Fractals

A seashell is an example of a fractal in nature because it has the same repeating pattern from the inside all the way to the outside.

http://webecoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2008/08/fractal-nautilus-shell.jpg

Stem Cell Research

1. Stem Cells are cells that are found in all multi-cellular organisms. Stem cells have the ability to renew themselves through cell division and can differentiate into a variety of specialized cells. Dr. Ernest A. McCulloch and Dr. James E. Till were the first to start on human stem cell research in attempts to find new cures to diseases such as leukemia, cancer, Parkinson’s disease, spinal cord injuries, and muscle damage. Although this research was started purely to help advance the medical industry along with science, several U.S. Politicians along with many religious denominations are against “stem cell research”.

2. It is unethical to destroy embryos to simply obtain their blastocysts. I believe this is considered murder because the embryo had a potential for life. Due to the fact that there is no certainty that specialized cells generated from human stem cells can replace damaged or diseased cells people ask themselves what gives scientists the right to experiment with "human life". How long would it take to develop stem cell treatment should there be any? Embryos are human lives and therefore should be protected by the government. However, stem cell research is highly controversial since it has the potential to cure many diseases and save many lives but embryos are necessary for the experiment. One life for another? When exactly does life begin for a human being? Conservatives believe that it starts when the zygote is formed, but many liberals believe it starts until the ebryo is able to survive detached from it´s mother´s womb. I believe stem cell reseacrh to be highly unethical, no matter all the benefits it has, scientists are destroying a life that had potential.

http://www.biotech.ucdavis.edu/TBCWebsites/TBC07/StemCells&TissueEngineering/Li-MiraLoma/Biotech%20Website%20Design/issues.htm

http://www.rso.cornell.edu/progressive/pics/stem-cell-harvest.jpg

Perception Post

1. I do believe that doubt is the key to knowledge because only when you question something you will truly learn about it in depth. It is virtually impossible to know about everything, but by doubting something, you will investigate different points of view on it, and broaden your horizons. When you doubt something, that means you are open to new ideas, giving your knowledge a chance to grow, instead of sticking to a single point of view on something.

2. At the beginning of human existence, people said that natural events such as rain, earthquakes etc. were the cause of Gods. However, certain individuals in society started doubting and started searching for explanations to the natural events that ocurred on Earth. Due to the fact that those individuals doubted, they finally reached an explanation to those events. Precipitation was the cause of evaporation and condensation of water. And earthquakes were due to the shifting of the tectonic plates on earth´s crust.

3. In school it is good to question what you are being taught. There is an excellent example from the movie-documentary ´´An Inconvenient truth´´. One day the geography teacher was teaching the students something on geography. A student after looking at the map for a while, asked the teacher if Africa and South America ever fit together. The teacher told him he was speaking nonsense. However, now, many years later, it is true that sometime in the past, these two continents fit together. It was actually proved due to the shifting of the tectonic plates. So, what is true today might be proved wrong tomorrow.

4.I love phsycology, so I always ask myself what makes psycopaths the way they are. General belief states that it is based on environmental factors. And I believed this for many years, but i decided to do some investigation. I found out that their violent behavior is also due to some chemical imbalance in their brain, and also that their frontal lobe is not as developed. The fact that their frontal lobe is not as developed means that they are not aware of the consequences of their actions. I therefore dont believe solely in the environmental aspect of psycopaths, I know that their actions are also due to their biological composition.