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Here's a slideshow from day 2 of our urban adventure.

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Follow in our footsteps

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Green Literature

While at lunch, Jeremy stopped by Borders and saw this book:

Final thoughts by Jeremy W.

Jeremy wrote a very thoughtful reaction to JUA...

JUA Conclusion

I think that the sites we visited didn’t help answer our questions. While I learned a lot visiting with the pharmacoepidemioligist, the environmentally friendly Epicenter, the Museum of Science, and at the Children’s Hospital, I didn’t gather enough information to accurately answer any of our focus questions. I feel that the sites we visited were bias in that they only argued in favor of science “Saving Us.” It’s hard to get any views at a hospital or environmentally sound building of how technology hurts us when these places are examples of technology saving us. I would like to have talked to a pollution specialist or a war analysis. I would like to have learned just how bad cars hurt the environment and other problems with modern technology. If JUA 2008 chooses to do this trip, they need to learn from our mistake and visit a more wide variety of sites. Additionally, the places we visited talked about subjects a little stray from our driving questions. To learn whether environmentally friendly buildings will save the planet, we need to learn more numbers and talk to experts. It was interesting seeing how one building incorporated green technologies, but I didn’t know to what extent. I didn’t know how much it cost them, if they were saving money, if they were saving that much energy. I didn’t know how they put the system in place and the benefits and consequences of the building for its artists and for the community. I learned a lot at the MOS, but there wasn’t enough specific information about renewable energy. I liked the solar-wind power exhibit, but all I learned was how a wind mill works, not how it can change the world. I really enjoyed my time at the Children’s Hospital, but the only really helpful information was that of bacterial resistance to antibiotics. Otherwise, the slideshow and the tour of the microbiology and virology labs didn’t help me answer our questions. I can see how technology helps the hospital prevent infections, analyze bacteria, and even show good slideshows, but I couldn’t get a good perspective on whether these technologies will ultimately save us. Sure they seem to help now, but the doctors/scientists didn’t say to what extent and the problems that they endure. If I don’t know about their successes and failures, then I can’t truly say whether this technology is saving us or not. However, I learned a lot at all the exhibits, and regardless if I answered our focus questions or not, I answered a thousand others. I learned a lot about technology, medicine, and renewable resources and it will help me with my life. Most importantly, at least more so than the specific facts that I learned which I will probably forget soon, I learned to be a better thinker. I analyzed everything I head, saw, smelt, touched, and tasted. I took in knowledge and came out with ideas. I brought a notebook along the trip, and by the end, I came out with designs for utopian communities, subways, skyscrapers, restaurants, and youth hostels. This experience allowed me to see what the quality of life is in Boston. For the most part, people seemed happy. However, the traffic jams, high cost of food, pollution, dirt, coldness, and other little things made me realize that there is so much that needs improvement. We may have clean technology, new highways, cheaper food, green buildings, warm clothes and spaces, but the majority of Boston doesn’t enjoy these luxuries. We still have problems that reduce the quality of life. Until these problems are solved, or at least minimized, we are dying. We may have the technology that can save us, but until we put in place, we are losing. Many people believe that seeing evil and doing nothing is almost as bad as doing that evil oneself. The same applies to technology. Learning the technology that can increase the quality of our lives, but doing nothing, is just as bad as not trying to gain new technologies. Why can’t these revolutionary sciences be put in place? If they aren’t in place, there must be an answer. If there is an answer, then science is not winning. It may not be slaying us, but it just as well may be. Unless we use science to save us, we will die. People are dying. People around the world die every day from starvation, disease, and lack of shelter, among others. Many people think that global warming will result in ruin and that we don’t have the safe measures to protect people from war and nuclear holocaust. Innocent people do die in war and countries do have nuclear weapons. Science must act to save us, because by not acting, it is indirectly slaying us. For it was this science that allowed for so many people to be alive and get sick and develop guns and machines to contribute to global warming. I am not suggesting that we take away all of our technologies because that would be wrong. They have increased our quality of life. More people can be alive. Each person can have enough food and shelter and medicine to live happily. We have the means to travel to experience more in the world. We have the institutions to let people learn, play, and have fun. People can live an entire life in happiness- with school, friends, a fun job, and a happy retirement. It is possible for every person to be happy. We must not get rid of our technologies. However, we need to recognize that we are past the point of improving our quality of life and onto hurting it. We must recognize this error, fix our mistakes, and step forward with caution so that technology adds to happiness and doesn’t take away from it. In our experience here in Boston, experiencing the life of students, employees, the rich, the poor, we have found that for the most part, technology is a good thing and can save us. Most importantly, we have found out what it will save us from. Before we left on JUA, I asked my peers what science is going to save us from and they had no answers. A few people said global warming, but there was no general consensus. But on this trip, we discovered that science is going to save us from living unhappy. It’s going to save us from living happily while others live unhappily. Science causes many evils, but we are evil if we don’t use science. Science causes much happiness, but we are unhappy with the results of science. Science will save us. But we must change our ways now. Otherwise, science is as guilty for causing all the bad in the world as every bad person. It is time for America to step up and take action. It is not too late to build a better place to live. It is not too late to late to realize our mistakes and revitalize the planet. It is not too late to acknowledge the problems with the world and to take action. It is not too late to act based on what we now know. We will not know until we are too late.

