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=Boricua Science Class Student Work Space=

Student Name:
Lana L. King

End of Term Reflection
Here are some of the activities we did in class this term: Harper's Magazine ("Boots on the Ice"), Hurricane Evacuation Plan, Designer Babies (GATACA), Genetic Diseases, Evolution Movies/Research, NYT Science Reviews, Punnett Squares, Chemical Bond Diagrams, The Periodic Table, The Birth and Death of Stars

Harper's Magazine ("Boots on the Ice") Hurricane Evacuation Plan Designer Babies (GATACA) Punnett Squares Chemical Bond Diagrams Genetic Diseases Computer Class = more Videos = more Student Group Activities = more Evaluations = more Personally I think Professor Lewis is a very intelligent person and a great professor, he is very dedicated to teaching the students to think outside the box, and learn at the same time. I struggled through this class because I was experiencing personal problems that led me to falling behind in my assignments, but if I had been in a better frame of mind it would have been a wonderful experience. But in general I really learned a lot this cycle with Professor Lewis, he is the best!
 * What 2-3 activities did you enjoy/learn the most?
 * What 2-3 activities topic did you find the most difficult to understand?
 * Describe how could we improve this course in the future
 * Explain why you enjoyed, or why you struggled through, this class, offering whatever insights you may feel are valuable:

Name of Disease
Beare-Stevenson cutis gyrata syndrome

Symptoms

 * 1) Skin abnormalities
 * 2) Blockage of the nasal passages
 * 3) Abnormalities of the genitalia and anus

Genes

 * 1) Fibroblast growth factor receptor 2 Symbol FGFR2
 * 2) [Type here]
 * 3) [Type here]

Cytogenetic Location
10q25.3-q26

Base Pair Sites
123,227,844 to 123,347,906

Community
Brooklyn, New York

Evacuation Center

 * 1) Location – P.S. 189 located at 1100 East New York Avenue, Brooklyn, N.Y. 11212
 * 2) Implemented Plan – Do not have one.

Your Evacuation Plan
This Evacuation Center is located by car about 8 minutes from my home. My best escape route is by car but if we (myself and family) do not have access to a car or cab at the time, we also have access to the B8 bus that stop a block away from my house on Avenue D and 48th Street, and will take me close to the Evacuation Center, in case all of the previous way of transportation failed we can also walk it, and if it is safe to do so it will take us about 15 to 20 minutes to get there. I also need to make everyone aware that if by any reason we are separated we need to have a family member we can meet at in case of emergency, have their address and phone number for evryone to call in and make sure we are alright. My go bag will consist of: Flashlight with plenty of extra batteries Battery powered radio with extra batteries, cell phone and charger First aid kit Prescriptions medications in their original bottle, eyeglases Water, Foods that do not need refrigeration or cooking (can meals), high energy foods (granola bars, energy bars), paper plates and cups, plastic utensils, non electric can opener A change of clothes and footwear, personal hygiene items (toothbrush, toothpaste, comb, brush, soap, deodorant) Checkbook, cash, credit cards, driver's license or personal idetinfication, and other important papers.

#1 Applying Science to Alternative Medicine
By William J. Broad September 30, 2008 The research has been making steady progress, said Dr. Josephine P. Briggs, director of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine, a division of the National Institutes of Health. For instance, a 2004 Harvard study identified 181 research papers on yoga therapy reporting that it could be used to treat an impressive array of ailments -- including asthma, heart disease, hypertension, depression, back pain, bronchitis, diabetes, cancer, arthritis, insomnia, lung disease and high blood pressure. Critics of alternative medicine have seized on that weakness. For instance, the center is conducting a large study to see if extracts from the ginkgo biloba tree can slow the progression of Alzheimer's disease. The clinical trials involve centers in California, Maryland, North Carolina and Pennsylvania and recruited more than 3,000 patients, all of them over 75. In 2004, it reported positive results. Dr. Brian M. Berman, the study's director and a professor of medicine at the University of Maryland, said the inquiry establishes that acupuncture is an effective complement to conventional arthritis treatment. In an interview, Dr. Briggs said another good way to improve clinical trials was to ensure product uniformity, especially on herbal treatments.
 * 1) Summary


 * 1) Book Citation – Chapter 1 Science: A Way of Knowing I connected this article to Chapter 1 Science: A Way of Knowing because of the theme of the article that talk about research done on alternative medicine, and Chapter 1 of the textbook also explained a lot about funding for Science on page 18, in particular explained and give us a table of the Federal Science Funding for 2006 and list the different agency that our tax dollars go to.
 * 2) Personal Interest – I found the article interesting because in this day in age a lot of people are using alternative medicine to treat a series of ailments. I personally suffer from hypertention and I am very interested in finding ways of controlling my high blood pressure in a very natural way. Currently I tried to eat food low in sodium, no caffeine drinks, and I drink a lot of herbal tea. I am also aware that exercise also play a big role in controling my stress level.

