Kevin's Thoughts On Behaviors Interventions For Aggressive Children

Children suffering from severe mental and behavior disorders, including oppositional defiant disorder (ODD) and conduct disorder (CD), who often depict aggressive and antisocial behaviors, can benefit from the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT), an external behavior intervention from psychological approach. Behavior psychology, a sub-topic of psychology, bases on the theory that “all behaviors are acquired through conditioning”. Therefore, it becomes possible to “reshape” people’s behaviors through conditioned stimulus. This process is called behavior intervention or behavior modification. It anticipates to reinforce the desired behavior of a person through rewards and punishments. Studies have shown that this type of treatment has clinical significance as well and can be used for therapeutic purposes. The CBT has become the most widely accepted treatment that can help solve problems concerning depression, anxiety, personality, substance abuse, etc. The use of CBT extends to children and adolescents as well. Concerning complex childhood aggressiveness and its diverse causes, an article titled “Behavior Modification of Aggressive Children in Child Welfare” examines the effectiveness of cognitive-behavioral intervention in dealing with children with aggressive behaviors.

The article reveals that children with social problems and aggressive and delinquent behaviors are prevalent in child welfare settings. ODD and CD exist widely within young children 5 to 15 of age (2.31% for ODD and 1.47% for CD). Typical behavioral patterns of ODD are “characterized by intense defiance, anger, irritability, and vindictiveness”; while, CD includes “a variety of behaviors directed against people, animals, norms, and property” which has the danger of developing into “weapon using, bullying, torturing animals, deliberately destroying others’ property, theft, [etc]”. Because of the prevalence and negative potentials of these behaviors, a more psychotherapeutic orientation of child welfare needs to be introduced. Previously, some empirical evidence supports the use of cognitive-behavioral approaches for children aggressiveness, conveying that the implementation of CBT in children welfare program will effectively reduce the aggressive behaviors and could achieve better results than child welfare does alone. The author develops an experimental design that tests this assumption.

The design is performed very much in the same way as the experiments we conduct to test the statistical significance in Stat class. 24 young children from a children welfare institution, including ones diagnosed with either ODD or CD are divided into 2 groups - the intervention group and the control group - with 6 children in each group who have aggressive behaviors. In order to minimize bias and reduce the impact of confounding variables, sex distribution, youth welfare subprograms, school types, age average and grades of the children are all kept within certain range for both groups. That means that the differences in those categories will not result in statistically significant variation in the outcomes. Before the treatment, parents and teachers evaluate each child by examining the social problems, attention problems and delinquent behaviors that are associated with him or her. The results are collected. At the mean time, each child takes a survey and obtains an overall score of aggression based the results. CBT includes exposing people to stimuli, in this case, children are exposed to correct actions and performance in each given conflict situation. The theory is human will behave based on what environment they are exposed to and what the consequences are for each reaction. During the therapies, each child in the intervention group participates in various consulting and modification sessions where they are asked to perform specified behavior tasks. The trainers help them individually to analyze each performance in detail and and direct them into “prosocial perceptions” through role-playing and practicing the socially desirable behaviors. Tokens will be given for each right behavior and avoidance of aggressive behavior. At the end of a session, children can exchange their tokens for play time. This is an example of positive reinforcement that encourages children to continuously avoid aggressive behaviors as “playing-time” is something that young children really enjoy and care about. Moreover, children will then practice the right behaviors in a social environment as they perform in contact with other children. This creates an environmental interventions as Children will tend to behave favorably if they see everyone else in the group behaves in prosocial ways. The process of self-reflecting and reflection of others will help stabilize the positive behaviors. Furthermore, parents receive consoling where they learn to provide with a harmonious family environment by changing unfavorable interactions.

Immediately after completion of the combined treatment, evaluations from parents and teachers are collected again and each child will take another survey and obtain a new score on their aggression level. The children in both groups show dramatic changes in their behaviors. For both groups, the ratings in externalizing symptoms, social problems, attention problems, aggressive behaviors and peer relation problems present significant decrease. However, datas show that children treated with CBT intervention show a larger decrease ratings regarding their problematic behaviors; meanwhile, they demonstrate a stronger increase in prosocial behaviors than those treated without CBT.

