Memory Enhancement

Our group chose to discuss the topic of memory enhancement. Memory loss is something that most people are familiar with, especially when it comes to Alzheimer's disease. Something like memory enhancement could benefit people suffering from this disease and help them to spend the rest of their lives comfortably. Memory loss can be stressful and terrifying for the people suffering from it, and damaging to the families who have loved ones suffering from it as well. Online, it is suggested that people stay mentally sharp and and stimulate themselves intellectually. One of the tools that people can use to exercise their brains is also one of my favorite puzzle-based video game series: Professor Layton.

 

 

Study Guide

Study for the exam by re-reading and reflecting on relevant texts, NOT by rote memorization. Prepare your extra-credit response in advance by printing your reply to the DQ of your choice, just a couple of paragraphs will suffice. Bring it with you on Thursday.

1. What is the difference between (normal) medical care and palliative care? (BB104)

Answer:  medical care focuses on cure and diagnosis and palliative care focuses on the comfort of terminal patients.

2.What code was drawn up after WWII and states "The health of my patient will be my first consideration."? (BB80)
Answer:  The Geneva Code of Medical Ethics

3.What were the five religions discussed by the author of Bioethics: The Basics? (BB63)
Answer:  Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism

4. What is preventive medicine? (BB138)
Answer:  a field that devises measures to prevent and control disease

5. As athletic enhancement increases, what fades? (AP25)
Answer:  admiration

6. Chapter 3 begins by asking if our bioethical perspective ("vision") is skewed by ______... (BB48)
(a) cultural assumptions, (b) gender bias, (c) religious faith, (d) all of the above
Answer: D

7.What doctrine requires that all research protocols must be submitted to a "research ethics committe before the study begins"? (BB117)
Answer: Helsinki Declaration

8. What is a biobank? (BB133)
Answer:  a collection of biological samples or genetic information

9. What are the three types of valid consent? (BB83)
Answer:  Competent, Informed and Voluntary

10. The idea that the doctor always knows best is called what? (BB82)
Answer Paternalism

==

. The _________ required that 'The health of my patient must be my first consideration.' (Hippocratic Oath, Geneva Code, British Medical Association, International Association of Bioethics)
Answer: Hippocratic Oath (BB 2)

2. What are the three types of valid consent for human participation in research?
Answer: Competent, Informed and Voluntary (BB 83)

3. Sandel's deepest moral objection to enhancement is its alleged disfigurement of what relation?
Answer: parent-child relationship (pg. 46)

Rory CapstickFebruary 23, 2015 at 12:06 PM
4. As athletic enhancement increases, what fades?
5. How do Ritalin, Adderall etc differ from recreational drugs of the past?

Group 3 Vaccination Project

     My group chose vaccination as our midterm project, and my task is to describe the pros of getting vaccinated.  I will talk about the top reasons to get vaccinated, namely the benefits to one’s health and lifestyle and to society as a whole.  The number of communicable diseases in developed countries has plummeted dramatically within the past century, which has contributed to an overall increase in the standard of living and productivity of the citizens within those countries.  Not only are people living healthier, disease-free lives, they are able to live longer and get sick less often since they are under attack by fewer disease causing agents.  This saves them time as well as money, as they are not having to recover from major illness as often as past generations and they are able to miss less work in doing so. Also, those who get vaccinated are able to protect those unable to receive the vaccine, whether due to an allergy to the ingredients or some other valid reason.  By having so little opportunity to infect individuals and spread, a disease is neutralized through herd immunity if a high enough percentage of the population is protected against that disease.  However, this barrier begins to break down once enough people stop becoming immunized.  This chink in the armor of protection against disease allows enough room for a disease to infect the unprotected and possibly mutate around the vaccine, so that everyone is at risk.  Also, it is much easier to isolate a single case than to stop an uncontrolled spread, which is yet another reason for as many people as possible to be protected.  All these reasons and more will comprise my portion of our project on Thursday.

Exam 1 Study Guide (Group 3)

1. What is the difference between (normal) medical care and palliative care? (BB104)
Answer:  medical care focuses on cure and diagnosis and palliative care focuses on the comfort of terminal patients.

