Animals

SeaWorld has always been the amusement park everyone wants to go to, but recently it has been struggling to keep a positive image. Even the largest animal rights organization, People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA), has stepped in to try to shut down SeaWorld. With the public and PETA working together to stop SeaWorld’s practices, SeaWorld is stuck with a negative reputation. While the public feels that keeping animals in captivity is wrong, SeaWorld and PETA can work together to create a compromise to stop breeding, release healthy animals, and start helping animals in need.

SeaWorld is a multi-million dollar theme park that inhabits marine life from all around the world as a form of entertainment for the public. With articles, celebrities, and organizations taking a stance against them they are facing a crisis. Though many believe that SeaWorld inhabits marine life to make millions they have tried to show the public otherwise.

In 2015, SeaWorld released their website “SeaWorld Cares” in order to inform the public that they truly do have a positive impact on marine life (Seaworldcares.com). Coming out with a website to educate the public was a big step forward to renewing their reputation. The SeaWorld cares website features articles like “From our zoo team”, documented rescues, and an option to ask SeaWorld questions directly (Seaworldcares.com). SeaWorld’s goal is to start educating the public that they do not intend to hurt animals, but instead help them.

On the opposite side of the spectrum, PETA, the world’s largest animal rights organization, also wants to help animals in need. PETAS mission statement includes protecting animals from clothing trades, laboratories, and the entertainment industry (Peta.org). PETA has actively spoken out against the breeding of animals in entertainment parks, the animal’s living space, and the animal’s life p while in captivity (Seaworldofhurt.com). Basically, PETA does not want animals to be born in captivity, live in a small tank, and die at a young age. PETA also actively participates in rescues for animals as well as informing the public about animal health.

Though SeaWorld and PETA clash they have the same values in common, like helping wildlife, educating the public on animals and more. Most recently, a beached dolphin unable to swim on its own was rescued and cared for by SeaWorld themselves (Orlando Sentinel.com). SeaWorld also helped free a humpback whale that was entangled in fishing line, so it could live out in the ocean safely (Huffingtonpost.com).

These two things show that SeaWorld is trying to help wildlife by providing a safe place where animals can be nursed back to help or just help them directly out in the wild. PETA themselves also participated in several rescues themselves, and use their big reputation to inform the public through their website (Peta.org). SeaWorld is a place of profit, but PETA cannot deny that they are reaching out to help animals, and just as well may be an organization that cares about animals just like them.

Through their similarities SeaWorld and PETA can easily create several different compromises for both parties to be successful in their goals including to stop breeding, release healthy animals, and start helping animals in need. Since SeaWorld most likely wouldn’t just shut down their parks, like PETA wants, these are still ideas that SeaWorld and PETA can agree on. One of the first changes SeaWorld could make is agreeing to stop purposely breeding Killer Whales and any other marine life in captivity. PETA has been fighting against SeaWorld for years because they believe it is wrong to purposely breed the animals (Seaworldofhurt.com). In addition to stopping breeding PETA would have to let SeaWorld capture animals from the wild.

Since PETA does not condone that SeaWorld capture animals from the wild; SeaWorld would only be allowed to capture animals in need. PETA has also argued that the animals at SeaWorld live in unnatural conditions, and become stressed and depressed (Seaworldofhurt.com). Since SeaWorld has already announced that they are going to expand their animal’s living spaces in order to create a more natural environment, PETA can sponsor the project in order to make sure this happens (Seaworldentertainment.com).

Since PETA argues that the Killer Whales and other animals at SeaWorld do not live in a natural habitat, expanding their living spaces is just what they need. PETA would have to give up the fact that they want SeaWorld to shut down completely, and instead work with them to create a healthy living environment for the animals that they can both agree on. With these plans both organizations can remain successful without giving up anything major.

If SeaWorld and PETA chose any of these solutions both sides would benefit gratefully, and maybe even become partners. With the approval of PETA other major organizations would start to leave SeaWorld alone. Without constant backlash SeaWorld would start making more money because old and new customers would start visiting their parks again. With extra funds SeaWorld can even expand their programs, and even donate money to other organizations like PETA.

Establishing a good connection with the biggest animal rights organization in the world will benefit SeaWorld more than ever. With this connection it may even open more doors for PETA to make changes in other entertainment industries since they changed one of the biggest companies that inhabit animals. Though it sounds like PETA is only getting what they want, SeaWorld will actually benefit from this greatly. SeaWorld may have to put in extra money to go through with these compromises, but in the end, it would make them more money by getting back their old customers.

In order for the compromise to work several factors come into play like cost, funding, and the amount of time for the proposed solution to work. One of the biggest concerns SeaWorld has been facing is the living spaces for the animals. According to the NY Times, SeaWorld has announced a project called the “Blue World Project”; a $100 million renovation that will expand the Killer Whales and other animal’s habitats (Hauser).

The funding for this project is coming from SeaWorld, but PETA could also help fund the project since they are pushing for SeaWorld to change. It has been announced that the project will take about three years, which means by the year 2018 the new habitat should be finished (Hauser). The other solutions could easily be set in place as well.

In Florida, where one of the SeaWorld parks are located, several other zoos are practicing nursing animals back to help. Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, FL practices helping manatees heal from boat propeller wounds, and then releasing them (Lowryparkzoo.com). If places like Lowry Park Zoo can do this SeaWorld would be able to as well. Implementing these solutions would not be that hard since the hardest one is already set in motion.

