Being Human

 I know we have been off of the subject for a while, but we did discuss at one time whether or not Autism was a disorder or a adaptation.  After reviewing this article it sounds like to me that it would be a disorder and not a adaptation. 

 

 

 U.S. researchers said Monday that they had identified a genetic mutation that raises the risk of autism and could also explain some of the other symptoms seen in children with autism.

Although autism and similar disorders can clearly run in families, theirs is the first study to find a definitive genetic link to the disorder, which affects as many as 1 in 175 U.S. children.

Find this article at:
http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/10/16/autism.genes.reut/index.html

So I said that for those that left I would post anything that may have been missed following the Identity event.

 Not much, Rick excused us following the dancing segment. For those of us that danced for around awhile kinda of a differant experience, at least for me, could explian why I snuck out of the dancing area and hanged on the side.  Lack of Rum and Coke limits my ability to get jiggy wit it! For those that missed it, Rick has moves if he was a celebrity he would have a chance to win on "so you think you can dance" Take that Mario Lopez!!!

But back to the experience of the world cafe.  Honestly I found it to be pretty interesting, the interactions with other classes and their perspectives on what identity is was very interesting, and some of the discussions led to some random thoughts of my own.  Such as, If I was only five foot tall would I have the same identity I have today?  If I would have stayed in Eatonville and logged would I have the same views on issues of race, religion, politics? 

I would be interested in what others took from the event. So hey share your thougths, thats what this is all about.

I could not link the video to here, but on CNN.Com they have a video report about men being smarter (hey don't bite my head off they said it). Also from this video they have additional links to brain images that are pretty neat to check out.

 It should be interesting to follow up on this in a year and see how the results turn out. If my family member recieved the placebo, I would be a little pissy if recieving the progesterone could have helped them.   

Treatment with progesterone, a well-known hormone that prepares the womb for pregnancy, safely reduces the risk of death and disability in people who suffer a traumatic brain injury, new research suggests

Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/conditions/10/03/brain.injuries.reut/inde...

So here's the deal, when I grew up my parents helped me out time to time.  I think we all can say that, but for the most part I started to work and support wants, and become money savy around the seventh grade.  If I wanted something outside of basic needs then i worked for it.  Starting at 7th grade I worked for 4.50 a hour bucking hay, from that I moved on to tree farms during the holidays, milked cows before school, biulding fence for the other farms, cleaning culverts/ fueling rigs for a local timber company and haying during the summer.  Mind you my rate of pay went up, as I got older. The thing is those jobs made me the hard working dedicated employee that I am today, and I would not trade those experiences for anything.  But ,after reading this article and the amount of money that was handed out to these kids just seems a tad to much, for doing what, not much more then what should be expected.  Just a random rant

But at some level, giving too much too often can deprive kids of more important things - the ability to set priorities or make long-term plans; the pride of achievement; even empathy. A teenager with an enlarged sense of entitlement and a credit card is one of the least attractive species on the planet.

Find this article at:
http://money.cnn.com/2006/10/06/magazines/fortune/pluggedin_murphy_power...

since we seem to have a lot of discussion around autism, I thought this article was relavent.  The money is gong to a study of children 2-5 years of age to help indentify factors that may pose risk factors. 

ATLANTA -- The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is initiating a multi-state collaborative study to help identify factors that may put children at risk for autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) and other developmental disabilities. Approximately 2,700 children, ages 2 to 5, and their parents will be part of this study.

www.theolympian.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061006/NEWS/61006011

I found this video really interesting in that it lets you see some of the behaviors that Piaget studied and has more history on the man himself.

http://video.google.com/googleplayer.swf?docId=-9014865592046332725&hl=en       

So in tonights discussion following seminar we talked about media and the effects of children.  I had to find out a little more, but realized that I am not to invested on the subject.  But others seemed to be, so  what I found was a report by the Kiaser Family Foundation on the subject.  They completed a survey on about 1,000 parents.  Check it out if you want more info.  Right now my mind has thought to much, and I need to zone out infront of the picture box for awhile.

