Amanda+K.

=Wiki Post #1: Genetics= Nucleotide sequences are what make up our genes, DNA. What actually happens when a DNA sequence has an error in it? A simple error in one nucleotide can chang the appearance and personality of an organism and in some cases cause deadly diseases. When this happens to an organism it is called a ** mutation **.

Mermaid Syndrome:
Sometimes when people are born with mutations it does not effect them but like in the case of Shiloh Pepin it has effected her life severely. She suffers from a disease called **Sirenomelia**, also known as **Mermaid Syndrome**. It is an extremely rare disease which only happens once out of 100,000 births.

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Most children born with mermaid syndrome die shortly after birth. Despite being born with no bladder, no uterus, no rectum, only 6 inches of large colon, no genitalia, one quarter of a kidney and ovary, Shiloh went against statistics until the age of 10. She died fighting a case of pneumonia.

The Defect:
This birth defect is caused by the abnormal formation of the umbilical cord blood vessels. While you are usually born with two umbilical arteries and one umbilical vein someone that suffers from mermaid syndrome only has one. Half the cases of mermaid syndrome occur as stillbirth because of this defect. The only hope of a normal life for these children is to under go surgery.

Here is the process of surgically fixing someone who is born with mermaid syndrome

Causes:
This syndrome develops early in the foetal development. While this syndrome is still quite a mystery to medical teams they have some theories. Theories include poor health of the expecting mother and exposure to large amounts of radiations that causes genetic mutation. It's probable that the lack of blood flow causes the limbs to fuse and the lower extremities are starved of oxygen and nutrients The x-ray of a mermaid syndrome victim Real picture of mermaid syndrome victim


 * More info on the causes of Mermaid Syndrome: **

http://www.buzzle.com/articles/mermaid-syndrome-causes.html http://www.mahalo.com/mermaid-syndrome/ http://disease.disease.com/Syndrome/Mermaid-Syndrome.html http://awarmplace.wordpress.com/2006/12/28/the-little-mermaid-synrome/

**Resources:**

http://www.brighthub.com/science/genetics/articles/57570.aspx http://www.buzzle.com/articles/mermaid-syndrome-facts.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sirenomelia http://learn.genetics.utah.edu/archive/mutations/index.html

=Wiki Post #2: Genetics=

Have you ever had an ancestor or relative live in a tropical or sub-tropical place where malaria is or was common? If so you have a higher chance of being diagnosed with sickle-cell disease. Sickle-cell disease is an autosomal recessive genetic blood disorder in which red blood cells are an unusual, rigid, sickle shape. Due to the shape of the cells it makes the cells less flexible and result in multiple complications. The sickling is caused by a mutation in the hemoglobin gene. This disease usually results in a shorter life span and patients are lucky to see past there 50’s.

Normal Red Blood Cells vs. Sickled Red Blood Cells
Healthy red blood cells normally live up to 90-120 days in the human body while sickle-cells only have a life span of 10-20 days.

Sign’s and Symptoms
Sickle cells are unable to carry sufficient amount of oxygen throughout the body, which can cause many complications to the average human being.Some signs and symptoms of a patient with sickle cells are as follows:
 * Fatigue
 * Swelling/Inflammation of the hands or feet
 * Arthritis
 * Bacterial Infections
 * Loss of breath
 * Headaches
 * Dizziness
 * Coldness of the hands and feet
 * Abnormally pale skin
 * Jaundice (yellowish coloured skin or whites of the eyes)
 * Vision Problems

Treatments
Although the living conditions of someone living with sickle-cells have improved from having a lifespan of 42-48 to sometimes seeing beyond 50 there isn’t much a medical team can do for them. Still with plenty research there has been no cure. While there isn’t anything they can do to help these unique patients there are things available to help them.
 * Pain Killers: Put patients at ease
 * Antibiotics: Help cut out risks of infections
 * Hydroxyurea: Prompts your body to make fetal hemoglobin found in newborns that prevents formation of sickle cells
 * Blood Transfusions
 * Bone Marrow Transplant: Considered a experimental procedure that could potentially cure the disease



Complications
There can be many complications that occur to someone living with sickle-cells. This includes:
 * Stroke: Happens when sickle cells have blocked the blood flow to a certain area of the brain
 * Acute chest syndrome: Life threatening complication causes chest pain, fever and difficulty breathing
 * Pulmonary hypertension: Develop high blood pressure in lungs
 * Organ damage: Can block blood flow through blood vessels, depriving an organ of both blood and oxygen
 * Blindness: Sickle cells can block tiny blood vessels that supply your eyes
 * Skin ulcers: Sickle cells can cause open sores, called ulcers, on your legs
 * Gallstones: Breakdown of red blood cells produces a substance called bilirubin. When there is a high level of bilirubin in your body it can cause gallstones
 * Priapism: Men with sickle cells may experience a condition called priapism that is painful, long-lasting erections



Sickle-Cells an Explanation
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More Info on Sickle-Cells:
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= Wikipost #3 – Evolution =

The Future of Evolution
Evolution is defined as the change in inherited characteristics of a population over generations. It makes up what and how we are today and it is because of scientist that this is possible. Aside from our past has anyone thought about where we are heading in the future? Where will evolution lead us? media type="youtube" key="plPed6GfqSo" width="461" height="345" While it is obvious that or future world will be very technological this video made me really wonder about the future of human beings and what we will evolve to.