With this said, SeaWorld and PETA would both succeed in their goals, and even make history as one of the most successful compromises between two organizations. SeaWorld and PETA may clash through it all but creating a midpoint between the company and the organization, compromises can easily make both sides happy. Not only would this compromise benefit both sides, but it is also practical and could actually happen successfully.

This compromise is very important to the public and future entertainment industry because if it is not changed now, more and more parks will open up that don’t care about the animal’s well-being. If SeaWorld changes their ways of handling the animals due to negative reputation other parks will be forced to use the same ideas as them. With this cause and effect in place PETA will no longer have to deal with the entertainment industry, and be able to focus on other projects. For changes to be made the public can support places like Lowry Park Zoo and Clearwater Marine Aquarium to raise awareness about helping animals rather than keeping them in captivity.

Works Cited

1. “About PETA’s Campaign Against SeaWorld | SeaWorld of Hurt.” SeaWorld of Hurt. Web. 25 Feb. 2016.
2. Bevil, Dewayne. “Rescued Dolphin Moved from SeaWorld to Panhandle for Long-term Care.” Orlandosentinel.com. Web. 25 Feb. 2016.
3. “Blackfish.” Blackfish. Web. 25 Feb. 2016.
4. Hauser, Christine. “SeaWorld to Fight Ban on Breeding Killer Whales at San Diego Habitat.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 2015. Web. 10 Mar. 2016.
5. MosBergen, Dominique. “Humpback Whale Entangled In Fishing Line Rescued Off Calif. Coast.” Huffpost News. Web. 25 Feb. 2016.
6. Pollard-Post, Lindsay. “SeaWorld’s Spying Scandal Is Nothing New.” PETA SeaWorld’s Spying Scandal Is Nothing New Comments. Web. 25 Feb. 2016.
7. “People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA): The Animal Rights Organization.” PETA. Web. 25 Feb. 2016.

First copy of speech written out in full:

Imagine you were the one being tested on,imagine your skin being burnt off alive,imagine,your legs and arms being torn off alive.being burnt alive.Many of you may ask what animal cruelty is.Animal cruelty is the act of violence against innocent animals,just for the satisfaction for humans to carry on with their normal lives.

Ask yourself what’s more important;mascara or a living,breathing creatures with feelings,and a family of their own. As many of you already know,I have always stood against animal cruelty and abuse,and plan for a future of helping the matter. Today I will be discussing the three main arguments;animal testing,animal cruelty and why animal cruelty needs to be abolished.

I’ll start with the different forms of animal cruelty.
When you think of this matter you just think of violence inflicted on an animal,leaving it out in the cold,but those are just a small percentage of the inhumane actions people are commiting as we speak. People force animals, such as dogs,to fight against each other until they die a horrible,unbearable death,just for the entertainment.

Each year,thousands of young greyhounds are killed because they lack racing potential,or they’ve simply injured themselves in a race.in a summary,this means they’re being stripped of their lives for simply lacking a certain fitness level. Statistics show that 12,569 animals are being cruelly treated in Australia alone. 65% of those are dogs,which a few or you may even have yourself,imagine your dog,who is like your best friend being forced to fight another dog,having it’s ears torn off,having their legs but off whilst they scream for your help. Society doesn’t understand the seriousness of the matter,people are just abusing and testing animals for their own selfish lives,and no ones doing anything about it.

Worldwide, atleast 22 animals die every second in labs due to animal testing. They seem to think humans are superior to every other living organism and we’re the only ones who deserve to live. At this very moment, millions of mice,rats,rabbits,cats,dogs and many others are trapped inside cold,small cages in laboratories across the country(including oxford university!) They are breeded into a lifelong nightmare of being deprived from their natural habitats or a safe loving home where they belong. Instead, all they can do is sit there and wait in fear of the next terrifying and painful procedure that will be performed on them.

Note: This section also includes the integumentary system

1. Which gives the correct sequence of increasing organizational complexity?

a) organ, tissue, cell, organ system, organism

b) cell, organ, organ system, tissue, organism

c) cell, tissue, organ, organ system, organism

d) organism, tissue, cell, organ system, organ

e) tissue, cell, organ system, organism, organ

2. Which type of tissue lines body cavities and covers body surfaces?

a) muscle tissue

b) nervous tissue

c) epithelial tissue

d) connective tissue

3. Which type of tissue is responsible for contractions that allow movement of organs or the entire body?

a) muscle tissue

b) nervous tissue

c) epithelial tissue

d) connective tissue

4. Which type of tissue is responsible for receiving, interpreting, and producing a response to stimuli?

a) muscle tissue

b) nervous tissue

c) epithelial tissue

d) connective tissue

5. Which tissue includes bone and cartilage?

a) muscle tissue

b) nervous tissue

c) epithelial tissue

d) connective tissue

6. Which tissue includes the epidermis?

a) muscle tissue

b) nervous tissue

c) epithelial tissue

d) connective tissue

7. Digestive juices cannot leak between the epithelial cells lining the lumen because of

a) muscle tissue

b) nervous tissue

c) epithelial tissue

d) connective tissue

8. Which tissue includes blood and adipose tissue?

a) muscle tissue

b) nervous tissue

c) epithelial tissue

d) connective tissue

9. Which of the following statements is Not true about epithelial tissue?

a) Flattened cells are found in squamous epithelium.

b) Columnar epithelium is cubed-shaped with the nucleus near the upper surface of the cells.

c) Simple epithelium has a single layer of cells in the tissue.

d) Pseudostratified epithelium looks like it has multiple layers, but all the cells are attached to the same base.

e) Epithelium lining the respiratory tract contains cilia that move particles along its surface.

