Christina+S.

Post #1 Ferbruary 28, 2014 Can Genetics Be The Cause of Type One Diabetes? Diabetes is defined as "a metabolic disease in which the body’s inability to produce any or enough insulin causes elevated levels of glucose in the blood." Type One Diabetes is defined as " a form of diabetes mellitus that results from the autoimmune destruction of the insulin-producing beta cells in the pancreas." Experts have been researching this disease for many years but have not been able to determine the exact reason or cause for a body's immune system to attack the body's Beta cells in the pancreas.

media type="custom" key="25241432" This video gives more background information on the causes of diabetes and and what diabetes actually is. The cause of type 1 diabetes is thought to involve an autoimmune response in genetically susceptible individuals that affects the beta cells that leads to their destruction. The above image shows a normal healthy pancreatic islet cells and a diabetic cell who's beta cells are being destroyed.

This image is showing the difference between a normal person's pancreas and beta cells and a person who's body's immune system is attacking the beta cells in their pancreas.



There are three things thought to cause type one diabetes. These are immunological factors, genetic factors and environmental factors. Genetic causes are thought to take up about 88% of the cause. But genetics alone can not explain a person becoming diabetic, this is why the cause is so mysterious. Every case if different but in some unknown way the same. Many risk factors have been discovered. The development of type one diabetes "is increased by certain variants of the HLA-DQA1, HLA-DQB1, and HLA-DRB1 genes.These genes provide instructions for making proteins that play a critical role in the immune system. The HLA-DQA1, HLA-DQB1, and HLA-DRB1 genes belong to a family of genes called the human leukocyte antigen (HLA) complex. The HLA complex helps the immune system distinguish the body's own proteins from proteins made by foreign invaders such as viruses and bacteria. However, these variants are also found in the general population, and only about 5 percent of individuals with the gene variants develop type 1 diabetes. HLA variations account for approximately 40 percent of the genetic risk for the condition. Other HLA variations appear to be protective against the disease. Additional contributors, such as environmental factors and variations in other genes, are also thought to influence the development of this complex disorder." (@http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/type-1-diabetes)This means that although it is a risk factor because it is not found in every diabetic it complex combination of many things that contribute to a person becoming diabetic.

=Want to read some more? Follow the links below!= These sites will give any one a great inside look on diabetes and the research that has gone on behind it in trying to find a the cause and a cure for this disease. Just take a look at any of these!
 * @http://www.everydayhealth.com/type-1-diabetes/one-mans-diagnosis-leads-to-major-type-1-diabetes-discovery.aspx
 * @http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2613584/
 * @http://www.everydayhealth.com/type-1-diabetes/0322/global-surge-in-type-1-diabetes-still-an-enigma.aspx
 * @http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/type-1-diabetes
 * @http://www.jewsnews.co.il/2014/02/25/israeli-researcher-may-have-cure-for-type-1-diabetes/ Check out this site to read about the newest research of a cure being found for Type 1 Diabetes!

=My Sources:=


 * @https://cpmc.coriell.org/Images/Population/t1d/type1_diabetes.jpg
 * @http://www.jdrf.ca/_JDRFCa/assets/Image/NSO/Cure2_600.jpg
 * @http://ghr.nlm.nih.gov/condition/type-1-diabetes
 * @http://breakingmuscle.com/health-medicine/working-with-special-populations-part-3-diabetes-mellitus
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March 12, 2014 Protein Synthesis Project option #1 parts 1&2 media type="custom" key="25341958"

=__//**EVOLUTION -POST#2 -MAY 2, 2014**//__=

=**//__Evolution__//** __//**and Diseases**//__=

Our world is always changing. We are always changing and always evolving. Organisms change to fit to their environment better. Evolution is the gradual development of something, especially from a simple to a more complex form and also the process by which different kinds of living organisms are thought to have developed and diversified from earlier forms during the history of the earth. Evolution has effect on everything. Scientists say that it plays a role in diseases. Humans have evolved alongside beneficial bacteria and parasitic worms. Our ancestors built up immunity to bugs like these but nowadays we have eliminated the bacteria and worms with our increased hygiene. Because of this our immune systems aren't used to these good bugs and our bodies see them as foreign or bad and fight them. This can result in allergies, asthma and autoimmune diseases.

