with PGD it is possible to choose the sex of your child. This is illegal in some countries, including Canada - but not the US. Given that IVF and PGD could cost $15000-$20000, the opportunity to screen embryos for genetic conditions and possibly select the sex would not be affordable for everyone. Is this fair? Should people be allowed to choose the sex of their children?

Personal opinions

As someone who loves science, I’m fascinated by these medical advances, and support further research into tests and screens like these. It’s exciting when new, improved tests come out that can help people get answers to their pregnancy concerns, and hopefully allay some of their fears. However, it’s easy for me to support these tests in a general, abstract way. It becomes more complicated when we’re talking about real pregnancies in my personal life. I’ve gone through some of these discussions and decisions, and sometimes there is no easy answer. I can see why people would be in the “no testing” camp - the screenings and testing definitely can raise anxiety and stress levels during pregnancy, which can already be pretty stressful. Still, I’m glad the tests are available, and I think they should continue to be offered to pregnant women. Key to this though, is that they need to be able to make informed decisions. Through discussions with their doctor and a knowledgeable genetic counselor, the parents-to-be can weigh the pros and cons for themselves, and then decide how they want to handle the conundrum of prenatal genetic diagnosis.

References: Nierneberg, C. (2014). Prenatal Genetic Screening Tests: Benefits & Risks. Retrieved February 24, 2016, from http://www.livescience.com/45949-prenatal-genetic-testing.html

Sidhu, J. (n.d.). Women Are Paying Huge Sums To Have a Daughter Rather Than a Son. Retrieved February 24, 2016, from http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/medical_examiner/2012/09/sex_selection_in_babies_through_pgd_americans_are_paying_to_have_daughters_rather_than_sons_.html

I wish I hadn’t known: The ups and downs of prenatal testing. (n.d.). Retrieved February 24, 2016, from http://www.pregnancyandbaby.com/pregnancy/articles/944203/i-wish-i-hadnt-known-the-ups-and-downs-of-prenatal-testing

Recipe And Analysis

Posted by Pedro Castillo in Science and Society · Best · A Band on

Chicken Marsala:

  • ½ cup all-purpose flour

  • 1 tablespoon Essence, (fresh Creole seasoning)

  • 2 (6 to 8-ounce) boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut in halves and pounded thin

  • 1 tablespoon olive oil

  • 4 tablespoons butter

  • 3 cups sliced mushrooms

  • ¾ cup Marsala

  • 1 cup chicken stock

  • Salt and freshly ground pepper

  • Chopped chives, for garnish


Directions:

  • Combine flour and Essence in shallow bowl; stir thoroughly.

  • Quickly dip chicken breast in seasoned flour mixture; shake to remove extra seasoning.

  • Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat until very hot but not smoking.

  • Add 1 tablespoon of butter and cook the chicken breasts until golden brown on both sides (about 3 minutes per side)

  • Move chicken breast to plate and add 1 tablespoon of the remaining butter to the pan and add mushrooms.

  • Cook and stir frequently until mushrooms are golden brown around the edges.

  • Add Marsala wine and bring to boil.

  • When the wine is reduced by almost half, add chicken stock and cook for 3 minutes or until the sauce has thickened.

  • Lower the heat to medium and put chicken breasts back to pan and continue to cook until they have cooked through and sauce has thickened.

  • Add and stir remaining tablespoons of butter; add salt and pepper.

  • Garnish with chopped chives and serve right after.



Lenses:

  • Processed vs. Whole Food

  • Health/Nutrition

  • Political

    • Approximately 70% of the ingredients in this dish are processed. Although they may not be heavily processed, they are not whole foods. Many of these ingredients can be bought organically though. The only ingredients that are not processed are chives, mushrooms, and the chicken breasts. You also have to be careful what type of chicken breasts you buy because there could be some chicken breasts being sold by some companies that are the slightest bit processed. If this meal was eaten every day, your body could build acid reflux from the wine and butter. Your cholesterol could also rise because of the butter being eaten every single day. Although it is a meal on the healthy side, there are certain ingredients that cannot be consumed on a daily basis. On average, the price for Chicken Marsala is roughly $25 with all ingredients included. But you have to keep in mind that this dish can feed up to 6 people or more. Compared to fast food, a meal on average is $7 to $8 per person. If you multiply that by 6 or more people, you would be spending up to $40 to $50. Therefore it is more beneficial to cook Chicken Marsala than buying fast food.

