From the toilet to the fields.

Fertilizers. Everyone's heard of them and know what they are, but this is one organic source of fertilizer that I personally have never heard of prior to this. Biosolids, also known as sewage sludge, are processed nutrient-rich organic solids resulting from treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment facility. It is essential that this sludge is treated and processed in order to kill any potential pathogenic bacteria, and it must be carefully tested to ensure the safety levels for heavy metals and other contaminants are not exceeded. These solids are recycled and applied as a fertilizer to improve and maintain productive soils and stimulate plant growth.

Wastewater biosolids go through several processes in order to eliminate pathogens. I won’t go into a very detailed description of it, but I will give you a generalization of it. Their treatment can begin even before the wastewater reaches the sewage plant. This wastewater would be pre-treated in order to remove many hazardous contaminants before it is sent to a wastewater treatment plant. Then, when it reaches its destination at the wastewater plant, the sewage goes through physical, chemical, and biological processes which clean the wastewater and removes the solids. Then if it is necessary, the solids are treated with lime to raise the pH level. This would eliminate any offensive odours. The wastewater solids would than be sanitized through these processes to control pathogens and other organisms capable of transporting disease.

When it comes down to the pros and cons of using this agricultural practice, there are many for both sides. For now, I will focus on the pros. First of all, creating this fertilizer will create many job opportunities for people, as would almost any job. It could also potentially promote more farming. By treating sewage sludge, it can be turned into valuable fertilizer instead of taking up space in a landfill or other disposal factory. It also reduces the need for chemical fertilizers. The use of biosolids reduces the farmer's production costs and replenishes the organic matter that has been dwindling over time. The organic matter improves soil structure by increasing the soil's ability to absorb and store moisture. The organic nitrogen and phosphorous found in biosolids are used very efficiently by crops because these plant nutrients are released slowly throughout the growing season. This enables the crop to absorb these nutrients as the crop grows. This efficiency lessens the likelihood of groundwater pollution of nitrogen and phosphorous. Lastly, it can also promote rapid timber and plant growth, and regenerates mine sites due to the renewal it creates. An undeniable characteristic of biosolids is that the organic matter and complement of essential nutrients in them can’t be duplicated by synthetic fertilizers. Biosolids beyond question have a lot of benefits, and contribute to waste reduction and nutrient recycling. “Biosolids are like vitamin pills for soil.” - Ken Arnold.

Of course, despite how many pros may be present, there are always cons that follow. The cons are that some biosolids may have a slight musty, ammonia odour. Some may have a stronger smell than others, and this may be offensive to some people. Studies show that chemicals such as lime, which is added during sludge processing, can irritate the skin and respiratory tract and make people more susceptible to infection. Sludge also has traces of household chemicals poured down drains, detergents from washing machines, heavy metals from industry, synthetic hormones from birth control pills, pesticides, and dioxins, which are a group of compounds that have been linked to cancer. Another con is that excessive amounts of this organic fertilizer can also result in nitrate contamination of surface and groundwater. As well, the accumulation of industrial waste can result in contamination. Overall, since its true composition is unknown, its effects are truly unknown. There are some potential health hazards linked to biosolids, and these effects can in the long run end up being irreversible.

This could potentially become a realistic alternative to our current agricultural practices if we become more aware of the true effects of biosolids. As soon as we have any questions cleared, biosolids have a great potential for becoming more popular. Of course, all regulations have to be met before biosolids can be applied as fertilizers. People are split when it comes to this practices. On one hand, it has so many benefits. On the other, it may be seen as juat human waste that is disgusting, unsanitary, and a nuisance. Personally, I think this sewage sludge can be a good thing, if you can get past the potential smell that is! It benefit’s the soil, so why not give this a shot. Yes, it may have came from our toilets, but it underwent many processes to get clean (sort of ). We’re reusing waste for something beneficial. Thus, shouldn’t we be encouraging this? I don’t know where you stand with this situation, but I believe that this is a perfectly fine practice, despite any flaws it may have.
 
