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Category Archives: Health and Medicine
So, Where are we With Abortion?
Reproductive Health Care Access in the United States: A Review of Literature
By Madison Dufek, Biological Sciences with an emphasis in Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, Minor in Communications, ’17
Author’s Note:
“Reproductive health care/family planning refers to services that provide birth control, prenatal care, and pregnancy termination procedures. This is a subset of health care that is in my opinion talked about too much but not enough – especially when it comes to abortion. I initially wrote this piece for an upper division writing class focusing on women’s health; but reproductive health care access soon transformed into a cause that is now a great passion of mine. The results from the literature had me fiercely enraged yet profoundly inspired. Women all over the world today are denied necessary health care because of skewed perceptions of family planning and women as a whole. Abortion services – be it via medication or surgical procedure – are vital to communities, not just women. What troubled me most was discovering that the women who are already struggling suffer the greatest from abortion restrictions – women who already have mouths to feed, who are working multiple jobs just to make ends meet, who are uninsured, and often have no support system at all. It saddens me to know that the needs of these women are so often disregarded as communities make judgements, and as lawmakers work to regulate women’s reproductive rights. Deciding to have an abortion can take a huge psychological and physical toll on women and their families; and abortion restrictions only make this experience more trying for them. This, however will not prevent women from seeking abortions, it will only cause more of them to suffer major health complications or even die trying to obtain an abortion. This piece is for anyone out there like me: someone who wants to get educated, who wants to join the conversation, and who wants to become a stronger advocate for women’s reproductive rights!”
Manufacturing Synthetic Blood Vessels That Grow with the Patient
By Bukre Coskun, Cell Biology, ‘18
Author’s Note:
“The ability to build new organ parts may seem like science fiction, but tissue engineering is a fast-growing field that has already yielded promising results. After reading that congenital heart defects are the most common type of birth defect, I was compelled to do some research on how tissue engineering has sought to improve existing surgical options. After coming across a couple articles about acellular valve conduits, I decided to report on the research of the University of Minnesota, which was recently published in Nature Communications.”
Got a Spare?
By Harrison Manacsa, Biological Sciences, ‘17
Author’s Note:
“This started as a case study I wrote on my friend’s chronic kidney disease for UWP104F. She was diagnosed during our freshman year; and I see the impact of her weekly dialysis on her family, diet, and college schedule. Knowing that a kidney transplant will greatly improve her health, I researched the processes one would undertake to donate their kidney. As it turns out, there are numerous factors one should consider. My article briefs on the current state of kidney donation. It is an expression of my amazement of turning our bodies into tools.”
A New Role for Mosquitoes in Disease-Outbreak Prevention
By Chantele Karim
Author’s Note
“I became interested in vector-borne diseases in Spring of 2016, when I conducted an independent study on the ethical advancement of genetically modifying technology. I discussed the potential application of CRISPR to mosquitoes, primarily Aedes aegypti, in the effort to combat dengue. Throughout my extensive research, the danger posed by mosquitoes was commonly emphasized by diverse sources. It was thus surprising to read that Microsoft’s Project Premonition is based on the assertion that mosquitoes can be useful to us in our quest to control vector-borne diseases. My intrigue led me to research the project further to better understand its method, application, and potential.”
Current discussion surrounding Dr. Canavero’s human head transplant proposal
By Carly Cheung, Microbiology, ’17
Author’s Note:
“The controversial topic of a human head transplant caught me by surprise when I read about it in the news. I was curious about the psychological, immunological, and technical complications of this procedure. After researching it, I became more knowledgeable and open-minded towards it.”
Factors Involved in the Development of Alzheimer’s Disease
By Nicole Strossman, Biochemistry & Molecular Biology, ‘17
Author’s Note:
“I chose to write this review for my UWP 104F after reading about potential treatments for Alzheimer’s Disease. As this is a disease that affects such a wide variety of people, and currently has no cure, I wanted to educate myself about the developments regarding it. Although the potential treatments are still under investigation, they provide hope for people affected by a currently incurable disease.”
Tuberculosis 101
By Connie Chen, Microbiology, ‘16
Author’s Note:
“Many areas of employment, especially within health care, require employees to take a test to see if they have been exposed to tuberculosis (TB). Today, it is believed that one third of the world’s population is infected with some form of TB. However, not many people truly understand what tuberculosis is or what it does. I hope that after reading this, you will have a better understanding of TB.” (more…)
Molecular Mechanisms Leading to FXTAS Development and Therapeutic Perspectives
By Candice Vieira, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, ’17
Author’s Note:
After researching Fragile X-associated tremor/ataxia syndrome (FXTAS) treatment methods for a UWP 104F assignment, I learned that current FXTAS therapeutics is limited to symptomatic treatment. Most articles emphasized the need to better characterize the molecular mechanisms underlying FXTAS development to develop drugs specifically for FXTAS. Therefore, I questioned what researchers currently know regarding molecular events that lead to FXTAS signs and symptoms and how this knowledge can aid in drug therapies. This motivated me to prepare a literary review, intended to educate and inform practicing clinicians, especially neurologists and psychologists, about recent findings and the future directions for FXTAS research. For this assignment, we were expected to synthesize recent articles and provide relevant information for clinical practice. Specifically, I wanted clinicians to gain a better understanding of a primary focus within FXTAS research—molecular triggering events—and importantly, how this research relates to clinical treatment of FXTAS.
A Glimpse into Mitochondrial Replacement Techniques
By Rachel Hull, Biochemistry and Molecular Biology, ’19
Author’s Note
“I decided to write this piece after stumbling across several news articles in October of this year heralding the birth of the first ever ‘three-parent baby’ and thinking to myself that something seemed to be missing in these stories. What started as some casual digging into the history of three-parent babies soon turned into a more general investigation of assisted reproductive technologies. The information I found was not only interesting but also very pertinent, as new advances could increase the role these technologies play in our society.“
“Let’s Take a Deep Breath”: Managing Hypertension by Bridging the Clinic-Home Healthcare Gap
Independent Project Findings
By Harsh Sharma, Neurobiology, Physiology, and Behavior, ’13
Author’s Note:
“I wrote this paper to share my independent project takeaways with everyone who is interested in, or a part of, the healthcare field. This project taught me a lot about what we can do to help our patients get the most out of the clinic they go to. As you gain experiences in the medical field, think about the services your organization offers and how you can use your skills to enhance those services to the next level!”