Hippotherapy

Sickle Cell Anemia

Image From:  Dr. Modupe Elebute.
Sickle Cell Disease, is a disease that affects the formation of the Hemoglobins from the 11th Chromosome. Sickle cell disease is the most common inherited blood disorder in the United States. Approximately 200,000 Americans have it, making it more one of the rarer diseases in the United States. The "Sickle" part of sickle cell disease is when the donut like shape of the red blood cell is changed into a sickle shape, which then can block passageways to vital organs, that have the potential to result in vital organ failure. The average life expectancy for people who have sickle cell disease is around 44-50 years of age.

Herpes virus

Image from: Shutter Stock
The Herpes Simplex Virus is the virus responsible for the disease Herpes. The Herpes Simplex Virus spreads through vaginal, anal and oral contact with someone infected or kissing. There is two types of Herpes not one which is a common misconception. Herpes1or H1 are cold sores and H2 is the most commonly STD Genital Herpes. Even though Herpes is so common there is no cure. The H2 disease affects majority of infected pregnant women because Herpes can spread to the next generation. The following blog post provides sources from and websites focused on Herpes that talk about what Herpes is and how it affects the immune system. They explain the harmful affects it has on pregnant women and what the options are for treatment.

Maple Syrup Urine Disease is more than just a silly name for something that makes your urine have a sweet odorous smell, it is a rare congenital disease that affects roughly one in two hundred thousand people. However, disease is much more common in Mennonite populations, the frequency of the mutations being around one in one thousand. It is generally detected and diagnosed within the first three days of a babies life, through a heel stick blood test. The urine of affected people is a result of a mutation in the branched chain alpha-keto acid dehydrogenase complex that makes the body unable to process certain amino acids. Other symptoms of this disease include lethargy, vomiting. If it goes untreated, people suffering from MSUD can experience comas, seizures and often death. The links provided should reveal 

The Rise of Antibiotic Resistant Gonorrhea

Image from Medical News Today

Over the past decade, antibiotic resistant bacteria has been on the rise. One particular bacteria has become incredibly prominent in today's society, antibiotic resistant gonorrhea. Gonorrhea is a common sexually transmitted disease that is usually cured with a seres of prescription antibiotics. Gonorrhea can often be within the human body with no symptoms, but symptoms can include infertility, pain at the genitals and stinging during urination. However, in the recent years, a mutation has occurred in a single base pairing in the bacteria that causes the antibiotics prescribed for gonorrhea, ceftriaxone and cefixime, to become ineffective. The Center for Disease Control has recently released a study reporting on this new strain of gonorrhea, stating that the cure rate using said antibiotics is decreasing. This Thinglink delves further into the cause of antibiotic resistant gonorrhea as well as the future for this disease.

Pupil Shapes and the Evolution of Eyes

Over the course of this project I have learned many things about the evolution of human eyes, and why other animals have different pupil shapes. These pupil shapes entirely depend on the needs of each animal, the pupil shape begins with a genetic mutation, and since the animals with these eyes are favorable mating partners the eye will be spread across the population. In relation to humans most mammals would be considered to have better eyesight, in relation to the amount of cones in their eyes. This means that they will be able to see different kinds of light other than the red, blue, and green light that we are able to comprehend. The animal with the most cones in its eyes is the Mantis Shrimp, having 16 cones and being able to read the same kind of light as CD players. The shape of the pupils in animals relates to their hunting patterns and what will give them an advantage to their environment.

Genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob

Image from the University of California, San Francisco Medical Center 

                                         
Genetic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a fatal degenerative brain disorder part of a group labelled prion diseases. Generally, CJD occurs as a result of the build up of "prion proteins", an abnormal form of proteins. Symptoms of CJD include depression, dementia, loss of coordination, blurred vision or blindness, difficulties speaking and swallowing. There are several mutations identified that make the presence of abnormal prion proteins which cause the degenerative disorder more likely. Each biological parent provides a copy of the prion protein gene which have 50% change of passing on the mutation to each individual offspring. In order to develop genetic CJD, only one copy of the mutation needs to be inherited. Although no present treatments are proven, blood test can detect mutations in the prion protein gene. Detection guarantees in most situations that the individual has early or late onset CJD. As genetic CJD typically manifest later on in an individual carriers life, the mutation is frequently passed on without the knowledge of the family. However, the current upside is that scientist have discovered prion disease resistance amongst the Fore people of Papua New Guinea through the presence of the amino acid, valine.