There have been many observations and predictions in what will happen with the evolution of humans, for example:
 * Predictions: **
 * Mono-ethnicity
 * Weakened Immune Systems
 * Muscle Atrophy
 * Increased Height
 * Brain Rewiring
 * Fewer Toes

**In Order for Evolution to Occur:** The thing about predictions is that they don’t always have to be true and in the case of evolution for something to evolve there needs to be an advantage and reasoning behind it.

**Reasoning:** With that being said here’s reasoning for each of those predictions
 * Mono-ethnicity: ** As time passes we see more often different ethnic groups crossing and over time they will have crossed to the point where “race” wont be an issue and everyone will be of common ethnics.




 * Weakened Immune Systems: ** As many humans become more and more dependant on medication as a survival tool it isn’t surprising that our immune systems are weakening already. We will eventually pass down to generations to come our poor immune systems so that they will not experience a proper immune system.




 * Muscle Atrophy: ** Theses days we are incredibly dependant on technology to do our machinery work and always become more and more lazier than generations before us. It has come to the point where we will no longer need as muscles and future generations will be born without essential muscle tissues that are necessary in order to make muscle.




 * Increased Height: ** Humans heights have been rapidly increasing over the last two centuries. Within the last 150 year alone the average height has increased by 10cm. These statistics are explained mainly on out nutrition and how much we eat related directly to the energy we have to grow. Therefore more food we eat will lead to taller humans for the future.




 * Brain Rewiring: ** Technology has already affected the way our memory works. Today we are more likely to remember where we have stored informative opposed to the actual information itself. As technology becomes more and more advanced our brains will adapt to the memory needed in society and perhaps detriment our memory for good.




 * Fewer Toes: ** As humans rely less on climbing and more on walking our toes have shrunk to their current size. While our feet are now incapable of grasping onto even the tiniest branch, evolutions have taken steps to getting rid of our smallest baby toe. While our biggest toe serve the purpose of giving balance the little toe serves no purpose and only serve as problems. The little toe is frequently being crushed in footwear and stubbed on every minuscule object.

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Wikipost #4 – The Reproductive System  Miscarriages What is a Miscarriage and how Common is it?

A miscarriage is the loss of the embryo before 24 weeks. Unfortunately, miscarriages are pretty common and 1 5% to 30% of all confirmed pregnancies end in a miscarriage and 25% of ever pregnancies ends in miscarriage, half of them before the woman even realizes she is pregnant. Some women experience recurrence miscarriages. This means that they have three or more miscarriages in a row. This happens to about one woman in 100.



What Causes a Miscarriage?


 * Miscarriages during early pregnancy usually happen when the embryo isn’t developing properly. This could be because of the wrong number of chromosomes but it’s still somewhat of a mystery to doctors.
 * When a miscarriage happens during a late pregnancy the cause is usually because of a health problem the mother is experiencing but not always the reason.
 * However, when a woman experiences multiple miscarriages the cause has yet to be found and is still questioned by doctors.



Risks of Having a Miscarriage:

Signs of a Miscarriage:
 * Age: The older you are the more common it is to have a developing bay with chromosomal abnormality. At age 30, you risk is 1 in 5. At age 42, our risk is 1 in 2.
 * Health: When you are overweight and or living with a poorly controlled condition such as diabetes or a thyroid problem you have a higher risk of a miscarriage.
 * Lifestyle: Smoking, heavy drinking and using unprescribed drugs also means you are at a higher risk of a miscarriage.
 * Vaginal Bleeding with pain
 * Pain in the belly, lower back, or pelvis
 * Tissue that passes from the vagina

How do you know you had a Miscarriage: media type="youtube" key="kakOaRWQNxc" width="560" height="315" align="center"

Resources: [] [|http://www.babycenter.ca/a252/understanding-miscarriage#section1] [] []

Further Information: [] [] [] [] = = = Wikipost #5 – The Nervous System = Anosmia Senses is a major part of the nervous system and while it might be rare but because of malfunctions in the nervous system some people are left with no sense of smell of any and all kinds of odors. This disorder is called Anosmia. The sense of smell originates from the olfactory nerves, which sits at the base of the brain's Frontal Lobes, right behind the eyes and above the nose. The sense of smell is often viewed as the least important sense but until you are deprived of this privilege you can’t fully appreciate it. Without smell there are a couple disadvantages that make a major difference then it would be expected to make.

The impact it will have on you:

 * Impact on food consumption- Since the ability to taste and enjoy food depends on our sense of smell; anosmia can lead to loss of appetite and weight loss.
 * Impaired ability to detect danger- Smell is a survival function and allows us to detect and sense danger such as smoke and other dangerous chemicals.
 * Lack of understanding and sympathy

Possible Causes:

 * Upper respiratory infections
 * Allergies
 * Nasal polyps
 * Nasal tumors
 * Medications
 * Diseases that affect the nervous system

Anosmia: the Inability to Smell
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