Party Drug Ecstasy May Cause More Widespread Brain Damage Than Previously Thought

The party and rave drug MDMA, more commonly known as ecstasy, is not good for you. Studies published in the journal science that using this drug strongly increases the chances of developing Parkinsonism, a condition, which as it sounds, is very similar to Parkinson’s disease.  These tests were run on squirrel monkeys, which I think is not very fair, and it was found that more than two hits will kill dopamine neurons, which help in movement, cognitive response, and the ability to feel pleasure. Once the brain loses about 80% of dopamine’s, Parkinsonism is normally developed.

After reading this article, I have decided to stick with my previous plan, and not ever try this drug.

genetics

Did you know that the every day chicken that you could be eating right now is actually two times the size of a chicken that someone might have been eating 23 years ago? It’s an interesting and a heavily argued topic. These chickens are able to grow so much bigger because of selective breeding (basically tampering with the natural process of breeding so that the chickens with the gene that makes them larger prevail more then the smaller chickens’). the benefits of doing this are that more meat is produced with less chickens, which means less chickens to take care of and less space to hold them in. economically, this is very beneficial, however, many people are very concerned about the chickens wellbeing because with the chickens weight increasing so much, their legs cannot take the extra stress. There is great controversy over this because many people say that the chickens are suffering because of this, but many people also say that the chickens are experiencing nothing different from when they were smaller.

Another area of controversy with genetics is GM Foods (genetically modified foods). These are foods that have been genetically modified to produce their own natural insecticide, enhance quality/taste, and grow faster. It is a very thing to have plants that do this because it means that there will be less harmful chemicals used to keep insects away, the plants will taste better, and they will grow at a faster rate resulting in more food. However, the concerns that things could go wrong in doing this such the plants having an impact on human health and the potential of the plants impacting the environment. Another concern is the probability of the companies that have these technologies will ultimately gain a monopoly over the crop business because these methods are so efficient.

In the 1800s, Gregor Mendel discovered the idea of heredity and genetics by breeding mice and cross pollinating pea plants “just for fun.” I believe that he had no intention of his discovery turning into what it is today with selective breeding and GM foods. However, I believe that he would be very happy to see that it is creating so much more food.

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in 1995, the National Institutes of Health (NIH) started breeding chimpanzees' for madical testing, and they are still being used today to test cures fer Hepatitas C and HIV. the chimps are breeded in New Mexico and New Mexico's governor, Bill Richardson is trying to stop the use of primates for medical testing, however, from previously living in NM, i dont think he is doing much for anything. i personall think that animal tasting is a good way to find out more about desieses, however i dont think we should use animals as smart as chimps, i think pigs or frogs would be a good alternative, and if they must use chimps, at least pamper them and give hem an amazing life.

organ transplants

should convicted felons have the right to an organ transplant? some people believe that when you break the law, you loose the right to health care. I believe that felons deserve the right to health care, but it should be provided by the tax payers and the prisoners shouldn't be priority over law abiding citizens.

i am brodie, i like to ski, a lot. i made this blog for my biology class and i will be blogging about biology.

me

hello, you are at my blog, please dont follow me in any way other then professionally. so guess what...........NOTHIN!!!!!