Megan+T.

=Megan Thomson, Post #1, March 24th 2013= =__ **Polymelia:** The condition of having more than the normal number of limbs __= === This condition is a rare one, however it is a condition that affects many species, including humans. There are different causes, depending on the animal, but for the most part, the reason for multiple more limbs than is normal for that species is the result of an undeveloped conjoined twin. These limbs are not usually ones that can be moved, and if they can move at all, they can't without the help of a similar limb moving as well. For example, if I were to have an extra arm on the right side of my body that could move, it could only move up and down if my functional right arm was moving up and down as well. For that reason, in addition to being dangerous to your health, having extra limbs would be sort of a pain in the butt. ===

media type="file" key="The Girl With Eight Limbs.mp4" width="300" height="300" This girl is one of the most well-known human examples of this condition. She lives in third world conditions, and because her community has almost no first world influence, it was a long time before she got to see a proper doctor who knew anything about her extra limbs. As it turns out, it was in fact a conjoined twin that was not fully developed.

This is the same girl from the video, but I put a picture here because the video doesn't show her very well. Beside her, there is an example of conjoined twins, what it looks like when the other fully develops.

Polymelia can be found in many animals, like this goat. This picture is to show an example of a different animal with the same condition.

[[image:smithlhhsb122/More common in frogs.jpg width="434" height="271"]]
The case of frogs is a little bit different. Frogs are known to grow an extra leg or two, but not necessarily because of an undeveloped twin. Some people think that it's caused by pollution, or other human influences, but most scientists believe that it is actually caused when parasitic worms infect tadpoles.

__**This link describes the condition in a variety of animals **__ __**This is a story of another human baby with the condition**__ __**This is someone's list of the Top 10 Weirdest Medical Conditions... including polymelia. Also included: a girl allergic to water**__ **An article about polymelia in frogs by National Geographic. I found it actually interesting.** media type="file" key="Growing Extra Limbs Is Weird.mp4" width="300" height="300" This guy wrote a song about polymelia. It's called Growing Extra Limbs is Weird. Also it's not really about polymelia... but I found it in my internet travels and you should check it out.

__**Sources Cited**__
http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/polymelia http://www.documentingreality.com/forum/attachments/f149/433436d1362303612-conjoined-twins-conjoined-20twins-2009.jpg http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oMjcsEa-pKo http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYwRmQvEX9Y http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/polymelia http://www.smashinglists.com/10-weirdest-medical-conditions/2/ http://digitaljournal.com/article/323300 http://psycheskinner.hubpages.com/hub/Duplicate-Limbs

=__Megan Thomson Post #2 April 6th 2013__=

__The Solution to Living Forever. This Jellyfish.__
===So as it turns out, living forever may actually be possible. If we are able to find the gene that allows these jellyfish to revert back to their polyp stage and basically start life over again (in situations of danger and stress), then the human applications are enormous. We could use it for stem cell research obviously, because the cells could revert to being totipotent. But mostly it's cool because we could live forever... if we had a polyp stage... We could revert back to teenagers? Hmm...===

media type="youtube" key="2kLSiE-eNjw" height="315" width="560"

Here's a picture. It looks pretty other worldly. Then again, most jellyfish do...

Perhaps the only problem of these little guys being practically invincible is that it means that their population is always increasing. Maybe we'll get to the point that when we swim in the ocean we're actually just swimming through asexually reproducing invincible jellyfish that can't die... like this picture, which shows a very high concentration of them. Ew.. that's kind of a gross thought.

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This picture shows the life cycle of the jellyfish. It goes through the regular life cycle, but has an option to go from a medusa back to a polyp, and then reproduce asexually. Neat-o, right?



Of course, the internet being the internet, memes have surfaced in recognition of the jellyfish. Enjoy. I thought these were hilarious. The most hilarious of course was unfortunately inappropriate for school use. I recommend having a look.

Other animals with crazy long lifespans A National Geographic article Another opinion about the potential human impact [|A guy who's studying the jellyfish... and apparently writing songs about them.]

This song, in fact: media type="youtube" key="OL-5LgbACgM" height="315" width="560" .. I swear I don't go looking for these things.

