Innocence Project ~ Joseph Abbitt

Many people are innocently convicted of horrendous crimes they never even thought about committing. Murders, rapes, burglaries, and other high end crimes as such are more prone to eye-witness accounts than fingerprints and biological DNA samples, as sometimes those are not left behind for investigators to work with.

In May, 1991, two sisters were brutally raped at knifepoint. The two young girls, being confused from this horrendous crime, thought they had seen the former neighbor of theirs, Mr. Joseph Abbitt over them at the time. Abbitt was charged with first degree kidnapping, rape, and burglary, which ended up with two life sentences plus an extra 110 years of prison time. He spent 14 years in prison when they finally exonerated him with the lack of evidence proving he did it, and the evidence proving he was not there.

            I find that such investigations are ludicrous, for the simple fact they chose not to investigate beyond the word of a couple of naive little girls. Granted, the two would have been able to correctly identify the man who raped them, but they could have done this after biological samples were taken from the rape kit and even in their bodies. Since one girl was 16, it would be very possible she would have traces of the semen in her system, as she most likely got pregnant  from the experience. Simple things such as those listed could have saved the innocent man, Abbitt, from having such a long term, and even being in prison in the first place.

TED Talk: Nina Tandon - Tissue Engineering

I know you have thought about the possibilities of stem cells, especially since stem stell research has been outlawed. However Nina Tandon talks about how stem cells can help create a more personalized cure for anyone who has someone wrong with internal issues, such as cancer and heart problems. They have been able to create models from those cells, in order to make replacement parts for humans. However they have been able to skirt around this law against stem cells, by coding genetics for certain parts onto chips that can possibly be used as a replacement part.

This really shows new meanings to the idea that stem cells are not just this 'unborn' baby, but rather a gateway into saving possibly millions of people.

Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics ~ Interactive Animation

Rats are some of the worlds smartest animals, and we can see this even in their genes and the way their brain is developed as they are raised. Things such as bad mothering can make a rat out  to be more sensitive and more wary than one who was properly raised. Since we are learning about Punnet Squares and genealogy  we can see how they way we are treated can also effect how our cells and genes are shaped into something new.

This interactive animation shows how a way a mother nurtures her pups can effect the way their pups will mother their own pups. If there is stress put on the pups because of a bad mother, then that idea gets ingrained into their brain with mythel marks, which creates sensitivity to that stress. That forces them to treat their offspring the same way their mother treated them. If their mother was more nurturing and loving, however, those mythel marks go away, and they are less fearful and neglectful.

I find this information to be incredibly helpful and interesting, as this could also be a possibility for the human race. We see how the way a human can act if they were raised in a bad household, although not everyone raised improperly turns out the same.  But seeing the way rats brains are shaped to preform certain actions when they start mothering, because of the way they were raised, shows that those actions could potentially be engraved into other animals brains, and even genes. 

Forks over Knives

In our Biology class we watched an incredibly ground breaking documentary by the name of Forks over Knives

The documentary explores the possibility that so-called "diseases of affluence," such as heart disease, can be reversed by adjusting our diets to include less processed and animal-based foods. Back in the 1960s, Cornell University nutritional scientist Dr. T. Colin Campbell was working to find a way to feed the citizens of impoverished Third World nations when he discovered something in the  Philippines that forever changed the way he thought about consumption of food. There, he discovered that the rates of liver cancer among richer children who subsisted on diets rich in animal-based foods were notably higher than in the children who consumed plant-based diets. Meanwhile, Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn, a surgeon, was also discovering that many of the diseases he saw in patients were practically nonexistent in areas of the world where people were primarily consuming plant foods. Several investigations by the researchers, who did not meet each other until the 1980s, (including a study in China by Dr. Campbell) led them to the revelation that a whole-food, plant-based diet could prevent, and even reverse, such intense conditions as type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and even some forms of cancer.

I found that this movie taught much of what I have been taught by my parents over the past few years. However, the film shows the reality of what goes on in America and other richer countries who eat rich, animal based diets.

Lucy the Chimpanzee

Last Thursday we listened to the story of Lucy the chimpanzee. She was raised like a human and had no other contact with chimpanzees until late in her life. She was kicked out of her home and taken to a reserve in Africa where she was watched over by an old caretaker of hers with several other chimpanzees. For more on her visit: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lucy_Temerlin

Management Plan

We wrote a plan to help our town solve local and global problems. I wrote mine about the Eastern Garbage Patch.

Management Plan

Amphibian population estimates and ecosystem assessment on the Durango Nature Studies property

We did an assignment with Durango Nature Studies south of Durango, Colorado to estimate the northern leopard frogs population in the Durango Area. Below is the link the paper, no sign in required :)

DNS Lab Write Up'