A Look Back on DNA

The History Of Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid - DNA

Written By: Crispen Eschobar

Deoxyribonucleic Acid is a hereditary substance in the human body. The information in DNA is recorded in codes made up of four chemicals: adenine (A), guanine (G), cytosine (C), and thymine (T). Human DNA consists of about 3 billion bases, and more than 99 percent of those bases are the same in everyone. The order for these bases is determined by the information available for building and maintaining an organism, similar to the way in which letters of the alphabet appear in a certain order to form words and sentences. This is DNA.  

General History

This information was found by Prophase Genetics at:  http://www.prophase-genetics.com/history_dna_paternity.html

In 1865 Gregor Mendel created dna theories based on genetic profiles of pea plants. Because Gregor Mendel was a-head of his time, it took everybody in the scientific community over 3 decades to catch up. Experiments with Plant Hybrids , a paper written by Mendel where he describes how traits were inherited, has become one of the most influential publications in the history of science. In 1935
Andrei Nikolaevitch Belozersky isolated DNA in the pure state for the first time. In 1958
Coenberg discovered and isolated DNA polymerase, which became the first enzyme used to make DNA in a test tube. In 1972 the first successful DNA cloning experiments were performed in California. In 1973 for the first time, scientists successfully transferred deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) from one life form into another. Stanley Cohen and Annie Chang of Stanford University and Herbert Boyer of UCSF "spliced" sections of viral DNA and bacterial DNA with the same restriction enzyme, creating a plasmid with dual antibiotic resistance. They then spliced this recombinant DNA molecule into the DNA of a bacteria, thereby producing the first recombinant DNA organism. In 1980 Kary Mullis and others at Cetus Corporation in Berkeley, California, invented a technique for multiplying DNA sequences in vitro by, the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). PCR has been called the most revolutionary new technique in molecular biology in the 1980s. Cetus patented the process, and in the summer of 1991 sold the patent to Hoffman-La Roche, Inc. for $300 million. In 1992 the U.S. Army begins collecting blood and tissue samples from all new recruits as part of a "genetic dog tag" program aimed at better identification of soldiers killed in combat. In 1995 Former football player O.J. Simpson is found not guilty in a high-profile double-murder trial in which PCR and DNA fingerprinting play prominent roles.

The investigation of DNA

This information was founded by Think Quest at:  http://library.thinkquest.org/20830/Textbook/HistoryofDNAResearch.htm

In 1953 there were these two scientists named James Watson and Francis Crick. Watson from the United States and Crick both worked together at the University of Cambridge in England on the discovery of the “double helix,” the first molecular-biological structure. On April 25^th , 1953 Watson and Crick published a journal called Nature. Ten years later, this journal earned James Watson and Francis Crick the Nobel Prize for solving one of science most anticipated questions on the human body and advancing the studies of Molecular Biology.

After their discovery, Watson and Crick stayed in touch, but took different paths in science. Watson joined the faculty of Harvard University in 1955, focusing his research on the role of ribonucleic acid (RNA) in protein synthesis. In 1968, he became director of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory on Long Island, New York. It conducts research on cancer, plant molecular biology, cell biochemistry, and neuroscience. In 1989, he was appointed director of the National Center for Human Genome Research at the National Institutes of Health and launched a worldwide effort to map and sequence the human genome. In 1994, he became president of Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory.

Crick was made a Fellow of the Royal Society in England in 1959. Working with Sydney Brenner, he sought to "unravel the genetic code" by determining how the sequence of DNA bases would specify the amino acid sequence in proteins. By 1961, they had shown that this translation involves a three-nucleotide code, or codon, which opened the door to new biotechnology research ranging from genetic fingerprinting to screening for inherited diseases. In 1976, Crick joined the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in San Diego, California, where he became involved in studies of neurons and how the brain functions. He served the institute as both a distinguished research scientist and former president. Crick died on July 28, 2004, at the age of 88.