Jeremy's thoughts on infection control

Notes on Ms. Reilly at the Children’s Hospital (Infection Control)

I. Introduction
1) Background
a. purpose- to reduce the risks of infections at the hospital
b. staff- 3 full time epidemiologists, 1 manager, and 1 physician

2) How infections occur
a. source
b. susceptible person
c. mode of transportation

II. Infection
A. Source
1. People
i. with active infections
ii. with chronic diseases (hepatitis C or HIV)
iii. with normal bacteria (normal flora)
2. Contaminated equipment 3. Animals and insects (Lime, West Nile)
B. Susceptible Person
1. Person with no immunity who is exposed
2. Person with a weak immune system
C. Modes of Transportation
1. Common Source
i. multiple people get sick from the same source
ii. ex. Manufacturing mistake, or tainted food at a party
2. Contact
i. direct- skin to skin contact
ii. indirect- contact with a contaminated object (an intermediate object)
a. ex. Doorknob
3. Droplet Transmission (respiratory)
i. Droplets generated by coughing, sneezing, talking, etc.
ii. Propelled less than three feet
iii. Deposited on a host’s eyes, nose, or mouth
4. Airborne
i. Same as Droplet
ii. Remain in air for more than three feet
iii. Inhaled by another person
5. Vector Born
III. Prevention
A. Wash Hands
B. Standard Precautions
1. Wear protection: gloves, gowns, masks, eye protection, etc.
C. Patient Placement and Isolation
1. Private rooms or grouped by bug
2. Follow standard precautions
3. Dedicate equipment to only one patient
4. ex. Tuberculosis- add ventilation to rooms
IV. Bacteria Resistance
A. Micro bacteria have a drive to survive
B. Bacteria evolve to make antibiotics less effective or useless
C. The Question: Will we keep going back and forth with new antibacterial medicine and bacteria evolving so we have to make new medicine so the bacteria evolve…or will science win in the end?
D. Why Bacteria are resistant
1. People use antibiotics improperly- By not completing a prescription, the bacteria adapt to the antibacterial drugs
2. Bacteria have genetic mutations
3. Resistant genes can be transmitted between bacteria without mutation (conjugation)
V. The Lab
A. Hospitals have extensive and high-tech labs which can test bacteria and viruses to find their makeup to figure out what antibacterial will kill them
B. Boston Children’s Hospital handles about 200 bacteria or virus samples a day- below their capacity



Jeremy’s Reaction after visiting Children’s Hospital

It appears that science is improving the quality of life at hospitals. Although hospitals add pollution to the atmosphere, cause congestion in the streets, use high amounts of electricity and water, and often infect healthy people, they save far more lives than they hurt. They save people’s lives who would otherwise die, and that is a huge positive for such a small price to pay. Technologies that go into hospitals and medicine are definitely saving us.
~Jeremy W

Nurse Scanlon says "Sneeze in your sleeve!"

Need more convincing, watch this video that Nurse Scanlon recommended.

Virology @ Children's Hospital

After the Epidemiology tour we were shown across the hall to the Virology wing of the laboratory. Dr. Riley led us into a "level 2" lab with many expensive-looking machines. Unfortunately, no researchers were present, so we didn't get to see any high-tech machinery in action. She talked about the different processes in which samples were tested for various viruses, including a new technique that gives results in less than 24 hours, much quicker than the previous 21-day expectancy for a negative sample. The lab also had three "hood" systems, tables where any possibly infected air was pulled through a complex vent system to remove any viruses, and then dispersed the air back outside. Though this particular tour was short lived, our group learned a lot about the "secret life" of viruses, and how researchers handle these viruses for study.

Luke H.

Epidemiology @ Children's Hospital

First off, Patti Scanlon, the avid epidemiologist, was generous enough to show us an awesome power point presentation on infections and infections control. She told us that her job was to minimize and reduce the possibility of infection in and near where she worked; the Boston Children’s Hospital. She gave us a brief summary of what processes went on during a normal day in analyzing bacteria. She has to analyze how infections occur, where they occur, the difference between normal and common, and nasty and infectious bacteria, for example, Normal flora, is the bacteria that lives in and around us. After learning about how infections can be controlled, she wrapped up her insightful presentation saying, “we are in the microbial drive to survive.” Next Ms. Riley gave us a very informative tour of the microbiology and virology labs. She walked us through how they determine what type of bacteria is causing the infection. First, bacteria is cultured on a 5% sheep's blood agar medium. Once the bacteria are present, paper discs infused with various antibiotics are placed on the agar plate. After 24 hours, the diameter of dead bacteria around the disc is measured. The larger the diameter, the more effective the antibiotic. The lab would then report this to the doctor where the doctor would prescribe the strongest and most prevalent antibiotic. The process and the facilities they had were amazing and gave us an amazing insight into the world of medicine. In this case, science is definitely saving, rather the slaying us.

-Erik Caron

Lunch and Free Time

After leaving the MOS we headed to the CambridgeSide Galleria for some lunch and shopping. Our next learning block is at Children's Hospital with Patti Scanlon. Talk to you in a bit!

Museum of Science

Today we went to the Science Museum in Boston. The group saw many exhibits that we were all intrigued with. When we first entered everyone stopped and looked at a big structure that all theses balls that were moving around. I think we looked at that thing trying to figure it out for at least 10 minutes. Then we migrated through out the “Blue Wing.” What I think really caught us next was the electricity exhibit. We learned about how we can use solar power to even run a car. There was also an exhibit on wind power and a display that listed the costs and benefits of various types of fuel. ~ Morgan D.