Food I guess

Posted by Michael Thayres in Science and Society · Best · A Band on

Baked Ham

Ingredients:
Brown Sugar
Ginger Ale
Pineapple
Maraschino ​Cherries
Cloves


So my family doesn't really keep specific recipes. I guess that's just how we function, recipes have never really been written down and then shared. You just kinda make food or order it. But even though they're not written down, we still make food by some basic guideline. The only thing I can remember at the moment (since cooking is kind of a spur of the moment thing for my family, on both sides, which feels odd) is ham. When we bake a ham we generally have some mix of brown sugar and ginger ale that get's poured over the ham, and then in the pan the ham bakes in. The ham is placed on a rack over it, and every now and then you put more on it from the bottom of the pan. The pineapple and cherries get placed directly on the ham by pinning them with cloves. Maybe this is common, maybe it's not, who knows. Either way, the ham comes out slightly sweet from all of the sweet things around, and the skin/rind/whatever is normally almost glazed. It's pretty good I guess

So most of it is processed. We get the pineapples from a can and the maraschino cherries are pretty much just junk food. The ham itself obviously had to come from a pig, cloves are just a plant, and ginger ale is soda. Brown sugar is also processed. Cloves are just dried, so it's probably the least processed thing, while the cherries are the most. It's not hard to make, it's pretty easy to be honest. A lot of steps was taken to get the ham where it is at the end where it's eaten, and it's probably not efficient, but it tastes pretty good. 

eupd: 5 minutes of science

Posted by Corinthia Bell in Science and Society · Best · A Band on

The Science aspect of this disorder involves psychological and emotional impairment. Recent research has shown that 1.6% of the population has BPD. BPD or EUPD (emotionally unstable personality disorder) is a mental illness defined by deeply enduring patterns of distress, social dysfunction, and self-destructive behaviour. It causes one to be out of control of their own feelings and urges to harm themselves due to the hurt within and a messed brain and past. Symptoms include emotional instability, feelings of emptiness, intense emotions, insecurity, social isolation, compulsive and impulsive behavior, dangerous and self-destructive behavior, and self-harm. Reasons why an individual may have this disorder maybe because of genetics, brain chemical and development problems, and also environmental factors. In terms of brain chemicals, serotonin is a chemical responsible for maintaining mood balance, and a deficit of this can lead to depression. Victims may also have Depression, anxiety, eating disorders, and thoughts of suicide.  It is ever hard for individuals to control their destructive urges due to this disorder altering levels of serotonin of the brain.


This disorder impacts society by influencing all of the medical fields that study mental illness. This mental illness is now becoming more common due to it being a serious mental illness with the chance of someone having it becoming a more higher population percentage. Statistics say women are more prone to have eupd than men by a ratio of 3 to 1. This disorder is simply something that affects humans... the individuals that have this everything they do will be affected by this disorder. As well affects their relationships, with the fear of abandonment and self-doubt. However this disorder has helped society understand the human brain more and people with this mental illness.  

 I myself suffer with this disorder and whilst being such way i’ve never known what was wrong with me, why I’ve felt to have such strong urges to harm myself with unstable emotions, so I’ve learned to grow and understand myself more with this disorder. My thoughts on having this is truly of the unbearable but I’m slowly finding hope and receiving treatment.


Sources:


https://www.verywell.com/borderline-personality-disorder-statistics-425481


http://www.forbes.com/sites/alicegwalton/2015/02/09/7-ways-meditation-can-actually-change-the-brain/#6e9d36197023

http://www.nhs.uk/Conditions/Borderline-personality-disorder/Pages/Causes.aspx

http://mediarelations.cornell.edu/2014/07/09/study-cracks-how-the-brain-processes-emotions/

https://www.nimh.nih.gov/health/topics/borderline-personality-disorder/index.shtml#part_145387  

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2816919/

 


Split Brains: 5 Minutes of Science

Posted by Miriam Sachs in Science and Society · Best · A Band on

The science of my topic surrounds a part of the brain called the corpus callosum. The corpus callosum is a set of nerve fibers located between the two hemispheres of the brain and allows the two halves of the brain to communicate with each other. In 1939, the chief surgeon at the University of Rochester Medical Center, William Van Wagenen, performed a surgery on ten patients which cut their corpus callosum in hopes of treating epilepsy. He thought this would work after seeing an epilepsy patient stop having seizures after a cancerous tumor destroyed their corpus callosum. This surgery resulted in an obvious reduction in seizures in seven of the ten patients.

