Human cloning Essay Example for Free

Human cloning Essay If there was one technology that the world never accepted, then it will be the cloning of humans. Just 30 hours after the news of a cloned lamb hit the streets, movements against human cloning already started forming (Pence 1998, p. 1). 90 days after the study, a law against human cloning was already being pushed. People claimed that there is no good reason to clone humans, and yet, how can this be known when there wasn’t enough time to discuss it? When the scientific community did not even have time to prove its advantages? Most of the arguments against cloning are philosophical in nature. It is not about â€Å"scientific facts but about ethics, human nature and public policy† (Pence 1998, p. 3). If we look at human cloning in an objective point of view we will realize that there are certain merits to this technology. Certainly, there are disadvantages too, but whether the disadvantages outweigh the advantages is still a question unresolved today. Advantages of Human Cloning Human cloning becomes a good prospect when we talk about the issue of infertility and genetic illnesses. In an article published by ScienceRay (Whatani 2008), it was mentioned that only half of the population of females are capable of gestation. Estimates show that current infertility treatments are only 10% effective (Benefits of Cloning n. d) hence, there are many couples who end up getting frustrated because of their inability to have children. With human cloning, there is no need for the egg to be fertilized, and there is no need to find a mate, and only one parent is needed to create a child (Teacher’s Domain 2010). Researches show that an average person carries 8 defective genes (Benefits of Cloning n. d). In some cases, these genes are recessive and no symptoms will appear, but there are also instances when the genes are inherited by the children and they become dominant traits. Down’s syndrome and Tay Sach’s disease are just two genetic illnesses which can be inherited if reproduction is left to natural means. Though human cloning, parents can choose which genes their children will inherit, thereby allowing them to get rid of the defective genes. Another advantage of cloning is that it is now possible to create organs which can be used for transplants (The Advantages of Cloning n. d). People with liver and kidney trouble no longer need to wait for a donor to get a transplant. People suffering from leukemia can get cloned marrow. Scientists will be able to produce effective therapy for cystic fibrosis if only they are allowed to test the technology for human cloning. Lastly, cloning will allow medical professionals to understand how cells differentiate and become cancer cells, thereby allowing the creation of a cure for the disease. Disadvantages of Sexual Reproduction In several researches conducted (Science Daily 2006; Treisman 1976; Williams and Mitton 1973) it was discovered that sexual reproduction allows populations to adapt to their environment better because they are able to resist harmful mutations. Yet, sexually transmitted diseases are already so widespread that sex has become risky. Also, sexual reproduction has its costs wherein the female carry most of the burden, a situation called as the two-fold costs of sex (Science Daily 2006). In his study, Ricardo Azevedo says that in order to overcome the two-fold cost of sex, two things must be true ‘The production rate of harmful mutations must be relatively high, such that each individual acquires on average one or more harmful germline mutations not inherited from its parents. The second is that these harmful mutations must interact in a special way, called negative epistasis, such that adding more and more harmful mutations makes you progressively worse off (Science Daily 2006). This means that in order for genetic illnesses and harmful mutations to become extinct, these two conditions must take place. Needless to say, there are no studies which show how prevalent negative epistasis is in nature, hence the extinction of genetic illnesses and mutations are purely by chance. With the world becoming even more chaotic because of the discovery of new incurable diseases and the rapidly degrading environment, there is a big possibility that the survival of humankind may need to rely with artificial means. With human cloning, it is now possible to create a healthier, if not a better race of individuals who are more resistant to mutations and have lesser diseases to endure (Phil for Humanity n. d).