The First Discovery

This information was found by Micro Biology Guide at:

http://dna.microbiologyguide.com/537-research-history-of-dna-Friedrich-Miescher-Phoebus-Levene/

Deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA) was first discovered in 1869 by the Swiss scientist Friedrich Miescher. He called the white, slightly acidic chemical that he found in cells "nuclein." By the late 1940s, scientists knew what DNA contained -- phosphate, sugar, and four nitrogen-containing chemical "bases": adenine (A), thymine (T), guanine (G), and cytosine (C). But no one had figured out what the DNA molecule looked like. It was later rediscovered in 1919, by a scientist named Phoebus Levene, that this substance contained a base, sugar and phosphate unit make-up. It was also suggested by this same scientist, that the 'nuclein' substance maintained a 'string' of nucleotide units, linked together by phosphate connections. Furthermore, it was also thought that the 'chain' itself was short and that the bases repeated in short patterns.

Closing

A portion of the information on this paragraph was founded on this site:

http://regenerativemedicine.net/

If not for all the discoveries and finds of dna, there would not be so many advances in the science-studies of molecular biology and its attributes towards solving murder cases, lost parents and or lost children, or even the new world of regenerative medicine which started out as ideas in stem cell research and now has brought forth a the new scaffolding theory and practice in the restructuring of damaged tissue and tissue engineering. If it were not for the discoveries of DNA this world would be worse of then it already is. Thank goodness for the men and women who dedicated their lives to the research and studies of Deoxyribose Nucleic Acid – DNA.

DNA Molecular Bio Structure (Double Helix)

The DNA molecule resembles a spiral staircase or ladder. The sides of the ladder are made up of alternating molecules of phosphate and the sugar deoxyribose, while each rung is composed of a pair of nitrogen-containing chemical bases connected in the middle. DNA has four bases - Adenine, Thymine, Cytosine, and Guanine.

Is A Fetus A Person

Written By: DJ Escho            


Judith Jarvis Thompson has concluded in a book titled “A Defense of Abortion” that abortion due to rape is not wrong because it was an incident that was not planned and the sense of a child growing in the womb due to rape was not invited so therefore the abortion would be permissible.  On several occasions Judith Jarvis Thompson’s position was that we could accede permission to person A, having right over person B’s body and life even though person B did not permit it. She implied that it would be a kind and good thing to do. Her stance allows that if we were to do so it would be permissible to perform abortions due to rape cases.   What Judith Jarvis Thompson has taken for granted here in the case of rape is that comparing scenarios such as acorns that soon are to become trees are not trees as oppose to a fetus not being a person until it is born and a society of music lovers kidnapping a person so that a violinist can live due to a blood transfusion from the kidnapped victim’s body even though the kidnapped victim didn’t permit it is incomparable because we are dealing with truth and fact, and not just emotion.   First, we must understand that Judith Jarvis Thompson is defending an idea that rape has taken place. In fact, there is no defense because her arguments stems from her contention with those who oppose abortion. This proposes that Judith would rather write a book to cause public dissension between secularists and existentialists than anything based on fact.   I know and understand that secularists opposing any topic against existentialists are not the matter here at hand. Fact remains that not once did Judith Jarvis Thompson defended any rape victims in the least bit or try to give an explanation as to why a rape victim would regret aborting a fetus in such a case, so why even state that abortion was permissible due to rape?  Second, in the cases of 1: The violinist needing to live on a blood transfusion whether it be an hour, nine months or nine years off of the kidnapped victim, 2: The case of Smith and Jones will freeze to death but there is only one coat to keep them from freezing, leaving a third party to choose who will live, 3: Henry Fonda traveling from the west coast to use his cool hand to touch the over heated brow of a factor or presumably Judith Jarvis Thompson needing Henry Fonda’s touch to survive, and 4: The one older boy and his younger brother having to share a box of chocolates given to the older brother has no baring on the simple fact that aborting a fetus who being a person will be born, is a life that was granted to that women.  