Through split brain patients and experiments done by other surgeons, much has been learned about what happens when the two sides of the brain cannot communicate with each other after developing with a functioning corpus callosum. Roger Sperry ran an experiment on split brain cats where he covered one eye of the cat while teaching them the difference between two shapes. When the eye was uncovered and the other eye was then blindfolded, the cats could no longer tell the difference between the shapes without relearning. This shows how in split brains, each side of the body works independently. Each hemisphere of the brain only controls half the body. The right hemisphere controls the left side of the body while the left hemisphere controls the right.

Sperry later worked with human subjects with the help of Michael Gazzaniga and Joseph Bogen. They performed a split brain surgery on William Jenkins, a WWII veteran that suffered from seizures, in 1962. After the surgery, they ran experiments on Jenkins. In one, a dot was in the center of a screen while another picture was shown to the left or right. If the photo was to the right, Jenkins said he saw it, but if it was on the left, he claimed to see nothing. When asked to point to the object on either side, he could. This showed only one side of the brain could communicate information through words in split brains. In addition, Gazzaniga found by working with a patient referred to as P.S. that the left brain made excuses for mistakes made by the right brain pointing to a photo when it would not make sense to instead of saying they did not know why they were pointing.

In another experiment, Jenkins had to arrange blocks with one hand. The right side of the brain is good with motor skills, and his left hand was, therefore, able to arrange blocks easily. Meanwhile, his right hand not only struggled, but his left hand would start helping subconsciously. The sides of the brain can disagree in split brain patients or get in the way of each other. For example, Jenkin’s left hand would undo what his right did when allowed to use both hands. This work won Gazzaniga and Sperry a Nobel Prize in 1981.

This is important to society because it challenges ideas of individualism and self. If the two halves of the brain can work separately, it questions whether a person can be one or two conscious beings in one body. One way the theory of two beings in one body is being tested is through the current research of Michael Miller. In his experiments, the split brain patient is told a character trait while the word “me” is on one side of a screen and “not me” on the other side to the left and right. Then, they must point to the screen when a word corresponding to how they were told they are appears. If each hand points to opposing words, that proves each hemisphere in split brains can have its own unique emotional state. However, this research is ongoing. Split brains also build on Sigmund Freud’s idea that psychologically, humans have three parts fighting within them (the ego, the super-ego, and the ID). Multiple personalities in one body can also be seen in stories, such as Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, or an angel on one shoulder and a devil on the other.

As far as myself, I was drawn to this topic after watching a YouTube video, and I am a YouTuber. I also like being able to debate things that have no clear answer, like split brains being either one person still or two beings. I think it would be cool to imagine two beings in the brain, but that also makes little sense. I have been raised with the idea people can change over time, and we are multiple people over the course of a lifetime, but not two people at any one time. I suggest people stay open to any possibilities science can later present, but not worry about split brains too much right now.

I do not think the original video I watched was reliable since CGP Grey does not list their sources or even give their own name. However, I was able to find my own reliable sources to backup the video. The Nobel Prize’s website talks about split brains since Gazzaniga and Sperry shared a Nobel Prize. I was also able to find a large amount of information from an article published in The Atlantic. I found information on Sigmund Freud’s theory on a site written by a college professor of psychology. I learned more about Wagenen from The Society of Neurological Surgeons. While I found this topic from a questionable source, I was able to verify the science of split brains with trustworthy websites.