__**Sources Cited**__
http://www.mnn.com/earth-matters/wilderness-resources/photos/10-animals-with-the-longest-life-spans/turritopsis http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kLSiE-eNjw http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2009/01/090130-immortal-jellyf http://www.tumblr.com/tagged/immortal%20jellyfish?before=21ish-swarm.html http://io9.com/5964375/could-this-immortal-jellyfish-unlock-the-secret-to-human-life-extension http://het-roanartr.deviantart.com/art/Immortal-Jellyfish-vs-Death-332104672 =Post #3- Vestigial Structures.= ===Vestigial structures are structures in our body that originally had a use, but are now useless, or it is no longer used for its original function. These structures are great illustrations of Darwin's theory of evolution. It shows that humans had ancestors with a use for these structures.=== media type="youtube" key="OAfw3akpRe8" width="560" height="315" This video, done by the SCIShow guy, (who i now subscribe to by the way), and explains these in a simple moderately exciting way.

This is a photo showing the different structures that we have that are examples of vestigial structures.

Although this image is funny, it also speaks to the fact that this is also true for humans, and our tailbones mean that we have ancestors with tails. Much like cell phones.

This is a diagram showing the location of the appendix. The appendix is one of the most used examples of dumb organs we dont need anymore.

This shows an x-ray of wisdom teeth. They are no longer needed because we don't eat meat raw and aggressively anymore. About 65%of people are born with teeth, and most need to have them removed. Like Matt. This photo of him was taken a few hours after his surgery.

Links This is an article about Darwin and the appendix This is an article about wisdom teeth This is an article about the link between these organs and evolution And just because I like top 10 lists...

Sources Cited

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/08/090820175901.htm http://scienceline.org/2007/02/ask-cooper-wisdomteeth/ http://www.nyu.edu/projects/fitch/courses/evolution/html/rudimentary_organs.html http://www.livescience.com/11317-top-10-useless-limbs-vestigial-organs.html =Post #4: Hypothyroidism= Hypothyroidism is a condition that means the thyroid doesn't secret enough of the thyroid hormone. While a small percentage of the population is affective, the condition is not considered to be rare. A study from 2011 discovered that about 8% of women over 50 and men over 65 in the UK suffer from an under-active thyroid. Here's a video about the endocrine system and the thyroid gland: media type="youtube" key="WVrlHH14q3o" width="560" height="315"

This ^ is a picture demonstrating the negative feedback loop between the hypothalmus

This^ is a picture of the symptoms of hypothyroidism. These are the different doses of synthroid pills, the treatment for hypothyroidism. With severe cases, this is what it looks like.

__External Links:__ A Study Done About Hypotyroidism Link to Articles About Hypothyroid [|2012 Hypothyroidism Guidelines] [|The 2012 Guidelines Caused Controversy!]

Sources cited: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypothyroidism http://www.racgp.org.au/afp/2012/august/thyroid-therapy/ http://thyroid.about.com/od/gettestedanddiagnosed/a/2012-Hypothyroidism-Guidelines-Published.htm http://thyroid.about.com/od/gettestedanddiagnosed/a/2012-Hypothyroidism-Guidelines-Cause-Controversy.htm

=Wikipost #5 - Toxic Shock Syndrome=

Toxic Shock Syndrome is a serious condition that affects a very small number of women. Is has been linked to tampon usage, and therefore has to do with the reproductive unit. It can cause permanent damage, even death, and many people are unaware of how serious a problem this can be. Although tampons may "absorb right up" there are dangers in tampon usage... Clearly Amanda Bynes doesn't know that. Never seen "She's the Man"? ... Worst mistake of your life. media type="youtube" key="RTzzVArnLoA" width="420" height="315" Episode of "The Doctors" talking about toxic shock syndrome.

Warning on the Tampax label, for tampon users to be aware of the condition.

Skin Rashes: One of the side effects



External links: [|A First Hand Account] [|Symptoms of TSS] [|A News Article of a Young Girl] [|How to Prevent TSS]

Sources Cited: http://www.xojane.com/it-happened-to-me/it-happened-me-i-got-toxic-shock-syndrome http://kidshealth.org/parent/infections/skin/toxic_shock.html http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/4582136/Schoolgirl-died-from-toxic-shock-syndrome-after-minor-scratch.html http://www.wikihow.com/Prevent-Toxic-Shock-Syndrome