To maintain subjective and professional, the author acknowledges the limitation of this experiment. As much as they try to avoid possible bias and reduce the variance between the two groups, the difference and the uniqueness of each individual will be doomed to influence the outcomes to some extent. Therefore, the effectiveness of the CBT might be overstated or understated. Furthermore, the sample size of each group is too small, leaving the rooms for “coincidence”. Think it in this way: if you toss a fair coin for only 5 times, there is a chance that you end up with 5 heads (even if the possibility of head should be 0.5). Despite these limitation, given the implicit theory behind the study and the “predictable” outcomes it shows, there is still a good reason to believe that cognitive intervention can assist child welfare programs and lead to a more effective treatment for reducing undesirable behaviors and “promoting deficient social skills” for children with aggressive behaviors.

Autumn's Thoughts on Alcohol Consumption Patterns Among College Students

It is well-known that personality traits predict drinking motives, and drinking motives predict drinking patterns. However, the connection between personality traits and drinking patterns for students who drink both for coping and enhancement reasons remains unknown. Abby L. Goldstein and Gordon L. Flett of York University in Toronto, Canada attempted to discover this unknown. They conducted a study relating drinking motives with personality traits and drinking patterns of college students over a year time span, a smaller project of a study examining the relationship between childhood variables, personality, alcohol use, and adjustment to university. According to the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, “College students represent a population at risk for binge drinking and alcohol-related consequences, including academic and legal difficulties, physical and psychological concerns, increased injury risk, and involvement in unsafe sexual practices.”

Goldstein and Flett separated 138 first year college students who reported drinking alcohol within the past year into four categories: coping, enhancement, enhancement + coping, and non-internally motivated drinkers. They hypothesized that coping motivated drinkers will have more alcohol related problems, enhancement and non-internally motivated drinkers will drink larger quantities of alcohol, and enhancement plus coping motivated drinkers will have the most extreme binge drinking problems. The study was conducted using data such as neuroticism, drinking quantity, and sensation seeking values. Each participant completed two questionnaires; one given during the first six weeks of the fall semester and the other given three months later. These questionnaires tested neuroticism, drinking quantity, sensation seeking values, and other drinking related measures.

The first questionnaire measured neuroticism and sensation seeking. Neuroticism was tested with the Ten Item Personality Inventory (TIPI), consisting of five 2-item scales analyzing the “Big Five” personality factors: extraversion, agreeableness, neuroticism, conscientiousness, and openness to experience. Sensation seeking was measured by the 4-item Brief Sensation Seeking Scale (BSSS-4). This is a condensed version of the Form V of the Sensation Seeking Scale. Response choices ranged from strongly disagree (1) to strongly agree (5).

The second questionnaire measured drinking motives, anxiety sensitivity, positive and negative affect, alcohol problems, and alcohol use. Drinking motives were assessed by the DMQ-R made of four subscales: enhancement, coping, social, and conformity. Participants shared the frequency in which they consume alcohol for these reasons. The scale ranged from 1 to 5, 1 being almost never/never and 5 being almost always/always. Anxiety sensitivity was measured with the Anxiety Sensitivity Index-Revised in 1998. The ASI-R analyzes six domains of anxiety sensitivity that form a single higher-order factor. The Positive Affect Negative Affect Scale (PANAS) measured the positive and negative affect. Respondents rated their emotions according to 20 adjective descriptors, half positive and the other negative. They also indicated the extent to which they feel these emotions using a 5-point scale, 1 being very slightly or not at all and 5 being extremely. Alcohol problems were assessed by the Rutgers Alcohol Problem Index. RAPI is a 23-item questionnaire that analyzes the frequency that students experienced alcohol problems within the past year. For this study, participants were given 0 points if they did not experience the item in the past year, and 1 point if they had. Their total score was calculated to represent the frequency of their alcohol problems in the past year. Lastly, alcohol use was assessed with two parts of the Canadian Campus Survey: the amount of alcohol consumed per drinking session and episodic binge drinking. Binge drinking was determined by asking the students how many times in the past two weeks they had consumed five or more drinks.