References

The Split Brain Experiments. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2016, from https://www.nobelprize.org/educational/medicine/split-brain/background.html

Smith, E. E. (n.d.). One Head, Two Brains. Retrieved December 17, 2016, from http://www.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2015/07/split-brain-research-sperry-gazzaniga/399290/

William P. Van Wagenen, MD. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2016, from https://www.societyns.org/society/bio.aspx?MemberID=99178

McLeod, S. (n.d.). Id, Ego and Superego. Retrieved December 17, 2016, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/psyche.html

You Are Two. (n.d.). Retrieved December 17, 2016, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wfYbgdo8e-8

5 Minutes of science- Coral Bleaching

Posted by Griffin Gallagher in Science and Society · Best · A Band on

Coral, contrary to popular belief, is an animal. It is composed of coral polyps, small organisms, no larger than the thickness of a nickel. It is involved in a symbiotic relationship with a special kind of algae, called zooxanthellae. Coral keeps the algae safe, and in return the algae provides it with oxygen.

When coral is under high stress, it expels the algae from its tissue. The algae is corals source of vibrant color, so when it is removed the coral appears white like it was dipped in bleach.The main sources of this stress are, changes in water temperature, Pollution, Runoff water, Exposure to air during low tide, exposure to too much sun light. 

Coral bleaching is a common event, mass bleaching events have happened over the years. the largest on record happened in 2002 at the great barrier reef, where 54% of the coral was bleached. Bleaching is referred to as "The beautiful death" because it looks nice, but there is a higher mortality rate in effected corals. An easy way to prevent/fix coral bleaching is to treat the enviornment better. Many factors that harm the coral are man made. 

Currently the norther part of the great barrier reef is experiencing a bleaching event due to a 1 degree celsius change in the water temperature. Many were quick to say the reef was dead but its not too late, coral is a hearty life form and is known to bounce back from what seem to be extinction events. 

sources-

http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral.html


http://oceanservice.noaa.gov/facts/coral_bleach.html


http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/media-room/coral-bleaching


 

Sharks, Snakes, and Spiders

Posted by Chloë Epstein in Science and Society · Best · A Band on

5 min of Science: Sharks, Snakes, and Spiders

For my 5 minutes of science presentation I decided to focus on the fear we have of certain animals, why we have them, and how they negatively impact our society. I came up with this topic after thinking about when we learned why people think babies are cute. Humans are programmed to think certain traits like big eyes, small noses, and mouths are cute compared to the opposite of those traits. If we know why humans think certain things are cute then when do they think certain things are scary?

I specifically focused on sharks, spiders, and snakes which are three animals that many people fear and even have phobias of. Many species of sharks, for example, are top of the food chain predators with razor sharp teeth and a lust for blood. It’s pretty easy to imagine why someone would be scared of an animal like this because of how dangerous they appear, but they really aren’t at all. Sharks on Average kill 10 people per year and statistically people have a 1 in 3,748,067 chance of getting bitten by a shark according to the University of Florida's Museum of Natural History. Compare this to an estimated 100 million sharks who are killed annually by humans due to overfishing, and bycatch according to the World Wildlife Organization. Snakes are another commonly feared animal which have a 1 in 35,700 chance of biting a person in the U.S. and a 1 in 50 million chance of killing them. Although they do kill and injure more people than sharks, snakes are still apart of a billion dollar snakeskin industry because of humans. Lastly, spiders are one of people's biggest phobias, but on average only kill 6.5 people per year. As you can see these animals kill few too many people for us to be afraid of them.

According to David Ropeik of Harvard University, the reason people are afraid of sharks isn’t because of how many people die, but because of how terrible a death it would be to get eaten alive by a shark. Movies and media like Jaws, Sharknado, and Shark week all base their entertainment off of the grizzly deaths of humans which show sharks as evil killing machines. When we see these depictions of sharks everywhere we actually think this is how we could die if we ran into one even though it is very unlikely. Ropeik also says that humans are hardwired to feel first and think second which is why they are scared of sharks. We also use mental shortcuts like the availability heuristic which uses recent information to make a decision. People jump to conclusions before figuring out a situation, so if something brushes up against your leg in the water you will assume the worst.

