Abstract
This paper looks at leprosy (or Hansen's disease) which, until the AIDS epidemic was the most feared infectious disease. It traces its history from Biblical times to the discovery of its cause in 1873 by Dr. Gerhard Henrik Armauer Hansen, the bacillus Mycobacterium leprae. It examines various aspects of the disease, including resistance to drugs, statistics and symptoms. The paper is illustrated with drawings and diagrams.

From the Paper
"Up until the 20th century, the treatment for leprosy was the dispensation of oil extracted from the nuts from the Hydnocarpus tree through mouth, injection or ointment. However, the first breakthrough with regards to a cure came in the 1940's with the development of dapsone. Dapsone was used to arrest the disease and was a treatment that took many years, possibly a lifetime until the 1960's when, through mal-treatment, the mycobacterium developed a resistance to the only known leprosy cure. Then, in the late 1960's, rifampicin and clofazimine were discovered, and when combined with dapsone in 1981, the leprosy patients finally received their long awaited cure called Multi-Drug-Treatment or MDT."

Tags:immunology, lepers, bible, pathogenic, tropical

Abstract
This paper attempts to define and explain Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), which affects approximately 20% of the Western population, and accounts for frequent absenteeism from work and impaired quality of life. The paper outlines how it is characterised by altered bowel habits and abdominal pain, in the absence of any other GI problems and diagnosis is based on the Rome criteria. Despite the the heterogenous nature of the disorder, the writer succeeds in giving a general overview of this disease for the reader.

From the Paper
"Psychiatric disorders are recorded in 50-80% of patients with IBS in some studies, although a single disorder is not well defined. Anxiety, depression, somatization, and neurosis have all been recorded1. In patients with IBS, acute psychological attacks have been shown to significantly alter their gastrointestinal motility2. Drossman et al found that patients with IBS undergo more suffering from psychosocial distress than non-patients with IBS3. Osterberg et al, on the other hand, found that there were minute differences in psychological distresses between patients with IBS, and non-patients with IBS4. Thus, assorted studies have conclusions that vary from each other. Altered gastrointestinal motility seems to be associated with the aetiology of IBS, but is not diagnostic. Serotonin (5-HT) has been studied for its role in regulating colonic motility in humans, but it is not yet known whether alterations in the colonic 5-HT system are involved in the pathophysiology of irritable bowel syndrome5. Lincoln et al established that the total indoleamine (5-HT plus its metabolite 5-HIAA) concentration in the sigmoid colon in patients undergoing partial or total colectomy for treatment of idiopathic constipation, attributed to IBS, was considerably higher than in normal subjects6. In unstimulated conditions, the colonic myoelectrical and motor activity are normal, whereas under stimulated conditions, IBS patients shown more abnormalities than normal subjects7. Lanng et al, found that all investigations regarding motility disorders showed variation, supporting the general theory of IBS being a broad-spectrum motility disorder."

Tags:dysmotility, gastroenteritis, hypersensitivity, intolerance, lactose, psychosocial, serotonin, syndrome, visceral

Abstract
This paper provides an explanation of the genetics involved in breeding a certain color horse. Colors covered include black, chestnut, Mealy/Pangare, the dilutes, mixed patterns and the white patterns. The paper includes many photographs.

From the Paper
"The Classic Roan gene affects all the bases, modifiers and dilutes but can be masked by other white pattern genes. Roan is a color pattern caused by white hairs mixing with colored hairs. There are no "Roan" hairs on a Roan horse. The resulting physical colors are usually blue or rose (black base and chestnut base) but less common colors are pale gold and almost white. The Roan gene however will usually not affect the points."

Tags:appaloosa, bay, black, breeding, champagne, chestnut, classic, coloring, cream, dilute, dun, equine, flaxen, frame, genetics, grey, mealy, mixed, pangare, patterns, rabicano, roan, sabino, silver, smutty, sooty, splashed, tobiano, white

Abstract
This paper briefly analyses the role of the nervous system, the physiological systems involved in arousal, the physiological and psychological effects of prolonged or intense arousal and the relationship between stress and disease.

From the Paper
"The CNS and PNS are further subdivided, the CNS as mentioned previously is divided into the brain the spinal cord and the PNS if further sub-divided into the somatic nervous system and autonomic nervous system. The somatic nervous system is responsible our voluntary actions through our skeletal muscles whilst the autonomic nervous system is responsible for involuntary functions including internal organs, muscles and glands such as heart rate and breathing rate, etc where levels of arousal are high due to these functions. The autonomic nervous system is further sub-divided into the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system."

Tags:arousal, stress, disease

Abstract
The paper begins with a discussion of severe arable land degradation and how genetic modification works. Various methods of genetic modification methods are provided, with references from scientific sources. The essay moves on to discuss impact of genetic engineering on maize gene pool and possible scenarios. Also mentioned is the down side of engineering plants to produce pesticides. Various fears of unknown effects from GMO are stated with case studies. Lastly, the essay addresses ethical and political reasons for and against GMO.