. Judith Jarvis Thompson will apparently by no means even consider the thought that a fetus or baby being granted life first to a women would ever exist   This proves that her argument holds no water.  Judith Jarvis Thompson did state that her argument would not hold against those that oppose using the prior alleged cases but then why did she make mention of all of these cases in the first place?  It is almost as if she purposely led or even coached people into falling prey to her false belief by using these cases in her book.  This seems immature and unethical that a person writing a book to appease her interest would ever change the mind of a decent person. That even though rape has taken place, the women could see past the horror and give her baby a chance at life. 

. Each case that Judith Jarvis Thompson went over had its points and clearly are justifiable from people needing to survive under obscure situations or needing the victim to further survive being permissible to end one’s life comparing to aborting under rape and yet does this at all compare to the knowledge of a women holding a baby in her arms ever giving thought to ending its progress of life growth with in her, give no excuse to end the life of a fetus.

Judith Jarvis Thompson has even stated using theses 4; made by Pope Pius XI, a Catholic, in which he said that abortion, would be excused if it meant that the mother would live. This holds no bearing as in studying church history; you learn that Rome created Catholicism for means of political and financial gain. This excludes the Popes statement in theses 4.   This is not to say that there are not cases where a woman wouldn’t have to have an abortion due to her life being at risk but then again this is not an abortion, it is called a scraping.   A scraping is not an abortion regardless of whether or not in today’s medical world there might exist some insurance companies allegedly playing a role in using the performance of scrapings to manipulate the doctors to mandating when it is not necessary.  This concludes putting an end to using theses 4. 

Judith Jarvis Thompson then had the audacity to quote scripture from the book of Luke chapter 10 verses 30-35, being about the story of “The Good Samaritan.” Comparing this to a story about a woman named Kitty Genovese having been murdered in front of 38 people and not one of them doing anything about it nor trying to notify the proper authorities and using a statement that Samaritans are not merely decent or good at all also can in no fashion be related to the choice of aborting a fetus on the grounds of rape. She gave no description as to why the people didn’t help Kitty Genovese. We as the readers are unsure as to the circumstances, there could have been another incident proceeding, perhaps preventing the people from helping Kitty,   this also excludes Judith Jarvis Thompson from using Kitty Genovese’ murder case in comparison to any women who allowed the permissibility of aborting a fetus in the case of rape.   In the beginning of this story Judith Jarvis Thompson states and I quote “A newly fertilized ovum, a newly implanted clump of cells is no more a person than an acorn is an oak tree. But I shall not discuss any of this.”   Who is Judith Jarvis Thompson to pass judgment on what is a person?  Is this judgment made on the fact that one cannot see the life of an acorn or cell? Does it stand to reason that it cannot have a personality because it can’t communicate the way a human can or have visible attributes such as that of the human personality?   I certainly cannot look at a plant and say that it doesn’t have personality just because I don’t know how to distinguish its attributes of personality or have the right to say a non-human cannot be personable.  There are cases where human can and do detect the personality of a non human.  A fetus is human, is it not?

I don’t judge Judith Jarvis Thompson to be a bad person but I just don’t believe that any of her arguments seem to weigh justice on aborting a child just because the mother was raped.  I do understand that there are women who will abort due to mental struggles with knowing that if she gives the fetus a chance and her child is born that it may become an emotional burden to know that the child’s father is the man that did rape her yet none of us, any reader or person doing research on this topic could ever stand in that rape victim’s shoes.   It is up to the woman legally the right to choose to abort or not to abort her fetus as an unborn child but it would not be morally right if the abortion were to take place.   I know that if rape is the case then why is rape not addressed or any of rape victim cases shown as examples as to why it would be the right thing to do to abort the fetus and why is the thought of life in a person not seen in regards to a fetus to Judith Jarvis Thompson?