When it comes to snakes and spiders we fear them because we are programmed to. Like babies and puppies have features that we think are cute, snakes and spiders have features that we think are the opposite. For example, the number of legs an animal legs is a feature people judge. Spiders have 8 legs while snakes have none and as a result both are thought of as both scary and disgusting. Another reason we are afraid of snakes is because we as a humans have evolved to fear snacks in order to survive and reproduce. Researchers from The Academy of Natural Sciences have found that some neurons in the brain only respond to legless animals. This means people are easily able to spot a snakes compared to other objects surrounding them. This results in a fear and paranoia of snakes because we are more aware of them compared to other animals/objects.

The reason our fear of certain animals matters to our society is because of the result it may have on us. Unfortunately, many animals are becoming endangered and even extinct because of climate change, poaching, deforestation, and overall killing of animals. As I said before sharks are being killed by the millions every year. We do not know how many are left because of the little information we have on the ocean, but they could possibly be endangered. It’s easy not to care about a predator like shark, but the fact is that they are very important to our ecosystem. Since some of them are top of the food chain predators they are able to keep the ecosystem in balance by eating both prey and smaller predators. If enough sharks die the ocean’s ecosystem will suffer due to overpopulation of other animals. Snakes are also being killed by the snakeskin industry which us them for purses, bags, shoes, belts, etc. The killing of these animals and misconceptions we teach others will contribute to poor ecosystem, and will ruin our environment even more. We need to stop fearing creatures that should really be afraid of us.

Sharks are one my favorite animals so this topic was very important to me because I think it’s unfair how we label them as dangerous. Some of them, like the whale shark, don’t even eat meat and even the ones that do are still not a threat to humans. I can still understand why someone would be scared of a shark, especially someone who has been attacked before. Spiders on the other hand I am very scared of, especially for their legs. Despite my fear, I still think they shouldn’t be labeled as dangerous because of the low number of people they kill and the good they do for the ecosystem. All animals and organisms are an important part of our ecosystem and play a part in keeping it in balance, so I think it’s a bad idea to teach people certain ones are “dangerous”.


Sources

Andrew, E. (2016). Why Are We Afraid Of Spiders? Retrieved November 09, 2016, from http://www.iflscience.com/brain/why-are-we-afraid-spiders/


Shark. (n.d.). Retrieved November 09, 2016, from https://www.worldwildlife.org/species/shark


Moskowitz, C. (n.d.). Why We Fear Snakes - Live Science. Retrieved November 9, 2016, from http://www.livescience.com/2348-fear-snakes.html


Zimmer, C. (2013, October 31). Afraid of Snakes? Your Pulvinar May Be to Blame - The New ... Retrieved November 9, 2016, from http://www.nytimes.com/2013/10/31/science/afraid-of-snakes-your-pulvinar-may-be-to-blame.html


Palermo, E. (2015, July 16). Why Are People So Afraid of Sharks? - Live Science. Retrieved November 9, 2016, from http://www.livescience.com/51579-fear-of-sharks-psychology.html


5 Reasons to Revere, Not Fear, the Shark. (2016). Retrieved November 09, 2016, from http://ocean.si.edu/ocean-news/5-reasons-revere-not-fear-shark


(n.d.). Retrieved November 10, 2016, from http://ufwildlife.ifas.ufl.edu/venomous_snake_faqs.shtml




Circus "Freaks"- 5 Minutes of Science

Posted by Michaela Peterson in Science and Society · Best · A Band on

For my five minutes of science, I decided to focus on circus “freaks”. Most commonly known for their sideshow attraction in the late 1800s and early 1900s, we don’t think about them much anymore, but they are still a very large part of our entertainment industry. From people like Andre the Giant to Peter Dinklage, it is clear we still find something interesting about people who look different than us. And as American Horror Story: Freak Show shows, we still view these “freaks” as just that. They are separate and apart from us, something we enjoy marvelling at, but not welcoming into our own society. That is all fine and good until you consider that millions of people are considered “freaks”, for whatever reason. They cannot get jobs or a steady income because of their appearance, and when they do find something, it is often a capitalization of their birth defect, making them into something less than human.


