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jueves, 13 de junio de 2013

Mi viaje a Bristol

El verano del 2012 seis amigos y yo fuimos a un pueblo de Reino Unido, llamado Bristol, para aprender inglés.
Vivíamos en casas. Por las mañanas íbamos a un instituto donde dábamos clases y nos juntábamos con gente de diferentes países, chinos, italianos y algún que otro español. 
Por las tardes solíamos hacer diferentes actividades como ir a la bolera, a parques haciendo actividades físicas, museos, castillos o ir de compras. 
Los fines de semana nos llevaban a de excursión. El primer fin de semana fuimos a Londres y vimos el Big Ben, London Eye y el Buckingham Palace. Otro fin de semana fuimos a ver la playa de Bristol (nada que ver como las de España) y el último fin de semana no pudimos visitar Oxford porque nos tuvimos que ir.
Disfrutamos un montón, y además aprendimos inglés. En cambio, la comida fue lo que menos me gustó, porque no tenía que ver como la de España. 
Espero volver a repetir muchas más veces esta experiencia, la cual fue inolvidable. 



viernes, 15 de febrero de 2013

MUTATIONS

MUTATIONS
1.    Mutation is an alteration or change in the genetic information of a living and, therefore, it will produce a change in the features of the person or animal which suffer from that.
2.    The genetic unit that is able to mutate is the gene, which is the hereditary information that take place in the DNA.
3.    A consequence of mutations may be a genetic disease.
4.    According to the mechanism that caused the change in the genetic material, there are three types of mutations: MOLECULAR or GENETIC mutation, GENOMIC mutation and CHROMOSOMAL mutation.
MOLECULAR or GENETIC MUTATION: affects the chemical formation of genes.  
1.    It occurs by altering the nucleotide sequence of DNA.
2.    It leads a nucleotide change producing a protein with an amino acid sequence that it’s incorrect.
3.    In this type of mutations we found that instead of a nucleotide there is another. This change of one nucleotide for another may involve, or not, an amino acid change or could generate a stop codon, that is, not determined amino acid in the genetic code.
4.    If the nucleotide change creates a stop codon, the protein is interrupted and is not functional.
5.    The molecular mutations is caused by:
o   Replacement. Where there should be a nucleotide, is inserted another. For example, instead of cytosine there is a thymine. The replacements may be:
-  Transitions: substitution of one purine by another purine or a pyrimidine by another pyrimidine.
-  Transversions: replacement of a purine for pyrimidine or vice versa.

o   Phase shift. When inserted or deleted one or more nucleotides, produce a fails leading the formation of non-functional proteins.
6.    EXAMPLES:
* ALBINISM. Albinism is a genetic condition in which there is an absence of melanin in the eyes, skin and hair in humans or animals and it’s caused by a mutation in the genes. It is hereditary and appears with the combination of both parents that carry the recessive gene.
* SICKLE CELL ANEMIA. It’s a disease that affects hemoglobin, a protein that is part of red blood cells and is responsible of oxygen transport. It’s genetic and provokes lack of movement of red blood cells and some of their symptoms are pain in the extremities.
GENOMIC MUTATION: Alterations in the number of chromosomes. They can be of two types:
1.    Aneuploidy: an increase or decrease in the number of chromosomes. They can be:

a.         Nulisomías: when instead of two chromosomes in each pair there is none.
b.         Monosomies: when instead of two chromosomes of each pair there is one. For example: Turner Syndrome (XO)
c.         Trisomies: when instead of two chromosomes of each pair there are three. For example: Down Syndrome (chromosome 21), Edwards Syndrome (chromosome 18), Patau syndrome (chromosome 13).
d.         Tetrasomías: when instead of two chromosomes of each pair there are four.
                                                                                                                
