KoAP Biology Summer Assignment: Survival of the Sickest Questions
1. Life is more abundant in the North Atlantic than in the Pacific because the ocean area of the North Atlantic is directly in the path of iron-rich dust from the Sahara Desert, which leads to the development of bigger communities of phytoplankton, and in turn plankton, and so on. This fact is related to global warming because someone thought of an idea to fight global warming by putting huge amounts of iron solution into the ocean so that extreme plant growth would occur and these plants would remove enough carbon dioxide out of the atmosphere to counter the negative effects of humans.
2. During Passover, Jews rid their homes of all traces of leavened bread and other grains. This decreased their exposure to rats searching for food, and since rats were carriers of the plague, the Jews’ observance of Passover may have helped protect them from the bubonic plague.
3. Phlebotomy may assist in conquering an infection because bleeding induces the release of a specific hormone in humans that reduces their fevers and causes the immune system to increase its level of activity. Since the immune system is responsible for fighting infections, kicking the immune system into high gear would help rid the body of infection.
4. Although iron is a critical nutrient, and can be beneficial to your body, too much iron can allow infections to develop quicker. When Dr. Weinberg tested tetracycline by adding a bit of it to Petri dishes with bacteria and various other nutrients, Dr. Weinberg concluded that the dish that contained iron, even though the antibiotic was present, fostered an extreme amount of development of bacteria. The control variable in this experiment would be just the ...
... middle of paper ...
...ct that humans do not have fur, unlike other primates, as the fur would have made underwater motion highly inconvenient.
Kooshul Jhaveri Page 13
30. One idea that I have came away with after reading Survival of the Sickest is that evolutionary adaptations are not always perfect for the species; in fact, many times an evolutionary adaptation is a compromise. Furthermore, I have realized that every aspect of humans today is a product of evolution. Hence, every detail of why something in the human body is the way it is can be explained by its value to the species at some point – whether past or present – for survival or increased ability to reproduce. Lastly, the wide, extensive discussion presented in the novel demonstrates to me how important evolution is to biology. In every single idea, theory, or hypothesis explained, evolution connected the concepts together.
A law was made, saying that once someone was ill with the plague they were to stay in their house. Anyone who happened to live in the same house as the unfortunate soul was also locked in, with fear that they could spread the disease. Beggars were not allowed to wonder the streets at anytime, and were executed immediately for doing so without a given reason. All of these, although sensible ideas (apart from the execution..) would not contribute towards public health, as the disease was not contagious in the human community. It was in fact passed on from fleas living on black rats, but this knowledge had not yet been developed.
Many rats and rodents flocked to the littered streets, finding morsels of anything that would satisfy their hunger. This is where the transportation of the plague would come to play. As the rodents feasted on the waste, the plague-infested fleas would jump to the nearest passerby. “The most devastating to England was the bubonic plague. Also known as, “"The Black Death", because of the black spots it produced on the skin. A terrible killer was loose across Europe, and medieval medicine had nothing to combat it”(Rice). London was afflicted over a dozen times during the 1500’s (Miller and Orr)”. Winters were usually mild, allowing the rats and rodents, which carried fleas to stay active throughout the winter months.
However, the Christians claimed that the Jews were less affected by the black death. The fact that the Jews were less effected by the black death is not because the plague was their fault but it was due to the sanitary practices of the Jewish law. For example, the Jewish law requires one to wash his or hands several times throughout the day. They must wash before they eat, after they leave the bathroom and at least once a week the Jews bathe for Sabbath. In the medieval world one can go about half his lifetime without ever having to wash his hands. This shows how the sanitary conditions for the Jews were always far superior than the general sanitary conditions everyone else followed which explains why the Jews were less effected by the plague. Although all this makes sense to the Christians the fact that the Jews were less affected was very shocking and therefore they blamed
Yang, J. (2009, August 21). Experts concerned about dangers of antibacterial products. The Globe and
Even with the grueling pain that the dark swells and the large tumors brought with them, to the Jews, this pain was the not the worst. The Black Plague was a killer disease from 1348-1351 that spread all throughout Europe. At this time, the Jews were despised in their communities because most of them took the occupation of money-lending. This job was considered unholy and the people of Europe looked down upon the Jews because of it. The Black Plague created a more hostile environment for the Jewry of Europe because of the newly founded flagellants, the Jewish ghettos, and the increased attacks on Jews.