Humans also have higher raters of caner when compared to other species in this world. A reason for this is that our bodies are not adapted to the new risk factors of modern society. These risk factors tobacco, alcohol, a high-fat diet and contraceptive.

According to researchers, certain adaptations that once benefited us might be helping several ailments to persist in spite of ( or because of) advancements in modern culture and medicine.

media type="custom" key="25787826" We can learn today about diseases back before modern day technology with today's technology and by using things that scientists believed to be useless for years. This video is included because I found it very interesting and it relates closely to the fact the how we have evolved has change the way diseases affect us. This TED talk is reliable and interesting. =Want to read some more? Follow the links below!=

To summarize all these read further links, These all go into depth about disease and how they have evolved over the years. They speak of some of the pros and cons of our evolution and what impacts it has on our lives and immune systems.
 * @http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB10001424052748704454304575081613327728110
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 * @http://www.hashimkhan.com/category/people
 * @http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK27176/

**//__Sources__//**


 * [|https://www.google.ca/#q=definition%20of%20evolution]
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 * @https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZB29iq_Zd8
 * @http://joseantoniomartinsantos.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/gabriel-cornelius-von-max_11.png
 * @http://www.hashimkhan.com/category/people
 * @http://mycancerbiology.wordpress.com/2012/12/23/388/
 * @http://mycancerbiology.wordpress.com/2012/12/23/388/

Insulin and the Endocrine System  Post #3 The Endocrine System

Insulin is a hormone in the body produced by the pancreas. Your body uses insulin to move the sugar (glucose) obtained from food from the bloodstream into cells throughout the body. The cells are then able to use the sugar for energy. And the endocrine system is the bodily system that consists of the endocrine glands and the hormones that they secrete.The pancreas is included in this system. The pancreas is a gland organ that is located in the abdomen. It is part of the digestive system and produces important enzymes and hormones that help break down foods. The pancreas has an endocrine function because it releases juices directly into the bloodstream, and it had an exocrine function because it releases juices into ducts.



The endocrine portion of the pancreas, or islets of Langerhans, is composed of several cells that secrete hormones directly into the bloodstream. Insulin is a hormone secreted by pancreatic beta cells in response to a rise in blood sugar. The hormone also moves glucose from the blood into muscles and other tissues so they can use it for energy. In addition, insulin helps the liver absorb glucose, storing it as glycogen in case the body needs energy during stress or exercise. Glucagon is a hormone secreted by pancreatic alpha cells when there is a decrease in blood sugar. Its primary job is to cause glycogen to be broken down into glucose in the liver. This glucose then enters the bloodstream in order to restore the level to normal.

media type="custom" key="26169098" align="center"

This video explain what happens when you eat. From the digestion of food to the creation of energy! It may be a complicated process but it's interesting! So, what happens when you are diabetic? When you have diabetes, your body can't properly use the energy from the fo od you eat. This problem is closely tied to how your body makes and uses insulin . Insulin is a substance made in your pancreas <span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: 'Times New Roman',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> (an organ in your body) that helps to keep your <span class="glossaryTerm" style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: 'Times New Roman',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">blood sugar <span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: 'Times New Roman',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;"> ( <span class="glossaryTerm" style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: 'Times New Roman',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">glucose <span style="color: #1d1d1d; font-family: 'Times New Roman',sans-serif; font-size: 14px;">) within normal range unless you have diabetes. Type one diabetes mean that the body makes no insulin (known as insulin deficiency) and type two means the body makes insulin but the cells do not use it effectively as they should (Insulin resistance). Without sugar for fuel in the cells the body has no energy. If the blood can not get into your cells it stays in the bloodstream. When the sugar stays in the blood you get high blood sugar levels. When blood sugar levels are too high it can damage your blood vessels, and this happening over a long period of time can cause serious complications.

media type="custom" key="26169194" align="center" So, how does insulin work if your body doesn't produce it like in diabetes? Well you have to take insulin injection. How do these work? This video will show you how it does!

<span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Further your education about how insulin works in the endocrine system! These websites all further explain how insulin works in the endocrine system. They also explain how insulin works with diabetics!
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<span style="font-family: Impact,Charcoal,sans-serif; font-size: 130%;">Check out my Sources! = =
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