As I have read and understood Judith Jarvis Thompson’s argument about the permissibility of abortion due to rape, I find that Judith’s disposition towards abortion regardless of rape or not, tend to lean towards an indignant behavior for those that oppose this matter.  Her defense is not so much for proving that cells, the fetus or acorns have no right to live a life but that she has displayed an intolerable sense of being contemptuous towards people who are likely to state that abortion is wrong.   This cancels out her arguments. 

Judith has used incomparable scenarios to attempt to sway the reader into seeing her viewpoint.  Her blatant remarks about there not being anyone who has a good reason for why abortion is wrong in the first place tells you that she may live as a secularist or one who excludes existentialism and does not give any possibility that spiritualism could be without needing proof that it exists.  Anyone who lives this way will automatically be one who will defend abortion and even go as far as making people believe that it is the right of a woman to abort a fetus in the case of rape.

Rebecca Does Hair

Written By: Crispen Eschobar


Rebecca Thompson, proprietor of The Master's Touch Hair Salon in Chattanooga TN, has been cutting hair for 18 years now. I had asked Rebecca what made her want to cut hair or how did she know she was going to do this kind of work. Well, Rebecca stated that when she was a teenager, a fellow classmate by the name of Clinton Schmidt handed her a pair of scissors and said, "Cut my hair." Rebecca told me that she looked at Clinton as if he was crazy but decided to just go with it. On Rebecca's first try she did a pretty good job and decided to pursue this skill even if it was just a side thing at first. After all, Rebecca was just in high school at the time and came to a conclusion that it would get even better if she stuck with it. Later, Rebecca enrolled in University of Beauty in Cleveland TN and transfered after six moths to Claremore OK where she graduated with a 97 percentile 1992. Rebecca's first paying job, cutting hair was at JC Penny Styling Salon in Claremore, OK. Rebecca learned and absorbed so much from 20 different stylists and was told by the JC Penny manager that she had a natural talent for cutting hair.

It was only five years ago when Rebecca had met her current business partner Cynthia McIvor in Ooltewah, TN where they were both employed by Great Clips. Rebecca and Cynthia hit it off and found themselves being cut out of the picture at Great Clips, so to speak and later was lead to open up their own shop together as business partners and named it The Master's Touch Hair Salon.

Rod Edmunson head of Shears Point Inc. has opened a door for Rebecca at the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute where she cuts hair for the patients enrolled there in down-town Chattanooga. Rebecca has decided to take on this barber role while maintaining her clientele at her shop with Cynthia.  As head of Shears Point, Rod is taking his company to higher grounds. With Shear Point providing hair styling and cosmetology services to companies or facilities, Rod is bound to surpass the market in this trade. Rod is wanting to provide these services to prisons which will spread the name of Shears Point and gain more clientele to his business. It was only about a little more than a month that Mr Edmunson came to The Master's Touch Salon and asked Rebecca if she would like to cut hair at the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Facility. Rebecca gladly obliged and stepped up to the plate. Rebecca is glad to do this work helping the patients in more ways than one.

I was invited to visit for a day to see how a normal shift would go for Rebecca. I had a lot of fun interacting with the staff and the patients there at Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute. Everyone was really nice and welcoming towards me. I saw that the patients were happy to see Rebecca and every patient was pleased with their new hair do's. Both the staff and the patients like Rebecca and are very glad when she is working there said a member of the staff. There was this one patient, because of legalities I am not permitted to mention her name but this lady was so sweet and funny and was glad to have Rebecca cut her hair and style it because the former barbers had said that they didn't know how to help her. I noticed that Rebecca has a uniqueness about the way she interacts with her customers not only at her salon but with the patients there at Moccasin Bend as well. I was curious why the patients were so happy to just be around Rebecca. I observed each patient that got their hair cut even if it was just a male patient receiving a facial hair grooming or a simple shape up which didn't last long but the time that was spent was like watching a tv sit-com. Rebecca loves to make the patients laugh and sometimes she probably makes them think. Rebecca believes in G-d strongly and shares it without even actually saying a word about religion. Rebecca has been chosen by Pastor Desmond Taylor at Mercy & Truth Ministries to lead the youth group and teach. Rebecca's love and understanding for people and her way of redirecting a conversation is amazing and is shown by the way she carries herself professionally with her customers at her shop. The teenagers and adults in her church and the patients there at the mental health facility become happy at her presence because she knows how to talk to them and they love her for it. I believe that Ms. Rebecca Thompson is the right person for the Moccasin Bend Mental Health facility and I believe she will be there for many years to come. This is Crispen Eschobar signing off: "Life is beautiful so, smile and live it to the fullest. Be blessed...