#2 Uncovering the Mystery of the Worm Charmer
By Henry Fountain October 21, 2008 Worm grunting, also known as worm fiddling or charming, involves driving a wooden stake into the ground and rubbing the top of it with a leaf spring or other flat piece of steel to make a grunting or snoring noise. Worm grunting is practiced in parts of the southeast to obtain fish bait. (A video is at nytimes.com/science.) The mystery has been why the vibrations cause worms to come to the surface. Kenneth C. Catania of Vanderbilt University has provided an answer: worm grunting mimics the sound of a predator, the eastern American mole, causing the worms to flee topside. Dr. Catania is a neuroscientist who studies the senses, particularly the exquisite touch sense of the star-nosed mole. Dr. Catania worked with a worm-grunting couple, Gary and Audrey Revell, who own a bait shop in Florida. The frequencies of worm grunting, while not a precise match, reasonably overlapped with those created by the moles, he said. Dr. Catania said the work suggested the worms were responding to what are perceived to be moles. That is, if an earthworm could run. 2. Book Citation – Chapter 19 Ecology, Ecosystems, and the Environment I connected the article to Chapter 19 Ecology, Ecosystems, and the Environment because the article talk about uncovering the mystery of the vibrations that caused the worms to surface. Also studies and findings in reference to it. Chapter 19 in the texbook I identify the article with the Ecology a branch of science that study interdependent groups of living things (worms), called Ecosystem that is characterized by its physical environment and its commuity of living organisms. 3. Personal Interest- I found the article interesting because of the tittle at the beginning, and after reading the article I find it very educational, we learn something new everyday that is the best way to put it.
 * 1) Summary

#3 21-Year Study of Children Set to Begin
By Kate Murphy October 28, 2008 After nearly a decade of planning, researchers will begin recruiting pregnant women in January for an ambitious nationwide study that will follow more than 100,000 children from before birth until age 21. The goal of the federally financed project, the National Children's Study, is to gain a better understanding of the effects of a wide array of factors on children's health. Investigators hope to find explanations for the rising rates of premature births, childhood obesity, cancer, autism, endocrine disorders and behavioral problems. To that end, they will examine factors like genetics and child rearing, geography, exposure to chemicals, nutrition and pollution. Subjects will be chosen from 105 counties to achieve a representative mix of racial, ethnic, religious, social, cultural and geographic characteristics. Forty regional centers will administer the study -- mostly well-known medical institutions like Mount Sinai, the University of North Carolina School of Medicine and the University of Texas Health Science Center-Houston. Dr. Russ Hauser, a professor of environmental and occupational epidemiology at the Harvard School of Public Health who served on a National Academy of Sciences committee that reviewed the study's design, said the study would be worthy and feasible as long as it was properly financed. But other experts questioned whether it was worth the cost. I connected these chapters to the article because of the research that is taking place and we find it on page 18 in Chapter 1 and Chapter 23 Classical and Modern Genetics that explained the Genetics, the study of the way in which biological information is carried from generation to the next. Also how advance research can detect many characteristics of an individual, including life threatening disease before birth. In class with Professor Lewis we also discussed Genetics and we talk about designer babies, how children will be happier without disease and that this was a family investment from generation to generation. But the sad part of this is that only the rich people will be able to take advantage of this technology. 3. Personal Interest – I learned from the article that research is very important in science, because by doing so scientists, investigators, and researchers can help explain so many pressing issues that take place during child birth, Find out why it happen, and identify the different factors like genetics, geography, and exposure to chemicals that add to the rising rate of primature birth.
 * 1) Summary
 * 1) Book Citation – Chapter 1 Science: A Way of Knowing and Chapter 23 Classical and Modern Genetics

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