These “freakish” types of birth defects can be caused by any myriad of things, from chromosomal abnormalities to genetic mutations to tumors to exposure to things like viruses, alcohol, or drugs in the womb. For example, gigantism is commonly caused by a tumor on the pituitary gland that causes it to secrete to much growth hormone, somatotropin, making them grow much taller and much faster than the average human. Something similar happens with dwarfism. While there are multiple types of dwarfism, the most common is achondroplasia, which is caused by a genetic mutation that makes the pituitary gland create less cartilage and slow the use of the growth plates much faster than they should. And those are just two of the most common.


While most “freakish” birth defects are survivable and have minimal side effects, depending upon how bad the birth defect is, some of them can be crippling. Some conjoined twins can never separate from each other, making life very dangerous for them. People with microcephaly can suffer side effects from something as mild as a shortened stature to something as severe as seizures. Not to mention that people with visible birth defects, like people with hirsutism, extreme, male patterned hair growth on women, or cornu cutaneum growths, human horns, are incredibly unlikely to get a job or the emotional support they need as humans without expense treatments and surgeries.


As someone who has studied many of these birth defects and more, at the Mutter Museum and beyond, I have found it increasingly more disturbing the way society treats these people. We allow ourselves to make a profit off of them and marvel at them in fascinated horror, but we refuse to let them work in the same offices as us or try to accommodate any side effects from their “freakishness”. While we may not stick them in side shows anymore doesn’t mean we treat them anymore humanly. We force ourselves to ignore the issues they are facing for reasons they can’t help in favor of our own comfort. This treatment needs to end and end quickly. We have been treating “freaks” like this for over a century; isn’t it time we learn?



Works Cited:

M. (n.d.). Hirsutism. Retrieved October 30, 2016, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/hirsutism/basics/causes/CON-20028919

McGurgan, H. (n.d.). Gigantism. Retrieved October 30, 2016, from http://www.healthline.com/health/gigantism

Memento Mutter. (n.d.). Retrieved October 30, 2016, from http://memento.muttermuseum.org/

M. (n.d.). Microcephaly. Retrieved October 30, 2016, from http://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/microcephaly/basics/causes/con-20034823


MMA and Head Trauma

Posted by Michael Thayres in Science and Society · Best · A Band on

As a society, we love sports. Sports make billions of dollars every year, so they’re certainly not going anywhere. What’s less discussed about sports than say a game winning homerun, or who’s going to be performing at the superbowl, are the long term health detriments to players. Mixed Martial Arts is not an exception to sports in that it can cause long term head trauma to those who participate. Football players, Ice Hockey players, Boxers, and even Baseball players have all had concussions, and especially in the case of football, this is accepted as mostly normal. More recently people have started to take notice of the long term effects of this head trauma, looking at football players who are now suffering from it and occasionally fighters from different combat sports. Chronic Traumatic Encephalopathy is degenerative brain disease that affects the memory, speech, and emotions of those who have it. Symptoms include memory loss, slurred speech, explosive behavior and depression.

This also says something about us as a society that we are aware of this in sports and still a good portion of us love to watch sunday night football and gamble in fantasy leagues. People are literally being paid millions of dollars to give themselves brain damage and sell tickets, merchandise, and advertise. That’s not to say we all think that this is ok, but even if we don’t think it’s ok are we going to stop watching football, or boxing, or UFC events? Most people don’t, and I don’t think there is anything wrong with that.

People that fight in the UFC signed a contract to fight in the UFC and be televised, that was 100% their choice. Almost all fighters don’t regret this either, they were doing what they loved for a living and that made it worth it to them. So should we feel guilty for watching it on live TV? Maybe, but I’m not going to let that get in the way of my love for MMA or Muay Thai, or any other sport for that matter. I’m not forcing people to fight in the UFC, so I’m not going to act responsible for the consequences.

Cusimano, Michael D. Hutchinson, Michael D. Lawrence, David W. Schweizer, Tom A. Mar 21, 2014. Head Trauma in Mixed Martial Arts. Faculty of Kinesiology and Physical Education, University of Toronto. Toronto, Ontario, Canada.

Hutchinson, Michael. Jan 10, 2016 Opinion: The Harsh Reality of knockouts, concussions, and fighter health. Bloody Elbow.

McKee, A C. July, 2009 What is CTE? Department of Neurology, Boston University School of Medicine. Boston Massachusetts.

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