A New World Of Regenerative Medicine

Written By: DJ Escho

          

There was a time where people were dying because of organ failure leading to death or permanent loss of a body member or members. The medicinal treatment that was used in treating diseases involved prosthetics at times failed and lead to death and or loss of organs and or body members. This is now a thing of the past. Now, there are even more people surviving because of a new and exponential success in tissue engineering. Regenerative Medicine is this new source. Future visions for regenerative medicine can reach as far as saving a soldier dying from combat injuries on the spot. This way of practicing medicine is a much wiser choice of direction in fighting disease, the development of it is therefore constantly being studied.

Cancer:

Chemotherapy is the gamble that a cancer patients take when fighting cancer. Stem cell directed therapy targets tumor-cells. Unfortunately, other normally functioning stem cells that are in that same direction, receives that same hit and this causes the normally functioning cell to become viral. The amount of normally functioning cells without the ability to fight, die and these cells reproducing in-turn makes it a too high of a factor contradicting the fight against cancer. Regenerative medicine works towards saving en masse the termination of cancer stem cells. This is a better way to fight cancer.

The Scaffolding Theory:

The process that regenerative medicine brings is the regrowth of insulin producing cells for diabetes patients as well as the storing and restructuring of stem cells for leukemia and other forms of cancer. This method now envelops a society of doctors who not only are drawn to this work but completely believe in its success. The idea that an internal organ can be measured for the outer structuring itself as a scaffold surrounding the damaged organs, engages a process of constant discoveries in the “in-vitro” mechanics for the purpose of not removing a deteriorating organ. Regenerative medicine makes organ transplant obsolete and is a safe and effective process. When the organ or member has reached a full healing state, whether the organ is in need of hydro-gel scaffold for softer and smaller tissue damage or synthetics such as ceramic for tougher tissue damage, the body itself once knowing for certain that the organ has reached its full healing growth or state, disposes naturally and its proficiency and purpose is come unto completion. This is a wonderful breakthrough in medicine today. Regenerative medicine is not going to reach a point or pinnacle soon because the doctors involved in this study are constantly learning and constantly coming to new understandings of more ways to work the restructuring of cells and tissue engineering.

This is a chart for the scaffold theory which turned to practice which was only an idea many years ago.

Regenerative Mechanics:

If you can imagine storing cells in such a way that cells are still are alive inside of a cut umbilical cord, it is quite interesting. In diseases such as leukemia or muscular dystrophy, and other forms of cancer, the manipulating of cells for the reproducing of missing substances is the prime factor for the cure. These missing substances are proteins which fill the missing parts of its molecular structure as it recreates from the normally functioning stem cells. Once that is completed, it multiplies until the disease is completely excavated. Even after one is cured and there are no chances for the disease to return, the patient’s health is treated. These studies are already being engaged and are constantly developing towards a successful end.
This is the results of Stem cell research and that deserves its place for the bettering of the practice of Medicine. Molecular Cell Biology proves just that. The treatment of regenerative medicine shows that it comes into play quite fittingly in the manipulating of cells towards reproduction, targeting disease and the destruction of a cancer cell without hurting or killing normal cells. The tumor-cell reproduces, posing as an imposter towards normal cells since the disease can not reproduce on its own and is in need of the host cell and cell membrane so that it can synthesize itself and create the growth of a virus which leads to death. These mechanics are proven to work faster, more efficiently and help to configure a solution for not only the practice of medicine and the economy but will change the world.

