Transgenic Pigs for Organ Transplants
The rising shortage of donor organs has led scientists to genetically engineer animals that will produce organs suitable for transplant into humans. Pigs are well suited to the procedure because their organs are similar in size to a human’s, and they breed prolifically.
Human genes are inserted into the pig's DNA. The method most often used is microinjecting the genes directly into the nuclei of the fertilized eggs. The gene integrates itself into the animal’s genetic code at a single site, though multiple integrations are known to occur. If the gene fails to integrate before the later stages of cell cleavage in the embryo’s development, some cells will not carry the transgene. This is known as mosaicism.
The genes being inserted produce human decay accelerating factor (hDAF). This protein is found in human organs, and it prevents the body’s immune system from attacking the organ. Previous xenotransplants or organ donation among different species resulted in what is termed hyperacute rejection. The rejection of the organ occurred within minutes, which is too fast to be prevented by the immune suppressant drugs used in human to human organ transplants.
Pigs that undergo the genetic engineering procedure are known as founders, and are bred to produce more transgenic pigs. The resulting litters have to be homozygous for the transgene to produce the high levels of hDAF required for transplantable organs. Lines can be produced from homozygous founders, or by crossing heterozygous founders from different lines to produce “jigsaw pigs”. All pigs are tested to verify that they are homozygous for the transgene using florescence in situ hybridization (FISH).
Transplants of transgenic pig organs into primates such as monkeys and baboons have shown success. Further testing will have to be conducted before xenotransplants are approved for humans, however. Researchers are worried that porcine endogenous retroviruses (PERVs) may be transmitted to humans by the transplants. Pig DNA contains sections with virus-like qualities, and it has been proven these retroviruses can infect human cells.
Childhood abuse may be our number one public health issue (Wylie 1). Munchausen By Proxy is a type of child abuse, where the perpetrator is most commonly a parent or guardian of a small child. The parent will purposely neglect and abuse their child to receive attention from doctors and other individuals. This leads us to question, what leads a parent to mistreat their children in the first place?
Anorexic behavior is complex because it is all about the need for control. Someone suffering from anorexia has a distorted body image of himself or herself. He/she believes to be overweight, even though twenty percent of the time he/she is not (Yancey 59). The image of being overweight causes a low self-esteem. Symptoms of low self-esteem are loneliness, inadequacy in talents, a lack of trust in people and themselves, insecurity, identification with a specific peer group, and sadness. The media displays the ideal human body as thin and beautiful. Anorexic’s lives are full of confusion and lack of control. To the anorexic, to be thin is to be in control. The state of control to the anorexic is the ideal life without confusion and difficulties. In most cases, the anorexic is intelligent; popular among his/her peers, athletic, talented, and viewed as a role model to most people he/she comes in contact with. In reality, the issues in daily living are too difficult for the anorexic resulting in a lack of control in his/her life. The anorexic’s answer to a confusing life is to starve the body. The behavioral symptoms of the anorexia are counting calories, eating little food, baking treats for everyone and giving them away in hope of controlling not only the anorexic’s intake of his/her food, but also others. “Playing” with food at meal times is common behavior of the anorexic. When the meal is complete, the anorexic has disguised food intake by pushing the food around on the plate and hiding food in napkins. To dress in layers to hide the distinct weight loss and to avoid social activities where eating is involved are common behavioral symptoms. Behavioral symptoms of the anorexic can go unnoticed by most people. These symptoms are very secretive and oblivious to outsiders because the behavior is not out of the ordinary. Although the behavioral symptoms of the anore...
Anorexia nervosa (AN) is an disorder that has been most commonly diagnosed in adolescence with the highest at-risk group being women between ages 15 and 22 years old (Hodes, et al., 2000). In the United States, the occurrence of anorexia nervosa is estimated between 0.5% and 2% of the general population, and 0.8 million of the juvenile population (Fisherman, 2006). AN is an illness that has been around for quite some time but has recently become progressively more relevant in society today. This increase could be due to social factors such as the pressure to fit into society’s ideal body image, environmental, psychological, or other social factors may be contributing to the more rapidly development of AN. The exact causes of this disorder are unknown but anorexia has become the third most common chronic illness among adolescents and currently the incidents of AN are increasing in western countries (ANAD, 2014).
Despite the fact that many people think of an eating disorder as being an unhealthy quest for a perfect body, eating disorders are not about vanity and not really about weight. The causes of eating disorders are not known with precision but are thought to be a combination of genetic, neuro-chemical, psycho-developmental, and socio-cultural factors. Eating disorders are complex, psychological illnesses where people try to control conflict and stress in their lives by controlling food. The food, weight, and body image issues are identifiable symptoms of deep-rooted, often difficult-to-identify problems.
There are many forms of childhood maltreatment. All of which can and do cause both physical and mental issues to the victims. Childhood physical abuse can cause grave physical injuries and even death. Children who are physically abused are more likely to experience cognitive, emotional, and behavioral problems as they grow up, such as depression, anxiety, misbehavior, substance abuse problems, and can grow up to be abusers themselves. Many people have a hard time understanding why anyone would hurt a child. Most abusers love their children, but they have less patience then other parents. But the truth is that many children learn violent behavior from their parents and then grow up to be abusers themselves. There is evidence that physical child
Anorexia nervosa is characterized by a fear of being overweight which results in becoming exceedingly thin. (guide) People with anorexia go to an extreme in abusing the way they diet, over exercise, and purge. When looking for symptoms in anorexia it is slightly hard to tell, for many times people keep their disorder a secret. Once someone starts undergoing this process, people sometimes gain weight rather than lose, which also initiates them to lose more weight. During the period of growth and maturation, anorexia leads to somatic and psychological development and which leads to serious health issues. (journal research) Although many don’t see what is happening, over time they are sev...