 
 
SOURCES:

http://scijourner.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=34:from-toilet-to-table-biosolids-for-fertilizer&catid=13:technology&Itemid=40
 
http://www.epa.gov/OWM/mtb/biosolids/genqa.htm

http://lancaster.unl.edu/enviro/biosolids/fertil.shtml

http://www.aces.edu/crd/publications/ANR-721.html

Technological Advancements

Technology has definitely played a very important role in our understanding of how our internal body system works. Without these advances in technology, we would have to continuously cut open people's bodies in order to study and know how our internal organs look like. This would undoubtedly take a lot of time and effort. Not only does the advances in our technologies allow us to see what's inside of us without making any incisions, it also allows us to live longer lives because we are able to see what is going on inside of us. It would be really tough for us to detect anything that was going on inside our bodies prior to the new technological advances. Tumours, masses, and cancer would go undetected and untreated for long periods of time!

Take x-rays as an example. Though it was founded completely by accident in 1895 by a German scientist named Wilhelm Conrad Roentgen while he was experimenting with vacuum tubes, they have inevitably made a great contribution in the field of medicine and science. He even took his first x-ray picture just a week after his discovery. The picture he took was of his wife's hand, and he noticed that the wedding ring she was wearing wasn’t transparent as the skin was. Meaning it could plainly be seen. This definitely sparked a new interest among scientists in further pursuing the study of radiation. How did it's name came to be, you may be asking? Well, his colleagues believed that he should call it the Roentgen ray, after himself. Yet, he decided to call it the x-ray because he couldn't determine what type of radiation was being produced. The name x-ray stuck, but there are some people in Germany who do call it the Roentgen ray. Basically what x-rays do is that they allow us to take pictures of our insides, which allows us to have a general idea of our functions. They are also the oldest and most common form of medical imaging. How exactly would an x-ray machine work may you ask? Well, an x-ray machine produces a controlled beam of radiation, which is used to produce an image of the inside of our bodies. The reason that bones are seen through x-rays and not skin is because our bones are able to absorb more x-rays than our skin does. That's why our skin appears to be transparent, and only the silhouette of our bones can be seen. Shadows of our bones are projected onto and captured by film. This is how an x-ray functions and allows us to see our internal structure.

There are many other scans that can be performed in order to take pictures of all the organs that are inside of us. CT stands for computer tomography. Yet, it is also called a CAT scan. CAT stands for computed axial tomography. During this scan, a thin x-ray beam is rotated around the area of the body to be visualized. Through a complicated mathematical process called algorithms, the computer is able to generate a 3-D image of a section through the body. For this scan, a person is asked to lay down on a flat surface. They are then passed through the scanner. Once inside the scanner, the machine's x-ray beams rotate around you. Small detectors inside the scanner measures the amount of x-rays that make it through the part of the body that is being studied. A computer then takes these images and uses it to create several individual images called slices. 3-D models of organs can be created by stacking each one of these individual slices together. CT scans definitely create very detailed pictures of our body, including our brain, chest spine, and abdomen. These CT scans are able to identify tumours and masses, and even cancer! This is truly quite an amazing thing.

Through contributions from Canadians and other scientists from around the world, successful technological advances were achieved. Many people have contributed to the understanding of our internal body system and to easy access to studying our health internally. No wonder our population has been greatly increasing from the past! These advancements in technology have definitely benefited us greatly. We are able to detect things that would have gone on unnoticed if it weren’t for these advancements. We don’t only have better health, but a better knowledge of our internal body system as well.