2.    Euploidía: affects complete sets of chromosomes.

-       The monoploidía or haploidy is the existence of a single chromosome, instead of to be diploid.
-       Polyploidy: presence of additional sets of chromosomes. People are often sterile.
CHROMOSOMAL MUTATION: affects the number of chromosome, or the number or arrangement of genes on a chromosome. It is produce by mistakes during gametogenesis (formation of gametes by meiosis) or of the first divisions of the zygote. It can be divided into 3 parts:
1.    Chromosomal arrangements, which involve changes in chromosome structure:

o    Deletion and duplication, which can modify chromosome segments. Example: Chi du Chat Syndrome (or Cat Cry), presented growth retardation and low birth weight and their crying is like a cat's meow.
o    Inversion and translocation, which lead a loss of genetic information. For example: Philadelphia Syndrome that caused the formation of a deadly cancer that is called leukemia. Some of the symptoms are: tiredness, fever, lack of appetite, sweats, etc.

2.    Aneuploidies, an increase or decrease in the number of chromosomes. Examples:

a.    Down's syndrome, trisomy carriers such as the 21. Gametes carry the translocated chromosome plus one normal, so when fertilized with the opposite gamete, the product will have three chromosomes 21.
b.    Edward’s syndrome, known as trisomy 18. It is characterized by the presence of an extra chromosome in the 18.
c.    Patau syndrome, known as trisomy 13. It is a genetic disease from the presence of one additional chromosome 13. The victims die shortly after birth, most at 3 months, and at most reach the year.
d.    Klinefelter syndrome is a chromosomal abnormality that affects only men and provokes hypogonadism, that is, a disorder in the testicles. It is based on a genetic disorder that develops incorrect separation of chromosomes during meiosis. As we know, men have sex chromosomes 46, XY and women have sex chromosomes 46, XX. In Klinefelter syndrome, the man has at least an extra X chromosome.

3.    Polyploidy. Presence of additional sets of chromosomes. (As we have seen before)

jueves, 14 de febrero de 2013

ASPERGER SYNDROME

Asperger syndrome is one of the autism disorders. It’s a neurological disorder that affects the way of processed the information in the brain. Asperger syndrome is usually diagnosed when a child is school aged.
SYMPTOMS
1.    IN THE SOCIETY:  
a.    They have difficulty in relationships and are not conscious of the people feeling.
b.    They have problems in non-verbal communication, such as gestures and tone of voice, and also have difficulty in physical contacts.

2.    TOPICS:
a.    They are only able to maintain a conversation about a topic that they know.  
b.    They are very interested on a specific topic. For example, if her/his area of attention is reading, they learn to read on their own at a very early age.
c.    They have an intellectual quotient very high, may be particularly good at topics such as maths, history, philosophy, religious or creative arts.

3.    HABITS:
a.     Dislike any changes in routines.
b.    While they are concentrating, they are at the same time moving, but it’s true that they have a lack of mobility, as they learn to walk very late, have difficulty in the physical activities...
c.    They usually look away when they are speaking with someone and don’t understand the point of view of other people.
d.    They have to have everything in order.
e.    They have involuntary muscle spasms of the face.
f.     And an Asperger person has difficulty in handwriting.
CAUSES
The causes of Asperger syndrome are not known, but they are still being investigated.  Many experts believe that it can be more than one cause, for example can be cause by a variety of physical factors, which affect brain development or maybe for genetic factors.


TREATMENT
A person, who suffers from Asperger syndrome, doesn’t receive any medication, only in the case that she or he suffers from depression or anxiety.
They are treated for physiological treatments to treat social skills. For example:
1.    They should be prepared to face up to the routines changes.
2.    We have to teach them to have relationships with different people, teaching them what and how they should say in a conversation.
3.    Avoid misinterpreted language.
Actually there is not cure for the Asperger syndrome.

CURIOSITIES
1.    There are studies which affirm that the Asperger syndrome affects 3 to 7 per 1000 children, mainly in men than in women.
2.    They are person with a great memory for the details.
3.    They use a perfect use of language.
4.    And may not understand a joke or take a sarcastic comment literally, so they can become furious.