The pigoons are the main animals used for the gene splicing experiments. They were used to harvest organs for human use. This fictional experiment really sends a message to the reader because these are things that are already taking place in science. As said by Bouson, we live “In a biotechnological world in which the boundaries between science fiction and science fact are fast collapsing, corporations can own, patent, and commodify technologically designed species, … for medical and experimental purposes” (Bouson 139). For example, there has already been experiments where mice were used to grow ears on their backs for human use. This topic is an issue because it is unethical as stated by Atwood, gene splicing is “interfering with the building blocks of life. It’s immoral. It’s … sacrilegious” (Atwood 57). Gene splicing interferes with the normal course of nature. Eventually the hybrid animals were released into the outside environment. This could be a problem in real life because the hybrids could outnumber and replace the natural animals which could affect nature negatively. Gene splicing is also a problem within the novel. When the corporations began gene splicing science was no longer about sustaining all forms of life. Instead, science became a way for only the people to receive the benefits of the advancements, while completely ignoring the harm they were causing due to their endless acts of greed. This also shows how humans completely disregard the possible negative effects or impact on the environment caused by our actions. Not only do we ignore the impact on the environment we also ignore how certain things could affect
“Transplanting animal organs into humans is feasible.” USA Today. November 1999: 54-55. Gehlsen, Gale M., Ganion, Larry R. and Robert Helfst.
In 2004 another experiment was created in Rochester Minnesota at the Mayo Clinic. The clinic was the first to create pigs that used human blood in place of their own. In 2005, two more hybrids are created the first being a mouse with human brain cells and the second is a feline-human protein hybrid. These hybrids are being created to fight and cure cancers and diseases including Parkinson and Alzheimer’s disease. 2007 and 2008, sheep ...
Tool holder connects and also holds the tool to the transducer. It practically transmits the energy and also in some situation, amplifies the amplitude of vibration. M...
The first successful case of stem cell therapy in human was reported in 1959. Bone marrow restorations were observed in leukemia patients who received total body irradiation subsequent by intravenous injection of their twins’ bone marrow (Thomas et al, 1957). Nevertheless, that effect was transient and the following bone marrow transplantation attempts in non-twin patients and donors can eventually lead to patient’s death from graft-versus-host disease (Mathé et al, 1965). During that time, the safety of hematopoietic cells transplantation was not guaranteed because of the limited knowledge in human histocompatibility and immunosuppression. However, the turning point came after the discovery of human leucocyte antigen (HLA) groups (Dausset, 1958; van Rood et al, 1958), HLA typing and compatibility testing were performed prior to the transplantation. In addition, the improvement of immunosuppressive protocol also helps bringing the bone marrow transplantation to become more and more successful (Donnall and Hutchinson, 1999).
Child abuse has been defined as, any intentional act that results in physical or emotional harm to a child. This could cover any behavior from assault, to neglect, to molestation. (Encarta 1) In 1995, a study was done by the National Center on Child Abuse & Neglect. They concluded that in the United States alone, approximately 3 million children are victims of some sort of maltreatment each year. This means that an unimaginable amount of our county’s adolescents are being seriously mistreated, and the numbers are rising steadily. While the specific definition of child abuse may differ from state to state, the effects unfortunately do not. Physical maltreatment, neglect and sexual abuse create immediate problems for children, as well as long term damage. Some common effects on sufferers of abuse include, a lowered sense of self worth, an inability to relate to others, short attention span and often they develop learning disorders. More detrimental cases can develop severe depression or anxiety, schizophrenia, violent behavior and an increased risk of suicide. (Encarta 3) In some cases, abused children learn how to cope with their experiences and grow to healthy adults, but most are not that lucky. Most victims of abuse are forced to deal with the results for their entire lives.
According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, the main cause of anorexia nervosa is still unknown. The person’s hypothalamus in the brain improperly works. Often psychological, environmental, physiological factors develop the disorder in a person. Anorexia is most commonly diagnosed in white women who are high achievers and have a goal oriented family (Anorexia Nervosa). Psychologists theorize that the patients’ desire to control their own life manifests itself in the realm of eatingthe only area, in the patients mind, where she has...
Today, as many as 10 out of 100 young teens struggle with an eating disorder. Each year, many teens develop eating disorders, or problems related to their weight, body image, and food. Anorexia is a serious eating disorder associated with an intense fear of weight gain and food. People who suffer from anorexia limit the amount of food they eat and have a distorted view of their body size and shape and may become dangerously thin. That is because the disorder affects not only their body but also their mind. Although the cause of anorexia is not fully understood, there is evidence that physical, biological, and social triggers are part of problems in anorexia. All of these causes revolve around the society we are living in today.
As I said before, many people don’t realize what the consequences of child abuse can do to a child. When a child is abused the may develop a range of maladaptive, anti-social, and self-destructive behaviors and thoughts by trying to cope with the abuse that is in their life. They may blame themselves for what is happening in their homes. Children who are abused also don’t have the ability to “spread their wings” and experience new things. Parents who abuse their children usually have a very tight restraint on them and don’t allow them to be able to experience new things. Children then lose their curiosity and wonder and quit trying new things and exercising their mind.