The means and standard deviations, separate for men and women, were calculated from the data results of the questionnaire. Analysis concluded three observations: (1)Coping and enhancement motives were positively correlated with each other and alcohol use, (2)Coping motives were negatively correlated with positive affect and positively correlated with negative affect, neuroticism, and anxiety sensitivity, and (3)Enhancement motive were significantly and positively correlated with anxiety sensitivity. Based on these observations and the means and standard deviations, the students were placed into four groups. 19 participants were coping motivated, 23 were enhancement motivated, 11 were coping and enhancement motivated, and 85 were non-internally (neither coping of enhancement) motivated. In conclusion, roughly 38% of college students were internally motivated drinkers and 62% were non-internally motivated drinkers.

With these figures, Goldstein and Flett’s hypothesis disproven. They hypothesized that coping motivated drinkers will have more alcohol related problems, enhancement and non-internally motivated drinkers will drink larger quantities of alcohol, and enhancement plus coping motivated drinkers will have the most extreme binge drinking problems. Their research shows that coping motivated drinkers do have more alcohol related problems, so that portion of their hypothesis is correct. However, the research also showed that enhancement and non-internally motivated drinkers consume the least amount of alcohol of the four groups. Also according to the research, coping motivated drinkers have the most extreme binge drinking problems. From Goldstein and Flett’s research, one can see that coping motivated drinkers have the most alcohol related consequences.

Tyler's Thought on Public Speaking Phobias

453 phobias exist in the world today. You fear darkness, sitting, ugliness, nudity (looks like they’re not getting any), everything, colors, bathing, sitting in a car and 445 other things. 13% of the population suffers from a social phobia, some more common than others. Public speaking phobia affects the largest number of individuals with social phobias, 40% to be exact. Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) treats public speaking phobia when in session with a therapist. While CBT is preferred, problems can arise in the treatments. Such problems include lack of therapist control, patient’s inability to imagine and audience, self flooding of emotions and loss of confidentiality when put in front of a real audience. A new method of CBT has been invented called virtual CBT (VRCBT), where a fake audience is used to simulate the real situation. A study has been done and is explained in Behavioral Modification Journal. that tests whether VRCBT is a better alternative to conventional CBT.

People with public speaking phobia perceive communication in front of others as dangerous and feared, sort of like talking to the hottest girl in school. Anxiety builds up and manifests as physical symptoms such as sweating, loss of words, redness and shortness of break. Avoidance of such situations then becomes the next step. Patients do not confront their fears thus they build up and manifest in their brain. Many times they overestimate the threat of public ridicule and disapproval and tend to catastrophize negative consequences and personal events that have no relation to them.

Cognitive behavioral therapy treats the most symptoms in patients. The most common component to CBT includes exposing patients to stimuli, in this case people listening. The client experiences two things while in therapy, they have a lessened sense of anxiety during exposure and they learn no catastrophic even is coming as they anticipated. Exposure to their fear may be done in two ways, by natural setting or by imagination. In natural exposure the patient actually speaks in front of live people; however this becomes very time consuming and expensive. The therapist also loses some of their control over the situation, for they cannot make the people suddenly disappear if something goes wrong. Running into someone the client knows at these public events also becomes a problem because everyone will now know he or she is in therapy. In imaginative exposure the patients visualizes and audience in their heads. This manner is less effective because therapists cannot tell if the patient is truly following directions or is thinking about other things. Other problems include an overflow of thought and dramatizing the situation.

Virtual CBT introduces a new way to perform therapy for people with public speaking phobias. It is already currently being used to treat other phobias such as fight phobia, fear of driving, claustrophobia and agoraphobia. New advances in technology allow for these virtual simulations to seem very life like. Exposure to the stimuli occurs in the same way expect the client but on a helmet connected to a computer to visualize his or her audience. The helmet system provides both visual and audio input. A special program allows the therapist to manipulate different elements of the scenery, allowing for gradual exposure. For example the operator can make the audience clap their hands, seem uninterested or get up and leave. (The exact view the patient has, the therapist has so their progress can be monitored).

