Biosolid's not waste afterall

For those of you who don't know what bio solids are, they are nutrient-rich organic materials resulting from the treatment of domestic sewage in a treatment facility. When treated and processed, these residuals can be recycled and applied as fertilizer to improve and maintain productive soils and stimulate plant growth.

The pros of using bio solids is that it creates jobs, is a cost effective for disposal, recycles versus filling landfills, promotes farming, reduces emissions from transportation to landfills and is a good free land fertilizer. The cons of using bio solids is that it is a potential health hazard, the effects are irreversible, contamination may occur resulting from accumulation of industrial waste, its true composition is not known and may contain hazardous chemicals.

This topic is still debated on because there are concerns of health risks, its long term effects, if it is transferable to our food and water, and once bio solids are applied, it is irreversible. Despite this, there are those who do think that bio solids is the way to go and think that it is beneficial for agriculture and even to the rest of our environment. Surprisingly a fraction of these people are farmers. You can't blame them because bio solids reduces the need for chemical fertilizers and is free. Then there are people who reside in the city and think things like 'that is just disgusting beyond belief!'. But many of us can't deny that we couldn't even stand the after scents when someone finishes using the bathroom. So my point here is yes, I really do believe that many people are influenced by the western view of human waste as unsanitary and well..nasty. They do not see the potential benefits that bio solids could have on agriculture but also for the environment as a whole.

Even though many people think of the negative effects bio solids 'may' have on our environment, they don't really think about the positive effects it could also have. I don't think it can't be that bad. After all, it comes from our waste; that has to be natural..and natural is good; unless they happened to add chemicals to it, then that just defies my previous sentence.

Works Cited:

http://www.cwwa.ca/faqbiosolids_e.asp

http://ehpnet1.niehs.nih.gov/qa/105-1focus/focusbeauty.html

Posts I Commented On:

http://philipsbiologyblog.blogspot.com/2011/05/biosolids-truth-behind-poop.html?showComment=1311180253176#c3540460723841605849

http://cfbioblog.blogspot.com/2011/06/from-your-toilet-to-your-plate.html?showComment=1311181353236#c3259036331079504885

The Importance of Technology to Understand Internal Body Systems

Technology has impacted the understanding of Internal Body Systems, in a highly positive manner. As it’s benefited in health care, health administration, hospitals and alternative care delivery systems. There has been an enormous impact on the health care industry, as capital requirements to purchase different types of technology would increase so that the pressure on personnel would be reduced significantly. Knowing this computers and robots will play a key role in transforming the amount of health care personnel today, and thus impacting our health care costs because there will a continue of improvement in productivity. With the availability of this sophisticated technology, future doctors and surgeons will have a greater appreciation for what technology can offer.

There are many devices that benefit us now such as; Large digital files containing x-ray, CT, ultra-sound or MRI scans of a patient can be shared in real-time, regardless of location. Patient records can be quickly accessed at a patient’s beside with a PDA or tablet PC. Pictures of a patient’s injuries can be forwarded by paramedics from an accident site to help emergency hospital personnel assess and prepare for treatment while the patient is enroute to the hospital. Real-time remote diagnosis of stroke victims can allow neurologists to assess the patient’s status and prescribe medications more quickly. Healthcare facilities can also benefit by investing in innovations such as intelligent hospital networks powered by high-speed, mobile broadband technologies like Wi-Fi, Mesh, WiMax, HSDPA and EV-DO. These technologies support real-time communications and bandwidth- hungry mobile applications like video. Therefore, the importance of technology to Understand Internal Body Systems, is significant as it will impact us in the future and now.

In Conclusion, one thing is for certain as Technology provides us with a model to better understand Internal Body Structure and its process. Personally, I believe at this rate of rapid improvement we will experience dramatic changes that will benefit us down the road. As doctors will be more dependent on various types of devices to control and perform tasks with ease, as human care will be provided for with the assistance of technology via robotic engineering.

