Forensics Quiz

The man found supine on Thompson Creak Trail with a bullet wound died from internal bleeding. Because the bullet traveled at a 45 degree downward angle in the frontal plane, the bullet had to have ricocheted off the now fractured 8th rib on the right side, exiting 5 cm above the belly button in the umbilical region. The bullet punctured the stomach and/or the liver, causing the internal bleeding. By puncturing the liver, much blood would have been lost due to the fact that the liver holds the hepatic portal vein which collects all of the blood that comes from the spleen, stomach, pancreas, gallbladder, and intestines. 

-The bullet could have traveled straight through the body from the entrance wound to the exit wound. However, we can rule this out because of the cracked rib and the fact that the bullet traveled with a 45 degree downward angle.

-We can also rule out the possibility of the man having been beaten, resulting in the cracked rib, because there was no bruising found on the body.

-The possibility of suicide can also be ruled out because there is no way that the man would have been able to to angle his arm in a 45 degree downward position. Plus, why would a man committing suicide choose to shoot himself in the left lateral are 1 inch above the third rib?

Anthony Atala: Growing New Organs

Anthony Atala's mention some very interesting things in his TED Talk. For instance, every 30 seconds, a patient dies from diseases that could be treated with tissue replacement. Stem cells can work, like what we've been talking about in class. But research and studies on how to use stem cells hasn't exactly been fully explored yet, in terms of actual therapies for organs, as Atala mentioned in his talk.

I also learned from this talk that our bodies are constantly regenerating, especially as we get older. When there is an injury, things get tricky. When there is an injury or disease, the body's (part where inury or disease is located) first reaction is to seal itself off from the rest of the body to fight off infections. This sealing is called scar tissue.

Atala's big question throughout this talk is can we grow organs instead of having to transplant them? He talks about how if a patient were to have a disease or injury (in larger organs), you can remove a small piece of tissue from that organ, take the tissue apart and look at the basic components of it, then you take those cells out and grow/expand them. Then you put them in the body using a scaffold (?) to bring the cells into the body. Once the cells are in the body and the tissue is regenerated, the scaffold disintegrates. I think it is kind of like the ear we talked about in class.

Your Inner Healers

The article we had to read talks about induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Apparently, scientists have claimed to have found a formula of genes from mice skin cells that creates the iPSCs, adult cells. Scientists were able to change the original identities of these cells and rejuvenate them to an embryonic state. This discovery, according to the article, could possibly hold the cure to diseases such as type 1 diabetes, alzheimers, or even Parkinson's disease. If this article is correct, then this discovery could definitely be a groundbreaking one that could help many patients diagnosed with diseases such as the ones I mentioned.    

THYROID CANCER PAPER

So, I finished the final draft of my paper on thyroid cancer this week, and I have to say, I'm really proud of it. I learned a lot from the research I did. For example, genetics play a really big role in both the cause and treatment of thyroid cancer. Certain genes are used to help treat the cancer, but at the same time there are some genes that, when mutated, can actually contribute to the cause of this cancer. I also learned about the other treatments doctors use on patients, such as radiation treatments and chemotherapy. 

A thyroid is one of the largest endocrine glands, and it is located in the neck below the "Adam's apple." When a thyroid is cancerous, it usually grows lymph nodules. It actually looks really disgusting.

I'm sure you will never be able to think of or say the words "thyroid" and "nodes" without thinking of this image. Your welcome. 

I also researched more on that theory I talked about. You know, the one about the HPV vaccine for teens that could possibly be causing cancer. Apparently, there are many women who have taken this vaccine and have not long after been diagnosed with thyroid cancer. There are many websites dedicated to putting a stop to Gardasil. Doctors and the manufacturer himself refuse to do a carcinogenicity test on the vaccine. I feel that this theory needs to be looked into more.    

First Week Back: CANCER

Our first week back after break, we were given an assignment on cancer. The assignment was to write a review research paper on a specific cancer, one of our choosing. I chose to write it on thyroid cancer because I have a friend who was diagnosed with it almost 2 years ago. I really wanted to research more on this theory going around that the HPV vaccine for teens, Gardasil, is possibly causing thyroid cancer, or at least contributing to the cause.



We were also assigned new partners for the rest of the semester, and I'm actually pretty happy with mine. My partner and I had to take a Quest on Cancer. The Quest was that we had to create a treatment for a cancer and explain what it does. We honestly had no idea what we were doing, but we came up with something, eventually. It was sort of along the lines of a pill that should be taken twice a day that can stop a cancerous cell at the G1 checkpoint in the cell cycle.