(pictures coming soon!)

To see what we saw, check out the links at the Museum of Science.

Jeremy's Reaction to JUA

While I learned a lot on our “Save us or Slay us” Junior Urban Adventure trip, I found that our questions can’t be answered in two days. I learned that medicine causes more good than evil because it saves many lives and increases the quality of life for everyone else. I learned that we can be environmentally friendly in our buildings in an affordable and time-efficient way. However, I don’t think these lessons teach us about how to proceed with the technologies we are currently developing. We know we should use caution and we know that we need change. But how? What can one person do? I think our biggest lessons were not in the exhibits we visited and the people we interviewed, but rather what we did in-between. Cell-phones helped us communicate with each other and the busses and trains helped us get around. Many of us took medicine on the trip to stay healthy and ate food wore clothing processes in distant factories. We recognize that these phones created waste in their production, that the bus added to global warming, and that the food and clothing wasted water, electricity, and likely caused much pollution. However, we used these technologies because they added to our trip- they made life better. Leading up to the 19th century, technology drastically increased the quality of life for almost everyone. People began living longer, healthier, and happier lives. But since the mid 1800’s, the world has experienced problems with global warming, over-population, starvation, and epidemics. As we discover new technologies, the quality of life is no longer increasing. In fact, it seems to be getting worst for most people and only better for the few. The rich get bigger tv’s, smaller phones, and fancier houses. The poor get sicker and hungrier. So what has changed? I have learned that nothing has changed, but rather, the consequences of our actions are finally being realized with the help of technology. We see the impact of global warming and widespread poverty. It has always existed, our factories have always caused pollution, but we only now realize it. We used to be ignorant and blissful. But now, we are no longer ignorant so must do something to increase the quality of life for all. But what? We want our phones and computers and big cars, as evident on our JUA trip! I have learned that we can’t just take one big step over night- people don’t want to hurt their quality of life. However, it’s just the rich who don’t want to hurt their quality of life. By becoming more energy efficient, using less, and being aware of our surroundings, we may not have all the luxuries that we want, but the majority of people’s lives will improve. We can’t make this change overnight. We need to take baby steps. I think we need to start by creating a pamphlet of how to make a business green. What businesses need to be used? How much would it cost? How long would it take? How much money would house-owners, businesses, and communities save? By doing this work, we can create a system in which people have an incentive to use. If New Hampton then takes this guide, uses the buildings on campus as the tester, then we will be an example of how technology can be implanted to save the planet.

Green Building

We visited Artists for Humanity, an environmentally friendly youth arts facility established in 2004 dedicated to expressing the voice of youths while incorporating renewable energy technologies in a feasible and affordable way. The center was awarded the LEED platinum certification from the United States Green Building Design. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System sets high standards for high-performance sustainable buildings. AFH earned this award because of its use of technologies such as solar power, super insulation, high thermal glass windows, south facing windows, allowing a maximum amount of light to penetrate, occupancy censors, and energy efficient light censors, as well as for its educational program. Solar power provides energy with no negative effectives; however, it doesn’t feed into a battery so it can only be sued when there is sunlight, and that tends to be one solar power needs to be used the least. The super insulation is an excellent way to keep heat in, reducing the amount of electricity and gas that needs to be consumed to create more heat. The windows also keep heat in; however, they are costly. The large windows let in lots of lateral night and heat, an excellent way to save electricity and gas. Additionally, natural light is more pleasing than artificial illumination. While the occupancy censors tell lights to go off when a room isn’t in active use, they don’t consider that a room may be in passive use. In other words, if one is in a room but they are standing or sitting still, the lights go off after seven minutes. However, the only rooms with light sensors were the bathrooms, so if one is sitting on the toilet, they may get the lights out routine. The energy efficient lights can’t go wrong. They are a great way to conserve electricity and light-bulb life. All-in-all, the center seemed to be fairly efficient, but they didn’t use their space wisely. I think they could have fit into a building half that size, which would have saved much more energy than being reliable on green energy. Additionally, Shane, our tour guide, was very personable, but had limited knowledge of the energy statistics for the building, so we didn’t take back any accurate numbers on the impact that the center has on the environment. In my opinion, it is a very small carbon footprint. However, the AFH proved that this energy efficient system is affordable, so anyone can out it in place. People just need some motivation!

~ Jeremy W.

Green Building (mini summary)

Today we went to the Artists for Humanity Green building. Our tour guide, Shane, was very informative with details about the art and green technology in the building. We learned about how they have no air conditioning and they turn on large fans from 2-4 a.m. to cool the building down before people arrive. There is also a small grassy area outside the lower level to attract heat. Adjacent to the grass area, there is a small wind tunnel to help cool down the area. The ground level of the building is technically in the basement, as the basement is cooler in the summer. There are windows on the north, and south sides of the building, because the sun can light the building for free rather than having to use lights.

Annie C. & Alex T.