From the Paper
"Food is a crucial factor in supporting life on earth, but with the extremely fast rates of population growth, many wonder how long will it be before human consumption exceeds food production. Already, erosion and nutrient depletion has taken its toil on food production, with nearly 40 percent of the world's arable land seriously degraded (Robbins, 2001). In the early 1990s, a new science called Genetic Engineering came up with a possible solution."

Tags:engineering, genetic, gmo, third

Abstract
This essay talks about the biochemical nature of the enzyme lactase. The paper includes a discussion of it's production, the reaction it catalyzes and the physiological effects of this enzyme. In particular the essay includes an explanation of the physiological effects experienced with a deficiency of lactase.

From the Paper
"Lactose is a disaccharide that is the principal carbohydrate found in milk and other dairy products. To digest lactose the enzyme lactase is required to catalyse the hydrolysis reaction to produce the monosaccharides glucose and galactose. This enzyme is usually present at birth but often decreases in activity as the child matures. The condition where an individual has a deficiency of lactase is known as lactose intolerance and produces symptoms such as nausea, cramps, bloating, gas, and diarrhea"

Tags:biochem, biochemistry

Abstract
This paper looks at how the different advances in brain imaging-techniques have contributed to scientists increased ability to understand the concept of memory. It looks at the advent of Computed Tomography (CT), Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Positron Emission Tomography (PET), and what they have meant to the increased ability to understand and treat brain, and memory disorders.

From the Paper
"For example, fMRI was found useful for research by Awh and colleagues (1999) to observe brain activations during the performance of a spatial working memory task. In this investigation, subjects were given a spatial working memory task and a control task. Using fMRI the researchers found a functionally distinct, region that showed sustained activity during the spatial working memory task, confirming the location for the neural bases for that function. In the past, researchers who wanted detailed studies of human brain activity struggled because they lacked effective investigative tools. In experiments with humans the best technologies brought only limited success in mapping the processes of consciousness."

Tags:brain, ct, eeg, imaging, memory, mri, neuropsychology, neuroscience, pet, psychology, scan, amnesiac, cognative, personality, changes, human, brain, patients, techniques

Abstract
In vitro fertilisation has been used for decades and allows parents and doctors to screen embryos for genetic disorders and select healthy embryos. This paper investigates and rebuts the argument against genetic engineering and builds a strong case supporting 'designer babies'.

From the Paper
"An even greater and more controversial development in medical science is the technology of stem cells developed from early pre implanted human embryo, and in the near future, the ability to manipulate DNA. The new technology of stem cells will revolutionize medicine. When someone has a heart attack cells are damaged but a dose of new cells made in the lab could cure the harm. It will be possible to cure numerous cell-based diseases like juvenile-onset diabetes and Parkinson's disease, and to make organ transplants unnecessary. An American woman recently had her sight restored using eye cells harvested from stem cells. In future procedures like this could enhance the quality of life of humankind."

Tags:cloning, fertilisation, genetics, vitro, in, dna, disease

Abstract
This paper discusses the influence of genetic and environmental factors on the development of alcoholism. The paper discusses the existence of genes in individuals that appear to make them more susceptible to alcoholism. It then looks at social-cognitive factors and their influence on alcoholism. The paper then describes family, twin and adoption studies and draws conclusions.

From the Paper
"Indirectly, it is also believed that a gene that causes a disposition to depression and mood-related disorders can be transferred from a parent to a child (Westen et al., 2006). A child who inherits a vulnerability to emotional disorders may, as a result, turn to alcohol for comfort, increasing their chances of developing alcoholism."
"Twin studies have shown that in both males and females, genetic factors appear to play a role in the development of alcoholism (Miles, Silberg, Pickens, & Eaves, 2005; Prescott & Kendler, 1999). Evidence has also shown that children whose biological parents are alcoholic may respond differently physiologically to alcohol than children of non-alcoholics (Gordis, 1996, as cited in Westen et al., 2006, p. 615).
Further to this, family history studies indicate that children of alcoholics are four times as likely to become alcoholics than children of non-alcoholics (Peele, 1986, as cited in Westen et al., 2006, p. 614). However, the heredity argument for alcohol does not account for why some children of alcoholics do not become alcoholic themselves."

Tags:depression, emotional, heredity

Abstract
This paper discusses the many uses of stem cells, especially in the area of juvenile diabetes, Parkinson's disease and cell regeneration. This paper explains how the fertilized human egg develops into stem cells and their various biological sources and how they are acquired for use in research, including the NIH guidelines. The author believes that stem cell research is so new that the scientists can only guess at what it will be able to achieve as well as what it will not be able to do.

Table of Contents
Introduction
Acquisition of Stem Cells
Opposition to Stem Cells Research
Limitations of Stem Cells Research
Conclusion

From the Paper
"Early research into the use of stem cells focused on two separate approaches. One involved the "control of gene expression", or determining when genes were active or inactive. The other involved the generation or new cells. Some recent research has combined the two approaches, looking at the possibility that gene manipulation could be combined with cell growth, further broadening the potential applications for gene therapy."

Tags:acquisition, opposition, limitation, replacement, therapy