2.What code was drawn up after WWII and states "The health of my patient will be my first consideration."? (BB80)
Answer:  The Geneva Code of Medical Ethics

3.What were the five religions discussed by the author of Bioethics: The Basics? (BB63)
Answer:  Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Hinduism, and Buddhism

4. What is preventive medicine? (BB138)
Answer:  a field that devises measures to prevent and control disease

5. As athletic enhancement increases, what fades? (AP25)
Answer:  admiration

6. Chapter 3 begins by asking if our bioethical perspective ("vision") is skewed by ______... (BB48)
(a) cultural assumptions, (b) gender bias, (c) religious faith, (d) all of the above
Answer: D

7.What doctrine requires that all research protocols must be submitted to a "research ethics committe before the study begins"? (BB117)
Answer: Helsinki Declaration

8. What is a biobank? (BB133)
Answer:  a collection of biological samples or genetic information

9. What are the three types of valid consent? (BB83)
Answer:  Competent, Informed and Voluntary

10. The idea that the doctor always knows best is called what? (BB82)
Answer Paternalism

Group 1 Test Questions

1. The _________ required that 'The health of my patient must be my first consideration.' (Hippocratic Oath, Geneva Code, British Medical Association, International Association of Bioethics)
Answer: Hippocratic Oath (BB 2)

2. What are the three types of valid consent for human participation in research?
Answer: Competent, Informed and Voluntary (BB 83)

3. Sandel's deepest moral objection to enhancement is its alleged disfigurement of what relation?
Answer: parent-child relationship (pg. 46)

(More questions to follow in the comments)

"A Mother’s Battle Against Medical Errors"

Hundreds of thousands of people in the U.S. die from medical errors every year. It is the third leading cause of death in the United States.

Carole Hemmelgarn is on a mission to help medical professionals avoid errors. She says the healthcare system failed her family and her daughter.

“I had a 9-year-old daughter, named Alyssa, and she was diagnosed with leukemia on a Monday and she died 10 days later,” said Hemmelgarn.

Listen:


Here&Now

• Read more on this story via CPR
• NPR: Why California’s Superbug Outbreak Isn’t As Scary As It Seems

Perfectly funny

But the laugh's on who?

Michael J. Sandel on Hyperparentinghttp://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgii8e_michael-sandel-on-hyperparenting_news
http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xgii8e_michael-sandel-on-hyperparenting_news

The case against perfection, ch. 3 Designer children, Designing parents
Fact questions

1. Parenthood, more than other human relationships, teaches what the theologian William F. May calls an "____________________________________". (p.45)

2. What are the two aspects of parental love? (p.49)

3. Richard Williams and Earl Woods are examples of _____________________, bent on making champions of their children (p. 52)

4. (T/F) From 1992 to 2001, Princeton, a leading test prep company, saw its gross revenues increase 225 percent. (p.55)

5. Name one of the drugs used for ADHD that was given as an example in the chapter 3. (p.59)

Discussion Questions

1.  Do you believe that our society is encouraging hyperparenting and what can we do to control it?

2. Children are consider gifts and blessings, do parents have the right to change and modify any aspect of their life?

3. Parents who want to genetically enhance their children; are they doing it for the well being of their child or is it their selfish desires for a perfect child?

DQ: If the option to give an offspring the best genetics is available and very financially affordable, is it morally wrong to deny the offspring of those genetics?

DQ: When/where is it appropriate to "draw the line" when it comes to ethical dilemmas of medicine? In other words, why is it okay to provide certain "tiers" of healthcare to a patient (such as IV injection, blood pressure medication, surgery, etc.) but NOT okay to provide other "tiers" of healthcare (i.e. genetic modification)? Why is one okay, but not the other? Is it more logical to either support all or none?

The case against perfection ch. 2 Bionic Athletes

Fact questions

1. In 1999 _____ _____ underwent lasik eye surgery to improve his vision and he won his next five tournaments. (p.30)

2. What corporation now sponsors a high-tech training experiment in a hermetically sealed " altitude house" in Portland, Oregon? (p.32)

3. What does the autor say about spectacles in sports? (p.37)

4. What is the effect of the beta-blockers taken for stage performance? (p.39)

Discussion Questions

1. Is there a way that bioengineering and technology can highlight the talents and skills that distinguish the best players instead of obscuring it? 

2. Will bioengineering turn sports into a spectacle instead of a true test of talent and effort?

3.Do you think that bioengineering will create a big divide between  athletes who are genetically engineered and athletes who are natually gifted?

Article and Questions

Here's an article on Ritalin use.

http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/medicating/readings/publicinterest.html


FQ:
(AP 59) True or False:  It is estimated that 5 to 6 percent of children under 18 are prescribed to Ritalin and other stimulants.