VRCBT proved very effective in a recent study done on public speaking patients. 88 persons were tested with different methods of clinical help. The results were measured on how well the patients preformed behavioral tasks. The data showed men and women who were treated with VRCBT did better than those treated by other types of medicine. Overall the virtual therapy shows more improvement over conventional methods in quelling anxiety of patients as well as allowing therapist to control the environment more effectively. People with public speaking phobia perceive communication in front of others as dangerous and feared, sort of like talking to the hottest girl in school. Anxiety builds up and manifests as physical symptoms such as sweating, loss of words, redness and shortness of break. Avoidance of such situations then becomes the next step. Patients do not confront their fears thus they build up and manifest in their brain. Many times they overestimate the threat of public ridicule and disapproval and tend to catastrophize negative consequences and personal events that have no relation to them. Cognitive behavioral therapy treats the most symptoms in patients. The most common component to CBT includes exposing patients to stimuli, in this case people listening. The client experiences two things while in therapy, they have a lessened sense of anxiety during exposure and they learn no catastrophic even is coming as they anticipated. Exposure to their fear may be done in two ways, by natural setting or by imagination. In natural exposure the patient actually speaks in front of live people; however this becomes very time consuming and expensive. The therapist also loses some of their control over the situation, for they cannot make the people suddenly disappear if something goes wrong. Running into someone the client knows at these public events also becomes a problem because everyone will now know he or she is in therapy. In imaginative exposure the patients visualizes and audience in their heads. This manner is less effective because therapists cannot tell if the patient is truly following directions or is thinking about other things. Other problems include an overflow of thought and dramatizing the situation. Virtual CBT introduces a new way to perform therapy for people with public speaking phobias. It is already currently being used to treat other phobias such as fight phobia, fear of driving, claustrophobia and agoraphobia. New advances in technology allow for these virtual simulations to seem very life like. Exposure to the stimuli occurs in the same way expect the client but on a helmet connected to a computer to visualize his or her audience. The helmet system provides both visual and audio input. A special program allows the therapist to manipulate different elements of the scenery, allowing for gradual exposure. For example the operator can make the audience clap their hands, seem uninterested or get up and leave. (The exact view the patient has, the therapist has so their progress can be monitored). VRCBT proved very effective in a recent study done on public speaking patients. 88 persons were tested with different methods of clinical help. The results were measured on how well the patients preformed behavioral tasks. The data showed men and women who were treated with VRCBT did better than those treated by other types of medicine. Overall the virtual therapy shows more improvement over conventional methods in quelling anxiety of patients as well as allowing therapist to control the environment more effectively.

Suzie's Thoughts on Psychological Flexibility

Eating disorders correlate with a person's mental ability to positively handle even miniscule unpleasant situations. This ability is known as psychological flexibility: the admittance of undesirable feelings is recognized while a person simultaneously follows their personal values and beliefs. Psychological flexibility is studied to compare thoughts of eating-disorders/body image, to overall psychological health. College students, in particular, encounter stressful situations and social pressure, and often become the focus of these studies. The article, “Disordered Eating-Related Cognition and Psychological Flexibility” (by Masuda, Price, Anderson, and Wendell), shows the relationship between negative body image thoughts, psychological flexibility and psychological ill-health among college students.

This article stems from the online Behavior Modification site regarding psychology topics. Behavioral psychology suggests that all behaviors are learned. One of the most well-known and influential scientists that studied this kind of psychology was B.F. Skinner (1904-1990). His research focused on operant conditioning, the idea that organisms (college students in this case) perform actions based on the environment around them. This article suggests that the drive to be thin emerges from today’s society. The magazines with big, bright titles such as, “Get you best beach bod” and “How to lose 10 pounds fast” consume newsstands everywhere. It’s no wonder that young adults long to look like their favorite celebrities that are famous because of their ‘good’ bodies. Skinner would say the act of not eating (or eating in an unhealthy way) in order to lose weight to ‘fit in’ is an effect of operant conditioning. Girls want to be skinny because they see how thin women are accepted and flaunted in current Western society. This trend is harmful to today’s youth and the study by Masuda, Price, Anderson, and Wendell focus on other factors (psychological flexibility and mental health) along with disordered eating cognition, that are affecting college students today.