Sources:

http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003330.htm

http://science.hq.nasa.gov/kids/imagers/ems/xrays.html

Artificially Selecting

Artificial selection. What exactly is this may you ask? Well, artificial selection is a human intervention in animal or plant reproduction to ensure that certain desirable traits are represented in successive generations. Basically, it alters a population for our personal benefits. This procedure is most likely used in agriculture, such as in the number of eggs laid by a hen, the meat property of bullocks, and the milk yield of cows. Other examples of artificial selection include the different breeds of domestic dogs and the large ears of maize corn. In fact, I'm sure most people aren't aware that broccoli and cauliflower are also on the list of products resulting from artificial selection. As you can see, cauliflower and broccoli come from the same ancestor, the wild mustard plant. These plants are full of vitamins and are accepted by everyone (well, except by those kids who don't like their vegetables ;D) because they are contributing to making everyone healthier.

The introduction of a new population isn't the only benefit that results from artificial selection, but it has also resulted in plants that are more disease resistant. In countries that are prone to pests like locusts, drought, or flooding, artificial selection would be beneficial to create crops that are both pest and disease resistant. As well as ones that would be able to withstand an excessive amount of rainwater or heat. This would help feed more people and create more money for those who need it, because through artificial selection one would be able to choose the desirable trait of having their crops be able to withstand these disastrous natural phenomenons.

Now, focusing more on animals. As I've stated before, artificial selection can be used for our benefits of creating more. As in, selecting pigs that will produce more meat, race horses that will run faster, or chickens to lay more eggs and/or to be more plump. Yes, we may benefit from getting more out of all of this, but this does have some downsides as well. Inbreeding is the potential danger that can result from too much artificial selection. Inbreeding decreases the heterozygosity in the gene pool, which can have potential problems. The limited gene pool caused by inbreeding can higher up the endangerment and extinction potential since is does not ensure variation. With the lack of variation, animals are more susceptible to diseases. Artificial selection can result in irreversible results that were not intended, but too late to change. Take this featherless chicken as an example. It was selected to have no feathers so that one wouldn't have to waste time plucking the chickens' feathers. Thus, saving a lot of time. Less time plucking, and more time creating more meat is the result! This featherless chicken also grows faster and larger than its ancestor. Yet, because it has no feathers, it has no protection to cover itself. Therefore this chicken is prone to more viruses and viral infections, be attacked by mosquitoes, susceptible to parasites, and dare I say it.. get sunburn! :O As well, featherless males will not be able to mate because they can't flap their wings. All these factors just show that featherless chickens will suffer more than normal birds do. This is just one example of a bad affect from artificial selection. Other examples would be dairy cattle, which are selected to produce more milk, but some lines now suffer from increased infection and fertility problems. Some Persian cats are bred to have extremely flat faces, but this often results in respiratory problems and trouble eating. These few selected traits that I've mentioned are not selected to help animals survive, but instead for the own selfish desire of the owner.

As you can see, there are both positives and negatives to artificial selection. Sure, it benefits us. But does it also benefit the plants and animals in turn? The answer to this is not always. Sometimes our desires get in the way, and we put ourselves ahead of everything. Which is not how it's supposed to be. Whether or not you are okay with artificial selection or not, or if you just feel indifferent about it, I don't know.  In my opinion though, I think it is beneficial, but to a certain extent. We just need to learn where and when it is appropriate to stop. We just need to learn our limits.

Sources:

http://library.thinkquest.org/C0118084/Gene/Genetic_variation/artificialselection.htm

http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-artificial-selection.htm

http://www.nextnature.net/2006/10/featherless-chicken/

Design-A-Baby?

What is a designer baby you may ask. Well, "designer babies" is the term being used by the media to describe the future of modifying or selecting our children's genes for desirable characteristics (medical and cosmetic). This significantly reduces the chances that a child will be born with a genetic disorder. In this process, they use reproductive techniques involving InVitro Fertilization or IVF to fertilise eggs with sperm in 'test tubes' outside the mother's body in a labratory. Legally, there are only two ways that designer babies can be created. One of these ways is by choosing the type of sperm that will fertilise the egg. The other is by screening embryos for a genetic disease, and then only putting back the selected embryos in the mother's womb.

