Pinkerton Elementry

This six weeks we had the privilege of going to Pinkerton Elementary and helping third graders dissect a cow’s eye and a sheep’s heart. It was so much fun to see the kids reaction to the eye and heart, and to hear what they thought about the dissections. While we were cutting open the eye the kids would ask about the cow and how we got its eye. They wondered if someone had found the cow eye and that is why we had it, or if it had just fallen out of the cows skull. We explained to the kids that the cow had died and that all its body parts had been donated to science so that we could do cool things like dissect it for them. They were fascinated with the eye. When we opened up the eye the kids got really excited to see what the inside of an eye looked like. We explained and pointed out what all the different parts of the eye were, and even let the kids hold the eye.

When we opened the sheeps heart the third graders were more timid to touch the heart than the eye. They asked all kinds of questions like where all the blood went, and why there wasn’t any blood in the heart when we cut it open. It was really interesting to hear the questions they asked. They were fascinated when we explained the different chambers of the heart and I could tell they were thinking of their own hearts when we talked about the different parts of the sheep’s heart. In the end we asked them how they could keep their hearts healthy and they gave us all sorts of answers, from eating healthy to exercising. I think the third graders really benefited from our visit because they got to see and learn about not only a sheep's heart and cow’s eye but their own hearts and eyes too.

Skyping with New Zealand and Australia

This six weeks our anatomy class had the privilege of skyping with a school in New Zealand to talk with them about how living a healthy life style differs than in America. It was interesting to see how things were different even simple things like the way they introduced themselves.  When the video connected we were greeted by two different schools, an all boys school from New Zealand and and international school in Australia. The teacher from the New Zealand school wanted a very formal introduction.

The sound quality from the Australia was not very good so we only picked up some of what they had to say. What we did learn was that as an international school the students come from all over the world and attend the school for a 6 moths program. While they are there they take cooking classes and learn how to shop at local farmers market as well as  how to prepare food in healthy ways.  

The New Zealand school was an all boys school. We learned that they eat a lot of sea food. They seemed very interested in all the fast food restaurants in America and could not believe that there was a fast food restaurant on every street corner. In New Zealand they have fast food restaurants  but they are not on every corner and they are seen as very negative thing so people try and avoid eating there. The boys also seemed very interested in how America preserves its land.

It was very fun and interesting skyping with schools from different countries and it put into perspective what other people around the world think about america.  

TED TALK HIV and the Flu

TED TALK

In this video, Seth Berkley  talks about HIV and flu virus. He explains that with the use of modern technology we are close to eliminating some virus' all together with vaccines. Vaccines are modified pathogens that are trained to recognize foreign virus' (also known as antigens) right away. When a foreign substance such as a virus enters the body. B cells are antibodies that remember the virus and are able to send out an alert when a virus enters the body. Killer T cells respond to that alert and attack and kill the virus. Because of vaccinations the B cells are able to remember the virus and T cells attack it quickly when it next enters the body.

In this video Berkley talks about effects of HIV compared to those who have the Influenza virus. He mentions the importance of the HIV vaccine. Berkley also mentions how vaccine were created, by using a chicken egg. I found this very interesting as I did not know where the vaccine originated from.

By educating those around the world about the HIV virus and how to prevent it would help out those who know nothing about HIV. With lots of research and by testing the vaccine it might one day be able to be sent out to everybody in the world.

Unfortunately I disagree with Berkley, I do not think at this time it is possible to get the HIV virus to every person who needs it. There is no way to get the resources needed in order to cure every infected person.  The HIV virus is constantly altering and adapting making it harder and harder to get rid of. With all the facts that Berkley talks about he does not convince me that everybody who has HIV will be cured of this disease.

Red Jacket Application Video

This video is a great example of something that I put a lot of time and effort into. It shows desirable characteristics, and the determination I acquire. This video was used for an application process, and it accurately shows my personality to the viewer. Though making this video, I learned how to make a professional video as well as how to show off qualities I thought would be a great asset to the Red Jacket organization.