DQ:
Are hyperparenting and genetic manipulation different from one another?  Is planning out the career path/life for your children, like Richard Williams, any different than controlling them by genetic manipulation?

The Case Agianst Perfection, Chapter 2

FQ: What was the goal of the "altitude house"?



FQ: The line: "kiss of death for good singing," was referring to singers having surgery to improve their vocal chords. (T/F)



DQ: Would separating genetically enhanced sports from non-genetically altered sports be successful?



DQ: In terms of technological innovations, including genetic enhancements, how can we tell between changes that will help improve life for everyone from changes that will only improve life for the individual?

Sn'ice day!

McDonald's Immortal Hamburgers

I know this isn't dealing with anything bioethical, but I do know on our peripatetic walk on Thursday we got around to GMOS and McDonald's came up. I found a link talking about how their burgers (and food in general) never seem to mold or rot. Maybe you'll be interested in knowing the how's as well, sorry if this ruins their "food" for you.

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/heres-why-mcdonalds-burgers-don-t-rot

Peripatetic Discussion 2/12

We took an adventure through the library for our peripatetic discussion this afternoon. While roaming through each floor our main topic was focused on bioengineering and the ethics of genetic enhancement. Our first hit of the topic was the situation of two deaf mothers choosing a deaf sperm donor for their child in order for the child to connect better with the parents. The major question of this decision is whether it is ethically right to this. The first, and most prominent, argument was that it can in no way be right to choose a child’s trait to be one that may hinder them for the rest of their life, especially in a situation where the child has no choice. A counter argument was that it is the parent’s choice for the child and deaf parents would have a different perspective on deafness as a deficiency and in many cases may even desire such a trait for the child to better understand and connect to the parents in the world they see and will teach to them.

The discussion then continued to the idea of how it may be unethical in the majority’s eyes to choose such a trait, is it ethical to choose enhancements for specific traits the child also would not have a choice in? Even though we may be able to choose numerous different traits for our children, that does not mean we necessarily should. How do we know our child will want to be musically talented, faster, or have larger muscles than they would have had originally?

As we continued up the stairs of the library to stretch our muscles, the discussion transitioned to future regulation of genetic engineering. We discussed whether government would ever be able to control genetic enhancements once the technology has evolved enough to be a choice for future parents. As long as individuals are able to participate in medical tourism, any country’s regulation of genetic engineering would be ineffective.

Jindal, antiabortion activists block Planned Parenthood in New Orleans

Jindal, antiabortion activists block Planned Parenthood in New Orleans

It seems to me that there is a serious abortion issue going on in New Orleans, Louisiana. This is what the Washington Post had to say about the issue:

                 "NEW ORLEANS — Planned Parenthood began construction here last year on a clinic that would perform abortions and provide other medical services for women. “High-Quality, Affordable Health Care for New Orleans,” a sign promised. “Seeing Patients Early 2015.”
That sign is now crumpled on the ground behind a chain-link fence at the project’s abandoned construction site, victim of efforts by Gov. Bobby Jindal (R) and other abortion opponents to block the clinic."

To read more on this issue, click the link below.

http://wapo.st/1vuqeIo

Bradley becomes Chelsea-"Be all that you can be," indeed

Posted for Ramsey Ferguson:

In a first for the Army, Chelsea Manning, the convicted national-security secrets leaker, has been approved for hormone therapy for transition to a woman at the Army's Fort Leavenworth prison, according to a memo obtained Thursday by USA TODAY.

Manning remains a soldier as well as an inmate.

"After carefully considering the recommendation that (hormone treatment) is medically appropriate and necessary, and weighing all associated safety and security risks presented, I approve adding (hormone treatment) to Inmate Manning's treatment plan," Col. Erica Nelson, the commandant of the Fort Leavenworth Disciplinary Barracks in Kansas, wrote in a Feb. 5 memo.

Formerly named Bradley Manning, the soldier was convicted of sending classified documents to anti-secrecy website WikiLeaks. Manning is serving a 35-year prison sentence and is eligible for parole in about seven years...

(continues)

Paradox of Healthcare

Jason, Erica, Yvonne and I chose to work on the paradox of healthcare. We will discuss the American healthcare system, its capabilities and inconsistencies, and compare it to other healthcare systems outside the USA. We will further discuss which countries we will do a bit a research on to compare systems.

Group 3

We will be doing our project on vaccinations.
Mason
Wesley
Andrew
Graham