Emily+P.

=Post #1 Down Syndrome October 23/2015=

Down Syndrome, also known as Trisomy 21, is something we have all seen or been a part of. Weather you’re out in town and see a person with Down Syndrome, or if you have a friend or family member with this disorder. One in 781 births across Canada result with Down Syndrome. There is three different forms of this disorder.


 * What is Down Syndrome?**

Down Syndrome is when there is an extra Chromosome 21. You will either have a partial copy or a full copy of the extra chromosome. The severity of having this extra chromosome is different for everyone.


 * Discovery of Down Syndrome**

In the ninetieth century John Langdon Down, was the first person to ever post an accurate definition of a person with Down syndrome. When John published a book in 1866 he became the “ father ” of Down Syndrome. However, it was Jérôme Lejeune who discovered that it was because of a chromosome condition that caused this disorder. He observed that cells of a “ normal ” human had 46 chromosomes but the cell of a Down Syndrome person had 47 chromosomes .


 * Different Types**


 * **Trisomy 21 (Nondisjunction)-** Nondisjuntion is when the embryo has three copies of chromosome 21 instead of the normal two. The chromosome in either the sperm or egg fail to separate. This is the most common form of Down Syndrome with 95% of cases having this form.




 * **Mosaicism**- This is when you have two types of cells. One has 46 chromosomes and one with 47 chromosomes. This is the most rare form of Down Syndrome. Only 1% of cases are Mosaicism. People with this form of Down syndrome show less characteristics associated with this disorder.


 * **Translocation**- In this case the cell has 46 chromosomes but there is a full or half copy of the chromosome 21 attached to another chromosome, usually chromosome 14. This form is in only 4% of cases.


 * How do you Detect Down syndrome?**

There are two tests you can take to see if your baby will have Down Syndrome. You can do a screening test or a diagnostic test. Screening test do not give you confirmation that your child with have this disorder, this just tells you your probability. Diagnostic test have 100% accuracy and you will know. Screening tests involve blood work and an ultrasound. The blood test measures how much of different substances are in the mothers blood. Along with the mother’s age, doctors estimate the probability. Diagnostic tests consist of chorionic villus sampling (CVS) and amniocentesis. Doing these two tests give you a 1% chance of having a miscarriage; However, they are almost 100% accurate. CVS is performed between 9 to 14 weeks and amniocentesis is performed between 15 to 20 weeks.

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This next video is further explaining Down Syndrome. The different types, risks, chances, etc.

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 * Further Reading:**

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 * This is Madeline Stuart's website. She is the very first professional adult model with Down Syndrome
 * Canadain Down Syndrome Society website
 * Kids Health website. This website has lots of different health realted topics.
 * National Down Syndrome Society website


 * References:**
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=Post #2 Evolution of Whales from Land to Sea November 20/2015=

What do you think of when you hear the word whale? Perhaps a huge mammal that lives in the ocean, slaps its tail on the water surface, and blows water out of a hole on its back. What do you not think of when you hear the word whale? A huge mammal that originated on land and made its way to the water. Whales can be traced back 47 million years ago. There is a time line that spans 13 million years, until we reach what we know today as the whale. During a hot period in the Earth, mammals starting making their way to water; eventually staying there with the huge food supply the sea offered.

=**48 million years ago**=

The whales' ancestor is a land dwelling animal called a Pakicetus. They were 6 feet long with their nostrils very foreward and four walking limbs, and had very straight tails. They would find their food from streams. The most shared trait between the Pakicetus and whales is the ear structure which is surrounded by a bony wall. This is what lead scientist to conculde that the Pakicetus is the earilest known member of the whale family.

= = =**47 million years ago**=

47 million years ago, things started to change with an animal called Ambulocetus. Ambulocetus actually means 'walking whale that swims'. As you can see it is very similar to an alligator. They still fed out of the water; however, they grew to 14 feet long.They heard noise through their lower jaw. Sound would pass through the soft tissue in the jaw leading to the ear.



= = =**46 million years ago**=

This is where the most dramatic change occurs with the animal known as the Maiacetus. It resembles a sea lion. It spent some time on land but the majority was spent in water. It went down in size to 10 feet long. Its limbs were now functionable for walking and mostly swimming. We see a dramatic size difference in the hind limbs.

=**37 million years ago**=

Now, we seen an animal called the Dorudon. This is when we see an animal that is now completely aquatic. It grew in size again to 15-20 feet long. The nostrils are now closer to the skull, unlike what we have seen before with the nostrils being very far away. Its fore limbs are now flippers and the hind limbs have been dramatically reduced. The body is stretched out. This is also where we see the evolution of a tail with flukes.