To think, we have advanced so ahead in technology that we can choose the desirable characteristics that we want our babies to have! It sounds pretty cool, don't you think? But, it is just unethical. Sure, by screening embryos for a genetic disease we are able to prevent the future children of this world from having any sort of disease by replacing their faulty sections of DNA with healthy DNA. We can have the baby that we always dreamed of. Sounds like a dream come true.. or more like an unbelievable scene from a science fiction book. Who would have thought that we would come to this point in life? We've created all the objects that are in our life, and now we are creating the people in our life as well!?

Not only is designing our babies wrong in my opinion, it is also financially draining. Doing this is very expensive, and couples really should take into consideration their financial status. They also need to consider how their child will be affected by being a designer baby. There are many high risks when it comes to these genetic enhancement experiments. By doing this we are losing our social and ethical values. We are changing how God has planned us to be. Just think about it, in the near future we will be divided even more. There's already criticism on many people's parts about being "perfect." Now this will just grow even stronger and result in more division. We will have our "perfect" designer babies and then we will have those who were created without the use of genetic enhancements. Do we really want this? Do we want to lose the uniqueness of each and every one of our children? We should embrace everything that God has to give to our children and not try to change it.

Yet, some people will actually be for this. They want their children to have the best that they can have. This even includes removing the obesity gene, or any undesirable gene that will only bring them suffering in life. But think about it. Isn't life made worth while with all the suffering that we have to endure? Sure, we want the best for our child, and having the oppurtunity to give them the best is great. Yet, there are always cons with the pros. Soon, this will all just turn into a competition. A competition as to which person has the better looking baby. People may think twice about this, but hopefully they won't do it. Babies and science shouldn't mix. Sure, it can cure diseases which is what we all want. A cure, right? But is this really the way to go? Well, I don't know how this will turn out. It can go either way. We'll just see what the future has in store for us. To design a baby or to not design a baby, that is the question.

Sources:

http://www.bionetonline.org/English/content/db_cont1.htm

 http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/03/designerdebate/

Humans. Invasive Species, Or Stewards Of The World?

In my own personal point of view, I see us humans as both invasive species & stewards of the world. There are some situations in which we are just trying to make things better, but in the long run we end up making it worse. This happens unintentionally many times, such as in the following situation. In the 1990's, there were two national parks in Africa in which the elephant population greatly increased. People believed that the best way to deal with this situation would be by killing a selected number of them in order to reduce their numbers. Or else they would eat up all the vegetation, which would not only affect them, but other animals as well. A scientist was against this, & asked them not to do this, but they eventually came to a mutual agreement. That agreement was that one park would be left alone, not touched at all, & the second park was allowed to have its elephant population reduced. A few years later, they found out that the park that was left alone regenerated its vegetation at a natural pace, the elephant popuation was naturally reduced, & everything was back in balance. While the other park that had some of its elephants killed was in poor conditions. As you can see from this situation, what we thought was going to benefit this ecosystem, in reality ended up harming it & affecting it negatively. Sometimes our quest to take care of & protect the biodiversity of our ecosystems ends up taking a wrong turn somewhere on the path.

Yet, there are other situations in which we know that we are being invasive, but choose to continue anyways. One of the situations that falls under this category is when we cut down trees. We cut down forests more quickly than they can regenerate. As well, we are taking away animals' habitats when we cut trees down. Yet, we do so because we need places to build new buildings, or materials to make objects with. But by getting stuff for ourselves through the cutting of trees, we are snatching away what many animals have strived on. We are well aware of our actions, but we invade other species' territories to meet our own needs. We all have different opinions when it comes down to whether we're invasive or just tending to the ecosystem's needs, but to me I see us as both. We were created to be stewards of the world, but both intentionally & unintentionally we are being invasive species.

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Sources:

http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2004/11/1105_041105_elephants_2.html