Notes from Dr. Klompas

1) Background on Dr. Klompas

a. an infectious disease specialist

b. if an infection doesn’t respond to normal treatments, he is called

c. if the infection is from abroad

d. if one has an extremely weak immune system

e. if one is in post surgery

f. works with infection control within the hospital

2) Does a person’s genetic makeup determine their impact by medicine?

a. yes- gender and race as well as location, origin, and activities

b. examples:

i. Elderly people are more likely to receive the West Nile Virus and the disease effects them more than younger people

ii. People who travel abroad are more likely to get tuberculosis

iii. Gardeners may get spothrax

iv. Swimmers are more likely to get librio collum

3) How does a hospital prevent against spreading diseases since hospitals can host bacteria that no other place can host due to the combination of so many bacterias?

a. compare medical problems to the past to determine if it is first time disease has shown in patient

b. if a disease shows for the first time, determine if its seasonal or irregular

c. if the disease is non-environmental or repeated, determine its source by comparing charts

d. once they find who has the disease, find out what they have in common

i. surgery procedure, same doctor, same equipment, same room, etc.

ii. ex. 8 nurses and 10 patients got effected, discovered it was from a nurse party, sent nurses home and cleaned patient area to solve the problem

4) How has technology helped with the current AIDS epidemic?

a. After discovering HIV, it took only three years to develop AZT

5) How has technology helped with other treatments?

a. Antibiotics that fail to work means the patient has to go through surgery or other treatments. New medicine has reduced the number of treatments and safety of surgeries

i. ex. Created medicine to knockout liver so treatments could be delivered without being detoxed by the liver

6) Other benefits of technology?

a. antibiotics:

i. now we can fight influenza

ii. now we can fight AIDS

b. people come in knocking on death’s door and can be cured in 3-4 days

7) Bad results from technology?

a. Sometimes hospitals give patients diseases they wouldn’t otherwise get – can result in death

CONCLUSION: Technology has led us to research and develop medicines. We found that medicine needs to be created with caution because it can be tainted and overprescribed, which may cause deaths and allow for bacteria to mutate. While these medicines result in deaths on rare cases, ultimately, medicine has improved the quality of life for many people and allowed people to live who would otherwise die.

Meeting with Dr. Klompas

Dr. Klompas was a pharmacoepidemiology that spoke to us in great detail about some of the current problems that are being faced in hospitals. His assistant was nice enough to meet us at a local restaurant and walk us to his conference room. Dr. Klompas shared with us general information about his profession and then opened it up to an open question forum. Our group asked him a wide variety of questions that were concerned with everything from natural medicines, prescribed medicines, infection control, to the best and worst feelings he has felt during his career. Summary by Ross A.

David M. – Doctor Summary

Dr. Klompas is an infection control specialist (pharmacoepidemiologist), and he talked a lot about drugs and their effects on the body. He explained some of the worst cases he’s had, and one of them involved flesh-eating bacteria. Apparently it is highly painful, and it required defacing surgery to be dealt with. But he also pointed to the good things that have happened in his career: people’s lives have been saved because of his efforts. Dr. Klompas was highly optimistic to the future of medicine, and he said that world-wide disease prevention would be more likely to occur with more doctor-moms. If many moms were trained with basic medical skills, the cases of disease would be much less. He said that he enjoys his work, and he likes to help people in general. Will science save us or slay us? He said save.

Blogging from Best Buy

We're currently in the field doing some personal interviews asking customers in Best Buy if they think "science will save us or slay us." We just had a great session with Dr. Mike Klompas and now are about to head off to our next learning block at AFH for a tour of a green building. When we have more time we'll post what people said and some feedback on the experience.

over and out!

Outside of the box and outside of oil

We need to find other sources of energy to decrease our dependence on fossil fuels, such as coal, natural gas, oil, etc. Not only are these fuels nonrenewable, but they pollute the environment and increase the amount of carbon in the atmosphere. Wind, hydroelectric, solar, biomass, and geothermal are just some of the types of energy sources that ARE renewable, and most also do not contribute to global warming. Wind power is one of the cleanest renewable energy sources, but a single windmill does not create much power. Hydroelectric is the most reliable and is the safest investment, but it requires damming up rivers and diverting large amounts of water. Solar is very clean, but is only viable when the sun shines a lot. Biomass is the burning of materials like garbage and plants to produce power, but this contributes to global warming. Geothermal works very well and is highly efficient, but it can only be were there is lots of heat from the ground. These are all great candidates for renewable sources of energy, but they all have their quirks.

David M.

JUA Day 1: Research

Today we met in the Master Classroom at noon with Mr. Mundhal to review logistics, safety and general guidelines for the trip. After this we headed over to Ms. Saxe's apartment to work on writing driving questions, researching the places we are going to and have some birthday cake (Happy Birthday Mike!).

Ross, Alex T., David M. and Jeremy W. all working on researching their driving questions.


Luke and Matt are a little camera shy, but who cares so long as they are productive.

Who's marketing medicine to you?

Vioxx, a leading drug in the industry of pre
menopausal studies does more than alleviate the
symptoms of menopause. It was also discovered to
cause an increased rate of heart attack along with
other ailments of the circulatory system. The article
goes on to explain how this could have happened,
suggesting that results of a drug can vary depending
on the patient taking it to the fact that some
companies want their novel drugs to be sold so quickly
that their method of retail can sometimes cause the
quality of a product to suffer. Next, turning the
attention towards doctors, they address these doctors
can do about the drug. It seems that some drug
companies try to sell their product to the doctors
through bribery, often offering education seminars.
Lastly we find out what can we do as the consumer.
The best thing anyone can do is to be educated and ask
as many questions as possible. Like testing the
aspect of science through the JUA, you're urged to
test the legitimacy of the drug and the knowledge of
your doctor about the drug.