American Technology :: Computers

American Technology In 1957 the USSR launches Sputnik, the first artificial earth satellite. In response, the United States forms the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) within the Department of Defense (DoD) to establish US lead in science and technology applicable to the military. In 1962 RAND Paul Baran, of the RAND Corporation, was commissioned by the U.S. Air Force to do a study on how it could maintain its command and control over its missiles and bombers, after a nuclear attack. This was to be a military research network that could survive a nuclear strike, decentralized so that if any locations (cities) in the U.S. were attacked, the military could still have control of nuclear arms for a counter-attack. In 1968 ARPA awarded the ARPANET contract to BBN. BBN had selected a Honeywell minicomputer as the base on which they would build the switch. The physical network was constructed in 1969, linking four nodes: University of California at Los Angeles, SRI (in Stanford), University of California at Santa Barbara, and University of Utah. The network was wired together via 50 Kbps circuits. In today’s society the Internet has greatly reduced the number of sent letters through the US postal service. This is true because if you can send the same information to somebody without wasting paper it is much better on the environment. Another reason why so many people have switched to using e-mail is that it is just simply faster than waiting for a letter in the mail. One more reason people use e-mail more is that the rate of postage to send a letter is steadily going up. It is currently at 37 cents per letter where sending e-mail is free. Some of the negative effects of this shift of people using e-mail over actually mailing their letters is the postage per letter is increasing more often than ever because more people use the internet to send letters now because it is just faster than mailing a letter which could take up to a week to get to your house where e-mail is instantaneous. The Internet’s impact on me personally is good overall. This is true because I surf the Internet when I’m bored, the Internet has online games that I can play with other people on the other side of the world if I wanted to. The Internet has all kinds of databases, which helps me on research papers like this one.

Stakeholders in Health Reform

When talking about healthcare reform, one must always think about the stakeholders. Stakeholders are â€Å"people and organizations that have a stake (interest) in what a healthcare organization does and that could affect the healthcare organization† (Olden, 2011). There are many different stakeholders in our case study but we will focus on the main ones. In Massachusetts, the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act had a considerable impact on hospitals and the health care system.Most community health centers were benefiting from coverage expansions and safety net hospitals were struggling financially due to the fact that the state put more funding towards insurance subsidies to expand coverage. Academic medical centers (AMC) were able to command higher prices and attract more patients from community hospitals due to the fact that policy makers kept putting off making decisions about slowing the growth of healthcare spending.AMCs â€Å"received the highest payment levels and we re able to negotiate the largest percentage increases, which increased the spending trends and widened the disparities between have and have-not providers in the market. † The more prestigious, big name hospitals had more power and thus could exercise more leverage. AMCs also expanded to the suburbs, which posed a considerable amount of threat to community hospitals by â€Å"raising the rates paid for services delivered in community settings and by increasing the number of referrals to downtown AMCs, which command the highest rates. Physician/ providers who owned free-standing, ambulatory centers had been approaching hospitals with offers to sell their facilities due to the fact that they were becoming less profitable due to â€Å"updated fee schedule and more aggressive health plan utilization management. † Physicians were also aligning themselves with hospitals and other larger practices. Small practices risked losing a large share of their patient panels if they dro pped out of health plan networks.The impact on the smaller, less prestigious hospitals/ healthcare systems were definitely negative, while the impact on larger, more prestigious hospitals/healthcare system seemed considerably more positive and beneficial. In regards to employers, according to the Massachusetts Health Care Reform Act (the Act), on July 1, 2007, Massachusetts employers with 11 or more full-time employees working in Massachusetts had three principal obligations. First, Massachusetts employers had to either make a â€Å"Fair and Reasonable Premium Contribution to heir employees' health care premiums or make a contribution to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts of up to $295 per year per employee. Second, Massachusetts employers had to establish a cafeteria plan for their employees under Section 125 of the Internal Revenue Code. Finally, every employer was required to report whether the employer has offered to pay for-or to arrange for-health care insurance coverage and w hether the employee has accepted or declined it† (James, 2007). If employers did not comply, they would face hefty fines.A provision of the Act was the merger of the small group and individual or non-group insurance markets, which was designed to make premiums more affordable for individuals. Small group premiums actually increased by 2. 6%. â€Å"The premiums of small employers had increased substantially since the merger of the small group and individual health insurance markets† (case study). Employers who were merged into the small group and non-group market â€Å"felt the impact of rising premiums because they were now subsidizing individuals in that market† (case study).Large employers didn’t really feel any impact except for the hassle for complying with the reporting requirements. Smaller employers usually didn’t have the manpower to guide them through the Act’s requirements, which put them at a higher risk of not being compliant. Ove rall though, compliance became a lot more challenging and â€Å"annoying† for employers. Insurance providers are also â€Å"major† stakeholders in healthcare policy and decision-making.Though they can be very influential in the healthcare policy and law decision-making process, they also are probably the most vilified. In Massachutettes, health plans wanted to eliminate â€Å"continuous open enrollment, assess the full annual penalty for any significant period of continuous un-insurance, impose waiting periods for certain services and bar consumers from buying in the merged market if they had access to employer sponsored coverage† (case study). Doing these things, the insurance companies hoped to lower premiums.Bill 2585 did pass but the law did not go as far as the insurance companies had hoped. It only â€Å"limited open enrollment in the merged market to twice a year in 2011 and once a year after that† (case study), which didn’t really help much . Due to loss in the small market group in 2009, health plans â€Å"planned double digit premium increases in 2010† (case study), but the government stepped in and put a stop to it. Even though the big name hospitals were driving up cost, the insurance companies were seen as the bad guys.This caused local plans to â€Å"record sizable operating losses for the first quarter of 2010 and had to draw on reserves to cover expected losses resulting from the rate rollbacks† (case study). The insurance companies, especially the smaller ones, suffered financially. The most important stakeholder in the healthcare policymaking is probably the patient. In Massachusetts, the Act provided â€Å"nearly universal health insurance coverage† (case study). In 2009 the uninsured dropped from 8. 2% to 2. 7%. People who had previously been uninsured and had no way to get proper healthcare, could now do so.There were some issues though. According to the Act, â€Å"the youngest and he althiest could avoid being the merged risk pool by purchasing less expensive coverage in a separate young adult market or by remaining on their parent’s plan until they turn 26† (case study). This was good for those patients but for others, it was a big issue because it was causing premiums to increase. Freestanding, ambulatory centers were being sold to hospitals. This increased the rates paid for services delivered at these facilities.Patients who â€Å"were covered by employer-sponsored insurance can buy short-term policies so that they can get access to treatments which are not usually covered in their regular plans† (case study). This is known as jumping in and out. Jumping in and out of these short-term plans caused premiums for other patients to up, which was one of the big issues that health plans wanted to resolve. Policymakers also proposed provider rates or giving the state the authority to tie provider rate increases to medical inflation in order to c ontain cost but nothing really came of that.There are many stakeholders involved in healthcare reform in Massachusetts. These included patients, hospitals and health systems, employers and insurance providers. There are of course other stakeholders that are on a smaller scale, such as medical equipment providers, healthcare advertisers and so forth but we wanted to focus on the major ones. Works Cited: James, L. H. , ; Rebecca, F. A. (2007). The massachusetts health care reform act: What employers need to know. Employee Benefit Plan Review, 61(12), 17-19. Retrieved from http://search. proquest. com/docview/216889767? accountid=10559.

