Author: Anders

Example of drugs from plants are:

Aspirin, quinine, morphine and many more. However a large proportion of drugs made from plants are not medically used.

Drugs must be tested before given out to people to use. This is because they are substances that cause changes to the body. If they are not created correctly for the person, it could cause harm instead of help them. The first stage to testing a drug is with human cells grown in a laboratory to make sure it is not toxic to us, make sure it is safe. This first stage is very crucial as this is probably the first version of the drug and it may not be developed right. It is common for the substance to fail this first test. After the first stage the drugs are tested on animals. A specific amount is given and then the animal is monitored very carefully for more or less the whole time, looking for any effect to appear. If the drug passes the second stage it is tested on healthy human volunteers. They are given a miniscule amount to make sure that there are no problems. Finally an optimum dose of the drug is tested on them and they are monitored. There is always the possibility that the dose could have unexpected side effects that harm, causing the drug to undergo more development, costing more and more money.

Antibodies play a key role in our immune system. They are proteins that are produced by the immune system to target and fight off antigens trying to cause an infection. For example this could be bacteria, a virus or another organism that is invading our body.

A pathogen will enter our body and soon our cells will recognise that it is an invader, an antigen. Then the particular white blood cells called lymphocytes would be alerted of these intruders and start creating antibodies. The antibodies are specifcally made to fight that certain antigen. Eventually the invader will be engulfed by numerous white blood cells known as macrophages or phagocyte. They are both called T-cells.

When the antigens have been dealt with, the antibodies still remain in case the same antigen attacks again. This means those antibodies will be ready the next time and respond almost instantly. For example if chicken pox returns for the second time, the antibody created by the immune system would remember how to fight it and kill it before the infection even starts. This is known as immunity.

The invention of the microscope was a huge step forward to our knowledge of almost everything. We are now able to discover things on a microscopic level. This allows us to find out about the structure of cells and what they do. We were able to discover our genes and why we are how we are. Without the microscope we would not have been able to cure all the diseases that have developed. Everyday new things are being discovered and a part of that is because of this helpful tool.

Magnification and Resolution:

Magnification is when we make smaller things appear larger or in other words enlarging it. We enhance or sight and allow ourselves to be able to see things that are so small that we cannot see it with the naked eye. The larger we can get it to be, the more detail we can find out. Things that we need a microscope to see are microscopic. Resolution is the ability to find the minimum distance between two objects – the ability to distinguish between two different point.

Electron and Light Microscope:

Both microscopes are are good at looking at things that are far too small to see with the naked eye. One uses electrons and one uses photons/light. Electron microscopes can magnify up to 2 million times which is a lot higher than light (2000 times). As well as that it is possible to view the outside shape in 3D. Electron microscopes have disadvantages as well. One of them is that they are very expensive and take longer to set the experiment up. The thing that is being viewed sometimes needs a thin layer  of metal on top if it to reflect electrons, must be dead and completely dry.

Darwin’s theory of natural selection is when species over millions of years slowly adapt to their habitat to survive. Some are born with small characteristic changes that make it easier to survive and pass these traits on to their offspring. An example of this is peppered moths. Over a long time their pale colour turned into black so it could camouflage with the black trees around it. This let it have a much higher chance of not being killed by predators and reproduce whereas the pale moths would be spotted instantly and die. That is why we see more darker coloured moths in our civilisation today. This theory is called natural selection not because someone chooses what dies and what does not but because of how the more adapted species live out the others which have not evolved. It is inevitable to happen over time as anything living does whatever it takes to survive.

This film is a western film. The main character is a 14 year old girl named Mattie Ross who goes on a journey to take revenge of her father’s death. She knows that the killer is a man called Tom Chaney but he had fled a long way before getting caught. Mattie goes to seek help to catch Chaney and ends up finding deputy Marshall Rooster Cogburn and a Texas Ranger named LaBoeuf. There are many aspects of the theme of ruggedness such as gunfights or kill or be killed. Mattie near the start of the film straight away shows grit by crossing a deep river on her horse to catch up to Cogburn and LaBoeuf who had left her behind because they thought she would weigh them down. Many arguments occur between if she can keep going through all the dangers but it still works out. This is because Mattie has something quite special. Her convincing and arguing skills are so good. She managed to win her way with a stable master and get good bargain. The Marshall showed the most grit. He had a gunfight on horseback against four people and won with the help of the Texas Ranger’s amazing sniper shot to finish off the last guy. Even after that, Mattie is poisoned by a snake and needs treatment immediately. Cogburn rides his horse carrying Mattie for miles. Since the horse was injured from the earlier gunfight, it falls over and dies. Cogburn carries Mattie in his arms for even longer until he falls and a house is nearby. How wouldn’t all of this be grit or ruggedness with your life or someone you care abouts life on the line.

In this non-fiction book a man, James Bowen, lives rough on the streets of London. Taking drugs, and busks for a living. This means he has barely enough money to keep the rent on his apartment and potentially could end up on the streets. Already this links to the theme of ruggedness because it is someone struggling to survive in modern day London. James has more problems. As he busks in a very public place, some police patrol the area. He does not have a busking license so he gets kicked off the site.

A ginger cat, who later is named Bob, changes James’ life. Bob follows him everywhere as well as on the bus. This is because James found the cat with a broken leg and took him to the vet. Since Bob does not stop following him, he walks around with Bob on a leash and sometimes on his shoulder. This attracts more people towards him while he is playing guitar and then give money. This helps James survive and earn more money for himself and his companion, Bob. I did not realise at first how this book could link to ruggedness because it was set in modern London instead of something classic like a post apocalyptic theme. It made reading this book interesting to see all the ways it does link as well as it is an autobiography.

Voting is important. It lets you tells your thoughts on things without anything stopping you. In elections for president, we all want that one person we agree and like to be president. However if you do not vote, there is less of a chance of them being it. Some may say that them self, the one out of millions of people, do not really contribute that much to the vote as so many other people would do it. But that is wrong because for example the votes for Barack Obama and Mitt Romney for being president of the United States was very close. Obama only won by about 4%. If those people did not speak their mind then USA could be a different place with someone else leading it. Everyone wants their country to be run the best it can. You can quickly and easily make a difference to what your voting for and no one can disagree or take away that vote. Why would you not vote if could?

I started off saying talking about how we ‘all’ want something. This makes everyone feel included in the speech. I gave reasons why we vote and why some people do not feel the need to vote to tell both sides of the argument. To counter the argument of not voting I gave an example of how such a small difference can change big things. Then said that it is so easy and quick so why would you not speak your mind.