Many studies show that disordered eating-related cognition is positively associated with negative psychological outcomes. So when a person has increased thoughts and puts pressure on himself or herself to lose weight in order to fit into society, they are more likely to experience depression and anxiety. However, although disordered eating-related thoughts are a decent predictor to a person’s psychological distress, it does not always yield negative psychological health. This study by Masuda and others takes into account how a person responds to negative events (flexibility) and observes its effects. Again, psychological flexibility, as summarized in the article, is “an overall behavior pattern of experiencing private events without trying to judge, evaluate, avoid, fix, down-regulate, or change them, while spontaneously engaging in value-directed activities at the same time”. Hence, a person who is psychologically flexible can be exposed to negative thoughts/feelings (like wanting to be thin) without being completely enthralled with the negativity. Being in college, we all know the pressures that students encounter. Being in a sorority, especially, I see girls that are constantly struggling with their body image. It is so important to reassure these girls that they are beautiful and help them not let society’s standards negatively affect them. But if you know someone who obviously needs more relief than you can give them, the best thing you can do is get them professional help (but I’m sure you all already knew that).

New evidence suggests that psychological flexibility is inversely associated with detrimental psychological problems. So if someone is very psychologically flexible, he/she usually has minimal negative psychological effects/problems. The authors’ main goal when administering this study was to determine if/how a “psychologically flexible response style contributes to the link between disordered eating-related cognitions and poor psychological outcomes”. 375 participants from a large public university in Georgia were asked a variety of questions and answered anonymously. The question’s topics included: eating disorders/self-esteem, willingness to accept unpleasant thoughts, overall psychological health (including common behavior stressors), and personal anxiety.

Previous studies that were similar to the current one, suggested that gender is a significant predictor when dealing with disordered variables. However, gender was excluded in the results of this study because it did not appear to be a compelling factor of the participants’ psychological outcomes. I originally expected eating-disordered cognitions to be significantly more prevalent in college females, but to my surprise, the difference in gender and outcomes did not show any variance. The study insinuates that in order to understand how negative psychological events are maintained, it would be beneficial to not only assess disordered eating-related cognitions, but also understand how a person reacts to difficult or undesirable situations. I found this study interesting because self-image and body issues are obviously ongoing in society today, especially among young adults. Disordered eating-related cognitions and poor psychological outcomes are positively related to each other, while psychological flexibility is inversely related to the two and should be taken into account when studying people’s psychological ill-health. 

Autumn's Thoughts on Defining Death

According to a US law passed in 1981, after one's condition remains irreversible after six hours, their physician can legally declare them dead. Also included in the law, a group of experts appointed by the President determined this definition of death: "An individual who has sustained either (1) irreversible cessation of circulatory and respiratory functions, or (2) irreversible cessation of all functions of the entire brain, including the brain stem, is dead." Many physicians feel uncertainty with the phrases "irreversible" and "entire brain". The fact that death holds no clear definition halts the progress of the organ transplantation system. Although many countries use this law as a model for their legal definition of death, one must ask how this group of "experts" could have successfully defined death for millions of people. In reality, death holds a different meaning for many people. The author of Delimiting Death, an editorial in Nature Magazine, believes that death needs a realistic and set definition in order to keep up with the fast-paced organ transplantation system. Attaching a definition to death for the sake of this system seems insensitive and harsh.

Many physicians often follow “the spirit” when declaring someone dead instead of following the law definition. The author feels this poses a major problem and calls it unfortunate. On the contrary, I believe that following a spirit or having emotion when practicing your job, whatever it may be, is a necessity. We are humans! We have feelings and emotions and we should use them. These actions are what allow people to be so passionate about their jobs. Yes, guidelines carry essential roles, but the serious topic of death requires and deserves much more considerations than guidelines. A family is not going to understand any law or guideline when they see their loved one with vital signs of life, however minuscule they may be.