Children and Electronic Media

Recent years have seen an explosion in electronic media marketed directly at the very youngest children in our society, yet very little is known about how these changes have played out in young people's lives. In order to help understand the implications, the Foundation conducted a national study of more than 1,000 parents of children ages six months through six years. The findings are published in the report Zero to Six: Electronic Media in the Lives of Infants, Toddlers and Preschoolers.

 http://www.kff.org/entmedia/entmedia052406pkg.cfm

Well I finally got my descartes Baby book.  In the first chapter Bloom discusses that when a infant is shown a item on the floor and then it is covered up.  The child believes that the item has disappeared and is surprised when it is uncovered.  Could this be why playing peek aboo is so entertaining to infants, but if I was to do it class everyone would think I on drugs?  The thing is now my duaghter will grab a blanket or hide behind a door ( not all of her just her head) and play peek aboo with herself, and still laughs and acts surprised when the world is uncovered to her.  Sometimes I wonder if she is just trying to figure out how it works.  After reading this chapter I started to wonder how much money toy companies have put into figuring out what will hold a babies attention the longest.  Looking around my living room while I read this made me start to think, So thats why they have the lights do that, or sounds or levers.  anyhow just random thoughts for the day.

After reading the past posts dealing with sleep and health, I started to look at other resources on the subject. With my current sleep schedule of only getting about 5 hours per night, due to work, schedule school and a early bird daughter, I have experienced the increase stress level and mood swings this article discusses not only in myself but with my wife. I just thought some follow up reading might be interesting to others. I cannot really remember the last time I saw eight hours of sleep, I think I will try and do that more often.

The downside of running on empty

Scientists are finding more evidence that sleep deprivation can affect appetite, weight gain, diabetes risk, the strength of your immune system, and even your chance of developing depression.

In 2004, University of Chicago researchers restricted a group of men to only 4 hours of sleep per night. After just 2 nights, the men had an 18 percent decrease in leptin, a hormone that tells your brain when you are full, and a 28 percent increase in ghrelin, a hormone that triggers hunger. These results were reinforced last October by a study of almost 10,000 adults that found that people who slept fewer than 7 hours a night were more likely to be obese than those who got 7 hours of shut-eye. "

Chronic sleep deprivation causes changes in metabolism that produce a state that stimulates hunger," Epstein explains. Sleep deprivation can also affect how your body handles insulin; insulin resistance puts you at risk for weight gain and diabetes.

In a study that's still under way, Van Cauter and her colleagues are looking at chronic sleep loss in a group of normal-weight men and women under age 30. Over 6 months, those who slept fewer than 6.5 hours a night were more insulin-resistant than normal sleepers who logged 7.5 to 8 hours per night.

The short sleepers, the study shows so far, need to produce 30 to 40 percent more insulin to dispose of the same amount of glucose. Still other studies suggest that over time, sleep loss may play a role in the development of depression.

Tonight on 20/20 they are looking at the topic of differences between the sexes. Just saw the preview for it and thought if may be interesting for members of the class to possibly check out. ou can check the previews for it at

abcnews.go.com/2020/

It sounds like it will be really informative to check out.

Imaging living in a world where you do not feel pain. I found this article on CNN.com, and found t to be very interesting. Many of us hear of common disorders, but its the disorders that are not common and we do not know much about. I could not imaging what not feeling hot, or cold, or what being in physical pain would be like. Growing up we are all told, do not touch that or you will burn yourself, eventually we do touch something thats hot and we realize, hey that did hurt and we learn. Looking at this there maybe other dangers not only to the person living with the disorder, but those around him. hitting someone else, not possibly knowing how being struck with a hard object may cause physical pain to another. One thing the article leaves me to wonder is, can they feel at all, do these people have the sensory of touch?

(AP) -- Boy or girl? Almost half of U.S. fertility clinics that offer embryo screening say they allow couples to choose the sex of their child, the most extensive survey of the practice suggests.

Sex selection without any medical reason to warrant it was performed in about 9 percent of all embryo screenings last year, the survey found.

Another controversial procedure -- helping parents conceive a child who could supply compatible cord blood to treat an older sibling with a grave illness -- was offered by 23 percent of clinics, although only 1 percent of screenings were for that purpose in 2005.

For the most part, couples are screening embryos for the right reasons -- to avoid passing on dreadful diseases, said Dr. William Gibbons, who runs a fertility clinic in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and is president of the Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology, which assisted with the survey.

"There are thousands of babies born now that we know are going to be free of lethal and/or devastating genetic diseases. That's a good thing," he said.

However, the survey findings also confirm many ethicists' fears that Americans increasingly are seeking "designer babies" not just free of medical defects but also possessing certain desirable traits.

Find this article here.