10. Which statement about epithelial tissue is Not true ?

a) Stratified epithelium has numerous layers of cells.

b) Epithelial tissue has one free surface and one surface attached to a basement membrane.

c) Connections between epithelial cells include gap junctions, tight junctions, and spot desmosomes (adhesion junctions).

d) Cells of the human epithelium contain a waterproof protein called keratin.

e) Glandular epithelium that secretes its product into a duct forms the endocrine glands.

11. Which is Not a function of connective tissue?

a) line body surfaces and cavities

b) bind and support body parts

c) store energy in fat

d) fill spaces

e) produce blood cells

12. Which statement about connective tissue is Not true?

a) Connective tissue contains cells capable of differentiating into muscle and bone in animals.

b) Loose connective tissue contains fibroblasts, different kinds of fibers, and a nonliving matrix.

c) Fibrous connective tissue includes bone and cartilage.

d) Blood is a connective tissue that contains a fluid matrix.

e) Adipose tissue provides insulation and padding, as in the skin.

13. Which is Not a structure seen in compact bone?

a) concentric circles of organization

b) Haversian canals containing blood vessels and nerves.

c) osteocytes located within lacunae

d) bony bars and plates with irregular spaces between them

e) cytoplasmic extensions of bone cells in canaliculi

14. Which statement is Not true about cartilage?

a) Cartilage cells are located in small spaces called lacunae.

b) The matrix of cartilage includes collagen and elastic fibers.

c) The matrix of cartilage includes calcium salts.

d) The original skeleton of the human embryo is made of cartilage.

e) Adults have cartilage structures that include the nose, ear, and intervertebral disks.

15. Which statement about blood is Not true?

a) Erythrocytes carry oxygen.

b) Platelets are not complete cells.

c) Platelets are involved in blood clotting.

d) Leukocytes are involved in the body’s defense against infection.

e) The fluid matrix, plasma, is made by the cells in the bloodstream.

16. Which of the following statements about muscular tissue is Not true?

a) Skeletal muscle fibers are extremely large cells with multiple nuclei.

b) All striated muscle is under voluntary control.

c) Smooth muscle lacks striations.

d) Striated muscle has bands of actin and myosin filaments perpendicular to the length of the cell.

e) Skeletal muscle fibers form as multiple precursor cells joined to produce a single cell.

17. Which statement about heart tissue is Not correct?

a) The heart is composed mainly of cardiac muscle tissue.

b) Cardiac muscle is not striated.

c) Cardiac cells have a single central nucleus.

d) Cardiac muscle movement is involuntary.

18. The heart is made of cardiac fibers that are bound together in one interconnected mass due to ?

a) shared nuclei.

b) tight junctions.

c) adhesion junctions (desmosomes).

d) gap junctions.

e) intercalated disks made of both desmosomes and gap junctions.

19. Which statement is Not true about nervous tissue?

a) Cells in the nervous system that conduct electrical impulses are called neurons.

b) Glial cells support and protect neurons.

c) The dendrites carry electrical impulses away from the cell body of the neuron.

d) Nerve fibers are long axons and dendrites bound by connective tissues to form nerves.

e) Glial cells may provide neurons with nutrients or keep them free of cellular debris.

20. Which structure is Not a part of the skin?

a) stratified squamous epithelium

b) melanocytes

c) dermis

d) connective tissue

e) subcutaneous tissue

21. The general process of gaining a tan and then losing it is best explained by which of the following?

a) Melanocytes form melanin in the dead top epidermis and it is soon washed off.

b) Melanocytes form melanin in response to sunlight but blood flow slowly carries it away.

c) Melanocytes form melanin in response to sunlight but then reabsorb it in the absence of light.

d) Melanocytes in the dividing layer of the epidermis produce melanin, but then cells divide and half are constantly being pushed to the top to flatten and be washed off.

e) Ultraviolet light damages the subcutaneous skin cells but these dark burned cells soon are dissolved and replaced by healing processes.

22. If you wash your skin and hair several times a day, you will soon have dry skin that easily cracks and bleeds because the oils you have removed are necessary to keep skin supple. This oil is ?

a) pili secreted by arrestors.

b) lymph secreted by lymphatic ducts.

c) sebum secreted by sweat glands.

d) sebum secreted by sebaceous glands.

e) salty sweat secreted by sweat glands.

23. Possible indications of skin cancer are ?

a) an open sore that will not heal.

b) a wart that bleeds scabs.

c) irregular shaped mole with grey, white, or red skin around it.

d) All of the above are correct.

e) None of the above is correct.

24. When discussing homeostasis in body temperature, it is not true to say that the body responds to ?

a) cold by contracting the arrector pili muscles.

b) cold by contracting skeletal muscles in shivering.

c) cold by rerouting blood away from the skin.

d) heat by stimulating sweat release.

e) heat by constricting the blood vessels in the skin.

25. In which of the following structures would one most likely find smooth muscle?

a) biceps muscle

b) heart

c) digestive tract

d) quadriceps muscle

e) gluteus maximus muscle

26. One type of cell-communicating mechanism allows materials to pass through cells and not between them. ?This is due to the nature of the cells being in direct contact with each other. An example would be found in the epithelial cells of the gut and is known as a(n) ?

a) tight junction

b) gap junction

c) plasmodesmata

d) adhesion junction

e) desmosome

27. Haversian canals and a matrix of crystals of calcium phosphate would be found in ?

a) teeth

b) nails

c) hooves

d) bone

e) cartilage

28. Cuboidal epithelium would be found ?

a) in the walls of the heart.

b) in the knees and other joints as well as in the nose and tracheal rings.

c) on the surface of the skin.

d) lining glands and kidney tubules, and covering the ovaries.

e) in tendons and the sheath around voluntary muscles.