Another point the author makes claims that physicians struggle with how long one should wait before declaring the patient’s condition “irreversible”. The law recommends six hours! This seems much too short to give someone a chance to save their life. Even the author shares that some physicians who were required to wait up to 36 hours under given circumstances, have observed brainstem-mediated reflexes, such as a cough. Respecting the law, the "entire brain" must be non-functional to declare one dead. It seems to me that the patient and family should at least be given 48 hours to accept death. Although organ transplantation system carries a time restraint, the declaration of death should not be rushed for the system's sake. Why is the life of a person in need of a transplant deemed more significant than a person nearing death? Physicians also struggle with determining when the "entire brain is irreversible." According to a statement opposing death, signed by 120 professionals of 19 different nations, "'brain death' is not death, and death ought not to be declared unless the entire brain, including the brain stem, and the respiratory and circulatory systems have been destroyed." The 1981 US law lacks this crucial and straight-forward statement.

The author does make a valid point: “The problem is that death is not a phase transition whereby a person stops being alive and becomes dead in an instant.” The 1981 US law does not support this statement, making it unclear and ineffective. In response to this statement, the author feels a clear definition of death is needed. However, it is with this statement that I believe a clear definition of death can never be determined. There does come a point in which a person is clearly dead and will never return to life again. This point varies between doctors, especially when looking at their experience levels. A doctor who has been in practice for thirty years will feel more comfortable with declaring death and sharing the news with the family, or be more successful in explaining to the family that the time has come to take the patient off life support. On the other hand, a first-year doctor most likely does not acquire enough confidence and certainty to declare their patient dead, especially with a family not ready to depart from their loved one. What needs to be determined is not the definition of death, but at what point death is a better option than life. Although organ transplants obtain importance and carry a time-restraint, they should not be a deciding factor in declaring death.

The last statement the author argues really upsets me. He claims, “Few things are as sensitive as death. But concerns about the legal details of declaring death in someone who will never again be the person he or she was should be weighed against the value of giving a full and healthy life to someone who will die without a transplant.” I am sure many other people, me included, have had experiences that change who they are forever. This does not mean that the person can no longer live. In almost all cases of illness survivors, they do become different people at the end of the process. Whether they miraculously become healthy again or spend the rest of their lives in the hospital, they are just thankful to be alive. In my opinion, a person willing to fight for their life should have the chance to do so.

Kevin's Thoughts On Embryonic Stem Cell Research

No alternative stem cells have matched the potential achievements that embryonic stem cells anticipate to accomplish. Adult stem cells lack the ability to form the full range of types of cells. Reprogrammed cells still remain at an infancy state and may leave behind genes that could trigger cancer. Only embryonic stem cells possess the unique characteristic of full differentiability. This trait allows them to discover possible cure for diseases through developing human organs, advancing drug testing and investigating organ development. All of these potentials will lead into a tremendously beneficial revolution in human medical industry, too valuable to be constrained by its opponents' elusive ethical objections. An article titled “Alternative Energy For Embryonic Stem Cell Research”, however, demonstrates clear oppositions to embryo-derived stem cells. The author argues that despite the to-be-proven benefits that the embryonic stem cell research might have, the ethical concerns regarding the destruction of human souls will outweigh the potentials, and therefore, it is necessary to seek for alternative researches that do not cause such moral concerns. I immediately disagree.

The author overstates the ethic concerns and his logic is naive. He states that human embryonic stem cell research violates the “dignity and inviolability of human life” because it destroys human embryos which, he believes, have souls. The existence of soul itself carries a very controversial assumption. Science should not compromise to such an elusive ideology. Looking back into human history, many of the most respected and praised findings have once been in the position of today’s embryonic stem cell research. In facing those controversies and challenges, our science pioneers did not compromise. Their dedication and responsibility towards science, and their unyielding desire to advance the world have kept them pursing new coals. Had they conceded, the world would have been a different place. Morever, the author is unaware of the various sources of embryonic stem cells. The majority of embryonic stem cells used in the research comes from discarded embryos. There are around 400,000 discarded human embryos stored in the freezers of the fertilization clinics. Those embryos no longer possess the ability to naturally grow to human; it would be unethical not to study them to cure people’s diseases. Embryonic stem cells can also be deviated from aborted embryos. Since abortions are legal in many countries, making full use of these embryos seems mature and rational. However, discarded embryos are smaller than naturally embryo-derived cells and “they have no identifying features or hints of a nervous system”. Therefore, opening new embryonic stem cells lines is still necessary. The author also argues scientists should stop embryonic research because they are not 100 percent certain it will yield any great results. This reasoning is weak. Seeking for the answers to the uncertainty is the exact purpose of scientific research. Newton was not sure about the existence of the gravitational force before getting hit by the apple. He researched into it and finally proved it. Thomas Edison was not certain which type of filament to use in a light bulb. He tried 1000 times and finally discovered.