Summary by Eric C. of http://www.healingedge.net/store/side_effects.html

Over the counter or out of the ground?

Prescription drugs are chemicals that are unnatural to alter how the brain works. They trick the brain into thinking that everything is normal and disables the brain from sending impulses to the nerves. The prescription drugs change the chemical balance in the brain to subside the symptoms but not to fix them. In herbal remedies, there are no chemicals involved and therefore do not alter the hormone balance in the brain. The herbs contain properties that are meant to regulate the functions of the body to promote healthy living.

Summary by Ross A.

This Green Old House

This article is about build a house that uses completely green energy, like solar panels and geothermal heating, even wind and water energy.

Summary by Mike R.

What does not kill them makes them stronger.

Them, in this case, refers to the growing number of bacterial strains that can survive assaults by the most powerful antibiotics known to medicine. They have earned the nickname, "superbugs," and they're a potentially deadly threat that man has actually helped to create.

Like all living things, bacteria follow the laws of evolution and adapt to their environment. When you take an antibiotic, the drug kills susceptible bacteria and leaves behind those that can resist it. The survivors then multiply, creating a new bacterial strain that the old antibiotic is unable to kill.

In the United States and other developed countries, decades of overuse and misuse of antibiotics have contributed the emergence of bacterial strains that many of our "wonder drugs" cannot touch. And the more that antibiotics are used, the more bacteria evolve.

Antibiotic resistance is not a new phenomenon. Resistant disease strains started showing up soon after the discovery of antibiotics. What is different now is that antibiotic resistance is no longer an isolated problem. Almost all human diseases that can be treated with antibiotics have evolved and developed at least some degree of resistance.

Summary by Matt Y.

Drug Resistant Disease

Many diseases over the years have become more and more resistant to certain drugs and antibiotics. This is mostly because of the users not taking the antibiotics as directed and taking them for a shorter amount of time than directed. By doing this the diseases have mutated and are no longer effected by the drugs.

Alex T.

Driving Questions

Click on the "comment" button to post your driving question.

Group Meeting

We are making a movie, we're not sure of the structure of the movie, but that's what we are doing.

Alex is supplying the video camera
Morgan is bring the digital camera
Morgan, Annie, Jeremy, David and Thrower are bringing laptops
Thrower and Ricci are bring suits

Erik & Alex D..............................Pharmacoepidemiology
Jeremy, Annie & Matt Ye ........LEED Certified Green Buildings
David & Morgan.........................MOS
Ricci, Thrower Alex D...............Filming
Ross & Luke...............................Infection Control

Final Itinerary for JUA

Our TDB for Monday afternoon is now officially a tour of a LEED platinum certified green building at Artists For Humanity.


What is LEED Platinum Certified Mean?
In the United States and in a number of other countries around the world, LEED certification is the recognized standard for measuring building sustainability. Achieving LEED certification is the best way for you to demonstrate that your building project is truly "green." The LEED green building rating system -- developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council, a Washington D.C.-based, nonprofit coalition of building industry leaders -- is designed to promote design and construction practices that increase profitability while reducing the negative environmental impacts of buildings and improving occupant health and well-being. For more information visit The Natural Resource Defense Council

What are we doing in Boston?

So here the plan for our two days in Boston..

Monday
We are going to head out to our first learning block, a community exploration between 10:30 and 11:00am.

We need to be at the Pharmacoepidemiology Department of Ambulatory Care and Prevention at 12:45 to meet with Dr. Michael Klompas.

After this we'll do something else (TBD).

After our TDB we'll head to dinner at the Scanlan-Saxe house where we'll blog to our hearts content and talk to Beth Scanlan, a family R.N. and L.P.N. who can answer many of your health questions.

On Tuesday we're going to the MOS and in the afternoon visiting Patti Scanlon (no relation) and R.N. who is an infection control specialist.

First Learning Block is all set

We will be meeting with Dr. Michal Klompas who specializes in PharmacoEpidemiology. What is pharmacoEpidemiology (other than a really big word)?

Pharmacoepidemiology may be defined as the study of the utilization and effects of drugs in large numbers of people. To accomplish this study, pharmacoepidemiology borrows from both pharmacology and epidemiology. Thus, pharmacoepidemiology can be called a bridge science spanning both pharmacology and epidemiology.

Pharmacology is the study of the effect of drugs and clinical pharmacology is the study of effect of drugs in humans. Part of the task of clinical pharmacology is to provide a risk benefit assessment for the effect of drugs in patients.

Epidemiology can be defined as the study of the distribution and determinants of diseases in populations. Epidemiological studies can be divided into two main types: 1.Descriptive epidemiology describes disease and/or exposure and may consist of calculating rates, e.g., incidence and prevalence. 2. Analytic epidemiology includes two types of studies: observational studies, such as case-control and cohort studies, and experimental studies which would include clinical trials such as randomised clinical trials.

Oh the places you'll go!

Oh the places you'll go! The Museum of Science has some great exhibits for us to check out (thanks Annie).

The first one we should go see is CATCHING THE WIND. This exhibit is on wind as an alternative energy source. An example of how science could "save us."