These theories would create a change in the people’s belief system while the scientific minds of the time under the leadership of the King would argue that the black plague was a result of stars aligning or a polluted fog that would eventually clear up. Because the doctors had blamed the plague on a polluted fog, their remedy was to prevent the fog. Initially they would burn fires to prevent misting or fogs and they would also use incense to decrease the chance of catching the disease. As we have done in modern times, they were also warned against eating meats or certain types of fruits, recommend against bathing in public places and, or having sex. Another method used was to bleed the patients in order to draw the toxin out of the blood. Although many Christians had become disgruntled at the lack of answers from their priests, many continued to turn to the church for a cure, they would pray to God to end through practicing a very extreme religious sacrifice such as self-flagellation and the persecuting of the Jewish people, who at the time seemed to be immune from the black plague. Those who survived the plague suffered from an identity crisis in their faith. Instead of a deeper understanding of their faith many resented their church leaders because the lack of answers and assistance. Even
In the mid-14th century the known world was taken unaware as terrible pandemic spread through the population. The Black Plague was a horrific sickness that killed up to 45% of people as it travelled across trade routes through Europe, Asia, and the Middle-East. Fleas from rats infected humans and they in turn infected others, leading to dreadful symptoms and, for most, death. As the world was ravaged by the invisible killer, the two major religions of the time had very unique responses that are still remembered in history. The Bubonic Plague impacted both Muslims and Christian communities in the 1300s, their responses were similar in religious implications and theorized causes of the ailment, yet unlike in aspects such as social change.
Global warming was the main reason for the occurrence. The water of the Gulf and Mexico and the Atlantic Ocean were h...
Humans had a major impact on the spread of the bubonic plague, one example would be infectious droplets. Not just humans, animals too. People that hunted infected animals and ate them also got the disease. Humans that were crowded in the same medieval city were coughing and getting their saliva onto other peoples skin. “the epidemic, which is reckoned to have claimed 75 million lives worldwide, spread from person to person in crowded medieval cities.” This quote supports the information because it explains how quickly it spread from person to person and why
The plague was spread by fleas, which were not effected by the disease. Fleas first infected the rats, which lived off garbage and sewage. The rats then spread the infection to the humans. Rats were a common sight in the cities, due to the poor sanitary conditions, so no one suspected them (www.tartans.com). In the winter the plague seemed to disappear, but only because fleas were dormant then. Each spring, the plague attacked again, killing new victims (www.byu.edu). The effects of the plague were devastating. After just five years, twenty-five million people were dead - one third of Europe's population. Once people were infected they infected others very rapidly. As a result, in order to avoid the disease, many fled to the countryside where the lower population density helped to decrease the speed at which the disease spread (www.tartans.com). From a person's time of infection to his or her death was less than one week (www.home.nycap.rr.com). The plague became known as "The Black Death" because of the discoloration of the skin and black enlarged lymph nodes that appeared on the second day of contracting the disease. The term "The Black Death" was not invented until after 1800. Contemporaries called it "the pestilence" (Cantor 7).
...f infections acquired during the hospital. Many of these studies have indicated that these infection control interventions will decrease the number of sick or dying patients related to hospital acquired infections and lower the medical cost by decreasing the stay of each patient in the hospital.
Anyone with even a moderate background in science has heard of Charles Darwin and his theory of evolution. Since the publishing of his book On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection in 1859, Darwin’s ideas have been debated by everyone from scientists to theologians to ordinary lay-people. Today, though there is still severe opposition, evolution is regarded as fact by most of the scientific community and Darwin’s book remains one of the most influential ever written.
When the first line of defense fails, the bodies second line of defense kicks in. Natural killer cells, neutrophils, macrophages, inflammation, fever and transferrin and lactoferrin kick in to eliminate microbes. These also prevent infectious diseases. Keeping infection out of the intravenous site is very important. As long as the bodies defense mechanisms are working properly and aren’t compromised, the process is made
Roach, John. Global Warming May Alter Atlantic Currents. 27 June 2005. National Geographic News. 24 Jan 2012 http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/pf/72476778.html
The white blood cells destroy any unfamiliar pathogens in the bloodstream and can cause inflammation. Therefore, the inflammation causes a surplus of white blood cells to clot the wound for healing.