29. An example of a positive feedback loop would be ?

a) a rise in body temperature causing a dilation of blood vessels in the skin.

b) the patellar reflex.

c) the production of epithelial cells to heal a cut.

d) blood clotting.

e) constriction of the iris of the eye in bright light.

30. Intercellular junctions are important in both plants and animals. Which of the following is Not used by animals as junctions?

a) tight junctions

b) plasmodesmata

c) desmosomes

d) gap junctions

e) communicating junctions

31. Of the items listed, which is Not required for maintenance of life?

a) water

b) food

c) carbon dioxide

d) pressure

32. Homeostasis refers to ?

a) changing external conditions.

b) stable external conditions.

c) changing internal conditions.

d) stable internal conditions.

33. Which of the following is Not one of the four basic types of body tissues?

a) epithelial

b) connective

c) brain

d) muscle

e) nervous

34. A basement membrane occurs between ?

a) muscle and nerve tissue.

b) epithelial and connective tissue.

c) connective tissue and muscle tissue

d) brain and nerve tissue.

35. Epithelial tissue functions in ?

a) secretion

b) absorption

c) protection

d) All of the above.

36. The muscle tissue that can be consciously controlled is ?

a) smooth

b) skeletal

c) cardiac

d) intercalated

e) None of these.

37. Which of the following is Not a characteristic of nerve tissue?

a) It is found in the brain, spinal cord, and nerves.

b) It contains cells that respond by transmitting impulses. ?

c) Its intercellular spaces are filled with collagen. ?

d) Functional cells are sensitive to changes in their surrounding.

38. Permanent wrinkling of the skin is usually due to changes caused by excessive exposure to ?

a) water

b) sunlight

c) dry air

d) heat

39. Which of the following cell types are least likely to reproduce?

a) endothelial cells that line the digestive tract.

b) fibroblasts of connective tissue.

c) skeletal muscle cells.

d) red bone marrow cells.

40. The subcutaneous layer is located ?

a) above the epidermis.

b) between the epidermis and dermis.

c) within the dermis.

d) beneath the dermis.

41. Which of the following is not correct concerning the skin?

a) The dermis is usually thicker than the epidermis.

b) The epidermis is composed of stratified squamous epithelium.

c) The subcutaneous layer is between the dermis and epidermis.

d) The dermis contains smooth muscle and nerve tissue.

42. Exocrine sweat glands ?

a) are most common in the armpits and groin.

b) respond primarily to elevated body temperature.

c) respond primarily to emotional stress.

d) usually are associated with hair follicles.

43. Acne is a disorder involving the ?

a) sweat glands

b) hair follicles

c) sebaceous glands

d) apocrine glands

e) endocrine glands

44. Skin cells play an important role in the production of ?

a) vitamin A

b) vitamin B

c) vitamin C

d) vitamin D

e) vitamin E

45. The largest organ of the human body is the ?

a) brain

b) liver

c) stomach

d) skin

e) lungs

46. Keratin ?

a) is a waterproof protein.

b) fills dead cells in the dermis.

c) is a skin pigment.

d) All of the above are true.

47. The dermis ?

a) covers the epidermis.

b) produces melanin.

c) contains nervous tissue and blood vessels.

d) consists mostly of dead cells.

48. Which of the following is secreted by sebaceous glands in the skin?

a) melanin

b) sebum

c) keratin

d) sweat

49. Hair and nails are composed primarily of ?

a) sebum

b) keratin

c) melanin

d) glands

e) living cells

50. Hair color and skin color are determined by ?

a) keratin

b) sebum

c) melanin

d) glands

The three-part documentary series Countdown to Life: The Extraordinary Making of You, by Jonathan Renouf, Naomi Austin and Martin Johnson is depicted around the journey to discover the process of the formation of us, the human beings.

Hosted by Michael Mosley; the documentary contains animations of fetal development and individual’s sharing their stories about their own birth defects while relating to the fetal developmental process that happens prior to birth.

Though the documentary does not explain the human development process in details, I decided that this was a good start for laymen who wants to understand the process of how us human beings are made from the point of conception to the point of birth at forty weeks.

As a human being living in the social community, we need a better understanding on how an individual operates either biologically, behaviourally or emotionally.

The documentary emphasized on critical stages that happened before we were born and the consequences of having a defect when the developmental process was disrupted. In which it delivers, it also brought upon the uniqueness and differences of human beings in the concept of biology, focusing especially in genetics.

In the following paragraphs, while basing on the documentary I will explain more in details on the critical stages of fetal development process with in-depth explanations of the defects that could occur within these stages.The first episode of the documentary series ventures around the processes that happens to the embryo during the first eight weeks in the uterus.

It shows how the human development began with the process called fertilisation where the male gamete, sperm together with the female gamete, the oocyte, fused and unite to give rise to a zygote (Sadler ; Langman, 2012). Two sets of genetic instructions, half from each parent combined to create unique genetic code for one human being.