FAMOUS PEOPLE WITH ASPERGER SYNDROME:
The following famous people are considered to be Asperger people:
1.    Albert Einstein, who was a theoretical physicist
2.    Isaac Newton, a mathematician and physicist
Also thought that…
3.    Michael Jackson, singer and dancer.
4.    Woody Allen, who is director, actor, author, musician…
5.    Bob Dylan, Singer.
6.    Mozart, musician
7.    Thomas Edison, who was an inventor.
...suffer from Asperger syndrome.

jueves, 7 de febrero de 2013

INFLUENCIA DE LAS NUEVAS TECNOLOGÍAS EN LA RELACIONES PERSONALES

Tecnología, sinónimo de arrebatar el verdadero significado de comenzar y mantener las verdaderas relaciones sociales y amorosas.
Las nuevas tecnologías están influenciando en las relaciones sociales cara a cara, puesto que cada vez nos comunicamos más con el resto del mundo haciendo un inmenso uso de ellas mediante diversos medios como el móvil, internet, WhatsApp, etc.

La mayoría de las personas creen que la tecnología es un gran avance tanto científico, como social, pero ¿realmente es un avance para comenzar y continuar una relación? ¿Tiene la misma calidad emocional mantener una conversación cara a cara que mantenerla a través de una pantalla y un par de teclas?

Usar las nuevas tecnologías, da lugar a una pérdida de buena comunicación en las relaciones humanas. Es decir; las sensaciones, las vivencias, el lenguaje gestual y demás, no son las mismas que se transmiten dos personas físicamente, ya que ninguno de estos medios tecnológicos transmite lo que el otro siente, ni lo que se interpreta, ni el tono y entonación de la persona.

Como bien dice Aristóteles, “nuestro carácter es el resultado de nuestra conducta”. Por lo tanto, esta cita célebre se puede relacionar con el tema hablado, ya que tomar la tecnología como medio de comunicación también conlleva a no conocer el carácter de la otra persona y a su vez, no conocer la conducta.

Además, hablar por medios tecnológicos, como el WhatsApp, puede crear discusiones, ya que se pueden malinterpretar las palabras e incluso no enfrentarse al problema cara a cara, que es como verdaderamente se solucionan las cosas. En cambio a través de medios como el ordenador o el móvil, lo único que se consigue es empeorarlo.

Al contrario, algunas personas creen que relacionarse de esta manera es mejor para las personas que tiene problemas para integrarse en la sociedad, pero ¿verdaderamente aquellas personas con problemas para relacionarse físicamente les es mejor la comunicación por internet? Utilizando el sentido común, las nuevas tecnologías no dejan acabar con este problema, puesto que nunca se enfrentan ante él y solamente recurren a la comunicación por chat como medio de integración. Y, ¿creéis que conocer una persona a través de chats es conocerla plenamente? Está claro que no, ya que no sabes cómo es personalmente e incluso a la hora de estar dos personas en contacto esto puede llevar a un problema por no saber estar juntos en un mismo lugar, viéndose las caras.

Nicholas Carr considera que: “la tecnología es un tótem a cuyos pies estamos sacrificando nuestro pensamiento y nuestra humanidad, en un mundo engullido por la tecnoestupidez”. Y así es, la tecnología está acabando con la humanidad y sobretodo con el verdadero significado del amor y amistad, ya que la calidad emocional que se siente tras vivir momentos especiales con gente con la que realmente conoces tal y como es, no se vive en el mundo de la red.

En definitiva, quedamos en lo virtual, puesto que no tenemos al ser humano real, sino que nos es más fácil escribir un mensaje diciendo “te quiero” o “perdón…” y no siendo capaces de enfrentarnos a los problemas, y peor aún, no ser capaces de acabar con las dificultades. Por lo tanto, vivir con una persona conociéndola día a día a tu lado es como realmente se mantiene una relación. Así que, como dice Aristóteles: “Piensa como los sabios, mas habla como la gente sencilla.”