Advantages of embryonic stem cells themselves could also outweigh the absurd ethic claims. These stem cells are crucial to develop organisms because they have the potential to create all other specific cells in human body, such as blood, brain and tissue cells. Scientists can use these stem cells to generate healthy organs in the laboratory and transplant into patients to replace the damaged ones. The stem-cell-developed organs have two major advantages over the traditional donated organs. First, it is able to produce at a large scale. Second, the organs could be “exact DNA matches which would make the transplant process more efficient” and help reduce the rejection of transplantation; this has been proved successful in animals. One study shows that the stem-cell derived heart cells, which have been injected into mice and pigs with heart disease, demonstrate incredible results as they quickly filled in for the damaged cells and sped recovery. It is believed that embryonic stem cells have the same developmental potentials in humans as their counterparts in animal bodies. Thus, if we eventually use them in humans, we will have the opportunities to save thousands of patients. Reprogrammed stem cells, which the author suggests, could indeed grow to human organs; however, it would leave behind genes that develop into cancer cells, which disable it for human transplantation. In addition, embryonic stem cells can be used in drug testing. Scientists can observe real responses and reactions of the stem-cell grown organs and tissues to the new drugs. The results will be more accurate than animal testing. Furthermore, because the embryonic stem cell is the most fundamental form of stem cell, it can play a significant role in investigating the development of early human embryos, through which scientists hope to answer questions about the origins of the diseases due to developmental abnormalities, such as cancer. Other cells, such as adult stem cells, lack the developmental ability for such studies.

The author does make a valid suggestion: to conduct researches of other types of stem cells as well. Because state funded embryonic stem cell research of large scale is yet to be permitted and new embryonic research lines are still not legalized in many countries, it is essential to explore other types of stem cells. But let’s be clear. Embryonic stem cells are superior to other stem cells. Therefore, the alternative researches should only be performed in conjunction with the embryonic stem cell research. The main purpose is to explore various types of stem cells, advance the technology and speed up the progress of cell biology, as opposed to finding substitutes for embryonic stem cells due to its ethic concerns.

Out life is composed of all types of tradeoffs. Sometimes we will have to focus on the greater picture and do what would maximize the benefits. Would being ethical help cure the diseases that are making millions of millions of people suffer? No! Would it create various and sufficient organs for those who need them? No! Then, here is a question you should consider: do you want to be ethically right or would you rather challenge the conservative ideology and save real people? You don’t have to make a decision now. But if you chose to support a potential life-saving science research over some elusive ethics nonsense, you should not feel guilty! In fact, with the compelling evidence, it is my deepest belief that the research of embryonic stem cells will soon be recognized as a milestone in medical history and it definitely needs to keep advancing with full speed.

Suzie's Thoughts on Embryonic Stem Cells.

Adult stem cells and embryonic stem cells possess the same ability to multiply. So, exploiting embryonic stem cells for their multiplication capability should not be prohibited. The research on embryonic stem cells carries no compelling effects compared to research on adult stem cells. Each human life deserves the complete respect and security that we can give it. Basically, embryonic stem cell research withdraws the choice of life for these itty-bitty human beings. This research and experimentation should no longer take place because post-natal stem cells have many of the same characteristics as pre-natal stem cells, and perhaps more importantly, because using pre-natal stem cells is simply immoral. Taking away these little lives for the sake of science is unethical and corrupt, and the public should think twice before giving their consent for the research.