Occasionally, instead of forming only one zygote, the cell divides to become identical twins, triplets, and in rare cases, even quadruplet cases. Holly, Jessica, Ellie and Georgie, are one of the rare identical quadruplets in which it was mentioned that the odds of having four genetically identical individuals are one in 64 million.

A theory was presented for how separate embryos can be formed and it was due to the breakdown of vital communication between the cells causing clumps of cells to get separated and went on to create separate individuals. This shows that just from a simple yet complicated breakdown process that occurs between the cells, it could affect the number of individuals to be formed, causing the creation of identical twins. This however, does not applies to what we called fraternal twins.

In biology, identical twins are termed as monozygotic twins while fraternal twins are termed dizygotic twins. According to Lakna (2017), on her article Difference between Monozygotic and Dizygotic Twins, she explained that dizygotic twins are developed from totally two different eggs, which are fertilized by sperms separately.

When a woman is pregnant with fraternal twins, it is like having two pregnancies at one simultaneous time. Unlike identical twins that are genetically similar, fraternal twins are entirely different individuals that does not share the same genetic properties. It is mesmerising to find that human could be undergoing the same process yet so different, due to simple twists just within five days of conception.

I was bewildered by the next fact that I found from the documentary. It was claimed that around 200 hours after conception, changes that occurred in the embryo can determine the lifep of an individual. Based on seventy-year research done in Keneba,Gambia that study on this matter, children conceived during dry months are at seven times higher risk of mortality compared to that of children conceived during wet months.

In dry season, mothers eat more calorie-rich grains compared to mothers who conceive in the wet season, who eat more leafy greens. The moleculer chemical from the vegetables combines with the strand of DNA and changes how some our genes work permanently, affecting our lifep.

In many socio-cultural norms in the world, the expression “eating for two” is commonly heard to refer to pregnant women in regards to their dietary habits. Ellis, Giannetti, and Fagan (2011) conducted an analysis of relationship of mother’s nutritional intake with the effect on her developing fetus in life. In the analysis, the authors stated that, “the most important thing a mother can do during pregnancy is take care of her own body so that the baby can flourish later in life”.

Hence, it is clear that mother plays important role in determining the health of the future generation that will be born, either physically, metabolically, psychologically or genetically.Melanie Gaydos’ story is one of the stories that remained intact in my mind from the moment I watched it.

From the story, I knew that her birth defect has affected her deeply in psychosocial aspect and influenced the flows of her life, shaping her for who she was. Her story discussed on what happened to a fetus within the first fifteen days after conception.

The cells began to transform into over four hundred different cell types to make up parts of the body. Human beings are made up of three layers of cells; ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm. Any defect during this point of transformation could produce serious defects to the embryo, such as in Gaydos’ case, ectodermal dysplasia.

Ectodermal dysplasia is a group of inherited disorders characterised by defect in hair, teeth, nails, or sweat gland function, in addition to other abnormalities in the ectodermal tissues.

The disease is caused by mutation or deletion of particular genes located on different chromosomes and it either can be passed down the family line, or the mutation occurred de novo (Bhaudaria, Sharma, & Prajapat, 2014). Talking about genes, the documentary also shared the story of Nell who inherited an extra growth gene from her father.

Unlike her, a normal embryo inherits one only growth gene from both paternal and maternal origin and each of the gene balance one another to produce a normal-sized embryo. This defect made her a large for gestational age (LGA) fetus and the extra gene has stimulated the overproduction of growth hormone, IGF-2.

She became morphologically larger than her peers and consequently, exposed her to a high risk of cancer. From their cases, it is important that we need to have a normal gene development to ensure a normal development of self.In our body, we have hair-like projections called cilia to direct the proper placement of organs in our body.

The process usually occurs around nineteen days after conception. Average normal human beings have their hearts located on the left side of the body and the liver is located on the right side. In rare instances, there are cases where the organs are located in totally opposite sites like a mirror image and this happened to Randy Foye.

His condition is called dextrocardia. Maldjian and Saric (2007) wrote a review on dextrocardia. According to their review, dextrocardia is a heart positional anomaly in which heart is located in the right hemithorax with its base-to-apex axis directed to the right and is caused by intrinsic factors of the heart itself.

Since I was a medical student before, I could assure that his condition would definitely baffled any doctors of any level of experience during the regular medical check-up session. Fortunately, according to the documentary the condition did no harm to his body and he could live as a normal living being, outwardly. Commonly, dextrocardia is accompanied by cardiac anomalies (Maldjian & Saric, 2007).

The formation of the heart itself began when the embryo was initially a flat disc. It then folded and became a neural tube and the edges came together to form a spinal cord. Eventually, primitive heart was created and within five weeks of pregnancy, it could already be detected by using ultrasound.

Heart anomalies are extremely serious that some babies need an immediate surgery right after born. Examples of congenital heart defects are right ventricular hypertrophy, aortic valve stenosis, coarctation of aorta or atrial septal defect.

Mason, for years, pig production had been a big part of the slaughterhouses, but as time went on, the demand for pork went up. In 1975, pig production was at sixty-nine million a year; in 2004, pig production skyrocketed to one hundred three million pigs. The increase in pigs caused environmental problems because the average adult pig produces four times as much waste as an adult human. With the amount of pigs in each farm (for example, a farm in Nebraska has over forty-eight thousand pigs), and their waste leaking into nearby bodies of water, many fish and other animals were killed.