One major downfall of this country’s currently collapsing economy is the misdirected funds of US healthcare. At this time costs surpass $1.5 trillion or 13 percent of the GDP (gross domestic product).
The following is an example of some conditions and diseases that regenerative medicine has the potential to cure and what the current state of treatment looks like:
• Heart valves- 250,000 patients receive heart valves, at a cost of $27 billion annually.
• Heart disease and Stroke- 950,000 people die of heart disease or stroke, at a cost of $351 billion annually.
• Diabetes- 17 million patients have diabetes, at a cost of $132 billion annually.
Regenerative Medicine plans to change the economic strain that old medicinal treatments and approaches have caused: the inflation and down fall of finance in America. Our economy is gone and the old ways have only become blight to the ill in America and all over the world. We can all look towards a higher standard of living and expectancy in the success of regenerative medicine and the end of prosthetics and the high cost of it. Regenerative Medicine not only cures but the results of it are benefiting for any economic structure ran by any governing sect. The cost of old prosthesis with all its aspects will be decreasing day by day. This includes the work and people who practice it to change in this direction. I believe this approach has much greater results.

In The Works:
The Nervous System is in danger when it comes to the attacks of strokes or the failure of comatose. There has not been any cure for brain damage or bringing back that factor to its original state. Once a person’s brain is dead, there is no coming back. Regenerative medicine perseveres in the regenerating of dead cells.

The effects of a stroke like Bells palsy has a hire rate of patients not coming back from that. I have been witness to one individual coming out of Bells palsy but a majority of people are not so lucky. Regenerative medicine is working towards targeting brain damage and the effects of strokes, heart attacks or even people who were in accidents or just from diseases which cause nerve damage and at times the termination of a bodily function. The possibilities are not only endless but just imagine the class of people and the mind, heart and spirits involved would not only surpass all forms of medical treatments but may even put an end to the corruption we face in health care today. We can all rest assured that regenerative medicine will be a new way of life for this whole world.

Cost:

One major downfall of this country’s currently collapsing economy is the misdirected functions of US healthcare. At this time costs surpass $1.5 trillion or 13 percent of the GDP (gross domestic product). 

The following is an example of some conditions and diseases that regenerative medicine has the potential to cure and what the current state of treatment looks like:

·         Heart valves- 250,000 patients receive heart valves, at a cost of $27 billion annually.

·         Heart disease and Stroke- 950,000 people die of heart disease or stroke, at a cost of $351 billion annually.

·         Diabetes- 17 million patients have diabetes, at a cost of $132 billion annually.

Regenerative Medicine plans to change the economic strain that old medicinal treatments and approaches have caused the inflation and down fall of finance in America. Our economy is gone and the old ways have only become blight to the ill in America and all over the world. We can all look towards a higher standard of living and expectancy in the success of regenerative medicine and the end of prosthetics and the high cost of it. Regenerative Medicine not only cures but the results in it-self are benefiting for any economic structure ran by any governing sect. The cost of old prosthesis and all its aspects will be decreasing day by day. This includes the work and people who practice it to change in this direction. I believe this approach has much greater results.

In The Works:

The Nervous System is in danger when it comes to the attacks of strokes or the failure of comatose. There has not been any cure for brain damage or bringing back that factor to its original state. Once a person’s brain is dead, there is no coming back. Regenerative medicine perseveres in the regenerating of dead cells.

The effects of a stroke like bells palsy has a hire rate of patients not coming back from that. I have witnessed one to come out of bells palsy but a majority of people are not so lucky. Regenerative medicine is working towards targeting brain damage and the effects of strokes, heart attacks or even people who were in accidents or just from diseases which cause nerve damage and at times one would experience the termination of a bodily function. The possibilities are not only endless but just imagine the class of people and the mind, heart and spirits involved would not only surpass all forms of medical treatments but may even put an end to the corruption we face in health care today. We can all rest assure that regenerative medicine will be a new way of life for this whole world.