Technology.

I decided that since I updated my other blog, I might as well update this one as well right? (Not like many read this, but to those who do I have one thing to say: hi!)

Have you ever pondered about normal tasks, such as talking with friends, and realize how much we depend on technology to allow our lives to function?  A simple click away, and we have the ability to speak with friends that are many miles away as if they were within close proximity.  We have the capacity to draw upon information made readily available on the internet, and even keep in contact with friends through social media sites.  But all benefits have a consequence; in this case, we diminish the values held by our predecessors who cherished face-to-face interactions, ultimately resulting in a the loss of intimacy found through communities. Unlike other posts, this will be opinionated and be my thoughts on the matter (which have been stewing in my brain for quite some time, so I believe I can adequately address the issue now). 

Face-to-face interactions were required for individuals to contact each other.  Much like it is viewed in nature, animals are viewed as social creatures.  Interactions that they have with other members of their species is not only beneficial for their populations (they have the capacity of moving in groups), it also nurtures the individual. How?  If you think about it, if a human baby is left in the middle of the forest without other humans to interact with it, what will happen?  For me, I immediately think of Mowgli from the Jungle Book.  But getting back to my main point, how is it that we understand what a human is? Is it the beings that share experiences similar to our own?  Perhaps it is the logic that another being has the capacity for? Maybe it can be simplified further: the physical nature of the being's similarity to us.  In any case, to find a being that is similar uncovers a nature that is more than likely found in most animals in existence.

The sense of belonging to a group has been inherent within most animals.   To associate themselves to another increases the capacity to think from a single mind to two.  Similarly the sharing of experiences will decreases the possibility of emotional stress since manifesting the problem is most always the first step.  But as we progress through the technological age, we are slowly losing the interactions which were beneficial in the older times.  Granted, convenience has replaced these interactions because it is much easier to video call a friend 30 miles away than driving to their house whenever you would like to speak with them.  But by relying heavily on technology for the interactions which are valued highly, we slowly lose our ability to speak with individuals and lose our sense of belonging.  Doing this increases the stress that we take upon ourselves which greatly afflict those without a family, or smaller families.  Granted the individuals may be strong-willed and have a great support network, but for those who do not have it, technology may be an infection to their lives. Technology replaces their interactions with others and also takes other forms asides from social media and chat rooms.   Video games are notorious for changing the actions of students and persons alike.  Sometimes individuals find themselves lost in games and use it as a form to replace the interactions they may have with others by interacting with characters in the games.  But this only helps the person so far, for they have a second life that they must tend to within society.  In the end, a society that relies solely on technology will be bound towards failure.  Replacing the interactions that have been the foundation for our species and next of kin alike will have a dramatic effect which we can only hope to be positive but I  believe otherwise.  By straying from face-to-face interactions we will not only put a greater stress upon ourselves, but we will also diminish one of the greater attributes to humans and animals: the capacity for emotions and empathy.

Cancer.

This has been an issue for quite some time now.  To summerize what cancer is, it is basically, to my understanding, cells that are growing out of control (prone to more mutations).  There are different categories of cancer, and typically cancer was generalized with death for there was nothing that could be used to treat it once it affected a person.  But due to modern medicine, treatments have been developed, but may prove not to be the best alternatives.  The current treatment of cancerous cells is to remove tumors from the body before they become a later-stage cancer (which are typically malignant).  Simple enough: if you cut the fuse before it touches the stick of dynamite, you have less of a chance of the explosive going off.  However, these plans are not fool-proof, and there could be multiple areas where there is a fantastic opportunity for cancer to grow, to which it may.  This is where route two is taken: chemotherapy.  This is the purposeful injection of a chemical into the body to target cells that are growing to rapidly, which is a pretty bad, but effective, way to "cure" cancer.  In doing so, not only are you killing off the rapidly dividing cells that comprise tumors/cancerous cells, you are also killing off the cells within your body that rely on rapid division (i.e. epithelial cells, bone cells, etc.).

Wow, I must break here since this is quite an old post that I hadn't published, nor finished for that matter.  Let me continue then.

Chemotherapy is dangerous since the same cells you want to kill may not be killed, instead you may kill off your Adult stem cells (i.e. bone marrow cells) which are needed to produce more cells.  This is one of the reason why it is so dangerous, since the very treatment used to help a person may in fact put them in a worse state than they had started with.  There are various methods to indicate the stage of the cancer, and where it is spread to (for example, thyroid cancer is very specific since iodine is needed to regulate thyroid hormone, so an iodine isotope will specifically target and treat the thyroid).   To address this, more research must be done on the mechanism for cell division, how is cell division different in stem cells opposed to somatic cells, how are stem cell divisions different from the method at which cancerous cells divide, are there specific mechanisms that can be deduced amongst the different forms of cancer, etc.  There must be something that we, as people, can do to solve this problem.  Granted, cancer is one of nature's mechanisms to prevent the possibility of overpopulation for the human species, however. humans are emotional beings.  If there is a possibility for us to save our loved ones, even if it is a slight chance, we have the capacity to rationally choose the correct pathway for both the family and the afflicted: but some do not.  Truthfully, not much is known about cancer, nor is a treatment viable for all forms.  However, in the coming days, there may be a person who will discover such a treatment, leading us a step closer towards advancing our future in the medical field.

-JuzoInspired