Pigs like to move around and explore their environment in the wild which they are unable to do that in captivity because of how cramped the pens are. On one farm in Nebraska, there are over forty-eight thousand pigs in only twenty-four barns (Mason and Singer 339). The video “Torture Inside Slaughterhouses Suffering Untold (The Ugliest Methods of Torture) Not for Weak Lyons 2 Hearts” shows that this environment causes pigs to develop open sores. When a pig is pregnant, it is kept in a gestational crate which is barely bigger than their body.

Following birth, the babies are immediately castrated and have their tails cut if without anesthesia. To make the pigs move, the workers kick, hit, and yell at them. Many of the pigs die from mutilation. If the pig is sick, injured, or has not been growing as fast as the other pigs, it is killed. Pigs tend to live for only five to six months. The most popular ways to kill the pigs include throwing the pigs into bins and painfully gassing them with carbon dioxide, slamming their head on the floor, and being hung on a forklift and suffocated (“Torture”).

With chickens used to produce eggs, directly after birth, the males and females are separated and the males are killed because they don’t lay eggs. To kill them, they are either thrown into giant grinding machines or thrown into trash bags and suffocated. With the females, to avoid pecking in overcrowded pens, the tips of their beaks are cut off which causes acute and chronic pain. When they are grown to a certain size, they are moved to even more overcrowded cages and lay eggs for their whole life. Workers abuse the hens by stepping on them, throwing them in garbage cans, and mangling their spines to break their neck.

After their egg production is too slow, they are plucked from their cages and put into carts where they are suffocated tit carbon dioxide (“Torture”). Poultry that is used for meat are stuffed in overcrowded sheds. Genetically, chicken and turkeys have grown so big, they become crippled, have chronic joint pain, and heart attacks. Poultry that are sick or injured are clubbed to death or have their neck broken. When finally in the slaughterhouse, the workers handle the poultry very violently leaving injuries and bruises.

The workers hang the poultry upside down by their feet in shackles and dragged through an electric vat Lyons 3 of water to paralyze them. To kill them, they are pulled against a blade that outs through their neck and if that doesn’t work, there is a worker that cuts their neck (“Torture”). On cow farms, cows are fed BEST, bovine commiseration, a genetically engineered growth hormone strictly used in the USA because Canada and England fear the side effects on the cows health. Along with BEST, cows are fed antibiotics in their meals.

Their meals, that should contain forage, actually contains corn and left over cow meat (Mason and Singer 349). Calves on dairy farms are dragged away from their mother and either made for veal or, if they’re strong enough, are kept for beef. Cows are kept confined n stalls on concrete flooring. Workers torture the cows by cutting off their tails and burning their skull to get their horns out without pain killers. When a cow becomes too sick or injured to stand, called downers, they are left alone too slowly and painfully die. Cows used for beef are castrated then branded with a hot iron.

Beef cows are contained in overcrowded feedlots which is covered with their waste. To kill a cow, the workers tend to cut their throat (“Torture”). Wild cows’ life expectancy is about twenty years, where a confined cows’ life expectancy is five to seven years (Mason and Singer 350). There is one person that noticed how inhumane these factories are, mainly for cattle, named Temple Grinding. From a small article “Temple Grinding Biography,” she was born on August 29, 1947 in Boston, Massachusetts. She was diagnosed with Autism at the age of four and didn’t learn how to talk until the age of four.

To get her to talk, she went through extensive speech therapy with her mom. She also had a hypersensitivity to noise and other stimuli. According to the movie “Temple Grinding,” doctors said she should be institutionalized, but the mother refused. She went to a boarding school, here she still bullied. In this school, though, she befriended a teacher who saw how she learned in pictures and helped her realize her true potential. Lyons 4 One summer she went to her Aunts farm which is where she got her interest in cows. Throughout her life, she liked to build things.

She saw a machine she called a “hugging machine” and saw how much it helped to calm the cows. She built her own to calm her down saying she gets the same release a regular person gets from an actual hug from another person (“Temple”). For her masters degree in Animal Science, she went to Arizona State. As she would be in tours of different cattle farms and saw the cows being poked and prodded, she started to think about how she could make the farms more humane. She saw how the ways used at that time made the cows scared and how some of them were killed and wanted to fix it (“Temple”).

She first wanted to do her thesis on mooing, and she concluded how the cows use different moos at different times. She figured out that the cows are actually warning each other when something is going to happen. Her professors wouldn’t sign off on her thesis. She switched her thesis to control yester and cattle and why some work better than others and how they can tell the difference. To see what the cows see, Temple Went through the chute cows go through and was able to figure out what scared them and makes them uncomfortable. She soon wrote many articles on her findings (“Temple’).

A farmer read her articles and liked her ideas and asked her to design a dip for his farm. The dip she designed starts with a chute that is curved so that the cows feel like they’re going in circles, which calms them. They follow each other into a tunnel that makes them into one line and they go down a incorrect ramp that allows them to go into the dip at their own pace to keep tem relaxed. The day before it was going to be shown, a reporter witnessed it and called it brilliant. The day it showed though, the farmers changed it and had already killed three cows by the time Temple got there (“Temple”).

Lyons 5 She tried to enter the Abbot Slaughterhouse to talk to the head and show him her plans for a more humane factory. They would not let her in. At the store though, Temple met a woman who helped her trough the automatic doors that Temple was afraid to go through. That woman turned out to be the wife f the head of Abbot Slaughterhouse who was able to get Temple in to see her husband. He accepted Temple’s plans (“Tempe’). Temple went on to get her doctorate at the University of Illinois in Animal Science.