Aids Research Paper - 1428 Words

Throughout the history of time, there have been diseases that have altered the environment of communities, societies, and the world. Some of these diseases were more catastrophic than others, however all are important to understanding how to prevent and prevail over these illnesses. One of the most preeminent diseases of our world today is the epidemic of AIDS. As a consistent killer throughout the world, AIDS has become an immediate concern to agencies and governments worldwide. In response, there are numerous international organizations that have been established to learn more about preventing, tracking, and treating the disease. Through extensive research and analysis, AIDS researchers are making gradual breakthroughs to benefit†¦show more content†¦A majority of newly infected HIV hosts do not experience any significant symptoms immediately after they contract the disease (WebMD). This lack of indication is a major reason that HIV spreads so quickly and testing is so important. The absence of knowledge is also why this disease is so dangerous. There are millions of people worldwide living their lives with no clue they are HIV positive. However, as the disease continues to spread, several other symptoms begin to arise. Initially, carriers begin to experience flu-like symptoms, nausea, and slight memory loss. After the HIV transfers to AIDS, which takes place once there are less than 200 virus fighting cells called CD4 cells, the symptoms become much worse (WebMD). Once the transfer occurs, AIDS can cause fevers, rashes, seizures, severe diarrhea, vision loss, and even increases your susceptibility to cancer (WebMD). Since the immune system becomes so weak throughout the process, the smallest infections or viruses can pose significant health risks to the patient. The patient has no way of defending against these viruses because the infection fighting cells of their body are not there to fight. 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