Another exhibit is called THE FRONTIERS OF BIOTECHNOLOGY "Throughout history, we have been breeding crops and animals to our advantage and harnessing microorganisms to make bread, cheese, and wine. Now, armed with an ever-growing knowledge of the processes of life, we're curing diseases, creating new drugs, and genetically modifying foods."

SUN POWER "Sunlight is the world' s largest energy resource, and more energy in the form of sunlight reaches Earth every hour than humans consume in a year. In this exhibit, visitors can learn how we can make use of all of this energy."

It would also be great to speak with someone who works at the museum for more background information.

What do you think?

Today at class meeting was our first group meeting. After a brief introduction of our topic we discussed some of the places we would like to go and the reasons why.

By Friday BEFORE the end of dinner (6:30pm) please complete the following task:

Post a comment with three places you want to visit or things you want to learn about and relate EACH them to the topic "will science save us or slay us."

Question: How do I post a comment?

Answer: How to post a comment:
1. Click on the word "comments" right below this post (next to the image of the envelope).
2. If a Security box pops up, just click "yes."
3. Type your comment in the box titled "Leave Your Comment."
4. Sign your comment with your first name and last initial only.
5. Choose the identity "anonymous."
6. Click the orange "publish your comment" box.


Question: But what if I don't do it?

Answer: For starters, the more everyone participates in the group, the better the trip will be. If supporting the group isn't motivation enough, the JUA is actually graded and it is possible to fail. This is the first of several tasks that contributes to your evaluation. Yes, the JUA goes on your transcript...and how dumb would you feel explaining to your parents and colleges how you managed to "fail a field trip."

What's science ever done for us?

For better or for worse, major breakthroughs in science have changed the way we live.

"Today it is often forgotten that the challenge of antibiotic resistance was raised immediately the drugs were introduced. From the late 1940s, microbiologists and policy makers responded with attempts to restrict use through the prescription system and by the development of more robust drugs. Even then, the experts saw their measures as only partial solutions to a problem that was both medical and social. Yet in an age in which authority was increasingly distrusted, the warnings of pessimistic prophets were discounted by grateful patients and hurried practitioners alike. Only in the late 1990s was the emergence of resistant bacteria widely accepted as a global threat to be taken seriously." Click here to read the rest of a short history of antibiotics.

The goal of this group is to form our own opinions to answer the question "Will science save us or slay us?"

Julie's Visual Presentation

Program Feedback

All students are required to provide program feedback on the what should definitely be kept for next year and what should be changed for next year.

In addition to this feedback, one student offered this response:

JUA was a wonderful experience for me. When we first started out talking about it I was very nervous about going to Boston because I don’t like to be in a place with MILLIONS of people. we got to Boston around 8:30 in the morning put our bags in a room and headed out to the T. this was an experience in its self.. geeze thank goodness we had Mrs. Saxe cause I had no clue how to get around Boston. Our first stop was the science museum where we checked out the X-Ray and Beyond exhibit. We then headed to lunch at a Dominican restaurant which was a great experience we also met mrs. Saxe mom who was great to us. We had 6 interviews and then dinner @ mrs. Saxe’s house YUM!. We went back to the hostel which wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, and hung out. The next day we got to sleep in a little then we headed to talk to a physical therapist, this was my favorite part of the trip because it helped me answer my essential question and it’s the field of work I’m looking to go into . Dymax was the next stop and I didn’t like this as much. Maybe its just because I was tired and had a headache.. but who knows the lab was pretty sweet.. By the end of the trip my points of view have changed about Boston. Now I’m going to go tour BU and Northeastern. YIPEE!! And my parents can’t believe it.. so thank you to Ms. Saxe and mr. Mundahl for everything they did. Once again it was a wonderful experience for you

If I could do it again I probly wouldn’t have taken so many notes and I would’ve checked out everything @ the x-ray and beyond but at the same time I think taking notes helped me focus and not fall asleep. I don’t think there is anything else I would change it was a great time and by the end I think we were all ready to go back

Student Responses to Essential Questions

Below are the responses from students to their essential questions: topics range from how society sees those who are handicapped to the availability of health care to all U.S. citizens.

Zach M: (TDB)

Zach still needs to type his paper, it is hand written but not typed.

Sam M: Biotechnology: what is it and how does it work?

My essential question was suppose to be, “What would be the effects having to many x-rays and MRI’s and would it be hazardous to your health?, but once I got down into Boston and talked with the people at Dyax my mind changed on what I wanted to bring out of this experience. While we were there, I decided that I really did want to pursue a career in biotechnology and biochemistry. By talking with them and seeing how excited they were about their work made me want to see more of why and how the industry works. So my new essential question is, What do the employees at a biotechnology firm really do?

The employees at a biotechnology firm do different jobs according to their departments. One department looks out into the medical industry to se what major illnesses are in demand of a drug for treatment. Then once they decide upon an illness the request DNA from people who are infected. Then the DNA decoders come in and work on sorting through and analyzing the strands of DNA to find a common mutation among the infected. Once they know the sequence they give their information to a group of lab workers who use special enzymes and machines. By using these enzymes and machines they are able to create a new substance. This new substance is then washed away of all unimportant cells. The cells left behind are then tested to see if they attack the certain mutation in the DNA and RNA. When this cell “attacks” the DNA and RNA it stops the reproduction of the mutation in the strand of DNA and RNA. By doing this it stops the spread of the illness.