The editorial article, By Common Consent (12 March 2009), found in the online journal of science website, Nature, argues that science and medicine need embryonic stem-cell research to advance medical knowledge. The author believes that scientists need the public's support to further their ability to study embryos, which is likely true, and we therefore cannot lend our approval. Embryonic stem cell usage was advocated in the article in order to attempt to find cures for different diseases. However, scientists remain uncertain that killing innocent human lives will yield any tangible cures, yet they still encourage it! John Wyatt (Royal Free Hospital, London) put it perfectly when he stated, "The creation and manipulation of living human embryos for the sole purpose of generating therapeutic tissue seems incompatible with respect for vulnerable human life”. Now I know you fellow ladies understand that it is absolutely essential that we, as strong, independent and educated women, take a stand against this unborn baby stem cell research support and defend those who cannot yet defend themselves.

Scientists argue that research done on embryonic cells will lead to more knowledge in the medical world because they can multiply quicker and have a longer existence than adult stem cells. The ability for stem cells to replenish themselves is critical because large quantities of stem cells are needed in order to effectively treat diseases. However, adult stem cells have recently proven to meet this criteria, without taking the life of unborn person. Post-natal stem cells were previously thought to have a shorter life span than pre-natal stem cells, but now that does not seem to be the case. Researchers in Pittsburg have been able to multiply adult stem cells to a number comparable to that reached by embryonic stem cells. For example, a group of muscle stem cells were able to endure more than 200 population doublings while preserving their ability to produce new muscle cells. This discovery signified to scientists that these post-natal stem cells are likely able to maintain their treatment potential because of their ability to multiply while managing their structure, etc. Advocates of embryonic stem cell research need to realize that experimenting on these cells is taking the process of experimentation too far. Are we really allowing science to overpower God’s most precious gift? If we aren’t willing to stop with embryonic research, are there any boundaries in the scientific world at all? Scientists aren’t even 100% convinced that studying embryonic stem cells will even lead to any cures, so executing these innocent lives is obviously not worth the risk when post-natal stem cells have proven to be just as useful.

Other proponents of embryonic stem cell research, like the author of the article, assert that any damage done in this case has long-term potential benefits that outweigh harmful effects of the process. I cannot believe that some scientists don’t consider killing embryos a malicious act. Like I stated, before, adult stem cells that are used for research have greatly helped and progressed the scientific world. The progress of biomedical science is encouraged, Pope Benedict XVI affirms, but “true service to humanity begins with respect for each and every human life”. This issue will remain controversial as long as there are people who believe that God’s natural and beautiful gifts of human life should not be tampered with. By Common Consent states that scientists still need as much public support as possible to further their cause of embryonic stem cell research.

I am happy to report that everyone, scientists included, can relax because I have the solution: IPS. IPS stands for Induced Pluripotent System. Pluripotent cells are what I was talking about earlier when I mentioned the ability to multiply. If a stem cell is pluripotent, it means the cell can essentially become any cell in the adult human body (and therefore have a great ability to multiply). Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent, and adult stem cells are not, giving embryonic stem cells a leg up (this is all the about why scientists are so ga-ga over embryonic stem cells). However, these IPS cells ARE pluripotent as well, and obtaining them does not include destroying an embryo. They are differentiated ADULT cells! The studies that have been done on animals show great promise with these cells, and there is NO ethical dilemma! However, studies using these cells are still new, so more research must be done in order to ensure that IPS cells are safe and can be effectively used in regenerative medicine. But when I learned about this alternative to embryonic stem cells in my Biology 101 class, I knew I had to tell you all about it! It is a very promising compromise for those embryonic stem cell advocates and the anti-stem cell believers out there.

After being in a sorority, I can first handedly affirm that any group of people with similar values and interests can truly make a difference if they fight for something they believe in. That is what sorority philanthropic events are all about. We join sororities, in large part, to make a difference in our communities by volunteering and working for a cause we are passionate about. Believing that stem cells from embryos should not be used for science is a cause we can get involved in. It is a current event that is scarily shaping up to lead to more complicated and dangerous outcomes. I urge you, as educated students, to join together in the fight to end the funding for embryonic stem cell research. We’re in college, one of the best times in our lives. The world is our oyster and we need to be proactive young adults who stand up for what we believe in. Marilyn Monroe (my idol) once famously stated, “Everyone is a star and deserves the chance to shine.” Embryos, just like anyone else, deserve the chance to grow, mature, and live their lives to the fullest. We have no right to take that opportunity away from them, so let us stop the experimentation today.