She then became a professor at Colorado State University and lectures worldwide on autism and animal handling. In North America now, half of the cattle is handled by the systems made by Temple Grinding (“Temple”). Today, a lot Of Temple’s beliefs are used. She believed that the correct stunning is extremely important, it leads to better meat. If the stunning is one incorrectly, bloodspots in meat and bone fractures can happen. She stated that an agitated steer can be very dangerous and shouldn’t be tampered with. Also, an escaped cattle should never be chased.

If you leave it alone, it will return. Lastly, stay away from the cattle’s blind spot, if it can’t see you, it might kick you. Temple has specific guidelines for livestock holding facilities. First, the animals should be moved in small groups. Also, the pens should never be overcrowded. They should be filled only halfway. Handlers should understand the basic concepts of flight zone and the point of balance on a owe. Ranches and facilities must have non-slip flooring. Lastly, workers should keep the animals calm, when the animals are calm, they move more easily.

Temple said that at all different types of facilities, there should be proper unloading ramps so the trucks can unload properly. Larger facilities should have two or more ramps. The ramps should have a level dock before the ramp goes down so the animals have a level surface to walk Lyons 6 on when they exit the truck. Also, the ramp should not exceed twenty degrees, this will allow the cows to go down the ramp easier. If the ramp is incorrect, stair Steps should be there to provide better traction for the animals.

From the early time humans survival was depended on animals, either as food or for transporting. Today we are using animals for a new kind of survival, we are using them for testing and experimenting medicines that we need for different diseases. All along this time, this experiments has helped a lot for discovering of new kind of diseases and medicine to cure them.

I think that stopping of this experiments will bring limitation in scientific progress. However there are o lots of organization that try to protect animal rights but anyway for the moment is the only what that we have to test and experiment new way curing new or existing deceases. Although that many organization of animal rights think that animals should not used in medical research data shows that there are a lots of medications that we use today are invented due to animal research, because there are some animals who have similar body functions with humans.

Reducing the human suffering as much as we can must be our firs priority, and then our second priority must be reducing of animal suffering or death. Is not the same as using humans and animals in medical research for discovering new diseases that my affect both animals and human beings, in this case we must use animals for research so we avoid human suffering as much as we can and after that our priority should be animals.

For death bringers deceases like HIV or different tumors we need to do experimenting and tests with animals because it is the mos efficient way to find new ways to cure without having human suffering. Regarding to the second part that says that we must do our best to have the minimum of animal suffering has to a lot with ethics of the scientists that are doing this experiments. Regarding a survey conducted in the American Medical Association show that 99% of all active physicians in the U. S think that animal testing is the only way yo medical advancements.

With today technology we can keep animal suffering in the absolute minimum. We can use anesthetics to minimize the suffering. Also to reduce animal suffering can be done by keeping them comfortable and in clean and healthy environment conditions. In other words is clearly possible to use animals in research without being cruel to them. New technologies of scanning that exist today like magnetic resonance, which make possible for doctors to learn about a certain disease from animals without making them suffer.

According to studies there are thousands of death bringers diseases that are discovered from 1600’s to 1990’s due to animal experimentation. According to Animal Use and Abuse Statistics, more than 25 million vertebrate animals are used annually, and the number of invertebrates may extend to billions in United States. Above the scientific ethics of the scientist is the technology that is available to him, so our part is to do our best to avoid not needed hurting or testing. So we must take our benefits from this experiments but also to protect this animals from death.

According to the US based, Foundation for Biomedical Research: “Animal research has played a vital role in virtually every major medical advance of the last century – for both human and veterinary health. From antibiotics to blood transfusions, from dialysis to organ transplantation, from vaccinations to chemotherapy, bypass surgery and joint replacement, practically every present-day protocol for the prevention, treatment, cure and control of disease, pain and suffering is based on knowledge attained through research with lab animals.

Humans genes are 99% like chimpanzees, and many other basic functions like eating, seeing, smelling are in humans like in animals. As a result of this similarity , the feedback of these animals are a very good guide to possible reactions of human patients. It is very possible that humans and animals can get o lot of the same diseases, because of this we can make the research in animals and test new medicines in them firs and after this we can produce for humans. As we know from the theory of evolution animals feel pain and pleasure,because we share with them our emotions.

So the people using animals for experimenting or different purposes should treat them with respect. Also the purposes for witch they are used should be legitimate. The groups defending animals have tried to distort the truth about what animals are used for. They refuse the fact that these researchers are important and declaim that animals shouldn’t be used for any reason. They argue that medical community doesn’t support the fact that animals are used in research and it is obvious that it isn’t the truth.

Besides the modern technology used in animal testing not all the experiments finish successfully and millions of animals die each year. Another point is that there are a lots of medicines that are tested in animals but they have side-effects in humans. So this kind of experiments bring suffering and deaths in both sides, in animals and in humans. Because different species reaction differently on different medicines. Animal rights organization have tried to dis inform public about the different fact in animal research.

They do not accept the fact that use of animal in research has given a very useful contribution in curing different diseases. Today about 95% of U. S medical schools do not use animals to experiment new medicines or for testing purposes. They are trained using the human stimulation that the today technologies can offer and doing didactic work. While there are trying to find other ways to animal testing and experimenting, what the best scientist can do for now is try to reduce the number of animals being tested.