The way that they explained this made it seem so exciting and it proves my point which I always have to argue with people that you can help and that you can make a different with out being a doctor in a hospital or a surgeon, that there are many more ways of helping with out being in the first line of duty.

To further my knowledge of biotechnology I am trying to see if there is a biotechnology firm with whom I can have an internship with or job shadow people from their firm for each of the different jobs which are in the industry of biotechnology and biochemistry. Unfortunately I am not having any lucky. Dyax and I had emailed each other a few times but I have not heard anything back from them yet about if it possible for me to do this at their firm. I am really hoping to hear back from them soon, whither or not it is going to happen.
I really enjoyed the amazing experience I was able to have and I am very glad we got to interview with so many people. It really was excited and gave me a whole different out look on the medical profession. Thank you Mr. and Ms. Saxe for everything you did!!!

Dana B:Is it possible, over a period of time, to make healthcare available to all Americans?

We had the opportunity to learn about many different aspects of healthcare. If a person does not have insurance they may be neglecting their mental, dental, and physical health. We also learned about physical therapy and the recovery process. Those without insurance may not have the chance to go to a physical/occupational therapist, creating long term heath problems. The problem of obtaining insurance can radiate from one health problem to another.

When presented with this question, nearly all of the doctors and healthcare professionals we spoke with answered with a confident, “No.” Even in states such as Massachusetts that require healthcare insurance for all it’s residents, there are still people who do not have coverage. Healthcare professionals are not allowed to treat patients without insurance; however, the people we spoke with do not see a difference in the number of people they see.
The American people have lived for so long without insurance, they seem to have lost motivation to obtain insurance. Despite any laws that may be put in place there will never be a way to get everybody to want to have insurance. Even though not having insurance may keep people from going to the doctor or the emergency room, most of them don’t see the long term affects on their body.

By educating the American people, they may be more inclined to obtain health insurance. This education is essential to teaching the people the benefits of good healthcare for them and their children. Health education is the key to getting people to help themselves by purchasing insurance. Even though there is much doubt that in the future all Americans will have health insurance, health education may change the views of the people. If motivation to get insurance existed within the American people, then the definite “no” I received when asking my essential question might not be so definite. Insurance companies need to not always think about their profit as much, and learn to think about the benefits their customers might receive when purchasing insurance. If all companies nationwide were required to carry insurance, then unemployment would be the problem. Schools and the government need to take the next step in helping the American people by educating them in how to take care of themselves, and by having insurance they can take care of themselves much better

Julie R: The Rehabilitation needed for a patient with vertebrae damage

Even though sitting in a wheel chair might seem easier to live your life you have to keep your head on straight and work towards your goals so you can go back and lead your normal life, Should the patient be paralyzed the process for rehabilitation is lengthy and requires commitment. because Commitment from the patient its self is one of the only ways you can success because the therapist can only help you if you're willing to help yourself and Physical therapy and family support are two important things that help the patient in there success.

While visiting the physical therapist at Brigham and Women’s Hospital I hoped to find the rehabilitation process for a soldier who encountered vertebrae damage during the war and later was temporarily paralyzed from the surgery. Janice started off by saying how rare it is for this to happen and that they mainly see school aged children. Sam asked if they had seen people from the war but we learned that war victims are treated in three own war hospital. Janice ended up telling us that to help this partially paralyzed person it would take a long term commitment. The entire family has to be willing to commit and go through some type of stabilizing therapy. The hospital would then evaluate you after a while they might need to do another surgery to help stabilize the patient. Herniated disks sometimes occur and this can cause pressure with the fluid around the spinal cord which causes great pain and could temporally pause therapy until an MRI can be taken to see if therapy could do more damage than its worth. The patient would need to be in a rehab center seven days a week with a minimum of four hours of therapy per day. She then went onto explain to us how the insurance is working with therapy. There is something called the manage care system which is dominate and it’s important to work with your goals they have a sixty day benefit. This is the amount of time you have to reach your goal. If you reach your goal you’re allowed to stay and if you’re not successful with reaching your goal then you are released from the program or you can continue the program with no insurance.

Following the trip was over the knowledge that I hoped to gain was something to help my cousin but I ended up being a little confused. After hearing from the physiologist and the folks at dymax Stressed about there finding of new medicine, even if the disease or sickness was small and rare. Well what about my cousin where there was a 1 in 300,000 chance of something going wrong with the surgery. This is a little of his story, after the surgery he’s blood pressure rose sky high and he developed hematoma and they had to make a 10 inch incision down his back to clean out his vertebras when they stitched him back up he couldn’t feel anything below his neck. Slowly he has regained feeling but other trams have happened to set him back such as herniated disks, insurance and other medical dilemmas. So I guess the thing that bothered me the most was that the “doctors” are willing to finding new medication for patients of rare cases but what about someone that might not be able to be fixed with medication like my cousin Brian or a school mate Gardner? It’s very frustrating to watch your friends and family suffer.

Web Links:
http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos080.htm
http://www.aota.org/
http://www.spine.org/articles/spinalfusion.cfm

Collin B: Appropriation of Funds in Biotechnology

Essential question: Are biotech niacin spending too much time on finding cures for extremely rare diseases instead of concentrating on finding cures for diseases that affect millions of people all over the world.