=**34 million years ago**=

Finally we see the animal known as the Llanocetus. This animal is now 30-33 feet long. The teeth are very small and we see the first evidence of a baleen, which is used for fliter feeding. The nostrils have been moved even further back on the skull. The elbows on the forelimbs are completely immobile.



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Whales are animals that are considered to have evolved quite quickly because of their response to the changing environment around them.

=**How do they do it?**=

The lack of oxygen and extra salt would be concerning for most aniamls. However, whales were able to resist these conditions that came with living in the sea and had no physiological stress that most animals would develop with these factors. How deep they could dive was also shocking. Usually when mammals dive deep into the water they produce reactive oxygen species, which are harmful compounds that damage the animals DNA. Whales did not have this side effect. With all these abilites whales can live a content life deep under water.

The following video further explains each stage of the evolution of whales. Starting all the way back to the Pakicetus: media type="youtube" key="uOAdiKIDxIo" width="501" height="279"

=**Further Reading**=

[] [] [] [] = = =**References**=
 * This website goes all the way back to when they first discovered whale fossils and how exactly they linked everything together:
 * This website is dedicated to whale evolution:
 * This website is all about whales. From facts, to books, and even a species chart:
 * This is the Defenders of Wildlife website. It has basic facts about whales:
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=**Post #3 Multiple Sclerosis January 15/2016**=

Multiple Sclerosis is a disease that is all around us, but we don’t realize it. MS (Multiple Sclerosis) is a disease that touches my family. I have a second cousin who was diagnosed when he was in his late 30’s. Although I don’t see him often, every time I do I can see the subtle changes, especially in how he walks. The Multiple Sclerosis Foundation states that about 2.5 million people around the world have MS and there are 200 new cases diagnoised in the United States each week.

**What is Multiple Sclerosis?**
Multiple sclerosis is a diease that can potentially disable the brain and spinal cord. The immue system attacks the myelin sheath that cover the nerve fibers. This causes communication problems between your brain and the rest of the body. MS could evenutally cause the nerves to become permanently damaged. You can develop MS at any age. However, most people are diagnosed between the ages of 20 and 40.



**Causes and Symptoms**
If you have type one diabetes, thyroid diease, or inflamatory bowel diease, you are at a higher risk of developing MS. MS is not known to be a hereditary diease. Scientist are still unsure what causes MS, it is considered an autoimmune diease where the body’s immune system attacks its tissue. Symptoms vary widely from person to person. Some symptoms include:
 * Numbness or weakness in one or more limbs
 * Partial or complete loss of vision,
 * Tingling or pain in parts of your body
 * Electric-shock feeling that happens with certain neck movements,
 * Lack of coordination
 * Slurred speech
 * Dizziness

**Diagnosis**
There is no actual test to diagnosis MS. Instead, doctors do tests to rule out other dieases that could cause the same symptoms. This is known as differential diagnosis. The four most common tests your doctor will probably do are, Blood test, Lumbar puncture (also known as a spinal tap), MRI, and an Evoked potential test. Heres how each test works:

Blood test- checks for specific biomarkers that are under development that is associated with this diease

Lumbar Puncture- a small sample of fluid is removed from your spinal canal. This can show abnormalities in antibodies that are associated with MS.

MRI- reveals areas of lesions on your brain and spinal cord that are associated with MS.

Evoked Potential Test- records the electrical signals produced by your nervous system that responds to stimuli. This test may include the use of visual stimuli or electrical stimuli, you will watch a moving visual pattern, or short electrical impulses will be applied to the nerves in your legs or arms. The electrodes will measure how quickly the information travels down your nerve pathways.



**Treatments**
There are different treaments for different stages of MS. For MS attacks you can get an oral medication that helps reduce nerve inflammation. Another treament doctors can do for MS attacks is called Plasma exchange. The liquid part of your blood (the plasma) is removed from your blood cells. They then take your blood cells and mix it with a protein called albumin. This soultion is then put back into your body. There are many treatments that can be done to help the progression of MS. The most commonly used one is Beta Interferons. This is a medication that is injected under the skin to help with the severity and frequency of relapses. And of course there is always the classic physical threapry. You can learn stretches and exercise that will help you to perfom everyday tasks.

The following video is a clip from the TV show The Doctors. It features a professinal dancer from Dancing With The Stars, Courtney Galiano. She talks about how she has handled her diganosis of MS. The Doctors then go on to explain MS.

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**Further Reading**
In this MacLeans magazine article they talk about how “Canada may be the Cause of MS”. Canada is home to most of the MS cases. They believe it is due to where our country is located- []

This website explains the 4 different types of MS- []

This is a blog written by Professor Gavin Giovannoni who writes about MS. He writes about research news, people’s stories, and just general information- []

This wesbite allows MS patients to connect with other patients from around the world. They can share their stories, symptoms, treatments, MS type, and more- []

=**References**=

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