They are using modern technologies and new types of scanning to see the animal organism so they don’t actually need to apply surgery. Though it is hard to completely stop the animal resting, what we can to is prevent unnecessary tests by stopping certain products that don’t require animal experimenting. In order that the pathogenesis of different diseases could be studied,doctors need animal experimentation as the only way at te current level of knowledge , and it undertakes drug trials,vaccines to alleviate suffering for human and animals. To conclude, humans must try can to reduce the number of animals being harmed in these experiments aimed at benefiting society.

References

1. Cook, K. (2006, March 29). Facts about Animal Research . Message posted to http://www. pro-test. org. uk/2006/03/facts-about-animal-research. html
2. PETA. Animal Testing Is Bad Science: Point/Counterpoint. Retrived from http://www. peta. org
3. Research Animal Resources. Ethics and Alternatieves. Retrived from http://www. ahc. umn. edu University of Georgia. Animals Used in Experiments. Retrived from http://www. uga. edu

Lab Due November 14, 2012 Practical Exam 1. a. The symbionts (Paramecium) of the termite belong to the kingdom Protista b. Paramecium living in the intestines of termites breaks down the cellulose walls of wood fibers releasing proteins that are absorbed by the termites’ digestive system. Paramecium benefit by having an environment to thrive and they ingest the wood fibers for their own nutrition as well. 2. c. An important ecological effect of diatoms is that when they die they hold onto CO2 trapped inside their silicon skeleton, carrying it to the ocean floor instead of being released into the atmosphere. . Autotrophic 3. Two characteristics that helped identify the euglena were: e. Two flagellas. f. Eyespot. 4. g. The bacteria in the picture labeled #4 is rod-shaped. h. Cyanobacteria are important producers of Nitrogen in marine environments. 5. i. Lactobacillus found in saliva produced lactic acid to cause Snyder’s medium to change color. j. The tube turned yellow after it was exposed to saliva. 6. k. Red algae have phycobilin pigments (phycoerythrin and phycocyanin) that mask the color of the chlorophylls.

Brown algae have xanthophyll pigments that mask the green color of the chlorophyll. Green algae have cholorphylls a and b that give a bright green color. l. All algae have chlorophyll. 7. m. The hyphae of Rhizopus are coenocytic. n. Gametangia (hyphae fuse), plasmogomy occurs, karyogamy occurs forming Zygosporangium, sporangium form and haploid spores are released to germinate and form hyphae. 8. o. The function of gills in basidiomyctes is to produce spores. p. Basidiomycetes contain crosswalls (they are septate). 9. q. Yeast produces CO2, which makes dough rise. .

Yeast ferment alcohol in brewing. 10. s. In mosses, the leafy green structure is the gametophyte. t. Gametophytes are haploid. 11. u. The plant pictured and labeled number 11 has vascular tissue. v. Sori are the sporangia structures found on the undersides of the fronds. 12. w. The cone labeled #12 is a female cone. x. The needle-like leaves of gymnosperms reduce the surface area, and thick cuticle and sunken stomata minimize water loss. 13. y. Body plan (c) shown on blackboard labeled #13 represents an acelomate. z. Hydras and jellies exhibit radial symmetry. 4. {. Eyespots in flatworms like planaria detect light and use them to move away from light sources. |. The concentration of sense organs at the anterior of this organism is cephalization. 15. }. Annelids such as the Earthworm, which was dissected in lab, have closed circulatory systems. ~. The digestive tract is complete because the digestive tract runs from mouth to anus.

16. . The clitellum of the Earthworm is used in sexual reproduction. . Coelom in Earthworms aid in locomotion and function as a hydrostatic skeleton. 17. The function of hemolymph in an organism such as the Grasshopper is to transport nutrients. . Insects have 3 pairs of walking legs. 18. . Crayfish have an open circulatory system. . Male crayfish are generally bigger than females and have bigger claws. Also in male crayfish the two most anterior swimmerets are enlarged and hardened. 19. . The Perch is a vertebrate. . The lateral line organ is used to sense vibrations and pressure differences in water. 20. . The swim bladder in the Perch is used to maintain buoyancy. . Caudal fin is primarily responsible for propelling the fish forward. 1. . The front position of the mouth in the Perch is advantageous because it allows the Perch to eat and take in water as it swims forward. . No, most fish utilize external fertilization to sexually reproduce.

22. . Rat belongs to class Mammalia. . Possess hair made of keratin. 23. . Yes, cephalization is apparent in the rat. . Cephalization is the concentration of sense organs at the anterior of an organism. 24. . Rat has a closed circulatory system. . Most rats utilize internal fertilization during sexual reproduction. 25. In plants the apical meristem can be found at the: . Root tips Shoot tips 26. . The experiment of a Carnation placed into a beaker full of water and red food coloring demonstrated cohesion, adhesion and capillary action (transpiration) of water through the stem. . Xylem is the vascular tissue mainly involved in this process.

27. . The leaves on blackboard labeled #27 are compound. . The leaves are from a dicot because they are arranged in five’s. 28. . The picture on blackboard labeled #29 is a monocot leaf. . The name of the cell at the end of the arrow is a guard cell. 29. . The picture on blackboard labeled #29 is the stem of a dicot. The vascular bundles are arranged in a ring in the cross-section of the stem. 30. . The secondary xylem growth rings of the woody stem can be counted to determine the age of a tree. . In the picture on blackboard labeled #30, the function of the structure at the end of the arrow is active xylem. This allows for water transport in the tree. Extra Credit 31. Two structural hallmarks of organisms classified mollusks are: muscular foot and mantle. 32. . Rhotifer is the smallest animal that has tissues and organs/organs systems. . The majority of these organisms reproduce by parthenogenesis.