“Technology is going to provide our incredibly stressed healthcare system with a chance to heal itself. By simplifying time-consuming processes and eliminating some of the major causes of medical errors, technology will ensure the right skill level and right cost structure is in place to provide the best care effectively and efficiently. Nortel brings communications capabilities that can deliver clinical and business solutions in this market.”

-          Phil Edholm, Chief Technologist and VP Architecture, Nortel Enterprise.

References:

“Technology’s impact on Healthcare”. Nortel > http://www2.nortel.com/go/news_detail.jsp?cat_id=-10061&oid=100212311&locale=en-us&lcid=-1

“Between technology and humanity: the impact of technology on health care ethics”. > http://jme.bmj.com/content/31/1/e4.extract

Posts I Commented On:

http://jeefchan.blogspot.com/2011/05/technology-and-humans-relevance.html?showComment=1311083762033#c5311205531673404396

http://jaelorenz.blogspot.com/2011/06/technology-there-is-always-more-to-come.html#comments

Artificial Selection in Plants and Animals?

The artificial selection in plants and animals is the process of changing the characteristics of animals by artificial measures. Some examples of this would be how animal breeders are often able to change the physical characteristics of domestic animals by selecting the reproduction of those species some of which include speed in racehorses, milk production in cows, and even the trail scenting in dogs. Even though that artificial selection has resulted in plants that are supposedly more disease-resistant, so that cows can produce more milk, and the ability for racehorses to run faster. I am strongly against artificial in plants and animals, there are many reasons that this could provide benefits for us, but knowing that this already occurring now who knows what will come next. This shouldn’t be performed under any circumstances, but there are positives to the case. It is used to improve plants and animals but by choosing traits caused by a single allele that produces a worker that performs it’s job worse than the worker made by another allele, so farmers and plant breeders through selecting the against the many traits we don’t like, such as the production of poisons, indigestible parts, and molecules that prevent a bad taste.

There are also many drawback’s to artificial selection, this includes how it is not possible to select for or against things that aren’t visible, which are like new allergens. Even though this tool of Artificial Selection had been practised by humans since the dawn of agriculture, but only recently have revolutionized this tool to understand nature. It is also a useful tool that has been use to generate the untold diversity in both plants and animals. With the power to control the way agriculture is generated and made into superior strains of corn, wheat and even soybeans by controlling and carefully breeding. Considering that I am strongly against any modifications to the natural growth of plants and animals, people today are only trying to carefully produce the perfect hybrid. There can be dramatic change because of artificial selection as it is still being used to alter a population, alter the number of eggs that are laid by hens, even the milk yield produced by cows.

In conclusion, one thing is for certain as artificial selection provides us with a model to better under stand natural selection and it’s process. Personally being strongly against any methods of Artificial I believe that there should be a stop to this, even though it provides us with observations and the opportunity to modify forms of beings we are indefinitely ensuring steps that will evade natural conditions acting on specific populations, causing natural change.

“It may be said that natural selection is daily and hourly scrutinizing. Throughout the world, every variation, even the slightest; rejecting that which is bad, preserving and adding up all that is good; silently and insensibly working, wherever and whenever opportunity offers, at the improvement of each organic being in relation to its organic and inorganic conditions of life.”

-          On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, 1859”

Lists of Works Cited:

“What is Artificial Selection?”. Wize Geek.> http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-artificial-selection.htm

“Artificial selection”. Black Well Publishing..> http://www.blackwellpublishing.com/ridley/a-z/Artificial_selection.asp

Posts I Commented On:

http://philipsbiologyblog.blogspot.com/2011/02/genetically-enhanced-agriculture-step.html?showComment=1310340065935#c2694465647698033069

http://jaelorenz.blogspot.com/2011/03/opt-for-sustainable-agriculture-or-go_20.html?showComment=1310489152412#c1108445165376696510