When I was on the junior urban adventure or J.U.A finding the answer to my question I was glad to hear some of the things I did. I was also surprised how many different professions there are they deal with medicine. Not only did I learn the answer to my essential question I found a profession I might be interested in now which is a physical therapist.

On the junior adventure we visited physical therapist, dentists, nutritionist, and biotech niacin. When we went to one of the biotech facilities and we got to actually talk to some people that work in the biotech labs. When I asked them about my questions they told me many things I didn’t know prior to my research on the topic. From what I knew on the subject of biotechnology was that they could clone DNA which ultimately clones animals and plants. Also they deal with creating vaccines to eliminate the rarest of diseases. What I didn’t know was that biotech niacin do not deal with rare diseases as I thought. Biotech facilities do concentrate a lot on rare diseases and finding cures to every individuals specific needs. What surprised me the most is when I found out that biotech niacin’s also do work on finding cures to major diseases and cancers like aids and leukemia. The reason why biotech places do not talk as much as the major illnesses rather than the specifics ones is because they are advancing farther in the specific diseases and rare ones than the ones that affect mass millions of people.

Biotech niacin’s are working everyday on solving the biggest mysteries of the disease world. Someday they will find a cure to all cancer and aids. While doing so they will be also finding cures to the racist of the diseases and eventually making it possible to examine an individual and finding out what that person exactly needs to become healthy again without any extra unneeded supplements in the medicine they receive.

Spencer C: Stopping the Spread of Disease in Third World Countries

Essential question: Is it pratical to use our countries money to help give vaccines to people in third world countries, and would this stop the spread of disease not only in the third world counties but in our country two?

When my group visited Dyax we ask many questions including this one and the response they gave me to me question was that this would be extremely effective but also it would be very expensive. Even through the world is not perfect the there should be much larger of funding to give to making vaccines I wish that we could stop the spread of disease in the world but it would cost a lot of money. It is much important to spend money on creating cures for disease than to make bombs. If we used the millions of dollars we spend in a single day to research find cures for those deadly diseases. Life is a beautiful gift and it should be saved not destroyed and that is why we should spend money on giving aid to create vaccines for people in third world countries.

The favorite part of the JUA trip was to me when we went to the Dominican restaurant. The fried papaya was the greatest fried food I have in a long time. I think that the next I see a Dominican restaurant. The service at that restaurant was indefinitely better than any restaurant I have been to except Burger King. The people in the Dominican side of town are very nice. I think that as far as foreign food goes that is easily the best. I liked the Goya juice I got at the restaurant and when I went home I bought 6 the second day I got back home on holiday break.

Since JUA the career path that I was thinking of perusing was being a nutritionist. The reason I would want to be a nutritionist is because instead of only being able to help people with a specific problem you are able to help all people because eating s something that every body does. Almost every body in the world needs nutritional help because if you don not eat healthy than you are not health and if you are not health than you are more prone to getting sick. And that is why I want to be a nutritionist so I can help people.

Gardner S: The Handicapped and Society

Question: Handicapped people are often looked down upon, what are some ways that people in the community and in the medical community can improve awareness towards people with handicaps?

In my trip to Boston with my JUA group, I was thinking of my essential question the entire time, but I could not find a real answer to it, even after visiting the OT/PT lady, and the Body Worlds exhibit. Although they told us all about what they did and how to get there, that did not help me solve my question. I then turned to myself and asked how I, as a person with a handicap, could work with people to increase awareness about my condition, and others which affect the lives of millions. My answer was simple: Get out there and do something. Even if you do something only within your community, such as organizing a special needs groups where people with mental handicaps can have fun and be taken care of, or just a group where people come to mentor young people with handicaps, you are helping increase awareness.
In my two years on the mountain biking team, Coach Elkin has always reinforced the motto: “Begin Within”; I believe that this has to do with everything in life, not just mountain biking. Increasing awareness about people with handicaps has to begin with handicapped people, showing them that they are not the only ones. Many handicapped people at one point or another believe they are the only ones that have their condition, and often feel depressed and lonely. They have to take the initiative to search for other people like them and KNOW they are not alone.

Because of their conditions they might not get out of the house a lot, which is a factor that does not help increase awareness, along with what I said in the first paragraph, people have to get out of the house and do something. If that person simply goes to a basketball game and helps the team out in some way, they are increasing awareness through showing other people that they are capable, and not “cripple”. Many people simply do not understand the conditions that these people suffer from and are therefore afraid or unwilling to get to know the people with these conditions. If people do not ask about these conditions they will never know or truly understand.

As far as the medical side goes, a lot can be done, a lot of it just takes initiative of large groups of people. The individual needs to take initiative and petition and fundraise to increase awareness within the medical world, because many people are mostly focused on the large or more common handicaps. There needs to be more awareness within the medical world about the small or uncommon for something to be done about them. An advertising campaign in the Paralympics or the Special Olympics can increase awareness about other disabilities to people already active in the community. It ties back to the individual having increased awareness because as soon as there is a fundraising or charity campaign towards it, they may become interested in it, and therefore try to do something about it, which creates a positive cycle of increased awareness.

The same can happen but in a negative manner, and this obviously works against the purpose of this entire essay. If a person really believes that handicapped people cannot do anything, his ideas may be spread to other people, and this is the total opposite of the truth. In the end, it’s all comes down to the handicapped person himself/herself. If he or she does not ‘go out into the spotlight’ people will never truly understand.