Mallory+A.

Post #1 February 24th, 2014

Can You Fix A Broken Heart?  Stem Cells Prove to be Promising

__The Risk __

Every 7 minutes, that is the potential of a heart attack to strike here in Canada, and put another patient’s life at risk. According to Heart and Stroke Canada, there are roughly 70, 000 heart attacks present each year in Canada, resulting in nearly 16, 000 deaths. Although the numbers continue to increase, we are presented with the discovery of what might be the beginning of "fixing a broken heart."

__Understanding a Heart Attack __

To begin, let’s take a look at what a heart attack is. As you may know the heart is a muscle, in need of a constant supply of oxygen to perform its main function of pumping blood throughout the body. The oxygen that is required for the muscle, comes from blood traveling through the coronary arteries (blood vessels). In the case that a coronary artery becomes interrupted or blocked and the blood supply for the heart is halted, the lack of oxygen to the heart causes damage and from this, the development of scar tissue begins.

__The New Discovery __

Stem cells, among other uses, are recognized for the ability to repair. From this, researchers have discovered the positive effect that stem cells have after being taken from either bone marrow, or another’s heart and injected into the heart of the patient. Studies have proven promising as they have discovered that the stem cells do exactly their job and begin repairing the damaged tissue that had formed. In fact, by closely observing the healing of the muscle, they were presented with a 50% decrease in scar tissue that was once present on the damaged areas of the heart. Although, the treatment is still undergoing further observation, the hope is that this treatment will offer an alternative to drugs and surgery for heart attack patients that hope to eliminate the risk of another heart attack in the future. Also, the goal is to decrease the number of deaths resulting from a heart attack.

__Let's Take a Further Look! __









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Here is a video done by CNN looking at the potential of this new discovery. It offers an animated look at the process, as well as what to expect from this study in the future! The video is great for understanding the process behind stem cell therapy and repairing the heart tissue.

[|Link incase video is not working]

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Post #2 April 28th, 2014 Battle of the Breeds Purebred vs. Mixed Breeds Which is better?

We all can be a little bias when it comes to our preference in dogs. We all have the ideal traits in our heads that make one better than the other and we all have our opinions on whether a purebred is better than a mutt or the other way around. However, the problem with many of these opinions is that they are not based upon the truth. In fact we don’t even look at what makes these two options different. In this case, the difference all comes down to one important thing, genetics.

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, purebreds are dogs that have parents from the same breed. Now it’s a tendency to look at a purebred dog as a higher quality dog. For example, up until this year in many of the most prestigious dog shows, mutts were not allowed. Of course there are many advantages of purebred dogs, however, it is important to look at the disadvantages as well!
 * Advantage of purebred dogs: **
 * The predictability of physical traits- Each breed of dog is made up of their own genes which differs it from another. For example, these genes determine the size, the coat, the features, etc. Thus meaning, when breeding two parents of the same breed (containing the same genes), you can have a pretty good idea of the traits that the offspring will contain.
 * Disadvantage of purebred dogs: **
 * Higher risk of health problems- Inbreeding plays a large role in the issue of genetic health problems. A limited gene pool of the parents can cause issues in passing on defective genes and making the gene more common, increasing the chance of the defective gene being a pair and causing a health problem.



Now on the other hand we have mixed breeds, mongrels, mutts, etc. According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, simply put, mutts refer to dogs that’s parents are different breeds. A lot of the time mutts get a negative reputation, whether it be reasons of appearance or whatever it may be. However, when looking at the advantages of mixed breeds we see that there are many, and most of them are due to their genes.


 * Advantage of mixed breed dogs: **
 * Mixed breeds tend to be healthier- As a result of the genetic diversity (different breeds meaning different genes), mixed breeds tend to be healthier, as the chances of the same defective gene finding a pair is rare.
 * Disadvantage of mixed breed dogs: **
 * Uncertainty of traits- Mixed breeds like mentioned before come from parents of different breeds, containing different genes. It is difficult to directly trace back to which genes were involved, meaning which characteristics and traits the dog will have.



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This is a video done by FOX 4 News that looks at the development of the "designer" dogs, what we know today as a mutt and their advantages. I think this video was very important to add as it gives the audience more of an introduction to mixed breeds and what they have to offer compared to purebreds. [|Here is the link in case the video does not work]



//__** Further Readings **__//


 * This link focuses purely on the purebred. It presents you with more disadvantages as well as the advantages of getting a purebred dog.

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 * This link looks specifically on purebreds and some of the most important things to recognize, such as inbreeding, health risks, etc.

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 * This link focuses on the mixed breeds. It presents you with some advantages as well as compares them to the purebred.

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 * This link looks at both purebreds and mixed breeds. It informs you on what to expect from these two options, such as temperament, appearance, etc.

__//** Sources **//__

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Post #3 May 13th, 2014  // Exercise // <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;">// and the // <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;">// Endocrine System //



__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">What is the Endocrine System? __

The endocrine system is the control centre for many of the processes of the body. The endocrine system is first hand in the regulation of moods, growth and development, metabolism, etc. The endocrine system contributes to almost every part of your body as it usually is working alongside the nervous system to keep everything working as it should. __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Hormones and Glands __

When learning about the endocrine system it is important to understand not only what it does but, how it is doing its job! In this case, it is important to look at the two main parts of the endocrine system, hormones and glands. First off, hormones are chemicals found traveling in the blood stream to their designated cells. Hormones are what deliver the information. Glands on the other hand, are what produce the hormones. Glands are multiple cells together producing chemicals to be used where necessary.



__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">The Connection to Exercising __ When exercising, it is usually understood that raising your metabolism will result in the burning of fat, etc. However, not many understand what metabolism even is! Let’s take a look at one of the most common connections of exercising and the endocrine system, this being metabolic rate! When looking at the diagram below of the more common glands in the body, take in to account the smaller gland found closely next to the hypothalamus in the brain. The pituitary gland, releases a hormone that works in producing testosterone, which is a main contributor in increasing your metabolism. However, the activity that would usually trigger testosterone would be more intense exercises such as weight lifting, etc. Testosterone is not the only hormone that contributes to an increase in metabolism, the thyroxin hormone contributes to increasing metabolism as well as growth and development. Referring to the diagram again, the thyroxin hormone is secreted by the thyroid gland.





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Here is a video explaining the endocrine system. <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;"> It provides further detail with examples to really see <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;"> the importance and roles of the endocrine system. <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;"> <span style="display: block; font-family: Georgia,serif; text-align: left;"> [|Here is the link in case the video does not work :)]

__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Further Readings __

[] This link provides further examples and connections on the topic of exercising and the endocrine system.

[|http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/body_basics/endocrine.html#] This link provides a quick and easy look at the endocrine system, from its functions to its foundations.

[] This link focuses, in more detail, on some other glands and their connections to exercising.

[] This is a great link focusing on the hormones being released when exercising and the contributions these glands have. Also, what type of exercises are required to stimulate these hormones. __<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif; font-size: 120%;">Sources __

[] [] [] [|http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/body_basics/endocrine.html#]